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CNN Live Saturday
Recovering from Hurricane Katrina. Finding and relocating hurricane victims. Has the question of race and class slowed rescue efforts.
Aired September 03, 2005 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're the richest country in the world. This is a disgrace. How can you take care of other countries, when you cannot take care of home? Is this racist? Is this a racist statement that you're making? Come on, take care of us. We need you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Just one of a number of questions being asked today and over the last few days.
Welcome back, everyone, to CNN's special coverage, State of Emergency. From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Tony Harris.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Betty Nguyen. We want to thank you for turning to CNN.
Here's the latest now on the developments in these hurricane- struck areas.
The troop contingent in the disaster zone is growing quickly. President Bush says 4,000 active-duty troops are already in the region, and 7,000 more will arrive in the next 72 hours.
In New Orleans alone, convoys have delivered almost 2 million MREs, which are meals ready to eat, plus they've delivered almost 7 million liters of water.
Health concerns, though, are still extremely serious. Seventeen hundred people still need to be evacuated from New Orleans hospitals, but the city's Charity Hospital has been cleared out. That is a little ray of sunshine.
The Red Cross says more than 94,000 storm victims across the region are in dozens of shelters in nine different states. Now, that does not include tens of thousands of other evacuees in other shelters, and at the Superdome as well as the Astrodome.
Now, some progress is being made in driving the floodwaters from New Orleans. The Army Corps of Engineers is breaching some levees to allow water to drain into Lake Pontchartrain, which is now a foot below the water level in New Orleans. Just think of that, a foot below the water level...
HARRIS: Wow.
NGUYEN: ... in a city that doesn't normally have water in it like this.
Well, the corps also is bringing in pumps and generators from across the country to drain those floodwaters.
HARRIS: And, Betty, some 2,000 people remain at the Superdome in New Orleans, and no one is quite sure how many others are stranded inside the city. But the buzz of rescue and evacuation helicopters is relentless, and conditions are slowly improving for those waiting for a ride out of town.
CNN's Jeff Koinange is at the Convention Center in downtown New Orleans. Jeff, what's the latest from where you are?
JEFF KOINANGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, the latest is, the evacuations are continuing as we speak. It's happening about two and a half blocks back and to my left. The survivors, all of them lined up single file, it's actually going pretty orderly.
But we can also tell you that the National Guardsmen are checking out everyone who is in line, checking out for people who had looting. They're opening bags, they're taking out anything that looks suspicious, anything that looks too new or hasn't been purchased by these folks. They're taking alcohol, which a lot of people are carrying, and pouring it out. Cigarettes, that kind of stuff.
But the folks for the most part are very orderly. You can see behind me, there's still thousands of folks still here. And also a new arrival here at the Convention Center, Tony, porta-toilets. This is what the people had been asking for for several days. They hadn't arrived. They literally arrived about an hour ago.
Needless to say, this place is pretty empty right now, though at least up to 15,000 people in the last few days. But now, very few, several thousand still. But the toilets aren't going to be that much useful right now, Tony.
HARRIS: Jeff, I got to ask you, we mentioned that there are 2,000 people still there. Why are they still there? So many have been moved out. Are they just waiting for the latest bus to roll in. Is there some other consideration going on?
KOINANGE: Very good question, why -- Good, very good question. Why are they still here? Well, the lines are so long, Tony. The buses aren't that many. So people are having to line up under this baking sun. So a lot of people still want to keep their spaces, if you will, before they make it towards the line. And the police are urging the people to all go and form that line because they will eventually be evacuated.
But according to General Jones of the National Guard, he told us this is going to take at least several more days. So a lot of those people who are still in line may end up right here where I am, spending another night or two. Evacuations will take a little while, Tony.
HARRIS: All right, this will sound a little -- like I'm a little outraged here. But we're are just talking about 2,000 people, Jeff. I mean, are you still talking about another couple of days to move 2,000 people?
KOINANGE: That's what -- that -- well, the thing is, the buses aren't that many, Tony. Yes, there are buses, but there are so many folks to move. And you can see behind me, look, look at that, look at that scene behind me, Tony. There's so many folks over there, at least -- maybe a couple of thousand right here.
So the thing is, it'll take a little while, first of all, to get them in line, to get them in the buses, and it may take that long, Tony.
HARRIS: (INAUDIBLE). All right. Jeff Koinange, appreciate it, Jeff, thank you.
Pictures from space clearly show the extent of the flooding in New Orleans. Take a look at this, satellite pictures. You can easily make out the dark areas in the photograph areas, now inundated by floodwaters.
NGUYEN: Parts of the city under water still.
Well, a field hospital has been set up in Louis Armstrong International Airport in the New Orleans suburb of Kenner. CNN's Ed Lavandera is there and joins us live with the latest on the stream of people being flown in. Ed?
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Betty.
Well, it's very likely that all of those folks that you heard Jeff Koinange reporting on will be making their way through the New Orleans Airport. Not only those people at the Convention Center, but others that are picked up around the city throughout -- over the last couple of days are coming through here.
One of those people who was just picked up in his neighborhood just a little while, about an hour ago, is Phillip Holt (ph).
Phillip, what has the last five days been like for you?
PHILLIP HOLT, HURRICANE SURVIVOR: It's been hell. We have had no power. Water was shut off a few days ago. And then last night, they turned the gas off. Honestly, as I had a friend of mine tell me, the first few days was a natural disaster, the last few days have been manmade disaster. We live in what we call the sixth ward. Luckily...
LAVANDERA: That's close to the Quarter.
HOLT: Close to the Quarter. And the looting has been horrendous. Every store in our neighborhood has been looted. Last night there was a military helicopter come through. Evidently there was a shooting of some kind, because I heard almost 50 rounds of automatic gunfire go off.
But they finally came in today with helicopters and pulled us out. They gave us a choice. They said, Either you can bring your dogs with you, or you can bring your luggage. And we have -- my partner and I have, well, four chihuahuas. We lost one. They let us bring three on the helicopter. They pulled us out by cable. And I just appreciate being here.
LAVANDERA: What happens next?
HOLT: I don't know. I don't know. We're trying to get in touch with family in Tennessee. We have let them know that we're alive, and we don't know where we'll go from here, because we moved down here a year ago, because we love this city. And my partner's terminally ill. So we came down a year ago because he knew this is the place he was going to be happy.
And we don't know what we're going to do. We're -- if we can get somebody to take us back to Tennessee, we'll do that. But we're coming back.
LAVANDERA: You are coming back?
HOLT: Yes, we're coming back. We may lose everything, but we'll be back.
LAVANDERA: Did you fear for your life at any point?
HOLT: No, not really. It wasn't -- really, the violence in our area wasn't that bad, other than the looting. But, no, I really didn't fear for my life until they shut the gas off. And when they did that, the gas and water, I started getting worried.
LAVANDERA: Well, I am glad to see that you guys are OK, and good luck in the weeks ahead.
HOLT: We're here.
LAVANDERA: And, you know, you just -- we've heard this story play out repeatedly here. And many of these folks are just busy trying to get out. They get here, this is like the beginning of the end, if you will, for them. But it's really not, you know, Betty and Tony. Many of these folks are so desperate to get out of here that the idea of coming back hasn't even sunk in, and how hard that process might take in the weeks ahead, much less not even knowing when exactly that will happen.
Back to you guys.
NGUYEN: You're absolutely right. It's the beginning of a very long road ahead. Ed Lavandera, thank you for that -- Tony?
HARRIS: And this just in to CNN. We have learned that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is planning to tour Mississippi and Louisiana, and that is happening -- correct me on this, this is happening tomorrow. That's right, tomorrow. OK. Mississippi and Louisiana, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld will be in those two states tomorrow.
As you know, the president is planning a return trip to the affected areas on Monday, and Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff will be in the area, we believe, tonight.
So once again, just in to CNN, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld heading to Mississippi and Louisiana tomorrow.
Well, the federal government is ramping up its presence along ravaged areas of the Gulf Coast. In a rare televised Saturday address, President Bush ordered 7,000 more active-duty troops into the region. Acknowledging criticism of Washington's initial response, the president promised to make it right.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The tasks before us are enormous, but so is the heart of America. In America, we do not abandon our fellow citizens in our hour of need. And the federal government will do its part. Where our response is not working, we'll make it right. Where our response is working, we will duplicate it. We have a responsibility to our brothers and sisters all along the Gulf Coast, and we will not rest until we get this right and the job is done.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff describes the damage to life and infrastructure along the Gulf Coast as, quote, "horrifying." During a news conference carried live right here on CNN, Chertoff said the federal government is ready to move heaven and earth.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL CHERTOFF, SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY: The United States, as the president has said, is going to move heaven and earth to rescue, feed, shelter, and restore life and health of the people who are currently suffering. We are throwing all of the capabilities and assets of the United States into this effort.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Now, earlier today, FEMA director Michael Brown acknowledged the disaster was, quote, "larger than we expected."
HARRIS: The National Guard's top general says 54,000 troops will eventually be deployed to storm-damaged areas. Thousands of Guard and active-duty troops are already in the area, helping to rescue victims and distribute supplies.
CNN's senior Pentagon correspondent Jaime McIntyre joins us live now with more. Jamie?
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, this disaster-relief deployment is turning into a full-scale invasion of the states affected by Hurricane Katrina, the number, as you said, pushing upwards, really, of 60,000, if you count all the troops, including those on ships offshore.
Today, of course, the president announcing 7,200 active-duty forces will be going in from the 82nd Airborne in Fort Bragg, from the 1st Cavalry Division in Fort Hood, Texas, and then two staunches of Marines from both coasts, from Camp Pendleton and from Camp LeJeune, all going to different places in the disaster area.
And today, the head of the National Guard said he's already at the 30,000 mark that he projected for troop levels. And now he says that by the end of next week, they'll have 40,000 National Guard troops in place.
LT. GEN. STEVEN BLUM, NATIONAL GUARD CHIEF: Today, there's 27,000 as of 6:30 this morning. I expect a flow of about 3,500 more troops into Louisiana today, about 2,500 additional National Guard troops.
When I say troops, now, because now that the president has ordered some of the active forces in there, I don't want to confuse it. So I'll call them National Guardsmen (INAUDIBLE) clear distinction. Thirty-five hundred National Guardsmen will go into Louisiana by sundown today, 2,500 more will go into Mississippi today. Tomorrow, the exact same numbers will reverse, because we think we'll be about where we need to be.
MCINTYRE: By this afternoon, some of those 82nd Airborne paratroopers will be arriving at New Orleans. The -- some of the other troops will be going to Baton Rouge. The Marines will be going to Mississippi, according to the plan at this point.
And again, those active-duty troops are going to be conducting humanitarian operations, search and rescue, delivering food, providing medical support, so that the National Guard troops that come under state control can be freed up to provide security and law enforcement operation.
And today, that General Blum, the head of the Guard unit, said that a big part of delay was the problem of the breakdown of law and order in New Orleans. The (INAUDIBLE) -- basically, the New Orleans police force being cut by two-thirds left nobody in control. They had to reconfigure the plan in order to provide more law enforcement before they felt they could go in. That was one of the factors, one of the many factors delaying the arrival of aid in substantial numbers in downtown New Orleans.
So they say they've corrected that problem now. They're going to have plenty of Guard troops available for security, Tony.
HARRIS: And Jamie, do we know what the story was with the New Orleans police? You said cut by two-thirds. What happened there?
MCINTYRE: Well, a lot of the police force left. Again, there was about 1,500, about 1,000 left. Some of them had their homes wiped out. Some of them simply couldn't get to work. But many of them apparently felt like there was such a breakdown in their capability to do their job that they simply left.
There's a lot of controversy about this in New Orleans, about why the police didn't stay on the job. But whether it was justifiable or understandable, it nevertheless complicated the military mission, according to the Pentagon. They say that was one of the factors that produced a delay in getting troops in there.
They said they had to go in, when they did go in, in substantial numbers, so that they would not face any sort of problem from armed gangs or anything. They feel if they went in in small numbers immediately, there could have been...
HARRIS: I see.
MCINTYRE: ... a potential problem to put their own troops at risk.
HARRIS: I see.
MCINTYRE: So that's one of the factors.
HARRIS: OK. CNN senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre. Jamie, thank you.
NGUYEN: Ahead, in our special coverage of Katrina's aftermath, a look at how some of the tiniest survivors made it through this horrific disaster.
HARRIS: Plus, was it too little too late? The mandatory evacuation for New Orleans, would an earlier notice have made a difference? That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Well, let's check the latest developments in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
In the next 72 hours, 72,000 more active-duty troops will head to the area hit by Hurricane Katrina. And the National Guard says a total of 54,000 troops will eventually be deployed there.
Federal officials say more than 125 tons of water, ice, and ready-to-eat meals have been brought in for hurricane victims. One official says soldiers have served more than 75,000 meals outside the New Orleans Convention Center since yesterday.
All the patients have been evacuated from New Orleans Charity Hospital, but 1,700 patients in other facilities are still waiting to be rescued. Federal officials say an 84-bed medical hospital will be set up at a baseball stadium called Zephyr Field.
Updating where people are, the American Red Cross says more than 94,000 people are staying in 284 shelters it has set up in nine states. That does not include people in other shelters, or those staying at the Superdome or Astrodome. The Army Corps of Engineers says water is now throwing out of the city and back into Lake Pontchartrain. Corps officials are bringing in pumps and generators from all over the country, but they say it will take as long as 80 days -- 80 days -- to get all of the water back out.
NGUYEN: Three months.
In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, there have been countless instances of newborns evacuated from hospitals without their parents.
CNN's Elizabeth Cohen reports on the experience of one group of infants who were taken to Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This helicopter arrived with precious cargo, 29 newborn babies rescued from a downtown New Orleans hospital, most of them without their mothers. Jordan Abrams was one of the lucky ones. His mother, Torrie (ph), made it onto the same helicopter to Women's Hospital in Baton Rouge. She gave birth a week ago, at Louisiana State University Hospital in New Orleans. She tried to explain her ordeal to us on camera, but it was too difficult.
TORRIE ABRAMS: I'm just trying to recuperate now.
COHEN: She later told us the conditions inside the hospital were miserable, no electricity, no air conditioning, no working toilets. The nurses warned that soon they would run out of formula for the babies. She was worried for her son.
In New Orleans, conditions were so bad the hospital staff was unable to check out the strange lump behind his ear. Doctors here in Baton Rouge did an ultrasound and then admitted him for more tests. This hospital secretary reassured her, while others did what they could to search for the parents of the babies who arrived alone.
Doctors say all the 29 babies survived the ordeal -- the harsh conditions in New Orleans, the transport to Baton Rouge -- surprisingly well, even the preemies.
DR. STEVEN SPEDALE, NEONATOLOGIST: Yes, the babies are in good condition. they're all very stable.
COHEN: Dr. Steven Spedale and his neonatology team examined the babies when they arrived.
SPEDALE: Babies are very elastic, you -- they have to bend them a lot to break them. And they've had very good care. People have not slept in days down there, and they -- and done everything they can for the babies. And that's why those babies are here. So they (INAUDIBLE).
COHEN: A tribute to the heroism of the doctors and nurses who cared for these babies under the worst of conditions, a tribute to the spirit of 29 of the tiniest survivors.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: (INAUDIBLE)there, they are survivors. That was CNN's Elizabeth Cohen reporting.
HARRIS: Floodwater filled with toxins and bacteria blankets New Orleans. It's even in places like the city's Charity Hospital. Ahead on our special coverage of Katrina's aftermath, the desperate rush to save patients.
Stay with us.
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NGUYEN: Well, Charity Hospital of New Orleans is finally empty. The last patients from the city's largest public hospital were evacuated overnight. The hospital, as you recall, went for days with no power, food, or water. And that cost some patients their lives.
Joining me now on the phone is Richard Zuschlag with the Acadian Ambulance Services.
Richard, I understand you've received some distress calls. Let's talk about that first off.
RICHARD ZUSCHLAG, ACADIAN AMBULANCE SERVICES (on phone): Yes, we just received an urgent request of the sheriff of St. Bernard Parish, Jack Stevens. Our helicopter went down there to check on the activities at Chalmette, and he had us lift back up in the air to get radio communications back with our (INAUDIBLE) Lafayette, urgently requesting that the military bring in a couple of helicopters with food and water for about 2,000 people that are stranded out there.
I want to tell you that since President Bush came to New Orleans yesterday, there has been a huge improvement. The military has taken over all of Orleans and Jefferson Parish. They probably have 100 to 150 helicopters. They are doing an outstanding job. And I'm so proud to be able to work with them.
What we've done with our smaller civilian helicopters is to begin to wander out into the country and the rural areas where they have not had any attention yet. And so we're beginning to find that because we've been so busy in New Orleans, we forgot about the country people. And we're trying to get -- address them now.
NGUYEN: Yes, I want to ask you about that, because how are you going about that? Are you mapping out the area, creating a grid of where you have been, where you've seen people, where you've not seen people?
ZUSCHLAG: I tell you, initially, we've just been trying to rescue people from hospitals and get them to safe places.
NGUYEN: How many hospitals need to be evacuated so far? ZUSCHLAG: Well, we've taken care all of the downtown New Orleans area. I mean, the military has cleaned up New Orleans. Things are much better. We're kind of letting them begin to do their grid work, but they haven't started working the parishes outside of the major metropolitan area.
We're going to call the commander and ask him to work with us to start doing that now, so that we don't have anybody get stranded overnight.
But there has been a huge improvement in the last 24 hours, and every hour we find more and more military helicopters coming. People are getting fed. The water is coming in. It's making a huge difference. We're just a couple days late, but we're still going to make it.
I can't tell you how proud I am to see the military come in and bring such a big effort.
NGUYEN: You know, that's good to hear, but I have to ask you, since you work with people in desperate need, and you help bring them to the folks who can take care of them. How long can people go? I mean, we're six days into this. How long can they go before you find them in the little pockets out there in the rural areas?
ZUSCHLAG: Well, time is of the essence, and they've already spent too much time out there. But when you have a disaster of this magnitude, where every kind of communication you have, from the telephone system, to every cellular radio, to every short wave tower, when you lose all communications, you go back to the Civil War days where you send notes back and forth by horseback.
I mean, it's -- that's how primitive things are, because we've lost every kind of communication there is.
NGUYEN: And as you do this, as you fly around, trying to find people in need of help, people who need to be evacuated, what's the biggest obstacle that you're facing right now?
ZUSCHLAG: Time. Time is of the essence. The military is well organized. They're coordinating very, very well with us. And I just wish we could have got them here a couple days early. But I'm very proud to associate myself with those military people, because they're very organized, they're very professional, and they're doing an excellent job.
And I think we're on the cutting edge of getting this thing turned around. I know there's still an awful lot to do. There's a tremendous amount of refugees that have to be moved out of New Orleans. They're starting to bring them in by train, the Red Cross is, from New Orleans to Lafayette to triage them and send them on to Dallas or Houston by bus from Lafayette.
Those are not medical conditions that we're involved in, but we are working with the Red Cross to take the four or five or six medical cases and get them into the local hospital. The other thing that we're doing right now is working with both FEMA and the military at the New Orleans hospital to try to get those 1,600 patients into hospitals in every city of this state. The military is bringing some C-130s, and we're going to load 60 patients up and take them to Monroe, 100 to Shreveport, 50 to Alexandria, 50 to Lake Charles, and 50 to Lafayette.
I'm telling you, I think by tonight, all the critical medical patients in the greater New Orleans area will be evacuated all across this state. And that's because the military has taken control and is moving forward.
NGUYEN: Well, I'm glad you brought that up, because I did want to ask you about what FEMA announced today, some -- the number that we're getting is 1,700 patients that still need to be evacuated from hospitals.
Richard Zuschlag, with the Acadian Ambulance Service, we thank you for that update.
ZUSCHLAG: Thank you.
HARRIS: How could it happen here? That's what many around the world are asking after seeing the devastation along the Gulf Coast.
Straight ahead, world reaction to Katrina's aftermath.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And welcome back to everyone to CNN's special coverage, "State of Emergency." From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Tony Harris.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Betty Nguyen. We want to thank you for turning to CNN. Here's the new developments right now.
President Bush says more than 7,000 additional troops are on the way to Mississippi and Louisiana. They will join the 4,000 troops and 21,000 National Guardsmen already on the ground. Military officials say they're focusing on rescuing people in need of medical aid and on evacuating people from the city convention center. But the evacuations at the Superdome are now suspended, suspended until tomorrow. Some 2,000 people, reportedly, are still at that stadium.
All patients are now evacuated from Charity Hospital, which is the city's largest public medical facility. The patients were taken late last night to the New Orleans Airport or to facilities in the state capitol, which is Baton Rouge.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says it may be at least a month, possibly as long as 80 days before the levees can be repaired and all the floodwaters pumped out of the city.
Now, offers of help from American hurricane victims are pouring in from around the world. Among them, Australia is pledging more than $7.6 million; China is offer $5 million in assistance, and from Japan an offer of $200,000.
Scenes of chaos and destruction here in the United States have shocked people around the world. Here's CNN's Walter Rodgers with some global reaction to this American tragedy.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A city of horrors, filled with suffering.
WALTER RODGERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For days, Hurricane Katrina dominated news coverage in Brittan and much of the rest of the world. The lead story, 20 minutes of this 30-minute newscast was Katrina four days later.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As the chaos here grows, appreciate sure on the president. He's doing too little, far too late.
RODGERS: On London's streets some sympathy for America's hurricane victims, but also anger.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're really quick on going to Iraq, but a bit slow on their own people.
RODGERS: To Israelis seeing these pictures not that much difference in reaction.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It does show that the Americans are not all- powerful one storm and they're finished.
RODGERS: Television images of chaos in New Orleans have left many of the world's also people scratching their heads.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) was it that he United States, of all places, is so completely unprepared, apparently.
RODGERS: I asked that same question of Professor Colin Green, a British disaster management expert.
PROF. COLIN GREEN, BRITISH DISASTER MANAGEMENT EXPERT: It's been an appalling shambles from beginning to end, we've had thousands of people die, quite avoid -- when it could have been easily avoided, this event which was easily foreseen. It should have been foreseen.
RODGERS: Green said, even countries like Bangladesh and Guatemala do better with flood control.
(on camera): There has been a flood of sympathy from television viewers. CNN has received thousands of e-mails from around the world. One Australian wrote, "New Orleans' tell-it-like-it-is Mayor Ray Nagin should run for president." And, of course, America's staunchest ally sympathized with his cousins across the pond.
TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: The whole of this country feels for the people of the gulf coast of America who have been afflicted by a terrible, terrible natural tragedy. RODGERS (voice-over): On the streets of Moscow, where there has long been a quiet reservoir of good will toward Americans, more good will.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): It's a big human tragedy, I have heard about large numbers of casualties, more than 100 dead, I feel sorry for them, of course.
RODGERS: France is offering to send aircraft, ships and (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Germany's Chancellor Schroeder is offering mobile shelters and water treatment facilities.
Walter Rodgers, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: And finding some place to quickly house tens of thousands of people was a monumental task. Maybe that's why sports stadiums were logical choices for hurricane victims. At its peak some 30,000 people sought shelter at New Orleans Superdome. As of this morning about 5,000 remain. Many of those at the Superdome were evacuated to Houston's Astrodome. I quickly filled up and is home to 15,000 people displaced from New Orleans.
Here to talk about the use of stadiums for emergency shelters is CNN's sports business analyst, Rick Horrow.
Rick, good to talk to you. First of all, I have to ask you the question, practically speaking, is it appropriate to be looking at these stadiums, particularly domes, as centers for homeless people? People who need shelter?
RICK HORROW, CNN SPORTS BUSINESS ANALYST: Absolutely, very appropriate. It is the most appropriate of all. Remember the Astrodome was built in '65, at $35 million, pegged the eighth wonder of the world. They had the Republican Convention, now it's not used for anything except some sporadic stuff. The Superdome, of course, Hurricane Georges in '99, Ivan last year, built at $135 million. These are icons. You think of the Empire State Building in New York the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. And these two buildings, as well, they serve an absolutely incredible purpose to house disaster relief victims.
HARRIS: But I gotta tell you something, you know, there were concerns even on Sunday as the evacuation order was being given and folks were being instructed that the Superdome would be open to them, there were concerns that the Superdome might not even be safe. It was being termed as a facility of last resort for folks, and there was concern about flooding in the Superdome. They are great when they're operational, when they have air-conditioning and electricity, but I tell you what, when the power goes out, they feel a bit like a tomb.
HORROW: Well, of course they do, and of course, the problem is to consider yourself in a situation of what could have happened if that dome wasn't there at all. Look at the convention center, for example. $20 billion is spent in the U.S. since 1990 for all these kinds of facilities, convention centers, arenas, performing art centers, and stadiums, and $13 billion is public. And I can guarantee you, because I've been in the industry, that the newfangled design includes the capability for natural disasters. And it doesn't have to be a dome, you know, Qualcom Stadium was used as a staging area during the California fires two years ago. And Giant Stadium and Shea Stadium were used during the September 11 tragedy in New York. So, these are very important purposes regardless of how uncomfortable they were. We all understand that, but think of what would happen if the dome wasn't there.
HARRIS: Well, I don't have a problem with stadiums being used. I have a bit of a problem with a closed-in dome being used. But let me move forward here. Sports benefits, what are you hearing about athletes, team owners, sports organizations, stepping up relief efforts and offering benefits and the like?
HORROW: Yeah, I guess that there's a bright side, that's the bright side, because it has been quick and incredible. Major League Baseball and its partners look like $3 million in contributions, there, for example. The Southwestern Football Conference, a million dollars. The NFL a million, but its teams spending a lot more money, too. The Houston Texans, for example, and these stadiums, Reliant Stadium, may be the most overflow, and people are worried about where the Saints are going to play. The bigger issue, how the NFL helps.
By the way Serena Williams at the U.S. Open is donating 100 bucks for each ace. So, every little bit help. You got to root for her to play very well, and all of this.
HARRIS: OK, CNN's sports business analyst, Rick Horrow. Rick, thank you.
HORROW: Thank you my friend.
NGUYEN: Up next, we check in with CNN's "Victims and Relief" desk. Also this, a stinging accusation, did race play a part in the slow federal response to Hurricane Katrina? I know it's on the minds of many. We're going to tackle that. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Have you heard this? Rapper Kanye West used a telethon to voice harsh criticism on the federal response to the storm. West was taking part in an NBC benefit for hurricane victims last night when he blasted President Bush.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KANYE WEST, RAPPER: We already realize a lot of the people that could help are at war right now, fighting another way, and they've given them permission to go down and shoot us.
George Bush doesn't care about black people.
(END VIDEO CLIP) HARRIS: Mr. Bush has signed a $10.5 billion relief package for storm victims. NBC issued a statement after the telecast that said West's opinions in no way represent the views of the network.
NGUYEN: Well, many people are asking why is it that most of the victims stranded in New Orleans crying for help are black. CNN's Beth Nissen explores that very question.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BETH NISSEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is the face of this tragedy and this, and this. Poor people, poor black people facing race and class as elements of this tragedy raises questions, some hard, some ugly, few simple.
Why so many African-Americans among the stranded, the sick and wounded, the dead? This is one of the simple answers: Two-thirds of New Orleans residents are black, many of them poor and in poor health. Many of them crowded into parts of town where the rents were lowest and the water table highest. Why didn't they get out when so many others did before the storm? Some were surely careless, heedless, but many more had no car, no money for a ticket out, no were to go, except to the Superdome and the convention center where thousands sought refuge and found a hell on earth.
Their stories have emerged in a chaotic mass, stories of heat, stench, of down spiral of breakdowns in plumbing, emotions, resilience, morality. With tens of thousands of people living like animals, some small number began behaving like animals, preying on the week, foraging, some taking what they needed, some taking anything they could.
Millions of Americans watching from a distance shook their heads and asked how could people come to this, to mob and shoot at rescue helicopters, to invade hospitals. Those still stranded in the swamped city answered with desperate angry questions of their own. How could no one come for us for days? Why so long before the National Guard appeared, before the chartered buses came, before rescue? Would help have come sooner if they'd voted more often or differently? Had stronger leaders, better local government? If there wasn't a war on and National Guard troops were home? If this tragedy was different on the face of it?
Beth Nissen, CNN New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Would it be different? A question...
(UNINTELLIGIBLE)
HARRIS: A question for our next guest, Reverend we're on. Reverend good to see you, my friend.
REVEREND JOSEPH LOWERY, CO-FOUNDER OF SOUTHERN CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE: Oh, I didn't know we were on. HARRIS: The Reverend Joseph lowery joins us now.
LOWERY: Good to see you.
HARRIS: The president of the SCLC. Good to see you, my friend.
LOWERY: Well, thank you. It's good to see you.
HARRIS: I need your perspective on this, we don't want to shy away from the question of race, here at CNN, but we want context and perspective. A lot of folks are asking if the face of this tragedy had been more white than black might the response have been different? Take it in whatever direction you'ld like to.
LOWERY: Well, it's not a simple issue and there's another demon other than race, I don't think anybody can deny that race was a factor, but class was also a factor. Look at the difference between how we rushed to the towers, our symbol of wealth and power, and to the levee, a symbol of poverty and hard-working people. So that in this country, we've got to deal with the demons of race and class. It's interesting that the Commerce Department issues this report on poverty in this country at the same time Katrina came, and poverty is increasing in the country, and we are not as concerned about it. Look at our difference in our response to Rwanda and Iraq. One has oil, the other has no oil so that we have to deal with the issue of class and race, and we must address the issue of poverty in this country, or we're going to see a lot more disasters akin to what's happening in Louisiana, Mississippi.
HARRIS: Is this -- can this simply be -- and I'm not trying to give a pass to anyone connected with this relief effort, I'm just trying to offer balance here. Can this simply be a situation where this was an overwhelming natural disaster and it just simply took the federal government, the state, the local officials, time to assess the gravity, to catch up, to get up to speed?
LOWERY: Oh, I think that's a factor, it's not -- it's too complex an issue to say one thing, it was...
HARRIS: To say race. To say...
LOWERY: To say just race, or just incompetence. What bothers me a little bit is that -- well, not a little bit. Is it FEMA?
HARRIS: Yes.
LOWERY: Or Homeland Security that been rehearsing how to deal with a storm of this severity for two years. What did think learn? Why weren't they ready? All the predictions, it seems to me, pointed to the fact that that levee was in trouble. And Louisiana has been begging for help for the levee for eight to 10 years, so either a lot of heads ought to roll for incompetence or we have to accept the fact that we have come a long way, but we still have a long, long way to go on the issue of race and the issue of class.
HARRIS: You know, when we get to the core of you, as a man, you are a man of god, Reverend Lowery. When you see these pictures of human suffering, what can you tell us? What has your experience as a pillar of the civil rights movement in this country, what can you tell us to help us through this enormous period of suffering?
LOWERY: Well, I think god never closes one window that he doesn't open another one. And I think while this tragic as it is, it does provide an opportunity for us to seize the moment, to recognize that, yes, we were unprepared, because we ignored certain factors that should have been obvious, yes, we perhaps would have responded differently if it had been the faces of other people. But here's an opportunity to prepare for the future. We're messing with god's creation, and we've got to deal with those factors, those environmental factors that may help precipitate a Katrina, so we've got to live in reverence, we've got to stop being irreverent where creation is concerned and we've to address the issue of poverty. We cannot -- we cannot stick our heads in the sand. And poverty, if you don't -- you either pay me now, or you pay me later. And the price later goes up, inflation.
HARRIS: Good to see you my friend.
LOWERY: Goods to see you, Tony. Good to see you.
HARRIS: We'll take a break. The Reverend Joseph Lowery with us. We'll take a break and we'll come back and check in with Carol Lin at the victim's and relief desk. We will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: In case you didn't know, CNN is helping to link family and friends desperately searching for missing or stranded hurricane victims and we've created a "Victims and Relief" desk.
HARRIS: And Carol Lin is at that desk for us this afternoon bringing us incredible stories.
Carol, good to see you again.
CAROL LIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good to see both of you, too. We're trying our best. The e-mails are pouring into us, 15,000 so far. And people are telling us they are finding people alive, others are still searching and they want your help. And you have made a difference.
So, take a look at this one, Terrell Davis of Texas sent us this picture of his missing relatives. Frank Joseph is on the right and George Joseph on the left. Frank chose to weather the storm so he could be close to his wife, who's a 911 operator.
And have you seen 63-year-old Daniel Bangs, Sr. He's an Army veteran that lived in a neighborhood near Waveland, Mississippi. He lived in a travel trailer and no one in the family has heard from him.
Now, our crews on the ground are making every effort to help people get word out that they are OK. And these are the people they got on tape who want to tell their families that they are alive and well.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID LEE LUARDI, HURRICANE VICTIM: My name is David Lee Luardi. Hey mom, up in Missouri, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) sister, I ain't dead yet, baby. God bless ya.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mom, dad, Sara, Salina, Travis, Mark, Tracy, everything's all right, we made it through the storm. I love y'all, miss y'all, and hope to y'all see you soon.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mom and dad wherever y'all are in Dallies, Texas, Mr. And Mrs. Sadie, Henry, your daughter is here, Darlene Palmer, Bristol, my pregnant niece, we are here, we had to leave our families, we're in Lafayette. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) if my voice and my face could be seen anywhere. I want to let my loved ones know we made it through the hellhole.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: Thank god. All right, we also have an e-mail from a nurse, Debra Ahmed. She wants to volunteer her time, so I got a number for doctors and nurses and other trained medical people who want to donate time. It's 1-866-katmedi that's K-A-T-M-E-D-I. This is only for trained medical personnel it will connect you with someone at Health and Human Services. They are asking that you not just up and go to the hurricane zone yourself. HHS can protect you from liability claims.
All right the victim's relief desk doesn't stop with just e- mails. Our public information department, right here at the CNN Center, is fielding phone calls from people that have stranded relatives. The department also has some aid from some CNN staffers and their family members. After contacting CNN people get a phone call back and their information is passed onto the U.S. Coast Guard because the Coast Guard is working in tandem with CNN to help find victims of Katrina as rapidly as possible.
Now, if you are looking for a loved one or you want to post a message to say you're OK, you can e-mail us at hurricanevictims@CNN.com and you can log onto CNN.com/helpcenter.
NGUYEN: So great that this is available and just to see those people saying hello to their family who may not know that they're alive, it's just so heartwarming. Carol, thank you.
LIN: Any time.
NGUYEN: And we want to thank you for join us, today.
HARRIS: CNN's special coverage, "State of Emergency," continues after a short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Mission critical, here are the very latest developments in the gulf coast at this hour. More badly needed food and water is arriving at the squall at New Orleans convention center. And the evacuation there is underway, but it will take several more days to get everyone out. Up to 30,000 people have been stuck at that site since Monday.
HARRIS: More fires are raging elsewhere in the city. Flames and gulf rows of warhouse on the river waterfront. And a huge fire is threatening to consume an upscale mall at the base of Canal Street. Firefighters suspect arson.
There's no water pressure in the fire hydrants, but they're trying to control the flame with the help of four water tankers.
NGUYEN: The Pentagon says 10,000 more National Guard troops are heading to Louisiana and Mississippi. That's on top of the military personnel president Bush ordered to the area today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Today I ordered the Department Defense to deploy additional active duty forces to the region. Over the next 24 to 72 hours more than 7,000 additional troops from the 82nd Airborne, from the 1st Calvary, the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, from the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force, will arrive in the affected areas.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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