Hurricane Isaias struck the Florida Panhandle near Destin as a Category 2 storm with 105 mph winds before weakening, causing widespread power outages.
Hurricane Isaias made landfall near Destin in the Florida Panhandle late Friday as a Category 2 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center.
The storm had earlier reached Category 3 strength over the Gulf of Mexico but weakened before coming ashore, yet still brought life-threatening storm surge, heavy rain and damaging winds to coastal areas of Florida and Alabama.
Hundreds of thousands of customers lost power across Florida and Alabama as the system moved inland, with outages concentrated in the Panhandle and southern Alabama counties.
Officials had ordered evacuations in vulnerable coastal zones and deployed National Guard troops, while oil and gas production in the Gulf was partially shut in ahead of the storm.
By early Saturday the system had weakened further to a post-tropical cyclone as it tracked northeast, with residual flooding and wind risks expected through the weekend.
People Sentiments Negative
- Residents reported boarding up homes and evacuating
- Officials urged sheltering in place and cautioned against travel
- Power companies mobilized crews for restoration