Tropical Storm Isaac slogs toward U.S. Gulf Coast

Tropical Storm Isaac churned across the Gulf of Mexico on Monday, disrupting U.S. offshore energy production and threatening to hit Louisiana on the anniversary of devastating Hurricane Katrina in 2005.    

The storm swiped south Florida on Sunday before moving into warm Gulf waters, where it is expected to strengthen into a hurricane.    

On its current track, Isaac was due to slam into the Gulf Coast anywhere between Florida and Louisiana by Tuesday night or early Wednesday, the seventh anniversary of Katrina hitting New Orleans, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.    

"The weather is going to go downhill well in advance of that and that's why today is the day of preparation," said NHC director Richard Knabb.    

Speaking in an interview with CNN, Knabb said coastal flooding or storm surge up to 12 feet (3.6 meters) was the biggest threat posed by Isaac, with mandatory evacuations possible across southeastern Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.       

“Wherever people plan to be during tropical storm Isaac, they should be there by tonight”, Knabb said.    

The governors of all three states have declared states of emergency as a hurricane warning went into effect for the northern Gulf Coast from Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle.    

That included New Orleans, devastated when Hurricane Katrina swept over the city on Aug. 29, 2005, killing more than 1,800 people and causing billions of dollars of damage along the coast.    

Late Monday morning, Isaac was about 310 miles (500 km) southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River with top sustained winds of 65 mph (100 kph) and moving northwest at 14 mph (24 kph).    

It was expected to be centered over the Gulf Coast no later than early on Wednesday. Evacuation orders for some low-lying parts of the Gulf Coast already were in effect Monday morning.    
Energy producers in the Gulf worked to shut down some of their operations ahead of what could be the biggest test for U.S. energy installations since 2008, when Hurricanes Gustav and Ike disrupted offshore oil output for months and damaged onshore natural gas processing plants, pipelines and some refineries.    

Gulf residents started stocking up on supplies and securing their homes. In New Orleans, long lines formed at some gas stations and in Gulfport, Mississippi, people crowded supermarkets to buy bottled water and canned food.    

Isaac is forecast to become a hurricane on Tuesday. In its latest advisory, the NHC said the storm was not expected to strengthen beyond Category 1, the weakest type on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale of hurricane intensity.


REUTERS