Isaac Takes Aim At The Gulf[VIDEO]
One man in New Orleans who endured Hurricane Katrina seven years ago says he’s expecting a weaker storm this time, and thinks the levee system is in better shape to handle a storm surge than it was when Katrina hit.
Still, carpenter John Coril says he fueled up his truck and his generator in preparation for the storm.
Isaac is still a tropical storm, with top winds of 65 miles an hour.
National Hurricane Center director Rick Knabb told ABC’s “Good Morning America” Monday that Isaac won’t be as strong as they initially thought when it hits land somewhere along the north Gulf Coast.
Already, the storm has brought wind and rain to parts of Florida.
FULL COVERAGE: Tropical Storm Isaac
Knabb said forecasters are still having a hard time predicting where Isaac’s center will make landfall. It could come ashore Wednesday morning, seven years to the day after Hurricane Katrina killed more than 200 Mississippians and caused billions of dollars in damage.
53,000 in Louisiana told to leave ahead of Isaac
More than 50,000 residents of a southeast Louisiana parish have been told to evacuate ahead of Tropical Storm Isaac, while the governor says he is likely to skip the Republican National Convention.
St. Charles Parish officials told the parish’s 53,000 residents to leave ahead of the storm. Earlier in the day, Gov. Bobby Jindal had also suggested that anyone in low-lying parts of the state’s coastal parishes evacuate.
Jindal says he won’t leave the state as long as it’s in the storm’s crosshairs. He had been scheduled to speak at the Republican National Convention in Tampa on Tuesday.
A hurricane warning was issued for parts of the state east of Morgan City, which includes the New Orleans area.
Isaac is expected to be a strong Category 2 hurricane when it comes ashore along the Gulf Coast late Tuesday or Wednesday. Wednesday is the seventh anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)