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| - Isaias dumped torrential rain on the Bahamas Saturday as it churned toward Florida as a tropical storm -- the first big test for the US state reeling from the coronavirus crisis. The deadly storm, downgraded Saturday evening from a Category 1 hurricane, was expected to unleash up to eight inches (20 centimeters) of rain on the Bahamas before directing its fury at the United States. As of 5 pm (2100 GMT), Isaias was packing maximum sustained winds of up to 70 miles (110 kilometers) an hour, and was emerging over the Straits of Florida between the Florida Keys and Cuba. Isaias is expected to re-strengthen into a hurricane overnight as it approaches southeastern Florida, said the Miami-based National Hurricane Center. The area was already receiving gusty showers late Saturday afternoon, and President Donald Trump declared an emergency ahead of the storm's arrival to free up federal funds. "We will start seeing impacts from the storm tonight and then obviously through tomorrow into tomorrow night," Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said Saturday evening, adding that Palm Beach Country had issued a voluntary evacuation order. NASA was carefully tracking Isaias. The space agency was monitoring whether the SpaceX Crew Dragon could safely bring its two astronauts back from the International Space Station for a splashdown Sunday in the Gulf of Mexico. In the Bahamas, the deputy director of the country's meteorology department, Jeffrey Simmons, told The Nassau Guardian "the worst part" of the storm came to New Providence, the most populous island, early Saturday. It is the archipelago's first hurricane since Dorian, a Category 5 storm last year that devastated two islands, pummeling them for three days. Florida residents rushed to stock up on essentials as Isaias -- the ninth named storm of the Atlantic season -- began to be felt on the southeastern coast. The storm's slight turn offshore could spare the state the worst. Jason Woodall, 44, was boarding up the Miami Beach store where he works, while others nearby piled sand bags. "You always got to be prepared, just in case, because you never know," he said. "It could always strengthen. "Remember a couple of years ago? It stopped right outside, then spun and gained a huge amount of strength," he said, referring to Hurricane Michael, a powerful category five storm that struck the area in 2018. While DeSantis did not expect many storm-based evacuations -- which would be difficult given that shelters are usually crowded and social distancing would be hard -- he said hospitals could be forced to move some patients, depending on power outages and flash flooding. Isaias is seen as a major test for emergency systems in Florida, one of the US states hardest hit by the coronavirus crisis. Only California, with almost double Florida's population of about 21 million people, has registered more cases. On Saturday, Florida reported another 179 deaths, setting a new state record and pushing its virus death toll to 6,843. Amid the state's COVID outbreak, it's better to "just hunker down rather than sending people to the road," DeSantis said, unless the situation was so threatening that people needed to seek shelter. Florida's coronavirus testing centers were closed Thursday and will not reopen until they get the all-clear after the storm. The state's emergency management division explained that the testing centers are housed in tents and could not withstand the high winds. Isaias left a shambles in Puerto Rico, downing trees and electric lines and inundating houses as it cut a path through the island on Thursday. Authorities there said Saturday they had recovered the body of a 56-year-old woman whose car had been swept away by storm waters. And in the Dominican Republic, locals were cleaning up after the Magua river burst its banks. bur-acb/mdl
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