Seven years later, those caught in the destructive path of Hurricane Katrina are being urged once again to prepare for the worst, as the threat of Tropical Storm Isaac grows by the minute.As the large and strengthening system crossed waters with temperatures of 86 degrees or greater Sunday, forecasts called for the storm to make landfall along the Gulf coast late Tuesday or early Wednesday as a powerful Category 2 storm with winds of speeds up to 110 mph.
Isaac is likely to be the first significant hurricane to make landfall along the Gulf coast since Hurricane Gustav struck south central Louisiana near Cocodrie on Sept. 1, 2008. Wednesday marks the seventh anniversary of the day Katrina struck New Orleans and nearby Louisiana parishes, causing massive flooding and billions of dollars in damages.
"We've been watching those models like everybody else, and we're very concerned. Any westward shift changes things greatly for us," said Ken Graham, meteorologist in the New Orleans office of the National Weather Service.
Graham said the current track of the storm could mean 6 feet of water with the tides along the Mississippi coast. If the track shifts left and more directly toward New Orleans, "now we're talking a whole lot of additional water," Graham said. "We have low water flow in the Mississippi River, which is a different situation for us. You can actually have storm surges up the river," he said.
Graham said the levees in New Orleans are stronger than they were when Katrina hit in 2005."I've toured those levees, they look pretty good," he said. "They're going to do their best to hold back the water we get."