Isaias Pushes Inland: 600,000-Plus Outages Across Three States as Federal Emergency Aid Approved for Florida and Alabama
Hurricane Isaias continued pushing inland after landfall. The National Hurricane Center's early-October 10 advisory kept the storm at Category 1 strength with maximum sustained winds near 90 mph as it crossed the Florida Panhandle moving north; a storm surge warning remained in effect from Dauphin Island to the Suwannee River, with flash-flood and tornado risks continuing across the Panhandle and southern Alabama into Saturday.
Power outages across three states topped 600,000 customers — roughly 375,000 in Florida, 215,000 in Alabama and more than 10,000 in Georgia — with about 70% of customers in Escambia County, home to Pensacola, in the dark at one point. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said search-and-rescue and debris-removal teams would mobilize from 3 a.m. CT on October 10 and urged residents to stay off the roads and away from downed lines and flooded streets.
At the federal level, the President approved emergency declarations for Florida and Alabama: FEMA is authorized to coordinate federal relief, with 27 Florida counties plus Alabama's Baldwin, Escambia and Mobile counties and the Poarch Band of Creek Indians eligible for direct federal assistance for emergency protective measures at 75% federal funding, with further designations possible as damage is assessed.
(Source: National Hurricane Center, FEMA and Florida Governor's Office announcements; Reuters and FOX Weather tallies)
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: Puddin Tain, CC BY-SA 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
