Hurricane Isaac is dumping massive amounts of water on the Gulf Coast after smashing into land overnight, and now it’s being reported that water has overtopped levees in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana. Officials fear “deep flooding” will happen.
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According to CNN, the storm is almost stalled and could take 12 hours to go from New Orleans 70 miles north to Baton Rouge, as more than 486,000 are without power in Louisiana.
Hurricane Isaac is pounding the Gulf Coast with massive amounts of rain, sending residents who ignored evacuation orders to their roofs — and the ordeal has just begun.
“For many people, it’s not even half over,” said Richard Knabb, director of the National Hurricane Center.
The pounding rains will persist “all day today, into tonight, into tomorrow,” he said.
Moving slowly at only 6 miles per hour, Isaac’s eye still had not passed over the region Wednesday morning.
About half a million customers were without power in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, according to the Entergy and Cleco power companies.
It “delivered more of a punch than originally thought,” said Billy Nungesser, president of Plaquemines Parish in Louisiana, one of the worst-hit areas.
Isaac’s center was about 35 miles south-southeast of Houma, Louisiana, and about 55 miles south-southwest of New Orleans.
The New Orleans levee system and pump stations were working furiously. The system was rebuilt and reinforced at a cost of $14 billion after it failed when Katrina struck in 2005.
“There is no evidence of any (water) overtopping (canals),” New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu said. “We have full confidence the levees will hold.”
It should be noted that the levees are not part of the federal system. Hopefully everyone in the Gulf stays safe as the storm passes.
SOURCE: CNN
