Isaac’s heavy rain leaves ’ongoing’ hazards for many states

As the long, wet slog that was Hurricane Isaac slouched off into Arkansas, weary residents of Louisiana and Mississippi confronted the muddy, powerless — and dangerous — mess left behind. Nearly 2 feet of rain fell on the states, leaving the ground too soaked to absorb the overflowing rivers and pushing dams and levees outside New Orleans to the brink. As the water swallowed cars, houses and roads, helicopters and boats swept in to pluck families and pets from rooftops. At least four deaths were reported in Louisiana and Mississippi. The latest two victims, a man and a woman, were discovered late Thursday in a home in the hard-hit town of Braithwaite, south of New Orleans. Their names were not immediately released.