Hurricane Isaac makes landfall as it batters Gulf Coast with 80mph winds

By JULIAN GAVAGHAN and LYDIA WARREN

Fire: Bay St. Louis, Miss., fireman David Stefano reacts as he and other first responders use an airboat to reach a house fire Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2012

Hurricane Isaac gathered strength as it bore down on New Orleans on Tuesday, bringing high winds and soaking rains that will pose the first major test to the city's multibillion-dollar flood protections, seven years after Katrina devastated the U.S. Gulf Coast.
Hundreds of U.S. Army National Guard troops took up strategic positions around New Orleans to stop would-be looters, preparation meant to avoid the chaos seen in the days and weeks after Katrina in August 2005.

Destruction: Timbers smolder after a fire gutted a house on stilts in a Bay St. Louis, Miss., neighborhood after rising storm waters from Isaac prevented firemen from responding quickly with their trucks Tuesday, Aug. 28

Isaac's storm surge poses a major test of the so-called Crescent City's new flood-control systems and reinforced levees that failed in 2005, leaving parts of the city underwater. Forecasts from the U.S. National Hurricane Center showed the storm coming ashore in the Mississippi Delta late on Tuesday, possibly taking direct aim at New Orleans.
President Obama today urged residents of the Gulf Coast to heed the warning of authorities.
'Now is not the time to tempt fate,' he said from the White House. 'Now is not the time to dismiss official warnings. You need to take this seriously.'

Storm: A couple, right, watches as waves break along the beach in Gulfport, Miss., as Isaac approaches while people sit on a bench, left, along the seawall on Lakeshore Drive along Lake Pontchartrain, as the storm approaches landfall, in New Orleans, Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2012

'Many parts of the state could see 24 to 38 hours of tropical storm-force winds,' Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal told a news conference. 'We're going to see a lot of downed trees and power lines,' he said. 'We need people to stay safe.'
Hurricane Isaac has made landfall in southeast Louisiana with winds near 80 mph.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center says the storm's center reached land at 6:45 p.m. in Plaquemines Parish, about 90 miles southeast of New Orleans.

Treacherous: Waves tear apart a pier along the Mobile Bay near Dauphin Island on Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Wave: People are swamped by wind pushed waves on the sea wall of Lake Pontchartrain in Baton Rouge, La. Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2012

Brandishing automatic assault rifles to ward off any threat of looting, the troops in military vehicles took up positions on mostly deserted streets. Their arrival came as driving rain and stiff winds battered the city's famous tourist district, The French Quarter, and its boarded-up storefronts.
White-capped waves formed in Lake Pontchartrain.

Empty: Bourbon Street - one of New Orleans' busiest hubs of activity - was virtually empty as residents prepared for the looming storm

Earlier, the Army Corps of Engineers closed for the first time the massive new floodgate on the largest storm-surge barrier in the world, at Lake Borgne, east of New Orleans. In other preparations, oil production in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico nearly ground to a halt, and ports and coastal refineries curtailed operations as Isaac neared.
At 5 p.m. CDT (2200 GMT), the Hurricane Center said Isaac was centered about 105 miles southeast of New Orleans with top sustained winds of 80 miles per hour.

Hope: A board covering a store window in the French Quarter asks shoppers to return again after Wednesday - the day Isaac is expected to hit the city

Getting ready: Stacey Davis, left, and his son board up windows on their New Orleans home on Tuesday

The storm, becoming better organized as it nears land, was traveling at a relatively slow 8 mph. That pace is a concern for people in its path since slow-moving cyclones can bring higher rainfall totals.
Isaac was about 370 miles wide and due to make landfall at the mouth of the Mississippi River within the hour. Heavy rains and big storm surges were also forecast for parts of Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle.
Isaac spared Tampa, Florida, where the Republican National Convention began on Monday. But it forced party leaders to revamp their schedule. They may have to make further revisions so as not to be seen celebrating Mitt Romney's presidential nomination while Gulf Coast residents struggle through the storm.

Few remaining: Some stayed in the city even though a hurricane warning has been issued for parts of the state east of Morgan City, which includes New Orleans area. A hurricane hasn¿t hit the Gulf Coast since Ike in 2008

Warning: President Obama, speaking from the Diplomatic Room of the White House, told residents to heed authorities' warnings about the storm

President Barack Obama urged Gulf Coast residents to take cover and heed warning, saying, Now was 'not the time to tempt fate.' He issued emergency declarations for Louisiana and Mississippi earlier this week because of Isaac.
The president's stern warning comes as terrified New Orleans residents fear a repeat of the devastation inflicted by Hurricane Katrina after Isaac, which has now been declared a Category 1 hurricane, veers towards the Louisiana city.

Wreck: A damaged neighbourhood of in Vero Beach, Florida after a suspected tornado was caused by Tropical Storm Isaac

Shop owners last night boarded up their businesses and the streets of the normally-bustling French Quarter are now eerily empty amid preparations for winds of over 100mph, which are predicted to hit the Gulf coast either this evening or tomorrow morning.
Although, the storm is currently generating surface gusts of 75mph, forecasters believe Isaac could pick up wind speed before it hits land in the same spot as Katrina, meaning roofs could be plucked from homes and cause extensive power outages in the city.

Damage: Residents talk after a suspected tornado hit Vero Beach, Florida

But forecasters fear the greatest threat to the city will be the storm's onslaught of rain. Around New Orleans and Biloxi, Mississippi water could rise as high as six to nine feet, while coastal areas could be punished with up to 20 inches of rain, they said.

Submerged: The Waterfront Seafood company is flooded in Bayou La Batre, Alabama. Forecasters have said they fear the onslaught of rain more than the wind as Isaac hits

Predicting a storm: Dr. Rick Knabb, director of the National Hurricane Center, right, checks on the status of Tropical Storm Isaac as James Franklin, chief hurricane specialist, looks on at the National Hurricane Center in Miami on Tuesday

Preparations: Workers fill Hesco baskets at a flood wall at Route 23, in advance of Tropical Storm Isaac in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana


Wet and windy: Rain battered downtown Key West as Isaac moved over the island on Sunday

source: dailymail