Tropical storm Isaac at night

Tropical storm Isaac, which was at one point upgraded to Category 1 hurricane, is shedding some of its strength, but it still brings drenching storms, blinding winds and torrential, widespread flooding.

The US states of Louisiana and Mississippi have suffered the most, so President Barack Obama has declared a state of emergency in both of them.

The good news is the $14-billion worth New Orleans’ hurricane protection system “did its job,” authorities say.

The fate of the city rests largely on numerous pumps and outfall canals that should be able to pump massive amounts of water from city streets. The pumps are part of a $14-billion worth hurricane protection system launched after the devastating Katrina claimed 1 800 lives seven years ago.

However, at least one storm-related death was reported in Louisiana. Nearly 700,000 homes and businesses in Louisiana and Mississippi were without power late Wednesday.

Airline, rail and automotive traffic was expected to remain snarled across several states through week’s end, reports USA Today.

“Unfortunately, this is a storm that just won’t seem to leave us,” says New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu, who has ordered a dusk-to-dawn curfew.

“This is not the time to let your guard down. We’re still in this thing, so it’s more important than ever for residents to stay vigilant and remain calm.”

Meanwhile, NASA has captured an amazing view of the tropical storm Isaac at night (pictured).

The bright city lights of New Orleans, Houston and Tampa can be easily identified, but the photo also includes lights from cities all along the Gulf Coast, Florida and the southeast U.S. coast, reports Space.

“The image was acquired just after local midnight by the VIIRS ‘day-night band,’ which detects light in a range of wavelengths from green to near-infrared and uses light intensification to enable the detection of dim signals. In this case, the clouds of Isaac were lit by moonlight,” NASA officials explain.

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