Isaac Triggers Further Evacuations

New Orleans residents still relieved it's nothing like Katrina

Hurricane Isaac forced evacuations affecting tens of thousands of people in Louisiana and Mississippi on Thursday, even as relieved New Orleans residents said its destruction was nothing like that seen after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

A slow-moving Category 1 hurricane when it hit the region on Tuesday, Isaac was expected to weaken into a tropical depression on Thursday. Only one fatality linked to the cyclone has been confirmed so far.

But Isaac left a soggy mess across a widespread area along the U.S. Gulf Coast and could still bring heavy rain and flooding as it moves over the central United States - where rain is badly needed - in the next few days.