Hurricane Isaac moves towards New Orleans – in pictures

Shrimp boats sit in a harbour in Bayou Bernard before the expected arrival of hurricane Isaac in Gulfport, Mississippi Photograph: James Edward Bates/ZUMA Press/Corbis

Lower Ninth Ward resident SJ Thomas walks in front of the new levee wall along the Industrial Canal in New Orleans Photograph: Mario Tama/Getty Images

A road is brought to a standstill following rainfall totals of more than a foot as Isaac moved through Palm Beach, Florida Photograph: Thomas Cordy/ZUMA Press/Corbis

Local residents are the only people allowed to try to get home after Wellington City workers set up signs closing Wellington Trace and Big Blue Trace to traffic due to flooding caused by heavy rains Photograph: Gary Coronado/ZUMA Press/Corbis

A swamp buggy proves to be the best way to get around for these Palm Beach residents Photograph: Richard Graulich/ZUMA Press/Corbis

Andrew Sessoms sits on a park bench at a flooded beach as the hurricane approaches the Gulf Coast in Waveland, Mississippi Photograph: Dan Anderson/EPA

No hurricane here. Guests sunbathe at the Pier House Resort on Tuesday in Key West, Florida Photograph: Carol Tedesco/AP

Empty shelves at a Walmart store in Biloxi, Mississippi Photograph: Julie Dermansky/Corbis

Hurricane Isaac can be seen in this satellite image as it moves towards New Orleans over the Gulf of Mexico Photograph: AP

Claudia and Richard Launey board up their New Orleans home, which still bears a marking from the aftermath of hurricane Katrina Photograph: Mario Tama/Getty Images

Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal receives an update on the status of the pumping station at the 17th Street Canal in Metairie, Louisiana Photograph: Chris Graythen/Getty Images

New Orleans resident Diana Whipple stands on the shore of Lake Pontchartrain Photograph: Jonathan Bachman/Reuters

Employees of the Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans close valves to prevent water from leaking under the levee Photograph: Jonathan Bachman/Reuters

Workers build reinforcements at a flood wall at Route 23 in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana Photograph: Gerald Herbert/AP

A bar advertises its 'hurricane' drinks while remaining open in the French Quarter of New Orleans Photograph: Mario Tama/Getty Images

Teresa Ragas and her husband Bertrand Ragas, from Port Sulphur, Louisiana, lie down in an evacuation shelter in Belle Chasse Photograph: Gerald Herbert/AP

Waves from the Santa Rosa Sound crash over the Navarre Beach causeway in Florida Photograph: Nick Tomecek/AP