Isaac packs double punch, heads to US Gulf Coast
Source: Agencies |
August 28, 2012, Tuesday
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TROPICAL Storm Isaac rolled over the open Gulf of Mexico yesterday, where it was expected to grow into a hurricane before hitting land somewhere between Louisiana and Florida and close to the seventh anniversary of Hurricane Katrina in the United States.
The storm that left 21 dead in Haiti and the Dominican Republic blew past the Florida Keys with little damage and promised a drenching but little more for Tampa, where the planned Monday start of the Republican National Convention was pushed back a day in case Isaac passed closer to the city.
The US National Hurricane Center predicted Isaac would grow to a Category 1 hurricane over the warm Gulf and possibly hit late today somewhere along a roughly 500-kilometer stretch from the bayous southwest of New Orleans to the Florida Panhandle. That would be one day shy of seven years after Hurricane Katrina struck catastrophically in 2005.
Earlier predictions said Isaac would be a Category 2 hurricane but NHC director Rick Knabb told ABC's "Good Morning America" yesterday that Isaac wouldn't be as strong as they initially thought. But Knabb urged residents not to focus their preparations on the storm's current strength because such storms often do not stick to forecasters' predictions.
The size of the warning area and the storm's wide bands of rain and wind fuelled emergency declarations in four states, and the hurricane-tested residents were boarding up homes, sticking up on food and water or getting ready to evacuate.
Forecasters said Isaac could pack a double punch of flood threats for the Gulf Coast. If it hits during high tide, the storm could push floodwaters as deep as four meters on shore in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama and up to six feet in the Florida Panhandle. Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal called a state of emergency, and 53,000 residents of St Charles Parish near New Orleans were told to leave. Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant, Florida Governor Rick Scott and Alabama Governor Robert Bentley also declared states of emergency.
The storm that left 21 dead in Haiti and the Dominican Republic blew past the Florida Keys with little damage and promised a drenching but little more for Tampa, where the planned Monday start of the Republican National Convention was pushed back a day in case Isaac passed closer to the city.
The US National Hurricane Center predicted Isaac would grow to a Category 1 hurricane over the warm Gulf and possibly hit late today somewhere along a roughly 500-kilometer stretch from the bayous southwest of New Orleans to the Florida Panhandle. That would be one day shy of seven years after Hurricane Katrina struck catastrophically in 2005.
Earlier predictions said Isaac would be a Category 2 hurricane but NHC director Rick Knabb told ABC's "Good Morning America" yesterday that Isaac wouldn't be as strong as they initially thought. But Knabb urged residents not to focus their preparations on the storm's current strength because such storms often do not stick to forecasters' predictions.
The size of the warning area and the storm's wide bands of rain and wind fuelled emergency declarations in four states, and the hurricane-tested residents were boarding up homes, sticking up on food and water or getting ready to evacuate.
Forecasters said Isaac could pack a double punch of flood threats for the Gulf Coast. If it hits during high tide, the storm could push floodwaters as deep as four meters on shore in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama and up to six feet in the Florida Panhandle. Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal called a state of emergency, and 53,000 residents of St Charles Parish near New Orleans were told to leave. Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant, Florida Governor Rick Scott and Alabama Governor Robert Bentley also declared states of emergency.
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