Florida’s death toll from Hurricane Isaias has climbed to six, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced at a news conference Tuesday.
The revised total includes two newly reported deaths: a woman killed when a tree crashed onto her home in Escambia County and a man who died from carbon monoxide poisoning after using a generator improperly.
DeSantis said the latest fatalities occurred “a little bit more post-storm” and were “attenuated from the storm.”
“The way Florida has typically done this is it’s not just if the storm knocks over your house and somebody gets killed, they kind of link anything that is even a fallout of the storm,” DeSantis said.
The governor characterized the four storm-related Florida deaths as involving a “tragic accident” during tree cleanup, a vehicle crash and two fatalities linked to interruptions in medical treatment.
The grim update came as recovery work continued across a concentrated section of northwest Florida, days after the dangerous Category 2 hurricane made landfall near Destin on the Gulf Coast at about 9:30 p.m. ET Friday.
Alabama also reported two storm-related deaths. One person was killed when a tree fell onto a home in Birmingham.
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Authorities had not immediately released details about the second death.
Florida experienced the most severe effects of Isaias’ landfall, as destructive wind gusts of up to 118 mph, heavy rainfall and a powerful storm surge devastated communities along the Panhandle.
DeSantis said power had been restored to roughly 95% of Florida customers who lost service during Hurricane Isaias.
More than 400,000 Florida customers were without electricity at the height of the storm’s landfall on Oct. 9.
As of Wednesday morning, more than 20,000 customers remained without power, mainly in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties, according to PowerOutage.com.
In Escambia County, early damage assessments put the cost of repairs, emergency operations and recovery efforts at approximately $64 million.
Florida’s state-led Hurricane Isaias response is moving beyond the immediate emergency phase, with crews focusing on debris removal, damage assessments and distributing assistance throughout the Panhandle.