HURRICANE ISAAC ZEROES IN ON FORTIFIED NEW ORLEANS, USA

NEW ORLEANS, Aug 28 (Reuters) - Hurricane Isaac surged ashore in southern Louisiana on Tuesday, packing high winds and heavy rains, and was set to hit New Orleans seven years to the day after Hurricane Katrina devastated the city.
Isaac is the first hurricane to make landfall in the United States this season. While not packing nearly the power of Katrina -- which was a Category 3 storm when it slammed the Crescent City on Aug. 29, 2005 -- Category 1 Isaac was nevertheless a powerful reminder of New Orleans' vulnerability.

• The hurricane will be the first test for $14.5 billion-dollar flood defenses built after levees failed under Katrina's storm surge and left large parts of New Orleans under water.
• The National Hurricane Center warned late on Tuesday that Isaac and its 80 mph (130kph) winds were producing a dangerous storm surge and that flooding from rainfall would follow.
• Isaac will also test the resolve of officials and preparedness of a city where some 1,800 died seven years ago in what was the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history.
• Earlier on Tuesday, officials from Mitch Landrieu, the mayor of New Orleans, to Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, to U.S. President Barack Obama, scrambled to get ahead of the storm's impact, mindful of the chaos and botched relief efforts in the wake of Katrina.

Landrieu assured residents that this time around, "your city is secure," and said emergency services were ready for search and rescue missions, if needed.
About 1,000 U.S. National Guard troops in military vehicles took up positions in the mostly deserted streets of New Orleans, brandishing automatic assault rifles to ward off any threat of the looting that spread after Katrina. Police cars patrolled darkened streets with blue lights flashing.
Obama urged residents to take cover and heed warnings, saying that now was "not the time to tempt fate." . He issued emergency declarations for Louisiana and Mississippi earlier this week.

Source: REUTERS