Hurricane Isaias came ashore near Destin, Florida, Friday night as a Category 2 storm, cutting power to roughly 425,000 residents and prompting state officials to urge anyone still in the storm’s path to stay put and let emergency crews work.
Lt. Gov. Jay Collins described the storm’s arrival in blunt terms. “This thing hit like a freight train. It was fast. It came in like a Mike Tyson punch,” he told Fox News on Friday night. “It’s real, I’m sure there is going to be real damage.”
Collins said about 900,000 people evacuated ahead of landfall. For those who chose to ride out the storm, he had a direct message: “While some might have ridden it out, if you have please hunker down, stay safe, let’s not put our first responders at risk and they’ll get to you as soon as humanly possible, but let’s let them do their job and remain safe as well.”
The National Weather Service downgraded Isaias to a Category 1 storm around 10:30 p.m. Friday as its maximum sustained winds eased to 90 mph.
Collins drew a contrast with Hurricane Michael, the Category 5 storm that devastated the Panhandle on Oct. 10, 2018. “I don’t think we’re going to have a Michael-like event here, we’re its just going to sit and have pockets of rain, thank goodness,” he said.
As of 2 a.m. Saturday, PowerOutage.US recorded about 425,000 Floridians without electricity. Collins said that as of Friday night, outages and radio damage were the only reported impacts, with no catastrophic destruction yet confirmed. “The real extent of the damage as this thing crested and it hit shore, I think you’ll start to see good feedback coming through,” he said. “We’re not hearing anything dire at this moment, God willing thats how it stays.”
Collins, who has served as lieutenant governor since August 2025, credited the state’s preparation effort alongside Gov. Ron DeSantis. “We’ve led from the front. We have prioritized response in making sure we are on top of this,” he said. He added that more than 5,000 National Guard members and 400 state guard troops were on standby, along with over 6,000 utility vehicles and workers staged to restore power across the Panhandle.
On the evacuation push, Collins said: “We pushed really hard to have people listen to the evacuation orders, its just not worth the risk to you and yours. You got to listen, got to lead and you’re going to live. It’s that simple.”
He also warned residents that danger doesn’t end once winds die down. “You got to remind people, once the storm is passed the risk is not over,” Collins said. “Don’t go out there, don’t get in water puddles or exposed water. Look out for power lines and remain safe. Use extreme caution.”
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