A church is flooded as Hurricane Isaac hits Braithwaite.
By David J. Phillip, AP
NEW ORLEANS -- Isaac dropped unrelenting rain Thursday, flooding areas north and south of New Orleans, and officials had to scramble to evacuate and rescue people as waters quickly rose. Inside the city, the fortified defenses held and life began to slowly get back to some sort of normalcy.
Along the shores of Lake Ponchartrain near New Orleans, officials sent scores of buses and dozens of high-water vehicles to help evacuate about 3,000 people as rising waters lapped against houses and left cars stranded. Floodwaters rose waist-high in some neighborhoods, and the Louisiana National Guard was working with sheriff's deputies to rescue people stranded in their homes.
To the east, evacuations were ordered in a sparsely-populated area as a lake dam threatened to break near the Mississippi-Louisiana border. Officials in Tangipahoa Parish, La., feared the water it would pour into the already swollen river would flood low-lying areas downstream. Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal said officials there would release water at the dam.
Even as Isaac weakened on its slow trek inland, it continued to spin off life-threatening weather including storm surges, inland flooding from torrential rain and potential tornadoes. Nearly half of Louisiana electrical customers lost power and another 150,000 were out in neighboring Mississippi.