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CNN Live Today

The Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina

Aired August 30, 2005 - 12:00   ET

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

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Daryn Kagan. Welcome back to our continuing coverage of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. We have correspondents up and down the Gulf Coast as we bring you the latest on recovery efforts and search for survivors.
Our Gary Tuchman just minutes ago made it to a town that we haven't heard anything from so far, Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. He's using a videophone.

Let's get to you, Gary. And tell us what you have found.

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, we are in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, extreme southwestern Mississippi, perhaps the hardest-hit area during Hurricane Katrina. This city is basically closed off from the outside world. There's been no cell service, no telephone service, absolutely no electricity, no water.

And right now, you are seeing what used to be US 90. This is the easterly direction. This is the beach road here in coastal Mississippi.

US 90 for a mile stretch, this bridge across the St. Louis Bay, which connects to the Gulf of Mexico, has disappeared from this hurricane. All you can see are the wood planks that connect this part of southwestern Mississippi to the part over there, which is Gulfport and Biloxi in that direction. There's now no way to get there. The road has been destroyed from the hurricane.

You can see here where some of the cement collapsed. And obviously right now we're using a videophone. So we're going to move a little slower, so it's harder to see. But we thought it was very important that you see it immediately.

And you can see this is the concrete that collapsed into the bay. Over here is where dozens of homes were. Those homes are now completely gone. They have been swept into the water.

As far as casualties here, probably the most important part of this report I'm giving you right now, we don't know. Police say there are no confirmed casualties. There are lots of people all over the city who basically look like refugees with shopping carts with all of their belongings, seeing what they can do.

There's a good spirit here right now, but we don't know about the casualties. This over here will give you an idea of some of the homes that are still standing, some of the homes that perhaps were a little more well built, but were heavily damaged, too. We haven't seen a home without damage since we've been here in this small town of Bay St. Louis.

With us now is a woman who has an unbelievable story to tell us.

I'll have you turn this way a little bit.

This is Nikki Nicholson. Nikki owned a bed and breakfast that was right behind us. The bed and breakfast is gone. She stayed here during the storm. The bed and breakfast is destroyed. Wait until you hear how she survived.

What did you do after your bed and breakfast was destroyed?

NIKKI NICHOLSON, OWNED BED AND BREAKFAST: Well, there were seven of us in the inn, the Bay Town Inn, and -- which is right in Old Town. And as it started to sway and started to crumble, we went from the first floor to the second floor and tried to keep the front floor facing the bay from blowing in. But it finally -- the tidal wave just blew it in.

And it start to sway and to crumble. We were at the top. And then as the roof started to come apart, we just grabbed on to whatever we could, the debris, and got to this fabulous big old oak tree.

And three of us clung to the oak tree with my little dogs probably for about three hours. We had a wonderful elderly couple with us. And they are OK. The stands, they floated away on a piece of floor, I guess. And then another couple that was with us, he clung to a tree.

TUCHMAN: Tell me about this elderly couple that floated away on a piece of wood. And what happened to them?

NICHOLSON: They floated down Demotlason (ph) block, and they made it to a house.

TUCHMAN: Demotlason (ph) block?

NICHOLSON: This street that I was on, it's called Demotlason (ph) Street.

TUCHMAN: So they were on a piece of wood, they floated down the block.

NICHOLSON: And they made it to a house maybe halfway down the block, and it hit the house. It didn't go any further.

So he broke in the glass, and they were able to go inside. And they stayed there until the police got them this morning. Yes.

TUCHMAN: So they were safely rescued, too?

NICHOLSON: Last night, yes.

TUCHMAN: How long were you on the tree for?

NICHOLSON: Probably about three hours. TUCHMAN: How did you get off the tree to safety?

NICHOLSON: Well, I didn't think we would, because at one point, the tree's probably about eight feet off the ground, and my house was about 32 feet off. So storm surge of 40 or so. And at some points, the water was over our head, the wind, the water, waves.

And finally, it started to recede maybe about noon or so, 12:15. And we could see a little picket fence, and we knew how low the water was getting. So we slowly -- we had a towel. Doug (ph) had a towel, and he just kind of got himself down. And then Kevin (ph) was with us, and he got himself down. And then me and my dogs down.

TUCHMAN: And how frightened were you when this water was rising?

NICHOLSON: Well, I think I made a few promises. I've never been really religious, but I think I am now. Yes.

TUCHMAN: I want to thank you, Nikki, for talking. I know how difficult this was for you.

NICHOLSON: Thanks.

TUCHMAN: There are people all over the world who have been calling CNN and wondering how the people in Bay St. Louis and the southwestern part of this state, where the hurricane is, how they are doing. And you can tell them.

NICHOLSON: They are very strong. There's a lot of good people here. Everybody's going to be OK.

TUCHMAN: Thank you for talking.

NICHOLSON: OK.

TUCHMAN: Daryn, we throw it back to you. We'll be here all day checking out what's going on. But we can tell you lots of neighborhoods here are under water.

Back to you.

KAGAN: Yes, and there's going to be a lot more stories to hear throughout the day. Gary, thank you for bringing us some of the first pictures and first stories from Bay St. Louis.

And as Gary was saying, we've been getting a lot of questions about that.

President Bush today in San Diego, Coronado Island, commemorating the end of World War II -- the anniversary of the end of World War II.

Let's go ahead and listen in to the president.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This morning our hearts and prayers are with our fellow citizens along the Gulf Coast who have suffered so much from Hurricane Katrina. These are trying times for the people of these communities. We know that many are anxious to return to their homes.

It's not possible at this moment. Right now our priority is on saving lives. And we are still in the midst of search and rescue operations.

I urge everyone in the effected areas to continue to follow instructions from state and local authorities. The federal, state and local governments are working side by side to do all we can to help people get back on their feet. And we have got a lot of work to do.

Our teams and equipment are in place. And we are beginning to move in the help that people need.

Americans who wish to help can call 1-800-HELP-NOW, or log on to redcross.org, or get in touch with the Salvation Army. The good folks in Louisiana and Mississippi and Alabama and other effected areas are going to need the help and compassion and prayers of our fellow citizens.

KAGAN: And that was President Bush speaking at the naval station at Coronado near San Diego, commemorating the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II. President Bush, by the way, going back to his ranch at Crawford, Texas, tonight. Then he is heading back to D.C., to the White House, cutting that vacation short. The reason we're given, because of the hurricane destruction along the Gulf Coast.

Let's get back to our coverage.

Before the president's remark, we were listening and checking in with our Gary Tuchman on the western portion of Mississippi, in Bay St. Louis. Let's head to the other end of that state, to Biloxi, Mississippi, a place known far and wide for its casinos and as a vacation resort.

Our Randi Kaye is on the phone now from Biloxi with the latest from that town -- Randi.

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Daryn.

We just arrived in Biloxi a short time ago. We made our way here this morning from Mobile. It's only about 30 miles, that drive. Well, it took us almost six hours.

We left at 5:30 this morning from our hotel in Mobile, which didn't have any power (INAUDIBLE). And the reason it took us so long was because the roads were closed. And the main highways to Biloxi are closed.

So we had to go through (INAUDIBLE). There were downed trees in most of those roads. People were holding up power lines for each other so cars could get through.

It was really quite a scene. But certainly an effort on the part of most of the (INAUDIBLE) on the road there to help each other out.

This is certainly the hardest-hit area from what we've seen so far (INAUDIBLE). A 25-foot wall of water coming through here. Just an absolute mess.

Gasoline stations just blown apart. You have the emergency crews and the fire crews out and about. We are watching them right now as they are going -- they're going door to door.

Stores blown apart, Daryn. Just completely blown wide open. And plenty of looting going on.

We saw plenty of families inside taking what they want. People in the streets everywhere, rooftops in a neighbor's yard.

Car dealerships, you look at them, the cars are just stacked on top of each other. The homes, right off their foundations. We drove by the football stadium here in Biloxi, and there's -- one of the stadium light towers with the big lights on it is literally just snapped in half straight over the seating in that stadium.

So animals, people, everybody just roaming the streets, looking very confused, very concerned. And really just lost. I mean, there's water, there's mud everywhere. And it appears this town is very, very lost -- Daryn.

KAGAN: That's our Randi Kaye on the phone from Biloxi, Mississippi. We are going to let you go and do some more reporting from that casino town.

Meanwhile, Katrina is no longer a hurricane. In fact, it's now a tropical depression, as I understand it. But still out there turning around, doing damage potentially.

Our Chad Myers is here with the latest on Katrina, where it stands now.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, and when it got downgraded from the storm to the depression, that was the biggest piece of breaking news that I really wanted to tell you. Winds now down to 35 miles per hour.

Now, that doesn't mean that that still can't bring down a power line or two, because you can still get a limb at 35. And if it's 35, that's sustained, you can get a gust of 45. But there are the coordinates, 36.3 and 87.5. Winds at 35 miles per hour.

The storm itself is going to travel right on up and along a stationary boundary. That boundary's important, because right to the south of that boundary is where there could be some flooding.

Kentucky, Tennessee, southern Indiana and most of Ohio, temperatures here cool. Not because of a cold front, because there's not going to be any sunshine there right along the Ohio Valley.

Here's the rain now coming into parts of western Florida to about Cedar Key. Also into southern Georgia.

We had those tornadoes. Showed you pictures of those yesterday. There will probably be more today. That's what these red boxes are. Those are tornado watch boxes. There are no warnings, which means there are no current or active storms that are big enough, that have circulation to maker to tornadoes. But if the boxes are here, that potential exists.

And then farther off on toward the north, look how far this storm extends. It's raining in Boston. All from the tropical moisture that came out of this storm yesterday.

Follow it back, a continuous line right through Columbus and Dayton and Evansville and Louisville. And then back, finally, you can see where the circulation is. It's not an eye anymore because it's not a hurricane. But the circulation going this way and then going this way.

Nashville, you just had a wind gust to 39 miles per hour -- Daryn.

KAGAN: So Chad, at one point do we get to say Katrina is someone for the history books?

MYERS: When Katrina gets absorbed, as we call it, into a northern latitude storm. That probably happens tomorrow night, maybe 8:00, 10:00. And we call it extra tropical.

Right now, it still has a warm part of the center here. That's how hot and muggy it is. When it no longer has that warmth, it's no longer called a warm core storm. It's called a cold core storm. And then it no longer has a name.

KAGAN: All right. Still very much here.

MYERS: Yes.

KAGAN: Still very much with us. Chad, thank you.

MYERS: You're welcome.

KAGAN: Well, the devastation from the storm extends far beyond the coastal states that have been declared federal disaster areas. Remnants of the hurricane spawned tornadoes in Georgia, including these pictures from Carroll County. This is west of Atlanta.

It destroyed about 30 homes. Winds also dismantled 17 huge structures. A lot of chicken farms in that area that were hit. They housed about half-million chickens for the local poultry industry.

To the north, a flood watch blankets all of Kentucky as the weekend storm dumps heavy rains. Up to a half foot of rain has already fallen. A 10-year-old girl drowned when she was playing in high waters and was swept into a culvert.

Katrina may have just been downgraded to a tropical depression, but it still could pose problems for the parts of the U.S. Just go to CNN.com and you can see pictures there. You are going to see pictures of Katrina's chaos. You can also learn about the relief effort. Our coverage of Hurricane Katrina continues. A rude awakening for New Orleans residents. Their troubles are only starting, only going to get worse in the Big Easy. A look at how much damage has already been done.

Plus, Katrina has the Red Cross launching their largest-ever relief operation. We're going to go live to hard-hit Biloxi to find out more on what they're doing there. We just heard from our Randi Kaye. We're going to go back live to that town.

Our coverage of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Our correspondents and crews in the field put in incredibly long hours during disasters like this. And I don't share that with you to get any kind of sympathy because we volunteer. And this is the business that we are in.

But I give you this perspective. As we watch Jeanne Meserve's coverage from yesterday, you're going to have a chance here to see the human toll and devastation of this disaster becomes very emotional, not only for the survivors, but for the reporters covering Hurricane Katrina.

A chance now to listen in to our Jeanne Meserve, who has been covering the story from New Orleans.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

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 kind of 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. 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 where water has come up to the ease of the houses. And I am told this is not the worst of it. That beyond this, 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 are 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 a 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 house coat and flip-flops. Obviously had caught people totally 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 the storm had passed. They believe it was the surge.

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 in 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 VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: And that was a compilation of reports from our Jeanne Meserve.

Now I want to show you these new pictures that we're getting in. This actually shot yesterday, but new pictures we're just getting into us. WDSU.

Looters basically taking advantage of people whose homes and whose stores have been left unattended. And this story of looting is one unfortunate that we're hearing. These pictures coming to us from New Orleans, but we are hearing these stories of looting all the way even in Biloxi, Mississippi, all up and down the Gulf Coast.

There will be many stories of incredible -- incredible stories of people coming to the aid and doing wonderful things. And then there will be this, too, the other side of a tragedy. Looting taking place in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. These pictures from WDSU in New Orleans.

Our coverage continues after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) KAGAN: If you were with us riding out the storm of Hurricane Katrina yesterday, you saw our meteorologist Rob Marciano literally ride out the storm. Sometimes he was able to be out in it. And then there were parts of the hours where he actually had to take refuge inside this motel that was literally crumbling around him.

Well, he made it through the storm and he was with us live now from Biloxi, Mississippi.

Rob, good to see you safe and in good shape.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hi, Daryn. Thanks very much. It's good to be here as well.

We are back at the scene where we did a live shot two nights ago before the storm arrived. The spot that we evacuated to that hotel, that still got practically destroyed with wind because of the storm surge we were afraid of, and now we are back at the scene where that storm surge hit. And it's unbelievable.

The camera really doesn't do it justice. But the damage that we've seen just driving across the causeway and down to this Highway 90, which at one point was submerged in 20 feet of water, you can just imagine what it left behind.

Over my shoulder, I mean, these are just emergency vehicles. But over my shoulder, you can see down Highway 90. This is a strip of casinos.

The Hard Rock Casino down there was under construction. That's pretty much destroyed.

Look at the roof that -- I'm trying to figure out where that came from. It could very well have come from inland and been floated back to Highway 90 and then dropped on Highway 90 as the storm surge receded.

So unbelievable power of nature. And we were just glad that we got out of here.

There was -- you know, there's always somebody that sticks around. And I suppose, for our purposes, you know, it's useful.

There's a guy who flew in from California and stayed in this hotel, which is a very -- you know, it's a pretty rock-solid hotel. But they spent a lot of money to make it virtually hurricane proof. And he shot some video -- I think we can roll that -- of the storm surge actually coming in as the storm arrived.

Now, we were on the right side of the storm, as you know. This storm made a secondary landfall along the Mississippi and Louisiana border. And to the right of the eye is where you see the strongest winds and, therefore, the strongest piling up of the water.

And the water continued to rise to a point where we estimate, you know, about halfway up the light poles around here, somewhere 18 or 19 feet. It could easily be 20 to 25 or better down closer to the eye.

So it's just mind-boggling what the ocean can do and what a storm like this can do. Even coming ashore, not coming ashore as a Cat 5, big deal. You know, Isabelle two years ago didn't come ashore as a major hurricane. But it had flooding all the way up to Baltimore. But at one point, it was a Cat 5.

So just some of the things that have been destroyed, or at least damaged. Five casinos have been major damage. St. Thomas Apostle, a Catholic Church, 100-year-old church, completely destroyed here. I mentioned the Hard Rock Cafe Casino is destroyed.

Mississippi State as a whole, 80 percent without power. As far as fatalities go, the governor says Harrison County, of which Biloxi is in, there have been five confirmed fatalities. But there are search and rescue crews in from all over the country for fear that there could be somewhere between 50 and 80. We certainly hope that that number doesn't come to fruition.

Another item is that Biloxi is kind of situated -- it doesn't really have a barrier island like a lot of the -- you know, a lot of the towns along, say, the Florida Panhandle or down along Florida itself. It kind of sits right on the Gulf of Mexico.

And then, around the backside of it is Biloxi Bay. So it's almost surrounded by water much the same way New Orleans is. And there are obviously some bridges that go from Biloxi over towards the mainland where we were.

And there's reports of one of the bridges there possibly collapsing. So we are try trying to chase down that story. Possibly, also, folks, you know, on that bridge, trying to make a last ditch- effort to get out of here.

Daryn, I don't know why there would be people still here. There were mandatory evacuations. The authorities were out when we were doing our final live shots before the storm, you know, on bullhorns, warning people to get out. And it's -- it's disturbing to know -- to find out if people lost their lives staying here for the storm.

That's the latest we have, Daryn. It's quite a sight. And obviously the stories will continue to develop throughout the coming days.

KAGAN: It makes it all the more mind-boggling the guy who came from California. I Miles talked to him earlier. I always wanted to see one of these things. I always wanted to see a hurricane, like it was on his list of things to see, like the Eiffel Tower.

Came in and shot that video. We are appreciative for the pictures, but you have got to wonder -- you've got to wonder the thinking.

MARCIANO: You know, I was -- I was surprised at how calm he was. He did a bit of a narrative. I watched the entire tape from the satellite truck. And up until, you know, the final point where floors were actually dropping out of the hotel, he was pretty calm. And, you know, my crew and I, we were five miles inland, and we were getting peppered by 100-plus mile winds.

And our hotel was being peeled apart. And we were all pretty nervous. You better believe that.

So I mean, I've got to hand it to that guy. And I thank him for the pictures. But that's not necessarily the smartest thing in the world.

KAGAN: No. To use a lexicon from my home state, that's one lucky dude. Absolutely.

Thank you, Rob.

MARCIANO: All right.

KAGAN: We'll be checking in with you when you get a better look inland at Biloxi there.

Well, it did take that town in Mississippi, the brunt of Katrina's wrath. The storm surge described as a wall of water more than 20 feet deep.

The Red Cross is launching a major recovery operation for the area. We are going to talk to them about what they are doing when our coverage continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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