All South Parts of the United States continue to face a battering from what is left of Hurricane Isaac. Deleting traces catastrophe of the people of New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina hurricane Isaac lived.

The massive cyclone has weakened to a tropical storm as it continues to grind its way inland from the Gulf Coast, producing ferocious winds and torrential rain.

It is forecast to weaken further and become a tropical depression by Thursday night.

Fears of a repeat of the catastrophe of Hurricane Katrina, which swamped large parts of New Orleans and killed hundreds, did not materialise and there have been no reports of any deaths or serious injuries.

The city’s mayor Mitch Landrieu said the multi-billion dollar flood defence “levees”, put in place after Katrina, had done their job.

He said: “The levee system is fine. There are no risks. It is holding exactly as we expected it to and is performing exactly as it should.”

A dawn-to-dusk curfew has been imposed in New Orleans, enforced by armed police and national guard units, amid reports of looting in a city which many residents and tourists have left ahead of the storm.

One woman who decided to stay in the city told  “I wish we had gone. It was worse than we thought it would be.

“I left during Hurricane Katrina, I usually leave, this is actually one of the first times I’ve stayed. I think next time I’ll probably go.”

Sky News witnessed downed power lines and large trees felled by the storm, perilously close to homes in some neighbourhoods.

Not far away a handful of bars which had remained open were doing good business.

Outside of New Orleans, people living in low-lying Plaquemines Parish, a sparsely populated area south of the city, have not been so lucky.

Floodwater poured over levees which have not been improved since before Katrina and more than 100 were rescued, including 25 trapped on their roofs or attics.

Local resident Jesse Shaffer and his father plucked more than 20 people to safety in rescue missions using their own fishing boat.

Officials warned that the dangers from Isaac were far from over.

Rick Knabb, director of the National Hurricane Centre, said: “The slow motion and large size of this system are making the impacts more severe and more wide ranging than some folks might have perceived would be the case from a category one hurricane.

“It’s human nature to think that if I think back to my experience with some past hurricane, if this one’s a lower category, then I’m going to be fine.”

It is estimated that some 750,000 homes have been left without power across Louisiana and officials are warning it could be days before repairs are possible.

Damage has also been reported in Mississippi and Alabama and the slow pace of Isaac means the impact could felt for the next 36 hours.

On the campaign trail in Virginia, US President Barack Obama sent a message to the Gulf Coast.

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