New Orleans Feeling Isaac's Impact
NEW ORLEANS (CBSDFW.COM) - Hurricane Isaac made landfall on the Louisiana coast Tuesday night and then quickly moved off shore, but that didn't keep New Orleans from feeling the impact of Isaac's strong winds and torrential rain.
Sheets of water poured from the sky just as the sun went down. The first strong bands from Isaac started tearing at trees and scattering small debris. Street flooding was reported but nothing serious in the early hours.
Gates along newly built flood walls surrounding New Orleans were locked tight, ready to keep a storm surge of water from spilling into the city.
As Isaac approached earlier in the day, its weaker outer bands gave New Orleans a glimpse of just how strong the storm might become.
Waves pushed Lake Ponchartrain over its banks and up to levees, protecting the neighborhoods on the city's north side.
The crowds watching, swimming, even partying, revealed just how many people decided to stay in the city during the storm.
"It's a little crazy," said local resident Bailey Barbor. "I would not be doing that in the water; it's too dangerous. I don't know what's out there."
In sections of the city outside the levee system, residents piled sandbags in a last minute effort to hold back several feet of expected storm surge.
The National Hurricane Center said the slow-moving storm could dump up to 20 inches of rain in some parts of Louisiana over the next two days.
