Melanie and Philip Martinez Sr. have dinner in daughter Kala's one-bedroom apartment on Saturday, September 8, in Chalmette, Louisiana. Melanie, along with her husband and mother, are staying in Kala's apartment after their home in Braithwaite flooded during Hurricane Isaac. It was the fifth home Martinez has lost to hurricanes in Louisiana.
Melanie Martinez, center, waits in line to apply for disaster food assistance in Mereaux, Louisiana.
On Friday, September 7, Gina Hunter walks past the front porch of her home, which washed onto a levee in Plaquemines Parish in Braithwaite, Louisiana. "I never expected to have the levee as my backyard," Hunter says. Louisiana officials estimate at least 13,000 homes were damaged by Hurricane Isaac.
Mud coats the kitchen of the flooded Mary Plantation House, the oldest structure in Louisiana's Plaquemines Parish, on Thursday, September 6. At least 13,000 homes were damaged throughout Louisiana after Hurricane Isaac came ashore last week, a state official estimates.
Marie Hauser picks up her mail outside her flooded house Thursday in LaPlace, Louisiana.
Blake Miller, right, and Mike Atkins check out the grounds of the Mary Plantation House on Thursday.
Floodwaters linger Thursday in Braithwaite, Louisiana.
Worker Holly Rochelle sorts a resident's laundry, washed for free at the Tide Loads of Hope mobile laundromat set up for those affected by Isaac, on Thursday in LaPlace.
A paper hand fan sits caked in mud from flooding at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Plaquemines Parish on Wednesday, September 5.
An insurance inspector tours the damaged Bethlehem Baptist Church on Tuesday.
Richard Williams of the Braithwaite neighborhood in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, trudges through a debris field pulling a boat filled with things from his flooded home on Wednesday. Hurricane Isaac inundated his two-story home.
Fred Leslie is helped into a boat by Jesse Shaffer after he and his half-brother made their way to the house to retrieve items on Wednesday. The Braithwaite neighborhood is still under four feet of water eight days after Hurricane Isaac hit.
Ruth Bernard feeds ice to Micah Faciane to stay cool as they wait in line to apply for disaster food assistance on Wednesday in Westwego, Louisiana. Hundreds affected by Hurricane Isaac waited hours in the heat to apply for the Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
Residents wait in line to apply for disaster food assistance on Wednesday in Westwego, Louisiana.
Louis Lipps tries to salvage belongings near his house on Lake Pontchartrain in LaPlace, Louisiana, on Tuesday, September 4. Many residents returning to their homes in southern Louisiana after Hurricane Isaac will find little comfort. Authorities have blamed eight U.S. deaths on Isaac, six of them in Louisiana, after it made landfall last week as a Category 1 hurricane.
Royal Ann Moll stands in the doorway of her home in Jean Lafitte, Louisiana, as friend Tilden Perez Jr. tries to spray away mud from the front yard Tuesday. Perez and his wife rode out the storm in Moll's house, which took on about 11 inches of water.
Joe Chianelli Jr. retrieves a gas tank Tuesday that washed onto a levee in Plaquemines Parish in Braithwaite, Louisiana, during the storm.
Utility crews work to restore electricity Tuesday in Harvey, Louisiana.
Returning residents wait in line Tuesday for a ferry in Plaquemines Parish.
A wounded horse recovers Tuesday in Poydras, Louisiana, after being rescued when it got stuck in mud from storm flooding.
A home washed away from its foundation sits on a roadside Tuesday in Braithwaite in Plaquemines Parish.
Melanie Martinez holds the family cat, now renamed Isaac, after salvaging items from her family's flooded home in Braithwaite on Monday, September 3. Martinez, along with her husband and her mother, was forced to ride out the storm in their Plaquemines Parish home when their car broke down.
Melanie Martinez walks through the front yard Monday as family members salvage items from their flooded home in Braithwaite, Louisiana.
Melanie Martinez, left, and family members salvage items from their flooded home Monday.
A coffin lies on the side of a levee Monday in Braithwaite, Louisiana, washed up by floodwaters from Hurricane Isaac.
Eric DeSalvo salvages a gun Monday from the flooded Martinez home in Braithwaite, Louisiana.
Melanie Martinez, center, and Kala Martinez salvage items from their flooded home on Monday.
Workers repair the roof of a home as downed power lines caused by Hurricane Isaac lean onto a tree in lower Plaquemines Parish on Sunday, September 2.
A Paradise Lane street sign is partially submerged in Isaac's floodwaters in Braithwaite, Louisiana, on Saturday, September 1.
A damaged structure rests atop a partially submerged truck in Braithwaite, Louisiana.
Russell Wilson, center, helps to move a water-damaged Drew Brees jersey from his daughter's home in Braithwaite.
Plaquemines Parish resident Angela Serpas reacts after seeing her flooded home for the first time following Hurricane Isaac, as her daughter Lainy takes pictures, in Braithwaite, Louisiana, on Saturday, September 1.
The Walker family leaves their home after an abandoned house next door collapsed onto theirs during Tropical Storm Isaac on Friday, August 31. The Red Cross was assisting the family in finding a place to stay.
Cattle are stuck in a mixture of mud and debris washed in by Isaac's storm surge. Officials are attempting to conduct a roundup in Plaquemines to save about 200 cattle stranded by the storm.
Local residents serve up chicken etouffee and rice delivered by the Louisiana National Guard at JJ's Bar in the Bywater neighborhood of New Orleans. The military gave out the food to residents of the area, which was still without electricity three days after Hurricane Isaac knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of people.
Local residents drink by candlelight at JJ's bar during the continued blackout.
Oil containers and railroad cars sit in Isaac's flood waters in Braithwaite, Louisiana.
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney talks with a man on the side of the road while on an unscheduled tour of a neighorhood damaged by Isaac on Friday, August 31, in Lafitte, Louisiana.
A family carries bags of ice and boxes of food from an aid distribution center for victims of Isaac in New Orleans. The center was one of three in the city operated by the military, offering handouts to residents, many of whom still have no electricity due to the storm.
Residents look out from their residence surrounded by water as the motorcade of Romney passes during a tour of damage from Isaac in Lafitte.
Flood waters from Tropical Storm Isaac swamp homes in Braithwaite, Louisiana, on Friday, August 31, 2012.
Vivian Lane, 5, helps her mother, Ashley Lane, make rice and gravy on their porch after Hurricane Isaac knocked out their power in Bay Saint Louis, Mississippi, Friday.
Tombstones washed from their resting place by flood waters from a levee breach in Braithwaite, Louisiana, on Friday.
The ship Arosa Basel sits grounded on the east bank of the Mississippi River in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, Friday.
Dead nutria lie on the shore near Waveland, Mississippi, on Friday.
A truck, partially submerged by a levee breach, gives off a sheen of oil and fuel in Braithwaite, Louisiana, on Friday.
Members of the Louisiana Army National Guard and Louisiana Air National Guard distribute water, MREs and ice at Skelly-Rupp Stadium in New Orleans on Friday.
Jewel Rico and her dog Chico are rescued from flood waters from Isaac on Thursday, August 30, in Reserve, Louisiana.
Darrell Hill, 11, feeds his sister Floy Dillon, 2, at a flood shelter set up in a high school gym.
People get off a Slidell Police Department SWAT vehicle after being rescued from flooding from Isaac's storm surge on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain.
Residents sit on a bus Thursday after evacuating Laplace, Louisiana.
A heavy band of storms hovers ominously over New Orleans in the aftermath of Isaac on Thursday.
Two men paddle a boat with street signs in flood waters from Hurricane Isaac in Reserve, Louisiana.
Subdivisions in LaPlace, west of U.S. 51 and south of Interstate-10 are covered in floodwaters in the aftermath of Isaac.
The Lake Borgne Basin Levee District and other government agencies intentionally breached the Caernarvon Diversion to help drain flood waters in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana.
A woman is stranded with her truck in floodwaters from Isaac on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain on Thursday in Slidell, Louisiana.
Brittany Trumbaturi, right, prepares to leave her flooded home with family member Joshua Barbot, center, who came to rescue family members in a boat. Officials warned of continued threats from storm surges and flooding as Isaac moved inland.
Jamaal Nelson carries his son, Jon-Wesley, 6, on his back and his 4-month-old baby daughter, Jalashia, while being evacuated from their flooded neighborhood in Slidell.
Residents stand in front of their home as flooded streets engulf their neighborhood in Slidell.
Elderly residents evacuate to a shelter in Slidell
A resident evacuates an area flooded by Hurricane Isaac's storm surge on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain.
Residents evacuate their flooded neighborhood.
A man drives an off-road vehicle through flooded streets in Slidell.
Residents carry pillows, blankets and fuel containers past a flood berm while evacuating an area of rising floodwaters on Thursday in Slidell.
An elderly resident is rescued from her home in Slidell.
Residents run down a road in Slidell clutching their belongings as they evacuate an area of rising floodwaters from Isaac's rains.
Rescue workers transport residents trapped by rising water from Isaac in Laplace, Louisiana, on Wednesday.
Water surrounds a home on the Jourdan River in Kiln, Mississippi, as Isaac moves through the area.
Residents are rescued Wednesday in Laplace, about 25 miles northwest of New Orleans, where the storm surge was unusually bad.
Henry Cox talks with stranded residents in Laplace.
Errol Ragas walks past a cemetery to recover dry blankets from his home as rising waters flood in Oakville, Louisiana. Plaquemines Parish, south of New Orleans, was the area most heavily damaged by the hurricane.
Storm-weary residents take refuge at a high school gymnasium in Belle Chasse, a low-lying area outside of New Orleans.
St. John Parish Sherriff officials rescue local residents from the flood waters in Laplace.
Lisa, Christopher and Leroy Smith sit in a boat after being pulled from the flood waters.
A stop sign stands askew in New Orleans after being blown by Isaac.
People gather at a bar in the French Quarter during ongoing rain from Isaac. The area appeared largely unscathed by the storm.
A house in New Orleans collapsed during the height of Hurricane Isaac, destroying three vehicles parked alongside it Wednesday.
Waves from Hurricane Isaac pummel Ken Combs Pier in Gulfport, Mississippi.
A street sign turned upside down, likely the result of bricks falling overnight from a building along the deserted streets of New Orleans.
A car sits submerged in Laplace, Louisiana.
People gather beneath an awning for an impromptu cookout at a bar that lost electricity during Hurricane Isaac in New Orleans.
Emergency crews and residents rescue a dog during Hurricane Isaac on Highway 39 separating Plaquemines and St. Bernard parishes on Wednesday, August 29, in Louisiana.
First responders carry people across the top of the levee from Plaquemines Parish to St. Bernard Parish.
Mark Savoie cleans Espanade Avenue in New Orleans of tree debris to help the area near Burgundy drain as Isaac slowly moves inland.
A worker in the driving rain tries to clear fallen limbs in the riverbound lanes of Espanade Avenue near McDonogh High School in New Orleans.
Winds from Isaac knocked down tree branches in Kenner, Louisiana.
A child and an adult share a folding bed as storm-weary residents take refuge at a high school gymnasium in Belle Chasse, in low-lying Plaquemines Parish, outside of New Orleans.
A tree toppled by Isaac stretches across the roof of a food stand in Arabi, Louisiana.
A tree blown over from Hurricane Isaac lies atop a cemetery tomb in Plaquemines Parish.
A street sign lies near floodwaters fromIsaac on Wednesday, in Braithwaite, Louisiana. Dozens were reportedly rescued in the area after levees were overtopped by floodwaters from Hurricane Isaac.
A rescue boat passes a partially submerged stop sign.
A car drives down Canal Street on Wednesday. The storm is slowly moving across southeast Louisiana, dumping large amounts of rain and knocking out power in scattered parts of the state.
A traffic light continues to glow after being downed by Isaac's winds.
A fallen tree blocks a road in New Orleans as Isaac batters the city and surrounding region, flooding homes and driving stormy waters over the top of at least one levee.
Dozens were reportedly rescued in Plaquemines Parish after levees were overtopped by floodwaters.
John Stone of Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, and his dog are led out of the water by a member of the Swift Water Rescue Team after being rescued from his flooded house.
A tree was pushed over outside Tulane Medical Center in New Orleans.
People rest in a rescue truck atop a levee in Plaquemines Parish.
Rescue workers survey the floodwaters from a levee in Braithwaite.
Police officers stand watch in the French Quarter.
Isaac pounds Gulf CoastA traffic light dangles at an intersection in Metairie, Louisiana, during strong wind and rain as Hurricane Isaac pushes ashore.
A tree toppled by hurricane-force winds lies on power lines near a home in New Orleans.
A storm surge causes water to quickly rise while waves pound the concrete seawall along the shores of Lake Pontchartrain in New Orleans on Tuesday, August 28.
Scott Burley runs from crashing surf on the Ken Combs Pier in Gulfport, Mississippi.
Jason Preston closes shutters on a home in Gulfport, Mississippi, as Hurricane Isaac approaches.
Emily Schneider leans against a pole to support herself against strong winds while visiting the banks of Lake Pontchartrain in New Orleans, where Hurricane Isaac has made landfall.
Water rises from a bayou, flooding properties ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Isaac in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.
Bridgette Mooney, her husband Kevin, and their 15-month-old daughter Skyler watch from their home as Hurricane Isaac lashes their property with rain in Kiln, Mississippi.
Employees of the Orleans Levee District remove signs from Lake Shore Drive near the shore of Lake Pontchartrain.
Evan Stoudt faces strong winds from the banks of Lake Pontchartrain.
A man walks on Canal Street in New Orleans.
Joshua Keegan and Ruffin Henry swim at Lake Pontchartrain.
High surf splashes along Highway 193 north of the Dauphin Island Bridge in Alabama.
Waves from Hurricane Isaac smash against a warning sign at a flooded beach in Biloxi, Mississippi.
A group of men sit on a bench at the edge of Lake Pontchartrain as Hurricane Isaac approaches.
Matthew Pettus holds a sheet open in the wind on the levee near Lake Pontchartrain.
People make their way across Canal Street in New Orleans.
Joshua Keegan and his dog Scout swim in the rising water of Lake Pontchartrain.
A Mississippi Department of Transportation sign in Hattiesburg warns southbound motorists on U.S. 49 of rough weather conditions on Tuesday, August 28. Hurricane Isaac is expected to drop heavy rain on the Mississippi Coast over the next couple of days.
A woman and her dog watch the waves produced by Hurricane Isaac on the shore of Lake Pontchatrain in New Orleans on Tuesday. Hurricane Isaac is expected to make landfall later tonight along the Louisiana coast.
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu receive an update on the status of the pumping station at the 17th Street Canal in Metairie, Louisiana.
A couple takes photos in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. Many residents of the area decided to stay in their homes instead of evacuating.
A man skateboards past a bar with boarded windows in the French Quarter in New Orleans.
Diana Whipple of New Orleans watches waves crash on the shore of Lake Pontchartrain as Hurricane Isaac approaches Tuesday. Isaac became a Category 1 hurricane Tuesday when its maximum sustained winds reached 75 mph, the National Hurricane Center says.
Workers try to close off state Highway 23 South in Oakville, Louisiana, on Tueday as Issac heads toward the coast.
Gallery Nine Forty in New Orleans' French Quarter notifies customers it's "on Hurrication."
Workers board up a business on Bourbon Street in the French Quarter as Isaac approaches Tuesday.
Hydraulic pumps are prepared at the 17th Street Canal floodwall Tuesday in New Orleans.
A woman enjoys the a heavy rain in the Tampa, Florida, area, on Monday. Hurricane Isaac is expected to make landfall near New Orleans.
Mounted law enforcement officials wait out a brief rainstorm during the National Republican Convention. Commercial bus cancellations caused by Isaac prevented many of the expected demonstrators from being present.
A sign in the French Quarter makes fun of Hurricane Isaac.
Workers place plywood on the windows of the Royal Sonesta Hotel on Bourbon Street.
Aimo Ny rests on her cot in the hurricane shelter at the Belle Chasse Auditorium on Monday in Belle Chasse, Louisiana.
iReporter Liz Yavinsky snapped this picture of a boy floating down a flooded street in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Monday.
The manager of a shoe store in Harvey, Louisiana, places plywood over the windows in preparation of Hurricane Isaac.
A crew from Jefferson Parish Drainage Department places large sandbags near a canal and pond in Jean Lafitte, Louisiana, on Monday in preparation for Isaac.
A St. Petersburg, Florida, resident walks along the sea wall at Spa Beach, where larger than average waves were being kicked up by Tropical Storm Isaac on Monday.
Oliver Marti sweeps water from heavy rains generated by Tropical Storm Isaac off the roof of his flower shop on Monday in Tampa, Florida.
Waves batter the coast in Havana, Cuba, on Sunday after Tropical Storm Isaac passed the island.
Larry Hoffmeister, left, and Charles Carter place storm shutters on Carter's vacation home on Dauphin Island, Alabama, as they prepare for Isaac on Sunday.
Justin and Kayla Franklin of Tennessee walk in wind and rain in downtown Key West as Tropical Storm Isaac moves over the island.
Biloxi, Mississippi, resident Stephanie Dale fills out paperwork Sunday to have her dog microchipped at the Humane Society of South Mississippi, which opened its doors to provide an emergency microchip and tag clinic.
Ocean Springs, Mississippi, resident Charles Bartlett fills several gas containers in preparation for Isaac.
Andrew Marino, left, and Colby Collier pull a wagon filled with sandbags back to their homes as Florida residents prepared for Tropical Storm Isaac in St. Pete Beach, Florida, on Sunday.
Palm trees blow in the wind in front of the Tampa Bay Times Forum, where the start of the Republican National Convention was pushed to Tuesday.
Earl, right, and Terri Harris place sandbags around their home to prepare for possible flooding.
People venture out into the stormy weather as Tropical Storm Isaac passed by Marathon, Florida, on Sunday.
A couple watch as waves and strong winds from Tropical Storm Isaac, which crossed Cuba on Sunday, batter the shore in Gibara, Cuba, on Saturday.
Strong winds bend palm trees in Cuba's northern province of Sancti Spiritus on Saturday. Isaac is expected to strengthen and become a Category 1 hurricane by early Monday as it draws nearer to Florida.
A man captures the effects of Tropical Storm Isaac in Gibara.
People watch from the shore as waves pound the coast in Gibara.
Officials reported some storm surge and flooding in eastern Cuba.
Tampa, Florida, area residents make preparations for the arrival of Tropical Storm Isaac by filling sandbags at a Hillsborough County Public Works Service Center on Saturday.
A woman sits atop sandbags filled by Tampa area residents in preparation for the storm.
A Florida Keys resident boards up the windows of a store on Duval Street in Key West after a hurricane warning was issued ahead of Tropical Storm Isaac.
Two men install storm shutters on Duval Street on Saturday.
Vehicles cross a bridge leaving the Lower Keys on Saturday as the storm strengthens and moves closer.
Isaac's trail of destruction
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Isaac pounds Gulf Coast
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STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- NEW: Storm surges of over 10 feet are reported in Shell Beach, Louisiana
- NEW: Isaac's eye is 75 miles from New Orleans, but the city has been impacted already
- Around 220,000 Entergy Louisiana customers don't have power
- The storm may get even stronger as it moves inland, the hurricane center says
Have you been affected by Isaac? Share your photos here.
(CNN) -- After churning through the Caribbean and chugging up the Gulf of Mexico, Hurricane Isaac made landfall over southeastern Louisiana on Tuesday night -- bringing with it sustained winds of 80 mph and torrential, stinging rains.
According to the National Hurricane Center, the storm's center moved over land in Plaquemines Parish at 6:45 p.m. (7:45 p.m. ET) -- one day before the seventh anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, which left nearly 1,800 dead and caused billions of dollars worth of damage along the Gulf Coast.
Isaac's eye then "wobbled westward" and moved back over Gulf waters, and by 10 p.m. CT was centered about 75 miles southeast of Houma, Louisiana -- all while keeping its strength as it lashed those onshore.
Throughout the night, the hurricane center issued advisories indicating that steady hurricane-force winds of 74 mph and stronger were being felt 60 miles out, mostly to the east and northeast of Isaac's eye. Sporadic gusts were even stronger, including a 106 mph wind reading from high up on an oil rig off the southeast Louisiana coast and 85 mph in Grand Isle, Louisiana.
While Isaac is expected to eventually lose steam, that might not happen immediately because much of the sprawling storm will be over water for several more hours.
How to prepare for a storm
Even with more dangerous conditions likely yet to come, the storm already has caused significant surges and flooding in a number of locales, and not just those directly in Isaac's path. Storm surges of 10.3 feet have been reported in Shell Beach just outside New Orleans, and 6.7 feet in Waveland, Mississippi, according to the hurricane center.
These surges likely will get worse, with forecasters predicting water levels to rise between 6 to 12 feet on the coast in Mississippi and southeastern Louisiana alone.
Mississippi state authorities have noted that waters have gone up around the state faster than expected, something Jim Yelverton noticed as he surveyed the Tchoutacabouffa River in Biloxi. He estimated Tuesday afternoon that this river was 6 to 8 feet higher than normal, and at low tide, expressing concerns about even more flooding during high tide Wednesday morning.
Hurricane Isaac landfall in Louisiana
Will the levees hold in New Orleans?
See Isaac brewing from space
Fugate: FEMA in good shape for Isaac
"The fact that we haven't had any rain and that we've got six to eight hours before the real fun begins ... makes me nervous," echoed Jon McDougal, another CNN iReporter who documented flooding in nearby Gulfport.
A large swath of the northern Gulf Coast on Tuesday night was experiencing tropical storm conditions, with winds in excess of 39 mph, including parts of Mississippi and Alabama, the hurricane center reported.
Intense rains alone could cause major headaches, and flooding, given Isaac's slow progression.
Having at one point swept through the Caribbean at 21 mph, Isaac's movement slowed Tuesday to 8 mph. It continued creeping northwest at this speed through Tuesday night.
Because Isaac is moving at such a slow clip, CNN meteorologist Chad Myers estimated some residents could experience hurricane or tropical storm conditions for between 24 and 36 hours before the storm finally moves on.
While residents had been feeling its effects for hours, the storm's eye was still 75 miles south-southeast of New Orleans at 10 p.m. Tuesday.
By then, heavy rain had already contributed to significant flooding, including "deceptively deep" water under Interstate 610 at Elysian Fields. But due to the strong winds, barriers aimed at keeping drivers away flailed in the wind.
"Please help us spread word: I610 Underpass at Elysian Fields is flooded. We cannot keep up barricades b/c of wind. Do NOT try to cross," the city said via Twitter.
Mayor Mitch Landrieu said he expected the worst of the storm to hit his city Wednesday morning, bringing with it hurricane-force winds and between 10 and 16 inches of rain. The mayor wrote on Twitter that about 1,000 National Guard troops and more than 2,900 law enforcement officers are in the city ready to address issues related to the storm.
Storm tracker
"We're in a hunker down phase now, because this storm could be over us for a while with a lot of wind and rain," Landrieu said in a statement. "Hunker down means hunker down and prepare to ride it out."
Keep a hurricane preparation checklist
Like Landrieu and other local and state authorities, President Barack Obama on Tuesday had urged those in Isaac's path to listen to authorities and stay safe.
"Now's not the time to tempt fate," he said from Washington, after signing an emergency declaration for the state of Mississippi like he had for Louisiana a day earlier. "Now's not the time to dismiss official warnings. You need to take this seriously."
Besides strong winds, Isaac could bring 14 inches of total rainfall in many places, and isolated parts of southeast Louisiana, southern Mississippi, southern Alabama and the Florida Panhandle could get as much as 20 inches, the hurricane center said.
Entering Tuesday, Gulf Coast residents braced for the worst from a storm that has already caused considerable devastation as it headed north from the Caribbean. Haiti's civil protection agency reported at least 19 people in that country died due to Isaac, which after hitting that impoverished nation went on to lash Cuba and the Florida Keys.
Weathering the storm: Links, tips and resources
Trish Powers, a CNN iReporter from Fort Pierce on Florida's east coast, reported that floodwater there is "almost waist deep at some ... points."
"All we can do is wait for the water to recede," she said.
The hurricane's "increasing winds and seas" disrupted a search for a missing man on Tuesday, Coast Guard spokesman Timothy Williams said.
The Coast Guard had been looking off the coast of Pensacola, Florida, for a "missing jet skier" whose wife reported him missing Monday night. Williams said that rescue crews would "temporarily suspend their search efforts until the storm passes and weather conditions become safe enough."
Hurricane Isaac: State by state
Isaac's impact has been felt, and seen, in other ways as well -- including bending trees, drenching roads and knocking down power lines.
Entergy Louisiana, one of many utilities affected by the storm, reported around 222,000 customers without power statewide at 10:12 p.m. CT.
Isaac earlier prompted three airports to close -- in New Orleans; Gulfport-Biloxi, Mississippi; and Mobile, Alabama -- and cancellations of around 1,500 flights systemwide, according to airline and airport officials. In addition, the U.S. Coast Guard announced it has closed major ports along the Gulf Coast and the Mississippi River from Baton Rouge to its mouth because of the storm.
Business in many of the most affected areas came to a standstill because of Isaac. For example, 52 Walmart and Sam's Club stores in Louisiana and nine in Mississippi had shut down by 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, their parent company said.
Amtrak suspended its train service to and from New Orleans on Tuesday and Wednesday because of Isaac. And residents of Plaquemines Parish, located along the Gulf, are subject to a "dusk-to-dawn curfew" because of Isaac, parish officials said.
In and around New Orleans, authorities closed a number of flood protection structures. These included the West Closure Complex -- one of the world's largest pump stations, capable of pumping stormwater at 20,000 cubic feet per second -- said the Army Corps of Engineers.
"There is no evidence of any (water) overtopping (canals)," Landrieu said Tuesday evening. "We have full confidence the levees will hold."
In Mississippi, more than 1,800 evacuees were staying in 33 shelters located in 16 counties as of 9 p.m. Tuesday, according to the state's emergency management agency. More than 80,000 sandbags were given out earlier in the day, and several popular Biloxi casinos closed temporarily.
Disaster dining: Stay safe and stay fed
Shrimpers in Bayou Le Batre, Alabama, were among those who heeded official warnings and hunkered down.
"All the boats are coming. We're anchoring them down and getting ready for this blow, hoping it's not too bad," Dominick Ficarino, the owner of Dominick's Seafood, told CNN affiliate WPMI-TV in Bayou Le Batre.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Tuesday said it was sending additional inspectors to two Louisiana nuclear plants in the storm's path, as power company Entergy planned a "controlled shutdown" of one of them starting Tuesday afternoon.
Isaac is not expected to be as strong as Katrina, which made landfall as a Category 3 storm with 125 mph winds. Even so, the head of FEMA stressed Tuesday that wind speed isn't the only factor to consider when assessing how much damage a storm might cause.
"I know there are a lot of jaded folks on the coast that have been through Camille and then Katrina and think, well, this is just a Category 1 hurricane," said FEMA director Craig Fugate from Mississippi. "The tendency to look at the category of the wind speed doesn't always tell the story of what the impacts will be."
iReporters share Hurricane Isaac photos, videos
Gulf Coast authorities and residents are praying there will be no repeat of the devastation the 2005 hurricane caused after protective levees around New Orleans failed and flooded the city.
Col. Ed Fleming of the Army Corps of Engineers vowed that the system now in place "is the best ... the greater New Orleans area has ever seen."
Jackie Grosch, for one, trusts that the levees will hold this time. The St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana, resident, who rebuilt her home after Katrina, said her family will wait Isaac out -- though they have a generator and life jackets, "just in case."
"I don't know if it's going to be a true test, because they're saying it's not going to be that bad," Grosch said. "But you never know what bad is. We didn't think Katrina was going to be bad either."
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CNN's Josh Levs, Greg Botelho, Phil Gast, Ed Lavandera, Anika Chin, Mike Ahlers, Aaron Cooper, Ed Payne, Mariano Castillo, Matt Smith, Dave Alsup and Chelsea J. Carter contributed to this report.