Hurricane Isaac misses New Orleans

31 August 2012 09:06

Hurricane Isaac wreaks havoc in Louisiana (AP)

Hurricane Isaac wreaks havoc in Louisiana (AP)

Seven years to the day after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans residents and tourists breathed a massive sigh of relief as Hurricane Isaac missed the city.

Isaac passed just to the west of New Orleans, its high winds and driving rain kept at bay by the levee system which had been strengthened and improved to the tune of £8.8billion in the wake of Katrina. The worst of the storm hit a group of rural fishing villages. At its fiercest Isaac was far weaker than Katrina and by today its winds had fallen to 60mph, well below the 74mph hurricane level, downgrading it to tropical storm status which could result in days of rain.

Even so the city has experienced some problems with flooding, downed power lines supplying electricity to up to 700,000 people and scattered tree branches, highlighting the importance of travel insurance to those holidaying in the region. The threat of storm surges and flooding was expected to continue in Louisiana as Isaac's comma-shaped storm system edged its way across the state.

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