Hurricane Isaac 2012: Days After Storm Louisiana, Mississippi Still Struggle to Recover
Days after Hurricane Isaac made landfall still much of the Gulf Coast region is struggling to recover. Extensive parts of Plaquemines Parish in southern Louisiana were still flooded on Sunday, and nearly a quarter of a million people across the state were still without power.
Even though it has been five days since Isaac smashed the region, still thousands of Louisiana residents are being kept from returning home, being kept in temporary shelters or staying with friends of family.
Latest reports have confirmed that at least seven people were killed by Isaac in the United States, with two dying in Mississippi, and five others in Louisiana.
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Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney visited Louisiana on Friday to offer his support; President Barack Obama is scheduled to also visit on Monday.
Recovery has been slow in the aftermath of the fierce storm, with workers tackling felled trees, downed power lines, damaged houses, as well as hazardous roads with various traffic lights out throughout the region. However, some things are getting back to normal, and thousands have had power restored over recent days. The annual Southern Decadence Festival, a gay pride celebration, also went on in the French Quarter of New Orleans, despite the problems throughout the region.
Meanwhile in Mississippi most of the 125,000 people who were evacuated for Isaac have returned home by Sunday. It is reported that less than 100 people now remain in shelters in the state.
Even though Isaac's heavy rainfall and power winds first hit the region on Tuesday, the extensive size of the storm its slow moving nature meant that much of the relief work was unable to get fully underway until Friday.
Entergy spokesman Chanel Lagarde has said, "We are working hard. We do have a good plan and we're going about it in an approach that we think is going to be effective."
