Hurricane Isaiah Reaches US Gulf Coast, Leaving Hundreds of Thousands Without Power

Hurricane Isaiah has reached the US Gulf of Mexico coast near the city of Destin in Florida. According to the US National Hurricane Center, the storm's strength had already dropped to a category 2 by the time it reached the shore. The storm has affected the southern United States, and nearly 840,000 households in Florida, Alabama and Georgia temporarily lost power, according to data from the platform Poweroutage.us.

The storm's path

While crossing the Gulf of Mexico, Isaiah had reached category 3 on the five-category scale, but it then weakened and became a post-tropical cyclone. It continues to move toward Alabama and Tennessee. Wind speeds reach up to 28 metres per second, accompanied by heavy rain.

Warnings and evacuations

Meteorologists stress that the storm can still cause sudden flooding even in areas far from the coast. In Florida and Georgia, the threat of tornadoes remains. A warning has been issued in several southern US states.

In Alabama, tourists were forcibly evacuated from several coastal towns, and a night-time curfew was declared in Mobile. Evacuations were also carried out in at-risk coastal areas of Florida. On parts of Florida's northwest coast, which is normally dry, water levels are forecast to rise by up to 2.7 metres.

The source does not say whether anyone has been injured because of the storm.