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American Morning

Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina

Aired August 30, 2005 - 07:29   ET

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

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back. Live from Biloxi, Mississippi. Look at the scene here. Just littered with debris and mud. This is the Beau Rivage Casino in Biloxi. Thousand of people come here, a $700 million complex. The flood waters here reached 25 feet, which meant that the first two floors of that casino and hotel were filled up. Fortunately, it was evacuated.
Unfortunately, down the beach -- and we can't get to it, because the road is washed out -- there is an apartment complex, which apparently because of that same storm surge, there was a terrible loss. Thirty lives lost in one apartment complex. In all, 54 lives are lost, at least accounted for right now in Mississippi. And that's just a little part of the picture. In all, there are perhaps hundreds of deaths that will be tallied.

And as we speak, rescues are under way in the city of New Orleans, where the toll could grow very high.

Clearly, this is a storm which will go down in history, if not the greatest or most significant natural disaster to hit the United States, certainly in the top two. Certainly equivalent to Andrew and maybe much worse as we try to assess it as daybreak occurs all across the Gulf states affected by Katrina.

For more on all of this let's go back to New York and Soledad and Carol.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Miles, thanks.

And, in fact, as he mentions, daylight now. And that really means that the rescue workers can get out there. It was a big problem. They could not see what they were doing. And so many of those rescues actually had to be called off. So they could hear people crying for help, couldn't get to them. Way too dangerous.

Obviously, the massive storm and the aftermath as well is our headline this morning. Making headlines clearly around papers around the country as well.

Let's show what is happening in "The New York Times." You can see -- oh, this is "The Washington Post." The "Storm Thrashes the Gulf Coast." New Orleans on the front page. This picture, unfortunately, time and time and time again, this was the scene as they tried -- the rescuers tried to pull people literally out from their rooftops. The people had cut their own way out with a hatchet out of their rooftop and then plucked them... CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: What a frightening experience. You start on the first floor, the second floor, and then the waters just rapidly rise around you. You go into the attic, and sometimes there's not an easy way out.

S. O'BRIEN: Well, they were advising people -- I mean, Miles reported that for us yesterday -- if you're going to higher ground within your own house, bring a hatchet in case you need to cut your way out. And we saw that.

COSTELLO: And a lot of people did.

S. O'BRIEN: They sure did.

COSTELLO: Exactly. Let's go to the "The New York Times" now and look at the front page. You can see this picture. A lot of boat rescues. That's on the front pages of "The New York Times" as well.

And, you know, just the articles list some of the devastation from these areas. Some of the worst damage reports came from east of the historic city of New Orleans with an estimated 40,000 homes flooded in one parish alone. In Gulfport, the storm left three of five hospitals without working emergency rooms. Beachfront homes wrecked, and major stretches of the Coastal Highway flooded and impassible.

S. O'BRIEN: When you talk about 40,000 homes and you're talking about -- that's in one parish alone.

COSTELLO: Just in one parish.

S. O'BRIEN: You just do the math. You're only talking about then over the number of parishes affected, and then you talk about how many states have been affected. And it's a huge problem.

Let's throw the "Houston Chronicle" up. As you can see, they have some terrific pictures on their front page as well, just how bad it was, and a really clear map of the path of Katrina, the headline there. Clearly, the "Devastating Storm Leaves Dozens Dead."

COSTELLO: Yes.

S. O'BRIEN: Many people expect dozens will rise to hundreds as soon as, again, as the light goes up.

COSTELLO: Yes. The only number we have right now is 50 confirmed dead, and that number could fluctuate throughout the morning as well.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes. It looks -- actually that number is now 65 and 54 in Mississippi and Alabama is what we are being told. So it's just an absolute mess. And we're getting a sense of what's happening, again, as the rescuers can see what work they are doing.

Let's get you the latest coming out of New Orleans. That levee that was holding back waters from Lake Pontchartrain has been breached. It's dumping water into the downtown area. The breach is said to be about two blocks long. The mayor, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin says that about 80 percent of the city now is under water, and it's 20 feet deep in some parts.

In Mississippi, officials say 54 people there are dead. Thirty of those are believed, as Miles reported, to have been killed in just one Biloxi beachfront apartment building. We'll get details on that as they become available this morning.

Then Alabama, there are two confirmed deaths. The streets in downtown Mobile under water, the worst flooding to hit that city in nearly a century.

COSTELLO: Katrina, as you know, is now a tropical storm. Chad is at the CNN weather center with the latest.

(WEATHER REPORT)

S. O'BRIEN: Back to the rescue efforts and the helping efforts. Today, the American Red Cross is launching its largest mobilization in history for a single natural disaster.

Marty Evans is the president and CEO of the American Red Cross. She joins us from the Red Cross Disaster Operations Center in Washington, D.C.

Ms. Evans, nice to see you. Thanks for talking with us this morning.

MARTY EVANS, PRESIDENT, AMERICAN RED CROSS: Thank you.

S. O'BRIEN: The biggest mobilization of your resources going across three states. Where do you begin?

EVANS: Well, Soledad, we began it several days by opening shelters. We have over 200 shelters opened. And we're prepared to open many, many more as this storm continues to cause flooding and require people to seek safety.

We have staged extensive supplies, meals, cleanup kits, hygiene kits, all staged to come into the area as soon as the roads are passable. They will be coming in, augmenting what we already had on the scene.

And we've mobilized our 860 Red Cross chapters across the country.

The thing that's great about America is neighbors help neighbors. And we have neighbors in California and Maine, Red Cross volunteers that are helping out in the effort. They are already in the area. There are going to be more coming into the area. So, this is really an all-hands effort for the Red Cross.

S. O'BRIEN: You know, Marty, you say as soon as the roads are passable. And we look at these pictures, you know, these boat rescues, and people trying to make their way through the streets, which are completely waterlogged. That could be a really long time before the streets are passable, before your workers can actually get to people with all of those supplies you talked about.

EVANS: Well, we work very, very closely with state and local authorities. We have our representatives right in the operation center, so we know right away when it is safe to travel. And we're encouraging everyone who are in shelters already and in safe areas not on try to travel, because if they're out on the roads it's going to impede not only the emergency responders but it's impede the help that the Red Cross is bringing in.

S. O'BRIEN: How can you house the number of people who might need it? For example, you talked about the shelters that are set up. But if you talk about the 10,000 people or so in the Superdome, let's assume a number of them lost everything. You talk about the people in the Ninth Ward. It looks like 40,000 of those people in the areas around them as well may have lost everything. Can you really deal with all of those numbers of displaced people?

EVANS: Well, the Red Cross is not will only entity that's working on this. We work very, very closely with FEMA. We work with the Natural Guard. We work with the state and local authorities. So, the national plans call for mobilizing all of those resources, come together and deal with that challenge.

It will be a challenge, there's no question. But with the resources of the combined government, the Red Cross, with other nonprofit organizations, I think we're going to be able to handle it. And we're working closely right now to get those mobilization plans in operation.

S. O'BRIEN: Have they told you, Marty, how long it's going to be before you really have a good sense of the scope of this problem? I know, you know, sunrise was not all that long ago. And the choppers are now just going out, really getting a good first view after overnight. But when will you really know what you need?

EVANS: Well, we're going to know pieces of it. It's an unfolding story. As I say, we have people in the emergency operation center. So, as the information becomes available, you know, first, in a macro kind of way, but then as we get to neighborhoods, we'll have that information right away. And we'll be able to respond and bring help into those specific areas. So, this is really a coordinated operation, and Red Cross is part of that big coordination.

S. O'BRIEN: Marty Evans is the president and CEO of the American Red Cross. Marty, as always, nice to see you. Thanks for talking to us.

EVANS: Thank you, Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: There are other stories making headlines this morning. Let's get right to Carol with that.

Good morning again.

COSTELLO: Thanks, Soledad. "Now in the News."

U.S. Marines are targeting some safe houses used by al Qaeda in western Iraq near the Syrian border. A top operative is believed to be among the casualties.

In the meantime, a U.S. helicopter was hit by small-arms fire in Tal Afar. That's in northern Iraq. One pilot was killed, the other wounded. The wounded pilot was apparently able to get the helicopter airborne again and leave the area.

There has been another deadly fire at an apartment complex in Paris. French police say at least seven people were killed, including a 6-year-old child. About a dozen others were wounded. The fire comes just days after a deadly blaze killed 17 people in Paris. It's not clear what caused this most recent fire.

President Bush is praising World War II veterans as he commemorates the 60th anniversary of the end of that conflict. The president is expected to draw similarities between World War II and the global war on terror. CNN will have live coverage of the president's address from a naval base in California. That will happen today at noon Eastern.

And Katrina has unleashed a band of stormy weather, including tornados. You heard Chad talking about that. An apparent twister touched down Monday in Carroll County near the Georgia/Alabama border. Some 30 homes were destroyed. Hundreds were left without power. And the storms are expected to continue this morning.

Let's head back to Miles O'Brien.

Hello, Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Hello, Carol.

Live in Biloxi, Mississippi, where the scene of devastation is tremendous. No power, no lights. And a terrible toll. Fifty-four known dead in Mississippi alone. Thirty in one apartment complex about a mile from where I stand here on the beach of Biloxi. We'll give you an update after a short break. Stay with us for more AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: More than a million homes and businesses in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama are without power this morning. Entergy and electric utility companies servicing customers in the area says it expects a long and difficult effort to get the power back on.

Curt Herbert is an executive vice president for the Entergy Corporation. He joins us by phone from Jackson, Mississippi.

Good morning, sir.

CURT HERBERT, JR., EXECUTIVE V.P. EXTERNAL AFFAIRS, ENTERGY CORP.: Good morning, Carol. COSTELLO: So a million people without power. Where in the world do you start?

HERBERT: Well, you start where you always start. You start by being thankful for what you have, and then you go out and you do your job. We've got crews that are going out this morning.

I know you mentioned helicopters earlier that would be out looking at the areas, and we're doing exactly that to assess the areas, to see exactly what the damage is, to see when it is safe to go in and make the repairs and the restoration effort. And we are getting about that business as soon as possible.

We lost actually right at 1.1 million customers. We have gotten about 65,000 back on at this point. And we are just going to continue this effort.

I have to tell you, Carol, this is, you know, just a giant catastrophe. It's something like no utility or no one in mankind would ever want to envision. And we're struggling against enormous obstacles here.

COSTELLO: Let's talk about the obstacles, Curt, because, as you know, as everyone knows, water and electricity do not mix. The mayor of New Orleans says the city is 80 percent under water. Some of the water is 20 feet deep. So, how do you get in there and start getting power back on?

HERBERT: Well, we can't get power back on until we can get the flooded areas taken care of. And as you talked about, many of our facilities are still flooded.

So, what we will do is we will be assessing the areas. Those areas that are safe to send crews into, we will be doing that. We've got 4,000 crews that are ready to go that are going to be doing this work.

But, Carol, the one thing that I would elicit your help on is to appeal to other utilities to reach out and help us. We would like to have many more crews. When you've got 1.1 million customers out, you need as many people as you can.

But we've had damage, as you know, down in Florida. We have utilities working there. We have a lot of damage throughout the Southeast. So many crews are working, but we appeal to anyone who could come down and help us.

COSTELLO: I know some utility workers from the New York area are headed your way. So there, that call for help that is out there. Realistically, how long will it take to restore power to most people?

HERBERT: It's going to take more time than they're comfortable with. And there's just no way to put this into a timeframe to say that it's going to be fully restored in a couple of weeks or three weeks. I mean, we just -- we just don't know. As you just said, many of the areas are still flooded. You've got rising waters at this time. And you just -- you can't get the crews in there to do the work until that water is down.

Thankfully, the wind is down now. We can get crews out where available and where safe, but there's just no way. It will take us several days to assess damage in these flooded areas, hope the water get out, and then go back to work in those areas.

But I can assure you, you know, the thing about the Entergy team, Carol, the really interesting part about this story, Edison Electric Institute gives an award. And for seven years, we have been the only utility that has won it every year. And it is an award for emergency assistance. And, you know, we are accustomed to going out and helping other people.

And we need all of the help we can get right now. The folks of Mississippi and Louisiana are just asking people to get out and help us. We know how to do this work. We do it as well as anybody, if not better.

COSTELLO: Yes.

HERBERT: We just need the crews to help us get it on as soon as possible. And we would just ask everyone to please be safe, stay away from power lines. If there's a flooded area, please don't go into it. Allow our crews to get in there and do the work. And just try to be patient. This is going to be a long, drawn-out process.

COSTELLO: Curt Herbert, good luck. He's from the Entergy Corporation. And thank you for joining AMERICAN MORNING this moaning -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Let's get to John Zarrella now. He's been in New Orleans since before Hurricane Katrina even struck. He joins us from -- by telephone, rather.

John, good morning to you. How does it look where you are? And where are you exactly?

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I'm at (AUDIO GAP) and it's difficult to understand. The phone lines have gone down in the hotel now. I am literally at the hotel, which is in (INAUDIBLE). They have blocked off Canal Street here. We're not far from the French Quarter.

And overnight, the waters have risen again here. We don't know why, other than perhaps it was in relation to the levee breach up along the lakefront. And the water now on the street level is much higher even than it was during the hurricane.

And the sandbags are all around the hotel now. Water is flowing into the basement level of the hotel. There is a lot of floating debris in the street. If it continues to rise through there, if it gets much higher, the cars on the street will begin to float. It's not going to take but another 6 to 10 inches for that to happen. And we're already up that to the chassis, up underneath the wheel wells of the cars.

Now, there are still some high points, as we see on the grid. Canal Street is not submerged yet. That said, in all of the other directions, Soledad, that I looked at, the water is here. Again, I'm just (INAUDIBLE) area, but there is no way for me to tell how widespread it is other than to say that yesterday during the hurricane the water was nowhere near this high.

So people (INAUDIBLE) now are in the hotels that are guests in the hotels. In all likelihood, probably (INAUDIBLE) going home today. We're having a shot (INAUDIBLE). It doesn't look like that's going to happen now on the grid. The water is continuing to come up very, very slowly here -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: John Zarrella reporting for us. And what he was saying, he was having a little bit of audio difficulties obviously. The phones are very compromised where he is in New Orleans this morning.

He's not far from the French Quarter, he said. And he believes that the rising water that's happening now and was happening overnight they believe is due to that levee breach. Much higher water in the hotel basement than there was when the hurricane was actually striking.

And he said Canal Street not yet submerged yesterday, though the streets were being flooded, and it happened right through the night.

And we've also seen, of course, the mayor talking about gas leaks in that city as well. Huge, huge problems in New Orleans. Lots to update you on as we come back from our break in just a moment. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: Welcome back. I'm Miles O'Brien live in Biloxi Mississippi. This Gulf Coast region, this part of the world where I stand, is home to about a dozen casinos. These casinos right now have suffered significant damage and losses, had to shut down. And every day they're shut down, the state of Mississippi loses $500,000 in tax revenue. Fourteen thousand employees today of those casinos, gaming employees, with an uncertain fate. That's just one little kind of tiny piece of what is a huge complicated, very sad puzzle economically, as everyone tries to assess the economic impact of Katrina.

Andy Serwer is here with a little more on that.

Hello, Andy.

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Good morning to you, Miles.

And you're exactly right. Just trying to assess the damage here is a huge problem. All of the different types of costs, trying to add them up, a huge problem for state and national officials this morning and for many days to come. We've been talking this morning about the billions of dollars of damage that Katrina has inflicted upon the region. Let's start to break that down for you. These are very preliminary numbers that we are looking at right now. But you can see here, and that's a huge, huge band between 9 and 26 billion.

And then below that, you can see Hurricane Andrew from 1992. Now, this is adjusted for inflation. The actual cost back then was $15 billion. In today's dollars, $22 billion.

And then after that, two of the storms from last fall, and then Hugo after that.

But you know what, Miles? These are just insured losses. And obviously, there are all sorts of other uninsured losses. You were just talking about losses to the state of Mississippi from gaming revenues, for instance. Those are not covered by insurance probably.

And then also disruptions. When you talk about, for instance, the convention business in New Orleans, you know, that's something that's going to cost. There's going to be unemployment. There's going to be cost to airlines because of higher fuel costs, gasoline prices. The national impact will be tremendous here.

M. O'BRIEN: I think that's a key point, Andy Serwer. The gas price impact could be the biggest ripple of all. Thanks very much. We'll check back with you later as we try to tally all of this and get a sense of where Katrina stands. It seems like it is headed to becoming the worst national disaster ever to hit the United States, at least that's the early indication. Back with more in a moment.

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