Isaias weakened quickly after making landfall on the U.S. Gulf Coast near Destin, Florida, as a Category 2 hurricane Friday evening. Its powerful winds left hundreds of thousands of people in Alabama and the Florida Panhandle were without power early Saturday. It was the first hurricane of the Atlantic season.
Here’s the latest:
Isaias weakens overnight but is still considered a flood threat
Isaias weakened overnight and was no longer considered a hurricane but flash flooding threats and the potential for tornadoes persisted Saturday as the storm moved inland across Alabama.
The storm, now considered a post-tropical cyclone, made landfall Friday as a Category 2 hurricane, then quickly moved north through Alabama as its wind speeds dropped sharply to 35 mph (55 kph). But the possibility of life-threatening storm surges still loomed for parts of the Florida Panhandle.
Hundreds of thousands of customers are without power
Parts of southern Alabama also were flooded, with officials in Mobile reporting downed trees and power lines. Roads in Houston County, which is in the southeastern corner of the state, were closed because of similar conditions.
More than 911,000 customers in Florida, Alabama and Georgia were without power early Saturday, according to poweroutage.com.
One Floridian describes intense winds, impassable roads
Tim Mowry rode out the storm from his home in Pensacola, Florida. He says the wind was so intense it sounded like a train whistle as it whipped through a crack on his patio door.
He said overall the storm wasn’t as bad as he expected. He had standing water in his backyard and parts of a fence were ripped down. He also lost power but was able to rely on a generator. Mowry said his son, who lives nearby, was unable to drive to Mowry’s house due to downed trees and power lines blocking the roads.
“As far as Pensacola-wise we really got fortunate,” Mowry said.
Pensacola mayor says airport sustained some damage
Pensacola Mayor D.C. Reeves said on his Facebook page that the airport “took some damage.” Some power was out downtown, he said, and there were trees and power lines down in some areas.
Meanwhile, strong winds blew the roof off a hotel in the city.
Gov. Ron DeSantis warns that flooding threat persist in wake of Isaias
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis says there were no confirmed reports of fatalities from Isaias and that all state-owned bridges and major thoroughfares in the state are now open.
DeSantis warned that flooding dangers persist, especially in areas far east of the storm where it will continue raining.
“The risk of flooding is still high,” DeSantis said. “Sometimes these things happen a day or two days after the storm goes through. So the flooding story is not over.”
By The Associated Press
