Hurricane-force winds batter Destin, Florida, where FOX Weather Senior Correspondent Robert Ray braves the blast fueled by dangerous Category 2 Hurricane Isaias expected to make landfall in just a few hours.
TAKEAWAYS
- President Trump has approved a major disaster declaration for 15 Florida counties affected by Hurricane Isaias.
- The declaration expands federal assistance beyond the initial emergency response to include repairs to public infrastructure damaged by the storm.
- Communities such as Milton in Santa Rosa County are continuing recovery efforts after damaging winds, flooding and widespread power outages.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Weeks after Hurricane Isaias hit Florida, communities continued to recover from the devastating effects of the storm as President Donald J. Trump approved federal disaster assistance to support recovery efforts.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced that federal public assistance funding is available to support emergency work and repairs to infrastructure damaged by Hurricane Isaias in Bay, Calhoun, Escambia, Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson, Jefferson, Liberty, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, Wakulla, Walton and Washington counties.
A house is partially destroyed after Hurricane Isaias. Hurricane Isaias made landfall on Friday, October 9 along the U.S. Gulf Coast.
(Jen Golbeck/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images / Getty Images)
President Trump announced approval of Florida’s new major disaster declaration on October 27, nearly three weeks after Hurricane Isaias made landfall near Destin on October 9 as a Category 2 storm, bringing destructive winds and widespread damage to the Florida Panhandle.
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The approval expanded federal aid for recovery efforts after an initial emergency declaration was issued on October 9.
Unlike the initial emergency declaration, which primarily covered immediate response and protective measures, the major disaster declaration expands federal assistance to include longer-term recovery and repair of public infrastructure damaged by storms in 15 counties.
The storm’s impacts continued inland, causing dangerous impacts throughout the Southeast, with Florida experiencing the worst the storm had to offer.
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In an aerial view, an apartment complex is visible after the roof was torn off when Hurricane Isaias passed through the area October 10, 2026, in Milton, Florida.
(Joe Raedle/Getty Images/Getty Images)
Widespread power outages were reported following the storm’s arrival, with more than 400,000 customers losing power in Florida alone at one point.
Dangerous winds toppled trees and power lines, while coastal flooding caused significant damage in affected areas.
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After the immediate impacts of the storm subsided, Governor Ron DeSantis announced that six storm-related deaths had been reported.
But in some hard-hit communities, devastation persisted for weeks.
FOX Weather Senior Correspondent Robert Ray traveled to Milton, Florida on October 27 – before the emergency declaration – where he spoke with City Manager Ed Spears about the storm’s lasting impact.
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“A lot of resources are starting to dry up and disappear. We’re still here, every day, knee-deep,” Spears told FOX Weather, estimating there were between 400,000 and 500,000 cubic yards of debris left on the ground in Milton waiting to be removed.
FOX Weather senior correspondent Robert Ray reports from Milton, Fla., where residents are picking up the pieces of what once was after Hurricane Isaias, which killed four people in the state as the Category 2 storm ravaged the region.
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For communities like Milton, the road to recovery continues weeks after the storm, although the new declaration could help local officials and nonprofits clean up debris, make repairs and rebuild after Hurricane Isaias.
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