The governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, warned this Saturday that the danger is not over for the northwest part of the state, even though Hurricane Isaiah has already left the area: the rainfall expected in the next 24 to 48 hours could trigger serious flooding in the Panhandle and Big Bend region, where the system left a trail of destruction after making landfall the previous night near Destin as a Category 2 hurricane.
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) downgraded Isaias to a post-tropical cyclone at 5:00 a.m. this Saturday, with sustained winds of only 55 km/h, but maintained alerts for rainfall of between 25 and 51 millimeters additional in northern Florida and warns that river flooding in the western Panhandle will peak between this Saturday and Sunday.
"Although the center of the system has moved away from Florida, the threat of flooding remains," DeSantis warned in his morning press conference.
The governor emphasized that this type of flooding typically occurs one or two days after the hurricane passes, which is why authorities have search and rescue teams from the National Guard and other state agencies deployed.
During the impact, water levels in Panama City Beach exceeded normal values by approximately 1.68 meters, with gusts recorded at up to 187 km/h near Santa Rosa Sound and over 160 km/h in the vicinity of Pensacola.
The electrical balance at dawn was devastating: 448,000 accounts without service in Florida, according to data reported by DeSantis at 7:00 a.m.
Out of that total, 323,000 were FPL customers and 110,000 were from various cooperatives in the northwest of the state. The hardest-hit counties were Santa Rosa, with 90% of its customers without electricity, followed by Holmes (89%), Washington (86%), Walton (85%), Escambia (75%), and Okaloosa (53%).
To face the blackouts, more than 16,000 electrical workers had been pre-positioned before the impact. Crews began operating in the early hours of the morning, while personnel from the Florida Department of Transportation and the Highway Patrol started clearing operations at 3:00 a.m.
By 6:00 a.m., all state bridges had been inspected and reopened, and the main highways — Interstate 10 and US 98 — were operational.
The hurricane left at least one fatality in Florida. Although DeSantis noted in his conference that the state had not yet confirmed any deaths, the sheriff of Escambia County, Chip Simmons, later confirmed the death of a woman whose home was crushed by a tree in the Cordova area, near Scenic Highway, around 8:48 p.m. on Friday.
A second victim was reported in Birmingham, Alabama, where a tree fell on a house in the Huffman area. The regional outage tally exceeded 800,000 customers without electricity across Florida, Alabama, and Georgia.
Authorities also warned about scams that proliferate after hurricanes. The state prosecutor's office alerted the public to abusive price increases in fuel, food, and supplies, as well as unlicensed contractors coming from other states offering roof repairs.
Additionally, fraudulent text messages claiming to be tree removal services coordinated with insurance companies have been reported. "These appear to be scams. Do not respond," stated the prosecutor's office, which urged reporting any irregularities at myfloridalegal.com.
Regarding federal aid, President Trump approved an emergency declaration for 27 counties in Florida prior to the impact, and DeSantis confirmed that he spoke with the FEMA administrator.
However, the governor acknowledged that access to additional federal reimbursements will depend on whether the damages exceed the required thresholds, and he admitted that Florida does not have its own state program for individual assistance equivalent to the federal one.
"The account of the floods is not over, and that is part of the reason why we are not demobilizing our search and rescue teams," concluded DeSantis.
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