At least 2 people die in Alabama as Hurricane Isaias cuts through state

At least two people died in Alabama Saturday as Hurricane Isaias brought heavy wind and rain to the state. 

The deaths occurred as the storm left a trail of damage in south Alabama and hundreds of thousands of Alabama residents without power.

The Jefferson County Emergency Management Agency confirmed one fatality after a tree fell onto a house in the east side of Birmingham shortly after 5 a.m. this morning, according to Shea Hess, an emergency management officer. 

A driver in Barbour County died following a motor vehicle wreck involving fallen trees, according to the Alabama Emergency Management Agency.

“The person was transported out of Barbour County to a medical facility in Dale County where the person died,” said Josh Johnson, who works in external affairs with the AEMA.

Gov. Kay Ivey said in a statement late Saturday morning that she was “praying for their loved ones” and expressed thanks for crews trying to clear debris and restore power. 

“There are still some road closures due to downed power lines, and our linemen are working to clear that as soon as possible,” the statement said. “In Escambia County, for example, our folks are still working on reopening a portion of US-31 north of Brewton.” 

About 183,000 customers were without power as of 2 p.m., according to the website poweroutage.us, which tracks power outages in the U.S. Most of the customers without power are in the southern half of the state. Houston County has 20,000 people without power; Mobile and Coffee counties had about 16,000 people who still needed electricity. 

Nearly all of Conecuh County was without power as of 2 p.m.

Alabama Power said that as of 11 a.m., more than 267,000 customers statewide have experienced outages related to the storm and that more than 130,000 of those customers have been restored. 

Isaias made landfall as a Category 2 Hurricane with sustained winds of 105 mph near Destin, Florida, at about 8:30 p.m. central. The track of the storm system shifted slightly east toward central Alabama. 

National Weather Service stations in Birmingham and Mobile said they received reports of damage throughout the evening.

“Significant trees and powerline damage,” said Jason Beam, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Mobile. “Many of our inland counties were at a 100% power loss, and there was some heavy damage to the power infrastructure.”

Some parts of the state experienced heavy rainfall, with counties in southwest Alabama getting about 2 inches of rain while the areas east of that received about 8 inches.  Enterprise, for example, received 7 to 8 inches.

Isaias has been downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone with sustained winds of about 35 mph. As of early Saturday afternoon, there had been no reports of tornadoes in Alabama, though northeast Alabama remained under a high wind warning until 7 p.m., and northwestern and central Alabama remained under a wind advisory until 7 p.m.

Ivey has rescinded the emergency proclamation that required non-residents in Baldwin and Mobile counties to evacuate the area.

Friday evening, the Federal Emergency Management Agency announced that federal disaster assistance is available for Baldwin, Escambia and Mobile counties and the Poarch Band of Creek Indians.