Isaac aftermath is daunting

NEW ORLEANS, La. (NBC) -- The first full day of clean-up continues this afternoon along the Gulf Coast in the wake of Hurricane Isaac. Hundreds of thousands are still without power and the task of getting things "back to normal" is going to take some time.

One of the cities working through the aftermath of the massive storm is New Orleans.

For the first time in a while we have seen patches of sunshine, something this city needs to shine a light on what Isaac left behind and what it will take to recover.

The storm maybe gone, but evidence of Isaac’s fury is still scattered across the gulf coast.

"We are now fully in the cleanup and recovery phase of this storm in the city of New Orleans. The bell has not rung on this storm, and it won’t ring until we're finished,” said mayor of New Orleans, Mitch Landreiu.

And just like the slow moving storm, the clean-up here, is going to take some time.

After two straight days of driving rains, flood waters still fill some of the hardest hit neighborhoods.

"We'll continue to see localized flooding challenges because we do have such elevated levels in these rivers and bayous, quite frankly, and the water continues to accumulate from the rain."

Power crews are just now beginning work, to get close to a million customers back on line.

For survivors, recovery has become an all too familiar fight.

"I’ve been through it, you just pick up the pieces and move on,” said one resident.

This afternoon, a day after accepting his party's nomination, Republican presidential hopeful mitt Romney toured the devastation.

President Obama will visit Monday, on the eve of his party's national convention.

Though, the focus of both trips are far from political.

"We're not talking politics. It's not the right time to do that. We're solely focused on the hurricane, on recovery efforts."

And there are early signs that recovery is on the way.

"It'll be back to normal. It may take a week or two, but it is what it is at this point. It's New Orleans,” said resident, Chuck Floyd Jones.

Though the task here is big and it will be anything but easy.

The curfew has been lifted and businesses are opening as the power is restored and the focus here has clearly shifted from Isaac to the fight to come back.