Tropical cyclone Isaias threatens flooding across US after Florida landfall; four dead

Four people died in the southeastern United States as posttropical cyclone Isaias threatened flooding and tornado risks Saturday as it moved northward after making landfall on Floridas Gulf CoastIsaias roared ashore late Friday as a Category 2 hurricane near the resort community of Destin packing sustained winds of 105 miles 165 kilometers per hour before weakening overnight the National Hurricane Center NHC saidIt was the first hurricane of an Atlantic season tamed by a historic El Nino weather phenomenon and the first hurricane since 2024 to hit the US mainlandIn Mary Esther a coastal community near Destin Matt Howard said he was fortunate the storm weakened ahead of landfallDespite losing power and having his neighbors metal shed crash into his backyard overall we were okay he told AFPWe hunkered down got in the center of our house and did all the things youre supposed to do and luckily came out on the other side he saidOfficials reported at least four deaths related to the storm including two from trees falling on homes one near Pensacola in Florida and another in Birmingham AlabamaAFP reporters saw overturned vehicles downed trees and power lines and numerous buildings with damaged roofsStreets along the coast were largely deserted after authorities ordered mandatory evacuations ahead of the stormFlorida Governor Ron DeSantis warned at a briefing Saturday afternoon that threats remained even though the storm had passedJust be careful out there Downed power lines standing water any of that can be very very hazardous Dont run any generators inside your home or inside your garage he saidThe governors warning came after a man was found dead in Florida earlier in the day with a generator running in his garage CNN reportedAround 440000 US customers were without electricity Saturday night along the storms path through Florida Alabama and Georgia according to the PowerOutagecom trackerThe US Department of Energy on Saturday authorized the release of up to four million barrels of reserve crude to stave off the impact of Isaiass path through the Gulf coast region the countrys oil refining hubFlood risksA major flood threat remained as the storm headed northward and inland The NHC warned that some areas could see upwards of 10 inches 25 centimeters of rainConsiderable flash flooding and landslides are also possible across the Southern Appalachians it warned in a briefingThe threat was particularly worrying in the mountains of North Carolina where communities are still recovering from hurricane Helene of 2024That storm made landfall in the same Florida region as Isaias but remained at tropical storm strength as it moved northward dumping record amounts of rainfall into the mountains and leading to deadly floodingIsaiass late arrival this season is largely due to an El Nino of historic strengthEl Nino the warm phase of the El NinoSouthern Oscillation ENSO creates strong vertical wind shear over the Atlantic that tends to tear storms apartWe have been seeing basically nearly record strong shear throughout the Atlantic Basin this year and that is consistent with what wed expect to see with a strong El Nino event Michael Fischer of the University of Miamis Rosenstiel School of Marine Atmospheric and Earth Science told AFPIn the Pacific it has the opposite effect weakening shear and allowing storms to grow The Pacific has already produced several hurricanes this year some of which hit maximum Category 5 strengthMexicos Baja California and the bordering US state of California were bracing for the landfall of the weakening posttropical cyclone Rachel expected late Saturday as the much stronger Hurricane Simon was anticipated to make landfall Sunday in western MexicoThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever