The China Mail - Hurricane Isaias now major storm as it heads to US Gulf Coast

Mandatory evacuation orders have been issued in multiple counties in Florida, while states of emergency are in place in parts of Alabama, Florida and Georgia.

In its latest update, the National Hurricane Center said Isaias was packing maximum sustained winds of 120 miles (195 kilometers) per hour, and was located about 240 miles south of Pensacola in the Florida Panhandle.

"The resources have been flowing, the preparations have been extensive and we are taking this storm very, very seriously," Florida Governor Ron DeSantis told a press briefing Friday.

"We know that this is going to be a major event in one way or another."

Isaias is the first hurricane of the Atlantic season that began on June 1, but comes unusually late, partly due to a strong El Nino weather phenomenon.

El Nino causes strong vertical wind shear, dry air and sinking air over the Atlantic Ocean, hampering storm formation and intensification in the area.

Heavy rainfall is forecast across the central US Gulf Coast, the NHC said, adding: "A life-threatening storm surge is expected from the mouth of the Mississippi River to Suwannee, Florida."

At least two airports in northwestern Florida were scheduled to suspend operations.

President Donald Trump is scheduled to attend Saturday's college football game between the University of Georgia and the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, but said this week he will "let the hurricane determine" his travel plans.

- Oil and gas impacted -

Isaias has disrupted oil and gas production in the Gulf of Mexico, with platforms and rigs evacuated.

As of Thursday, about 63 percent of the oil production in the region had been temporarily suspended, taking nearly 1.3 million barrels a day off the market, according to the Marine Minerals Administration (MMA).

About 57 percent of gas production had been suspended, the MMA said.

Chevron and Shell have shuttered production at several Gulf sites.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said federal authorities were coordinating response efforts with state and local governments.

"To everyone in the storm's path: ask that you also do your part to stand ready. Now is the time to prepare," Mullin said on X.

El Nino is the warming phase of a natural cycle in the tropical Pacific known as the El Nino-Southern Oscillation, and comes along every two to seven years.

In the Pacific, El Nino's effect on the atmosphere leaves little vertical wind shear over the Pacific, creating favorable conditions for hurricanes to intensify.

The Pacific has already seen several hurricanes, including Polo, which at one point reached level 5 in strength.

L.Johnson--ThChM