The U.S. state of Louisiana has mobilized 4,126 national guard troops to deal with Tropical Storm Isaac, which is reportedly to strike the southeastern part of the state late Tuesday or early Wednesday, Governor Bobby Jindal said on Monday.

According to the reports on the website of NOLA.COM on Monday, the state national guard troops are mobilizing supplies and equipment, and 16 liaison teams are embedding with parish. More than one third of the Louisiana national guard will be mobilized.

The state national guard has 921 "security vehicles" available, along with 503 high-water vehicles, 74 boats and helicopters, the governor said.

A national guard spokesman confirmed that guardsmen around the state are reporting to their units on Monday, and many troops await missions that will depend in part on where Tropical Storm Isaac goes.

The troops with missions are assisting with evacuation shelters, including one in Alexandria where troops set up 2,500 cots. Another 300 soldiers will work as bus drivers in Metairie, supporting the state departments of transportation and education, the spokesman said.

Later Sunday, the governor declared a state of emergency in the state, and suggested voluntary evacuations for residents living outside hurricane levees in 15 parishes in southeastern Louisiana.

Tropical Storm Isaac is likely to grow only to strong Category 1 strength, with top winds of 144 kilometers per hour, when its center crosses the mouth of the Mississippi River at about 2 p.m. local time on Wednesday.

Tropical Storm Isaac has also impacted upon the country's oil production in the Gulf of Mexico.

In the United States, drilling in federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico accounts for 23 percent of domestic crude oil production and about 7 percent of natural gas production.

The country's Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said on Monday that 78 percent of the current daily oil production in the Gulf area has been shut down as offshore operators evacuate ahead of the storm.

Authorities have evacuated workers from 346 production platforms, or 58 percent of the 596 manned platforms in the Gulf. In addition, about 48 percent of the current daily natural gas production in the Gulf has been shut in, the bureau said.

On Aug. 29, 2005, Louisiana was hit by powerful Hurricane Katrina, which was the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest U.S. hurricanes, since the 1928 Okeechobee hurricane. At least 1,836 people died in the hurricane and in the subsequent floods. Total property damage was estimated at 81 billion U.S. dollars.

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