At least four people have died and hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses remain without power after Hurricane Isaias struck the United States Gulf Coast, leaving flooded streets, fallen trees and damaged buildings across parts of Florida and Alabama.
The storm came ashore near Destin, Florida, late on Friday as a Category 2 hurricane with winds of about 105mph (169km/h), according to Florida emergency officials. By Saturday it had weakened into a post-tropical cyclone, but authorities warned that the danger had not passed.
Reuters reported four deaths following the hurricane, including fatalities linked to trees falling on homes. The reported toll had risen from initial accounts of two deaths as damage assessments continued.
Flooding and power failures
Photographs from affected Gulf Coast communities showed standing floodwater, fallen trees and damaged equipment as residents emerged to assess the impact. In some areas, debris and downed power lines made travel hazardous.
About 670,000 electricity customers in Florida, Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi remained without power at a point on Saturday, according to figures reported by Reuters from outage tracking services. The figures were changing as restoration crews worked.
Florida officials said around 16,000 utility workers had been prepared for restoration efforts, while emergency teams moved to reopen highways and bridges and assess infrastructure damage.
Danger persists after landfall
The National Hurricane Center continued to warn of flash flooding, damaging winds and possible tornadoes as the system pushed inland across the southeastern United States.
In Alabama, authorities warned that fallen trees and power lines made roads unsafe, while Florida officials urged residents to avoid unnecessary journeys during the recovery. Pensacola's airport was reported damaged and closed to commercial flights.
The storm also disrupted offshore energy production in the Gulf of Mexico. Oil and gas companies began returning staff to installations as conditions improved, although substantial production remained shut in on Saturday.
Federal emergency declarations for Florida and Alabama were intended to support the response. For residents facing damaged property and prolonged outages, the immediate priorities remained safety, access to essential supplies and restoration of power.
