Hurricane Isaias made landfall near Destin Friday night as a Category 2 storm with 105 mph winds, and the toll is now at least four lives: two in the Florida Panhandle and two in Alabama. One Florida man died when a tree fell onto his home. Another died after breathing generator fumes inside a garage. Hundreds of thousands of customers across the Gulf Coast are still without power, and flooding plus high surf continue to threaten the Panhandle shoreline as cleanup gets underway.
The recovery effort is already substantial. More than 5,000 utility crews from nearly 25 states are assisting with power restoration, and more than 140 American Red Cross volunteers have deployed across the region. Alabama officials lifted an evacuation order for nonresidents in parts of Mobile and Baldwin counties once the storm tracked north, but conditions along the coast remain hazardous.
For those of us on the Suncoast, this is a good week to close the gaps in our own storm plans. Test your generator outside and away from windows, confirm your evacuation zone, restock water and medications, and photograph your home and belongings for insurance purposes. If you want to help the Panhandle, a donation to the Red Cross is the most direct route. What’s the one thing you always forget to restock before a storm?
