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Tropical storm Isaac bears down on Gulf Coast as hurricane warning issued Tropical storm Isaac bears down on Gulf Coast as hurricane warning issued
(about 3 hours later)
Tropical Storm Isaac continued on a path towards the US Gulf Coast on Monday, prompting fears that a strengthened hurricane could hit New Orleans on the seventh anniversary of Katrina.Tropical Storm Isaac continued on a path towards the US Gulf Coast on Monday, prompting fears that a strengthened hurricane could hit New Orleans on the seventh anniversary of Katrina.
Having soaked Florida over the weekend, the storm – which is already thought responsible for the deaths of 19 people in Haiti and two in the Dominican Republic – is expected to gather strength before making landfall on Wednesday.Having soaked Florida over the weekend, the storm – which is already thought responsible for the deaths of 19 people in Haiti and two in the Dominican Republic – is expected to gather strength before making landfall on Wednesday.
Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal declared a state of emergency, and 53,000 residents of St Charles Parish near New Orleans were told to leave ahead of the storm. Mississippi governor Phil Bryant, Florida governor Rick Scott and Alabama governor Robert Bentley also declared states of emergency. Bobby Jindal, the Louisiana governor, declared a state of emergency and ordered the evacuation of tens of thousands of people from vulnerable areas as tropical storm Isaac drenched Florida and gathered strength over the Gulf of Mexico.
The oncoming storm stopped work on rigs that account for 24% of daily oil production in the US portion of the Gulf of Mexico and 8% of daily natural gas production there, the federal bureau of safety and environmental enforcement said in its latest update Sunday. Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center in Miami said Isaac could grow to a Category 1 hurricane over the warm waters of the Gulf and would hit the southern coastline along a 300-mile stretch from the bayous southwest of New Orleans to the Florida Panhandle late on Tuesday. The storm would be significantly weaker than Katrina, but officials warned that it was still enough to cause considerable damage and threaten life.
Forecasters said if Isaac hits during high tide, the storm could push floodwaters as deep as 12ft (4m) on shore in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama and up to 6ft in the Florida panhandle. The size of the warning area and the storm's wide bands of rain and wind prompted emergency declarations in four states. Residents were boarding up homes on Monday, ensuring they had enough food and water, and in many cases getting ready to evacuate.
Isaac has already forced the cancellation of the first day of the Republican National Convention, due to take place from Monday in Tampa, Florida. The event – which is to serve as a coronation of Mitt Romney as the party's presidential nominee – may further be hit if Isaac inflicts widespread damage later on in the week. The oncoming storm stopped work on rigs that account for 24% of daily oil production in the US portion of the Gulf of Mexico and 8% of daily natural gas production. United Airlines cancelled all flights to and from New Orleans from midnight on Monday until Thursday.
By Monday morning, weather experts were suggesting that the storm was tracking to the west, and that Tampa had seen the worst of the weather. Organisers at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida, cancelled the first day of the event, due to culminate in the coronation of Mitt Romney as the party's presidential nominee on Thursday.
Isaac is expected to hit the Gulf Coast early Wednesday – seven years almost to the day that Hurricane Katrina hit. More than 1,800 people killed in the storm and subsequent flooding. Republican leaders, mindful of the ghost of hurricane Katrina and the stain left by the botched handling of it by the George Bush administration, fear the juxtaposition of images showing revelry in Tampa with havoc in the Gulf states.
Flood defences in New Orleans, which were breached in 2005, have been rebuilt at a total cost running into billions of dollars and have so far proved sufficient to resist post-Katrina storms. After the 2005 Gulf coast devastation, Republicans were so sensitive to the political danger around hurricanes and the appearance of partying at a time of trouble that they delayed the start of their national convention by a day in 2008 when Hurricane Gustav bore down on the Gulf, 1,200 miles away from where delegates were gathering in St Paul, Minnesota.
But fears of the impact of the latest storm persist. By 8am ET Monday Isaac was centred around 185 miles off the Gulf Coast. Isaac was expected to hit the Gulf Coast late on Tuesday or in the early hours of Wednesday, one day short of the seven-year anniversary of Katrina.
Monica Bozeman, meteorologist at the National Hurricane Center in Miami, said that winds were likely to strengthen and that they expect the storm to be upgraded to a category one hurricane "in the next 36 hours". She added: "It is tracking a bit more westward than we thought, so it could affect a wide area from the Florida panhandle to Louisiana." If Isaac hits during high tide, the storm could push floodwaters as deep as 12ft (4m) on shore in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama and up to 6ft in the Florida panhandle. All four states declared emergencies; the New Orleans mayor Mitch Landrieu warned the city would face tropical storm force winds by early Tuesday morning.
Bozeman said Isaac was "weaker than Katrina" but remained a significant storm. "It is broader so it should have a wider impact along the Gulf Coast. The intensity, we are not quite sure yet," she told the Guardian. More than 1,800 people were killed by Katrina and its aftermath. Seven years on, New Orleans is more prepared on every level – communication, levee defense, evacuation plans, and first responders – than it was before Katrina. Flood defences in New Orleans, which failed so catastrophically in 2005, have been rebuilt at a total cost running into billions of dollars and have so far proved sufficient to resist post-Katrina storms.
Isaac will prove the largest test of the updated levee system since Katrina. It is also a significant test for mayor Mitch Landrieu, elected in 2010 to replace Ray Nagin, the mayor during Katrina who is the subject of a federal investigation for corruption.
"The one thing that I have learned through all storms is be prepared for the unexpected," said Landrieu. "We are as well prepared as we can be for what we know. And we are prepared to react to the unexpected."
Landrieu has been consistently warning of the dangers of the potential hurricane in the past few days, reminding residents that authorities thought Katrina "would be a wind and rain event".
Fears of the impact of the latest storm persist: supermarkets are selling out of bottled water and gas prices have spiked. Some 53,000 residents of St Charles Parish near New Orleans were told to leave ahead of the storm.
The city's improved levee system is expected to hold at bay the worst of the storm surge: but major flooding and winds are expected, and the preparations for the storm are a reminder of how recent the recovery has been in a region continually vulnerable to severe hurricanes.
"I want to strongly urge all residents outside the levee to leave. If your plan is usually to leave, it is time to go," said Landrieu on Monday.
Monica Bozeman, meteorologist at the National Hurricane Center in Miami, said Isaac was "weaker than Katrina" but remained a significant storm. "It is broader so it should have a wider impact along the Gulf Coast. The intensity, we are not quite sure yet," she told the Guardian.
Federal officials said Isaac poses a risk to life and could cause extensive damage in the affected states. "There are some aspects of this storm that are very concerning, particularly storm surge as well as now potentially heavy rainfall across the area of impact," said Craig Fugate, an administrator with the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Before it honed in on America's coast, Isaac left a trail of destruction across the Caribbean. In Haiti, the official number of deaths resulting from the storm jumped to 19 on Monday. Two died in the neighbouring Dominican Republic.Before it honed in on America's coast, Isaac left a trail of destruction across the Caribbean. In Haiti, the official number of deaths resulting from the storm jumped to 19 on Monday. Two died in the neighbouring Dominican Republic.
The storm knocked out power temporarily for around 16,000 customers throughout south Florida, and 555 flights were canceled at Miami International Airport.The storm knocked out power temporarily for around 16,000 customers throughout south Florida, and 555 flights were canceled at Miami International Airport.
In the low-lying Keys, isolated patches of flooding were reported and some roads were littered with downed palm fronds and small branches. But officials said damage appeared to be minimal. In the low-lying Keys, isolated patches of flooding were reported and some roads were littered with downed palm fronds and small branches, and two people were killed in a road accident.
The storm has also been cited as a factor in a road traffic accident in Florida which killed two people.