Hurricane Isaias kills four across Florida and Alabama Gulf Coast

Hurricane Isaias killed at least four people across the US Gulf Coast after making landfall near Destin, Florida, on Friday night as a Category 2 hurricane. Two deaths occurred in Florida and two in Alabama, officials said. The storm, the first hurricane of the 2026 Atlantic season, struck the Florida Panhandle with maximum sustained winds of about 105 miles per hour before moving inland.cbsnews.com+1

The deaths matter because they mark the human cost of a storm that also cut power to hundreds of thousands and destroyed buildings across the region. Two of the four people died when trees fell on their homes, according to officials. The storm's rapid weakening from a Category 2 hurricane to a post-tropical cyclone within hours did not end the danger, as flooding and tornado threats persisted across the Southeast.theguardian.com

Landfall near Destin as Category 2

Isaias came ashore late on Friday on Florida's Panhandle as a Category 2 hurricane, according to authorities. It destroyed the Milton High School gymnasium in Milton, Florida, leaving debris scattered across the campus. Gusts peeled roofs off at least two gas stations and a home in Gulf Breeze, Florida. Hurricane-force winds blew the roof off a Pensacola hotel, and the city's mayor said the airport took some damage.

The storm also flattened a boathouse in Destin and ripped away part of the facade of a high-rise in Panama City Beach. In Gulf Breeze, Jayme Mitich and her 13-year-old daughter hid beneath a mattress minutes before the storm tore off part of their roof. "The noise got so loud, and I just kept hearing things break and crash into everything," Mitich said.

Two deaths were reported in Escambia County, Florida, and two others in Alabama as the storm moved inland, local officials said. One death occurred in Escambia and one in Birmingham, Alabama, when trees fell on homes. Another person linked to Isaias was found in a closed garage with a running generator in Escambia County, and four members of that person's family were hospitalised with carbon monoxide poisoning, the Escambia sheriff's office said.

Four deaths across two states

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis warned residents about generator use. "Don't run any generators inside your home, it can be very, very hazardous," DeSantis said at a press conference. Alabama Governor Kay Ivey said Isaias "cannot clear fast enough." DeSantis also cautioned that the danger was not over: "Although the center of the storm has moved out of Florida, the threat of flooding remains," he said on Saturday.

Nearly 550,000 customers were without power across Florida, Alabama and Georgia on Saturday afternoon, according to PowerOutage.us, down from more than 900,000 earlier on Saturday. The Florida Division of Emergency Management said approximately 5,000 Florida National Guard soldiers and airmen had been activated to support impacted communities. Florida, Alabama and Georgia all declared states of emergency due to the storm.

Power outages fall from 900,000

President Trump approved an emergency declaration for Georgia on Saturday in response to Isaias, the Federal Emergency Management Agency announced, freeing up federal resources for disaster relief in dozens of counties. He had previously approved emergency declarations for Florida and Alabama ahead of landfall. The Energy Department authorised emergency exchanges of as much as 4 million gallons of crude oil from the strategic petroleum reserve, with Exxon Mobil and BP America each authorised for up to 2 million barrels.

Isaias weakened to a post-tropical cyclone as it passed through central Alabama on Saturday but still posed flooding and tornado threats, forecasters warned. The National Hurricane Center said flash, urban and river flooding was possible across the region, with a considerable potential for flash flooding and landslides across the southern Appalachians. Through Sunday, the storm was expected to produce rainfall of 4 to 8 inches across southern Alabama, Florida's Panhandle and Big Bend, and southwest Georgia, with localized totals up to 15 inches.dw.com

Flooding risk continues through Sunday

The storm was moving over Tennessee and Kentucky into West Virginia, according to the National Hurricane Center, and was forecast to dissipate on Sunday. Swells from Isaias were expected to continue affecting the Gulf coasts of the US, Mexico and western Cuba, likely causing life-threatening surf and rip current conditions. Jared W Perdue, secretary of Florida's state transportation department, urged caution: "If there's standing water or flowing water on top of a road, please do not drive through it."