Hurricane Isaias has made landfall in the US state of Florida and is expected to bring life-threatening flooding and winds that have forced thousands to evacuate.
The storm weakened slightly to a category 2 hurricane, with 110 mph (175 kph) winds, before ramming into Florida’s western panhandle on Friday evening.
Florida, Alabama, and Georgia have each issued states of emergency as meteorologists warned of life-threatening storm surge that could cause up to 9 feet (2.7m) of flooding in some areas.
Isaias is one of three storm systems affecting North America this weekend, with the two others hitting Mexico and Southern California in the El-Niño fuelled warm waters of the Pacific Ocean.
In Florida, those evacuations includes coastal communities in direct aim of the powerful storm. Florida Senator Rick Scott encouraged residents in designated areas to evacuate as soon as possible, as he warned in a social media post: “DO NOT WAIT! Get out NOW!”
Governor of Alabama Kay Ivey issued a mandatory evacuation for all non-residents, tourists and visitors in key counties likely to be heavily affected by the storm.
Hurricane Isaias is the first hurricane in the Atlantic’s hurricane season, which largely has been delayed due to El Niño conditions in the Pacific.
It marks the first time in more than 30 years that a hurricane did not form till October.
The storm is likely to bring “life-threatening storm surge” to the US Gulf Coast, the National Hurricane Center warned.
After hitting Florida, the centre of Isaias is forecast to move across Alabama and into the Tennessee Valley on Saturday and Sunday, the National Weather Service said late on Friday.
As of Friday evening, hurricane-force winds extended outward up to 35 miles (55 km) from Isaias’ centre, and tropical storm-force winds extended as far as 205 miles (335 km).
Getty ImagesThe Florida Panhandle and the rest of the US Gulf Coast are facing fierce winds and heavy rain as the hurricane barrels down. There is also the potential for accompanying tornadoes, Melissa Watson, a Florida-based meteorologist at the National Weather Service told the BBC.
For those who have not evacuated, “the main thing will be having multiple ways to receive warnings” about tornadoes and storm surges, Watson said. “If you are near the coast, being able to move to higher ground,” is also essential in the event of storm surges.
“We want people to be safe, so don’t go out there trying to look for damage … to post on social media,” she added. “We want people to remain inside and safe while the hurricane is moving through.”
Even before the storm made landfall, hundreds of thousands were without power in the country’s southeast – and Alabama, Florida and Georgia have issued states of emergency as they brace for heavy rains and flooding.
More than 350,000 were in the dark in Florida and another 170,000 in Alabama saw outages, according to PowerOutage.us.
The hurricane’s winds are expected to be felt further inland in Georgia, albeit at a lesser intensity, where already about 8,000 customers were without power.
People on the coast of the Florida panhandle have been told to seek immediate shelter under an “Extreme Wind Warning”.
Some Florida officials have ordered residents to “Get out NOW!”, urging people to follow evacuation orders.
John Guoth, a resident of Navarre, Florida, told the BBC that he and his wife will remain in their home despite the rest of his street having already left.
“It’s a hurricane, we get them all the time… we kind of knew that when we moved here,” he said.
“Pretty much everything that can fly and will fly is battened down, and everything that cannot fly is really, really secured,” he said,
Guoth said he put his ducks and chickens in the bathroom and weighed down his boats and trailers so “nothing flips over”.
A few households have remained in the area, describing them as “long-term locals” who are “going to protect our homes”.
Pensacola resident Brandin Ruth told the BBC that they have been turning the gas off to the buildings, icing down product and trying to get team members home.
People in the Florida city have “seen bad storms before” but are “bunkering up”, he said, adding: “You don’t want to underestimate a storm like this”.
Getty ImagesOne indicator of a storm’s severity to communities in the southern US is whether the stalwart restaurant chain The Waffle House would close its doors to customers. On Friday, it did.
A Waffle House spokesperson confirmed to the BBC that the chain had already closed a number of locations in the hurricane’s path and “will continue monitoring conditions”.
US President Donald Trump said he will no longer attend a major American football college game in Tuscaloosa, Alabama because of the hurricane, shifting plans to attend a rally in Tennessee instead.
Getty ImagesTwo other storms are also forecast to batter North America this weekend.
Hurricane Simon is bearing down on the Pacific coast of Mexico as a category one hurricane. It is set to pick up speed and become category four by Saturday, eventually making landfall near Puerto Vallarta on Sunday, according to Reuters.
Further north, Tropical Storm Rachel, a downgraded hurricane, is heading toward landfall around the US-Mexico border, along the Pacific.
While, Rachel is expected to reach the coast late on Saturday, the impact of the storm is already being felt due to high tides in southern California.
Video footage and photos show several streets under water in Newport Beach, California, through a combination of the tropical storm swells at sea and high tide.
Posting on its account on X, the City of Newport Beach advised people to “avoid the Balboa Peninsula due to street flooding caused by recent storm conditions and elevated tides”.
It also urged people not to drive through flooded streets. Bulldozers have been shoring up the beach to try and prevent further flooding.
With additional reporting by Simon King.
