Eleven days after Hurricane Isaias made landfall near Destin, Florida, communities across the Florida Panhandle, Alabama, Georgia and the Carolinas are still cleaning up. Isaias, the first hurricane of the 2026 Atlantic season and the first to make landfall in the United States since Milton in 2024, came ashore around 8:30 p.m. CDT on October 9 as a Category 2 storm with 105 mph winds, after peaking at Category 3 over the Gulf. It spawned 24 tornadoes as it moved inland, rated up to EF2.
The toll
Isaias killed nine people: six in Florida, two in Alabama and one in Greenwood County, South Carolina. About 900,000 customers lost power, including about 450,000 in Florida, more than 300,000 in Alabama and more than 126,000 in Georgia. Damage is estimated at more than $2 billion. Santa Rosa County, Florida, reported about 100 structures destroyed and 400 severely damaged, with about $250 million in damage, and Escambia County estimated about $64 million in damage to county buildings.
Declarations and federal aid
Florida declared a state of emergency for 25 counties and Alabama for 40, and Georgia also declared one. Federal declarations cover government response costs, but as of October 14 it had not been determined whether FEMA individual assistance would be made available to households.
Relief on the ground
The American Red Cross opened 21 shelters that housed more than 1,000 people across the Gulf Coast. The Salvation Army deployed canteens in Escambia County, Pensacola, Fort Walton Beach, Panama City and Mobile, and Samaritan's Purse sent a team of about 80 people and has logged more than 1,000 work orders. World Central Kitchen is responding in Florida and Alabama, and Operation Blessing served meals at Brownsville Church in Pensacola. Find more groups at Disaster Relief Organizations.
To help families recovering from the storm, visit the Hurricane Isaias disaster page and donate to the organizations responding.
