Thousands flee as Isaac batters city

Two dead as low-lying areas are swamped

AMERICA: Thousands of NewOrleans residents were forced to leave the city as it was battered by rain and high winds.

Flood defences appeared to stand firm although at least two deaths were reported as Tropical Storm Isaac passed over the region.

The storm flooded neighbourhoods in rural Louisiana and neighbouring Mississippi and, even after Isaac was downgraded from hurricane status, the waters were rising fast.

President Barack Obama declared federal emergencies in Louisiana and Mississippi, freeing up federal aid for affected areas.

Along the shores of Lake Ponchartrain just north of New Orleans, officials sent scores of vehicles to help 3000 people escape as rising waters lapped against houses.

Floodwaters rose waist-high in some places, and authorities rescued people stranded in their homes.

Lt Gov Jay Dardenne said: “The floodwaters were shockingly fast-rising.

It caught everybody by surprise.”

Isaac passed slightly to the west of New Orleans, where the city’s newly for tified levee system, helped by £8.8billion in federal repairs, easily handled the assault.

But low-lying areas outside the city were swamped.

“Hurricane Isaac has reinforced for us once again just how vulnerable these critical areas are,” Democratic US Senator Mary Landrieu said.

Oil giant BP is to donate one million dollars to support relief efforts, two years after one of its rigs caused a massive oil spill in the area.