Hurricane Isaias makes landfall in Florida, leaving at least four dead and nearly 700,000 without power

Landfall and strength

Isaias made landfall near Destin, Florida, on Friday, the US National Hurricane Center said, with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph and a position about 50 miles west-northwest of Panama City. Reuters reported the storm as a Category 3 at landfall, while inews said it peaked as a Category 3 and came ashore as a Category 2, and ORF described it as a Category 2. The storm weakened overnight and was downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone with maximum sustained winds of 35 mph, although inews reported it remained dangerous. The New York Times reported winds surpassing 100 miles per hour in the Florida Panhandle, where Isaias peeled away hotel and condominium rooftops and facades before charging north into Alabama on Saturday.

Deaths and power outages

At least four people have been killed, according to the New York Times, inews and ORF. Inews reported two deaths in Florida and two in Alabama. In Florida, a woman was killed when a tree fell onto her house, and a man was found dead in his garage with a generator running, which Governor Ron DeSantis said may indicate carbon monoxide poisoning. Alabama Governor Kay Ivey said two Alabamians had lost their lives, and Birmingham fire chief Cory Moon said one person died when a tree fell on a house in the city. The New York Times separately reported a fatal crash involving fallen trees in Barbour County, Alabama.

Power outages were still widespread on Saturday. Inews reported nearly 700,000 customers without power by midday in four states, while Ouest France put the midday figures at 420,000 in Florida and 205,000 in Alabama. DeSantis put the Florida figure at 430,000 affected connections, according to FAZ, and the Alabama emergency agency cited 200,000 outages.

Energy production shut in

ORF reported that 69 percent of Gulf of Mexico oil output and 57 percent of natural gas output remained shut in on Saturday. Of the production platforms, 113 remained evacuated, equal to 30 percent of the facilities. To offset supply losses, the US Energy Department released up to four million barrels of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Shell and Chevron began sending staff back to their platforms to ramp up production gradually.

Flooding and the storm track

Forecasters warned that flooding could stretch into the southern Appalachians. DeSantis said on Saturday that the threat was far from over.

Sometimes these things happen a day or two days after the storm goes through. So the flooding story is not over.

The NHC's latest bulletin, timed 17:00, said flash flooding remained possible, especially northeast Georgia, around Atlanta and in western North and South Carolina. Some tornadoes were possible in eastern Georgia and both Carolinas, according to Ouest France. SRF reported the storm moving toward Alabama and Tennessee with winds of up to 100 kilometers per hour, and FAZ listed Georgia, Mississippi and Tennessee among the states that may feel its effects.

Evacuations and the wider season

Alabama Governor Kay Ivey ordered tourists and visitors evacuated from several coastal communities, including Gulf Shores, Orange Beach and Dauphin Island, according to SRF. Florida residents in especially vulnerable coastal areas were also asked to leave. Maranie Adams, who rode out the storm with her husband, two adult sons and their chickens in Gulf Shores, said the winds rocked their home but were nothing like Hurricane Sally, which left 2 feet of water under their elevated house.

I feel very much more relieved today.

Isaias is the first hurricane of the 2026 Atlantic season, according to ORF. In Mexico, FAZ reported that Hurricane Simon, rated Category 4, was expected to keep its strength and approach the western Pacific coast to just over 30 kilometers by Sunday evening. Forecasters expected winds of up to 240 kilometers per hour near its center and waves 6 to 8 meters high.