Residents across the southeastern United States have begun cleanup after Isaias, the first tropical cyclone of the 2026 Atlantic season, made landfall near Destin, Florida, on Friday.
According to data from PowerOutage.com, an independent tracking site, about 356,000 customers were still without power in southern Alabama and northwestern Florida as of mid-afternoon Sunday. At its peak, the storm knocked out electricity for nearly 800,000 homes and businesses along the Gulf Coast.
Sarah Gatewood, a spokesperson for utility Florida Power and Light (FPL), said crews from across Florida and more than two dozen other states had been mobilized to restore the grid.
At least four deaths have been linked to Isaias after the storm came ashore as a Category 2 hurricane on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale.
The storm moved north into Alabama on Saturday with tropical-storm-force winds before weakening into a post-tropical cyclone and continuing north toward the Appalachian range. Though its strength is fading, the storm continued to threaten the mid-Atlantic region with flash flooding.
According to the National Weather Service (NWS), surface observations show Isaias currently has maximum sustained winds of 160 km/h (100 mph) and an estimated minimum central pressure of 28.88 inches, equivalent to 978 millibars.
In Florida and Alabama, residents reported damage from the storm's high-speed winds. A Rest and Relax Inn hotel in the resort city of Pensacola, Florida, lost its roof, and a boat storage facility in Destin was flattened.
The immediate struggle for basic necessities was most evident in Pensacola, at the far western end of the Florida Panhandle, where the storm collapsed the power grid and caused widespread structural damage. Hundreds of cars lined up around a distribution point run by the United Cajun Navy, a volunteer disaster relief organization, on Saturday morning.
Pensacola Mayor DC Reeves warned of a severe drinking water shortage after the storm, as wells and water supply infrastructure were affected. He said residents remained under a boil-water advisory for tap water before use.
"We are entering day three of our hurricane response and recovery operations, and remain focused on public safety, debris cleanup, and restoring infrastructure and essential services," Reeves said on social media.
Isaias also forced Pensacola International Airport, Florida's 10th-largest airport, to close indefinitely due to severe damage.
In Houston County, Alabama, downed trees and power lines continued to make travel dangerous. According to state emergency response officials, the county remained under an emergency flash flood warning.
"Due to the impacts of Hurricane Isaias, all roads in Houston County are closed until further notice," the agency posted on X.
