Scene from Isaac: “Beau Vige’ paddles his kayak down Johnson St. in Madisonville, which is taking on back water from Bayou De Zaire, to check out his neighbors who were still in their homes as Hurricane Isaac battered Madisonville Mandeville and the northshore with high winds and high tides, Wednesday August 29, 2012.” Isaac is quickly weakening this morning, but continues to drop heavy rains. (photo by Ted Jackson/The Times-Picayune)
Hurricane Isaac was downgraded Wednesday afternoon to a tropical storm but continued to hover over Louisiana with heavy rains and damaging winds. The storm, which was a Category 1 hurricane for 24 hours, has since sustained weakened winds of 75 mph, the National Hurricane Center reported. The storm’s latest recorded location was about 50 miles west-southwest of New Orleans, moving to the northwest at 6 mph.
Isaac has knocked out power to more than 725,000 customers in five states as of Wednesday afternoon, the affected utilities reported. WWLTV in New Orleans reports that the CEO of Entergy Louisiana said power could be out for nearly half of the region’s customers for at least a week after the wind and rain plowed through the company’s energy grid.
While the situation on the ground is still far from ideal, it’s good to know that the billions spent on new levees in New Orleans actually yielded results. Unfortunately, $1.5 billion in insured damages are expected to be claimed, and flooding remains an issue in many parts of southern Louisiana as well.
» A large storm stays together: While not nearly as strong as Hurricane Katrina, the storm is nonetheless dropping a ton of rain — up to 20 inches in some places — and due to its large size, National Hurricane Center director Rick Knabb says that the storm is “not going to fall apart real quick.” Local officials are assessing rescue efforts needed for those stuck in flooded homes.
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I am urging everyone to take precautions now, monitor weather warnings, and be prepared for whatever Isaac may bring.Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley • In a statement regarding Tropical Storm Isaac, which, almost exactly seven years to the day, is following a very similar path to Hurricane Katrina, starting relatively weakly around Florida and hitting the Gulf Coast states, where it may strengthen. Bentley has evacuated low-lying and coastal areas in his state. Other regions are also considering evacuation plans, including New Orleans, which was very badly struck by Hurricane Katrina. Mayor Mitch Landrieu says that the city, if it needs it, says that it is better-prepared to handle a major hurricane this time around.
No final decision has been made but anxiety is running high as the storm churns northward.
Officials are currently planning to make the call one way or the other Sunday morning, according to a source on the ground in Tampa.
A delayed start could involve a full cancellation of Monday’s events and a rescheduling of speeches across the four planned days of the convention.
Tropical Storm Isaac is clearly a Democrat. Seriously though, this is probably a smart move.
UPDATE: The first day of the convention has been cancelled.
» Not making an appearance? Joe Biden: Days after the Democratic vice president scheduled a politically-unprecedented visit to Tampa to coincide with the other party’s convention, he cancelled it “due to disaster preparedness and local security concerns” regarding the potentially-damaging Hurricane Isaac, according to the Obama campaign. The convention is still on despite the oncoming hurricane, by the way.
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