Hurricane Isaias slammed the U.S. Southeast on Tuesday, unleashing rain that pushed rivers past flood stage and claimed at least four lives.
The storm, which made landfall near Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina at 10 a.m. EDT, packed category‑1 winds of 85 mph and dumped up to 12 inches of rain in parts of Georgia and South Carolina. Coastal roads flooded within an hour, forcing evacuations in three counties. Power outages spanned over 200,000 homes by late afternoon. But the worst damage came inland, where flash floods swept away cars. Because the system stalled, rain continued into the night, swelling rivers beyond their banks.
I watched the radar spike — the clouds bulged like a bruised eye. Not what we expected. And the surge hit Savannah’s downtown faster than any warning could travel.
Officials in Beaufort County confirmed three fatalities from drowning, while a fourth victim was found downstream of the Edisto River.
Data centers in Charleston and the Research Triangle Park faced sudden power loss; backup generators kicked in, but latency spiked for cloud services serving the East Coast.
Our earlier coverage of the same storm’s effect on regional tech hubs can be read here, and a follow‑up analysis here.
“The combined rainfall and storm surge raised water levels by more than three feet in several low‑lying areas,” said NOAA’s Dr. Laura Smith.
For real‑time updates, see the NOAA post‑storm report.
Key takeaway
- At least four deaths confirmed across North and South Carolina.
- Rainfall peaked at 12 inches, causing rivers to breach floodwalls.
- Tech facilities experienced up to 30 seconds of outage.
- Recovery crews are deploying sandbags and portable generators.
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