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class="MsoNormal"> lang="EN-IE">Hurricane Isaac has reached the Louisiana coastline as it spins its way towards New Orleans.

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class="MsoNormal"> lang="EN-IE">Exactly 7 years after being devastated by Hurricane Katrina the city has closed its floodgates hoping to limit the damage from the storm.

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class="MsoNormal"> lang="EN-IE">US President Barack Obama is warning people in the southern United States to take Hurricane Isaac seriously.

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class="MsoNormal"> lang="EN-IE">He told people yesterday that “now is not the time to tempt fate” as it reaches Louisiana.

class="MsoNormal"> lang="EN-IE">The hurricane has sent floodwaters surging and unleashed fierce winds.

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class="MsoNormal"> lang="EN-IE">New Orleans lang="EN-IE"> was devastated by Katrina in 2005.

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class="MsoNormal"> lang="EN-IE">Isaac is the first hurricane to make landfall in the United States this season.

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class="MsoNormal"> lang="EN-IE">The hurricane will be the first test for multibillion-dollar flood defences built after levees failed under Katrina leaving large parts of low-lying New Orleans swamped.

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class="MsoNormal"> lang="EN-IE">The National Hurricane Centre warned that Isaac and its 130 kph winds were producing dangerous storm surges and that flooding from heavy rains was expected.

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class="MsoNormal"> lang="EN-IE">About 1,000 U.S. National Guard troops in military vehicles took up positions in the mostly deserted streets of New Orleans brandishing assault rifles to maintain order.

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class="MsoNormal"> lang="EN-IE">Mayor Mitch Landrieu says the city has ‘dodged a bullet’ because Isaac is a category 1 storm rather than a category 3.