CBS News and NBC News reported at least four deaths from Hurricane Isaias, which came ashore near Destin, Florida, on Friday night as a Category 2 hurricane and weakened within hours to a post-tropical cyclone. A wire report carried by GMA News, citing local authorities and electricity-monitoring services, said about 670,000 customers were without power in Florida, Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi. A local station, WVTM, reported a tree falling on a Birmingham, Alabama, home and killing one person. The New York Times said towns near landfall were relieved that damage was not worse, with fallen trees and power cuts instead of catastrophic flooding, and that flash floods now threaten parts of the Southeast. NBC reported millions still under threat of torrential rain, flooding and tornadoes. Bloomberg Intelligence’s insurance analyst told Bloomberg Television that insured losses could reach the single-digit billions of dollars. Bloomberg reported on Friday that nearly three-quarters of Gulf of Mexico oil output was shut in.
The wind has eased but the rain has not, and flash floods and downed power lines are what hurt people after a hurricane weakens. The storm also hit a fuel market that is already tight, with diesel near a record, so a slow restart of Gulf production would be felt at the pump.
In Florida, Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi, stay off flooded roads, treat downed lines as live and check your utility’s outage map. Elsewhere, expect oil and fuel futures to react first when trading reopens Sunday evening, and pump prices to follow if shut-ins last.
Weakening before landfall and Florida’s stronger building codes kept damage below the early fears, as the Times and Bloomberg Intelligence described.
A lower death toll is not the same as little harm. Inland flooding is still arriving, 670,000 customers have no power, and the oil restart is unscheduled.
Do not treat the storm as over because the winds eased. On Sunday, watch rainfall and river levels, the pace of power restoration, any additional confirmed deaths and the first insurer and state damage counts. The oil number to watch is how many shut-in platforms get the all-clear. Ignore unsourced maps.
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Isaias weakens to a post-tropical storm after killing four. About 670,000 customers are without power in four states
The hurricane that came ashore near Destin on Friday night spared the Florida Panhandle its worst, but flash flooding is now the danger inland. An insurance analyst expects single-digit billions in insured losses, and Gulf oil platforms have no restart date.
Hurricane Isaias killed at least four people in Florida and Alabama and left about 670,000 customers without power in Florida, Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi, according to a wire report carried by GMA News that cited local authorities and electricity-monitoring services. CBS News and NBC News also put the toll at four. The storm came ashore near Destin on Friday night as a Category 2 hurricane and weakened within hours to a post-tropical cyclone, CBS reported. A local station, WVTM, said a tree fell on a Birmingham, Alabama, home overnight and killed one person, and another Alabama outlet reported two deaths in the state; we have not seen all four deaths itemized. The New York Times described towns near landfall as relieved: beachside communities lost trees and power but avoided catastrophic flooding. The danger has moved inland, where the Times said parts of the Southeast face flash floods and NBC reported millions still under threat of torrential rain, flooding and tornadoes. NPR noted numerous downed trees. Forecasters leaned heavily on artificial-intelligence weather models this week, the Times reported, and on Saturday it asked whether the forecasts held up. Bloomberg Intelligence’s insurance analyst told Bloomberg Television that insured losses could reach the single-digit billions of dollars, with Florida’s stronger building codes likely to limit damage. That is an analyst’s estimate, not a tally.
Oil is the open question. Bloomberg reported on Friday that nearly three-quarters of Gulf of Mexico crude output was shut in ahead of the storm, and we found no official restart timetable. Futures trading reopens Sunday evening. West Texas Intermediate closed Friday at $91.85 a barrel, and the Japan Times has reported diesel prices near a record. Two other storms are running alongside it. CBS reported that Hurricane Simon strengthened into a Category 4 storm aimed at Mexico, and the Los Angeles Times said Tropical Storm Rachel’s surf drove residents out in Long Beach and shut beaches in Newport Beach, in Southern California. Life went on in Isaias’s path: Georgia and Alabama still played their football game Saturday night, Yahoo Sports and USA Today reported, and ESPN said President Trump skipped it because of the hurricane. Sunday’s questions are practical. How fast does the rain move out, how many homes get power back, are more deaths confirmed, and when do offshore platforms restart? Treat unsourced maps and screenshots with care, and follow the National Weather Service and your county emergency office.