NEW ORLEANS (MCT) — On the seventh anniversary of Hurricane Katrina on Wednesday, this city absorbed a rough reminder of the Gulf Coast’s vulnerability as big, slow Hurricane Isaac delivered a punishing but less powerful blow than its catastrophic predecessor.

The massive storm lingered all day, lashing the coast with torrential rains and hurricane-force winds. Flooding was widespread from New Orleans through Mississippi and Alabama as downed trees and power lines left more than 600,000 customers without electricity.