The center of Hurricane Isaac made a second landfall over Port Fourchon, La., early Wednesday, overtopping a levee southeast of New Orleans, knocking down trees and cutting power to more than 400,000 homes.
There were no reports of injuries as dawn broke over the Gulf Coast area. Property damage reports were just beginning to come in. There were scattered reports of people stranded in their homes by rising water in the New Orleans area.
"I've got a four-by-four hole in my roof, several pieces in the front yard, the back wall of my house moved a couple of feet, and with each gust of wind, it's like you're breathing in and out," William Harold "Billy" Nungesser, president of Plaquemines Parish, told "Good Morning America."
Nungesser said some people are stranded in the flood.
"They're stranded at this time, one of the residents that is probably several thousand feet from them has taken a boat and is attempting to rescue them," said Nungesser.
Nungesser confirmed that a levee in Plaquemines Parish was overtopped with water, causing flooding.
"The water came up so quickly and overtopped the levees from Breakaway to White Ditch on the east back of the north end of the parish. It's an area that we called for a mandatory evacuation."
The hurricane promised to lend even more solemnity to commemoration ceremonies Wednesday for Katrina's 1,800 dead in Louisiana and Mississippi, including the tolling of the bells at St. Louis Cathedral overlooking New Orleans' Jackson Square. This storm is far less powerful at Category 1 than Katrina, which caused at least $81 billion in damage and was rated as the most powerful Category 5 storm.
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As of 6 a.m., Isaac was still packing winds of 80 mph and the eye of the storm is about 50 miles south-southwest of New Orleans. Isaac is moving at just 6 mph and has already dropped more than six inches of rain on New Orleans during the seventh anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Hurricane force winds extend 60 miles from the center of the storm.
The hurricane had moved back into the Gulf of Mexico after making its initial landfall Tuesday evening. Isaac's center remained over water where it was almost stationary before making landfall again this morning.
The 200-mile wide hurricane is expected to gradually weaken and move inland, dumping seven to 14 inches of rain across Louisiana, with some places receiving up to 20 inches, according to forecasters.
The greatest concern is an expected storm surge of between six and 12 feet off the Louisiana and Mississippi coasts, four to eight feet along the Alabama coast and three to six feet on the Florida Panhandle, according to the Hurricane Center located in Miami, Fla.
A storm surge of 11 feet was reported at Shell Beach, La., late Tuesday while a surge of 6.7 feet was reported in Waveland, Miss., according to the Hurricane Center.
In Mississippi, highway U.S. 90 was closed in sections by storm surge flooding. At one spot in Biloxi, a foot of water covered the in-town highway for a couple of blocks and it looked like more was coming in. High tide around 9:30 a.m. was likely to bring up more water.
The highest wind gust was recorded at 113 miles an hour overnight in Belle Chasse, Plaquemines Parish, La.
Thursday night into Saturday, Isaac will move into the Mississippi Valley and eventually into Illinois and Indiana with possibly six inches of rain for the drought-stricken Midwest.
Isolated tornadoes are possible along the central Gulf Coast region and part of the lower Mississippi River Valley through Wednesday, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Entergy New Orleans has listed more than 400,000 homes and businesses without power as of 5:30 a.m., according to their website. The Red Cross reported 18,000 people in 70 shelters across five states Wednesday morning.
When Isaac came ashore at 7:45 p.m. ET Tuesday, it dumped heavy rain with that spread 60 miles from Isaac's center. The highest wind gust reported in New Orleans was 71 mph at Lakefront Airport.
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