ANTONIO CRUISE: Hurricane returns 7 years to the day Isaac's 80mph winds batter New Orleans

Thursday 30 August 2012

Hurricane returns 7 years to the day Isaac's 80mph winds batter New Orleans

Full force ... locals measure storm in New Orleans

NEW Orleans was hit by Hurricane Isaac yesterday — exactly seven years after it was devastated by its deadly predecessor Katrina.

Three-quarters of the city was without power and a dusk-to-dawn curfew declared as 80mph winds and rain crashed in from the Gulf Coast.

Ghoulish ... coffin is washed up in Braithwaite

However, the category one storm was less powerful than category three Katrina, which struck the same day in 2005 and killed more than 1,800. The city’s new floodgates — erected in the wake of Katrina — also helped prevent further damage. Last night Isaac had been downgraded to a tropical storm after winds subsided. Police spokesman Captain Doug Cain said: “Talk about a resilient people. They’ve been through this before — they’ll make it through this one.”

Evacuated ... family wade through the mud

Trauma ... man is rescued by boat in Braithwaite, Louisiana

As comma-shaped Isaac hit Louisiana earlier yesterday, the worst-affected area was Plaquemines Parish, 50 miles south east of New Orleans. Its president Billy Nungesser said 2,000 locals were told to evacuate. But half stayed and many were stranded as floods swept the region after a levee broke.
Mr Nungesser said: “People are on their roofs and attics with 12 to 14 foot of water in their homes. This has delivered more of a punch than people thought.”

US city is battered by ferocious winds and torrential rain, but escapes the worst of the hurricane

Battered ... collapsed house in New Orleans

Splash News

Councillor Kirk Lepine dubbed it “the worst scenario we can imagine”.
Coffins floated out of flooded graves in the battered town of Braithwaite.
The storm — travelling at just 6mph — was expected to dump 20 inches of rain in some areas. New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu said: “It’s going to hover over us.”
Around 650,000 people were reported to be without power in Louisiana and the nearby states of Arkansas, Alabama, Mississippi and Texas. Isaac has left 24 dead in Haiti and the Dominican Republic.