Hurricane Isaias made landfall near Destin, Florida, at about 8pm Eastern Time, bringing flooding, dangerous debris and widespread power cuts across parts of the south-eastern United States.
Roads in Destin were inundated, while police in nearby Pensacola urged residents to stay indoors because fallen debris was blocking roads. Some counties in the Florida Panhandle temporarily suspended emergency response operations because of the conditions.
More than 697,000 customers in Florida, Alabama and Georgia were without electricity, according to utility tracker PowerOutage.us.
The full extent of the damage was not immediately clear, although residents posted images of fallen trees and power lines. A video shared on social media appeared to show the roof being torn from an inn in Pensacola.
Tim Mowry, who remained at his home in Pensacola during the storm, said the wind was so strong it sounded like “a train whistle” through a gap in his patio door.
Mr Mowry lost power at about 4.30pm but was able to use a generator. Standing water covered his back garden and parts of his fence were ripped down, though he said the storm had not been as severe as he had expected.
“As far as Pensacola-wise, we really got fortunate,” he said.
His son, who lives about 15 minutes away, attempted to drive to the house after losing power but was forced to turn back when fallen trees and power lines blocked the roads.
