Hurricane Isaias made landfall Friday night as a Category 2 storm near Destin with sustained winds over 100 miles per hour.
Gov. Ron DeSantis told Florida residents during a quick briefing to stay indoors.
“Just hunker down, let the storm pass. When it becomes daylight, be careful about what’s going on outside,” DeSantis said.
Even though the storm weakened from a category 3, officials are still warning residents of the dangers of heavy storm surge.
The storm, which is the first of the year, is expected to continue north through West Virginia by Sunday, according to recent forecasts from the National Weather Service.
DeSantis reported more than 200,000 power outages reported in the affected region.
Hundreds of utility crews and state agencies are on standby to assist residents with outages and damages.
“Please do not try to drive your car through flooded roads,” DeSantis said.
The governor also said search and rescue crews would be mobilized once the storm passes, including the national guard and other state agencies.
State officials called for evacuations of residents within the Florida panhandle. The area is at risk of flooding and dangerous winds.
The storm is expected to impact North Florida residents with storm surge and even tornadic activity in some areas into Saturday afternoon.
