As Hurricane Isaias churned toward the Gulf Coast on Thursday, residents of Mississippi, Alabama and Florida stocked up for their first hurricane of the year. Landfall could come as soon as Friday, though forecasts left room for uncertainty after Isaias intensified rapidly from a tropical storm to a hurricane on Wednesday.
Forecasters said the storm could make landfall anywhere from Biloxi, Miss., to Mobile, Ala., to east of Pensacola, Fla. In Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis declared emergencies in 25 counties, while Sen. Rick Scott urged residents to stock up on food and water. Several northwestern counties issued mandatory evacuations for low-lying areas.
Isaias is expected to be the first hurricane to hit the Gulf Coast this year and the first to reach the mainland U.S. since Milton in 2024. In Alabama, Gov. Kay Ivey declared an emergency for 40 counties. Weekend events in Mobile, including a beer festival and shrimp festival, were canceled due to storm surge risk. Officials urged residents to stay off roads once the storm hit, and major bridges in Orange Beach were set to close around noon Friday.
Locals expressed cautious optimism. Stephanie Dodson, 49, a Pensacola coin dealer, planned to hunker down in Milton while recalling Hurricane Ivan. Cindy Wall of Sam’s Stop and Shop noted they still had gas and supplies, saying, "We're actually doing pretty good."
Source: New York Times Top Stories · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing