Hurricane Isaias Makes Landfall in Florida as a Category 2

Hurricane Isaias lashed the US Gulf Coast with heavy rain and strong winds Friday night, as the Category 2 storm made landfall in northwestern Florida, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.

"Isaias makes landfall near Destin, Florida," the NHC's latest update said. "Life threatening storm surge impacting Gulf coast as dangerous hurricane conditions and flash flooding spread inland."

Coastal communities saw mandatory evacuations and shuttered businesses as Isaias became the first hurricane of an Atlantic season that kicked off in June, held in check by a historic El Nino phenomenon that typically spurs more major storms in the Pacific.

Fueled by record-warm Gulf waters heated by climate change, it underwent rapid intensification, and is the first hurricane to strike the US mainland since Milton in 2024.

Earlier Friday, caravans of repair trucks rolled through the cities of Pensacola and Navarre to staging areas in preparation for power outages, AFP reporters on the scene said. Water service to buildings was suspended.

The NHC said Isaias was packing maximum sustained winds of 105 miles (165 kilometers) per hour, with storm surges expected along the Gulf coast, from the mouth of the Mississippi River south of New Orleans to Florida's Suwannee River.

Forecasters expected Isaias to slam into the western Florida panhandle at or near major hurricane strength before weakening over land.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis told a press briefing earlier Friday that "we've got a massive amount of supplies and personnel ready to respond once the storm hits."

President Donald Trump cancelled his visit to Saturday's college football game between the University of Georgia and the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama because of the hurricane.

Mandatory evacuation orders are in effect in several Florida counties, but impacts are expected across a swathe of the southeastern United States, with hurricane-force winds up to 100 miles inland.

Storm surge combined with the tide is expected to flood normally dry areas, with the NHC warning that water could reach as high as nine feet around the Alabama-Florida border. Heavy rainfall could trigger flash flooding and push rivers over their banks.

Two airports in northwestern Florida have suspended operations.