"The sheriff's deputies are over there but all the roads are unpassable ... We don't know if some people are left behind and now we can't get there and there is no way we can operate a boat or an air boat in these winds," Nungesser said.
Isaac was the first test for multibillion-dollar flood defenses built after levees failed under Katrina's storm surge, leaving large parts of New Orleans swamped and killing 1,800 people, the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history.
Plaquemines Parish was outside the city limits that benefited from the beefing up of New Orleans' flood defenses.
Hundreds in and around New Orleans drowned in 2005 and many survivors waited for days to be plucked from their rooftops by helicopter. New Orleans endured days of deadly disorder and widespread looting.
While not nearly as strong as Katrina - a Category 3 hurricane when it slammed into New Orleans on Aug. 29, 2005 - Isaac, with Category 1 winds up to 80 mph (130 kph), was a threat that authorities said should not be underestimated.
At 7 a.m. EDT (1100 GMT), Isaac was about 50 miles (75 km) south-southwest of New Orleans and packing top sustained winds of 80 miles (130 km) an hour, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.
It said hurricane force winds extended outward up to 60 miles (95 km) from the storm's center.
Isaac was slogging west-northwestward near 6 mph (9 kph), a slow pace that increases the threat of rain-induced flooding.
Jaden Fabian, 1, cries in her car seat as her family evacuates their home in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, as Hurricane Isaac approaches
Isaac killed at least 23 people and caused significant flooding and damage in Haiti and the Dominican Republic before skirting the southern tip of Florida on Sunday and heading across the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
It spared Tampa, Florida, where the Republican National Convention is being held. But it forced party leaders to reshuffle the schedule and tone down what some might have seen as excess celebration about Mitt Romney's presidential nomination as Gulf Coast residents faced danger.
The leading edge of the storm was felt along the Gulf Coast starting late Tuesday, and authorities had warned it could flood towns in Mississippi and Alabama, as well as Louisiana, with storm surges of up to 12 feet (3.7 meters).
Rainfall accumulations, potentially totaling as much as 20 inches (50 cm) in some areas, were expected to trigger widespread flooding.
Energy companies along the Gulf Coast refining center braced for the storm's impact by shuttering some plants and running others at reduced rates ahead of Isaac's landfall.
Oil production in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico nearly ground to a halt and ports and coastal refineries curtailed operations.
Intense hurricanes such as Katrina - which took out 4.5 million barrels per day of refining capacity at one point - have flooded refineries, keeping them closed for extended periods and reducing fuel supplies.
This time, though, the U.S. Department of Energy estimated that only 12 percent of the Gulf Coast's refining capacity had gone offline. Louisiana usually processes more than 3 million barrels per day of crude into products like gasoline.
Perceptions that the area's oil facilities would not sustain major damage, and that production would quickly bounce back, pushed international benchmark Brent crude down 74 cents early Wednesday, toward $111.84 a barrel.
Susan Solano, Brennab Ruiz, 6, and Lisa Solano watch as waves crash over the seawall of Lake Pontchartrain at Canal Boulevard in New Orleans
Barack Obama on Tuesday night told residents of America’s Gulf Coast that they should evacuate their homes if necessary and that they should not to “tempt fate” as Isaac was upgraded to a category one hurricane.
As the coast of Louisiana prepared to be lashed by the hurricane, the US President urged people in its path to take the storm seriously.
“I want to encourage all residents of the Gulf Coast to listen to your local officials and follow their directions, including if they tell you to evacuate,” he said in a televised statement at the White House.
“We’re dealing with a big storm and there could be significant flooding and other damage across a large area. Now is not the time to tempt fate. Now is not the time to dismiss official warnings. You need to take this seriously.”
A satellite image of Tropical Storm Isaac in the Gulf of Mexico (EPA)
For the residents of New Orleans, which is directly in Isaac’s path, it comes almost seven years to the day since Hurricane Katrina devastated the city, killing upwards of 1,400 people and making tens of thousands homeless.
President Obama’s statement could be seen as an attempt to demonstrate leadership in the face of a potential disaster.
The Bush administration’s handling of Katrina was severely criticised, a spectre which looms particularly large for the Republican Party this week as they hold their national convention in Tampa, Florida, just along the Gulf Coast from New Orleans.
On the streets of downtown New Orleans, store fronts were boarded up. Residents and tourists stranded in town were stock piling food and bottled water as they prepared for the possibility of electricity and water supplies being cut.
A family in an evacuation shelter in Houma, La (AP)
The city’s airport was closed with no incoming or outgoing flights. Similarly, no buses or trains were arriving or departing the city. While 53,000 residents in nearby St Charles Parish, Louisiana, there are no mandatory evacuation notices in New Orleans, although those living in low lying areas, outside the city, have been advised to leave their homes.
On Rue Royal, Steven Zaeringer was fitting metal protectors to the front of his antiques store in the city’s French Quarter.
“This is kind of a ritual for us now, we do it on average maybe once every two or three years,” he said. “When Katrina came we pretty much did the same thing. After we’ve done this my family and my brother’s family will go to a home we have in the suburbs.
“It will be nice to be together. We are thinking we’ll maybe be there a few days. The key is electricity. If the electricity holds then we can go home sooner.
“We feel a little bit safer because of the fact that this is a smaller hurricane than Katrina so we are not as concerned. This is relatively easy.”
Elisa Mason, who lives in the ninth ward of New Orleans, on the banks of the Mississippi River, said that she and her daughters are well prepared.
“We have removed anything from the outside of the house which could be a projectile and I’ve cooked a lot of food and put gas in the car. We got a new roof after Katrina so that should hold out,” she said.
A woman in the rain in the Tampa as severe weather conditions are expected (AFP/Getty Images)
“I grew up on the Gulf Coast so preparing for a Hurricane is like breathing for us. The lower category is a big comfort for us. I remember Katrina and not knowing if your friends or family were alive.”
After the storm was upgraded to a hurricane, New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu told a press conference: "We are in a fight now. It's the real thing. We have to act as if it is a very serious situation, because that is what it is."
He also echoed the President's warnings about taking the storm seriously, adding: "Do not let the storm lull you into complacency. That would be a terrible mistake. We dodged a bullet in the sense that this is not a category three storm, but a category one is plenty big enough to put a big hurt on you if you fall into complacency so let's not do that."
He added: "There are things about a category one storm that will kill you or can hurt you very badly. I don't want to be standing here in a few days mourning loss that was avoidable."
Local news stations carried pictures of people standing by the lake shore in New Orleans as the storm approached. Mr Landrieu said he was "dismayed" that people were "trying to experience what heavy water feels like" and added: "If you get pulled into it you will not like that feeling."
Mr Landrieu said: "I can understand that because Isaac is taking a ling time to form people may be getting bored, but it is better to be bored than to get hurt. Think about what you are doing before you put yourself or your family in danger."
The mayor added that when the storm passes the city will go into a "search and rescue mode".
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