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CNN Live Sunday
Hurricane Katrina Continues To Barrell Towards Louisiana Coast
Aired August 28, 2005 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to CNN LIVE SUNDAY. I'm Randi Kaye at the CNN center in Atlanta, your hurricane headquarters. All of that and more after this check of the headlines.
President Bush is praising Iraqi politicians for wrapping up work on a new constitution. It was presented to Iraq's national assembly today, despite objections by Sunni negotiators who called the document illegal. In October, a referendum will be held allowing the Iraqi people to vote on the charter.
In Israel, 21 people were wounded today in a suicide bombing at a bus station in the down of Bersheeba (ph). Security guards were approaching a man near one of the buses when he detonated his explosives. The guards were seriously wounded in the blast.
And 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 to be life threatening. And so far there is no word of a motive for the shooting. Knight is the founder of Death Row Records.
Up first, getting out of dodge. Thousands of people are fleeing coastal Mississippi and Louisiana as a monster category 5 hurricane approaches. Experts warn Katrina has the potential to cause catastrophic damage and a large loss of life.
As of right now, Karina is heading straight for the city of New Orleans. The city, 70 percent of which is below sea level, is under a mandatory evacuation order. Many people are heeding the advice and fleeing. Some residents boarded up their homes before leaving. Others said it would just be pointless if New Orleans does become ground zero.
Let's get a look at where Hurricane Katrina is right now. For that we turn to CNN meteorologist Jacqui Jeras.
JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well Randi, our latest advisory had it about 180 miles south-southeast of the mouth of Mississippi River, but it's getting a little closer than that now, so maybe 170, 165 miles away.
Those outer bands have been affecting it from the last couple of hours. And there you can see the lightning, you can see all the wet weather, and you can see how far away the storm is.
The hurricane force winds extend out about 100 miles from the center of this storm. And, unfortunately, if we could drop that you could see where this eye wall is right here on the radar picture. We've put a distance track on it, how far out those hurricane force winds go, and there you can see how close that is to the coastline.
So we're getting there. We think probably by this evening at least we should be seeing some of those tropical storm force winds arrive. And then maybe overnight tonight into late evening, to the early morning hours we'll watch for those hurricane force winds to begin to arrive.
So we're continuing to go downhill at this time. But not even close to what is yet to come.
Category 5 hurricane. We're looking at storm surge potentially between 18 and 22 feet, as much as 28 will be possible. The warnings have been posted, the watches have been posted, everybody is evacuating, as they should be if they've been told to do so, as this is a very ominous situation.
The timing on this one looks pretty likely that it's going to happen early tomorrow morning. And will likely be a category 5 hurricane. In fact, we've had a pressure drop over the last couple of hours, which is a sign that the storm is strengthening even further, which is hard to believe that we could get beyond 175 miles per hour. This is already one of the most intense hurricanes ever on record. And it may not be over yet in terms of getting stronger.
There is the possibility that it could weaken before landfall, but the biggest problem we're facing right now is that the water temperatures, as we get closer to the shore line here, are even warmer than where the hurricane is sitting right now.
Water temperatures here, about 86, 87 degrees. And some of the buoy data stations are reporting water temperatures at 89 to 90 degrees, so that's more energy for this thing to fire up.
So there is certainly the potential that this will likely be a five when it makes landfall. If we get lucky, we could get an eye wall replacement cycle. And it could be in a weakening phase just because of that before hitting land -- Randi.
KAYE: And Jacqui, the winds, they actually go counterclockwise, correct?
JERAS: That's right.
KAYE: So anybody to the east is going to be in some real trouble from where the eye falls.
JERAS: That's right. We talk about that bad side of the storm, which is where the worst the weather will be. As you said, they rotate counterclockwise.
And what that does, why it is so bad is because you also had to add in the momentum of the storm -- the direction that the storm is moving so you have to add that on top of it, so the winds are stronger in this area. It also has that onshore flow, as we call it. So, the winds are pulling in this way and that's why the storm surge is always bad on this side of the storm because the winds on the, backside going this way, so the wind is coming from land, not from water to push it up. So it's the winds that push that water up that creates the storm surge.
KAYE: OK. Jacqui Jeras, thank you for that explanation.
We want to get to David Mattingly who is live for us by phone from New Orleans. And David, you may be what may turn out to be ground zero.
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Randi. And that's what everybody is anticipating. They hope that that's not the case, but they have to plan accordingly. There's not really any sense of panic here, just resignation.
In fact, as I stand here on the edge of the French Quarter on the banks of the Mississippi River, I'm looking around, and I'm seeing so many of these old buildings that have no plywood on the windows, nothing on the doors, again that sense of resignation that a few pieces of plywood is just not going to help them here.
The mayor made it very clear today that the storm surge with a major hurricane, a direct hit here would be too much for the levies and the sea walls and the pumps that they have in place to handle. And for that reason, the city could very easily flood. Some people are talking 10 feet up to 20 feet. Of course, everybody hoping it won't be that bad, but flooding is almost assured as this storm gets closer and closer.
We were looking up at the sky a half hour ago and there was a sudden change here. We were looking at what was a fairly nice partly cloudy day. The sun is now completely obscured by big, ominous clouds, we're getting gusts of wind already of about 30 miles an hour, and here at the -- on the river walk, by the Mississippi River, where there's normally lots of tourists, there were a few people out here earlier. They are now going back to their hotels.
So many people stranded in this city. The tourists stranded, because their flights were canceled and they were unable to get any rental cars because they were all taken.
So a lot of hotels turning into shelters. The mayor opening up ten shelters around the city for people who are unable to evacuate. When he put out the order, he said, anybody who can go needs to go. The expressways immediately filled up. There was bumper to bumper traffic. Everyone calling for patience as everyone tried to get out of town. And that is still going on as we speak.
Time really is becoming of the essence, because as the winds continue to pick up, those bridges may become hazardous, and New Orleans is linked to the outside world by so many bridges here. It may become too hazardous for cars to cross those eventually as the winds pick up. River traffic has already been pretty much shut down. We haven't seen anything go by in the last hour or so. Another sign that this city is just battening down the hatches, hoping, hoping they don't get the worst case scenario.
KAYE: And we're all hoping that for them. Our David Mattingly, live for us in New Orleans.
We're going to take a break here. But when we come back, you are -- you are going -- we're not going to take a break. We're going to get right to Matt Frederick who is in New Orleans. He's joining us now by phone. Matt, from what I understand, you were there for a bachelor party?
MATT FREDERICK, TOURIST STRANDED IN NEW ORLEANS (via telephone): We flew in Friday for a bachelor party, and, unfortunately, didn't take the warning seriously enough, and here we are.
KAYE: And you're visiting there from where?
FREDERICK: Philadelphia.
KAYE: And when did you arrive?
FREDERICK: We got here Friday morning.
KAYE: So this was before everything started to look pretty serious, just before?
FREDERICK: It was before things started to look pretty serious. And we did get some warnings and didn't take them seriously. And when it was too late, we -- you know now we're here holed up in New Orleans.
KAYE: And why didn't you take them seriously? What was the thinking behind that?
FREDERICK: Apparently not too much thinking, unfortunately. You know, it's just one of those things, you know, that you've seen hurricanes come up the Gulf of Mexico and it always seems to miss New Orleans, so we figured this is going to stay on the same track, and apparently it's not.
KAYE: And so, Matt, tell me what your situation is. Have you tried to get out? And where are you staying? And how high up is your hotel floor?
FREDERICK: We're on the 17th floor. We tried -- we started trying to get out last night. And all the flights were canceled or full. And when we tried to get rental cars out this morning, all the rental cars were gone, you couldn't get a limo out. Then they started closing down the highways. And once we resigned ourselves to the fact that we were just going to ride it out, we got a little more common -- you know, we're trying to take it in stride.
KAYE: And what have you done to prepare as you sit up there in the 17th floor in your hotel room? Do you have any supplies? Have you been able to get out and get any in case?
FREDERICK: We've been able to get out, and buy bottled water and crackers and whatever we could get our hands up, fill up the tub with water, and, you know, hope for the best.
KAYE: And what is your family -- I guess, what are they thinking about the fact that you're stranded there for what could be one of the strongest storms we've ever seen?
FREDERICK: I know. I shouldn't laugh. Luckily, my wife isn't -- hasn't been paying too much attention. She's busy with my kids up in New Hampshire at her parents preparing for a baby shower, and, you know, everything that goes on with that. So, luckily she hasn't been watching too much TV.
KAYE: Well, has she given you some good wifely advice, like we all like to give?
FREDERICK: Stay up high and stay inside.
KAYE: That's a good advice. You have a smart wife, Matt.
FREDERICK: I do. Hopefully she's listening.
KAYE: But I said it, you didn't.
FREDERICK: I agreed!
KAYE: That's true.
All right. Matt, we're going to leave it at that. And we wish you the best of luck there, as you hunker down and await Hurricane Katrina as it makes its way your way. All right. Thank you, Matt Frederick in New Orleans.
Now we will take a break here. And we will be right back with much more on Hurricane Katrina.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: With the potential for catastrophic damage, New Orleans and surrounding areas are taking unprecedented precautions. Joining me on the phone to talk about the preparations is Louisiana Congressman Charlie Melancon. Congressman Melancon represents Louisiana's third district which includes parts of suburban New Orleans. And right now he is in Baton Rouge.
Congressman, tell you, you represent many of the parishes along the coast there in the Louisiana area. Have those areas evacuated?
REP. CHARLIE MELANCON, (D) LOUISIANA: Yes. To my knowledge, every coastal parish in the southeastern part of the state has had mandatory evacuations.
KAYE: And you know how bad this could get. You grew up there. You still live in your hometown on Napoleonville. People still talk about Camille, which came rolling through there in 1969 and took almost 270 lives?
MELANCON: Well, Camille blew on the outskirts of Camille, and it was pretty devastating storm, but nothing compared to the one we're coming through. The last one that we've had that was a pretty strong storm was Andrew, and the eye came right up where I am. But those winds were probably only about 110, 115 miles per hour sustained. They're talking about 175 possibly sustained winds. And that's a tremendous -- that's a tremendously strong storm.
KAYE: Let's talk about the evacuation efforts. Mandatory evacuation was not ordered until about 10:00 a.m. Eastern time today. Do you think that was the right time? Or do you think they may have waited too long?
MELANCON: Mandatory in the low-lying areas and the coastal areas occurred yesterday. They started with the voluntary evacuation yesterday morning in St. Bernard, Quakamans Loyd (ph), Jefferson, South Lafourche, south of the levies.
KAYE: But do you agree with the voluntary evacuation or even a partial mandatory...
MELANCON: That was a voluntary that started yesterday in order to get the low lying people out and get them past the metropolitan areas, particularly with New Orleans. And then as they started watching the path of the storm, it became obvious that New Orleans was a target or looked like it was where the storm was heading. And so last night they started encouraging people. I got word from the governor's office at about 7:00 last night that they were going to start the mandatory evacuation, if they hadn't already started it when I talked to them.
So they have been -- and I have a sister in New Orleans. I called her yesterday afternoon about 7:00, after I talked to the governor's office and said, get out of there. Called back this morning at 7:00 on her cell phone and she was in Tallahassee, Florida. So I'm glad she listened.
KAYE: In talking with our John Zarrella a short time ago, he was saying for a lot of people, the greatest fear is obviously not being able to get out, getting stranded on one of these crowded roadways as Hurricane Katrina pounds that area. Are you concerned about that?
MELANCON: Yes, I am. The traffic is backed up. What everyone has been trying to -- what the pattern is is to get people north and get them out of harm's way. The first instinct is people want to go to Houston to where friends are, they want to go to Florida where friends are, or -- instead of everybody tracking north and beating it, they're basically congested I-10, I-12. There's a lot of traffic backed up.
I've been listening to reports on several of the stations: Baton Rouge and New Orleans stations, and there's just everywheres you listen, they're moving, but it's very, very slow. And this storm has got about 200-some odd miles of weather in front of it. So it's getting -- it was starting when I left Napoleonville to come to the command center in Baton Rouge which is about two hours ago. The weather -- the outside bands of this storm were starting to hit at the mouth of the Mississippi River, which is -- as the crow flies, maybe 15 miles south of New Orleans.
KAYE: And it sounds like it's going to get much worse. Congressman, thank you for your time this afternoon.
MELANCON: Thank you. Bye bye.
KAYE: Let's get right now to Gary Tuchman. CNN's Gary Tuchman on the phone with us from Gulf Port, Mississippi. Gary, we talked with you a short time ago. Things fairly calm there?
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Randi, in the last 15 minutes it's gotten very dark, the winds have picked up and the rain has just starting to come down. We're 70 miles east of New Orleans. Gulf Port, Mississippi, was devastated in 1969 when category 5 Hurricane Camille came through on a path very similar to the path that Hurricane Katrina is taking.
I just spent some time next to one of the casinos here in Gulf Port, at the Marine Life Aquarium, it's an outdoor aquarium that's been around since 1987 where they have bottle-nosed dolphins, and California sea lions and seals and exotic birds. They've made the decision to evacuate the birds to a sanctuary in Florida, but they're not quite sure yet, what to do the dolphins, sea lions and seals. They temporarily put them in a huge fortified barrel that's about 15 feet tall.
They're saying during Hurricane Camille these barrels, these tanks, which they really are, were the only parts of the aquarium to survive. The rest was destroyed from Camille. So, they think the tanks are fortified well enough to let these animals survive.
It's too risky, they believe at this point, with the hurricane coming closer, to move the dolphins and to move the sea lions and seals to other places. So they're pretty resigned to keeping them here.
I asked the man who runs the aquarium how strong these tanks are, can they survive 175-mile-an-hour winds? And he goes, we don't know. All we know is that they survived Camille -- Randi.
KAYE: And, Gary, as the skies are getting darker there, as you said, are there still plenty of people outside? Or does it seem to you they're heeding the warnings or getting inside or getting out of town, even better?
TUCHMAN: I just sat on the beach for a little while, not in a chaise lounge, but just sitting down on a bench just to observe, and I could tell you I was the only one there, which was a very good seen.
People are taking this very seriously. Unlike New Orleans where you have a lot of old buildings where they don't think some plywood will do much good, people are hoping for the best here. Almost everything is boarded up. We rarely see that during hurricanes. Interstate 10, which also runs through Gulf Port, totally still bumper to bumper heading in the eastbound direction. Nothing in the westbound direction. So, people really are trying to leave. The areas closest to the beach, though, very few people around. Smart thing not to be around.
KAYE: That is good news.
All right. Gary Tuchman, about an hour outside of New Orleans, about an hour east of New Orleans with that report for us. Thank you.
Well, when a hurricane hits, evacuating residents are often forced to leave their pets behind. Sadly many of those animals die or they become lost.
Well, an organization called Noah's Wish is dedicated to keeping animals alive during these brutal storms. And joining us is the founder of that group, Terri Crisp. Terri, you're doing some very good work.
Before we get to the residents' animals, I just want to touch on what our Gary Tuchman was talking about, about this aquarium nearby there in Gulf Port, Mississippi. He said that they've been evacuating the birds, but they're not sure yet exactly what they're going to do with these dolphins and the sea lions. What are your thoughts on that?
TERRI CRISP, NOAH'S WISH: Well, it's obviously a lot more difficult to move animals of that size and they have special requirements in transport, that's why we're always encouraging aquariums and zoos to have a disaster plan in place, and to anticipate the possible changes they could face and have multiple solutions on how to solve them. Because trying to move those animals at this point, obviously, is going to be very difficult.
KAYE: Sure. And they're talking about, I guess, during Hurricane Camille, which was a major storm back in 1969, the tanks that they're considering putting these animals in, that's the only part of the aquarium that survived.
CRISP: Well, let's keep our fingers crossed that it does it again, that they stand up.
KAYE: Absolutely.
And what do you recommend for residents who are having to leave town, they're having to leave their homes behind, many of their personal belongings, and in many cases, sadly, their animals. Do they need to leave them behind?
CRISP: No. Our recommendation to people is to always take them with them. A lot of them have not thought where it is they could actually go and stay with them. Most Red Cross shelters will not allow pets. Hotels sometimes will waive the policy where they normally don't allow dogs or cats to stay there. But obviously the more animals you have and the larger they are, it's going to be difficult.
But leaving them behind, especially with the forecast on the flooding that's going to occur, these animals are going to have very little chance of surviving. In the worst case scenario, what we always tell people, if nothing else, you at least turn them loose and give them a chance of trying to survive on their own.
On our Web site, Noahswish.org, we have information on evacuating some ideas where you can go, resources that you can utilize to house your animals. So we encourage people to go and visit that site.
And in the days to come, if people need help, we're going to have our teams down throughout the area, doing everything we can to assist with all the different animal needs. And at the same time, helping people. Because for many people, their animals are like a member of their household, their family, and they're going to be worried and concerned what happens with them. So we just, unfortunately, got a report before I came in here of a family that left their two dogs in airline crates on top of the washing machine inside the house.
KAYE: Oh, it's just terrible.
CRISP: You just want to say to them, why? Take them with you.
KAYE: You are doing some good work as the founder of Noah's Wish. And glad to see these animals aren't being forgotten.
CRISP: We're here to remind people.
KAYE: Terri Crisp, thank you. And I think we just did that.
CRISP: Thanks. I appreciate it.
KAYE: If you live in an area affect the by Hurricane Katrina, you can add to our coverage by sending us your stories, maybe some videotape you've taken, and some pictures. To be a citizen journalist, log onto CNN.com/stories. Be sure to include your name, your location and phone number, but please do not put yourself in harm's way.
We will have the very latest on Hurricane Katrina. We will check back with our Jonathan Freed who is somewhere on the road. He was on I-90 last we checked. We'll check back with him right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: There it is, the radar we've been watching for days now. Right now, looking at Hurricane Katrina, a massive category 5 storm. It is churning in the Gulf of Mexico with 175-mile-an-hour winds, and closing in on Louisiana's southeastern coast. Its eye right now is about 180 miles south-southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi, moving west-northwest at almost 13 miles an hour. Hurricane warnings are in effect from Morgan City, Louisiana, to Alabama-Florida border. Katrina is expected to make landfall tomorrow morning. Right in its path, the city of New Orleans, which forecasters predict will suffer a direct hit tomorrow afternoon. Most of New Orleans lies below sea level, and the city could be completely devastated by a storm this strong. Mandatory evacuations are in effect. And the major interstate out of town is completely gridlocked.
Residents and tourists who are unable to leave are being told to head to one of ten storm shelters, and that would be including the Super Dome Arena. City and state officials aren't mincing words, they say this storm will be catastrophic, capable of causing significant loss of life, and unprecedented property damage.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR RAY NAGIN, NEW ORLEANS: I am this morning declaring that we will be doing a mandatory evacuation. And I'm going to read the evacuation order to the public. Whereas, the National Weather Service has indicated that Hurricane Katrina will likely affect the Louisiana coast, with tropical force winds and heavy rainfall by this evening, whereas because of anticipated high lakes and marsh tides due to the tidal surge combined with the possibility of intense thunderstorms, hurricane-force winds, and wide spread severe flooding, Governor Blanco and I, Mayor C. Ray Nagin have each declared a state of emergency.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Forecasters say the storm surge in New Orleans could reach 28 feet. Officials expect it will top the levies that protect the city from the surrounding water of Lake Pontchartrain and the Mississippi River.
All right. Let's check back in with our Jonathan Freed. Jonathan, last we heard from you, you were on I-90, maybe being rerouted to Highway 10 there in the New Orleans area. Where are you now?
JONATHAN FREED, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Randi, I guess you could say that our viewers are going to be vicariously living the evacuation experience with us, because We have not gone very far from where we last left you. Even though it's been an hour since we last talked.
We are now -- we did make it to Interstate 10, but we're just getting to the other side of the bridge here at Lake Pontchartrain. I can tell you that the water has been quite choppy out here. We're certainly seeing white caps. And even though the storm is as far off as it is, whatever is starting to go on out here is clearly to affect the water.
It is bumper to bumper. We are moving very slowly across the bridge here. And the scene, every car that goes by is packed. and I'm seeing people with (INAUDIBLE) loafs of bread just siting on top of whatever they had in the back of the car. People driving with their doors popped open trying to get a little ventilation, people without air conditioning. Everyone is trying to get out of the way of this storm as quickly as they can.
KAYE: I'm worried, Jonathan, about gasoline in this case. That's usually a very common result in the wake of a hurricane, and certainly even leading up to it, especially with all this traffic. Have you seen any of the long lines for gasoline?
Jonathan, are you still with us? Obviously, he's having some cell phone issues. We're told that is a problem already in that area, as Hurricane Katrina approaches the Gulf coast. We are going to take a quick break. We'll have much more coverage on the hurricane as it approaches when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: All right. Here is what's happening now in the news. Tens of thousands of people are fleeing the central Gulf coast as Hurricane Katrina closes in. An unprecedented mandatory evacuation is in effect for the entire city of New Orleans. Katrina is now a monster, category 5 storm. It's projected to make landfall early tomorrow.
President Bush is urging Gulf coast residents to get out of Hurricane Katrina's way and move to higher ground. The president has already declared Louisiana and Mississippi disaster areas. That will allow federal, state, and local officials to coordinate relief efforts.
President Bush today also praised Iraqi negotiators for signing a draft constitution. Shiite and Kurdish negotiators presented the document to Iraq's National Assembly today after weeks of delay. But some Sunni negotiators call the draft illegal. Iraqis will vote on the charter in a referendum by October 15th.
And let's get a look at where Hurricane Katrina is right now. Our meteorologist Jacqui Jeras is tracking the very latest and joins us now from the CNN Weather Center.
JERAS: Hey Randi. Well it's getting closer and closer. Still we're eagerly awaiting the 5:00 Eastern time, 4:00 Central Time advisory, and we'll have a brand new fresh update with statistics, with wind speeds, and also with a brand new forecast track. So you want to keep it right here, that 5:00 advisory usually comes out early, so we'll bring it to you as soon as that becomes available. But winds were at 175 miles an hour at the 2:00 p.m. Central Time advisory. That's a huge category 5. It's winds greater than 155 to be a category 5, and we're way beyond that.
The hurricane hunters have been flying in and out of the storm all day. We've seen a drop in pressure, which is a sign the storm is intensifying further, which is just very hard to believe at this time. We've been seeing some of the outer rain bands make their way on shore throughout much of the afternoon hours. There you can see them across southeastern Louisiana. They've been nudging into the New Orleans area. We've seen them kind of isolated across lower Mississippi. We have some thunderstorms pushing up into the northern parts of Mobile at this time. The wind gusts, as these squalls move through will be between 20 to 40 miles per hour, but the sustained winds should become much stronger, probably just in the next couple of hours. We're probably just a couple of hours away from tropical storm force sustained winds. We're going to take a live tour here across the Gulf Coast and check in on those winds right now and see what they are doing. There you can see Grand Isle, maximum sustained winds at 36 miles per hour, 39 will bring us up to tropical storm force strength.
Let's take a check on New Orleans, 22 miles per hour. Over here in Gulfport, 32 mile her hour winds. And Mobile reporting winds at 18 miles per hour. That doesn't include the gusts, so that's just the winds that are sustained. And 36, that's getting pretty strong right now. And as I mentioned, we'll likely see gusts higher than that as those squalls continue to push on through the region. This is a very large storm. We just saw there on the satellite picture. We're talking 400 miles wide, at least. That's from end to end across the storm; the tropical storm force winds go out at least 200 miles from the center.
Hurricane force winds going 100 miles from the center. So we're edging in on that. Here's the forecast track. This is from the latest advisories. We could possibly see some changes on this one. And when we're about 12 hours out from landfall, the air is somewhere approximately 50 miles on either side of this line. So we've been talking a lot today, Randi, about New Orleans, but keep in mind, it's the east side of the storm where the worst of the weather is going to be, and it's still possible to see this west of New Orleans or east over towards Biloxi, Pascagoula and even Mobile still. We'll bring that advisory when it comes.
Randi. We will bring that advisory when it comes.
KAYE: And all just about the Lake Pontchartrain, that's what will actually dump the water into city of New Orleans when the storm hits?
JERAS: Well New Orleans is surrounded by water on three different sides, so we could be getting water from Mississippi, from the Gulf of Mexico and Lake Pontchartrain.
KAYE: Wow. All right. Thank you Jacqui Jeras thanks for the update and we will check back with you as soon as you get that latest advisory.
We to want check in now as we have been throughout the day with our affiliates, WWL in New Orleans. We want to bring you a taped report about the evacuations there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So it's slow going out there. Where are you and tell us how it is?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mike's actually getting along pretty good, then. We are now right now currently located still on I-10 westbound in the median very near the Conteplow (ph) Exit. Just to give you an indication, thins are moving well here, but I don't want to mislead you because I talked to Lee Zurt (ph) just a few minutes ago, who is slowly making his way up to Baton Rouge, and he is where we were now about an hour ago, and just a few minutes ago he was only at 310 split, hadn't gotten to the spillway yet. Despite that it looks like here, while the congestion appears to be moving more toward the west, that's good news. It's not clear sailing. Now, one place of major concern, Mike, as you just mentioned is Airline Drive. It is an absolute traffic nightmare. And I probably shouldn't even call it traffic. That would insinuate that the cars with moving. We were out there a short time ago and here's what it looked like.
Now, this is a look at Highway 61, Airline Highway headed westbound. As you can see, it's a much different story than on the interstate at this hour. It's about 2:30 right now, and our reports are that it is absolute gridlock. A woman we spoke to just a few minutes ago told me that she left New Orleans at about 10:00 a.m. this morning, she just passed a couple moments ago, so five hours later she's barely even out of Medery (ph). So this is the situation. You turn; you look here, people coming in and out of businesses, gas stations, whatever. This is what they're greeted with. It's a very, very long trip if you are taking Highway 61, Airline Highway, toward Baton Rouge.
Obviously, one consideration, one alternate consideration is to try to get back onto the interstate. If you are trying to get to Baton Rouge, because contra flow, while things are moving slowly, at least it's moving. There's a situation here where that is not the case. You have an officer here directly traffic because there is so much traffic at this point. And even the slightest thing can cause a major holdup here, a breakdown, a fender-bender, anything along those lines, and you're going to be backed up for miles on Airline Highway. This is the situation, as we understand it, almost all the way back to New Orleans. So if you are headed west, clearly, this may not be the best option.
Earlier today a lot of the emergency officials were saying that Airline Highway was wide open and it was moving. Perhaps a lot of people took the advice there to get on Airline Highway. Here at 2:30 this afternoon, that's not the case here. We'll show you one more look down the road here, and you can see the same cards we showed you just about 30 seconds ago, well, they're still there. And every half mile or so you do have the officers directing traffic. So Airline Highway certainly is a mess. Where did you start from?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: New Orleans.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right. What time did you start?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was about 11:00.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So you've been on the road now for about 3 1/2 hours and you're not out of Medary?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yep.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where are you headed?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're going up to northern Louisiana.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you expect this kind of traffic?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Huh-uh.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's it been like?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We should have left earlier this morning.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How bad is the traffic?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Real bad. You know, there's other ways to get out, but everything is -- you know, it's so packed right now. On each side, and whatever you go, shortcuts that are all it is.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, considering it's going to hit tomorrow, I think I'm ahead of it, so I'm thinking positive. As long as I'm ahead of it, I'm ahead of the game.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's a really good attitude, as long as you are ahead of the storm, you're ahead of the game and don't let the traffic bother him. Talking about Lee again, he said he did witnessed -- this is good some news, he said he witnessed a miner fender-bender in all that traffic, he saw the two drivers jump out of the car, quickly exchange information, no hostility, just pass along their insurance information, got back in their car and continued on their way. That is certainly something that is needed to make sure that this entire evacuation process conditions to be a success.
But once again, one quick look, live look here at -- a little east of Veteran's Boulevard exit, contra flow on the normally eastbound lanes, heading westbound now, that's going to be shutting down now in about 33 minutes or so.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: OK. We want to jump out of that. We want to take you to some new pictures. We want to show you some new pictures just into CNN. Pictures from the Super Dome there. Those are pictures taken by videophone. We have one of our producers, Ben Blake, who's there on the scene. Ben if you could walk us through what we're seeing, we see some crowds of people heading into the Super Dome, which is acting as a major shelter there in the New Orleans area.
BEN BLAKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Randi. Actually, the Super Dome here in New Orleans is the only shelter that's the city is providing for people. They have asked special needs people have been arriving here all day, but it's also available for those who don't have special needs. That's the line you're looking at here. They think at the moment that they're dealing with about 10,000 people. The Super Dome normally holds 60 to 80,000 people, but the problem is, if the floodwaters rise, the pitch, the field itself, will also flood. So what very they have is they've kept the ground floor completely cleared and they're putting people up in the bleachers.
They had to bring in a large number of guards, there are 150 national guardsmen here keeping the security of this line, because the winds is getting pretty strong here, and I imagine the people are going to get even more excited and anxious about this as the day goes on. People we have spoken to here are really -- they're a little bit scared. They've not evacuated before. A lot of these people wanted to evacuate and weren't able to.
KAYE: Ben, if you could, take us through a little bit of what you see they're accompanying these people in line. We're looking at the line, but they seem to have quite a few of their belongings with them, some large garbage bags, maybe holding some of their personal items.
BLAKE: Yes, Randi. Everyone has been asked to make sure that they bring everything they need unless they're special needs. They need to bring water, they need to bring blankets, they need to bring food. Unfortunately, people don't have -- not everyone has enough supplies for the entire time, but as you can see, a lot of people do have the essentials, water, and blankets. They're going to be in for a very uncomfortable couple of nights here, Randi. They're not leaving until Tuesday morning at the earliest.
KAYE: And if that area loses all of their power and electricity there, that's going to be very uncomfortable, as you just said, inside that dome.
BLAKE: It's going to be desperate. The air conditioning will die very early on. They will have emergency generators that will provide light for these people. But there's going to be no play stations or TVs in here. This will be very boring, and I think 36 hours of this will really drain people.
KAYE: Ben, we're seeing just what I would imagine is just a short portion of that line. That's a very big facility. Can you give us an idea of how long that line is?
BLAKE: The lines -- there are actually two lines for the non-special needs people, and there are over 1,000 each. They think they have 10,000 people inside now, but they could have as many as 2,000 people outside, 1,000 in each line. That doesn't even include special needs people still arriving.
KAYE: And the special needs people, they were allowed to be there, I believe, as of 8:00 a.m., is that correct?
BLAKE: That is correct. They've drafted a lot of doctors and nurses as well to help with the special needs people. And they are really trying to discourage people from joining the line on this side of the building so they can dedicate everything to those people who have medical needs, dialysis, various other conditions that need that sort of help.
KAYE: And have you had a chance to talk with some of these people? Are they panicked that they're not going to get in time? Are they fairly calm about what the scenario looks like right now?
BLAKE: People seem relatively calm, but they're frustrated. Some people have been here three hours, and they really don't have -- they don't have any idea how much longer they're going to be here. The reason that it's taking so long for us to get inside is the security is very high for this. They have been searching every person, every bag. Successfully they've confiscated several guns, all alcohol and drugs, any weapons, because they're very concerned that this could turn into a very tense environment as the next 36 hours go on.
KAYE: All right. Our CNN producer, Ben Blake there on the scene at the Super Dome. Ben, thank you so much for bringing us those pictures.
We're checking in live. When we come back from FEMA's Headquarters in Washington, D.C., we'll have a live report from there. CNN is staying with Hurricane Katrina. We're going to be live on the story for the next 24 hours. So be sure to stay with CNN, your hurricane headquarters.
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KAYE: We're going to remind you that CNN has correspondents all over the southeast as we await the arrival of Hurricane Katrina. One of those correspondents, David Mattingly joins us now by phone from the city of New Orleans. David you're in the French Quarter?
MATTINGLY (via telephone): That's right Randi. And just a few minutes ago we saw some police officers from New Orleans police collecting about a dozen homeless people who are in the area. They were putting them in a van and taking them to the Super Dome, that location we saw just before the break. The mayor called that location, the Super Dome, a shelter of last resort. And he made it clear that once the electricity goes off there, its not going to be a very pleasant place. And yet we're looking at hundreds, possibly thousands of people taking refuge there before this storm is over.
So, again, the homeless here in the French Quarter being rounded up and taken there. The officers tell me they're not getting any sort of resistance. As soon as they show up, they explain what they're there for, and the people here are going with them right away. There's been no hesitation whatsoever. Earlier, about 15 minutes ago, the last of the stranded tourists who were down here on the river walk by the Missouri River, finished up with their last-minute site seeing, some very dark, ominous clouds are rolling in, they thought it back to get back to their hotels where they're going to ride out this storm unexpectedly. So many people stranded when their flights were canceled and they were unable to find any rental cars because all of them had been taken in the New Orleans area.
Police and fire are also going through neighborhoods, we're told, with loud speakers, urging people, if they haven't moved out, to continue with that idea, to pack up with whatever they can take, and leave the area because that is the first choice, to evacuate. They've given the mandatory order, and they feel like there's going to be a lot of people trying to ride this out in their homes. When they drive down the street, the officers see two or three cars in front of a house, they have no idea if anybody's actually left the house, and they don't have time to go knocking door to door, so they're hoping people will listen to these loud speakers as they drive through.
One thing as officials were giving advice on how to conduct yourself during the storm and how to protect yourself, one of the more frightening aspects of the advice he had they were giving was to people who chose to stay in their homes, and they were saying they need to stay in the center part of their homes, because eventually the outer walls may weaken by the wind and the rain, and they will fail. And they said, because of the assured possibility of some severe flooding, that people would have to seek higher elevations within their home, climbing to a higher port --
KAYE: David, I'm going to have to --
MATTINGLY: Go up to the attic, and they say you need it take an axe, a hatchet, just in case you need to cut through the roof to climb out on the roof --
KAYE: David, I have to stop you right here because we want to get right to Jacqui Jeras who just got the 5:00 update, the alert from the Hurricane Center. Jacqui what's the latest?
JERAS: The winds have dropped just a little a little bit Randi. They're down at 165 miles per hour, but the pressure increase is down to 902 milibars. There's not a lot of difference between 165 and 175, but at this point we'll take anything we can get. The exact location about 150 miles now south of the mouth of the Mississippi River. I want to show the updated forecast track really hasn't changed. Just by eyeballing it here, it looks like the big red line is still very near southeastern Louisiana, very near New Orleans and over Lake Pontchartrain.
One other thing I want you to notice, take a look at this number here. This far inland, hurricane center is still forecasting this as a category 4 hurricane as it moves into northeastern parts of Louisiana. That's unbelievable. That's going to take a lot to weaken this thing very significantly. The 5:00 advisory is in, still a category 5, 165- mile-an-hour winds, that's down just a smidge.
One other note of breaking news here, Randi, for you, we have a new tropical depression, as if we need to talk about that TD number 13. There you can see it on satellite. That is forecast to become tropical storm Lee in about two days.
KAYE: That is not good. All right. Jacqui thanks very much.
A hurricane as powerful as Katrina is came of doing catastrophic damage to any area it hits, but Louisiana's coastal areas are especially vulnerable. Seventy percent of New Orleans is below sea level. Paul Kemp is a researcher for Louisiana State University's Hurricane Center and he's joining me now from Baton Rouge. Paul what does your research tell about you Hurricane Katrina? We've just got the latest there, the breaking news that it's down to about 165 in terms of the winds?
PAUL KEMP, RESEARCHER, LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY HURRICANE CENTER: Well, that's not going to be a lot of solace for people in New Orleans because that storm will also flood New Orleans. And what we're concerned about is getting people out of there, ten miles an hour one way or another is not going to make a big difference. The track is a killer track. And we're seeing a surge exceeding the levy heights, particularly on the eastern side of the city. As the storm passes through, we do get some flooding coming in on the western side, around the airport. KAYE: So there's no doubt in your mind, I take it, from the sound of it, that this storm could break down or weaken significantly?
KEMP: Well, I mean, we're not in the forecasting - unfortunately, we don't forecast the intensity or track.
KAYE: Based on your experience, though.
KEMP: No. At this point we have to assume, because -- that we're going to see serious, serious flooding, perhaps beyond what we saw with Betsy in 1965.
KAYE: What's concerning is what Jacqui was pointing out there for us, where it might still be a category 4 hurricane, far inland. How concerned should we be about that?
KEMP: Well, I mean, this is a monster storm. And it extends so far out in each direction that -- and what that does is that means that it gathers up a tremendous amount of water and throws it against the levies around -- and into -- fills Lake Pontchartrain. So we're going to see flooding way up, almost to Baton Rouge associated with this storm.
Of course, we're still expecting the largest storm surge to be in the -- right at the border between Louisiana and Mississippi, in the basin St. Louis area, which is also an area that is going to be very seriously affected.
KAYE: Paul Kemp, a researcher for Louisiana State University's Hurricane Center. We appreciate your time today. We want to get now to FEMA's Headquarters in Washington, D.C. CNN's Gary Nurenberg is standing by for us live. Gary.
GARY NURENBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I was listening to the conversation you just had a moment ago. And I want to tell you that in a national videoconference here at FEMA earlier this afternoon among agencies primarily responsible for planning for this storm and reacting to it, officials were warned by those at the National Hurricane Center to not count on this weakening. They said, count on this remaining at a category 5 with winds up to 175 miles an hour.
When it hits land, don't count on it getting weaker. FEMA's National Response Coordination Center has been working 24 hours a day since mid-week as the agencies responsible for planning for this storm and reacting to it, they have talked to each other, try to make sure they have what they need in place before landfall. There are literally hundreds of people now in pre-selected staging areas just barely out of harm's way with lots of supplies, food, water, roofing material, construction equipment, that sort of thing, ready to move into the particular area where they're going to be needed as soon as this storm hits.
There are those easily travelable Mash. Units for example with national disaster teams staffing them and ready to go where they're need. As we've told you, there are urban search and rescue teams from the Midwest and as far away as New York prepared to go where they're need. The judgment here is before this is over, they will be needed.
Randi.
KAYE: All right. Gary Nurenberg live for us in Washington D.C. at FEMA's Headquarters. Thank you.
We're going to take a quick break. But we want to remind you that CNN will be bringing you live coverage of Hurricane Katrina for at least the next 24 hours. So be sure to keep it right here at CNN. And at the top of the hour, we'll bring you the very latest on the advisory, the latest advisory coming out on Hurricane Katrina. We will be right back.
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