Hurricane Isaias made landfall near Destin, Florida, on Friday evening as a Category 2 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph (165 km/h), the US National Weather Service said, before weakening as it moved inland through Alabama overnight.
Officials said on Saturday that at least four people had died as a result of the storm — two in Florida and two in Alabama.
In Florida's Escambia County, a woman was killed when a tree fell on her home, Escambia County Sheriff Chip W. Simmons said. A second death in the county involved a man found in a closed garage with a running generator; authorities attributed the death to carbon monoxide poisoning. Four of the man's relatives, aged between 4 and 72, received medical treatment and were expected to survive.
In Alabama, one person died when a tree fell on a house in Birmingham, city fire chief Cory Moon said. A second storm-related death in the state was attributed to a vehicle crash involving a fallen tree in Barbour County, according to Josh Johnson of the state emergency management agency.
The storm left hundreds of thousands of customers without electricity across Florida, Alabama and Georgia. Estimates varied by tracker and time of day, ranging from roughly 400,000 to more than 900,000 at the peak of the outages.
Strong winds tore the roof off a hotel in Pensacola, Florida, and the city's mayor said the local airport had "suffered some damage." The storm also downed trees and power lines across the city, leaving some residents without electricity and roads blocked.
By Saturday morning, Isaias had been downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone with winds of about 35 mph (55 km/h), but the National Hurricane Center warned that it remained dangerous, bringing heavy rain, flash flooding and possible tornadoes as it moved over Tennessee and Kentucky toward West Virginia.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis cautioned that the flood risk would remain high even after the storm had passed. "Sometimes these things happen one or two days after the storm passes," he said. "So the flooding situation is not over."
DeSantis also warned residents to stay away from downed power lines and standing water, and not to run generators inside homes or garages.
Parts of Georgia and the Carolinas could see up to 10 inches (25 cm) of rain, though totals of 3 to 6 inches (7 to 15 cm) were more likely, forecasters said.
Confirmed at this stage: the landfall location and intensity, the four reported deaths and their stated causes, widespread power outages, and structural damage including the Pensacola hotel roof and airport.
What remains unclear: the full extent of property damage, the precise number of customers still without power as restoration proceeds, and whether additional storm-related deaths or injuries will be reported.
Awaited updates: continued National Hurricane Center advisories on flooding and tornado risk through the weekend, official damage assessments from Florida and Alabama, and updated power restoration figures from utility trackers.