Hurricane Isaias batters Florida, leaves over 700,000 without power as Pensacola reports damage

New Delhi: Hurricane Isaias battered Florida’s Panhandle on Friday night, damaging buildings, uprooting trees and bringing down power lines as powerful winds swept through Pensacola and neighbouring coastal areas. The storm disrupted transport and left more than 726,000 electricity customers without power across Florida and Alabama before weakening as it moved inland on Saturday.

The storm made landfall near Destin at about 8.30pm local time on Friday as a category 2 hurricane, with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph (165 kmph), the US National Hurricane Center confirmed. A weather station near Pensacola recorded a 100 mph (161 kmph) gust, while a gauge at Panama City Beach measured water levels 5.6 feet (1.7m) above the mean higher high water level.

Pensacola damage disrupts transport

In Pensacola, police urged residents to stay off debris-strewn roads as fallen trees and power lines obstructed travel. Social media footage showed the roof being torn from an inn, according to the Associated Press, although the wider extent of damage was still being assessed.
Floodwater covered roads in nearby Destin. Florida authorities confirmed that Pensacola International Airport and Destin Fort Walton Beach Airport suspended commercial operations, while the port of Pensacola closed its land and waterside facilities.

More than 726,000 customers were without electricity across Florida and Alabama early Saturday, according to outage tracking figures cited by the Associated Press. Some counties temporarily suspended emergency responses because conditions had become too dangerous for rescue crews.

Evacuations ordered as authorities mobilize

Florida declared an emergency in 27 counties and activated about 5,000 National Guard personnel. More than 16,000 electricity restoration workers were placed on standby, while special-needs shelters opened in six counties, according to state authorities.
Santa Rosa County ordered residents of evacuation zones A, B and C, along with those living in low-lying areas and mobile homes, to leave.

“The storm is here. Buckle down at this point. Don’t be getting out on the roads,” Florida’s governor, Ron DeSantis, warned on Friday.

By 1am Saturday, Isaias had weakened into a post-tropical cyclone over southern Alabama, with maximum sustained winds of 65 mph (105 kmph), after previously reaching category 3 hurricane strength offshore. The National Hurricane Center warned that rainfall of four to eight inches (10 to 20cm), with isolated totals reaching 15 inches (38cm), could trigger flash, urban and river flooding across parts of Florida, Alabama and Georgia, while the threat of tornadoes extended into the Carolinas.

Federal emergency declarations were approved for Florida and Alabama. Authorities warned that damage assessments and road clearance would depend on conditions becoming safe for emergency crews.