Hurricane Isaac storm surge tops levee in Plaquemines Parish

Story by Yahoo News
Written by Dylan Stapleford

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A storm surge pounds the seawall along Lake Pontchartrain as Isaac makes landfall. (AP)

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A storm surge from Hurricane Isaac topped a levee in Plaquemines Parish south of New Orleans early Wednesday, officials said, trapping those who chose not to evacuate.

Plaquemines Parish president Billy Nungesser said the 18-mile, 8-foot-high levee--which is not part of the $1.5 billion federal levee system constructed after Hurricane Katrina--was in the process of being raised.

"The levees are topping in several locations," Nungresser said on CNN. "We're trying to get the few people who have stayed out. ... We've got a serious situation over there."