Isaias became the Atlantic's first hurricane of 2026 and is forecast to hit the Alabama-Florida coast as a Category 2 on Oct 9-10. Will Trump approve a major disaster declaration for either state by Oct 13?

President Trump approved only a federal emergency declaration for Florida on Oct. 10, 2026, in response to Hurricane Isaias, not the major disaster declaration this question asked about, and no major disaster declaration had been issued for Alabama by the Oct. 13 deadline either, according to reporting from Fox10 and WLOX on FEMA's announcement. The emergency declaration covered 27 Florida Panhandle counties, including Escambia, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa and Walton, authorizing direct federal assistance with the federal government covering 75% of costs for emergency protective measures; it stopped short of opening the individual assistance payments that follow a major disaster declaration. Isaias made landfall near Destin as a Category 2 storm on Oct. 9, the Atlantic season's first hurricane, cutting power to more than 600,000 customers across Florida and Alabama and contributing to at least four deaths. In the days after landfall, local officials in the Florida Panhandle were still compiling damage assessments to submit to the state before any request for individual assistance, and ultimately a major disaster declaration, could move forward. The community was closely split on this question, with 56% expecting a declaration by the deadline, but the standard sequence of damage assessment preceding a formal declaration meant the process had not advanced that far, and the question resolved no.