• Image provided by Verizon

With just a few more hours before New Orleans starts to feel the effects of Isaac, you'll find no shortage of tips to make it through the storm safely. Really, hurricanes are one of the few times where information overload is a good thing. Now that you've already heard from the City of New Orleans and know that you can keep track of the emergency announcements through Google, Verizon has issued a press release to remind consumers of a few tips to be able to keep in touch with loved ones during the storm.

The full list of tips are after the jump and, along with the common-sense tips like making sure to stock up on batteries and that you have all emergency phone numbers stored in your phone, there are some other less-remembered tips like storing a contact as ICE (In Case of Emergency) in your mobile device should, heaven forbid, something happen to you and authorities find your phone.

Again, though this may be the one millionth hurricane checklist you've seen today, seasoned hurricane veterans know to prepare for the worst and hope for the best.

• Screengrab taken from Google
• A view of Google's Crises Management map for Isaac

Every year, a hurricane hits the United States and every year, we all play a game trying to predict which states will get hit the hardest. Now, while there's no predicting the future, technology has allowed us to at least react a little faster when news confirmation of a storm hitting somewhere arrives.

Isaac is no different. With the first major storm hitting U.S. shores this 2012 hurricane season, Google has prepared a Crisis Management map for people affected by Tropical Storm/Hurricane Isaac (screen grab of link shown above). By following this link, you'll be directed to a live Google map that has the storm's projected path, as well as hurricane advisory, warnings and evacuation instructions for every county in the storm's path.

Seeing as how if we spent every waking hour on the Weather Channel tracking a storm's every movement we wouldn't get any of the things done that we need to in order to, you know, get through the storm, this Google feature is a pretty useful tool in order to get the latest information available on the Web about Isaac and future storms.

h/t Vanessa Schneider, who you can Google

Mayor Mitch Landrieu and a raft of city officials and first responders held a press conference this afternoon to address plans for Hurricane Isaac. Watch here:

The current plan is to shelter in place, though Landrieu and emergency officials did not rule out calling a mandatory evacuation in the next 24 hours.

A state of emergency has been declared for Orleans, Jefferson and surrounding parishes, as well as for the state of Louisiana by Gov. Bobby Jindal. Landrieu said the city was preparing for a storm that could drop 12 to 16 inches of rain, likely making landfall Tuesday night/Wednesday morning. As meteorologists have been saying, landfall is unusually uncertain for a storm this close to the Gulf Coast. Right now, hurricane warnings have been issued for the entire Gulf Coast from Morgan City, La. to the western panhandle of Florida.

No school closures or evacuations have been planned for Orleans or Jefferson Parish as of Sunday afternoon. Landrieu said another press conference to assess conditions is planned for Monday morning, but residents should stay aware of the situation all evening.

A few notes:

• Sign up for municipal text alerts at ready.nola.gov. Get the state's free "Get a Game Plan" app for iPhone.

• Parking on neutral grounds in Orleans Parish will be allowed as of Monday evening.

• Trash pickup WILL occur Monday, but not Tuesday or Wednesday. Secure all trash bins and recycle bins.

• The city will not be operating any shelters of last resort, including the Superdome and Louis Armstrong International Airport. Plans have been made for homeless shelters to take in extra people. If you need evacuation help, see this map of city evacuation points.

• Orleans Parish Sheriff Marlin Gusman said inmates in temporary housing will be moved started Monday.

• NOPD chief Ronal Serpas said the city's 311 non-emergency line will be up and fully staffed as of Monday morning. Use that number for all non-emergencies. For emergency calls, use 911.

Television meteorologists will be updating the situation throughout the evening, and we'll be updating our Twitter feed with any major news. We have also set up a Twitter list of local meteorologists, officials and other weather resources. Subscribe here.