U.S. Coast Guard Works Fast to Get Ports Back Online After Hurricane Isaias

U.S. Coast Guard aircraft staged to conduct post-storm damage assessments and SAR operations (USCG)

The U.S. Coast Guard and its agency partners are working hard to bring ports back online in the wake of Hurricane Isaias, and they are getting quick results.

The storm made landfall near Destin, Florida on Friday night as a Category 2 hurricane, weakening fast as it moved inland. At least three people were killed in storm-related accidents, and hundreds of thousands of people remained without power as of Saturday. Florida's utilities expect to fully restore power across the region for 95 percent of all customes by Monday, according to the governor's office.

The recovery effort for regional seaports moved quickly. Gulfport, Mobile, and Pascagoula are already back up and running in normal mode, and other nearby ports are not far behind, the Coast Guard announced Saturday.

“Our priority is to safely reopen the port and restore the flow of maritime commerce as quickly as conditions allow,” said Capt. Mike Vega, commanding officer of Coast Guard Sector Mobile. “Our crews are working across the affected region to assess critical infrastructure, restore communications and identify hazards to navigation."

The most substantial assessment efforts were centered on Destin, Panama City and Pensacola, Florida, where the service kept traffic restricted while assessments continued. The effort is well-resourced: there are seven separate ATON teams looking at the condition of the aids to navigation around the region, plus five different teams assigned to assessing port infrastructure. Five more teams are assigned to reconstituting comms infrastructure and setting up temporary VHF radio coverage.

Meanwhile, Coast Guard aircrews operating out of unaffected areas - notably a training airfield in Mobile - are conducting aerial assessments. The Trump administration has issued a disaster declaration for the state of Florida, and the National Guard is out in force to clear downed trees and restore road access.