Alabama, Florida and Mississippi declare emergencies, with preparations under way for ‘long-duration power outages’

Hurricane Isaias neared landfall Friday evening, barreling toward the US Gulf coast coast as a dangerous category 2 storm and prompting emergency declarations in Alabama, Florida and Mississippi.

The hurricane, the first in the Atlantic in what has turned into a very late 2026 season, is expected to cause a “life-threatening storm surge”, officials said. Isaias is forecast to make landfall on Friday night, somewhere along the western Florida Panhandle, with surging seas up to about 7ft (2.1 meters) and waves as high as 30ft (9.1 meters).