Walton County orders evacuations as Isaias brings Gulf Coast flood threat

Walton County, Florida, ordered mandatory evacuations for Zones A, B and C as Hurricane Isaias moved toward the Gulf Coast. The order took effect at noon.

County commissioners and emergency management officials discussed the plan Thursday morning. Officials cited an estimated seven feet of storm surge as a reason for the evacuation, rather than wind.

Isaias had strengthened to a Category 2 hurricane, with sustained winds of 100 mph. It was centered in the Gulf about 325 miles south of the mouth of the Mississippi River, moving northeast at 12 mph.

The storm was forecast to make landfall on the Gulf Coast Friday night, bringing life-threatening storm surge, rainfall flooding and high winds. Heavy rain and wind were expected to spread inland across the Southeast over the weekend.

A storm surge warning covered the area from the mouth of the Mississippi River to the Suwannee River in Florida. A storm surge watch extended south to Yankeetown, Florida.

Hurricane warnings covered Ocean Springs, Mississippi, to the Bay-Gulf County line in Florida, as well as parts of southwest Alabama and the western Florida Panhandle. Tropical storm warnings also covered areas along the coast and inland.

The available advisory details identify storm-surge watches and warnings and warn of rainfall flooding; they do not establish whether a separate flood watch had been issued.

Walton County orders evacuations as Isaias brings Gulf Coast flood threat

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