, Fla. — Florida has deployed thousands of service members, emergency responders and transportation workers as recovery efforts following Hurricane Isaias expand across the Panhandle.
Approximately 5,000 Florida National Guard soldiers and airmen, nearly 400 Florida State Guard soldiers and more than 1,100 Florida Department of Transportation employees have been activated.
Follow Channel 9’s live updates on Hurricane Isaias recovery efforts.
Hurricane Isaias made landfall near Destin at approximately 9:30 p.m. Friday as a Category 2 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph.
Two people were killed after trees fell on homes, one in Escambia County, Florida, and another in Birmingham, Alabama.
Roads and bridges reopen
FDOT said all state-owned bridges and interstate highways were open Saturday.
Forty debris-clearing teams reopened Interstate 10 before 6 a.m., while crews also cleared U.S. 98. More than 260 pieces of heavy equipment were being used for recovery missions.
The state has also deployed 1,400 generators, 100 pumps and 30 drone teams to assess damage and flooding.
Pensacola International Airport and Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport remained closed to commercial service. The ports of Pensacola and Panama City were also closed.
Guard members support recovery missions
The Florida National Guard is conducting route clearance, reconnaissance, humanitarian assistance, flood mitigation and search-and-rescue operations.
The Florida State Guard is assisting with debris removal, flooded areas, damage assessments and transportation of emergency supplies.
State Guard teams were responding to requests in Holmes and Escambia counties, including clearing fallen trees and inspecting critical infrastructure.
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers deployed airboats, shallow-draft boats, ATVs, four-wheel-drive vehicles and aircraft to affected areas.
Health facilities report outages and damage
State officials said seven health care facilities evacuated a combined 382 patients and residents.
Sixty-nine health care providers reported power problems, while 27 reported storm damage.
Special-needs shelters remained open in Bay, Escambia, Holmes, Okaloosa, Walton, Washington, Santa Rosa, Gadsden and Wakulla counties.
The Department of Children and Families is coordinating 600 pallets of food and hot meals for affected communities. The agency has also staged 150 shelter support workers, 32 nursing support employees and 18 transportation vehicles.
Assistance for affected residents
More than 26,000 public Xfinity WiFi hotspots have been opened across the Florida Panhandle and other affected states. The hotspots are available at no charge, including to people who are not Xfinity customers.
Residents seeking food, housing, health care or other assistance can call 211. Free civil legal assistance for disaster survivors is available at 833-513-2940.
Officials are reminding volunteers not to deploy independently into damaged communities.
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