New Orleans Readies For Isaac

The National Hurricane Center is forecasting Tropical Storm Isaac to reach hurricane strength and hit around New Orleans late Tuesday or early Wednesday.  It's a slow moving tropical storm at this point, and it's going to bring a lot of rain to the Crescent City.

Wakulla County Florida Could Get 33 Inches of Rain

Debby lives on in the form of rain and part of Florida are feeling the brunt of it.

Reports say Wakulla County, Florida could get up to 33 inches of rain before it is over.  This is an advisory from Channel 27 WTXL and ABC affiliate in the area.

River levels are rising. The Sopchoppy River is already above tropical storm Faye's water level and water levels continue to rise.

There have also been reported occasional wind gusts up to forty miles an hour. This storm is very slow-moving.

One Crawfordville resident says today alone his rain gauge shows eighteen inches and that was back at 530 pm Monday. “We keep lots of canned vegetables on hand and water because the lights go out a lot you know down here this way when the wind blows like this so like I said it's been blowing rain all day,” explained Craige Goodman.

Goodman says as of Monday afternoon his family will not be evacuating but if the winds get stronger and they get an increased amount of standing water in the backyard they will reconsider. They also lost power for about an hour Monday afternoon.

We spoke with another resident and property owner who explained that one of his building's parking lots flooded over 5 inches in about 2 hours.

“We have outdoor lighting over here that shines up that's ground level and as a result of that when water got up to that level this man has advised me that I need to turn the electricity off because it will short out and somebody could be electrocuted because water is a conductor of electricity,” explained Harold Thurmond.

Thurmond is referring to a local electrician. He has since turned that electricity off to ensure his tenants' safety.

He explains that he has owned property since 1984 and has never seen flooding like this.

Thurmond is also getting sandbags from Wakulla County to place in front of his tenants' doors.

Officials say people who decide to evacuate low-lying areas should use extreme caution and should not cross flooded roadways. If you are not evacuating, you're urged to stay off the roads.

Numerous roads are under water and are several feet deep in some locations.

Officials say a flash flood emergency is in effect and you're advised that if you see rapidly rising water you should seek higher ground immediately.

French Open Final Set for 7AM Monday

With Rafael Nadal trying to protect a 6-4, 6-3, 2-6, 1-2 lead over a surging Novak Djokovic, who's seeded No. 1. A tarp was pulled over the court, and after another hour or so, the decision was made to stop for the day and resume Monday.

Nadal and Djokovic were scheduled to resume at 1 p.m. local time (7 a.m. EDT) on Monday, when the forecast calls for intermittent rain. NBC, which aired Sunday's action, said Monday's U.S. TV coverage will shift to NBC Sports Network, a cable channel in about 35 million fewer homes than the broadcast network. It also will be streamed online at NBCSports.com.

Daytona 500 Moved to Monday

Hard to believe that the Daytona 500 has never been ran on a Monday.

The Daytona 500 was postponed Sunday for the first time in its 54-year history after heavy rain saturated Daytona International Speedway.

NASCAR officials spent more than four hours waiting for a window to dry the famed track, but it never came. When the latest storm cell passed over the speedway around 5 p.m., they had little choice but to call it a day.

The 500-mile race was rescheduled for noon Monday. It will be aired on Fox.

Deadly Landslide Hits Philippines

A landslide hit the Philippines on Thursday in the remote mountain community on Mindanao island that was declared off-limits last year due to the ever-present danger of landslides, but migrants in search of instant riches had ignored the warning, they added.

Rescuers using only spades and other hand tools pulled 25 bodies and 15 injured residents from the rubble after the landslide in Napnapan near Pantukan town at dawn, civil defence chief Benito Ramos said.

Local military official Colonel Lyndon Paniza, who is coordinating the rescue from Pantukan, about two hours away via rugged mountain roads, said rescuers fear there could be more fatalities.

Provincial governor Arturo Uy said more than 100 people were believed to be still buried under the collapsed mountainside.

Ramos, however, said the number of missing was an estimate based on figures from village officials.
The provincial government and local mining companies have been asked to bring heavy equipment up to the village to help speed up the rescue.

The area had been hit by rains unleashed from a storm off Mindanao's southeast coast, the state weather service said.