DeSantis Gives Major Update on Hurricane Isaias

This GOES-19 GeoColor satellite image provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and taken at 1:06 p.m. EDT, Friday, Oct. 9 2026, shows Hurricane Isaias approaching the Gulf Coast of Alabama and Florida. NOAA via AP

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis confirmed that hundreds of thousands of people were without power after Hurricane Isaias made landfall near Destin, Florida, as a Category 2 storm on Oct. 9.

DeSantis told reporters during a press conference on Saturday that 448,000 people in Florida were without power as of 7 a.m. In addition, over 320,000 people in Alabama and over 125,000 people in Georgia were without power on Saturday morning, according to poweroutage.us.

After making landfall near Destin, Hurricane Isaias moved north through the Florida Panhandle and has since affected states including Alabama and Georgia.

The hurricane produced wind gusts of up to 116 miles per hour near Santa Rosa Sound and over 100 miles per hour near Pensacola and Panama City Beach, according to DeSantis. The governor said water levels were roughly 5.5 feet higher than normal as a result of the storm.

As of 5 a.m. on Saturday, Hurricane Isaias had weakened to a post-tropical cyclone with sustained winds of approximately 35 miles per hour.

“Although the center of the storm has moved out of Florida, the threat of flooding remains,” DeSantis said, adding that rain totals of four to eight inches were expected in Florida’s Panhandle and Big Bend areas over the weekend.

DeSantis told reporters that the state’s search-and-rescue teams were ready to carry out operations in affected communities in Florida and would prioritize areas experiencing “significant flooding and storm damage.”

“We have not yet received any request for search and rescue deployment, and I take that as an optimistic sign, but our resources are prepared in the event that the need arises, particularly with respect to any flooding that may occur on the back end of this storm,” he said.

The governor said that Interstate 10, U.S. Route 98, and all of Florida’s state-owned bridges had been reopened by Saturday morning.

In a Saturday advisory on social media, the National Hurricane Center said heavy rainfall associated with the remnants of Hurricane Isaias is expected to spread northward into the Tennessee Valley, the Southern Appalachians, and the Southeast.

The National Hurricane Center warned that flash flooding, urban flooding, and landslides were possible in the affected areas.

Hurricane Isaias marked the Atlantic’s first hurricane of the season, which began on June 1.

This is a developing story that will be updated.

T.J. Muscaro contributed to this report.