Isaias Leaves 800,000 Without Power as Pacific Typhoons Intensify

We start with the aftermath of Isaias. The storm weakened as it moved inland across Alabama, but not before killing two people and knocking out power to around eight hundred thousand customers across Florida and Alabama, according to Reuters. Crews are now working to restore service in the areas affected by the outages.

In the Pacific, Typhoon Choi-wan intensified on Saturday to the equivalent of a major hurricane, with winds of one hundred twenty-five miles per hour. It is east-southeast of Iwo To and moving north-northeast, and it is expected to pass east of Japan before weakening. The Northern Mariana Islands felt its outer effects, with gusts to seventy-five miles per hour on Saipan and seas of thirteen to sixteen feet.

There was good news for Mexico. Hurricane Rachel has turned away from the coast and is heading out to sea after battering the shoreline with heavy rain and surf. No coastal watches remain in effect, marking a clear improvement for the shoreline communities that had faced the storm's rain and surf as it battered the coast before turning away.

Also in the Pacific, Typhoon Nolo is crossing the International Date Line with winds of one hundred twenty miles per hour, only slightly below the strength recorded for Choi-wan. Tropical Storm Koguma is north of Kwajalein. Together, the systems meant several named storms were active across the Pacific at the same time, alongside Choi-wan's expected track east of Japan and Rachel's move out to sea away from Mexico.

The combined picture spanned two ocean basins in a single report: a weakening Isaias moving inland across Alabama with restoration work under way in Florida and Alabama, a major-hurricane-equivalent typhoon passing toward the east of Japan, another typhoon crossing the Date Line, a tropical storm north of Kwajalein, and a hurricane leaving the Mexican coast behind with no coastal watches remaining in effect.

From the October 11 episode of The World Briefing Room.