Emergency responders and residents in the Gulf Coast braced themselves Friday for the arrival of Hurricane Isaias.

Oct. 9 (UPI) -- Emergency responders and residents in the Gulf Coast braced themselves Friday for the arrival of Hurricane Isaias.

Tropical storm-force storms bore down on the Florida Panhandle and parts of Alabama and Georgia. Isaias could make landfall as early as 9 p.m. EDT.

Dozens of counties in Florida and Alabama were under mandatory evacuation orders.

Alabama's Gulf Shores beach town was deserted while its residents evacuated. A local Waffle House, which usually stays open through natural disasters, closed Friday morning.

Customers emptied aisles at hardware stores as they made final preparations.

Power outages have been reported in thousands of homes, including 11,600 customers in Florida, 10,400 in Louisiana, 7,250 in Alabama, 1,800 in Mississippi and 1,500 in Georgia.

North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein warned residents to "prepare, don't panic."

"Make sure you are signed up for local emergency alerts, prepare an emergency kit in case you lose power, and do not drive through flooded roads," Stein said in a statement. "Take care of your loved ones, and check on your neighbors too."

In Alabama, Gov. Kay Ivey declared a state of emergency for 40 counties through Wednesday.

"This will allow us to take any needed steps ahead of landfall," Ivey said in a statement on X. "As we approach the weekend and any travel plans, make sure you have reliable information as conditions develop."

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said "now is the time to finalize your plans."

"If you are not evacuating, make sure you have everything you need to shelter in place," he added in a statement on X.

The Federal Aviation Administration said the hurricane "could affect travel in the Gulf Coast and Southeast through the weekend."

"You may experience delays and cancellations as we work to get you to your destination safely," the agency said in a statement on X.

President Donald Trump canceled plans to attend the University of Georgia vs. University of Alabama game in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Saturday.

"Based on the fact that a huge Hurricane/Storm is coming, it is important to have our wonderful First Responders, Law Enforcement, and others, focused on that Storm, and in no way be thinking about the safety, or presence, of the President of the United States, ME!" Trump wrote on Truth Social.

"Therefore, I will miss that potentially unbelievable Game, Alabama vs. Georgia but, hopefully, the Game will go on despite the weather!"

The hurricane has even affected places not on its path. In Mississippi, streets and local businesses were emptied and shut down.

"Today is a bust, which is weird because the hurricane is nowhere near," Echo Bond, a local business owner, told The New York Times.