Andrew Marino, left, and Colby Collier pull a wagon filled with sandbags back to their homes as Florida residents continue to prepare for Tropical Storm Isaac in St. Pete Beach, Florida on Sunday, August 26. 
Palm trees blow in the wind in front of the Tampa Bay Times Forum where the start of the Republican National Convention has been pushed to Tuesday. 
Earl, right, and Terri Harris place sandbags around their home to prepare for possible flooding. 
A couple watch as waves and strong winds from Tropical Storm Isaac, which passed by Cuba on Sunday, batter the shore in Gibara, Cuba, on Saturday, August 25. 
Strong winds bend palm trees in Cuba's northern province of Sancti Spiritus on Saturday. Isaac is expected to strengthen and become a Category 1 hurricane by early Monday as it draws nearer to Florida. 
A man captures the effects of Tropical Storm Isaac in Gibara. 
People watch from the shore as waves pound the coast in Gibara. 
Officials reported some storm surge and flooding in eastern Cuba. 
Tampa, Florida, area residents make preparations for the arrival of Tropical Storm Isaac by filling sandbags at a Hillsborough County Public Works Service Center on Saturday. 
A woman sits atop sandbags filled by Tampa area residents in perparation for the storm. 
Two men install storm shutters on Duval Street on Saturday. 
Vehicles cross a bridge leaving the Lower Keys on Saturday as the storm strengthens and moves closer. 
- The coast, from Morgan City, Louisiana, to Destin, Florida, is under a hurricane watch
- Tropical Storm Isaac is expected to make landfall as a hurricane
- Isaac could make landfall on or near the seventh anniversary of Katrina
- "I am urging everyone to take precautions now," the Alabama governor says
Tampa, Florida (CNN) -- Thousands in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama were being told early Monday to leave their Gulf Coast homes ahead of the arrival of Tropical Storm Isaac as forecasters warned it was gaining strength as it followed the same path Hurricane Katrina took seven years earlier.
The governors of the three states each declared a state of emergency, with Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley ordering mandatory evacuations to begin at 8 a.m. CT (9 a.m. ET) for residents who live along the coast and for those in some low-lying areas inland.
"I am urging everyone to take precautions now, monitor weather warnings, and be prepared for whatever Isaac may bring," Bentley said in a statement released Sunday.
A hurricane warning was issued for the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico, from Morgan City, Louisiana, east to Destin, Florida, the National Hurricane Center said.
The tropical storm was expected to make landfall late Tuesday or Wednesday -- Katrina's anniversary -- as a Category 2 hurricane with winds of at least 96 mph.
Isaac was strengthening early Monday as it moved at 14 mph through the warm Gulf waters, about 110 miles west-southwest of Key West, packing sustained winds of 65 mph, according to a hurricane center advisory.
It appeared early Monday that the storm's ferocity would mostly bypass Florida's west coast and the Republican National Convention in Tampa, where the schedule was pushed back a day by organizers over concerns about the storm.
Isaac's eye is forecast to pass well west of Tampa.
After slamming into Haiti, where at least six people died in storm-related incidents Saturday, Isaac lashed Cuba and the Florida Keys.
There are so far some eerie similarities between Hurricane Katrina and Isaac, CNN meteorologist Dave Hennen said.
The forecast for Isaac and the one for Katrina in 2005 are almost identical, he said.
"Hurricane Katrina went on to become a dangerous Category 5 hurricane in the central Gulf of Mexico," Hennen said. "Isaac is forecast to become a Category 2, 100 mph hurricane before it hits the Gulf Coast ... seven years to the date of Katrina's landfall."
On August 29, 2005, Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast, killing roughly 1,800 people.
"We are just on high alert. I know the anxiety level is high," New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu said.
"The storm is somewhat uncertain. Out of an abundance of caution we will begin to take these precautions as quickly as we can."
Currently, there are no plans to order evacuations of New Orleans. If an evacuation is ordered, buses and trains would be used to move residents out of the city, Landrieu said.
Neither the airport, the convention center or the Superdome would be shelters of last resort as they were in 2005.
"We are much, much better prepared structurally than before," he said, adding, "If you are called upon, you should leave."
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, meanwhile, called on residents in coastal parishes prone to flooding to voluntarily evacuate. A mandatory evacuation was ordered for St. Charles Parish and for the east bank of Plaquemines Parish.
In Gulfport, Mississippi, authorities ordered the port be cleared of cargo vessels.
Eight oil rigs and 39 production platforms in the Gulf were evacuated by late Sunday, according to the U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement. BP said it will evacuate its oil platform workers on Monday.
As preparations continued on the northern Gulf Coast, Gov. Rick Scott was assessing damage as Isaac brought strong winds and heavy rain to Florida as it skirted the state's western coast.
"We are experiencing some minor outages in the southern part of the state," he said at a news conference in Tampa. He said his main concern for Tampa was no longer a direct hit from Isaac but tropical storm force winds.
Even with storm's predicted track, GOP officials decided to push back Monday's scheduled start of the Republican National Convention in Tampa by one day, hoping the move will make it safer and easier for delegates to attend.
Officials said more than 550 flights were canceled at Miami-Dade Airport on Sunday, while the possibility of flooding due to an anticipated storm surge forced the evacuations of portions of coastal Lee County, including Fort Myers Beach.
CNN's Chelsea J. Carter Tom Cohen, Martin Savidge, Gary Tuchman, Jim Spellman and journalist Jean Junior Osman contributed to this report.
