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CNN Live Sunday

Katrina Continues Its Track Towards New Orleans; Sunni Arabs Protest Iraqi Draft Constitution, Call It Illegal

Aired August 28, 2005 - 14:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: Katrina bears down on New Orleans with winds hitting 175-miles-per-hour. It is a terrible storm with devastating power. And thousands of people in the "Big Easy" are not taking any chances, they're abandoning the city.
Hello and welcome to CNN LIVE SUNDAY, I'm Randi Kaye. All that and more after this check of the headlines.

The committee writing a constitution for Iraq has signed off on a draft but Sunni-Arab negotiators still object to some elements of the document and are calling it illegal. Iraq voters will pass final judgment on the constitution in a nationwide referendum set for October 15.

Palestinian authority leader Mahmoud Abbas is condemning today's suicide bombing in southern Israel. At least 21 people were wounded in the rush hour attack at a bus station in Beersheba. The bombing has raised pressure on Abbas to crack down on militant groups.

Rap music mogul, Marion "Suge" knight is recovering from a gunshot wound. Police say he was shot in the leg overnight at a party in Miami Beach celebrating the MTV Video Music Awards. The wound is not considered life-threatening. So far there's no word of a motive for the shooting, Knight is the founder of Death Row Records.

Hundreds of thousands of people along the central gulf coast are on the run as Hurricane Katrina bears down on that region. The storm is an extremely dangerous Category 5 and it is still on track for southeastern Louisiana and the Mississippi gulf coast. For heavily populated New Orleans this could be a nightmare come true. This usually carefree city is now in a somber mood with mandatory evacuations underway. New Orleans sits about 6-feet below sea level and Katrina's expected floodwaters could leave much of the city underwater.

It has been decades since New Orleans has suffered a direct hit form a major hurricane. So, people that being warned to get ready for the worst. By this time tomorrow the region is expected to be feeling the full fury of this storm. We get the very latest now from meteorologist Jacqui Jeras at the CNN Weather Center -- Jacqui.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hi Randi, well, we just got the 2:00 advisory in now, and we're still looking at a powerful Category 5, the winds have stayed the same and pressure has stayed the same, so we're holding steady. We haven't seen strengthening just yet, so that is good news, at least there, but anytime you're talking about a Category 5, that's really catastrophic. You can think of this as an F-3 tornado that's about 200 miles wide. That's about 180 miles south-southeast from the moth of the Mississippi River. It's moving to the north into the west, but we are expecting to start to take more of a northerly turn over the next 24 hours. And as long as it continues to do that, we still think that New Orleans is going to be the big bull's-eye, but there is still a little bit of uncertainty, this can still jog a little bit off to the west, it could jog a little bit off the east, so we do want to not just focus on New Orleans, we also want to talk about Biloxi, we want to talk about Mobile, even off to the west possibly of New Orleans.

I want to show you some of the rain bands because those are beginning to moving in at this time. There you can see the outer bands. And this down here, that's part of the eye wall. It doesn't look all that impressive on radar, mostly because it's so far away from the Doppler Radar site. Here you can see Grand Isle and showers and thunderstorms have been pushing through here, do expect to see some gusty winds, maybe 20, 30-miles-per-hour. Those winds will be on the increase as we head through the afternoon, and by this evening we could be seeing winds around 50-plus-miles-per-hour.

New Orleans, right now, looking OK. Dry conditions there, evacuation routes look fine at this time, as well. There you can see I-10, and there you can see some of these thunderstorms beginning to move up towards Dauphin Island. But, these are isolated storms, so not a lot of widespread activity going on at this time.

Hurricane warnings have been issued for Morgan City extending all the way to the Alabama-Florida state line and there you can see the watches all the way over to Destine, and then westward over to the Texas-Louisiana border.

Let's talk a little bit more about this forecast track. We'll put this into motion for you. There you can see that northerly turn we're expected to take later on for tonight. Keep in mind this cone of air, but this is a devastating situation, we'll be watching it very closely, and as these bands begin to move in, we'll let you know about any big changes there, as well. Back to you -- Randi.

KAYE: All right, Jacqui, and you can't be fooled by those outer bands, right? Because first you see some rain and some heavy wind, but the worst is still yet to come.

JERAS: Oh absolutely, yeah. This is -- yeah, you can't even compare the two.

KAYE: All right, Jacqui Jeras, thanks so much.

We want to get to our John Zarrella who is in the French Quarter down in New Orleans. He joins us by phone.

And John, what's the situation there?

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Randi, I can tell you, I'm looking out the first floor here at the hotel. Workers who are piling sandbags against the door right now and along the street level here. How much good that would do if we feel the full force of the Katrina, probably not much, if you are talking about 10-15, perhaps 20 feet of water in parts of the city, including here in the French Quarter. Certainly that would be catastrophic damage here. The evacuation process I can say has gone very orderly. Certainly, there are traffic jams on I-10. One of the worries is the tourists here, there are still quite a few in the city. The hotels are remaining open for the tourists. Many who just simply could not get out, flights being (UNINTELLIGIBLE) or flights that they could not get on, because theirs was scheduled for tomorrow and into Tuesday. So, many are here in the hotel. In fact the hotel workers, their families have been invited to come to the hotels and stay with them. So, everybody is doing everything they can to help people get through this event and Randi, of course, this is very likely to be one that goes down in the history books.

But there's still a lot of activity on the streets here, a lot of people on the streets. It is not a ghost town, certainly not down here in the French Quarter, not yet. Still a lot of traffic moving, and unfortunately we, here on the local TV and radio, hear reports of people saying that, you know, they're going to try to ride it out. And that is not what you would hope to hear, not in this situation, this is something unlike any of us have ever experienced -- Randy.

KAYE: John, you have major experience covering hurricanes for CNN, so take us through what we can expect as the hurricane makes its way closer to the city of New Orleans. What will we see and what will you experience there on the ground?

ZARRELLA: Well, the sad part is that because of everything we just heard from Jacqui Jeras and everyone else, that New Orleans is a bowl, it sits down below sea level, Lake Pontchartrain to the north, you're got the Gulf of Mexico and of course the Mississippi River, so it's surrounded by water on three sides. And the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) is as the storm gets closer, depending on the exact track of the storm, that counterclockwise circulation will be pushing the gulf waters in, at the same time it will be pushing Lake Pontchartrain, which is a little bit to the north of the city, up against the levee protection system here. And the levee protection system designed to protect against Category 3 hurricanes, don't know that it will hold up to Category 4, could be over top.

Once it's over top, the water begins to pours into the city and ultimately the city will fill up with water. This is, of course, the worst-case scenario. Not even talking, Randi, about winds with this thing of 165-170. You know, you'll begin to see trees come down, you will begin to see power lines come down, signs will come down. And as you get to those catastrophic winds in the 150-mile-per-hour range, cars will be toppled over and everything will be flying through the air, debris, windows will be blown out even in the strongest of the structures here.

The structures themselves will survive. The concern, of course, is people staying in some of the homes that are not (UNINTELLIGIBLE) constructed of solid concrete block like a lot of these buildings downtown are, and ultimately if you get that catastrophic flooding the water will go up past the first floor, past the second floor, perhaps 15-20 feet high in many areas of the city. And there's no way to get the water out. Once it gets in, the pumping system that pump the water out of the city, and are always running, will be underwater (UNINTELLIGIBLE) and disabled. There will be no way to pump the city out. And the worst-case scenario is that you have to blow the levies in order to get the water to flow back out of the city. So you're talking perhaps weeks, perhaps months of a absolute disastrous position in New Orleans. Not a pretty picture, it's not meant to be painted as a pretty picture, but if anybody is in the city and is listening to us now, they understand what they may endure if the storm remains on the course, it will take it right over the city of New Orleans.

KAYE: And based on your experience in covering so many of these very strong hurricanes, now looking at a Category 5, a lot of people are wondering, is this it for New Orleans?

ZARRELLS: Well, we asked that question of the emergency managers in Jefferson Parish, Walter Meastri, and he said, you know what, it's such an historic, would they ultimately decide to rebuild New Orleans if it came to that? Would you move the city of New Orleans? Who knows, but the prospects for what would happen to this unbelievably, you know, historically rich area are just not pretty. It's what may potentially befall us tomorrow in the city.

So, yeah, that's a tough question. What do you do? Do you -- this is the one in 500 year event, the way they portray this. And you know, one other thing you add on top of that, you have all of the oil and gasoline refineries, and huge tanks and storage facilities along the banks of the Mississippi, that if all of that is destroyed, you're talking about a massive contamination in the water -- in the floodwaters from chemicals and, you know, any kind waste and debris. So, everything imaginable could befall this area come tomorrow, if that was worst case scenario. That's why the mayor, that's why the governor, that's why the president has urged people to get out of the city, because of the potential of what could happen here -- Randi.

KAYE: Sure. All right, John, thank you for your insight on that, and stay safe there in the French Quarter.

Hurricane Katrina could she catastrophic for New Orleans, a city that sits below sea level. Thousands of people are following a mandatory evacuation order and are fleeing the city. CNN's Jonathan Freed is on the phone from New Orleans were he is sitting in traffic along with many others on Interstate 10.

Jonathan, what's the picture there?

JONATHAN FREED, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Randi. We're on Highway 90 on our way outside of New Orleans, making our way, just like everybody else who has waited until this moment to try to evacuate the city. We, of course, are not evacuating. We are reporting our way towards Biloxi, Mississippi where we, as of now, are -- my team is planning to ride out this storm. I can tell you that the cars around us are just filled. You see stuffed animals on the backs of window, you see dogs sitting on people's laps, you see dogs tied with ropes in the backs of pickup trucks, and Randi, we stopped and asked a couple of people where they were going, we just sort of leaned out the window and said "Hi, where are you headed" and the first guy just shrugged, looked at us, and said "I don't know I'm just following them." Meaning the car ahead of them. Another woman said, "Well, we are heading to Florida," and I said, "well, what did you take with you" they basically said, "We packed what we could," and then they looked at us and said, "Are we going the right way?" So people are just taking what they can, gathering their loved ones, and heading out of town.

KAYE: And what is the mood of the drivers. It sounds like many of them, you had a conversation with a couple, at least, is the mood still friendly? Because they were being encouraged to be patient with their fellow drivers there on the road.

FREED: That's a good question and, because the governor and the mayor were, yesterday really going to great lengths to make that point. And yes, we're not seeing any honking. We're not (UNINTELLIGIBLE), it's not difficult for us to get out of the city. A little while ago when we pulled out of our hotel which is downtown not far from the French Quarter, we easily got on Interstate 10, which was just bumper to bumper traffic. So, we quickly got off of that and onto Route 90, which we are on now, which is also moving very slowly until we were 10 miles outside of town and now it starts to open up. And there is -- it's busy, but there's space between the cars right now.

KAYE: So, if you wanted to tell our viewers if were about to get on the road, or maybe they know someone who's about to get on the road, which way would you suggest they go?

FREED: I would say go -- do what we just did. If you are heading east, if that's your intention, then I would get on the 90, and not Interstate 10. Because, from what I could see, as far as just immediately getting out of downtown New Orleans on the 10, the 10 was just completely socked in, you'll be asking for trouble. I would recommend using surface roads and try to hook up with the 90.

KAYE: How's your gasoline situation? I know that's a big problem when it comes to people trying to get out of town for the hurricanes, gasoline, big lines, what -- have you seen any issues along your route there with people trying to wait in line to get gasoline? Have you had trouble getting gasoline?

FREED: No, so far we haven't had any problem getting gas, and we have not -- you know when we are in these situations, driving around and reporting as we do, never knowing where we're going to have to go and how far we're going to have to go, we really try to never let the tank get too far down before we top it up again and so far we've been lucky. Most of the gas stations that we passed, Randi, have had lines of cars waiting, and we just noticed that even sheriff department vehicles were waiting in line to get gas at the last station that we passed about a mile back.

KAYE: All right, our Jonathan Freed on I-90, sitting in traffic, along with many others. Thank you and we'll check back with you in just a little bit. We want to get now to Gary Tuchman who is live with us on the telephone.

Gary, you're in Gulfport, Mississippi?

GARY, TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right Randi. Gulfport, Mississippi, which is 70 miles to the east of New Orleans, 70 miles to the west of Mobile and right now here in Gulfport, there is a mass exodus taking place. I just left the airport where Delta is actually flying in lager planes from Atlanta and a couple of other cities to ferry people out of the hurricane area. People are lining up, finding out that they still can't fit in a plane, are running to the rental car counters trying to get cars to drive through, but there aren't enough cars. People are just scrambling to get out of here.

Gas stations in the Gulfport area, many of them are now shut. The ones that are open do have long lines, but I just drove by one that was shut and there are three police cars with three police officers standing in front of the gas station making sure people don't try to drive their cars up to get gas on their own.

So there's a feeling, right now, of -- I wouldn't want to call it panic or chaos, but it's a lot different feeling then we did when we cover hurricanes throughout the year. People realize how serious the situation is. And most of them, very smartly, just want to get the heck out of here -- Randi.

KAYE: Sure. Gary, we've spent a lot of time, today, and in the last few days, actually, discussing the path of Hurricane Katrina and which way it might be heading. We spent a lot of time focused on New Orleans. How far are you from New Orleans and what is the feeling there Gulfport, where you are, about the effects that they might feel there from Katrina?

TUCHMAN: Well one thin people have to be careful about here, we're only an hour away to the east of New Orleans, Louisiana. And with all the coverage of New Orleans, and there should be, because it's a huge city. The fact is that if this hurricane was a direct hit on New Orleans, they might get worst damage here, because it's the northeast quadrant of the hurricane that gets the most damage, so savvy hurricane watchers know that this might be the most dangerous area to be in, this part of Mississippi, and this was hit by hurricane Camille back in 1969, 36 years ago, one of the three Category 5 storms that have hit the United States in recorded weather history.

KAYE: And Gary, what -- are you seeing people making their own preparations there, as well, any sandbagging or anything like that?

TUCHMAN: No sandbagging. What people are trying to do right here is just get out. I mean, Interstate 10 heading in an easterly direction, like we've seen in many other parts of this hurricane region, jam packed right now, bumper-to-bumper, not moving at all. I got a bird's eye view of it on the airplane just coming in. People are really trying to get out, doing the best they can, and one thing about the airport, we just told you how they were flying bigger planes in, well the airport is now in the process of closing down, so anyone who hasn't gotten out via air, from here right now, it's too late for them. That's why they're trying to get the rental cars and that may be too late because most of the cars are going too. So, it reminds all of us that when we cover these things, you can't remind people soon enough, try to get out as soon as you can, because when you wait until the last minute, not even the last minute yet, we're still talking about 12 to 24 hours before it comes, but you really can't plan early enough to get out of these areas.

KAYE: No, that is certainly good advice from our Gary Tuchman in Gulfport, Mississippi.

We're going to take a quick break, but when we come back we're going to ask the Red Cross -- head of the Red Cross, in southeastern Louisiana, what is being done to prepare that area for Hurricane Katrina, stay with us.

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ANNOUNCER: Keep watching CNN, your hurricane headquarters.

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KAYE: Evacuees are facing another problem, finding a place to stay. Hotel rooms as far west as Houston, Texas are filling up quickly. Folks wanting to get there and get away from the Hurricane Katrina.

Kay Wilkins is head of the Red Cross in southeastern Louisiana; she's with us now by phone from New Orleans to talk about the agency's response to this looming disaster.

Kay, good to have you with us.

KAY WILKINS, CEO LOUISIANA RED CROSS: Thank you, Randi.

KAYE: We're talking over a million people in the metro area of New Orleans there, plus the rest of the state. How do you even begin to prepare to help a group like this?

WILKINS: Well, we begin by educating them well ahead of time how critical it is to have an evacuation plan in place, so when something such as Katrina threatens our area, you can get in the car, you have a supply kit already assembled, you have a communication plan already developed and you can leave and go either to stay with friends, family, into hotels or to Red Cross shelters.

KAYE: And what do you recommend for folks who might be getting in the car at this hour, or recommending to their family that they do. What do you recommend they take with them?

WILKINS: I recommend that you take -- pretend like I you're going on a camping trip. What would you need if you were going to go camping? Take food, take water, a gallon per family member, and anticipate about a three-day supply. Think about any special medications that you may need. Pack those in a waterproof bag. Take them with you. Take your important papers, insurance papers, bank account numbers. If you care for a young child or an elderly parent, be sure you take whatever special dietary needs that's involved, and any sort of special supplies. It's going to be a long wait and a long drive wherever you're going to be going, so be sure you include games for your children, card games, puzzles, coloring books. It's also important to have that out-of-state contact so that someone outside of the New Orleans area knows that you have left, they know where you're going, and then you -- it's important that you contact them when you get there so that they know that you have arrived. It's very easy to get separated from friends and family during something like this, so it's very important that that occur.

KAYE: We've seen video today of people on oxygen tanks and walkers, making their way to some of the shelters to the Super Dome, which is open there as of 8:00 a.m. Are there enough shelters for people who, when we are talking about this many people and this severe of a storm?

WILKINS: You know, you could never have enough shelter for a million and a half people. So one of the things that we have tried to is encourage people, first, to go to family, go to friends, and then, you know, as -- if you need to he go to a Red Cross shelter, that clears up space for people that may need that shelter.

KAYE: All right. Kay Wilkins head of the Red Cross in southeastern Louisiana, thank you for your time today.

President Bush today joined the chorus of voices urging people to get out of Katrina's way, speaking from Crawford, Texas as short time ago, Mr. Bush warned people to put their own safety and that of their families, first. He pledged to marshal federal resources to help in the recovery.

CNN White House correspondent, Suzanne Malveaux, joins us now live from Crawford, Texas with more on the president's remarks.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Randi of course, President Bush has been keeping a close eye on developments this morning on all of this, a number of conference calls and conversations. He called the governors of the four states that are expected to be in the path of that hurricane, talking about preparations, the kinds of things that federal and state emergency officials will be involved in and he also held a teleconference call -- video teleconferencing call this morning with those at FEMA, Department of homeland Security, state, local, federal authorities, talking about the coordinated efforts that's going to be involved, vowing that the federal government will put all its resources to help those affected, of course, by this colossal storm. Following up, the president also called secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice to talk about the Iraqi constitution. He said that this was an inspiration, an example of political progress. The president addressing both of those issues earlier today before reporters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This morning I spoke with FEMA, Undersecretary Mike Brown, and Emergency Management Teams not only at the federal level, but at the state levels about the Hurricane Katrina. I've also spoken to Governor Blanco of Louisiana, and Governor Barbour of Mississippi, Governor Bush of Florida, Governor Riley of Alabama. I want to thank all the folks at the federal level and the state level and the local level who have taken this storm seriously. I appreciate the efforts of the governors to prepare their citizenry for this upcoming storm.

Yesterday, I signed a disaster declaration for the state of Louisiana. And this morning I signed a disaster declaration for the state of Mississippi. These declarations will allow federal agencies to coordinate all disaster relief efforts with state and local officials. We will do everything in our power to help the people and the communities affected by this storm.

Hurricane Katrina is now designated as a Category 5 hurricane. We cannot stress enough the danger this hurricane poses to gulf coast communities. I urge all citizens to put their own safety and the safety of their families first, by moving to safe ground. Please listen carefully to instructions provided by state and local officials.

On another matter today Iraqi political leaders completed the process for drafting a permanent constitution. Their example is a (SIC) inspiration to all who share the universal values of freedom, democracy and the rule of law. The negotiators and drafters of this document braved the intimidation of terrorists. And they mourn the cowardly assassination of friends and colleagues involved in the process of drafting the constitution. Their efforts follow the bravery of the Iraqis who voted by the millions to elect a transitional government in January. The example of those voters remains a humbling testament to the power of free people to shape and define their own destiny. We honor their courage and sacrifice and we are determined to see the Iraqis fully secure their democratic gains.

The Iraqi people have once again demonstrated to the world they are up to the historic challenges before them. The document they have produced contains far-reaching protections from fundamental human freedoms, including religion assembly, conscience, and expression, it vests sovereignty in the people to be expressed by secret ballot and regular elections. It declares that all Iraqi's equal before the law without regard to gender, ethnicity and religion. This is a document of which Iraqis, and the rest of the world can be proud.

The political process now advances to another important stage for a new and free Iraq. In coming months, Iraqis will discuss and debate the draft constitution. On October the 15th, they will vote in a national referendum to decide whether to ratify the constitution and set the foundation for a permanent Iraqi government. If the referendum succeeds, Iraqis will elect a new government to serve under the new constitution on December the 15th. And that government will take office before the end of the year.

This course is going to be difficult, largely because the terrorists have chosen to wage war against a future of freedom. They are waging war against peace in Iraq. As democracy in Iraq takes root, the enemies of freedom, the terrorists will become more desperate, more despicable, and more vicious. Just last week the terrorists called for the death of anyone, including women and the elderly, who supports the democratic process in Iraq.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: The president, this week, of course, will reiterate that theme, the war on terror. He'll also talk about domestic issues. The president is scheduled to travel the next couple of days to Arizona as well as California, of course he'll be keeping a close eye on that hurricane. If his schedule changes, we'll let you know. We'll keep you posted -- Randi.

KAYE: OK, Susan Malvo live at Crawford, Texas thank you.

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