NEW ORLEANS — With its massive size and ponderous movement, Tropical Storm Isaac was gaining strength Monday as it headed toward the Gulf Coast. The next 24 hours would determine whether it brought the usual punishing rains and winds – or something even more destructive harkening back to the devastation wrought seven years ago by Hurricane Katrina.

The focus has been on New Orleans as Isaac takes dead aim at the city, but the impact will be felt well beyond the city limits. The storm's winds could be felt more than 200 miles from the storm's center.

The Gulf Coast region has been saturated thanks to a wet summer, and some officials have worried more rain could make it easy for trees and power lines to fall over in the wet ground. Too much water also could flood crops, and wind could topple plants such as corn and cotton.

"A large, slow-moving system is going to pose a lot of problems: winds, flooding, storm surge and even potentially down the road river flooding," said Richard Knabb, director of the National Hurricane Center in Miami. "That could happen for days after the event."

The storm's potential for destruction was not lost on Alabama farmer Bert Driskell, who raises peanuts, cotton, wheat, cattle and sod on several thousand acres near Grand Bay, in Mobile County.

"We don't need a lot of water this close to harvest," Driskell said.

However, Isaac could bring some relief to places farther inland where farmers have struggled with drought. It also may help replenish a Mississippi River that has at times been so low that barge traffic is halted so engineers can scrape the bottom to deepen it.

Forecasters predicted Isaac would intensify into a Category 2 hurricane, with winds of about 100 mph, by early Wednesday around the time it's expected to make landfall. The current forecast track has the storm aimed at New Orleans, but hurricane warnings extended across 280 miles from Morgan City, La., to the Florida-Alabama state line. It could become the first hurricane to hit the Gulf Coast since 2008.

Evacuations were ordered for some low-lying areas and across the region, people boarded up homes, stocked up on supplies and got ready for the storm. Schools, universities and businesses closed in many places.

Still, all the preparation may not matter if flooding becomes the greatest threat. In Pascagoula, Miss., Nannette Clark was supervising a work crew installing wood coverings over windows of her more than 130-year-old home. But she said all that won't matter if a storm surge reaches her home, as it did after Katrina in 2005.

"The water was up to the first landing of the stairs," she said. "So I get very nervous about it."

Isaac's approach on the eve of the Katrina anniversary invited obvious comparisons, but Isaac is nowhere near as powerful as the Katrina was when it struck on Aug. 29, 2005. Katrina at one point reached Category 5 status with winds of over 157 mph. It made landfall as a Category 3 storm and created a huge storm surge.

Federal Emergency Management Agency officials said the updated levees around New Orleans are equipped to handle storms stronger than Isaac. Levee failures led to the catastrophic flooding in the area after Katrina.

"It's a much more robust system than what it was when Katrina came ashore," said FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate in a conference call with reporters.

In New Orleans, officials had no plans to order evacuations and instead told residents to hunker down and make do with the supplies they had.

"It's going to be all right," said New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu.

Isaac could pack a watery double punch for the Gulf Coast. If it hits during high tide, Isaac could push floodwaters as deep as 12 feet onto shore in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama and up to 6 feet in the Florida Panhandle, while dumping up to 18 inches of rain over the region, the National Weather Service warned.

As of 11 p.m. EDT on Monday, Isaac remained a tropical storm with winds of 70 mph (110 kph). It was centered about 190 miles (305 kms) southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River, and was moving northwest at 10 mph (17 kph).

The storm's center was forecast to move over the central Gulf of Mexico late Monday and approach the coast of southeastern Louisiana and Mississippi on Tuesday afternoon or Tuesday night, the Hurricane Center said.

On the Alabama coast, Billy Cannon, 72, was preparing to evacuate with several cars packed with family and four Chihuahuas from a home on a peninsula in Gulf Shores. Cannon, who has lived on the coast for 30 years, said he thinks the order to evacuate Monday was premature.

"If it comes in, it's just going to be a big rain storm. I think they overreacted, but I understand where they're coming from. It's safety," he said.

The storm left 24 dead in Haiti and the Dominican Republic, but left little damage in the Florida Keys as it blew past. It promised a soaking but little more for Tampa, where the planned Monday start of the Republican National Convention was pushed back because of the storm.

Only a fraction of an expected 5,000 demonstrators turned out in Tampa to protest GOP economic and social policies outside the convention. Organizers blamed Isaac and a massive police presence for their weak showing.

The storm had lingering effects for much of Florida, including heavy rains and isolated flooding in Miami and points north. Gov. Rick Scott said that as of Monday evening, about 80,000 customers were without power in Florida as a result of the storm.

Scott, a Republican, was returning from the convention in Tampa to Tallahassee to monitor Isaac. Fellow Gulf Coast Republican Govs. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana and Robert Bentley of Alabama said they would not attend the convention at all. Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant delayed his travel through Wednesday, leaving open the possibility he could attend the final day of the event.

States of emergency were in effect in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida.

The choppy ocean waters generated by Isaac weren't all bad for everyone, though. On Pensacola Bay, fishermen boasted big hauls.

"You get a little storm headed this way and they seem to run a little. When the barometric pressure drops, something causes them to run better," said Eric Roberts, who was out fishing for mullet.

___

Associated Press writers Jay Reeves in Orange Beach, Ala., Jessica Gresko and Melissa Nelson in Pensacola, Fla., and Curt Anderson and Kelli Kennedy in Miami contributed to this report.

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  • People rescue cows from floodwaters after Isaac passed through the region, in Plaquemines Parish, La., Thursday, Aug. 30, 2012. Isaac staggered toward central Louisiana early Thursday, its weakening winds still potent enough to drive storm surge into portions of the coast and the River Parishes between New Orleans and Baton Rouge. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

  • Angela Serpas, Lainy Serpas

    Angela Serpas cries as she sees her flooded home for the first time since Hurricane Isaac pushed a 10-foot storm surge into Braithwaite, La., Saturday, Sept. 1, 2012. At right is her daughter Lainy Serpas, 11. While New Orleans streets were bustling again and workers were returning to offshore oil rigs, thousands of evacuees couldn't return home to flooded low-lying areas of Louisiana and more than 400,000 sweltering electricity customers in the state remained without power. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

  • A tree falls against a home after Hurricane Isaac passed the area in Braithwaite, La., Saturday, Sept. 1, 2012. While New Orleans streets were bustling again and workers were returning to offshore oil rigs, thousands of evacuees couldn't return home to flooded low-lying areas of Louisiana and more than 400,000 sweltering electricity customers in the state remained without power. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

  • US-VOTE-REPUBLICANS-ROMNEY-WEATHER

    Storm-affected residents make their way out of their flooded neighborhood following Hurricane Isaac in Crown Point, off the road to LaFitte, outside of New Orleans, on August 31, 2012 in Louisiana, where Republican White House hopeful Mitt Romney rushed to visit in a bid to burnish his presidential credentials ahead of his November battle with President Barack Obama. Coming off the back of a rousing Republican convention, Romney sought to build momentum by taking his new campaign plane to New Orleans, where rescue crews are clearing up after Hurricane Isaac unleashed a torrential downpour. AFP PHOTO / Frederic J. BROWN (Photo credit should read FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/GettyImages)

  • US Gulf Coast Copes With Aftermath Of Hurricane Isaac

    PLAQUEMINES PARISH, LA - AUGUST 31: Cattle are stuck in a mixture of mud debris washed in by Hurricane Isaac's storm surge on August 31, 2012 in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana. Officials are attempting to conduct a cattle roundup in Plaquemines in an attempt to save around 200 cattle stranded by the storm. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

  • US Gulf Coast Copes With Aftermath Of Hurricane Isaac

    BRAITHWAITE, LA - AUGUST 31: Tombs dislodged by a levee breach from Hurricane Isaac's flood waters sit by a roadway amongst debris on August 31, 2012 in Braithwaite, Louisiana. Louisiana residents continue to cope with the aftermath of Hurricane Isaac with ongoing flooding, destroyed property and many still without electricity. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

  • Peter Roccaforte

    Peter Roccaforte walks through floodwaters from Hurricane Isaac at his home in Reserve, La., as some of his clothing hangs out to dry Saturday, Sept. 1, 2012. Floodwaters cover many streets and power remains out in some areas. Louisiana's Public Service Commission said more than 443,000 customers remained without electricity around Louisiana on Saturday morning, days after Hurricane Isaac crept across the state. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

  • The exits off of I-10 in Slidell, La. are flooded in the aftermath of Isaac on Thursday, Aug. 30, 2012. Isaac hovered over Louisiana for a third day Thursday, shedding more than a foot of additional rain that forced authorities to hurriedly evacuate areas ahead of the storm and rescue hundreds of people who could not escape as the rapidly rising waters swallowed entire neighborhoods. (AP Photo/The Times-Picayune, Michael Democker) MAGS OUT; NO SALES; USA TODAY OUT

  • Hurricane Isaac Hits New Orleans, Gulf Coast

    SLIDELL, LA - AUGUST 30: Residents travel through their neighborhood by jetski during flooding from Hurricane Isaac's storm surge on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain on August 30, 2012 in Slidell, Louisiana. The large Category 1 hurricane had slowly moved across southeast Louisiana, dumping huge amounts of rain and knocking out power to Louisianans in scattered parts of the state. The weather system has now been downgraded to a tropical storm but is still producing heavy rains and flooding as it moves north. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

  • Anthony Segrave rides in his boat as he leaves his son's flooded home in the aftermath of Hurricane Isaac in Slidell, La., Friday, Aug. 31, 2012. Isaac is now a tropical depression and the center was on track to cross Arkansas on Friday and southern Missouri on Friday night, spreading rain as it goes. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

  • Homes in LaPlace, La., west of US 51 and south of I-10, are covered in floodwaters in the aftermath of Isaac on Thursday, Aug. 30, 2012. Isaac hovered over Louisiana for a third day Thursday, shedding more than a foot of additional rain that forced authorities to hurriedly evacuate areas ahead of the storm and rescue hundreds of people who could not escape as the rapidly rising waters swallowed entire neighborhoods. (AP Photo/The Times-Picayune, Michael Democker) MAGS OUT; NO SALES; USA TODAY OUT

  • An intentional levy breach that was created to alleviate trapped floodwater is seen in the community of Braithwaite, La., in the aftermath of Hurricane Isaac, Thursday, Aug. 30, 2012. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

  • Tony Rodriguez, right, carries his baby daughter Nicole as they and his wife Jodi Clelland leave their flooded home in the aftermath of Hurricane Isaac in Slidell, La., Friday, Aug. 31, 2012. Isaac is now a tropical depression and the center was on track to cross Arkansas on Friday and southern Missouri on Friday night, spreading rain as it goes. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

  • The city of New Orleans lies under a heavy band of storms in the aftermath of Isaac on Thursday, Aug. 30, 2012. Isaac hovered over Louisiana for a third day Thursday, shedding more than a foot of additional rain that forced authorities to hurriedly evacuate areas ahead of the storm and rescue hundreds of people who could not escape as the rapidly rising waters swallowed entire neighborhoods. (AP Photo/The Times-Picayune, Michael Democker) MAGS OUT; NO SALES; USA TODAY OUT

  • Interstate 10 in LaPLace, La. at the approach of the Twelve Mile Bridge is underwater because of Hurricane Isaac Thursday, August 30, 2012. Isaac soaked Louisiana for yet another day and pushed more water into neighborhoods all around the city, flooding homes and forcing last-minute evacuations and rescues. New Orleans itself was spared, thanks in large part to a levee system built after Katrina. (AP Photo/The Times-Picayune, John McCusker) MAGS OUT; NO SALES; USA TODAY OUT

  • This aerial photo shows the pumping station at the 17th Street Canal, built after Hurricane Katrina breached the wall and flooded New Orleans, Thursday, Aug. 30, 2012. Isaac soaked Louisiana for yet another day and pushed more water into neighborhoods all around the city, flooding homes and forcing last-minute evacuations and rescues. New Orleans itself was spared, thanks in large part to a levee system built after Katrina. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

  • A car sits submerged after Isaac passed through the region, in Plaquemines Parish, La., Thursday, Aug. 30, 2012. Isaac staggered toward central Louisiana early Thursday, its weakening winds still potent enough to drive storm surge into portions of the coast and the River Parishes between New Orleans and Baton Rouge. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

  • Buster stands behind sand bags as he stares at the flood waters around his home, Thursday, Aug. 30, 2012, in LaPlace, La. Isaac has caused major flooding in the region. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

  • Lonney Sciortino

    Lonney Sciortino prepares to cut down a tree which fell on top of his tamale stand during Isaac in Arabi, La.,Thursday, Aug. 30, 2012. Isaac's maximum sustained winds had decreased to 45 mph and the National Hurricane Center said it was expected to become a tropical depression by Thursday night. The storm's center was on track to cross Arkansas on Friday and southern Missouri on Friday night, spreading rain as it goes. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

  • Homes are surrounded by flooded water after Isaac passed through the region, in Plaquemines Parish, La., Thursday, Aug. 30, 2012. Isaac staggered toward central Louisiana early Thursday, its weakening winds still potent enough to drive storm surge into portions of the coast and the River Parishes between New Orleans and Baton Rouge. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

  • A submerged cow is stranded amid debris in floodwaters after Isaac passed through the region, in Plaquemines Parish, La., Thursday, Aug. 30, 2012. Isaac staggered toward central Louisiana early Thursday, its weakening winds still potent enough to drive storm surge into portions of the coast and the River Parishes between New Orleans and Baton Rouge. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

  • Isaac Fields, Victor Jones

    Isaac Fields, left, and Victor Jones use street signs to paddle a boat out of their flooded neighbor, Thursday, Aug. 30, 2012, in LaPlace, La. Isaac has caused major flooding in the region. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

  • The St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church is seen flooded after Isaac passed through the region, in Plaquemines Parish, La., Thursday, Aug. 30, 2012. Isaac staggered toward central Louisiana early Thursday, its weakening winds still potent enough to drive storm surge into portions of the coast and the River Parishes between New Orleans and Baton Rouge. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

  • Flooded water surrounds homes after Isaac passed through the region, in Plaquemines Parish, La., Thursday, Aug. 30, 2012. Isaac staggered toward central Louisiana early Thursday, its weakening winds still potent enough to drive storm surge into portions of the coast and the River Parishes between New Orleans and Baton Rouge. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

  • Hurricane Isaac Hits New Orleans, Gulf Coast

    SLIDELL, LA - AUGUST 30: A resident evacuates from flooding from Hurricane Isaac's storm surge on the north shore of Lake Ponchartrain on August 30, 2012 in Slidell, Louisiana. The large Category 1 hurricane had slowly moved across southeast Louisiana, dumping huge amounts of rain and knocking out power to Louisianans in scattered parts of the state. The weather system has now been downgraded to a tropical storm but is still producing heavy rains and flooding as it moves north. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

  • Hurricane Isaac Hits New Orleans, Gulf Coast

    LAPLACE, LA - AUGUST 30: A man heads to check on his house through flood water that came on shore from Lake Pontratrain during Hurricane Isaac near the Indigo Lakes subdivsion on August 30, 2012 in LaPlace, Louisiana.The large Category 1 hurricane had slowly moved across southeast Louisiana, dumping huge amounts of rain and knocking out power to Louisianans in scattered parts of the state. The weather system has now been downgraded to a tropical storm but is still producing heavy rains and flooding as it moves north. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

  • Chuck Cropp, center, his son Piers, left, and wife Liz, right, wade through floodwaters from Hurricane Isaac Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2012, in New Orleans. As Isaac made landfall, it was expected to dump as much as 20 inches of rain in several parts of Louisiana. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

  • Homes are flooded as Hurricane Isaac hits Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2012, in Braithwaite, La. As Isaac made landfall, it was expected to dump as much as 20 inches of rain in several parts of Louisiana. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

  • Kneaka Griffin, Ra-Maaz Williams

    Kneaka Griffin, of Davant, La., holds Ra-Maaz Williams, 5 months, at an evacuation shelter after Isaac made landfall as a hurricane, in Belle Chasse, La., Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2012. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

  • Law enforcement officers and first responders help a family to reach dry land after they were rescued from floodwaters caused by Isaac in Pearlington, Miss., Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2012, during a nonstop rain. A number of residents of the small community were trapped by the rising waters and had be rescued or waited until the low tide when waters receded so they could walk out. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

  • The waters of the Mississippi Sound surround a traffic sign along Coden Belt Road, Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2012 in Coden, Ala. as Isaac makes landfall along the Gulf Coast. Isaac, downgraded to a tropical storm, has top sustained winds of 70 mph (112 kph), just below the hurricane threshold of 74 mph (119 kph). The storm is about 50 miles (80 kilometers) west-southwest of New Orleans, where it is bringing drenching rains and fierce winds. (AP Photo/Mobile Register, G.M. Andrews MAGS OUT

  • Hurricane Isaac Hits New Orleans, Gulf Coast

    NEW ORLEANS, LA - AUGUST 29: A downed streetlight lies in the rain from Hurricane Isaac in the Central Business District on August 29, 2012 in New Orleans, Louisiana. The large Level 1 hurricane is slowly moving across southeast Louisiana, dumping large amounts of rain and knocking out power to Louisianans in scattered parts of the state. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

  • Lights are reflected on Canal Street as a police officer patrolling the area passes a pedestrian as storm bands from Hurricane Isaac hit, Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2012, in New Orleans, Louisiana. Isaac, a massive storm spanning nearly 200 miles from its center, made landfall Tuesday evening near the mouth of the Mississippi River. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

  • David Stefano

    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. Isaac's rainfall flooded a number of streets in this Bay St. Louis subdivision, preventing firemen from responding quickly to the fire that destroyed a house. (AP Photo/Holbrook Mohr)

  • Ronnie Willis

    Ronnie Willis makes his way across Canal Street through the wind and rain from Hurricane Isaac Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2012, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

  • Hurricane Isaac Hits New Orleans, Gulf Coast

    NEW ORLEANS, LA - AUGUST 29: Heavy rain from Hurricane Isaac obsures the view of the Crescent City Connection Bridge over the Mississiippi River early on August 29, 2012 in New Orleans, Louisiana. The large Level 1 hurricane slowly moved across southeast Louisiana, dumping huge amounts of rain and knocking out power to Louisianans in scattered parts of the state. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

  • 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, 2012. First responders used an airboat to reach the house in order to make sure the flames did not affect any neighboring homes. (AP Photo/Holbrook Mohr)

  • Waves tear apart a pier along the Mobile Bay near Dauphin Island on Tuesday, August 28, 2012. Alabama took a glancing blow from Hurricane Isaac on Tuesday as it headed toward landfall in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico, but the storm still threatened the coast with high winds, torrential rain and pounding surf. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

  • Bay St. Louis, Miss., first responders brave a driving rain storm as they use an airboat to reach a house fire in a flooded subdivision, Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2012. After several attempts to reach the house fire, flooded streets forced the fire fighters to use the airboat. (AP Photo/Holbrook Mohr)

  • A woman stands on a partially submerged picnic bench in the storm surge from Isaac, on Lakeshore Drive along Lake Pontchartrain, as the storm approaches landfall, in New Orleans, Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

  • Waves tear apart a pier along Mobile Bay near Dauphin Island on Tuesday, August 28, 2012 in Coden, Ala. Alabama took a glancing blow from Hurricane Isaac on Tuesday as it headed toward landfall in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico, but the storm still threatened the coast with high winds, torrential rain and pounding surf. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

  • First responders seek the assistance of a City of Bay St. Louis, Miss., dump truck to tow their airboat back to their launch site after running aground Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2012. Isaac's rainfall flooded a number of streets in this Bay St. Louis, Miss., neighborhood preventing firemen from using their fire trucks. First responders used an airboat to reach a burning house in order to make sure the flames did not affect any neighboring homes. (AP Photo/Holbrook Mohr)

  • Alex, left, and Adam ,three-month-old Chihuahua puppies, play in their new kennel at the Houston SPCA on Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2012, in Houston. These two were among 70 cats and dogs that were evacuated from St. Bernard Parish Animal Control in anticipation of Hurricane Isaac. (AP Photo/Houston Chronicle, J. Patric Schneider)

  • Debris from crashing waves lies strewn over the parkway going to Dauphin Island forcing a closure to the island on Tuesday, August 28, 2012 in Coden, Ala. Alabama took a glancing blow from Hurricane Isaac on Tuesday as it headed toward landfall in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico, but the storm still threatened the coast with high winds, torrential rain and pounding surf. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

  • Debris lies strewn over the parkway going to Dauphin Island forcing a closure to the island on Tuesday, August 28, 2012 in Coden, Ala. Alabama took a glancing blow from Hurricane Isaac on Tuesday as it headed toward landfall in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico, but the storm still threatened the coast with high winds, torrential rain and pounding surf. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

  • Dillard University students stay at the shelter in the gym of Centenary Colleges as they evacuated from New Orleans because of hurricane Isaac Tuesday afternoon, Aug. 28, 2012 in Shreveport, La. (AP Photo/The Times, Henrietta Wildsmith)

  • The Waterfront Seafood company is flooded as water covers Shell Belt Road in Bayou La Batre, Ala. on Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2012. The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said Isaac became a Category 1 hurricane Tuesday with winds of 75 mph. It could get stronger by the time it's expected to reach the swampy coast of southeast Louisiana. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

  • Teresa Ragas, left, and her husband Bertrand Ragas, of Port Sulphur, La., lie side-by-side in cots at an evacuation shelter in Belle Chasse, La., due to the impending landfall of Isaac, which is expected reach the region as a hurricane this evening, Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2012. The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said Isaac became a Category 1 hurricane Tuesday with winds of 75 mph. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

  • A concerned neighbor checks on a car as a storm surge from Isaac pushes into Panama City, Fla. on Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/The News Herald/Panama City, Fla., Andrew Wardlow) MANDATORY CREDIT

  • Senior hurricane specialist Stacy Stewart updates Isaac to a category one hurricane at the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2012. Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center warned that Isaac, especially if it strikes at high tide, could cause storm surges of up to 12 feet (3.6 meters) along the coasts of southeast Louisiana and Mississippi and up to 6 feet (1.8 meters) as far away as the Florida Panhandle. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz)

  • Michelle Hice, Tommy Leonard

    Animal control officer Michelle Hice puts a temporary identification collar on "Snuggles,' as evacuee Tommy Leonard hands him over for safe keeping, at an evacuation shelter in Belle Chasse, La., due to the impending landfall of Isaac, which is expected reach the region as a hurricane this evening, Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2012. The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said Isaac became a Category 1 hurricane Tuesday with winds of 75 mph. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Miss. River Flowed Backwards

According to BBC News, the U.S. Geological Survey found that "The storm surge ahead of Hurricane Isaac made the Mississippi River run backwards for 24 hours."

Read the full story here.

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Threat Of Flash Flooding

National Hurricane Center issued the following advisory at 4 p.m. CDT:

...TROPICAL DEPRESSION ISAAC BRINGING HEAVY RAINFALL AND THE THREAT OF FLASH FLOODING TO THE MIDDLE MISSISSIPPI RIVER VALLEY...

More here.

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PHOTO: Romney Examines Relief Efforts

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Water Boil Advisory
@ The_Gambit : The city just announced a water boil advisory for Venetian Isles, in effect until further notice.

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Major Flooding In Arkansas
@ jimwxgator : More MAJOR flooding from Isaac today in Pine Bluff, AR. via @KATV_Weather: http://t.co/9SWtF75p

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St. Tammany Parish Floodwaters Expected To Recede
@ NOLAnews : Isaac's floodwaters should start to recede in St. Tammany Parish http://t.co/IvG0v4UY

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St. John Parish Evacuees Database Available
@ NOLAnews : Isaac evacuees database available for St. John Parish families http://t.co/BegMKyc4

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Isaac Has Been Downgraded To A Tropical Depression
@ chadmyerscnn : #Isaac is now a trop. depression. Winds to 35mph. Lingering storms coming in from the Gulf may have higher gusts or tornadoes.

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Over 1 Million Powerless
@ wunderground : Over 1 million people without power in LA/MS due to #Isaac.

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Deliberate Breach Of Plaquemines Parish Levee Begins
@ AP : BREAKING: Crews begin breaching levee stressed by Isaac flooding in La.'s hard-hit Plaquemines Parish: http://t.co/Z53F2Omf

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Tangipahoa Lake Controlled Water Release Begins
@ NOLAnews : Controlled release of water from Tangipahoa Lake in Miss. begins http://t.co/Cxrzf6h7

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Curfew Lifted

Curfew has been lifted in New Orleans.

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More Tornado Warnings
@ twc_hurricane : Tornado warning: southeast Kemper, northeast Lauderdale counties in eastern MS until 2:30pm. Details: http://t.co/yaxQlZkQ #Isaac

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PHOTO: Flooding In Mobile

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Plaquemines Sheriff Nearly Swept Away
@ NOLAnews : Plaquemines sheriff swept away, saved in dramatic Hurricane #Isaac rescue - http://t.co/7dzVpP51

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PHOTO: National Guard In Mississippi

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Flash Flood Warning For St. John's The Baptist Parish
@ twc_hurricane : Flash flood warning: St Charles & St John The Baptist parishes in Louisiana until 4:15pm CDT. Details: http://t.co/4wheT4cj

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Mississippi Officials To Breach Dam
@ NOLAnews : Miss. officials to breach Isaac-damaged dam on Tangipahoa River - http://t.co/uG8ir7xK

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Isaac Now With 40MPH Winds
@ twc_hurricane : Tropical Storm Isaac: 1 PM CT, 40 mph winds, 992 mb, moving NNW at 9 mph. http://t.co/yJDeDChu

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LSU Classes To Commence On Friday
@ Jmoon901 : RT @NOLAnews: LSU officials decide to reopen Baton Rouge campus for classes on Friday http://t.co/OR01ZGlv

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Emergency Evacuation Update

From Tangipahoa.org:

MISSISSIPPI EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT HAS NOTIFIED GOHSEP AND TANGIPAHOA PARISH GOVERNMENT THAT THE DAM AT LAKE TANGIPAHOA AT PERCY QUINN STATE PARK IS DAMAGED BUT HAS NOT FAILED. OUT OF CAUTION, TANGIPAHOA PARISH PRESIDENT GORDON BURGESS CONTINUES TO CALL FOR A MANDATORY EVACUATION OF ALL AREAS ALONG THE TANGIPAHOA RIVER.

Shelter locations are as follows: Hammond West Side Elementary Montessori School, Hammond Junior High Magnet School, Natalbany Elementary School, Nesom Middle School, Amite High School, and Kentwood High Magnet School.

GOVERNOR BOBBY JINDAL AND PARISH PRESIDENT GORDON BURGESS HAVE CALLED A 2PM PRESS CONFERENCE TO BE HELD AT THE TANGIPAHOA PARISH COUNCIL CHAMBERS AT 206 EAST MULBERRY ST IN AMTE, LOUISIANA.

Click here for more information.

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Emergency Evacuation Announcement

From Tangipahoa.org:

MISSISSIPPI EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT HAS NOTIFIED GOHSEP AND TANGIPAHOA PARISH GOVERNMENT THAT THE DAM AT LAKE TANGIPAHOA AT PERCY QUINN STATE PARK IS FAILING. TANGIPAHOA PARISH PRESIDENT GORDON BURGESS IS CALLING FOR A MANDATORY EVACUATION OF ALL AREAS ALONG THE TANGIPAHOA RIVER.

Shelter locations are as follows: Hammond West Side Elementary Montessori School, Hammond Junior High Magnet School, Natalbany Elementary School, Nesom Middle School, Amite High School, and Kentwood High Magnet School.

Click here for more information.

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New Orleans Has Largest Police Presence Since Katrina
@ MikePerlstein : Landrieu: NOLA has largest police presence on the street since Katrina: 2,900 cops, troopers and Nat'l Guard troops.

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Tornado Warnings For Alabama
@ twc_hurricane : Tornado warning: northeastern Choctaw County in southwest Alabama until 12:45pm CDT. Details: http://t.co/rgwzMMXX #Isaac

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Flash Flood Warning For Mobile
@ twc_hurricane : Flash flood warning: Mobile and Washington counties in AL until 5:45pm CDT. This includes the city of Mobile. #Isaac

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Jindal: Levees Are Doing What They Are Supposed To Do

"But levees alone won't protect our people."

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Jindal: Dam Not Yet Breeched
@ The_Gambit : Jindal: Tangipahoa levee has not been breached, despite earlier reports. If breached, 90 minutes to flooding in Kentwood, La.

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Jindal: This Storm Was Different

Jindal: "Every storm is different. Just because your house didn't flood last time doesn't mean it won't flood this time."

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Jindal says nearly 60,000 to be evacuated

Jindal: Up to 60,000 in evacuation zone

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PHOTO: Dam In Pike County, MS
@ WAFB : Here is a pic of the dam in Pike County, MS. http://t.co/BNO8mQHB http://t.co/FEZaDAMl

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