Hurricane Isaias leaves at least four dead as it moves across the southeastern US
Hurricane Isaias, which hit the US coast in the Florida Panhandle on Friday, has weakened into a post-tropical cyclone but still brings heavy rain and wind. At least four people have died, according to US media, and hundreds of thousands of customers have lost power.
At least four people have died after Hurricane Isaias made landfall on Friday evening near the city of Destin, in the Florida Panhandle in the northwest of the US state of Florida. It struck as a Category 2 storm with winds of 105 mph (around 169 kph). It has since weakened into a post-tropical cyclone, but as it pushes further inland, forecasters are warning of flooding and tornado risks across the southeastern United States.
Deaths and warnings
According to US media reports, two people died in Florida's Escambia County and two in Alabama. The US National Hurricane Center said on Saturday night that heavy rain was likely to continue across the region overnight, and warned of possible flash and urban flooding as well as high winds.
The Center said swells from the storm would continue to affect much of the Gulf coasts of the United States, Mexico and western Cuba over the weekend, likely causing life-threatening surf and rip currents. It also warned that tornadoes were possible across eastern Georgia and the Carolinas.
Power outages
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said on Saturday that more than 430,000 customers in the state were without power. Tracking website PowerOutage.com showed that the figure had fallen to around 323,000 by early Sunday morning. The site also listed more than 80,000 outages in Alabama, over 11,000 in Georgia and roughly 11,000 in North Carolina.
DeSantis said the main problem in Florida had been high winds bringing down trees, damaging buildings and scattering debris. Video circulating on social media shows torrential rain in the state and extensive damage to buildings, with some roofs torn off.
