Obama to make statement on Isaac

US President Barack Obama was to make a statement from the White House on the tropical storm bearing down on New Orleans at 10:00 am (1400 GMT) on Tuesday, his office announced.

By (AFP)

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Published: Tue 28 Aug 2012, 7:12 PM

Last updated: Fri 3 Apr 2015, 9:59 AM

On Monday, Obama declared a state of emergency in the state of Louisiana and forecasters expected Tropical Storm Isaac to gain in strength, perhaps hitting hurricane force before sweeping onto the northern US Gulf Coast.

He was due to make his statement before heading off from another day of campaigning in the swing states of Iowa and Colorado, ahead of his November 6 re-election battle against Republican challenger Mitt Romney.

Isaac is on course to strike Louisiana just before Wednesday’s seventh anniversary of the disaster caused by Hurricane Katrina, which breached levees around New Orleans and caused massive flood damage in the city and beyond.

Around 1,800 people were killed in the Gulf Coast region and Obama’s predecessor as president, George W. Bush, was widely criticized for his administration’s disorganized response to the tragedy.

Mindful that his re-election hopes would be damaged by a similar disaster, Obama has met with senior civil defense officials and declared an emergency that will allow federal funds and aid to flow to local authorities.

Obama’s Republican rivals are meeting this week in Tampa, Florida, slightly to the east of Isaac’s path. Their convention, which was to formally nominate Romney as the party flagbearer, was delayed for a day by the storm.


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