Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live At Daybreak

Hurricane Katrina Leaves Devastation In Her Wake; Whole Sections of New Orleans Flooded; Mobile Awaits Daylight To Assess Damage; Ohio Valley Brace For Katrina's Rain, Flooding, Massive Evacuations Planned for New Orleans Hospitals, Superdome; Relief Efforts Under Way For Storm Victims; Rescue Operations Under Way in New Orleans

Aired August 30, 2005 - 06:00   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR, DAYBREAK: It's Tuesday, August 30. Hurricane Katrina leaves people trapped and screaming for help. People fled to their rooftops to escape the rising floodwaters. But rescuers fear even that wasn't far enough. A bird's eye view shows the devastation on the ground.
Whole neighborhoods underwater and the flooding might be far from over.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You stand in the dark and you hear people yelling for help and no one can get to them. It's a totally different experience.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: It is almost too much to take. Our reporters on the ground share a personal view of the aftermath.

And good morning everyone. I'm Tony Harris in for Carol Costello this morning. First, we want to go right to Carol -- to Chad Myers -- in the weather center for the latest on Katrina's aftermath.

And, Chad, the story today may just very well be severe flooding?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, flooding across Kentucky, Tennessee, parts of even Ohio and Pennsylvania. And then a new tornado watch box that was just issued here, for the eastern side -- they kind of just remade a little bit. It goes all the way up, even here. Hard to see because it right aligns there with that northern border between Nashville, between Tennessee and Kentucky. But it goes all the way down south, almost all the way into Florida.

That rain is going to be with the Southeast all day today. This moisture flow still coming off the Gulf of Mexico. And so if you have this flow coming up here. Very warm air mass down here, obviously full of humidity. If you get coming up across Georgia, into the Carolinas, it is going to be a severe weather day all the way possibly to D.C. I mean, that's the significance of how big this storm is right now.

We're seeing these popping up of showers and storms right now from Atlanta southward. They're not severe like they were yesterday, although, obviously there is watch out. There are just no warnings out.

Back out here to the west and into Memphis, winds just gusted to 45. Nashville, you had gusts to 40. And then back in Louisville, and right through all of Kentucky here. Boy it rained all day yesterday and it still raining now. You have to be very careful for that flooding here. There is kind of a front that came down from the north and it stopping all the moisture from going much farther to the north.

But if you think about this, Tony, this is now -- it's raining in Pennsylvania. It's raining Florida. And it's raining in Memphis. This is a huge storm and it is going to continue to affect the northeast, as it moves on up from the south to the southwest to the northeast here. All the way through Wednesday and then finally into tomorrow afternoon, and into tomorrow night. It even goes all the way into Quebec.

Now right now the winds are 50. They're dying off, obviously. They keep dying off every hour, they go down maybe five or 10 m.p.h. But it is still a tropical system. It is still making the flooding there. Still making the severe weather from D.C. to Atlanta. And obviously, a hot day still.

After a hurricane passes it seems like it is the hottest day of the year, when you get all that humidity that is on the ground, the sun come out, it bakes it. And then you're standing on that humidity. It is an ugly day for rescue and recovery down there.

HARRIS: I have to ask you, Chad. Has this been amazing to watch the science of all this comes together.

MYERS: What's amazing about this is that literally six months ago, all the forecasts were that this was going to be a crazy year.

HARRIS: That's right.

MYERS: Twenty-one potential storms. Tony, did you know that when that storm crossed Miami, five six days ago.

HARRIS: Yes, last Thursday.

MYERS: That was the 13th anniversary of Andrew. Now, OK, that is kind of coincidental, but Andrew is the A storm. That was the first storm of the year, we're on K.

HARRIS: Oh, that's right -- that's --

MYERS: So, you just have to think to your head, how busy of a season this has been so far, if we're already on K. Now, I will say that we had a little crawl on the bottom yesterday, saying how there was that tropical depression 13, in the Atlantic Ocean. It kind of lost some ability to do much yesterday and now it is kind of traveling on up into the north. So we're not worried about another one, at least not right now. HARRIS: I am so happy you mentioned that, because I was wondering -- we were paying so much attention, and rightly so, on Katrina. I was wondering if there was anything else cooking out in the Atlantic. So I'm glad you mentioned it.

MYERS: Not right now.

HARRIS: All right, Chad. Thank you.

MYERS: You're welcome.

HARRIS: It has been almost 24 hours since Katrina made landfall and still we don't know the complete scale of its devastation, but here is what we do know.

At least 54 deaths are blamed on Katrina in Mississippi alone. Including 30 from a single apartment complex. FEMA is preparing to house tens of thousands of people. Some of them will likely be without homes for months.

The American Red Cross is launching the largest natural disaster mobilization in its history. It is larger than all four of last year's Florida hurricanes combined. And almost 1.5 million Gulf Coast utility customers are sweltering without power.

Rescue teams in New Orleans have been in boats through the night, pulling people out of their flooded homes. Many took refuge in their attics or rooftops to escape the rising waters. CNN's Adaora Udoji has been following this story all night and she joins us now from I believe just north of New Orleans.

Adaora, good morning.

ADAORA UDOJI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Tony. Yes, you're right. We are -- we're just north of the downtown New Orleans. And we've been watching rescue efforts that have been going on here right below Interstate 10, the major artery.

We've been watching, hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of people who have been evacuated from this neighborhood. And it is so dark it is hard to tell exactly how far the flooding extends to and even rescue crews and officials are not exactly sure.

What we do know is that this area, blocks of it, are covered, six, eight, 10 feet of water. And many of those people who live in the neighborhood, as you were saying, were stuck in their attics, they were on their roofs. They've been calling for help. Some of them managed to get out on their cell phones. At least 500 people have come out. Probably a much higher number, though. We don't have any official numbers. But we've been watching them walk, come off those boats, rescuers taking a bit of a break.

But officials saying no serious injuries, mostly bruises, they're bruised, they're exhausted. Many have been waiting at the up ramp, where you walk. They're taken in on the boat at the bottom of the ramp. They're taken up. They've been waiting in very long lines for vans that have been taking them into the city and some of them have been waiting several hours for that.

So it has been a very long and arduous -- and you can only imagine, an incredibly painful day for those people who live not only in this neighborhood but further west they also have some severe flooding; further south in some pockets of neighborhoods they have some severe flooding. And then in one parish it is estimated that there is more than 40,000 people whose homes are underwater.

Now rescuers are filtering slowly. It is a logistical nightmare for them. The ones that have been working here, not only the firefighters, the police department, but also they have wildlife and fishery officers who have come down from central Louisiana. They've been trying to figure out exactly where the hardest hit areas and get the necessary people and equipment to get those people who are trapped, out.

Again, it has been treacherous for them to be riding around in their boats through these streets, because they just have no idea what's beneath them. There is all sorts of debris. There are cars, potential electrical lines and so on.

So a very difficult situation, and as one officer -- well, actually all officers have told us that they expect things only to get worse as sunlight comes and the heat comes and they see exactly the extent of devastation of Hurricane Katrina brought when she barreled through here -- Tony?

HARRIS: And you just have to acknowledge and thank all those rescue teams and the efforts they're taking, extraordinary efforts to get folks out of there. Adaora, we appreciate it. Thank you.

This is our tsunami, that is how the mayor of Biloxi, Mississippi describes the devastation caused by Katrina. Biloxi and nearby Gulfport suffered almost a direct hit from this hurricane. More now from CNN's Jonathan Freed.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JONATHAN FREED, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Flooding throughout Gulfport. Up to 12 feet deep, many homes almost completely submerged; many homes destroyed, some people waiting to be rescued.

Trees snapped and power lines were downed, across Mississippi more than 350,000 people without electricity.

Most coastal roads were closed. Portions of Interstate 10, stretching across Mississippi from Louisiana to Alabama, were shut down by flooding.

Mississippi's governor declared a state of emergency and urged people to stay put.

GOV. HALEY BARBOUR, MISSISSIPPI: The state today has suffered a grievous blow on the coast. And we're not through.

FREED: Just 18 miles east, in Biloxi, the storm stacked cars like toys, toppled trees and signs. People trying to take in the damage.

SUZANNE ROGERS, HURRICANE VICTIM: It sounded like -- a boom! Real loud, extremely loud, and glass is everywhere. And the debris is steady flying in from the outside, coming off the roof.

FREED: It pealed the siding off this hotel and devastated home.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Boy, and a postscript to Jonathan's report, the woman in that report, Suzanne Rogers, tells CNN the two-story, brick apartment building she lived in has been completely swept away.

Now much of southwestern Alabama is shut down this morning with flooding and damage this morning from Hurricane Katrina. Curfews have been in effect so many people will get their first look at the devastation when dawn breaks. CNN Radio's Ed McCarthy joins us from Mobile, Alabama.

And, Ed, that's the notion, first light, daybreak. And my thought is that people, many of them, will not be prepared for what they're going to see.

ED MCCARTHY, CNN RADIO CORRESPONDENT: Very, very true, Tony. As you mentioned, very good point, we are still under curfew here. And that is because they were afraid that people being out, if there were power lines down, just for the safety of people, they don't want anybody on the roads. And they also were afraid of possible looting, as well, overnight.

We're not sure, exactly, of what we're going to find this morning. Because yesterday was not the day, even though the weather got a little bit better later in the day, it was still too dangerous to go out and check things out.

So this morning these teams are going to be going out, damage assessment teams will be going out. I'm sure there will be a lot of people having very special needs this morning.

The Coast Guard, we are told, will be coming in here to Mobile Bay and they'll setting up, helping with gasoline distribution. That will be good news for people who will be looking for gasoline. Very hard to find, especially with power out, these pumps aren't working at gas stations.

We have power out, no phones, and we just don't know how long that's going to be. But certainly we can tell you that despite the flooding here, in Mobile, this city is certainly doing a lot better than our counterparts to the west of us, in Mississippi and New Orleans. So, this will be an excellent place for a staging area, because the damage is not as bad as those areas.

But still, we're not quite sure how extensive that damage is. And I speak in terms of not knowing yet, the unknown. We'll know, as you say, at first light.

HARRIS: First light, this morning. What time are we expecting that?

MCCARTHY: Another hour from now, Tony.

HARRIS: OK.

MCCARTHY: It's been an interesting evening for everybody. People walking around with flashlights trying to get from here to there. What little sleep you could get overnight, because of, of course, no air conditioning, and generators are the prevailing noise that you hear in the area. So, you know, when it's dark and people are just pretty much hunkering down, and then this morning they'll get out. And we'll find out exactly what's going to happen. Hopefully there won't be as much damage as people think there might be.

HARRIS: Just curious, you mention the power has been out. How have people been getting information about what's been going on in their city?

MCCARTHY: Where I am located, Tony, interestingly enough they were able to bring in a generator. And in the lobby of this hotel people have been sitting there watching the television. So they were able to watch CNN and get their information. And they've been very, very thankful for that.

HARRIS: OK, Ed McCarthy. Thank you, Ed.

And this time the Saints went marching out. New Orleans' football team left for Carolina a day before Katrina struck. They're gearing up to play the Oakland Raiders this week. Their stadium, the Superdome, is now a shelter for thousands of people even though the Saints are practicing far away, their thoughts are close to home.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMMY WILLIAMS, NEW ORLEANS SAINTS: Right after practice your mind immediately goes back to what's going on at home. So, you know, practice is a nice little refuge, but back to reality when it's done.

MICHAEL LEWIS, NEW ORLEANS SAINTS: It was hard just trying to, you know, to try to go to sleep. You know, I'm lying in the bed, trying to get rest, but it was hard because my grandparents are at home. And that was on my mind the whole time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: People sheltered in the Superdome are safe, but they're also in a muggy mess. Trash is overflowing, the toilets don't flush and there is no air conditioning.

There was plenty of damage outside the Big Easy. In Slidell, northeast of New Orleans, Katrina toppled massive trees onto vehicles and buildings. Branches and power lines littered the roads and there is major storm damage to dozens of buildings and homes.

Katrina effects are being felt as far east as Georgia. Bands of stormy weather spiraled off the hurricane spawning at least three reported tornadoes and dumping heavy rain across the state. The weather is blamed for at least one traffic death in Georgia. There are also reports of multiple injuries and damage to hundreds of buildings.

Tracking now of what's now Tropical Storm Katrina is the job of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA. So let's find out what you can expect as the storm moves north. Meteorologist Brian Korty of NOAA's National Weather Service Hydro Prediction Center joins us from Camp Springs, Maryland.

Good to talk to you, Brian.

BRIAN KORTY, METEOROLOGIST, NOAA: Hi, Tony. How you doing?

HARRIS: Well, well, sir. The last 24 hours for you, what's it been like?

KORTY: Well, I'm working nights like many other people in the National Weather Service. And it's been, for a meteorologist, it's very interesting, but we realize the destruction that this system has caused and we're very saddened by it.

HARRIS: And most interesting aspect of the storm, as you think back and look back over the last day?

KORTY: Obviously, we've been watching it come inland, too. And it is just amazing the destruction that the system brought. The tidal surge, as well as the heavy rains, and finally the -- really what's happened to New Orleans.

HARRIS: A perfect storm?

KORTY: Probably as the hurricane goes, probably pretty close to it.

HARRIS: Yes. So what concerns you right now, as the storm moves north?

KORTY: Well, the storm, right now, is over northeast, extreme northeast Mississippi. And it is continuing to move northeastward. And right now we're really concerned about very heavy rains that could continue with the system as it moves through the Ohio Valley, into the lower Great Lakes region. We're talking probably a general two- to four-inch rainfall amounts with localized six-inch rainfall totals still being possible with this system.

HARRIS: I know you're working on -- let's bring Chad Myers in here -- as I ask this next question of you. Brian, you're working on models, the kind of models that Chad and other meteorologists use to predict what is likely to happen with storms like Katrina. How did the models perform for you?

KORTY: Before the system hit the Gulf Coast the models actually worked fairly well. They were all pretty close to one another and they gave us a very good idea of where the system was going to hit and how powerful it was going to be. We're pretty happy to have those models when we're forecasting. HARRIS: Sure. Chad?

MYERS: I want to show you some of the things that we are watching on our radar picture behind me. And Brian, I'd like you to kind of comment.

Eight to 12 inches of rain between Mobile and also into New Orleans. New Orleans, itself five to seven yesterday. These are radar estimates for the past 24 hours, but now we look at the possibility for severe weather east of there. And now I want you to comment a little bit about how much rainfall you are expecting in Kentucky and how bad the flooding may be there, almost 1,000 miles from where the hurricane hit.

KORTY: Well, I guess it depends exactly where the heaviest rainfall falls in Kentucky. Like I originally stated, we're expecting a large general area, two to four inches with this system, from now on. You know, spotty or localized six-inch rainfall totals. That could -- that will produce flooding in some areas. Some of the area has been wet, some of the area has been rather dry this summer. So depending on where you are, it would depend on how much flooding you get.

HARRIS: OK, Brian and Chad, thank you both. We'll be watching this, of course, all day, for days to come.

Still to come on DAYBREAK, the storm is over along the Gulf Coast, but the nightmare goes on. People are dead, people are trapped. We'll get more on the rescue efforts, next. And some of America's biggest companies are already opening their wallets in the wake of Katrina. We'll have more on the relief effort ahead. Our coverage continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Mississippi officials estimate 54 people have died as a result of Hurricane Katrina; 30 are confirmed dead at an apartment complex near the beach in Biloxi. Louisiana's governor predicts death, and more deaths, in her state as well, but there are no official figures just yet.

Katrina's rampage has brought most oil production in the Gulf to a standstill. Oil prices are climbing above $68 a barrel this morning after falling from a record high of nearly $71 dollars. You might even see higher gas prices as a result.

President Bush marks the 60th anniversary of the Allied victory against Japan in World War II. He speaks today at a Naval base in Coronado, California. Yesterday the president said the government will do all it can to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

City officials shelved earlier plans calling for more evacuations of some downtown New Orleans hospitals. Hundreds were taken from those hospitals before Katrina hit and joining me now is Richard Zuschlag of the Acadian Ambulance Service, who helped with many of those evacuations. Richard, good morning.

RICHARD ZUSCHLAG, ACADIAN AMBULANCE SERVICE: Good morning, Tony.

HARRIS: Describe for me -- I've been asking this question a lot, because it gives us a good frame of reference here. Describe for me the last 24 hours for you.

ZUSCHLAG: Well, previously, the previous 48 hours we evacuated about 650 of the sickest patients from the greater New Orleans area, up to Baton Rouge and Alexandria and other parts of Mississippi and Louisiana.

HARRIS: Boy, so 650 of the most seriously ill and injured. How difficult a task was that in terms of coordinating that kind of evacuation?

ZUSCHLAG: Well, we're a private ambulance company and I'm real proud of the employees and the way they came together to work with state and local officials to accomplish this. But our big mission today is we are staging 50 ambulances in Baton Rouge at 8 a.m. this morning and the state police will give us an escort to downtown New Orleans. There's only one way in and out. And we're going to begin evacuating the more critical patients at the city's oldest hospital, which is Charity Hospital.

They had a lot of damage at that old building, a lot of windows are knocked out. And they want to move the critical patients from downtown New Orleans, about 60 miles north, back up to Baton Rouge to a sister hospital. That's going to take a good part of today to be able to do that.

In addition, we just received a call that the Superdome would like air evac some of the critical patients that are on ventilators.

HARRIS: Oh.

ZUSCHLAG: We're going to attempt to fly our seven air ambulance helicopters into the Superdome, mid-morning, to evacuate those patients.

HARRIS: Are you kidding me? That is quite and effort. You have any concerns? Have you done a lot of this kind intricate before?

ZUSCHLAG: Well, we're the largest private ambulance company in the nation and we serve about two-thirds of the stat with over 200 ambulances. And in the 35 years that we've been in business this is the biggest disaster we have ever worked. I'm impressed with the way everybody is working together, but I do think that as daylight comes aboard, we're going to find it is much more critical in New Orleans than what we realized.

We probably have half a dozen hospitals that are stranded, running out of power, that have more than 150, 200 patients each. And I think that before the end of the week they're going to be requesting help to get those critical patients out of New Orleans. In some cases, we're not able to get to them by ground because of the massive flood.

HARRIS: Well, Richard, that was what I was about to ask you. Are you going to be able to get around to some of these hospitals where you've got these -- this effort to evacuate these folks today. Are you even going to be able to get there?

ZUSCHLAG: Well, I think that the federal government is going to have to help with some amphibious carriers to get some of those patients out. We're going to be able to get to the main hospital today, Charity Hospital. We're going to take it one day at a time. But I'm impressed with the way the state and the local and the federal government are working together. And I'm sure all of us coming together will get the job done.

HARRIS: What kinds of capabilities do you have in your ambulances? What kinds of conditions can you handle?

ZUSCHLAG: Well, these are normal truck-type ambulances and they can't go through any kind of water. That is some we're not prepared for. I know that the Wildlife and Fisheries have employed more than 200 boats into the greater New Orleans area. And I believe the Coast Guard has two dozen helicopters and they're trying to rescue people off of roofs this morning.

HARRIS: Boy, Richard, the best. Be safe. It sounds like a tremendous effort that you're undertaking today. And the best to you.

ZUSCHLAG: Thank you very much.

HARRIS: And your teams. OK.

Some of the areas hardest hit by Hurricane Katrina still haven't been reached by rescue teams. And a telling note, cadaver dogs from Florida and Tennessee are expected to arrive in the Gulf Coast later today. CNN's Ted Rowlins is in Mobile, Alabama.

Good morning, Ted.

TED ROWLINS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Tony.

Here in Mobile things are not that bad. They've lost power. There is some flooding downtown. But the real concern is along the Mississippi Gulf Coast, specifically, Biloxi suffered major damage. A lot of buildings were completely demolished. And the streets there were flooded.

At this point, CNN has confirming 30 deaths in the Biloxi area. That number is expected to rise. In that county there are 50 deaths confirmed. That number, too, is expected to rise. And there is some real concern about some smaller cities between Biloxi and New Orleans, including Bay. St. Louis, Pass Christian, Long Beach and Waveland. These are smaller communities that there has not been a lot of contact with, with search and rescue crews. They do plan to go in at first light. They're not sure what they're going to find when they get in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) STEPHEN NODINE, MOBILE CO. COMMISSIONER: Gulfport and Bay St. Louis was ground zero and it is unfortunate we cannot get into those areas yet. Spoke briefly with Haley Barbour over in Mississippi, and it seems as though they cannot get the rescue operations down in that area as of yet. So, tomorrow morning we'll probably see more of the devastation that has been put forth by Katrina.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROWLINS: And we're expecting those rescue efforts to begin in earnest in those areas at first light.

Here in Mobile, streets flooded because of Katrina, but they were expecting a surge of up to 20 feet. That did not happen. That said, downtown suffered some severe flooding. And there is a curfew enacted here from dusk until dawn. And we're under that curfew at this point.

The entire city and this region is without power, as you might imagine. And people are being warned that they may be without for a number of days, possibly weeks -- Tony.

HARRIS: All right. Ted Rowlins in Mobile, Alabama for us. Ted, thank you.

And still to come on DAYBREAK, how you can help the victims of Hurricane Katrina. DAYBREAK will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: As the Red Cross begins its largest ever relief efforts and corporations are lending a hand, Carrie Lee joins us now with a look at a few of the companies helping out.

Good morning -- Carrie.

CARRIE LEE, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Tony.

Well, a couple of the home improvement chains are getting involved. Lowe's, for one, says it has hundreds of truckloads full of emergency supplies ready for relief efforts. And Lowe's is also going to take donations from customers to the Red Cross at its stores and on its Web site. Lowe's is going to match those donations up to $1 million.

Also, Wal-Mart is donating $1 million to the Salvation Army. And like Lowe's, it has set up ways in its stores and on its Web site for customers to support relief efforts.

Finally, T-Mobile is offering free Wi-Fi service at its hot spots in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama through Friday.

Katrina may turn out to be one of the costliest storms ever. One risk consulting firm is now estimating insured damages could be anywhere from $9 billion to $16 billion. And the impact may be felt by consumers all over the country. Just to put that in perspective, Hurricane Andrew back in 1992 cost almost $21 billion. Meanwhile, prices for products from the Gulf Coast region could rise sharply. This includes everything from seafood, shrimp, oysters, catfish, poultry, cotton, and, of course, oil. Oil futures rose $1 a barrel yesterday to about $67, but that was well off the overnight high of over $70. That all cleared the way for stocks to rise yesterday. But right now oil is moving back about 68, and stock futures are pointing to a solidly weaker open this Tuesday morning -- Tony.

HARRIS: Carrie Lee. Carrie, thank you.

And up next on DAYBREAK, we'll take you back to New Orleans. The trouble there is far from over. Levies that everyone thought had held now appear to be giving way. We've got the latest. And back to Biloxi, the damage there is massive. The latest on the rescue efforts are coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: And from the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Tony Harris in for Carol Costello. And good morning, everyone. Thanks for waking up with us. And millions this morning are waking up to disaster.

For many, it's been a sleepless night of tense cleanups and rescues in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The massive storm has left more then 50 dead, thousands homeless. And just because the storm has passed the Gulf Coast it doesn't mean the danger is over. Don't believe me. Spend a couple of minutes now with Chad Myers in the CNN weather center.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: New Orleans is mostly under water this morning. And as Chad just mentioned, a levy break late last night sent even more water into already saturated city streets. The mayor of New Orleans, Ray Nagin, tells CNN affiliate WWL that the city is devastated.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR RAY NAGIN, NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA: We probably have 80 percent of our city under water. With some sections of our city the water is as deep as 20 feet. We still have many of our residents on roofs still waiting to be rescued. We have firemen, policemen, just about everybody that you can think of out there trying to rescue individuals from their roofs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: CNN's Adaora Udoji joins us live from just north of downtown New Orleans, where she has been witness to an amazing story of a recovery effort that I imagine, Adaora, continues at this hour.

Let's check in now with Adaora Udoji, who is standing by just north of downtown New Orleans. And she has been following an amazing rescue effort during these overnight hours. Adaora -- good morning.

ADAORA UDOJI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Tony.

Indeed it's been incredible. We're just north of downtown New Orleans, and we're standing on Interstate 10, which is a major artery. And you can see all of those boats lined up. That's where more than two dozen rescue workers have been painstakingly going through neighborhoods here, blocks and blocks of neighborhoods. Nobody is exactly sure how far the flooding goes.

But homes are flooded six to eight feet of water, some of them all the way up to the attic and some of them even covered. And they have pulled out hundreds of people. We've been watching for many hours now, and it's well above 500 people that they have taken, evacuated from their homes, many of whom were hiding in attics, some of whom were on top of their houses, using their cell phones if they had them to call. If not, there were even some people who were just yelling at the top of their lungs, hoping someone would stop.

Out of that 500-plus or so, from what we understand, there were no major injuries, mostly scrapes and bruises. And, of course, people are exhausted, and they have come off the boats, some of them with no shoes on. We're talking about entire families, lots of children. Some people bringing their pets. And many of them are walking up this ramp. And right now, there are at least 100 people who are sitting and waiting to be taken to evacuation centers.

The boats down here are empty at this point, because we understand or we believe that rescuers are themselves trying to get some rest, because as the sun comes up in the morning they're going to get a much better idea of just how devastated this area has been by Hurricane Katrina.

And this is not the only place, Tony. West of us there are entire neighborhoods that are also flooded. South of us there are neighborhoods that flooded. In fact, one where there's an estimate that 40,000 people's homes are under water.

So a lot of work to be done here in the coming days -- Tony.

HARRIS: And, Adaora, these are very dangerous rescues. So we have to ask the question, who are these people who decided to try to ride it out? Are these people who had the means to get out and just chose to stay? Or are these people who just couldn't get out for whatever reason?

UDOJI: I think the vast majority were people who just didn't have anywhere to go, simply put.

HARRIS: Yes.

UDOJI: But there have been a handful, maybe two or three people that we had spoken to who said were very fatalistic about the hurricane. In fact, one man had survived Hurricane Betsy. He said, look, if this is my time to go and that's my time to go, I'm going to stay in my home. I'm not going anywhere.

But I think the vast majority had nowhere to go. And now with many of their homes in dire straits, and some of them perhaps even destroyed, they have no idea of what's going to happen next -- Tony.

HARRIS: OK. CNN's Adaora Udoji. Adaora, thank you.

All right, let's check in once with Chad Myers in the CNN weather center.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Tony.

We're going to go to what we call the Vipir system here. This is the Titan radar showing 8 to 12 inches of rain, not that far from New Orleans. Now, we've switched to Vipir. And I'll show you what happened in the overnight hours.

There's New Orleans, and I will zoom in a little bit for you. On the north, Lake Pontchartrain on the south there, the squiggly line is the Mississippi River. Right up here in Lakeview, Mid City, Carrollton and City Park, and, in fact, in Bucktown, the old Hammond Highway bridge right there, I'm zooming in, circling it here for you, that's where the levy break occurred. And everywhere from the 17th Street Canal all the way over to the Marconi Canal and between Robert E. Lee Boulevard down to City Park Avenue, that was all flooded by that break right about there.

A 200-foot area broke in that levy. And so all of the water from Lake Pontchartrain has been pouring into New Orleans all night long, and, in fact, has been pouring right down Canal Street all the way into downtown.

So, as we wake up, as we get some more sunshine today and get some aerials of this area, I think we're going to see more devastation than we could have had and should have had without that levy break for sure.

HARRIS: Chad, the area of that break, is that a residential area? Are we talking about homes, apartment buildings and the like there?

MYERS: Oh, it's all residential. Absolutely, all residential. You're talking little towns or cities of Lakeview. You're talking Mid City. Carrollton is up there. Gentilly. City Park. They're all up there. And actually where this happened is a little area called Bucktown. But that's absolutely all residential, and all of those homes that you see there between -- the canal break was on the 17th Street side, Canal side, all the way over to the Marconi Canal side there.

HARRIS: OK.

MYERS: So, you kind of have to think about not the whole city flooded but certainly that side of that canal did.

HARRIS: Right. OK, Chad, thank you. MYERS: You're welcome.

HARRIS: And still to come on DAYBREAK, the rescue effort in New Orleans is nothing short of epic. We're going to give you a look at the depths of the devastation that's like nothing you've ever seen or heard. We promise you. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Part of the economic effect of Hurricane Katrina will be felt far away from the Gulf Coast. That's because a large part of the country's oil production has been shut down due to the storm.

CNN's Ali Velshi joins us now from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, with more on the impact.

Ali -- good morning.

ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Tony.

We are, as you said, in Baton Rouge, heading toward Houma, Louisiana, which is one of the places from which they ferry workers in and out to the rigs in the Gulf Coast.

Now, what we have been learning is that, you know, oil prices came back down a little yesterday from their highs on Monday morning on news that the government might release some of the 700 million barrels that they hold in reserve in case the shortage of production starts to work its way through the system.

Now, what's happening is we're learning more and more about potential damage to rigs and platforms in the Gulf of Mexico. We know that at least two rigs that are operated by Shell are adrift. We've heard rumors of more.

The flights are starting to go out. They're starting to send more workers out, particularly to the western side of the Gulf. But as of today, they're going to start moving more and more workers onto the Eastern and Central Gulf. There will be flyovers at first to check that those rigs are not damaged or to see which rigs are damaged and to send more workers out there.

So, the crux of it here is that as we learn of more damage, of that which is visible and looking at the rigs, and the pipelines which are not running oil right now and the refineries, as that flows through and we learn about that, you might see oil start to go up again.

Already the futures price of oil for trading today, which opens at 10:00 in New York, 10:00 Eastern in New York, is higher than it was at the close yesterday, looking at above $68 right now -- Tony.

HARRIS: And, Ali, how long, so far even, have those rigs and those platforms been shut down?

VELSHI: Well, they've been shut down in most cases since Saturday. And that's taken about 2 million barrels a day out of the system. But if you combine this oil that's come out of the system that hasn't been there, the stuff that's not going to refineries and not running to pipelines, by some estimates more than 90 percent of the oil that's supposed to be coming through the Gulf and out of it into the refineries isn't going through. And clearly, that's going to be felt.

What some people are saying is as we learn of the damage today and yesterday, the rigs we learned about yesterday, you might see an almost immediate spike in the price of gas. Some people are expecting to wake up this morning to prices 15 to 30 cents higher per gallon of self-serve unleaded. Now that may not be across the board.

HARRIS: OK.

VELSHI: But this is a pinch that's going to be felt across the country.

HARRIS: Are we going to get any help from OPEC?

VELSHI: Well, OPEC has offered to help, but there are two problems with that. One is that OPEC doesn't necessarily have the capacity to help. And the second thing is that the oil that's refined in this part of the country is light, sweet crude. It's a type of oil with a sulfur content and a weight. OPEC normally produces heavy, sour crude. You can't just put that into the same system and have it refined the same way.

HARRIS: Ali Velshi. Ali, thank you. Good information for us.

Survivors of Hurricane Katrina are telling heartbreaking stories of their struggle against the killer storm.

Reporter Jennifer Mayerle of CNN affiliate WKRG in Mobile spoke with a man who lost his wife in the Biloxi floods.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JENNIFER MAYERLE, CNN AFFILIATE WKRG REPORTER: How are you doing, sir?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not very good.

MAYERLE: What happened?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The house just split in half.

MAYERLE: Your house split in half?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) bedroom, and we got up in the roof, all the way up to the roof. And water came in, and the house just opened up, divided.

MAYERLE: Who was at your house with you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My wife. MAYERLE: Where is she now?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't find her body. She's gone.

MAYERLE: You can't find your wife?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. She told -- I tried. I hold her hand tight as I could. And she told me, "You can't hold me." She said, "Take care of the kids and the grandkids."

MAYERLE: What's your wife name so we can put this out there?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Toni Jackson (ph).

MAYERLE: OK. And what's your name?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hardy Jackson (ph).

MAYERLE: Where are you guys going?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We ain't got nowhere to go. I don't know where I'm going. I'm lost. That's all I had. That's all I had. I don't know what I'm going to do.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Do you have any idea of how many stories like that we're going to hear today? The story to be told at first light today, it will be amazing. That was reporter Jennifer Mayerle of CNN affiliate WKRG. And we don't know yet what happened to that man's wife.

And up next on DAYBREAK, the situation in parts of New Orleans is heartbreaking. Coming up, we'll show you just how difficult it is through the eyes of one of our most seasoned correspondents.

ANNOUNCER: Keep watching CNN, your hurricane headquarters.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: As you can imagine, major rescue operations have been going on overnight in New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. CNN's Adaora Udoji tells us crews and boats have ferried some 500 people from their flooded homes. Some had to be pulled from their attics and rooftops.

Seeing the human toll and the devastation of this disaster is very emotional for both survivors and reporters covering Hurricane Katrina. Just listen to CNN's Jeanne Meserve in New Orleans.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We originally set out to do live shots from a local radio station that was determined to stay on the air through all of this. They decided that we were hampering their operations. And so we got punted. And we befriended a few security guards who gave us access to this garage. And it actually gave us quite a good view of the city. But we could watch as things transpired and the electricity went out from one sector to the next.

But also, it gave us some shelter. We have here some of the super structure of the garage right above us. And it really blocked the worst of the rain, the worst of the wind. So, we could operate even at the height of the storm.

I am looking over a scene of utter devastation. An entire neighborhood, water has come up to the eaves of the houses. And I am told this is not the worst of it, that beyond this is part of the upper Ninth Ward, I'm told. I'm told the main part of the ward further down is even worse. The water is over the houses.

This is a life-and-death situation. I think by the end of the night we're going to find a lot more deaths than we ever imagined.

We've talked to a couple of the people who have been rescued. They say the water came up very suddenly after the worst of the storm had gone by. It was the surge. They said it was so quick they barely had time to get to their attics.

One guy had bare feet. He said he couldn't manage to get to his shoes. Another woman who I saw was in a housecoat and flip-flops. It obviously had caught people unaware.

There are people in these houses. They are one-story houses with small attics. The water came up very suddenly, they tell us, after most of the storm had passed. They believe it was the surge. It came up quickly. They fled to their attics. They looked shell-shocked. They looked like refugees. They are refugees.

As I left tonight, darkness, of course, had fallen, and you can hear people yelling for help. You can hear the dogs yelping, all of them stranded, all of them hoping someone will come. But for tonight, they've had to suspend the rescue efforts. It's just too hazardous for them to be out on the boats. There are electrical lines that are still alive. There are gas lines that are still spewing gas. There are cars that are submerged. There are other large objects the boats can't operate.

So, they had to suspend operations and leave those people in the homes.

We are sometimes wacky thrill seekers. But when you stand in the dark and you hear people yelling for help and no one can get to them, it's a totally different experience.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: And "Now in the News." Mississippi officials estimate 54 people have died as a result of Hurricane Katrina. Thirty people are confirmed dead at an apartment complex near the beach in Biloxi. Louisiana's governor predicts deaths in her state as well. And there is a 200-foot breach in a levy in New Orleans. And water from Lake Pontchartrain is flowing into the streets, but there are no official figures yet.

In northern Iraq, a U.S. helicopter has been hit by small-arms fire. One pilot was killed, the other wounded. The Kiowa Warrior chopper was killed in Tal Afar.

President Bush marks the 60th anniversary of the allied victory against Japan in World War II. He speaks today at a naval base in Coronado, California. Yesterday, the president said the government will do all it can to help victims of Hurricane Katrina.

From the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Tony Harris in for Carol Costello. "AMERICAN MORNING" starts right now.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks, Tony. I'm Soledad O'Brien. The devastation of Katrina is catastrophic. And it may be getting worse. In New Orleans, Louisiana, a levy holding back Lake Pontchartrain breaks. Now there is more flooding in downtown New Orleans. The city's mayor describes a desperate scene.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com