NEW YORK, Oct. 10 (Xinhua) -- Hurricane Isaias made landfall near Destin, the U.S. state of Florida, as a dangerous Category 2 storm, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said in its latest advisory on Friday.
"Life-threatening storm surge impacting the Gulf Coast as dangerous hurricane conditions and flash flooding spread inland," the agency said.
The first hurricane of the 2026 Atlantic season had maximum sustained winds of 105 miles per hour (169 kph) as of Friday night, according to forecasters. It was expected to bring heavy rains, powerful winds and storm surge to a large swath of the Southeast.
Earlier in the day, Isaias had briefly strengthened into a Category 3 storm, which is defined as a major hurricane, before weakening slightly.
"The storm is here. Buckle down at this point. Don't be getting out on the roads," Florida Governor Ron DeSantis warned at a news conference, adding that flash flooding would be a hazard "throughout the region."
Tens of thousands of people have evacuated the region, local authorities said.
More than 471,000 customers were already without power across Florida and Alabama, according to utility tracker PowerOutage.us.
Forecasters said that Isaias was expected to weaken after making landfall and would most likely become a post-tropical storm on Saturday. ■