Hurricane Isaias leaves four dead and 500000 without power in US

At least four people have died and 500,000 customers lost power after Hurricane Isaias struck the US Gulf Coast late on Friday before weakening, according to reports by BBC News and the Guardian. The storm made landfall in the Florida panhandle as a category 2 hurricane before moving over Alabama and weakening to a post-tropical cyclone. [1][2][4][5]

BBC News reported that Isaias made landfall with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph (168 km/h). The Guardian added that governors in Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi declared states of emergency ahead of the storm. [1][4][5]

Authorities confirmed two deaths each in Florida and Alabama. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said one person died in Florida after a tree fell on their home, while the Guardian reported a second victim was found dead in a garage with a generator running. Governor Kay Ivey of Alabama confirmed two deaths in that state, where BBC News reported one victim was killed by a falling tree. [1][2]

Outages affected several states, with electricity tracker PowerOutage reporting 500,000 people without power as of Saturday evening, according to BBC News. EnergyNow.com reported that the storm shut down 72 percent of offshore oil production in the region. [1][6]

The storm felled trees, tore roofs off buildings, and flooded highways before beginning to clear on Saturday, the Guardian reported. Local officials noted that search and rescue requests had ceased as the region began reopening. [1][2][4]