Aimo Ny rests on her cot in the hurricane shelter at the Belle Chasse Auditorium on Monday, August 27, in Belle Chasse, Louisiana. Tropical Storm Isaac is expected to strengthen into at least a Category 1 hurricane before making landfall near New Orleans. 
iReporter Liz Yavinsky snapped this picture of a boy floating down a flooded street in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Monday. 
The manager of a shoe store in Harvey, Louisiana, places plywood over the windows in preparation of Tropical Storm Isaac. 
A crew from Jefferson Parish Drainage Department places large sandbags near a canal and pond in Jean Lafitte, Louisiana, on Auguest 27, in preparation for Tropical Storm Isaac. 
A St. Petersburg, Florida, resident walks along the sea wall at Spa Beach, where larger than average waves were being kicked up by Tropical Storm Isaac, on August 27. 
Oliver Marti sweeps water from heavy rains generated by Tropical Storm Isaac off the roof of his flower shop on August 27 in Tampa, Florida. 
Waves batter the coast in Havana, Cuba, on Sunday, August 26, after Tropical Storm Isaac passed the island. 
Larry Hoffmeister, left, and Charles Carter place storm shutters on Carter's vacation home on Dauphin Island, Alabama, as they prepare for Tropical Storm Isaac on Sunday. 
Justin and Kayla Franklin of Tennessee walk in wind and rain in downtown Key West as Tropical Storm Isaac moves over the island. 
Biloxi, Mississippi, resident Stephanie Dale fills out paperwork Sunday to have her dog microchipped at the Humane Society of South Mississippi, which opened its doors to provide an emergency microchip and tag clinic. 
Ocean Springs, Mississippi, resident Charles Bartlett fills several gas containers in preparation for Tropical Storm Isaac. 
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 owner of a business looted during Katrina says New Orleans is now "a different city"
- A restaurant owner's quagmire: No employees because schools are closing
- The manager of a store in a mall looted during Katrina looks forward to a cookout
(CNN) -- Bill Coleman's business in New Orleans was looted during Hurricane Katrina. Now, Hurricane Isaac threatens to bombard the region with heavy wind and rain on Katrina's anniversary. He may have to close up shop again until the storm passes and, if necessary, power is restored.
But this father of two and grandfather of one said he is "not concerned."
"Katrina was a once-in-a-lifetime event," the owner of Coleman's Retail Store told CNN Monday, noting that forecasters aren't predicting Katrina-like catastrophic conditions for the city he's lived in his whole life.
Also, "We have a vastly improved police department," Coleman said. "A much higher level of conduct is expected. ... There have been a lot of positive changes."
FEMA: We don't wait for storm to arrive 
Mississippi waits for Isaac to hit 
State of emergency in Louisiana "The city was under siege" during Katrina, with a "total breakdown of society," he said.
Now, "it's just a different city."
Coleman isn't alone in his outlook and relatively relaxed state about the impending storm.
Jerry Amato feels confident that his restaurant, just a couple of blocks from the water, won't be flooded.
Preparing for Isaac, state by state
"I just don't think it's going to be strong enough -- but I'm not weatherman," he said.
When the storms come through, he'll "just lock the door" to Mother's Restaurant and wait out the storm, he said.
He doesn't think it'll be long before he reopens so the establishment -- which closed down for months in 2005 -- can resume serving the "world's best baked ham."
It hasn't closed yet. Amato planned to "wait until the last minute to decide whether to pull the trigger," but now he faces "a quagmire." He wouldn't mind staying open longer, but since schools are closing, his employees need to leave. "They have to stay home and take care of the kids."
Thomas Blais, manager of the upscale men's shoe shop Allen Edmonds at New Orleans' Canal Place mall, said his and other shops were closing Monday "because our families need to get home to prepare their houses for the storm."
But he, too, is "not overly" concerned about Isaac.
While the mall experienced looting and fires during Katrina, he doesn't expect a repeat. It's a "considerably smaller storm," Blais notes, and he expects the authorities to keep order.
In fact, there's something Blais looks forward to if the power goes out.
Disaster dining: How to stay safe and fed during a storm
"Neighbors will get together and have one big barbecue. As soon as we lose power, we're going to start cooking out the food in all the refrigerators."
If the streets are too wet, there are "rooftops, terraces, courtyards that are kind of covered," Blais said. "It's wonderful after the storm, when everybody comes out and starts talking, drinking, and hanging out.
"That's the good part about the storms -- it brings neighbors together."
Coleman said those neighborly feelings have grown in recent years. "I think we've got a really a much improved and a much higher level of thought and spirit in the city. There's much more unity."
The seeds of that came in Katrina's wake, he said. "In some ways there was a lot of good that came from Katrina. I'm still very emotional about it. It changed my whole life.
"It brought out some of the very best in America."
