Hurricane Isaias made landfall near Destin, Florida, around 8 p.m. Eastern Time, according to the Miami-based National Hurricane Center.
Roads in Destin were flooded, while in neighboring Pensacola, police warned residents to stay off the streets due to debris crossing the roads.
Although the extent of the damage was not immediately known, many area residents posted photos online of downed trees and power lines, and a video posted to social media showed the roof torn off a Pensacola inn.
Some counties in the Florida Panhandle have temporarily suspended emergency responses due to unsafe conditions.
More than 697,000 customers were without power in Florida, Alabama and Georgia, according to utility tracking site PowerOutage.us.
Tim Mowry, who rode out the storm from his home in Pensacola, said the wind was so intense it sounded like a train whistle as it came through a crack in his patio door. He lost power around 4:30 p.m. but was able to count on a generator. Standing water also covered his yard and parts of his fence were torn off, but overall he said the storm wasn’t as bad as he hoped.
“As far as Pensacola goes, we were really lucky,” Mowry said.
Mowry said her son, who lives about 15 minutes away, tried to drive home after a power outage but had to turn around because downed trees and power lines blocked the roads.
CBS/AP
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