Hurricane Isaias expected to get stronger on its way to Florida, Alabama and Mississippi coasts

Isaias surged toward the US Gulf Coast on Thursday as the first hurricane of the Atlantic season, prompting mandatory evacuations, school closures and local government shutdowns in parts of Florida.

Isaias was forecast to intensify rapidly and bring strong winds and a life-threatening storm surge to the Florida Panhandle, southern Alabama and southern Mississippi when it makes landfall on the northern Gulf Coast late Friday or early Saturday.

Heavy rain with the risk of flooding was possible into the weekend as far inland as the Tennessee Valley.

The hurricane had maximum sustained winds around 80 mph (129 kph) and was moving east-northeast at 9 mph (15 kph) early Thursday morning, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said.

It was centred about 420 miles (676 kilometres) south-southwest of the mouth of the Mississippi River.

“Preparations to protect life and property from storm surge and damaging winds along the warning area of the Gulf Coast should be rushed to completion today,” the center said Thursday.

Coastal communities moved quickly to prepare.

Some Gulf oil wells paused production, and at least four Florida school districts canceled classes for later in the week.

Okaloosa County announced mandatory evacuations for some coastal areas and communities were closing government offices as of Thursday afternoon. Governors in Florida and Alabama declared a state of emergency for dozens of counties.

Water from the storm surge and high tide could reach heights of five to seven feet (1.5 to 2 meters) in parts of Alabama and Mississippi, the centre said.

Isaias also could dump up to 10 inches (25 centimetres) of rain along parts of the Gulf Coast and spawn tornadoes Friday night into Saturday from Alabama to the Florida Panhandle to southwestern Georgia. The hurricane itself is expected to quickly weaken after making landfall.

The National Weather Service told communities from Ocean Springs, Mississippi, to Gulf County, Florida, to prepare for the possibility of “long-duration power outages.”

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