Isaac shuts down seafood community

BAYOU LA BATRE, Ala. (WALA) - Even without a direct hit, Isaac shut down the seafood community in Bayou La Batre. Police closed Shell Belt Road where most shrimp and oyster boats dock.

Harry Harris was checking his boat when police closed the road off around 10 a.m.

"I know some side roads. I'll be able to get to my boat," Harris said.

But, according to Corporal Harold Windham it's not just the main beach roads that are affected by the water.

"Shell Belt which is this one, and then Coden Belt further south, and some of the small streets are closed which run off the bayou and streams," Cpl. Harris explained.

Stephanie Godsey and her husband were forced to turn around on Shell Belt Tuesday morning.

"We're trying to make sure the ropes on our boat are secure," Godsey said.

They also needed sand for their house. Even though they're in an evacuation area, the couple said they would stay. They're both confident Isaac won't be like Katrina.

"We got five feet of water for Katrina," she said.

Others told us they'll weather the storm at home too.

Anthony Sprinkle said they would wait it out at home.

‘Yeah, it ain't going to be that bad," Sprinkle said.

After surveying the area, Jared Nelson agreed.

"If it keeps moving west like it is, we should be fine," Nelson said.

But, Sharon Noble said she and most of the other people on her street have ready evacuated.

"I'm staying in a hotel down in Tillman's Corner right now, and I just drove up here to check on the property, and see how far the water had come up," she said.

Noble said she and her neighbors are more worried about property theft than the storm right now.

"There's nobody there to protect the property. We're ordered to leave our homes, and we have to leave our home because all those houses were lost in Hurricane Katrina," she said. "The problem is they've put up the road close signs on each end of the road, but people are just driving around the signs.”

Noble like many others will be glad when the storm passes, the water recedes, and her street is reopened.