Watch the press conference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZ9LVIlUuDQ

Tallahassee, Fla. — Florida's governor met Saturday with the state's emergency chiefs to lay out where recovery stands after Hurricane Isaias, which came ashore Friday night near Destin as a Category 2 storm and has since weakened over Alabama.

What is happening:

Isaias made landfall around 9:30 Friday night with top winds of 105 miles per hour, pushing water levels nearly six feet above normal along parts of the coast. The governor has signed an emergency order covering 27 Florida counties, and the White House has approved the state's request for a federal emergency declaration, opening the door to federal help with response costs. More than 16,000 utility workers were staged ahead of the storm, and crews fanned out across the Panhandle on Saturday.

Local impacts:

About 448,000 homes and businesses were still without power statewide as of Saturday morning. The Florida National Guard has activated roughly 5,000 soldiers and airmen, with high-water vehicles, boats, helicopters, and route-clearing teams working across 16 counties. State troopers are running traffic control on U.S. 98 and escorting water tankers into Escambia County. Both I-10 and U.S. 98 were cleared by Saturday morning, and state-owned bridges and interstates are open. The airports at Destin–Fort Walton Beach and Pensacola remain closed to commercial flights, while Northwest Florida Beaches International has reopened. The ports of Pensacola and Panama City are closed. To speed evacuations and recovery, tolls are being waived on the Mid-Bay Bridge, the Spence Parkway, and the Garcon Point Bridge.

What to do:

- Treat every downed power line as live — stay back and report it.

- Never drive through flooded roads; it takes only a foot of moving water to float a car.

- Give road and utility crews plenty of room to work.

- Check on neighbors, especially older residents, as power is restored.

Source: West Orlando News, October 10, 2026. Reported by TNW News.