Forecasters warn of up to 9 feet of water over normally dry land from the Santa Rosa/Okaloosa county line to Grayton Beach, Fla., if peak surge hits at high tide.
Isaias, the first hurricane of the 2026 Atlantic season, became a major Category 3 storm at 8:20 a.m. ET Friday, Oct. 9, with winds up to 120 mph. At 3 p.m. it was 125 miles south of Pensacola, Fla., with landfall expected between 8 and 10 p.m.
The coast. Florida has 25 counties under a state of emergency, and Panhandle counties have ordered coastal evacuations. Forecasters expect 4 to 8 inches of rain, with isolated totals of 15 inches. Chevron and Shell are shutting Gulf oil production and evacuating offshore facilities.
The agency. Experts quoted by the Guardian call Isaias the biggest test yet for a FEMA cut back under Trump. More than 4,300 FEMA employees, about 17% of its workforce, left in fiscal 2025, per the Government Accountability Office. Fifty-eight senior executives left from January 2025 to January 2026; about 13 a year left before that.
“It's not whether Fema is going to respond. They're going to respond. It's more about the depth.”Chris Currie, Government Accountability Office
Catch up
By Thursday, Oct. 8, Isaias had grown to a Category 2 hurricane aimed at the Gulf Coast, and Alabama, Florida and Georgia declared states of emergency as Panhandle counties began ordering coastal evacuations. It set up Florida's first hurricane landfall in two years.
What the Panhandle evacuation orders cover and cut off
- Escambia County: Zones A and B, including Pensacola Beach and Perdido Key, plus all mobile homes, from noon Thursday, Oct. 8
- Santa Rosa County: Zones A and B, low-lying areas and mobile homes from 12:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 8; Worth knowingWaiting until the storm arrives and then calling for a ride does not work. Once winds reach tropical-storm strength, which comes well before landfall, the buses stop running.
- Okaloosa County: Worth knowingPlanning to drive out over the bridges later in the evening is not a safe exit. The bridges can close hours before the 8 to 10 p.m. landfall, as soon as sustained winds hit 40 mph.; shelters at Davidson Middle School in Crestview and Raider Arena in Niceville