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Levee might have to give way for Isaac flooding
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Louisiana officials said Wednesday they may have to intentionally breach a levee in a flooded area as Isaac made a slow, drenching slog inland before weakening to a tropical storm and a dusk-to-dawn curfew was declared in New Orleans.

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal said officials may cut a hole in a levee on the east bank of Plaquemines Parish to relieve pressure on the structure. At a news conference in Baton Rouge, Jindal said there was no estimate on when that might occur. He said as many as 40 people are reportedly in need of rescue in the area. Plaquemines Parish has also ordered a mandatory evacuation for the west bank of the Mississippi River below Belle Chasse, worried about a storm surge.

The order affects about 3,000 people in the area, including a nursing home with 112 residents. Officials said the evacuation was ordered out of concern that more storm surge from Isaac would be pushed into the area and levees might be overtopped.

Joshua Brockhaus, an electrician who lives in the flooded area, helped rescue neighbors in his boat. "I'm getting text messages from all over asking for help," he said. "I'm dropping my dogs off and I'm going back out there."

The hurricane's impact was a surprise for him. "We didn't think it was going to be like that," he said. "The storm stayed over the top of us. For Katrina, we got eight inches of water. Now we have 13 feet."

Meanwhile in New Orleans, Mayor Mitch Landrieu issued a curfew for the city as Hurricane Isaac lashed the city on the seven-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina's destructive arrival. The curfew was issued to prevent looting. So far, there had been only sporadic arrests for looting. Police cars had been patrolling the nearly empty streets since Isaac began bringing fierce winds and heavy rains to the city Tuesday night. The curfew was set to start Wednesday night and would last until further notice.

In Vermilion Parish, Sheriff Mike Couvillon said a 36-year-old man had gone to help two friends move a vehicle from under a tree to prepare for Isaac on Tuesday evening, and fell to his death after climbing 18 feet up a tree. Deputies don't know why the man climbed the tree. Rescuers in boats and trucks plucked a handful of people who became stranded by floodwaters in thinly populated areas of southeast Louisiana. Authorities feared many more could need help after a night of slashing rain and fierce winds that knocked out power to more than 600,000 households and businesses.

Although Isaac was much weaker than Katrina, which crippled the city in 2005, the threat of dangerous storm surges and flooding from heavy rain was expected to last all day and into the night as the immense comma-shaped storm crawled across Louisiana. Army Corps spokeswoman Rachel Rodi said the city's bigger, stronger levees were withstanding the assault.

"The system is performing as intended, as we expected," she said. "We don't see any issues with the hurricane system at this point."

There were initial problems with pumps not working at the 17th Street Canal, the site of a breach on the day Katrina struck, but those pumps had been fixed, Rodi said. Rescuers in boats and trucks plucked a handful of people who became stranded by floodwaters in thinly populated areas of southeast Louisiana.

Authorities feared many more could need help after a night of slashing rain and fierce winds that knocked out power to more than 600,000 households and businesses. The extent of the damage was not entirely clear because officials did not want to send emergency crews into harm's way.

In Plaquemines Parish, a fishing community south of New Orleans, about two dozen people who stayed behind despite evacuation orders needed to be rescued.

"I think a lot of people were caught with their pants down," said Jerry Larpenter, sheriff in nearby Terrebonne Parish. "This storm was never predicted right since it entered the Gulf. It was supposed to go to Florida, Panama City, Biloxi, New Orleans. We hope it loses its punch once it comes in all the way."

As Isaac's eye Isaac passed overhead, authorities in armored vehicles saved a family whose roof was ripped off, Larpenter said. Two police officers had to be rescued by boat after their car became stuck. Rescuers were waiting for the strong winds to die down before moving out to search for other people.

"The winds are too strong and the rain too strong," Plaquemines Parish spokeswoman Caitlin Campbell said.

Water driven by the large and powerful storm flooded over an 18-mile stretch of one levee in Plaquemines Parish. The levee, one of many across the low-lying coastal zone, is not part of the new defenses constructed in New Orleans after Katrina. After maintaining hurricane strength through the morning, Isaac weakened to a tropical storm Wednesday afternoon with 70 mph winds and was expected to continue losing strength.

It came ashore at 7:45 p.m. EDT Tuesday with 80 mph winds near the mouth of the Mississippi River, driving a wall of water nearly 11 feet high inland and soaking a neck of land that stretches into the Gulf. The storm stalled for several hours before resuming a slow trek inland, and forecasters said that was in keeping with the its erratic history. The slow motion over land means Isaac could be a major soaker, dumping up to 20 inches of rain in some areas. But every system is different.

"It's totally up to the storm," said Ken Graham, chief meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Slidell, La.

Isaac's winds and sheets of rain whipped New Orleans, where forecasters said the city's skyscrapers could be subject to gusts up to 100 mph. In the French Quarter near Bourbon Street, Jimmy Maiuri stepped outside his second-floor apartment to shoot video. Maiuri, who fled from Katrina at the last minute, stayed behind this time and had no regrets, though he was amazed at the storm's timing.

"It's definitely not one to take lightly, but it's not Katrina," he said. "No one is going to forget Aug. 29 forever, not here at least."

As hard wind and heavy rain pelted Melba Leggett-Barnes' home in the Lower 9th Ward, an area leveled during Katrina, she felt more secure than she did seven years ago.

"I have a hurricane house this time," said Barnes, who has been living in her newly rebuilt since 2008.

She and her husband, Baxter Barnes, were among the first to get a home through Brad Pitt's Make It Right program. Her yellow house with a large porch and iron trellis was taking a beating, but holding strong.

"I don't have power, but I'm all right," said Barnes, 56, a cafeteria worker for the New Orleans school system.

In Mississippi, the main highway that runs along the Gulf, U.S. 90, was closed in sections by storm surge flooding. At one spot in Biloxi, a foot of water covered the highway for a couple of blocks, and it looked like more was coming in. High tide was likely to bring more water.

In Pass Christian, a Mississippi coastal community wiped out by hurricanes Camille and Katrina, Mayor Chipper McDermott was optimistic Isaac would not deal a heavy blow.

"It's not too bad, but the whole coast is going to be a mess," he said. McDermott stood on the porch of the $6 million municipal complex built after Katrina, with walls of 12-inch-thick concrete to withstand hurricane winds.

As he looked out toward the Gulf of Mexico, pieces of a structure that had stood atop the city's fishing pier washed across the parking lot. Tens of thousands of people had been told ahead of Isaac to leave low-lying areas of Mississippi and Louisiana, including 700 patients of Louisiana nursing homes. Mississippi shut down the state's 12 shorefront casinos. The hurricane also canceled commemoration ceremonies Wednesday for Katrina's 1,800 dead in Louisiana and Mississippi. The storm drew attention because of its timing -- coinciding with the Katrina anniversary and the first major speeches of the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney was considering whether to visit the Gulf Coast after Isaac. Isaac promised to test a New Orleans levee system bolstered by $14 billion in federal repairs and improvements after the catastrophic failures during Katrina.

But in a city that has already weathered Hurricane Gustav in 2008. Isaac also posed political challenges with echoes of those that followed Katrina, a reminder of how the storm became a symbol of government ineptitude.

President Barack Obama sought to demonstrate his ability to guide the nation through a natural disaster, and Republicans tried to reassure residents as they formally nominated former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney as their presidential candidate. There was already simmering political fallout from the storm. Republican Gov. Jindal, who canceled his trip to the convention in Tampa, said the Obama administration's disaster declaration fell short of the federal help he had requested. Jindal said he wanted a promise from the federal government to be reimbursed for storm preparation costs. FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate said such requests would be addressed after the storm.

Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Brian Schwaner and Cain Burdeau in New Orleans; Kevin McGill in Houma, La.; Holbrook Mohr in Waveland and Pass Christian, Miss.; Jeff Amy in Biloxi and Gulfport, Miss.; Jay Reeves in Gulf Shores, Ala.; Jessica Gresko in Mobile, Ala.; Erik Schelzig in Braithwaite, La.; and Curt Anderson at the National Hurricane Center in Miami.
(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Stories from the Path of Isaac
GRAND BAY, Ala. (AP) - Some Gulf Coast residents were getting out of town as Isaac approached, while others decided to hunker down and ride out the storm. A Mississippi resident was heading to her father's Alabama home. Twin sisters from Holland planned to ride out the storm in the French Quarter while looking for something to do and a woman fled New Orleans with her husband, two kids and pets. Here are their stories. ___ At a rest stop along Interstate 10 in Alabama, Bonnie Schertler, 54, of Waveland, Miss., was evacuating Tuesday to her father's house in Red Level, Ala., about three-and-a-half hours away. Schertler was traveling with her dog, Custer, and cat, Bennie. She said she decided to evacuate because forecasters were saying the storm could get stronger and could stall and pound the coast for an extended period of time. "I left because of the 'coulds,'" said Schertler, whose former home in Waveland was destroyed in Hurricane Katrina in 2005. It was six months before power was back on in the area then. Schertler rebuilt, but she decided it was better to leave her home during this storm. "I just feel like the storm may stay for a few days and that wind might just pound, and pound, and pound, and pound," she said. ___ In the eerily quiet French Quarter in New Orleans, 34-year-old twin sisters from Holland wandered the streets looking for people to talk to and something to do. Meernda and Corena Cecsl flew to Houston on Saturday, planning to drive to New Orleans for 14 days of music, crowds and fun. Instead, they arrived to news of a tropical storm that later became a hurricane. "We thought, maybe it's not as big as Katrina. And I thought about the kids. I'm a social worker, so I thought, 'What can I do to help if people need help,'" Meernda Cecsl said. They hunkered down in their hotel with two other guests and one staffer. The hotel had no food and no service so they stocked up on canned goods, bread, fruit and water, and bought candles and lighters. Their plan Tuesday was to be wander the streets looking for people to talk to and things to do, then get back in the hotel by 1 p.m. and ride out the night. Games and books would get them through. "If it's coming, it's coming. What can you do?" Meernda Cecsl said, vowing not to let it get her down or ruin the trip. "You have to just take the spirit with you." ___ Julie Gilyot, who evacuated from New Orleans with her husband, her two kids, a dog and a cockatiel, said she had been struggling to find a hotel that could accommodate her pets. She said she also had to leave her home for Hurricane Katrina. "We evacuated this time simply because of the potential loss of power," she said. "Not so much for the flooding, because where I live it doesn't flood exactly." She didn't know how long they would have to stay away this time. During Katrina, she said, they packed up some clothing and expected to be away for a few weeks. They were gone for six months. Despite the fact that the anniversary of Katrina was expected to coincide with with Isaac's landfall, Gilyot said she wasn't too worried about the storm. "When you live in New Orleans, then you've been through it multiple times," she said. "You pretty much have a handle on things. It's very draining, but you know, you kind of get a comfort zone." ___ On the edge of Vacherie, La., just a few hundred yards from the Mississippi River levee, neighborhoods were silent and many homes were boarded up. The only action was at the Piggly Wiggly, where a steady stream of customers stocked up on water, beer, nonperishable food and meats they could cook before the storm hit. "We had two or three rows of vehicles here earlier," said employee Debbie Inness, whose boss planned to close by 4 p.m. "We try to help out the community and stay open as long as we can." "It's only a Cat 1, so we'll be OK," she said, loading bags of ice into her own SUV. Her home was boarded up Monday and she had been preparing for two days with a routine checklist. But neither she nor husband Keith was worried. "We'll get a little wind, a little rain," her husband said, shrugging. "We could get a little tornado action here and there. That's always exciting. But you can't plan for that, so you can't worry about it." ___ Associated Press writers Sheila Kumar in Baton Rouge, La., and Vicki Smith in Vacherie, La., contributed to this report.
(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Florida Airports Getting Back to Normal after Isaac
NEW YORK (AP) - South Florida airports were returning to normal operations Monday morning but airlines are already warning of cancellations in and around New Orleans as Tropical Storm Isaac nears. Airlines cancelled more than 230 flights on Monday, according to flight-tracking service FlightAware. The vast majority of cancellations stemmed from the storm, which is expected to grow to a Category 1 hurricane and hit land late Tuesday night. American Airlines, part of AMR Corp., runs a major hub at Miami International Airport and was affected the most. The airline had 148 cancellations in Florida Monday morning but expected to operate normally by late morning, according to spokesman Ed Martelle. Airlines typically move planes out of a storm's path to protect them and ensure a faster return to service. Airlines cancelled 857 flights on Sunday - including 489 from American, according to FlightAware. Other Florida airports, including Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Key West, and Marathon were responsible for the majority of other cancellations. Key West International Airport, which originally expected to remain closed until Tuesday, will now reopen at noon Monday, according to airport director Peter Horton. Airlines are now closely watching the storm and warning of possible cancellations along the Florida panhandle and in New Orleans. Southwest Airlines, which cancelled 35 Florida flights today between its Southwest and AirTran brands, is monitoring airports in Panama City, Pensacola and New Orleans. The airline will make a decision about New Orleans flights late on Monday, according to spokeswoman Ashley Dillon. Those airports are tiny compared to Miami, which is a major gateway to Latin America and the Caribbean. Any cancellations there would be in addition to the nearly 1,000 flights scrapped so far because of the storm. All airlines will waive change fees for passengers wishing to move their flight into or out of an affected city to another date. They are also offering refunds to passengers whose flights have been cancelled. The specific policies can be found on each airline's website. ___
(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Haiti's Death Toll Climbs from Isaac
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) - A government official says that Haiti's death toll from Tropical Storm Isaac has jumped to 19. Marie Alta Jean-Baptiste of the country's Civil Protection Office gave few details on how each person died in the storm that drenched Haiti over the weekend. That puts the total regional death toll from Tropical Storm Isaac at 21. Two people died in the neighboring Dominican Republic after they were swept away in a river. Some of the Haitians died because their homes fell on top of them. Haiti is prone to flooding and mudslides because much of the country is heavily deforested and rainwater rushes down barren mountainsides. Jean-Baptiste gave the new figures in an interview on a private radio station.
(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Ex-Tropical Storm Chris weakens, advisories stop
MIAMI (AP) - A day after spending mere hours as a hurricane, the former Tropical Storm Chris was weakening in the north Atlantic and not headed for any land.

The storm's maximum sustained winds Friday have decreased to near 45 mph (75 kph). The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami says the tropical storm has become a post-tropical system and it will no longer issue advisories.

Chris is centered about 335 miles (535 kilometers) east-southeast of Cape Race, Newfoundland, and is moving west-northwest at 16 mph (26 kph).
    
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

DHS Secretary urges plan for hurricane season

MIAMI (AP) - U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano wants to make sure Americans are prepared for the
start of the Atlantic hurricane season.

The season begins Friday and Napolitano will join Federal Emergency Management Agency head Craig Fugate, as well as Florida
Gov. Rick Scott to urge those likely to be affected by storms to prepare beforehand.

Officials will begin their public service campaign Friday at the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

While not officially beginning until Friday, the season has already seen two named storms. Tropical Storm Alberto formed off
the coast of South Carolina on May 19 and dissipated a few days later. And on Memorial Day, Tropical Storm Beryl came ashore near
Jacksonville, Fla., dumping 10 inches of rain in some areas of north Florida.
     
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)