Hurricane Isaias makes US landfall, kills four and cuts power to 365,000

Hurricane Isaias made landfall near Destin, Florida, on Friday night as a Category 2 storm with winds of 105 mph. The storm rapidly weakened to a post-tropical cyclone as it moved inland through Alabama, according to the National Hurricane Center. At least four people were killed across the affected states. In Florida's Escambia County, two people died: one was crushed by a falling tree, and another was found in a closed garage with a running generator. In Alabama, one person in Birmingham died when a tree fell on a home, and another person died in Barbour County.

Hurricane Isaias was the first hurricane of the 2026 Atlantic season and the fourth named storm to make landfall in the United States this year. The storm knocked out power to roughly 365,000 people across Alabama and Florida and caused extensive flooding on highways in the Florida Panhandle. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis warned residents against running generators indoors, citing the danger of carbon monoxide poisoning. Alabama Governor Kay Ivey expressed frustration with the storm's impact.

Official forecasts indicated that rivers in the region could continue to rise over the coming days, prolonging flood risks. Meteorologists warned that tornadoes remained possible as the system moved into the Tennessee Valley.