Hurricane Isaias intensifies en route to US Gulf Coast

Hurricane Isaias is expected to make landfall over the US Gulf Coast, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said on Friday. The storm's approach coud disrupt oil and gas production. Isaias has been forecasted to cross the coast in either Florida, Alabama or Mississippi on Friday night or early Saturday. Mandatory evacuation orders were issued for coastal areas in four counties in northeastern Florida, while states of emergency are in place in parts of neighboring Alabama and Georgia. "Isaias will be a dangerous hurricane with significant storm surge, damaging winds, and flooding rains when it reaches the northern Gulf Coast," the NHC said.