NEW ORLEANS — Tropical Storm Isaac neared hurricane strength early Tuesday as it swirled through the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, pointed toward the fragile lowlands of south Louisiana and the ever-vulnerable city of New Orleans.
Isaac, once an unorganized and fast-moving storm, has slowed down considerably, plodding northwest at just seven miles per hour. The slow speed is a cause for concern, because storms that travel at a leisurely pace tend to linger over flood-prone neighborhoods and dump large amounts of rain.
Forecasters are predicting 7 to 14 inches of rain once Isaac, which is expected to become a hurricane later Tuesday, reaches land. Total rainfall could reach 20 inches in some isolated areas.
For all the focus on the wind strength of these storms, it is water that truly terrifies residents and officials.
“These water hazards — the storm surge and the inland flooding — are things that sometimes people forget,” National Hurricane Center Director Rick Knabb told reporters Monday. “They consider tropical storms and hurricanes as just windstorms, and they are far more than that.”
V.J. St. Pierre, the president of St. Charles Parish, to the west of New Orleans, fretted that only a few dozen of his constituents had evacuated — even though more than 1,000 have fled in advance of previous large storms. “I think people are not taking this storm seriously,” he said during a news conference.
In suburban New Orleans, Jefferson Parish Sheriff Newell Normand also warned residents to focus on the potential dangers. “We will not tolerate people joy-riding around,” Normand said. “You need to stay home. If you’re bored, play Parcheesi.”
The storm’s maximum sustained winds have risen to 70 mph , just 4 mph below hurricane status. Sizable storm surges and massive amounts of rain would present the most stern test yet for New Orleans’s rebuilt levees, which are designed to endure all but the most catastrophic storms. The storm is also likely to test the federal government’s ability to respond to a natural disaster in the region seven years after the Bush administration fumbled the task in the wake of Katrina.
With Isaac bearing down, Republican leaders at the party’s national convention in Tampa have been left to walk a delicate political tightrope: trying to bash President Obama’s handling of the economy and spotlight the GOP nominee, Mitt Romney, while potentially sharing broadcast time with scenes of hurricane devastation and the Obama administration’s response to it.
Obama has declared a state of emergency for Louisiana, which makes federal support available to save lives and protect public health and safety.
Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Craig Fugate urged residents to flee if asked. “When those evacuation orders are issued, we need people to heed them and move to higher ground,” he said. “Don’t wait.”
That sense of urgency had yet to pervade New Orleans on Monday, which cooked in 90-plus-degree heat beneath clear blue skies. City officials warned that Isaac could be a dangerous storm but stopped short of mandatory evacuations.
Isaac, once an unorganized and fast-moving storm, has slowed down considerably, plodding northwest at just seven miles per hour. The slow speed is a cause for concern, because storms that travel at a leisurely pace tend to linger over flood-prone neighborhoods and dump large amounts of rain.
Forecasters are predicting 7 to 14 inches of rain once Isaac, which is expected to become a hurricane later Tuesday, reaches land. Total rainfall could reach 20 inches in some isolated areas.
For all the focus on the wind strength of these storms, it is water that truly terrifies residents and officials.
“These water hazards — the storm surge and the inland flooding — are things that sometimes people forget,” National Hurricane Center Director Rick Knabb told reporters Monday. “They consider tropical storms and hurricanes as just windstorms, and they are far more than that.”
V.J. St. Pierre, the president of St. Charles Parish, to the west of New Orleans, fretted that only a few dozen of his constituents had evacuated — even though more than 1,000 have fled in advance of previous large storms. “I think people are not taking this storm seriously,” he said during a news conference.
In suburban New Orleans, Jefferson Parish Sheriff Newell Normand also warned residents to focus on the potential dangers. “We will not tolerate people joy-riding around,” Normand said. “You need to stay home. If you’re bored, play Parcheesi.”
The storm’s maximum sustained winds have risen to 70 mph , just 4 mph below hurricane status. Sizable storm surges and massive amounts of rain would present the most stern test yet for New Orleans’s rebuilt levees, which are designed to endure all but the most catastrophic storms. The storm is also likely to test the federal government’s ability to respond to a natural disaster in the region seven years after the Bush administration fumbled the task in the wake of Katrina.
With Isaac bearing down, Republican leaders at the party’s national convention in Tampa have been left to walk a delicate political tightrope: trying to bash President Obama’s handling of the economy and spotlight the GOP nominee, Mitt Romney, while potentially sharing broadcast time with scenes of hurricane devastation and the Obama administration’s response to it.
Obama has declared a state of emergency for Louisiana, which makes federal support available to save lives and protect public health and safety.
Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Craig Fugate urged residents to flee if asked. “When those evacuation orders are issued, we need people to heed them and move to higher ground,” he said. “Don’t wait.”
That sense of urgency had yet to pervade New Orleans on Monday, which cooked in 90-plus-degree heat beneath clear blue skies. City officials warned that Isaac could be a dangerous storm but stopped short of mandatory evacuations.