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The Situation Room
Katrina Devastates Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama
Aired August 29, 2005 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, HOST: It's 5:00 p.m. here in Washington. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM, where news and information from around the world arrive in one place simultaneously.
Happening right now, killer on the move. That would be Katrina. Still a very dangerous, powerful hurricane. It's marching north. Our reporters are moving right along with the storm.
Devastating damage from New Orleans through Mississippi all the way to Alabama. We'll take you live to areas experiencing catastrophic consequences. And no matter where you live, you may soon feel the fallout from this storm. All of us possibly facing financial effects from Hurricane Katrina.
You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
Katrina is now making its way far from sea, but the danger is far from over. It's still a hurricane. And while the Gulf Coast is just beginning to assess the damage, people north and inland are coming face-to-face with this devastating storm.
Among the reporters standing by live for us, Kathleen Koch. She's is in Mobile, Alabama, where an oil rig has broken loose and struck a bridge. Our meteorologist Jacqui Jeras at the CNN Weather Center. She's tracking the next moves of this storm, which has already done lots of damage. We'll get to that in just a moment.
First, though, here's some of what we've seen so far.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER (voice-over): With each passing hour, new images of devastation. New Orleans, bracing for catastrophe, was spared a direct hit by Hurricane Katrina. But even with the storm passing to the east, the effects on the Big Easy are nothing short of devastating.
Wind gusts up to 120 miles an hour shattered windows on downtown high-rises and sent potentially deadly debris rocketing through the city's deserted streets. They were powerful enough to shred part of the roof covering the Superdome, where some 10,000 people had sought shelter.
Flooding was widespread across the low-lying region. Katrina's storm surge combining with torrential rain to inundate some neighborhoods. And in some storm's wake, a new problem. Looting seen in at least one New Orleans store.
Devastating floods also swamping coastal areas of neighboring Mississippi. Some areas drowning under more than a foot of rain. State officials underscored the scope of what they're facing.
GOV. HALEY BARBOUR (R), MISSISSIPPI: The state today has suffered a grievous blow on the coast. And we're not through. It's a major disaster. And there's much left to happen.
BLITZER: Further east than Alabama, Katrina pushed waters of Mobile Bay into downtown streets and left parts of Interstate 10 under water. President Bush, traveling in Arizona, urged Gulf Coast residents not to let their guard down.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Don't abandon your shelters until you're given clearance by the local authorities. Take precautions, because this is a dangerous storm. When the storm passes, the federal government has got assets and resources that we'll be deploying to help you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Let's go to Mobile, Alabama, right now. That city also very hard hit. Kathleen Koch is on the scene for us with some late developments -- Kathleen?
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, we're here in Mobile. And we've actually, because we're now on satellite and not on videophone, we've been able to get out a little bit from the hotel. And I want to just show you that tunnel I was talking about earlier.
You can see down here, if my cameraman will give a little pan to the right, the Bankhead Tunnel. That's one of two major tunnels underneath Mobile River. And it has been closed because of the wrath of Hurricane Katrina.
Now, also, another problem that's occurred, as we reported a little bit earlier, is this oil drilling rig that came loose and hit a bridge over the river. The Cochrane/Africatown Bridge right now, they're evaluating the sanctity of the bridge, whether or not they can open it to traffic, because this massive oil-drilling rig came loose and became wedged underneath the west end of it.
Now, we're going to go down -- and, Gil, if you can pan to the left -- you'll see this is Government Street. This is one of the main east-west arteries in Mobile.
And as I told you earlier, Wolf, when you look at it, you can see that it looks as if it's grown bushes in the middle of the street. Now, the vehicles you see out here should -- and I say should -- only be emergency and official vehicles, because this entire city, the entire county, Mobile County, is under a mandatory curfew.
That happened this afternoon. And no one is supposed to be out on this street before tomorrow morning. And then the dusk-to-dawn curfew will remain in effect for the foreseeable future. Officials obviously know they've got a lot of cleaning up to do.
And then at night, in particular, it's going to be very dangerous until they can clear the debris, clear the downed power lines. And there are a lot of those all through this area. More than 180,000 people in the Mobile area alone without power, and that in a city that's got a population of just about 200,000 -- Wolf?
BLITZER: And there was flooding. There was extensive flooding in Mobile. We have some video of that, as well.
Have you actually had a chance, Kathleen, to get out and see that in Mobile?
KOCH: Wolf, you know, I have been really attached to our live shots here, and I've been reporting from the hotel. But our crews have gone out. And we can see the flooding, when we look down there again toward the Bankhead Tunnel, we can see it, but we have gotten -- our crews have gotten dramatic video.
In some places, as you can see in the video, the water is up to the top of street signs. So I'm guessing -- what is that -- perhaps 3 1/2, 4, maybe even 5 feet deep in places.
And it's been very difficult for the emergency workers. Several firefighters, a whole engine crew, had to go downtown to put out a fire in the basement of a building and evacuate a family that had sought shelter there. And they had to wade through this water. So it's difficult for everyone, but people are making it through -- Wolf?
BLITZER: All right, Kathleen. We'll check back with you. She's in Mobile, Alabama.
Gulfport, Mississippi, may have gotten the worst of it, with parts of the downtown area under as much as 12 feet of water.
Our national correspondent Gary Tuchman was just there. He's on the phone. He's joining us from Biloxi, Mississippi, right now.
What was it like, Gary?
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, Gulfport is basically at this time closed off from the rest of the world. There's no cellular service, there's no phone service. There's really no way to communicate from there.
That's why we had to leave Gulfport and take a drive. And it was quite a trying 18-mile drive to Biloxi. It was like going in a covered wagon.
Interstate 10, heading east from Gulfport to Biloxi, is covered with more refuse than you could ever imagine you've ever seen before. There are stoves. There are refrigerators. There are basketballs. There are sinks. There are toys.
I mean, literally, the kitchen sink is covering the road. There is no way to travel east on the interstate. So what you have to do -- and what we had to do -- is go in the westbound lane, put on our flashing lights, and then travel east. It's totally impassable. It's not an exaggeration.
In the town of Gulfport, Wolf, it's not just parts of the town that are under water; it's miles of the town that are under water, flowing streams of the Gulf of Mexico. Storm surges have gone over six miles away from the beach. We see car lots with cars floating in the water. We see homes that windows are covered by water. We see cars that are just parked covered by water.
BLITZER: We're showing, Gary, some of our viewers some of the video that you shot earlier from Hurricane One, our mobile unit that's been going out. And I take it that vehicle got pretty severely damaged.
TUCHMAN: Well, Wolf, I'm glad you're telling me about the video, because we can't see it at this point because of the technical difficulties associated with the storm. I can think that the damage we've seen, Wolf, is Hurricane Andrew-caliber damage in Gulfport.
It's very devastating. People are going to have a lot to do. One of the things that we saw when we were just driving in Gulfport a short time ago was five people sitting on top of a police truck in the driving rain.
We asked the police officer why they were sitting there. He said he just rescued the five people -- and they were young adults -- from a street. They couldn't swim, and he pulled them to safety.
We also saw another police officer. We were asking him the conditions of the city. He goes, "I'm really not sure, because I'm busy dealing with looters." So that's the situation right now in Gulfport. Lots of devastation. Lots of work to do.
And at this point, it is impossible to know if there are any casualties. We know there are injuries. We don't know if there are serious casualties at this point.
One more thing I want to bring up, Wolf, to the west of us at Gulfport is the town of Bay St. Louis. We're not sure what's happened there. We haven't been able to communicate with the police officers in that southwestern portion.
BLITZER: All right, Gary Tuchman on the scene for us. He's in Biloxi now, but he was in Gulfport. And it sounds like an entire devastated community. We'll check to see what we can learn on that.
I know the governor of Mississippi, Haley Barbour, has been speaking. We'll monitor if we get some new information on that front.
In the meantime, let's check in with Jack Cafferty. He's in New York. He's watching all of this unfold together with us -- Jack?
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Indeed. Thanks, Wolf.
Louisiana's attorney general has promised to crack down on price gouging during Hurricane Katrina. It seems to be an inevitable by- product of these kinds of things. Opportunistic ghouls who come out of the woodwork ready to prey on their fellow citizens in a time of need.
Charles Foti says he'll prosecute businesses that overcharge customers during a state of emergency. Foti says his office has already received dozens of complaints from people who claim they've been ripped off on everything from gasoline to hotel rooms to stores selling canned goods and generators at double the normal price. Wonderful people, these.
The attorneys general of Texas and Alabama say they, too, will look into price gouging in their states. So the question this hour is this: "What's the appropriate punishment for price gougers?" Caffertyfile@CNN.com. And we'll read some of your e-mails a bit later.
Tulane University, by the way, in New Orleans, Wolf, canceled their freshman move-in yesterday, which is no day at the beach when the weather's good down there. I've got a daughter that's a junior at Tulane. But they couldn't even move the kids in, the freshmen into the dorms, because of the pending trouble from Hurricane Katrina.
BLITZER: Where is your daughter now? Is she OK?
CAFFERTY: She's actually -- yes, she is. She's doing a semester abroad and left last night for Rome. So she's going to spend a semester in Italy, which, I guess if you're going to spend a semester away during your college career, it might be a right one is the one when the big hurricane hits where the school is.
BLITZER: Good timing on her part. Thanks very much, Jack.
CAFFERTY: Yes, indeed. All right, Wolf.
BLITZER: We'll check back with you in a little while.
As your hurricane headquarters, CNN is bringing you interviews with important officials putting out important information all of us need to know. Coming up, what's the damage in dollars and cents? We'll talk about the economic impact of Katrina.
Also, the latest forecast on where the storm is and where it's heading. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Welcome back.
Katrina is pushing its way inland now, but it remains a powerful and dangerous storm. Let's turn to our CNN weather team for details.
Dave Hennen standing by in our Hurricane Headquarters. But let's begin with Jacqui Jeras in the CNN Weather Center.
Where is it right now, Jacqui? JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, the center is just north of Laurel. We want to get to a couple of tornado warnings first, Wolf, because we've got warnings in and around the Atlanta metro area. We just got word of a possible tornado touchdown about an half an hour ago, northern Carroll County and -- what was the name of it? Pardon me. Tallapoosa is the name of the town, near Tallapoosa, northern Carroll County, possible tornado damage with a touchdown there.
Here are the name of the counties now. Gwinnett County, there you can see it highlighted in red. You're under a tornado warning. We also have one down here in Jasper County and then over here in Harrelson County.
This is the one that possibly produced a tornado, so you need to be taking cover now. So we're finally starting to see a little bit of ground truth with these warnings.
We also have one over there into parts of Alabama. This one is for Bullock County. Got a tornado warning there for Bullock County. There you can see we've put it into motion. These storms are moving in a northerly direction and could produce tornadoes at any given time. So very serious situation, very populated area, especially this one in Gwinnett County.
We have new information. OK, also in the Atlanta metro area, Forsyth has just been included on the tornado warning. That's adjacent to Gwinnett County. So that storm continuing to move very rapidly on up to the north, moving at about 35 miles per hour.
OK. Now on to the latest with the 5:00 advisory on the hurricane, still a hurricane, 75 mile-per-hour winds now. Seventy- four miles per hour is what you need for it to still be considered a Category 1 hurricane.
Still pulling on up to the north about 18 miles per hour. So it's continually picking up a little bit of forward speed. The faster this thing moves out of here, certainly the better.
The wind field has also shrunk down a little bit. The winds were 100 miles out from the center of this storm, and now they're down to about 60. So that's going to help to reduce some of that impact also. So some good signs of that weakening.
Here's an update now on the forecast track, also. There you can see that gradual turn to the north-northeast. We're expecting it to be moving through Mississippi through the rest of the afternoon, into the evening hours, for today. By tomorrow morning, it should be into western parts of Tennessee and then make its way on up into the Ohio River Valley and eventually becoming extra tropical -- Wolf?
BLITZER: All right, Jacqui. We'll check back with you. Thank you very much.
Dave Hennen also standing by at our Hurricane Headquarters.
Dave, what do you see? DAVE HENNEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, we are look at an enormous hurricane at this hour. On the Viper radar behind me, look at the size of this storm as it continues to move up the northeast. Jacqui showed you the tornado warnings in Atlanta.
This storm's center is still back in Mississippi. That's hundreds of miles away. We did see considerable rainfall, too. We've been showing you the pictures of the catastrophic damage in Biloxi and back down as well in Gulfport.
Also, the heaviest rain fell there. So the flooding is going to be worse there. We've seen Doppler estimated rainfall amounts as high as eight to 10 inches. And this whole mass, whole hurricane, moving up to the north now.
We expect some pretty substantial rainfall amounts. Here's our Viper tracking the storm, as it moves in through parts of Mississippi, into Tennessee tomorrow. And we're looking at locally five to 10 more inches of rain, in some areas, Wolf, as much as 15. So this flood event going to continue well into the Ohio River Valley.
BLITZER: All right, thanks very much, Rob Hennen. He's watching -- Dave Hennen is watching this for us.
Our other meteorologist, Rob Marciano, is on the scene in Biloxi, Mississippi, an area extremely hard-hit. He's joining us on the phone.
Rob, what have you seen?
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Wolf, winds still gusting easily over hurricane strength. It's one of the reasons we can only communicate via phone. And that's troublesome at best. Satellite dishes can't get up when the wind gusts are over 60 miles an hour.
Now, the bad news with that is, the damage has been done. We had winds gusting well over 100 miles an hour during the morning and early afternoon hours. And what that did to the structures around Biloxi, even well north of the shore, it did some serious structural damage.
Our hotel, for instance, on two of the four sides, completely stripped of the stucco, down to the plywood and, in some cases, plywood completely stripped off. The roof on the southern side of this hotel, roof tiles stripped away, peeled away. And then the plywood flying away, as well.
So all this debris, from this structure and other structures around this area, littering the ground and still being blown around. So the winds that we're getting right now, although just gusting to hurricane strength, it may not be doing anymore further damage, but it continues to blow around the debris that's left from the storm that blew through here earlier today.
So still an extremely dangerous situation, Wolf. And authorities have just recently been able to go out to help folks out. But where was a time there when Biloxi police were staying indoors and not responding to any calls.
We actually had an injury inside our hotel, when one of the guests inside the hotel had an injury, where a door violently slammed against her finger because of the winds and the pressure from the outside, to the point where she actually severed her finger off. And she couldn't go anywhere until the storm subsided. And she just recently left about an hour ago to go to the hospital.
BLITZER: What an awful, awful hurricane. Thanks very much, Rob. We'll check back with you. Rob is on the scene for us in Biloxi, Mississippi.
It's a good guess that New Orleans is the last place anyone would want to be on vacation right now. Coming up, many tourists have been trying to get out. They have had to show some creativity and some luck. Our Jack Cafferty will have some interesting escape stories. That's coming up.
And we know Katrina has been very powerful, still remains powerful. But enough to snap a bridge? We'll show you some amazing pictures. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Incoming into THE SITUATION ROOM right now. We're getting some new video.
North of New Orleans, check this out, video that underscores the enormous flooding that's been going on in these areas. Look at this. These were streets, normal streets. Now they're almost like rivers. Look at these cars that have been inundated with the water.
This is new video just coming in to CNN. New Orleans, parts of it under water. Extensive damage to structures throughout this beautiful city, not only in New Orleans. Mobile, Alabama, also suffering severely. Only minutes ago, we got this report in from Doug Lindsay of WAWS, our affiliate in Mobile.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DOUG LINDSAY, REPORTER, WAWS-TV: I'm in downtown Mobile, Alabama, at the peak of what Katrina is bringing to this city. Now, remember, this city is right on the bay, Mobile Bay. We've got sustained winds right now -- I just measures about my anemometer, of 76 miles per hour, easily gusts up in the 90 mile-an-hour range.
And we're 100 miles away from the center of Katrina. This just gives you an idea the size of this storm and how intense they can be, even well away from the center of the storm.
The big problem here, obviously, we've got the wind, the damaging winds, the heavy rain, and the threat for tornadoes. We've had several tornado warnings here during the daytime today. Here comes one of those big gusts.
But take a look around. This is downtown Mobile, knee-deep water in many locations. In fact, if you look right down there, if you take a look right down here, Santana, that street right now, we just did a live shot from there 20 minutes ago. And now it's knee-deep in water.
And then farther to the left, over here, it's at least thigh-deep or maybe hip-deep in water. And we're probably eight blocks away from Mobile Bay right now. So the storm surge is coming in strong, predicting a record storm surge here of up to possibly 20 feet.
And if that occurs, where I'm standing now will be under water very, very shortly. So obviously a very dangerous situation here in Mobile, Alabama, with Katrina making landfall. Now, about just a little bit less than Biloxi is where the eye of the storm is. Again, 100 miles to the west of us, and this is what we're dealing with, massive flooding, trees and power lines down. There's no power anywhere here in Mobile, Alabama. And we're going to pack up and get out of here for our own safety.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Pretty smart thinking. Doug Lindsay, our affiliate, WAWS, in Mobile, Alabama. He filed that report only minutes ago.
It's a good guess that New Orleans, as well as Mobile, the last place a lot of people would want to be on vacation right now. Many tourists trying to get out have had to rely on creativity and luck. Jack Cafferty is watching this part of the story for us -- Jack?
CAFFERTY: Yes, because we get to that, on a much more serious note, I was just talking to one of the executive producers here in New York with CNN. She's from New Orleans. Her family is trapped on the second floor of their house in that city. And she says that they report the flood waters are rising, and they're waiting to be rescued.
So it's touched the lives deeply of people as far away as New York City and I'm sure elsewhere.
It wasn't easy to getting out of the Big Easy yesterday. And it wasn't cheap, either. You couldn't get a rental car, not because there weren't cars, but because all of the offices were shut down and none of the employees were there.
So one suburban Chicago couple hired a limo. They live in Chicago. They paid him $3,700 to get a hitch home from Louisiana to the Windy City. Marty Kogan dropping his son off at Tulane University there in New Orleans.
He and his family couldn't get a rental car, couldn't find any place else, any way else out of town, so they chipped in with another couple, tracked down a limo company, who was willing to drive them all the way to Chicago. Kogan said it took six hours to go the first 120 miles out of the city.
Another couple paid a cab driver $1,000 in cash to get a ride from New Orleans to Atlanta, Georgia. Here's what the passenger said when he was asked if it was worth the grand.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIM SUTTER, TOOK CAB TO ATLANTA: Absolutely. Absolutely it was worth it. We talked about it and said, "This is the only option we got." The airlines that flew us in -- and I'm not going to say which one it was -- canceled all flights immediately after we got on the ground.
So we had no options. Either ride out the storm there on the sixth floor of a hotel with possibly the bottom three floors being flooded out, because the prediction is that the dikes are going to be washed out in New Orleans from the tides and so on and so forth. So it was definitely worth it. No doubt about it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAFFERTY: I get the impression he thinks it was worth it. The driver said the trip, which usually takes eight hours, took about 12.
And tourists and residents along the Gulf of Mexico aren't the only ones getting out of Dodge yesterday. Three dolphins had to be evacuated from an aquarium in Gulfport, Mississippi. Experts at the Marine Life Oceanarium thought that they were too close to Katrina's path, so they moved them to a Holiday Inn swimming pool in Gulfport.
Other dolphins were moved to a pool at a nearby Best Western Inn, and then the aquarium director took the sea lions home to dinner. And they stayed at his house overnight. "Honey, thaw out the mackerel. We've got guests coming."
BLITZER: Very, very interesting stories. I bet you there's a lot of those stories that we're only going to be hearing about, Jack, in the coming days and weeks.
CAFFERTY: I'm wonder -- dolphins in a swimming pool. I guess they can survive with all the chlorine and chemicals in the water, but I just wonder, you know, maybe that would make them sick or something. But I guess they're doing OK.
And the other question I have is whether the motels could charge extra for the rooms, given that they had dolphins in the pool. A little extra added attraction.
BLITZER: All right, Jack. We'll check back with you in a little bit. Jack Cafferty in New York.
We've been tracking this hurricane. It appears not to be done yet. By all accounts, it's still relatively strong, a Category 1. It's moving north. Coming up, some state national guardsmen are joining the relief effort. I'll talk to one of them in Mississippi.
And from ferocious winds to the steady beat of rain, all the part of what a hurricane sounds like. We'll let you listen in to a hurricane.
And when Katrina does decide to leave, the full impact of its wrath can be measured. It's expected to be one of the costliest in U.S. history. Mary Snow standing by with details.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Coming in to THE SITUATION ROOM right now, this is new video that we're just getting in. This is not a river, this is street. It's a street in New Orleans. It was a normal street only a day or so. It's not a normal street anymore. Our affiliate WFOR providing us this video. Check this out. Look at that truck almost covered completely by the flooding. That's now enveloping huge parts of beautiful New Orleans. We'll continue to watch this for you, our viewers.
Unfortunately, we're getting those kinds of pictures not only from New Orleans, from Biloxi, from Mobile, throughout areas, Gulfport, along the Gulf Coast. And unfortunately pictures like that only now beginning to come in. A lot probably going to be coming in in the hours and days to come.
Widespread damage across the Gulf Coast. And right now Hurricane Katrina is still very much on the move. From New Orleans to Biloxi to Mobile. The full extent of the devastation from wind and water remains unknown. But insurance analysts are now saying that Katrina could wind up being the costliest U.S. hurricane on record. Emergency crews are trying to reach some of the hardest hit areas. And officials are warning those who evacuate, they're giving them this warning. Stay away, it's still too dangerous to come home. Don't even try it, don't even think about it.
Katrina remains a Category 1 Hurricane with winds right now of about 75 miles-an-hour, stronger gusts. It's moving north at about 18 miles-an-hour and will continue moving through Central and Northern Mississippi tonight and into Western Tennessee tomorrow and then beyond.
A group that estimates insurance risk says Katrina could cost more than $3 billion in damage alone to the oil industry infrastructure, including off-shore rigs. And that could push up gasoline prices even higher. Our Ali Velshi is in oil country right now. He's heading from Houston to Louisiana. He's joining us on the phone. Ali, what are you hearing?
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, I am in Louisiana now. I'm heading toward the Mississippi Delta to get an evaluation of what's gone on with the rigs and the platforms. They have started, now, repopulating the rigs, particularly those in the western Gulf of Mexico. But have a look at these pictures from Mobile, Alabama, where, as you know, a lot of damage was done.
Now this is in the U.S. 98 Causeway. This is a bridge that has been destroyed, unbelievably, by an oil platform. This is an oil platform. A platform that was in a shipyard -- an out of service platform in a shipyard in the bay. It has come loose and damaged a bridge, destroyed a bridge. Now we can't quite find out whose platform that is, because, as you know, conditions in Mobile are not very good right now. But that is the kind of damage. I mean the kind of stuff that I've been looking at is what's going on in the Gulf. And we're trying to get out there to get a sense of what oil rigs and platforms have been damaged there. but these are massive, massive structures. And for that to come loose and take out a bridge, I mean, Wolf, this is a real sign of the viciousness of the storm.
BLITZER: Is there any explanation, Ali, logic -- I don't know if logic always plays into it, because early in the morning a barrel of oil was going at $70 a barrel, another record high, but then it fell down to about $67. I'm not exactly clear, did they think it was going to be even worse and that's why the price sort of went down a little bit?
VELSHI: Absolutely. What it was is when -- over the course of the weekend, as the path of the storm changed and started heading toward the middle of the Gulf, it was clear that as it built strength in the Gulf and became a Category 5, it could go straight through some of these rigs and platforms. And this is what we're going to uncover in the next day or so, that there has been some damage. Now as that happened, when premarket trading started overseas, that was that panic buying of oil futures, so that companies could guarantee their oil for delivery in October.
As the course of the day unfolded and we found out that it kind of missed some of the places people thought it would miss and the government has hinted that it might release oil if we fell into a shortage, a lot of people sort of eased off their panic, and oil came down. Let's not forget, oil is up from where it closed on Friday, and, frankly, once we find out in the morning when some of these flights go out from the oil companies and the Coast Guard, that could change the picture yet again. So we might not see -- this rest that the oil price has taken might not last long -- Wolf.
BLITZER: All right. Ali, we'll be checking back with you. Ali Velshi's on the scene for us now in Louisiana. He'll be reporting extensively from the region.
Damage, devastation, and dollars and in cents. We've reporting on the emotional toll of the hurricane., but what about the economic toll? We'll have a report. That's coming up.
And who would try to take advantage of people already devastated during a hurricane? They would be called price gougers. You've been sending us your thoughts on them. Jack Cafferty's been reading your e-mail. He's standing by to join us.
And tracking Katrina requiring sophisticated techniques. Our Brian Todd will be live from one center responsible for forecasting and for guidance to support the National Weather Center.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Incoming into THE SITUATION ROOM right now, new video we're getting from Gulfport, Mississippi. One of the hardest hit communities along the Gulf Coast. Take a look at this. It shows some of the damage that the wind alone -- the wind of this hurricane caused in this area. Let's let this video breathe a little bit, and we'll give our viewers a little bit of the flavor of what has happened in Gulfport. Some of the video not the best quality, necessarily, but that's video that we're getting in from Gulfport, Mississippi. This similar kind of story from New Orleans, we're getting from Biloxi, from areas along that Gulf Coast.
The hurricane by no means, over. We're tracking Katrina's effect today, but what will be its impact tomorrow and beyond? It's expected to be one of the costliest storms in U.S. history, if not the costliest. Our Mary Snow in joining us from New York with more -- Mary?
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, from damaged homes to damaged businesses, the economic impact is widespread and the ripple effects from Hurricane Katrina, being felt far beyond the Gulf of Mexico.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SNOW (voice-over): Katrina could go down in the history books as one of the costliest, if not the costliest storms on record. According to earlier estimates from risk analysts, insured damage could range between $12 and $26 billion. Hurricane Andrew, the costliest storm, had damages of nearly $21 billion when adjusted for inflation. Will this storm affect homeowner's insurance? Economist say only in areas affected by hurricanes.
ROBERT HARTWIG, INSURANCE INFORMATION INSTITUTE: Generally speaking, we're looking at a period that might last decades where we're going to see hurricanes that are more frequent and more intense. And that is will affecting to cost of homeowner's insurance coverage up and down the coast.
SNOW: One of the most immediate effects from Katrina: High oil and gas prices. The Gulf of Mexico accounts for about a quarter of U.S. domestic oil production. With Katrina forcing refineries to shut down, an already tight supply is choked. Oil analyst say: Expect to pay more to fill your gas tank over the next several weeks.
GARY ROSS, PIRA ENERGY GROUP: It wouldn't surprise me to see 20 to 40 cent gallon increase in gasoline, which would bring street prices toward the $3-a-gallon level.
SNOW: Jet fuel is expected to take a further toll on airlines, which could mean a raise in fares. Diesel fuel for trucks is expected to go up along with home heating oil. In addition to cost, there is lost business. Shipping was halted in the lower Mississippi River where everything from coffee to manufactured goods are transported.
Tourism is one of the biggest industries in New Orleans, which also affects conventions. In Mississippi, casinos are a source of revenue and some had to be shut down. The governor said he doesn't know the extent of damage to casinos, but reported water damaged in some of them.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SNOW: And the governor of Mississippi, saying earlier that there was water damage reported in some of those casinos with water reaching to the second and third floors. It contributes about $500,000 a day to tax revenues in Mississippi and some of those casinos are expected to lose millions each day -- Wolf?
BLITZER: All right. Let's continue to monitor the cost of Hurricane Katrina. Mary, thank you very much.
Water worries and woes: Katrina has caused all three and lots more.
Coming up, we'll show you scenes of inland flooding, making many people very nervous.
And it seems they work more in the worst of times: Price gougers. They hike up prices for those already hard hit. So, how should they be stopped? We'll have your e-mail. Jack Cafferty is reading it right now.
And we'll have some very useful resources for you to consider if you want to keep track of the storm on-line. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: These pictures are incoming right now to THE SITUATION ROOM." I want to show our viewers more video we're getting from Gulfport, Mississippi, showing the destruction, the damage from Hurricane Katrina.
These are areas that were normal areas only 24 hours or so ago. But Gulfport, Mississippi, taking a major hit. Gulfport, important source of commerce for the entire Mississippi coastline of the Gulf Coast, certainly coming under some extensive, extensive destruction and damage from this hurricane.
Just let this video continue a little bit and our viewers will simply get a sense of what has happened to what was a normal community shattered by the very strong power of Hurricane Katrina. We'll continue to watch this video for you.
It has been a day and so far, it's been an incredible day all along the Gulf Cost since early this morning when Hurricane Katrina landed: The walls of rain, the howling wind, the fear and the darkness. The danger, though, is not yet over.
We've been told repeatedly by authorities, it's still a very dangerous hurricane as it moves inland. In some areas, the damage is already done. Let's look at some of the most riveting scenes yet from Katrina's onslaught.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GOV. HALEY BARBOUR (R), MISSISSIPPI: The state today, has suffered a grievous blow on the coast and we're not through. GOV. BOB RILEY (R), ALABAMA: You can hide in wind, but you need to run from floods. Before we had people that wanted to go all the way to Birmingham or to Memphis to get out of the way of the wind. This time, the only thing they needed to do is just get to higher ground.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was driving I-10 westbound, trying to get to Kenner to the William Boulevard exit and I didn't see the water. It just blends in with the gray of the road and I just drove right into it.
GOV. KATHLEEN BLANCO (D), LOUISIANA: Wherever you live, it is still too dangerous fro people to return home. If you evacuated and you're in a shelter, if you're with friends and family, please, please stay there.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Some devastating scenes only a little while ago and they're continuing throughout the Gulf Coast and now further inland. President Bush spoke out on this hurricane only a few moments ago. He was in Rancho Cucamonga in California.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: ... And I want the people to know, in the affected areas, that the federal government and the state government and the local governments will work side by side to do all we can to help get your lives back in order.
This is a terrible storm. It's a storm that hit with a lot of ferocity. It's a storm now that is moving through and now it's the time for governments to help people get their feet on the ground.
For those who prayed for the folks in that area, I want to thank you for your prayers. For those of you who are concerned about whether or not we're prepared to help, don't be. We are. We're in place. We've got equipment in place, supplies in place and once the -- once we're able to assess the damage, we'll be able to move in and help those good folks in the affected areas.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: The president, speaking only a few moments ago. Our Jeanne Meserve is in New Orleans. She's joining us on the phone right now. Jeanne, where are you?
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We are traveling (INAUDIBLE) on I-10 and then the road just goes under water. So, flooding here is epic. I cannot tell you what we have seen as we have driven along this highway. An entire ward of this city, the ninth ward, appears to be up to its rooftops in water. We spoke to a city councilman who's been out here trying to rescue people. There were some people out in boats, trying to do that as well. There are people in these houses, some of them in places where the water is lower, might think that it was only four feet deep. And if they stepped outside their houses, they would drown. There have been bodies seen here. I haven't personally seen one, but I know others have seen at least one. And it is just unbelievable. I told you earlier today I didn't think this had turned out to be Armageddon. I was wrong. Wolf, this is amazing and horrifying to see.
BLITZER: And these are areas that were heavily populated? You're in a downtown area now, Jeanne?
MESERVE: No. This is not a downtown area. This is west of downtown. It's a residential areas. It appears to be one of the less wealthy parts of this city. The houses appear, most of them to be, as best I can tell, only one story tall. And Lord only knows how many people are here. When I was over near the Superdome, the city councilman pulled up with a SUV and out of it came three elderly individuals soaking wet, obviously very traumatized by what's happened to them. They were out here in the this part of the city.
BLITZER: Jean, how are you driving? Are the roads where you are still flooded?
MESERVE: Wolf, I think I may have just lost you.
BLITZER: Are the roads where you are, Jeanne, still flooded?
MESERVE: Well right here the interstate goes underwater. I don't know New Orleans well enough to tell you how far west I am of the city. But it's before a bridge. I see a bridge further along, but this part of I-10 is underwater. I'm jumping in the car. We're being advised we have to go, I think. But I can talk to you as we go and I figure out what's happening here.
BLITZER: We're showing, Jeanne, we're showing our viewers some video of the floods in New Orleans. People on boats, cars submerged. It's clearly Armageddon, as you described it. That's a very dramatic word, and I know you're a precise reporter. You wouldn't use that word unless what you saw is Armageddon. Are you still on the line, Jeanne.
MESERVE: Yes. I am still here but our cells are cutting in and --
BLITZER: All right. Jeanne, we're going to try to reconnect with you. Be careful. Out crews, please be careful as well. Jeanne Meserve is in New Orleans and she used the word Armageddon, what she saw, if we were reporting earlier that New Orleans had dodged a bullet, clearly, a bullet that still hit this beautiful community. We'll continue to watch. We'll check back with Jeanne momentarily. We're also going to check in with our Brian Todd now. He's in Camp Springs, Maryland, at a U.S. government facility where they monitor the movement of these hurricanes inland. Brian, what are you getting?
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, we're getting some valuable perspective here. Katrina is the third major hurricane of the season. The second one to hit the Gulf region. But we are by no means out of the woods yet. I am joined by Gerry Bell. He's a meteorologist for NOAA's Climate Prediction Center. Gerry, about how many more major hurricanes can the Atlantic or the Gulf region expect this hurricane season?
GERRY BELL, NOAA CLIMATE PREDICTION CTR: Well we're just entering the peak of the hurricane season now. And the peak activity normally runs through about mid October. For the remainder of the season we expect seven to ten more tropical storms of which two to four will likely become major hurricanes.
TODD: And to this graphic. They all start from in this general region between the African coast and the -- the east coast in the Caribbean, right?
BELL: That's right. When we have very active seasons such as this. Most of the hurricanes form in this boxed region. And that's very important, because those are the hurricanes that move westward and then tend to swing up and ultimately threaten the United States and the Caribbean Islands. And since we're in an active hurricane era, we expect ongoing high levels of hurricanes forming in this region and more hurricane landfalls for years to come.
TODD: All right. Thank you very much, Gerry. And for perspective, Wolf, you're talking about 87 million people in the Gulf and Atlantic regions still effected by this hurricane season. They could see more activity in the month-and-a-half, two months to come to come.
BLITZER: All right. Thanks, Brian Todd in Camp Springs, Maryland. Brian reporting for us. Coming up, those who profit unfairly by others misery. There are already reports of price gouging tied to Hurricane Katrina. What should authorities do about it? We'll hear what you think. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you swear that the testimony you're about to give before this committee will be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God?
KEN STARR, FMR SPECIAL PROSECUTOR: I do.
TONY HARRIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Special prosecutor Ken Starr spent five years and $50 million investigating President Clinton, which started as a probe into the Whitewater land deal culminated into the 445-page "Starr Report," detailing a salacious relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky and other allegations.
STARR: The president chose deception, a pattern of calculated behavior over a span of months.
HARRIS: President Clinton survived the resulting impeachment. Starr stepped into private life and out of the Beltway. He and his wife, Alice, now live in Southern California. They have three children. Star is the dean of Pepperdine University Law School and practices law in L.A. He says very little about the Clinton investigation but in a recent interview he called it challenging times that made his faith deeper. (END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Let's go right to Jack Cafferty in New York. Jack, what have you got?
CAFFERTY: Thanks, Wolf. It's inevitable in times like this, these mutants who take advantage of their fellow man by price gouging, people, you know, in time of need willing to pay anything for things like, you know, gasoline, generators, whatever. What's the appropriate punishment, we're asking this hour?
Don in Pacifica writes, in anticipation I filled my gas tanks last night $2.73 a gallon. This morning, the same gas station, $2.83 a gallon. The same gas still in their tank from the night before. It's an outrage. This was in California.
Ann in North Carolina writes they ought to be required to stand on a street corner with a sign hanging around their neck that reads I was a price gouger during Hurricane Katrina.
Theo says I think price gougers are just above looters and ought to lose their business license and be jailed for as long as the law allows.
And then this is not related to price gouging, but Jane writes hey, Jack, do you think the world will send money and care packages like we did for the tsunami victims. Hey, Jane, I wouldn't hold my breath.
Oh and I got a lot of mail about those dolphins. Everybody said they altered the chlorine and the PH of the water in those pools. We're done with that now.
BLITZER: All right. We'll leave it alone. Jack, thanks very much. Jack Cafferty will be back with us tomorrow. We're in THE SITUATION ROOM weekdays three to six p.m. Eastern. I'll see you tomorrow. I'm Wolf Blitzer. LOU DOBBS TONIGHT STARTING right now. Kitty Pilgrim's filling in for Lou -- Kitty.
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