Isaac could cause heavy floods in four states and is on the verge of becoming a hurricane Tuesday on its way to New Orleans.
In the city where Katrina eerily struck seven years ago this week, shelters were open for people who didn't have a chance to leave and residents stayed put inside their homes.
The National Hurricane Center predicted that Isaac would become a hurricane with winds of 74 mph later in the day and become a Category 1 by the time it reaches southeast Louisiana. Currently, Isaac is very close to hurricane strength. It has continued to slowly intensify over the past few hours and is forming a partial eye.
Forecasts warned that Isaac's large storm could reach out 200 miles from its center and could cause flooding in the low-lying coast in Lousiana, Alabama, Mississippi and the Florida Panhandle.
In New Orleans, federal officials say they updated the levees that broke during Hurricane Katrina causing devastation to the city.
There was no mandatory evacuation in New Orleans, rather residents were told to lay low and stay indoors.
Many residents, after the trauma of Katrina are choosing to leave the area until the storm dies down. New Orleans resident, Robert Washington said to The Huffington Post "I don't really trust the levees. I don't want to take that chance. I saw how it looked after Katrina back here."
On Tuesday, Isaac came into the Alabama coast with rain and strong wind. Isaac on Tuesday had winds of 70 mph. The storm is however, nowhere near as powerful as Hurricane Katrina as it inches close to New Orleans.
President Obama said in a statement, according to The Washington Post, "As we prepare for Isaac to hit, I want to encourage local residents of the Gulf Coast to listen to your local officials and follow their directions, including if they tell you to evacuate. We're dealing with a big storm, and there could be significant flooding and other damage across a large area. Now's not the time to tempt fate. Now's not the time to dismiss official warnings. You need to take this seriously."
Hurricane Katrina was at one point a Category 5. However, storm forcasters still say that Isaac could cause floods of up to 12 feet in southeast Louisiana and Mississippi. New Orlean's levees were built to withstand as high as 26 feet high storm surges.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
