NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - Hurricane Isaac lashed southern Louisiana with high winds and heavy rains on Wednesday and was set for a late-morning arrival in New Orleans, seven years to the day after Hurricane Katrina devastated the city.Isaac is the first hurricane to make landfall in the United States this season. While not nearly as strong as Katrina -- which was a Category 3 storm when it slammed the Crescent City on August 29, 2005 -- Category 1 Isaac was still a powerful reminder of New Orleans' vulnerability.
The hurricane will be the first test for multibillion-dollar flood defenses built after levees failed under Katrina's storm surge, leaving large parts of low-lying New Orleans swamped.
TheNational Hurricane Center warned late on Tuesday that Isaac and its 80 mph (130kph) winds were producing dangerous storm surges, and that flooding from heavy rains was expected.
Isaac will also test the resolve of officials and the preparedness of a city and region where some 1,800 died in the 2005 hurricane, the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history.
Officials from the mayor of New Orleans to Louisiana GovernorBobby Jindal, to U.S. President Barack Obama, have scrambled to get ahead of the storm's impact, mindful of the chaos and botched relief efforts in the wake of Katrina.
Mayor Mitch Landrieu assured residents that this time around, "your city is secure," and said emergency services were ready for search and rescue missions.
"We're in the heart of this fight," Landrieu told a news conference. "We are in the hunker-down phase."
About 1,000 U.S. National Guard troops in military vehicles took up positions in the mostly deserted streets of New Orleans, brandishing assault rifles to maintain order. Police cars patrolled darkened streets with blue lights flashing.
Obama urged residents to take heed warnings and take cover, saying that now was "not the time to tempt fate." He issued emergency declarations for Louisiana and Mississippi earlier this week.
PUTTING NEW SYSTEMS TO THE TEST
Isaac's arrival on the anniversary of Katrina cast a spotlight on the enduring struggle of the iconic American city, its residents and its distinctive culture.
When the 2005 storm hit, the city endured days of deadly disorder, widespread looting and other crimes. Hundreds drowned, while others waited for days to be plucked from their rooftops by Coast Guard helicopters.
Hundreds of thousands of residents, their homes flooded or made uninhabitable by mold, were moved temporarily to Texas and other states. Thousands along the Gulf Coast lived in government provided trailers for months or years afterwards.
After Katrina,the Army Corps of Engineers built a $14.5 billion defense system of walls, floodgates, levees and pumps designed to protect the city from heavy tidal surges.
On Tuesday morning, army engineers closed the floodgate at Lake Borgne, east of New Orleans, for the first time. It is largest storm-surge barrier in the world.
Most of the city's Lower Ninth ward, scarred by memories of Katrina, was deserted on Tuesday. Residents who did not leave stocked up on water, food and fuel.
Residents of Louisiana's low-lying Plaquemines Parish, where some flooding was already happening on Tuesday, were anxious.
Avenal Terrance, 52, who was evacuated early on Tuesday, was praying the levees would hold. "I'm living in an old trailer, not a new one, and I just hope and pray that the storm doesn't take it," she said.
The hurricane will be the first test for multibillion-dollar flood defenses built after levees failed under Katrina's storm surge, leaving large parts of low-lying New Orleans swamped.
TheNational Hurricane Center warned late on Tuesday that Isaac and its 80 mph (130kph) winds were producing dangerous storm surges, and that flooding from heavy rains was expected.
Isaac will also test the resolve of officials and the preparedness of a city and region where some 1,800 died in the 2005 hurricane, the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history.
Officials from the mayor of New Orleans to Louisiana GovernorBobby Jindal, to U.S. President Barack Obama, have scrambled to get ahead of the storm's impact, mindful of the chaos and botched relief efforts in the wake of Katrina.
Mayor Mitch Landrieu assured residents that this time around, "your city is secure," and said emergency services were ready for search and rescue missions.
"We're in the heart of this fight," Landrieu told a news conference. "We are in the hunker-down phase."
About 1,000 U.S. National Guard troops in military vehicles took up positions in the mostly deserted streets of New Orleans, brandishing assault rifles to maintain order. Police cars patrolled darkened streets with blue lights flashing.
Obama urged residents to take heed warnings and take cover, saying that now was "not the time to tempt fate." He issued emergency declarations for Louisiana and Mississippi earlier this week.
PUTTING NEW SYSTEMS TO THE TEST
Isaac's arrival on the anniversary of Katrina cast a spotlight on the enduring struggle of the iconic American city, its residents and its distinctive culture.
When the 2005 storm hit, the city endured days of deadly disorder, widespread looting and other crimes. Hundreds drowned, while others waited for days to be plucked from their rooftops by Coast Guard helicopters.
Hundreds of thousands of residents, their homes flooded or made uninhabitable by mold, were moved temporarily to Texas and other states. Thousands along the Gulf Coast lived in government provided trailers for months or years afterwards.
After Katrina,the Army Corps of Engineers built a $14.5 billion defense system of walls, floodgates, levees and pumps designed to protect the city from heavy tidal surges.
On Tuesday morning, army engineers closed the floodgate at Lake Borgne, east of New Orleans, for the first time. It is largest storm-surge barrier in the world.
Most of the city's Lower Ninth ward, scarred by memories of Katrina, was deserted on Tuesday. Residents who did not leave stocked up on water, food and fuel.
Residents of Louisiana's low-lying Plaquemines Parish, where some flooding was already happening on Tuesday, were anxious.
Avenal Terrance, 52, who was evacuated early on Tuesday, was praying the levees would hold. "I'm living in an old trailer, not a new one, and I just hope and pray that the storm doesn't take it," she said.