The effects of Category 1 Hurricane Isaac surprised many residents in the Gulf Wednesday, including the Biloxi, Miss. mayor, who later admitted he wished he had called for a mandatory evacuation before the storm.

Plaquemines Parish, La.,  the hardest hit in the storm, was not protected by the new federally-backed levees. A locally-built levee was overcome with water Wednesday, leading to rescue missions to evacuate residents who retreated to their attics or roofs.

The storm had dumped more than a foot of rain in parts of Louisiana and Mississippi, causing widespread flooding and power outages.

FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate warned Wednesday afternoon that the storm’s path still had far to go and to not underestimate the second half of the storm’s effects. “For some folks in the path, the event and the weather haven’t even begun. We are still way early before this is all over,” he said.

Social media continues to play a large role throughout Hurricane Isaac as Gulf residents turn to Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and other applications to communicate on-the-ground conditions to government officials and responding agencies.

The social media communication line has also been active at both ends. FEMA, for instance, issued 100 Isaac-related tweets during the storm and the American Red Cross has been issuing updates through their iPhone application.

Reminder: Disaster Accountability Project has activated its DAP Hotline for Isaac-related calls.

The toll-free hotline 866-9-TIP-DAP is available as a public service for disaster survivors, workers and volunteers to report critical gaps in disaster prevention, response, relief, and recovery services or planning. Report any gaps in preparedness, response and relief before or after landfall. When calling, please include specific location and nature of the gaps reported.

A report issued by the organization Save the Children found 33 states did not fully comply with disaster preparation standards in their schools and child care centers.

The advocacy group analyzed each state and the District of Columbia to determine whether its education plan accounted for disaster situations, including evacuating children during an emergency, assisting children with disabilities, for reuniting families after a disaster and multi-hazard plans for K-12 schools. Thirty-three states and the District of Columbia were lacking in at least one of the four categories.

“The failure by states to establish basic emergency preparedness regulations for the nation’s youngest and most vulnerable children in school and child care puts many of these children at great risk should a disaster strike,” Mark Shriver, senior vice president of Save the Children’s U.S. program, said in a statement. “It is unacceptable that 27 states do not require child-care facilities to have a specific disaster plan to help ensure the safety and well-being of at-risk children.”

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