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American Morning
Hurricane Katrina's Aftermath
Aired September 03, 2005 - 9:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Miles O'Brien.
Biloxi, Mississippi will be getting a helping hand from 300 Air Force personnel. They're headed back home from Iraq and Afghanistan to help their families recover from Hurricane Katrina. Two thousand are still stranded at the Superdome in New Orleans and may not get out until Sunday. The buses taking them out have stopped running again. We're still trying to figure out why.
Most of New Orleans, of course, still underwater. The Army Corps of Engineers said it could take up to 80 days to pump the water out. It could be longer.
More on a special weekend edition of AMERICAN MORNING.
S. O'BRIEN: Good morning and welcome back, everybody, to our special edition of AMERICAN MORNING on a Saturday morning. I'm Soledad O'Brien and I'm coming live to you from the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, which is now a massive field hospital.
You can see and hear behind me the choppers. They're landing now four at time, unloading, off-loading patients who are brought in for triage. They're assessed for their injuries; some of them brought in on stretchers. Others can walk in under their own steam. Others even clutching a dog or a pet and then, they sit and wait, have their basic medical needs taken care of, but then they wait and try to figure out what the next step is going to be.
Coming up, we're going to talk to some of these family members who are, one, dealing with the fact that they are homeless and have lost everything and two, also looking for some of the family members they've had to leave behind -- Miles?
M. O'BRIEN: All right. Thank you very much Soledad. We'll get back to you in just a few moments.
We've got some pictures just coming in. We want to show you some areas. This is the scene in New Orleans. Now, you know, we've been saying all morning New Orleans has turned a corner and then we look at a picture like this and we have to wonder what sort of a corner it is.
Clearly the difficulties in putting out fires are immense. There's no water in the fire hydrants. Fire trucks and whatever, the pumpers, tankers, ladder trucks have very little ability to move around with all the floodwaters and, thus, fires are burning. I'm not precisely certain where this is, but fires are burning all throughout the city this morning and burning unabated. We're watching that for you as well. We should tell you the situation with the evacuees, however, has, in fact, turned a corner and we are left with only 2,000 people at the Superdome, untold number at the Convention Center. More there but the situation described as stable. The buses, however, have stopped carrying people out. We're still trying to figure out what that's all about.
CNN's Jeff Koinange, on Canal Street. Let's pull together these two elements, Jeff. First of all the fires, you're obviously seeing them from where you sit, at least seeing the smoke, anyhow. Are they -- it appears from the pictures we just saw that they're spreading. Are you getting the same sense from where you stand?
JEFF KOINANGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Miles. I can tell you the fire is still raging and you hit the nail on the head when you said fire services are stretched all of the way to the limits. The fire hydrants are empty and dry. It's going to be difficult to put those fires out.
But Miles, we've actually left Canal Street for a moment. We're actually standing right at the convention cente. Behind me is the convention center. All around me, thousands of people who have been camped out here, literally camped out, for the last six days; living right here in these streets. This is their bedroom, their bathroom, their living room, their kitchen -- thousands of them.
And remember how we talked about the National Guard starting to feed people late Friday? Well, Miles, we've just found out that there's a meal center, a kitchen set up right over there, literally back and to my right and they're feeding people all day long.
If you want two MREs, if you want five MREs, you will get them. If you want 10 bottles of water you will get them. I just saw a man walking away with a carton full of water. The National Guard is patrolling up and down these streets, Miles. The security situation seems to have been stabilized and the people can walk about freely.
Mile, let me give you a little sense of what it's like living in the streets of New Orleans, living right outside the convention center. Look at these people. Look at the situation here, Miles. This is what's happened to these folks. Some of them have walked miles. They've lost literally everything.
These are the only possessions they have. This is where they are living, Miles, right here on the streets. It's unbelievable that they've been here. They keep complaining. These are where the complaints are coming from, saying how can we be allowed to stay like this, live like this so long.
Whose fault is it? They're trying to point fingers. They're trying to lay the blame. But at the end of the day, Miles, these folks have made these streets their homes for now. They want to get out of here. They want to shower. They want fresh clothes.
M. O'BRIEN: Jeff, could you do me a favor, because --
KOINANGE: Yes, go ahead, Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Would you ask your photographer just to pan a little to the right. Give us a nice slow pan. We'd like to see what you're seeing there.
KOINANGE: Absolutely.
M. O'BRIEN: Or the left, too. That would work, too. I just want to -- I mean, these people, a couple points come to mind. First of all, as you were speaking I saw no less than 20 troops pass behind you. That's a good scene.
The other thing -- what strikes me right here is this flies in the face of a lot of the pictures we've been seeing up to this point. These people certainly are fatigued, stressed out, exhausted, you name it, but this is a peaceful situation now. Is that how you would characterize it and is it because of those very troops that we saw walking behind you?
KOINANGE: It's two reasons, Miles. And you're absolutely right. It's because the troops are on the ground. The situation is secure and also the food situation. Miles, you know an angry man -- a hungry man is an angry man. If you feed these folks, if you get them water, they will be fine as long as you guarantee them that you will get them out of here.
That is the bottom line. That's why you find the situation so calm right now. Two days ago, 24 hours ago, it was a totally different situation. So, you hit it right on the money: National Guard on the ground. Everything is pretty calm and safe right now. People are being fed around the clock, Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: And it just -- it points out something that has been so tragic in all this. It seems to me, a simple food drop and a simple water drop in the immediate aftermath really would have turned this whole thing on a different course.
KOINANGE: Look, Miles, it's not rocket science. And I've seen this situation in countries around the world. People sitting, starving for days, they'll get angry. Give them a bit of food, give them creature comforts, if you will, they will be quiet, they will stabilize and then move them on to the next phase.
This is nothing new, Miles. But you're right, it did take five days to get this thing going. Hopefully now, lessons will have been learned from this, Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Jeff Koinange, good job bringing that to us. We appreciate it. We will be back with you in just a little bit.
Back to those pictures we just showed you: Aerials of New Orleans. On the one hand, we just gave you a glimmer of hope and then you see this and you have to wonder what the long-term prospects are for this city. Joining us on the line, J.T. Alpaugh. He is the helicopter pilot who was responsible for gathering some of these images. He is with a company called Helinet. J.T., just -- if you could describe for us. We -- it was unclear to me what was burning. Do you know what is burning right now in the city of New Orleans?
J.T. ALPAUGH, HELINET: Good morning, Miles.
What is burning right now is a very large warehouse that's on the waterfront just northeast of the downtown New Orleans area. And it is spreading and burning from the north to the south. And it's in the same vicinity of the area where the chemical warehouse fire was burning yesterday and still continues to smolder today.
M. O'BRIEN: All right. So you have to wonder why these places are burning. There's no power in this them. The gas presumably has been shut off. Do you have the sense, can you tell one way or another, do you hear any radio traffic, which would indicate these might be malicious fires that have continued to burn?
ALPAUGH: Well the pilot of the aircraft, which is now in (inaudible). I'm actually the photographer and reporting in the aircraft. Allen's been actually talking to some people to determine what the cause of these fires are and right now we just don't know.
We've been told that it's possibly looting and it's possible still some gas lines that have not been turned off and they're still severed. So the possibility that these fires are -- we're not really sure what the origin is, but we do know that these fires continue to burn. I can tell you that yesterday we had about five or six fireboats in the area that doused a fire directly abeam the chemical warehouse fire.
So if these same fireboats get into that area off the Mississippi, this fire is burning on the western shore of the Mississippi. If these fire boats get into that area and start dousing those fires with the water canons that they used to pull that water out of the river, they may be able to get a handle on this and stop it before it continues to spread south toward the direct area of the riverfront abeam the downtown New Orleans area. But it still it is looking like it's two to three miles still northeast of downtown New Orleans.
M. O'BRIEN: Well, it -- a couple thoughts here. First of all, a couple of fire boats against what we're seeing there, looks like a much bigger fire than we saw on the rail yard. Is that accurate to say?
ALPAUGH: It is a very large fire and it's burning very furiously and hot. It is definately going to be a problem, but I think if those boats can get into place and start putting water on it, it can definately slow it down, if not put it all out together.
M. O'BRIEN: All right. J.T., I don't know if you're in a position to see CNN now, but what we're showing is, you've been flying over the city really, ever since the storm and have seen this unfold from a, you know, bird's eye view watching rescues, watching the whole scene. What's your sense of where the city is at this morning?
ALPUAGH: Well, my sense is that the city is still completely -- we're not seeing any of the floodwaters that we've seen over the past few days receding at all. We've been using the fairgrounds and the racetrack in the area --
M. O'BRIEN: I'm sorry. Hey, J.T. J.T. the Corps of Engineers told us that the water was draining back into Lake Ponchartrain. You haven't seen evidence of that?
ALPAUGH: Well, what we're doing is we're measuring that water by just what we're seeing by, like I said, the racetrack, we're using that as a gauge to see where the water's going. And what we're seeing -- we saw a little bit of water recession a few days ago, but it seems to have held since then. So, that may be happening, but the visible evidence of that is not being seen by us yet. But that very well may be happening.
M. O'BRIEN: All right. You know -- and I'm watching some of these pictures -- the shot I'm seeing right now: Some people people waving. And you know I know you've got your job to do. Have you been tempted to try to start picking people up?
ALPAUGH: Absolutely. This is video that we've just shot. We just came back from the area. Our satellite truck needed to refuel. So, we're back in Baton Rouge feeding these images to you.
M. O'BRIEN: This is today? These are today pictures? OK.
ALPAUGH: Yes, it is. We shot this image about 45 minutes ago. These two people were on the balcony and we've seen this image, Miles, over and over again. And it's very, very difficult for us to affect these rescues, because we don't have the proper equipment or the room in the aircraft to do so.
So what we've been doing is we have been pointing out these individuals on rooftops and rescues and guiding some of the rescue aircraft into these locations to help pull these people out. It is an extremely helpless feeling; not a whole lot we can do about it but direct these aircrafts in to pick them up.
So, we have seen these scenes countless times; thousands upon thousands of people that are still within these areas that can't be reached by ground and only can be lifted out by helicopters. The helicopters are now starting to filter in the area. We left the area, like I said, about 30 minutes ago and as we tilt up here you can see some of the flooding and the destruction. We're next -- the next shot you'll be seeing here shortly is we go towards the levee.
M. O'BRIEN: You know what, I'd like to see those. How long before those shots come up? I'd like to see the levee this morning. Is that coming up --
ALPAUGH: They're probably coming up within -- probably coming up within the next five or ten minutes here.
M. O'BRIEN: Oh.
ALPAUGH: But as we flew north here, I'm going to show you the racetrack and the fair grounds that we've been using as a measure of the water level.
M. O'BRIEN: Well, you know when you go to the levee, did you see much evidence of the effort on the part of the Corps of Engineers to try to block those gaps, to fix those breaches. Were they working this morning, for example?
ALPAUGH: Absolutely. They have been working feverishly. And from what we've seen, they've been working all night. Again, that's a shot of the fire out to the warehouse district.
M. O'BRIEN: That is truly a big fire. Given the way the wind is blowing -- it's blowing toward the river. I guess that's relatively good news. If it was blowing back toward the city, that would be even worse.
ALPAUGH: Yes. The winds were a little lighter this morning than they were yesterday. So, the smoke is drifting to the south and to the southwest toward the downtown area. You can see the plume moving from left to right. Right now in this direction, we were flying northbound and behind us to the south was the where the smoke was going.
M. O'BRIEN: Have you been able to kind of put into words what it has been like seeing this unfold from this unique perspective?
ALPAUGH: Well, we've been reporting on tape here. As we're shooting these images, I've been trying to put down my thoughts and feelings. And a lot of it is just absolutely unexplainable. You just can't put into words the wide-spread devastation that we've been seeing.
It's truly -- and I've been doing news for 20 years and I've never seen anything close to this or heard of anything close to this. And you just have to sometimes, when you think about this, just stop and gather your thoughts and just -- it's absolutely unbelievable.
We flew into the -- we were the first helicopters along with the first responding helicopters, into the area. We came in about two hours behind the storm and started recording images and what we see was just jaw dropping, with the entire area when we came in was flooded with water.
We couldn't believe what we were seeing and the images of the people on the roofs and the helpless feeling. Like I said before, we don't have the rescue equipment to affect these rescues and it's just a helpless feeling.
And We've been going through a number of emotions here in the helicopter, myself and Allen (ph), just trying to put it all together and digest it and from the helicopter and over these areas it's just a completely different world. It's absolute catastrophic disaster of proportions that I don't think we'll see again. M. O'BRIEN: You know, people always ask me what's it like when you go to a scene like this. And this -- you hit on the very point I always tell them: Until you see it, in your case fly over it, in my case, drive through it and realize how extensive the region of damage is and how extensive that damage is throughout that region, you don't fully appreciate it. And television, unfortunately, doesn't do it justice. But pictures like these come close.
ALPAUGH: They do. And I can tell you from shooting aeriasl for many, many years, when you're in the helicopter and above these areas, sometimes you're a little bit isolated. You're not down there like you -- the ground reporters are and getting the true emotions of the people.
M. O'BRIEN: J.T. is this the racetrack right there?
ALPAUGH: Yes, we just passed over the racetrack.
M. O'BRIEN: OK. So that's your benchmark? That's your watermark?
ALPAUGH: Exactly. Our benchmark. It is exactly where it was yesterday. And what you're seeing in the upper part of your screen here is the 17th Canal levee and we're flying right now north bound and we're looking back to the west and the water in the top of your screen there is Lake Pontchartrain.
And what we're going to do here is we're going to come around the marina and show you some of the operations that are taking place a half an hour ago and we can talk about what's going on with the overnight efforts. And I can explain a little bit to you about the process that they've been going through to shore this levee up.
M. O'BRIEN: Well, you know, we heard a little bit about it. And like I said, we -- I still am scratching my head when the general with the Corps of Engineers -- and I'm no engineer -- told me the water was flowing back into Lake Pontchartrain. I can't quite figure that out, because I thought water flowed downhill.
You're saying you don't see evidence of that, but do you get that sense -- and I'm certain you're not an engineer as well or maybe you are, but do you get the sense if they're making some real progress there? Can you tell?
ALPAUGH: I can tell you that they are making progress on blocking the break in that eastern wall of the levee. And I can -- I can't tell you if that water's flowing out and again, I am not an engineer of any sort.
But it's been a learning experience for us to watch them work in that area and we kind of have a sense of the way they're going and how it's running. But it's very difficult to tell how that water would run back into the lake. We've heard that they're probably going to be doing some opening up some other holes and levees to try to release the flow maybe out of the southern edge. I -- that I can understand. But how that water gets back into the lake, I don't know. M. O'BRIEN: Wow, look at those boats just upended there.
ALPAUGH: This is one of the sites that we saw when we first came into the city. We did an orbit around this marina and there was a yacht club just south of it, the South Shore Yacht Club, we believe it's called, which is a very old and historic yacht club that was completely burned to the ground and we watched that burn. And again, we saw these boats tossed around like toys when we came in. And it was just one of the sites that was just jaw dropping. And here we're pushing into -- this is the 17th Canal levee and we're over the lake right now looking southbound towards the break.
And you can see the break here coming up into the top part of your screen on the left side is the where the water is flowing into the southeastern part of the city. So, you can see in the middle of the screen there the backhoe workers. They have a large backhoe there and they're taking material on the south side of that break and they are pulling -- I'm sorry, make that the north side of that break and pulling that material down into the water.
I'm going to push in here and show you where that is being filled. And as you can see on the right part of your screen, that is where the helicopters have been sling loading large sandbags, because there is no vehicular access on that because the roads are washed out. So, they've been building -- they've been trying to shore up this area from the north and from the south and I'm assuming that they're going to meet somewhere in the middle to try to get this blocked off.
M. O'BRIEN: All right. Well that is truly fascinating when you see it the way you just see it there. I understand a lot about the challenge that lies ahead because one of the big issues is just footing for that big, heavy equipment there. It -- and on the other side as you point out, which we can't see right now, the access is obviously very limited. But it also looks like they built a cougher dam down there, J.T., to try to stem the flow. Is that part of the process there?
ALPAUGH: Well, what they've done is they've put together what looks to be a barge system with a crane system -- and here I pan left to show you that area where they're staging from -- and you can see it right there in the middle of your screen.
O'BRIEN: Yes.
ALPAUGH: Those barges were put together and brought in within if past two days. And I'm assuming that this barge houses this crane. So, they're -- I think they're going float this.
M. O'BRIEN: To the other side of it. So that will be down the otehr side of it. All right. J.T. -- I'm sorry, go ahead. Finish up.
ALPAUGH: They're going to put that into position and maybe move some of those pontoons, if you will, into the area maybe to stop some of the water flow. M. O'BRIEN: Fascinating. J.T Alpaugh who is with Helinet and these pictures, really, I think, help people understand what's going on in the city of New Orleans. These were just taken this morning. Thanks for sharing them with us. And check back in with us again, will you?
ALPAUGH: Sure will, Miles. Thank you.
M. O'BRIEN: All right. Time for us to take a break. When we return, we're going to meet the general who the mayor of New Orleans described as kind of a John Wayne type. He thinks he's just the man to fix things there. CNN's Barbara Starr is on that story. Stay with us with for more on that.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: The military relief effort is under way. We're sure glad to tell you that. It's led by a Louisiana native, Lieutenant General Russel Honore. He had this assessment of progress made so far.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LT. GENERAL RUSSEL HONORE, HEAD OF MILITARY RELIEF EFFORT: Yesterday was a good day. We made much progress in building our capability in the area of operation in Mississippi as well as in Louisiana, focusing primarily on the remainder of today and the next 24 hours on continuing search and rescue operations, as well as delivering water and food as well as communications and fuel as a priority of work to get to the people.
The next 24 hours will be critical to us as we are trying to evacuate the 25,000 people at the -- approximately 25,000 people at the convention center.
This will be a tough work, but we have the conditions set and we will get that done. We will continue to flow forces in and capability so we can sustain this operation and continue the enormous search and rescue mission that runs from I-20 to the Gulf Coast of Mississippi and in and around greater New Orleans area.
So, there is still a lot of houses that are in flood conditions and we must continue to do search and rescue and continue the evacuation of those who are ill from this storm and those that have been isolated. So we will do our best and continue to do that over the next 24 hours. Over.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
M. O'BRIEN: Over. Honore's task force is headquartered in Camp Shelby, Mississippi, where Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr is standing by. She's had some exclusive access to General Honore on his recent mission to New Orleans. Barbara, over to you.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Hello Miles. Good morning to you. We are at Camp Shelby here. General Honore left just a little while ago to head right back into the city today. We traveled; we went with him all day yesterday throughout New Orleans for about 20 hours. Which is now General Honore's workday. He is literally going up and down the streets of New Orleans.
Yesterday as he indicated, his major effort for the day was to get that convoy of food, water and relief supplies moving towards the Convention Center. It was a monumental task. General Honore literally a three-star army general on the streets of New Orleans directing that convoy into position to get that food and water to those people as we have seen it continue to arrive and be delivered to them today. Listen to how this man works on the streets of New Orleans.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HONORE: Get those [ bleep ] down! Now!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STARR: He told the National Guard troops to point their weapons down. He is very, very adamant. He does not want this to look like Iraq. He says this is a humanitarian relief mission. At the Convention Center yesterday as we moved through the area of the Convention Center, what you see in New Orleans and what you continue to see is really a combination of both hope and misery, Miles. They are getting some food and water to these people but on the streets of New Orleans, in this area where these people have been living on the streets for so many days, there is no question.
It continues to be a very miserable existence. There are dead bodies out there. The stench is really quite significant. There is a lot of concern about the health situation on the streets.
Now for today as General Honore heads back into New Orleans, their major priority, he tells us, will be to get that evacuation of those 25,000 people out of the Convention Center area, get those people we see on the streets, get them on buses, get them out but also get an air life medical evacuation moving out of the area, identify the people who are the most sick and the most troubled physically and get them medevaced out of there. This is proving to really be a monumental task, Miles.
O'BRIEN: It is sure easier said than done. I think that picture of Honore telling them to get the weapons down is -- speaks a lot about him, because, in one case, he told a police officer, technically not in his chain of command, to put his weapon down, and he kind of looks at him and then says, Oh, and puts it down. So clearly, Honore is a guy people are listening to.
STARR: He is the -- he is, you know, the Man right now. Some of his staff here at Camp Shelby already is calling him indeed -- you know, a bit of humor here -- they're calling him the Ragin' Cajun. This man is from Louisiana. These are his people. He grew up here. He is very, very familiar with the people of Louisiana, with New Orleans, with the culture out here.
He is -- what is so remarkable, Miles, this massive military operation, when people ask, Why is it taking so long? The three-star Army general in charge of this is moving street by street, trying to make things happen, with a cell phone, with a battery that's dying out, just like the rest of us (INAUDIBLE)...
M. O'BRIEN: Yes, here's the shot, here's the shot right there. Lookit, there, this guy's, like, Wait a minute, you're not my boss -- Oh, maybe I better put it down. He puts it down.
So I think, I think if General Honore gave me an order, I'd listen. How about you, Barbara?
STARR: Pardon me, Miles? I'm having trouble hearing you.
M. O'BRIEN: If you received an order from Honore, I bet you'd listen. I think I would, too.
STARR: Oh, there is no question, when General Honore expresses his displeasure about what he sees. Let -- you know -- again, let me point something out. People say, Why is it taking so long? As we were moving through the streets, General Honore was directing helicopters to a particular area. We came back 20 minutes later, there'd some communications glitch. The helicopters weren't there. He was furious.
He picks up his cell phone -- again, with a dying battery, like the rest of us -- gets on the phone, calls people, and says, I want those helicopters there.
This is, you know, not the kind of communications that the U.S. military is used to. He is making it happen with what he has. And when he doesn't see something he likes, he picks up the phone, he calls the FEMA director, he calls the governor. He was -- we will tell you, he's been on the phone with the president.
This is why it's taking so long, Miles. There is no infrastructure. There is no ability to make these things happen as quickly as they would like.
But, now, let us tell you, you know, just how tough this is. Ten-thirty last night, we finally got to meet General Honore, finally got to the mayor of New Orleans. And what they sat down and talked about was their next priority, trying to get the dead bodies out of the water, trying to get some FEMA assistance in there.
They don't know how many dead bodies are in the water, but General Honore now feels that is one of the next priorities to keeping the disease down in the city, Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Barbara Starr, thank you very much. It's clear the general is the right man in the right place. Would have been nice on Tuesday, wouldn't it?
Back with more in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back, everybody.
You can really hear the noise over our shoulders. It is because those evacuations continue. It's good news. At some point, we've had five, even six choppers below us evacuating some of the people out of downtown New Orleans, we're not sure where they're coming from, bringing them here and seeing what kind of medical care they're going to require.
Let's get back to Tom Joyner. We were talking to him not too long ago. He's a syndicated radio talk show host. And we were discussing some of the racial undertones of this story.
Tom, good morning again.
My apologies. Our satellite took a hit, and we lost you kind of at the critical junction, because you were saying, frankly, at this point, it's beyond woulda, coulda, shoulda, and we need to focus on relief, and it's something that you are doing. Can you tell me about your efforts?
TOM JOYNER, RADIO HOST: Yes, Soledad.
What about the people who have taken in people? There are a lot of families out there who have taken in families, friends, neighbors, church members who have evacuated from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. And they're under a lot of stress.
Imagine, if you will, you're a family of four or five in a two- or three-bedroom house, and now you're a family of 20 or 25 people, and all the stress that comes along with that. So we said, OK, what can we do to make a difference?
So we've set up a relief fund to help families who have taken in families, because they need some relief too. And there are lots of families like that. The BlackAmericaWeb.com Relief Fund, all the money goes to families who have taken in evacuees.
S. O'BRIEN: All right. It's a terrific effort. I got to imagine, you're right, Tom, people are stretched in all kinds of ways, economically, certainly, as we just see the impact here in New Orleans as well. What kind of a response are you getting so far?
JOYNER: A phenomenal response. We have done, in one day, $131,000 that have come in small increments over the Internet. People have responded. And we've gotten many letters from people through their churches that have taken in evacuees. And starting Tuesday, we're going to start distributing our funds to those families who've taken in evacuees.
I mean, think about it. They've got groceries. They've got now school supplies. They need gas to get to wherever they're going. All the things that cost money for a normal family has now been extended to a family of maybe, you know, 10, 15, 20. Who knows how many people are in one household now? And trying to make it.
Everybody didn't get evacuated to the Astrodome or to the Reliant Center or somewhere else. People have gone to friends, family, and relatives. And those are the people that we're trying to help with the BlackAmericaWeb.com Relief Fund.
S. O'BRIEN: All right. Well, good luck to you in that, Tom. I think you're exactly right, there are a lot of people who are going to need a lot over the next many days and months and years, frankly.
Tom Joyner joining us again. And again, Tom, my apologies for losing you on the satellite.
You guys have got a short break. We're going to come back in just a moment. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: CNN, of course, has reporters based all around the hurricane-affected areas. We are analyzing every angle of the story, from the evacuations, to the environmental concerns, to the public health issues, on and on it goes.
Right now, we're going to take a look at the big picture here. Let's bring in some reporters, shall we?
Adaora Udoji is in New Orleans, Dr. Sanjay Gupta is in Baton Rouge, Jamie McIntyre at the Pentagon, and Tom Foreman in Washington.
Let's begin with Adaora. Adaora, you and I flew in on the same flight. You've been there, well, longer than me now. I suspect you haven't had much opportunity to have a shower, even. It's been hard duty. Have you had much of an opportunity to really reflect back, and sort of take in all that you've seen? I mean, it's -- the thing is so horrifying, and it's horrifying every time you turn around another corner.
ADAORA UDOJI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Miles, that's absolutely correct. And in thinking about what's gone on, as you said, we've been here since Sunday morning when people were preparing. And as we came into the airport, there was that mass exodus, and who are leaving town, and overnight, when the storm hit, and when it was over, I happened to be downtown at Tulane Hospital, and there was actually tremendous amount of relief on Monday afternoon around noon, because they hadn't suffered any flooding. The building had suffered minimal damage.
And so there was almost a sense of relief, because they had been preparing, working around the clock for several days, in fact, moving their emergency room from the first floor to the third floor. And then, not even seven hours later, the flooding began.
And we by then were outside of the city in Elysian Fields by midnight, where they were evacuating hundreds and hundreds of people, because entire neighborhoods, blocks and blocks, as we know now, were underwater. But even then, I don't think anyone had a sense of the complete -- how enormous the catastrophe was.
So there was this relief on Monday, and than it has just turned into absolute despair and agony and misery.
M. O'BRIEN: You know, Adaora, and I want to shift it over to Tom Foreman as we talk about this. Tom, you know, there's kind of a hurricane coverage template that we all mistakenly had, which was, you know, you go, you get blown around, you report on some power failures for a couple of days, and you -- then you head back home.
And in this case, we were fooled that first day. We thought it was just like that template. And all of a sudden, the levee broke, and everything changed.
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, there's no question about it.
The force of this storm is interesting, even in the middle of all that. And the range of it, we're talking about 150 miles of coast here.
And the other thing that we have to bear in mind is the, you know, the economic impact of this thing, which makes it different from other hurricanes. As you said, Miles, we sort of have an idea in our head of what they are. Usually, even though they're hurricanes, they're somewhat contained.
We're talking about something that has impact that goes so much more than the city of New Orleans, which we've been talking about here. This is something that spreads throughout the country, largely because of the New Orleans port. We've talked very little about this. But one-fifth of every single thing that is made in this country and shipped elsewhere, or comes into this country, comes down that river in that city.
And that's part of why this is, as you said, not fitting the template.
M. O'BRIEN: Sanjay, let's talk a little bit about what you've witnessed there, in particular, at Charity Hospital. You have -- you know, you were there, of course, during the invasion into Iraq, and spent some time in some MASH units there, actually, you know, participated, at times, in some surgeries.
The medical personnel that I spoke with at the airport in New Orleans said, in many respects, they have a much better setup in a theater of war than they do right there in New Orleans, because they come with the power and all the other things you need to be practitioners of good medicine. What you saw was incredibly primitive, wasn't it?
SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It really was.
And two things, I think, really caused that. One was a -- what seemed to be an utter lack of coordination, probably for some of the reasons that you and Tom were just discussing. I don't know that they really understood just how significant this flooding was going to paralyze what was going on in a hospital. Second of all, it was just the water, and what the water can do to a hospital, specifically. It floods the basement. That's where the morgues are, that's where the medical records are. It shuts down your electricity, your water, your plumbing, some very basic things necessary to be able to care of patients at all were essentially wiped out by the hurricane and the subsequent flooding as well.
So in some ways, it was more primitive than what we saw in Iraq. In some ways, it was more primitive than what I saw in Sri Lanka during the tsunami as well, because at least there, the hospitals and the clinics and the temples where people were staying were actually on higher ground. So they were, for the most part, pretty dry.
So it was very primitive, and very very frustrating as well for these doctors to try and be able to take care of these patients, Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Imagine that, the tsunami victims, in many respects were better off. That's very interesting.
Jamie McIntyre, all I have to say this morning is, Hooray for Honore. This guy seems to be the perfect guy for this job. Seeing him in the streets of New Orleans, telling them to put their M-16s down, for gosh sakes, and, you know, just, you know, let's get some tension out of here. Let a little steam off, please, I think is the best thing I've seen all week.
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, you can't understate the value of leadership, and even symbolism, sometimes, in showing that you understand the plight of the people, and that things are happening. And as you said earlier, you know, Gee, wouldn't it have been nice Tuesday? Honore said yesterday, Well, if this had been easy, it would have been done already.
But one of the things is, they go back and look at this plan, and why it took so long for troops to get their insignificant numbers. I think people are going to look at some of the methodical planning and say, Why wasn't maybe more imagination, more ingenuity employed in breaking the mold of the plan and trying to get some things in faster?
And again, you know, we're not making the mistake of thinking that all the problems are solved here. Still thousands of people are desperately in need of help, and that hasn't changed overnight. But what has changed overnight is the perception that, instead of things inexorably getting worse by day, that maybe they've turned the corner, and things are getting better. And there's still going to be a long uphill climb.
And part of that is the understanding that people understand the challenge, and that they're doing things to try to circumvent the bureaucracy, the normal red tape, even the logistical problems that are beyond their control.
You know, you saw Honore yesterday doing really sort of almost symbolic things, but at one point, our Barbara Starr, who was right along there with him, witnessed him come up to a mother who had twin babies, and she was struggling to even hold onto them. And he took the babies out of his arms, gave them to his soldiers, and arranged for them to immediately be medevac'd to a ship offshore.
Now, that's just one person. But what it sends a message that they understand the problem.
Of course, the whole -- his whole point about having the soldiers put their guns down, again, to reinforce that they're here to help, they're not here to, you know, intimidate people.
And so, as this flow of forces continues in -- and it's going to continue in over the next couple days, we're -- 15,000, or roughly that, in all of the states as of last night, it's going to be 30,000 by early next week -- we're going to start to see more of a semblance of order, and as things start to have a better trend.
But this is a mammoth task, and there are still, as we saw this morning, still thousands of people stranded, in need of help. And that hasn't changed.
M. O'BRIEN: I'm sorry, guys. They're pulling the plug on me. I've got so many more questions for you. But we'll have to do it another time.
MCINTYRE: We're here all day, Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: You know what? Hey, we'll bring you back the next hour. How's that? Can you guys stay nearby? And we'll bring you back the next hour. We'll continue this discussion, because I got more for you. All right? So, be ready.
Thanks for your insights, to Adaora, to Sanjay, to Jamie and Tom.
Let's take a break, and when we come back, now that the Astrodome is full, authorities are scrambling to find shelter for the tens of thousands of evacuees now in Texas. We'll talk to one of the officials coordinating that scene at the Astrodome. Lot more orderly than the Superdome, that's for sure.
Stay with us.
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S. O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody. You're watching a special edition of AMERICAN MORNING on a Saturday.
We're coming to you from New Orleans International Airport. You can see, this is where the evacuation efforts have really picked up steam. We've got one, two, three, four, five, six, seven choppers on the ground right now. Another couple we've seen right over there in the air over my right shoulder.
These evacuees being moved out of the city of New Orleans and being brought here. They'll get medical care, get some kind of treatment, and then eventually get shipped onward, shipped elsewhere. That bring us to Judge Robert Eckels. He is the man who is in charge of what is happening at the Houston Astrodome. Right now, we are told, there are -- the possibility that some 200,000 evacuees could end up at Houston. Obviously, not all of them at the Astrodome, which has been essentially tapped out.
Judge Eckels, thanks for being with us. We certainly appreciate your time. Give me a sense of just how it looks where you are. Is Houston overwhelmed?
JUDGE ROBERT ECKELS: Well, no, we are dealing with the people that are coming in. The Astrodome has about 15,000 people inside today. That's about the most we want to put in, to avoid the social side of the problems that you saw at the Superdome. We don't want to have people so crowded together. It's like going to a football game, and you never leave.
So we want people to have a little bit of space. It is crowded in the dome, but we do have 15,000 people on the floor and a few of the seats are staying in the dome.
We've overflowed the crowd into what we call our Astro Arena that is part of this Reliant, what we call Reliant Park here. We've got about 3,000 people in a full medical clinic in the arena. And we've opened our convention center that you see behind us that will hold another 8,000 people.
We've processed about 26,000 through this facility and about 18 are still here today. We can take up to about 26,000 total here. Others have gone on to family or friends or been reunited with folks that have taken them to other places.
We also have an overflow facility at the city of Houston's Brown Convention Center that can hold about another 7,000 or 8,000 people.
So we'll be able to take some more here in Houston at the centers as they show up.
We're triaging all of the folks that come in in Houston for the state of Texas. They're coming through a medical triage, on the buses, at least, being evaluated, taken to medical care here. And from there, those that don't need medical care will be routed either to San Antonio or Dallas or here in Houston at one of our facilities.
S. O'BRIEN: You know, these are folks -- and forgive me if I'm yelling, but I can't even hear myself think with these choppers landing behind me, which is great news, of course, because it's people being brought out of the city. But, you know, these are folks who are not leaving anytime soon in many cases. These are people who have no homes to return to. Is the city really prepared to take on all these people for an extended period of time?
ECKELS: Well, we will have to deal with that as it comes. We have right now probably 200,000 people in the city today. We have 45,000 hotel rooms that are occupied by folks from Louisiana. A number of them -- this is the largest of the shelters, but there are 17 Red Cross shelters in and around the area.
There are dozens, if not hundreds, of little ad hoc shelters from the churches, the faith-based community has really come in in a big way here. A lot of churches have either adopted folks in hotels or put them up in the church in groups of 20 or 50. And there are thousands of people that are just staying in homes of folks that have either come through the churches, the faith-based organizations, and accepted those folks into their homes, or get -- have family or friends.
So it's going to be a strain on the city. But our city is a big city, and we've got big hearts, and we'll find a way to deal with these folks as they come in. Most of the folks in here, again, the dome, the convention centers, they're a place for -- a stopping point, but they're not a place that you want to try to establish a life for people. It is a place that is not suited well for a long term.
So after a few weeks here, we'll be moving them out. Yesterday, we were able to put 100 people out of the dome and move them into -- or 100, about 100 people, into apartments and more suitable housing here. And next week, that will ramp up, and continue to be more and more folks where we can have at least several hundred a day moving out of this a facility into apartments, either in Houston or around the country.
S. O'BRIEN: Well, I got to tell you, Judge Eckels, the stories that we have heard about the compassion of people all around Texas just dropping off supplies for some of these folks that really have nothing, it's pretty amazing.
Thanks very much for being with us. Judge Robert Eckels, who's spearheading those efforts over at the Astrodome today, and will continue to do so.
A short break. We're back in just a moment.
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