Hurricane Isaac weakens to tropical storm, threats remain

 WASHINGTON, Aug. 29 (Xinhua) -- Hurricane Isaac weakened to a tropical storm on Wednesday afternoon with storm surge and inland flooding still threatening, said the U.S. National Hurricane Center on the 7th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina's destructive arrival.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Tropical Storm Isaac is currently moving on at 6 mph (9.7 kph), with the maximum sustained wind of 70mph (113 kph), and centered about 50 miles (80.5 kilometers) southwest of New Orleans, Louisiana.

But the center warned life-threatening hazards from storm surge and inland flooding still remained.

Although Isaac was much weaker than Katrina, forecasters said the current slow movement and the large size of Isaac could cause hours longer impact on residents living along its path.

Isaac has lashed¹ heavy rains and winds to the state of Louisiana since it made landfall in southeastern U.S. state late Tuesday as a Category One Hurricane.

Early Wednesday, a storm surge has topped a levee in Plaquemines Parish south of New Orleans, the largest city of Louisiana and most-devastated² area seven years ago by Hurricane Katrina.

Local officials said they had been working with U.S. Coast Guard to rescue people stranded³ on top of the levee, and they may have to breach⁴ the levee in the flooded area.

Utility companies said more than 500,000 people were left without power across Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi.

The weather condition will persist through Wednesday night or early Thursday, said Richard Knabb, director of the National Hurricane Center.

Dozens of families that had ignored mandatory⁵ evacuation orders in a low-lying area had to retreat to roofs and sought rescue amid fierce wind and slashing⁶ rains, the CNN reported.

The southern U.S. states of Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama have been on high alert against the threat of Isaac. Thousands of residents living in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama were told to leave their coastal⁷ houses since Monday.

Earlier Wednesday, U.S. President Barack Obama called Governors of Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana as well as Mayor of New Orleans, pledging that the federal government was ready to provide local officials with necessary support and resources needed. He also acknowledged the 7th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina provides of the lasting⁸ effects these types of storms can have on communities.

Wednesday marks the 7th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, which devastated New Orleans and the Gulf⁹ Coast on Aug. 29, 2005. The hurricane was the costliest¹⁰ natural disaster, and one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. At least 1,836 people died and total property damage was estimated at 81 billion U.S. dollars.

A day earlier, Obama warned residents living alongside the expected path of Isaac of significant flooding and other damages. He urged them to evacuate¹¹ in time to safe grounds.

Also, Florida, Louisiana and Alabama have already declared states of emergency over the weekend, fearing that Isaac might repeat the disaster that Hurricane Katrina brought to the Gulf coast just seven years ago.

1 lashed   

adj.具睫毛的v.鞭打( lash的过去式和过去分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥

参考例句：

• The rain lashed at the windows. 雨点猛烈地打在窗户上。
• The cleverly designed speech lashed the audience into a frenzy. 这篇精心设计的演说煽动听众使他们发狂。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

3 stranded   

a.搁浅的，进退两难的

参考例句：

• He was stranded in a strange city without money. 他流落在一个陌生的城市里， 身无分文，一筹莫展。
• I was stranded in the strange town without money or friends. 我困在那陌生的城市，既没有钱，又没有朋友。

4 breach   

n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破

参考例句：

• We won't have any breach of discipline.我们不允许任何破坏纪律的现象。
• He was sued for breach of contract.他因不履行合同而被起诉。

5 mandatory   

adj.命令的；强制的；义务的；n.受托者

参考例句：

• It's mandatory to pay taxes.缴税是义务性的。
• There is no mandatory paid annual leave in the U.S.美国没有强制带薪年假。

6 slashing   

adj.尖锐的；苛刻的；鲜明的；乱砍的v.挥砍( slash的现在分词 )；鞭打；割破；削减

参考例句：

• Slashing is the first process in which liquid treatment is involved. 浆纱是液处理的第一过程。 来自辞典例句
• He stopped slashing his horse. 他住了手，不去鞭打他的马了。 来自辞典例句

7 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

8 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

9 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

10 costliest   

adj.昂贵的( costly的最高级 )；代价高的；引起困难的；造成损失的

参考例句：

• At 81 billion dollars, Katrina is the costliest natural disaster in American history. “卡特里娜”飓风造成了近810亿美圆的损失，是美国历史上最严重的自然灾难之一。 来自互联网
• Senator John Kerry has proposed a tax on the costliest health plans sold by insurance companies. 参议员约翰？克里(JohnKerry)已经提议对保险公司销售的高价值的保险计划征税。 来自互联网

11 evacuate   

v.遣送；搬空；抽出；排泄；大(小)便

参考例句：

• We must evacuate those soldiers at once!我们必须立即撤出这些士兵！
• They were planning to evacuate the seventy American officials still in the country.他们正计划转移仍滞留在该国的70名美国官员。