Hurricane Isaias hits the southeastern United States... 2 dead, 870,000 power outages

(Washington = Yonhap News) Correspondent Park Seong-min = Hurricane Isaias struck the southeastern United States, causing extensive damage, including two deaths and hundreds of thousands of households losing power.

According to the New York Times (NYT) and CNN on the 10th (local time), Isaias brought record-breaking heavy rain with maximum wind speeds of 188 km/h and caused damage to inland areas such as Florida, Alabama, and Georgia after landing the night before. Currently, the maximum wind speed has dropped to 55 km/h, weakening it to a tropical cyclone.

As Isaias struck these areas, the death toll has so far been counted as two. One person was killed when a tree fell on a house in Escambia County, Florida, and one person was killed when a tree fell on a house in Birmingham, Alabama.

Additionally, as of 10:51 a.m. Eastern time, approximately 870,000 customers suffered power outages, including 438,911 in Florida, 307,743 in Alabama, and 121,191 in Georgia, CNN reported, citing power supply tracking site Power Outage.

Heavy rain, with 24.5 cm of rain falling in the Florida Panhandle region, caused damage such as damage to houses and buildings, flooding of roads, and closure of airports.

Wind speeds are now relatively calm, but weather officials still warn that people should prepare for strong winds and heavy rain, and that flash storm surges, flooding and tornadoes are possible.

U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullen announced to the Ex last night that emergency declarations have been approved for Florida and Alabama and federal support will be provided.

Isaias, which occurred in the Atlantic for the first time this year, is the first hurricane to land on the U.S. mainland in two years since Milton in 2024.

Isaias is expected to pass through the mid-Atlantic coastal region of the United States until the 11th and then exit into the Atlantic Ocean on the 12th.