JOEL ROSE, HOST:
Hurricane Isaias made landfall near Destin, Florida, as a Category 2 Hurricane last night. It is now a post-tropical storm, and its remnants are moving toward the Tennessee Valley. NPR's Sergio Martínez-Beltrán is in Pensacola Beach, Florida, and he's joining us now. Hey, Sergio.
SERGIO MARTÍNEZ-BELTRÁN, BYLINE: Hey, Joel.
ROSE: So how are things in the Florida panhandle where you are?
MARTÍNEZ-BELTRÁN: Yeah, I mean, the crazy thing is that the sun is out, but Hurricane Isaias left quite a trail of destruction and disruption. Here in Pensacola Beach, some homes were severely damaged. I saw some that lost walls and roofs. There is some localized flooding in the Florida panhandle and the Alabama coasts, and at least four people have died because of the storm, including two in Pensacola and two others in Alabama. A couple of those deaths came as a result of falling trees.
But Joel, this storm has been weird. It shifted and made landfall in Destin, Florida, as a Category 2 hurricane, and the storm surge was not as bad as expected. It ended up being about 5 feet under the forecasted 6 to 9 feet. But in that area, things are relatively okay. I mean, there's damage and falling trees, but people are safe.
ROSE: OK, so what have people told you in Destin?
MARTÍNEZ-BELTRÁN: Many of them are surprised. Hurricane Isaias made landfall in their town. Tim Aselton is a retired firefighter who lives on the water. He stayed for the storm, and he says the 105 mile per hour winds Isaias was packing were scary.
TIM ASELTON: About 5 hours, I guess, continuous pounding. But it was crazy. It was coming out of the Northeast, and it just wouldn't quit. I could feel my sliders flexing. You know, there was a couple of points in time where it was really bad.
MARTÍNEZ-BELTRÁN: He stayed in Destin to take care of his boat and his neighbor's boats. Luckily, the boats and the neighbors are OK. But, you know, Joel, Hurricane Isaias has been super disruptive too. Earlier today, nearly 900,000 people in Georgia, Alabama and right here in Florida were without power, me included, and also Larry Baker. I met him outside his house as he was clearing some debris from his front yard. He told me I got him right before his beer break.
LARRY BAKER: No power, no cell phone, no landline, nothing. My daughter's coming down from Little Rock, 10-hour drive, and I was trying to call her, tell her not to come, but you can't talk to anybody (laughter).
MARTÍNEZ-BELTRÁN: But Baker could get power soon. Florida governor Ron DeSantis says some 16,000 utility workers were busy trying to get power returned to homeowners.
ROSE: Hurricane Isaias came kind of late in the season, didn't it?
MARTÍNEZ-BELTRÁN: Yes, pretty late. I mean, it's the first hurricane of the Atlantic hurricane season. Think about it. The season runs from June to November, and here we are in October having the first one. Part of it is because El Nino, a naturally occurring climate pattern, that has suppressed hurricanes in the Atlantic. And I think it's also important to note, Joel, that this is the first hurricane to hit the U.S. since 2024. So folks here in Florida, particularly the government officials, were worried about its potential magnitude.
ROSE: Isaias is now a post-tropical storm. Briefly, tell us, what do you expect as it continues to move inland?
MARTÍNEZ-BELTRÁN: People should expect a lot of rain, especially those in Tennessee and Georgia. Again, there are concerns of flash flooding in some of these areas, but the good news is that it is expected to dissipate tomorrow.
ROSE: That is NPR's Sergio Martínez-Beltrán in Pensacola Beach, Florida. Thank you very much, Sergio.
MARTÍNEZ-BELTRÁN: You're welcome.
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