10/12/2026
🌀 Hurricane Isaias made landfall near Destin, Florida, on Friday, October 9, as a Category 2 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of approximately 105 mph. The storm brought destructive winds, heavy rainfall, flash flooding, storm surge and tornadoes across portions of the Southeast before weakening and moving north.
Florida’s Panhandle received the storm’s most severe hurricane impacts. Flooded roads, damaged roofs, fallen trees and downed power lines were reported around Destin, Pensacola and surrounding communities. Pensacola also experienced damage to its airport and other infrastructure. As of Monday, more than 149,000 Florida homes and businesses remained without power, with Escambia, Santa Rosa and Walton counties reporting the largest numbers of outages.
Across Florida, Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi, approximately 670,000 customers were without power following landfall. At least four storm-related deaths have been reported, including fatalities caused by trees falling onto homes. Isaias also disrupted travel, damaged utilities and left many roads blocked by trees, flooding and storm debris.
In Georgia, the storm brought widespread tree and power-line damage. Cherokee County reported 43 road closures and four homes damaged by falling trees. Trees also struck homes in Brookhaven and DeKalb County, while additional damage and outages were reported throughout metro Atlanta and North Georgia. At one point, Georgia Power and Georgia EMC reported tens of thousands of customers without electricity.
Eastern Georgia experienced some of the storm’s most serious damage. The National Weather Service confirmed an EF0 tornado near Captolo in Screven County and an EF1 tornado near Newington, with winds estimated at 105 mph. The EF1 traveled nearly 7.5 miles, uprooting and snapping trees, substantially damaging a mobile home and crushing several vehicles. Additional tornado damage assessments are continuing in Bulloch and Burke counties. Preliminary reports near Waynesboro described several destroyed homes, overturned farm equipment and extensive tree and power-line damage.
Although Isaias has moved out of Georgia and there are currently no active Atlantic tropical cyclones, recovery and damage assessments are still underway. The storm is another reminder that property damage can extend far beyond the point of landfall—especially from falling trees, prolonged winds, interior water intrusion, flooding and tornadoes.
If your property was affected, photograph and video all damage before cleanup when it is safe to do so. Document fallen trees, roof and siding damage, the exact location where water entered, damaged belongings and every emergency repair. Save receipts for tarping, tree removal, temporary housing and other storm-related expenses.
