Hurricane Isaias made landfall last Friday as a Category Two hurricane, bringing high winds and flooding to parts of coastal Alabama. The storm was the first hurricane to make landfall during the 2026 season.

Isaias made landfall along the Florida panhandle near Destin. The storm weakened from a Category Three to a Category Two storm just before making landfall — weakening to just below major hurricane status. Still, the storm brought maximum sustained winds of 105 mph as it made landfall on Friday night, churning through the panhandle into coastal Alabama. 

At least one person died in the storm in Alabama. Birmingham first responders said one person died when a tree fell onto a house as high winds from the storm swept through the area early Saturday morning. Isaias weakened significantly as the storm system moved north and was not hurricane-strength by the time it reached the Birmingham-area, but still brought strong winds and rains throughout the state.

The storm also led to widespread power outages across the state. At the height of the storm, more than 300,000 customers were without power in the state. By Saturday morning, more than 253,000 were still without power. 

Gov. Kay Ivey declared a state of emergency in 40 of the state’s 60 counties ahead of Isaias’s landfall. Ivey also issued a mandatory evacuation for all non-residents in coastal Alabama, meaning all beach tourists had to evacuate ahead of the storm. Baldwin County officials said hotel and vacation rental occupancy was at about 80% prior to the mandatory evacuation. Large crowds were expected in the area for the 53rd annual National Shrimp Festival, which was canceled due to the storm. 

Prior to the storm, President Donald Trump also authorized FEMA to provide federal disaster relief efforts to parts of coastal Alabama, including Baldwin, Escambia and Mobile Counties, as well as the Poarch Band of Creek Indians.

Trump, ahead of the storm, also canceled his scheduled appearance at the Alabama and Georgia football game in Tuscaloosa. Trump had said he would attend the game during a rally he held earlier this month in Mobile. 

Alabama top stories in brief

Supreme Court declines to hear Roy Moore defamation case

• The U.S. Supreme Court last week declined to hear an appeal from Roy Moore, who argued that an ad run by a Democrat-aligned PAC during Alabama’s 2017 Senate race defamed him.
• Earlier this year, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a 2022 defamation verdict that said the Senate Majority PAC defamed Moore during the 2017 Senate race by running ads that feature sexual misconduct allegations against Moore.
• Because the Supreme Court declined to hear the case, the appeal court’s decision will be upheld.
• Moore was the Republican nominee in the 2017 Senate race, but lost to Democrat Doug Jones after sexual misconduct allegations derailed his campaign. Leigh Corfman alleged that Moore inappropriately touched her in 1979, when Corfman was 14-years-old and Moore was a 32-year-old assistant district attorney.

State rep, school board president charged with attempted human trafficking

• State Rep. Brett Easterbrook, R-Fruitdale, and former Satsuma City Schools Board of Education President Kory Wesley were arrested last week on charges of attempted human trafficking. 
• Both Easterbrook and Wesley were both arrested as part of a sting operation in Escambia County. Orange Beach Public Works Director Timothy Tucker was also arrested in the sting as well. 
• Court filings allege Easterbrook paid $500 in exchange for sex from an individual he believed to be a minor.
• Both Easterbrook and Wesley were initially charged with first-degree human trafficking, but prosecutors reduced the charges to attempted human trafficking since no victim was involved.

About 100,000 Alabama customers may have been affected in cybersecurity breach

• Alabama Power last week warned customers that a cybersecurity breach may have compromised data for about 100,000 of its customers. 
• The breach was part of a large cybersecurity issue at Southern Co. — the parent company of Alabama Power, Georgia Power and Mississippi Power. Roughly 400,000 customers may have been affected overall.
• Alabama Power warned some customers’ names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses and other account information may have been accessed by hackers.
• Customers who may have been affected are being offered a free year of enrollment in credit monitoring and identity theft restoration services.

Public Service Commission approves new review policies for data centers

• The Alabama Public Service Commission last week unanimously approved a new review process for contracts between Alabama Power and data centers.
• Under the new process, Alabama Power — which the PSC oversees —  will have to make summaries of proposed agreements between themselves and data centers publicly available — including information about the expected power consumption of any proposed data center.
• The PSC and the Alabama Attorney General’s office would also be given a non-public version that would include redacted proprietary and confidential information for review.
• PSC would then vote to approve the contracts in public meetings.
• Before PSC staff reviewed contracts between Alabama Power and facilities using large amounts of power. Unless commissioners intervened within 10 days of the staff’s recommendation, the agreements would be approved.

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