Isaias moves north as Rachel hits Southern California

PENSACOLA, Fla. (AP) — Residents in the Florida Panhandle and southern Alabama have been cleaning up after Isaias, with remnants of the storm bringing a risk of flooding to the central Appalachians and mid-Atlantic region on Sunday. Meanwhile, significant waves from Rachel, a former tropical storm, hit the coast of Southern California.

“Major coastal flooding has already occurred in some areas, with water levels observed up to 1.5 feet above forecast,” the National Hurricane Center said, noting that the high waves coincided with high tides.

In western North Carolina, rivers overflowed as heavy rains increased the risk of flash and urban flooding, according to the National Weather Service. Tornadoes were possible in parts of Virginia and North Carolina, and life-threatening wave and rip current conditions were expected to continue along the Gulf and Southeast Atlantic coasts.

At least four deaths are linked to Isaias, the first hurricane of the Atlantic season, which made landfall Friday as a Category 2 hurricane near Destin, Florida, a Gulf Coast vacation spot filled with skyscrapers and tourist shops. The storm then roared over Alabama with tropical force winds before heading further north.

In Florida’s Escambia County, Sheriff Chip Simmons said a woman was killed when a tree fell on her home and a man died from carbon monoxide fumes from a generator operating in his garage.

One person died when a tree fell on a home in Birmingham, said Cory Moon, the city’s fire chief. A second storm-related death in Alabama was attributed to a car crash involving a downed tree in Barbour County, said Josh Johnson of the state emergency management agency.

Heavy rain causes problems in North Carolina

In Burke County, North Carolina, a homeless man and woman were camping when floodwaters from the Catawba River caught them off guard. They were rescued, along with their dog, according to a spokesperson for the county emergency management agency. Separately, a woman trapped in her car in floodwaters was freed outside Morganton.

People drive a golf cart through a partially flooded parking lot following Hurricane Isaias in Gulf Breeze, Florida, U.S., October 10, 2026. Photo by Marco Bello/Reuters.

In McDowell County, North Carolina, just west of Burke County, first responders reported dealing with five landslides and voluntary evacuations overnight Saturday as they responded to flooded roads and streams overflowing their banks.

“Despite a difficult night, we are grateful to report no injuries or loss of life. We call that a success! » the county emergency management agency posted online.

Nearly a dozen local weather stations in the western North Carolina county reported torrential rainfall over 24 hours as of 9 a.m. Sunday, ranging from about 5 inches (13 centimeters) to 9.57 inches (24 centimeters) at the Enola Fire and Rescue station. The National Weather Service said precipitation was decreasing in the region, but flash floods and flooding remained possible.

Dealing with the aftermath of Isaiah in Florida

Hurricane-force winds in the Florida Panhandle blew the roof off a Pensacola hotel, and the city’s mayor said the airport “sustained damage.” The storm flattened a boathouse in Destin and tore off part of the facade of a skyscraper in Panama City Beach.

At a Pensacola church where the United Cajun Navy was distributing supplies Sunday morning, a line of hundreds of cars stretched around the block. Yvette Haro said she arrived at 5 a.m. after being turned away the day before due to a stock shortage.

A drone view shows a damaged apartment building following Hurricane Isaias in Milton, Florida, United States, October 11, 2026. Photo by Marco Bello/Reuters.

With a 10-year-old son and a 5-year-old daughter at home, she says it’s difficult to go to stores and wait in line. She was looking for water, paper towels, toilet paper and cleaning supplies.

“Whatever they are willing to give us is helpful,” she said.

Although his house suffered no damage, the loss of power made things difficult, Haro said. “The biggest problem is our food is going bad. It’s really hard to keep grilling everything and then where do we store all this food?”

About 356,000 customers were without power as of 2:30 p.m. ET Sunday in southern Alabama and the Florida Panhandle, according to poweroutage.com.

Sarah Gatewood, a spokeswoman for Florida Power & Light, said workers from across Florida and more than two dozen other states were being mobilized to help restore power.

Rachel brings wind and rain to Southern California and the Southwest

Rachel became a post-tropical cyclone overnight, bringing unusually large waves to southern California, and it dissipated over Las Vegas, flooding the southwest deserts.

Waves hit a century-old wooden boardwalk on the Long Beach Peninsula and forced homeowners to evacuate. The swath of multimillion-dollar beachfront properties, along with much of Southern California’s coastline, were already reeling from Hurricane Marie in September.

“This area is completely destroyed and vulnerable,” said Jack Gordon, a Long Beach real estate agent. “The fact that Rachel came and gave him the final blow – I don’t want to say it can’t be worse for these houses, but it’s really, really sad.”

Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson said the storm would affect the entire city and urged city residents to avoid the peninsula over the weekend while crews worked to clean up the area. More than half a dozen homes along the coast have been declared structurally unsafe.

“It’s not normal for us to see this type of activity, especially for our Peninsula residents,” Richardson said Saturday. “These kinds of impacts are not normal, they are unprecedented for our community.”

And in the Pacific, Hurricane Simon was a Category 4 storm as it hit Mexico’s Pacific coast on Sunday, its eye remaining just offshore as its most powerful winds and rain hit people living between the Sierra Madre and the ocean.

Brumback reported from Atlanta. Walker reported from New York. Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire, and Jack Brook in New Orleans also contributed.