Isaias Leaves Two Dead in Alabama, Cleanup Underway
A falling tree killed a Birmingham resident. A Barbour County driver also died as crews worked to restore power and clear roads.
TL;DR: Two Alabamians died as Isaias swept inland, leaving damaged homes, blocked roads and widespread power outages. Two deaths were also reported in Florida’s Panhandle.
Two people died in Alabama as Hurricane Isaias swept through the state early Saturday, leaving crews to clear fallen trees, repair power lines and reopen roads.
In Birmingham, a resident died when a tree fell onto a home in the city’s Huffman area. Another person was rescued from the house and treated at the scene, according to WAKA Action 8 News. The reports reviewed did not identify the victim.
Birmingham Fire Chief Cory Moon told The Associated Press that crews responded around 5:00 AM to a report of a tree falling onto a structure with people trapped inside. One person was pronounced dead.
Alabama’s second death involved a driver in Barbour County whose vehicle wrecked in an incident involving fallen trees. The driver was taken to a medical facility in Dale County and died there, the Alabama Reflector reported, citing the Alabama Emergency Management Agency.
“This storm cannot clear fast enough,” Governor Kay Ivey said in a Saturday statement carried by WAKA. She thanked crews clearing debris and restoring electricity, mourned the two deaths and urged residents to use care during cleanup.
Power restoration remained a major task Saturday evening. About 80,000 Alabama customers were still without electricity as of 2:00 AM Sunday, according to PowerOutage.us data. Most outages were in the southern half of the State.
Road hazards lingered. Ivey’s Saturday statement identified a stretch of U.S. 31 north of Brewton where crews were still working to reopen the road. Downed lines also kept some other roads closed.
Isaias made landfall near Destin, Florida, Friday night as a Category 2 hurricane with sustained winds of 105 mph before weakening inland. In the Panhandle, wind damaged a Pensacola hotel roof, the airport and part of a high-rise facade in Panama City Beach.
Two people died in Florida’s Escambia County. A woman was killed when a tree fell onto her home. A man died from carbon monoxide fumes from a generator running in his garage; four family members were hospitalized.
Although Isaias had weakened, flood risks remained. Officials warned residents to avoid flooded roads as recovery work continued across the region.
