Florida: Nearly 54,000 homes and businesses still without power in wake of Hurricane Isaias

Nearly 54,000 homes and businesses remained without power in the northwest of Florida four days after Hurricane Isaias made landfall on Friday as a Category 2 hurricane and left six people dead in the state, according to authorities.

According to CBS News and the News Service of Florida, power outages were concentrated mainly in Escambia County, with 23,380 customers affected, and Santa Rosa County, with another 24,240, according to Tuesday's update.

The hurricane initially caused power outages for some 450,000 homes and businesses. Since then, approximately 16,000 utility workers have been involved in recovery efforts.

Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis reported that power had already been restored to 95% of affected customers and assured that authorities were working to restore power to areas where safety conditions permitted. However, some communities require additional repairs due to damage to infrastructure.

According to an official statement from the Florida state government, 11 distribution points for water, food, ice and other essential supplies were also set up in the affected counties.

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Six dead and new aid for recovery

DeSantis confirmed that the death toll had risen to six people, two of whom died directly as a result of the hurricane and four others due to incidents related to the emergency and its aftermath, including accidents and problems arising from the interruption of medical treatment.

The governor also announced new grants for rural communities, earmarked for infrastructure and economic recovery projects.

Meanwhile, state and local crews continue to remove fallen trees, clear debris and open up secondary roads to facilitate access to damaged electrical facilities.

Hurricane Isaias made landfall on Oct. 9 near Destin, on Florida's Gulf Coast, bringing strong winds, rain and flooding that caused property damage in various communities across the southeastern United States.