PICS: Isaac brings back memories of killer Katrina

New Orleans resident Diana Whipple stands on the shore of Lake Pontchartrain as hurricane Isaac approaches New Orleans.

Tropical storm Isaac was near hurricane force as it bore down on the United States Gulf Coast on Tuesday and was expected to make landfall in the New Orleans area seven years after it was devastated by hurricane Katrina.

Photograph: Jonathan Bachman/Reuters

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Water floods an area outside the levee system along the shore of Lake Pontchartrain as hurricane Isaac approaches New Orleans, Louisiana.

Photograph: Jonathan Bachman/Reuters

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Jaden Fabian, 1, cries in her car seat as her family evacuates their home as hurricane Isaac heads towards the Louisiana coast line in Oakville, Louisiana.

Photograph: Sean Gardner/Reuters

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Employees of the Orleans Levee District remove signs from Lake Shore Dr near the shore of Lake Pontchartrain as hurricane Isaac approaches New Orleans, Louisiana

Photograph: Jonathan Bachman/Reuters

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Parnell Latham, who has decided to ride out hurricane Isaac, stands near his home in Bootheville, Louisiana.

Photograph: Sean Gardner/Reuters

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Nine-year-old Jaydon Charrier (center), fills sandbags with his parents at local government sandbag distribution pointas they prepare for the arrival of hurricane Isaac in Chauvin, Louisiana.

Photograph: Lee Celano/Reuters

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James Cardoza takes a break after helping his boss board up his business in preparation for hurricane Isaac in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Photograph: Sean Gardner/Reuters

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A New Orleans resident shops for supplies at a local grocery store as she prepares for hurricane Isaac in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Photograph: Jonathan Bachman/Reuters

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Commercial boats are docked at the Empire Marina as hurricane Isaac heads towards the Louisiana coast line in Empire, Louisiana.

Photograph: Sean Gardner/Reuters

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Kemari McBride watches his grandfather Purvis McBride and neighbor Fredrick Wright board up their home in as hurricane Isaac approaches the coast in Gulfport, Mississippi.

Photograph: Michael Spooneybarger/Reuters

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John Rockwell makes final preparations, with his dog Hot Rod, as hurricane Isaac approaches New Orleans, Louisiana.

Photograph: Jonathan Bachman/Reuters

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Meteorologist Alycia Gilliland with the Center for Severe Weather Research sets up an instrumentation pod to study the effects of the storm's eyewall as hurricane Isaac bears down on the Louisiana coast near Empire, Louisiana.

Photograph: Sean Gardner/Reuters

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Jaylon Ragas, 5, plays with a gaming device at the Belle Chase Auditorium.

Photograph: Sean Gardner/Reuters

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Sabong In and his wife Pumneang of Buras, Louisiana wait at the Belle Chase Auditorium shelter.

Photograph: Sean Gardner/Reuters

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The storm surge washes up to Beach Blvd as hurricane Isaac approaches Biloxi, Mississippi.

Photograph: Michael Spooneybarger/Reuters

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Blake Noblin paddles back to shore after helping his father Jeff Noblin gather boards from a neighbor's pier on East Beach as Hurricane Isaac approaches Ocean Springs, Mississippi.

Photograph: Michael Spooneybarger/Reuters

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