PENSACOLA, Oct 10 — Hurricane Isaias lashed the US Gulf Coast with heavy rain and strong winds last night, as the Category 2 storm made landfall in north-western Florida, the National Hurricane Centre (NHC) said.

“Isaias makes landfall near Destin, Florida,” the NHC’s latest update said. “Life threatening storm surge impacting Gulf coast as dangerous hurricane conditions and flash flooding spread inland.”

Coastal communities saw mandatory evacuations and shuttered businesses as Isaias became the first hurricane of an Atlantic season that kicked off in June, held in check by a historic El Nino phenomenon that typically spurs more major storms in the Pacific.

In Pensacola, about 50 miles (80 kilometres) west of Destin in Florida, an AFP reporter witnessed howling winds rip the roofs from some homes and businesses, snapping tree branches as the power went out.