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© APHurricane Isaac can be seen in this satellite image as it moves towards New Orleans over the Gulf of Mexico
New Orleans mayor Mitch Landrieu warns residents 'we're in the hunker-down phase' as city waits for storm surge and flooding

Hurricane Isaac made landfall as a category 1 storm with top wind speeds of 80mph Tuesday in extreme south-eastern Louisiana, where authorities warned that the slow-moving storm could hit inland areas as well as coastlines hard.

The National Hurricane Center reported "strong winds and a dangerous storm surge" along the Gulf coast after the storm came ashore at 7:45pm ET. A second landfall was expected overnight.

As wind and rain intensified in New Orleans as the hurricane made landfall at the extreme southern part of the Plaquemines Parish region, mayor Mitch Landrieu held a press conference at 8pm ET. "The message of this press conference is to let you know that your city is secure," he said.

More road closures this afternoon have made leaving the city increasingly difficult. The mayor warned residents to stay indoors because of the risk of flying debris and flooding. "We're in the hunker-down phase," he said.

As of 10pm ET, Entergy Corp was reporting 150,000 were without power in south-eastern Louisiana. Most parts of New Orleans and the surrounding areas were expected to suffer power cuts overnight and into Wednesday afternoon.

Billy Nungesser, the president of Plaquemines Parish on the coast south-east of New Orleans, said that water was lapping over the levee at the Mississippi River. He did not expect significant problems to develop as a result but said that the high water level was unexpected.

"It was scary to see. We were worried about the back levee, never the Mississippi river," he said.

Nungesser added on WWLTV that the degree of damage to his house was reminiscent of Hurricane Katrina. "Water has blown through the sockets in my back wall; that only happened in Katrina. My whole roof is leaking. I didn't get that kind of damage from anything but Katrina - [Isaac] seems a lot more than a category one," he said.

The National Hurricane Center had warned in its 5pm ET update that Isaac was getting better organised as it neared southeastern Louisiana. Isaac had picked up force, with maximum sustained winds measured at 80mph.

President Barack Obama signed emergency declarations for Louisiana and parts of Mississippi and warned against overconfidence. "We're dealing with a big storm and there could be significant flooding and other damage across a large area. Now is not the time to tempt fate. Now is not the time to dismiss warnings," he said.

In the lower ninth ward, a sprawl of largely ramshackle one and two-storey homes that was hit hard by Katrina, appeared abandoned at first glance. St Claude Avenue, the main drag, was empty.

But as the sky turned an ominous metallic grey, you could find those who had stayed behind. "You need money to leave," said Scott McMorris, 47, a mechanic. "A lot of people can't afford to run. You either pay your bills or you run. Can't do both."

Further up the street, bunkered in his home, was Gregory Richardson, 56, a retired oil rig worker with rheumatism. He had stocked up on water, ice, batteries and tinned food. He would have evacuated, he said, but didn't have the cash. "My social welfare comes on the third of the month. If it came this week I wouldn't be here talking to you now."

He narrowly survived Katrina, which killed 1,800 people after the levees broke in the storm surges that followed the 2005 hurricane. "It was madness. I was rescued after four days by the army" - and prayed Isaac would be more merciful. As he spoke the wind opened and slammed shut his front door.

Mandatory evacuations were ordered for St Charles Parish and parts of Jefferson Parish and Plaquemines Parish: low-lying regions outside the city's defenses.

About 7,000 Plaquemines residents out of the population of 23,000 were ordered to evacuate, and many of those who could not or would not skip town were holed up in a well-preserved old hall with gold-painted chandeliers and ceiling fans. Folding beds were arranged in neat rows and seats face a flat-screen television and a kitchen; naval officers and police looked on

"This building holds 80, next building 200, the backup location which we've overflowed to we have a capacity of 200. We're already pretty full. We're at 340," Gina Meyer, the superintendent of emergency medical services, said on Tuesday.

One resident, 21-year-old Joseph Buras, was sanguine about the risks. "The worst it's probably going to get is 90mph winds, so people aren't in so much of a panic as they normally would. Then again the fear of Katrina is still in a lot of people's hearts. So when they heard a hurricane was coming they just hauled it," he said. "We've survived the worst, this isn't the worst.

Back in the lower ninth, others stayed because they trusted the repaired and fortified levees would withstand whatever Isaac threw at them. The bolder ones intended to enjoy nature's show.

Darrel Walters, 48, and Kerwin Brown, 50, watched an exodus of neighbours with nonchalance, perching on chairs in their yard, bare-chested, smoking and sipping Budweiser. "We got some medicine right here," said Walters, tapping his beer.

Speaking in Mississippi, Craig Fugate, head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, warned that the storm was slow moving and that heavy rains could cause inland flooding. "This is not just a storm for the coastal counties," Fugate said.

The Louisiana governor, Bobby Jindal, said the storm's slow speed of 10mph meant some areas of New Orleans would experience six to 10 hours of hurricane-force winds and that storm surges could top 10ft. He said 41 parishes had declared emergencies, and seven were at least partially evacuated.

Seven years almost to the day after Katrina hit, New Orleans was hoping that that $14.5bn worth of civil works - a 133-mile chain of levees, flood walls, gates and pumps - would avert another catastrophe.

Landrieu, the mayor, did not order an evacuation of the city, but those living outside the levee system were strongly encouraged to leave. "We don't expect a Katrina-like event, but remember there are things about a category 1 storm that can kill you," Landrieu said.