Isaac inundates Baton Rouge

Isaac inundated Baton Rouge, La., Thursday as the tropical storm moved up the Mississippi River dropping 7 to 14 inches of rain and 25 inches in some places. The storm had sustained winds of 60 mph with tropical force winds extending out 175 miles from its center as it inched northwest at 6 mph, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said. Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal said at least one person may have died as a result of Isaac, which hit the Gulf Coast on the seventh anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, which killed more than 1,800 people in Louisiana and Mississippi. Isaac bypassed New Orleans but hit Plaquemines Parish south of the city and outside the federal levee system, including the $14.5 billion flood protection system that protected New Orleans. The locally built gulf-side levee of Plaquemines Parish was overtopped by Isaac's massive surge, deluging the area with up to 14 feet of water, officials said. Dozens of people had to be pulled to safety by rescue workers and neighbors. Officials went door to door early Thursday to evacuate additional people as the water crept up the west bank. Officials in St. John the Baptist Parish, about 30 miles west of New Orleans, evacuated up to 3,000 people from floodwaters. Tornado warnings were also in effect in several Mississippi counties.