Mexico City [Mexico], October 9: Hurricane Isaias strengthened on Thursday as it barreled toward the US Gulf Coast, prompting mandatory evacuations in parts of Florida and emergency declarations in Alabama as forecasters warned of life-threatening storm surges, tornadoes and flooding, Reuters reported.
Isaias has already severely disrupted oil and gas production in the Gulf of Mexico, forcing energy companies to evacuate offshore platforms and shut down operations.
The first Atlantic hurricane of the 2026 season was packing maximum sustained winds of 85 mph (140 kph) early on Thursday, the US National Hurricane Center said. Isaias was forecast to strengthen to near Category 3 intensity, with sustained winds reaching 110 mph (175 kph) on Friday before reaching the northern Gulf Coast late Friday or early Saturday.
"We are expecting Isaias to be a dangerous hurricane when it makes landfall," NHC director Michael Brennan said in a Thursday morning briefing.
The hurricane was moving east-northeast at 10 mph (17 kph), about 355 miles (570 km) south of the mouth of the Mississippi River at 1 p.m. US Central time, the NHC said.
The Marine Minerals Administration, which monitors offshore US oil and gas operators in the Gulf of Mexico, said on Thursday that personnel have been evacuated from 121 production platforms and five non-dynamically positioned rigs ahead of the storm.
About 63% of current oil production in the Gulf, or 1.3 million barrels of oil a day, has been shut in, the agency said, citing operator reports. Just over 1.1 billion cubic feet a day of natural gas production has also been shut in, or about 57% of total output from the region.
Hurricane warnings stretched from coastal Mississippi through Alabama to the Florida panhandle, while tropical-storm and storm-surge warnings extended into southeastern Louisiana, the NHC said.
Forecasters warned that storm surges could reach 5 to 7 feet (1.5 to 2.1 meters) above sea level in the hardest-hit coastal areas, with rainfall of 3 to 7 inches (8 to 18 cm) and isolated totals of 15 inches (38 cm).
Source: Emirates News Agency
