Isaias linked to at least four deaths as remnants flood western North Carolina; Rachel's waves pound Southern California

At least four deaths have been tied to Hurricane Isaias, the Atlantic season's first hurricane, as its remnants brought flooding to western North Carolina on Sunday, according to the Associated Press reporting carried by Boston 25 News and PBS NewsHour. On the West Coast, swells from the remnants of Rachel, a former tropical storm, flooded parts of the Southern California coast.

Isaias made landfall Friday near Destin, Florida, as a Category 2 hurricane before moving into Alabama and then north. In Escambia County, Florida, Sheriff Chip Simmons said one woman died when a tree struck her home and a man died from carbon monoxide produced by a generator in his garage. Birmingham Fire Chief Cory Moon said a falling tree killed one person there, and Alabama emergency officials attributed another death to a vehicle crash involving a downed tree in Barbour County.

The storm tore the roof from a Pensacola hotel, flattened a Destin boathouse and stripped part of a high-rise facade in Panama City Beach, the outlets reported. In Pensacola, hundreds of cars lined up at a church where volunteers handed out supplies. Resident Yvette Haro said losing electricity was her main problem: "The biggest thing is our food going bad."

Power outage figures differed by time of day. PBS NewsHour reported about 356,000 customers without power in the Florida Panhandle and southern Alabama at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, while Boston 25 News reported fewer than 300,000 by Sunday evening and said Gov. Ron DeSantis expected nearly all service restored by Tuesday night.

In western North Carolina, the National Weather Service warned of flash flooding as rivers overflowed. McDowell County responders handled five landslides and voluntary evacuations overnight, with one station recording 9.57 inches of rain in 24 hours. In Burke County, two people camping near the Catawba River were rescued with their dog. Tornadoes were possible in parts of Virginia and North Carolina.

In California, Rachel became post-tropical late Saturday south of San Diego, ABC7 and ABC11 reported. Newport Beach declared a local emergency Saturday and closed its piers and the Wedge surf spot, and the weather service issued a coastal flood warning for Orange County beaches through Tuesday afternoon. Several other coastal cities distributed sandbags.

On the Long Beach peninsula, waves damaged a century-old boardwalk and forced evacuations, PBS NewsHour reported, adding that more than half a dozen homes were deemed structurally unsafe. "These kind of impacts are not normal, they are unprecedented for our community," Mayor Rex Richardson said.

A weather service forecaster cited unusually warm Pacific waters linked to El Niño as raising tide levels. Rachel's remnants also flooded streets on the Las Vegas Strip, while Hurricane Simon, a Category 4 storm, battered Mexico's Pacific coast, according to the AP reports.

Compiled by True News from reporting by Boston 25 News, PBS NewsHour, ABC11 and ABC7 News Bay Area. Each outlet's original story is linked below.

Originally published by True News: https://truenews.bagleyenterprises.net/stories/52