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CNN Live At Daybreak

Hurricane Rita: Category 4

Aired September 23, 2005 - 05:28   ET

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


KELLY WALLACE, CNN ANCHOR: But first, we want to go right to Galveston, Texas. This is a part of the situation we are following there certainly. The state's governor calling it the largest evacuation in Texas history. Rick Perry appealing to millions of coastal residents to head elsewhere, but now it is extremely hard to get anywhere fast.
CNN's Sumi Das is live in Galveston, Texas, for us this morning.

Sumi, good to see you. What's the situation there, because it appears that most folks got out of Galveston already?

SUMI DAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You're exactly right, Kelly. In fact, the mayor of Galveston yesterday said that 90 percent of the city's residents had evacuated. And she was pleased about that figure. She did say, however, that a few thousand remain here in the city. Now it may be too late for those folks to leave, especially given the traffic conditions.

The National Hurricane Center has said that Rita is -- quote -- "a very, very dangerous storm." And most people are heeding that warning.

Prior to Katrina, President Bush was wrapping up a vacation in Crawford, Texas. In these days leading up to Rita, the president is very engaged in defending the country from this large and powerful storm.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUMI DAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Not wanting a repeat of admitted failures in Katrina's aftermath, President Bush visits Texas today for a firsthand look at preparations for Hurricane Rita. He'll meet with emergency workers there, then head to Colorado.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This will give him a firsthand look at the northern command and how the military is assisting in federal government response efforts.

DAS: Well before landfall, Hurricane Rita is proving to be a menace to people trying to get out of the way.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Out this door, to the right.

DAS: At Houston's two major airports, passengers faced security lines several blocks long, partly because scores of screeners did not show up for work. The airports are to close at noon local time today. On the roads, freeways became parking lots as massive traffic jams stretched for miles and miles.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Traffic is not moving. We go a car length at a time.

DAS: Texas Governor Rick Perry urged drivers not to reverse course, saying they would make it out of the coastal region in time. But late Thursday, traffic and fuel shortages led Houston Mayor Bill White to advise otherwise.

MAYOR BILL WHITE, HOUSTON: If you haven't gotten in your car at this time to evacuate and you are in, not in the A zone, not in the B zone, the coastal zones, that now is not the time to get into your car to start your evacuations.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DAS: To assist stranded motorists, two tanker trucks filled with 5,000 gallons of gas each will be dispatched this morning to evacuation routes in the Houston area -- Kelly.

WALLACE: Sumi, thanks for the latest from there. Sumi Das reporting live for us from Galveston, Texas.

Now a look at these stories in the news.

The U.S. military is investigating the death of an Iraqi detainee. The man was shot to death by a Marine guard in Falluja after he tried to attack the guard. The military's statement says the Iraqi had been detained for -- quote -- "suspected terrorist activities."

Turning now to the Middle East and staying in the Middle East. Three Palestinians were shot and killed early today when Israeli troops raided a village in the northern West Bank. Troops had surrounded a building where armed Islamic jihad members were thought to be hiding.

Father and son terror suspects from Lodi, California, have court dates today in Sacramento. The younger man, Hamid Hayat, facing new charges of providing material support to terrorists. That is in addition to charges of lying about attending terror training camps in Pakistan.

And again, sticking with our top story, Hurricane Rita, meteorologist Bonnie Schneider in the Forecast Center today for Chad Myers.

Hi, Bonnie. What's the latest from there?

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: OK, Kelly, checking things out here for Hurricane Rita. This is such a large storm. It's almost 400 miles wide, enormous. And that's why we have hurricane warnings that stretch all the way from coastal sections of northern Texas back out to much of the southwest Louisiana coastal area. And not to forget that hurricane warnings are also posted inland. And that means cities, like New Orleans is under a tropical storm warning, and hurricane warnings extend for the city of Houston. So we have a tropical storm warning for New Orleans and a hurricane warning for Houston right now. And that means we're going to be seeing those strong winds develop as we work our way through the day and especially by tonight as the storm approaches.

It's moving right now to the northwest at about nine miles per hour. On this track, we're expecting landfall early on Saturday morning, possibly as a Category 4 or a Category 3. But in any case, the storm is so large and so powerful that it's likely to do a lot of damage. We're expecting storm surge in excess of 18 feet or more in certain areas. And rainfall totals could get as high as 15 inches in some locations.

Notice, once the storm even comes on shore it remains a hurricane. That's a sign of a powerful hurricane, as a Category 1. It doesn't look like Houston will get a direct hit. But once again, this is a large storm. Hurricane force winds extend outward 85 miles. So 85 miles anywhere from where you see this line we'll be watching for some very strong winds and possibly a lot of damage as well. And certainly power outages will be a big concern.

Well speaking about the intensity, that's where it gets tricky to forecast. Will it come on shore as a Category 4, like it is right now, or will it go down to a Category 3? This is the Gulf of Mexico sea surface heights. And the area here you see in red is known as The Loop Current. Now when we were watching Rita yesterday, it got up to Category 5 strength with maximum winds 175 miles per hour, the storm was passing over this Loop Current, which is an area of very warm and very deep water right in the center of the Gulf of Mexico.

Now the current track takes the storm over some more warm water. This time it's not The Loop Current but it's an Eddy. Kind of a spin- up, a whirlpool of some warm water that broke apart from The Loop Current. And as the storm passes over this, we're concerned that it may strengthen a little bit more. There is some wind sheer in the forecast as well for the rest of the day today into tonight, so hopefully that will counteract it. But this is something we're definitely going to have to be watching because it could strengthen Rita just a bit more, as you can see in the forecast.

And as we look further on for landfall, it moves away from this warmer water and eventually gets on shore, hopefully as a less intense hurricane. But at this point, this storm is so large and so powerful we really can't rule out that it will strengthen or at least maintain itself as a Category 4.

And, Kelly, what's interesting to note is this spin-off Eddy I was talking about that broke off from The Loop Current wasn't even there a month ago. That is a result of Hurricane Katrina. It changed the dynamics of the Gulf of Mexico.

WALLACE: All right, Bonnie, a lot to watch for. And of course everybody is hoping, hoping that possibly this storm could weaken, even just a little bit, before it makes landfall. But we'll have to see if that's the case. OK, Bonnie, we'll check in with you in about 10 minutes or so. Thanks so much.

Well the National Guard says it is now wait and see and hope for the best in New Orleans. The mayor is optimistic rains from Hurricane Rita won't be too much for his city to handle.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR RAY NAGIN, NEW ORLEANS: The big thing that we need to watch going forward is we probably will experience some tropical force winds. With that, you know levee systems we're hoping are going to hold. With that, we're hoping the storm surge is not any higher than three to five feet. If it's any higher than that, then you could have water pushed into the city and then the pumping capacity really becomes a challenge.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALLACE: And our Carol Costello is following all of the developments in New Orleans this morning. She's joining us by phone.

Carol, good to talk to you again today. Give us a sense of the weather situation there now.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is raining really hard here now, Kelly, and the wind is really blowing. The biggest fear, really, that people have is that this hurricane will be a slow mover. I just looked into Bonnie's forecast, it sounds like it is a slow mover, because of course that means it will stick around for some time and dump more and more rain on the city of New Orleans. And you heard the mayor, it just can't take it.

The saddest thing I saw yesterday, you know people were continuing to work in the city. They were putting up electric lines, they were getting their places ready and aired out. They were doing all the things that you would do after a hurricane and they were trying not to think about Rita coming and destroying all of their hard work.

I also saw the saddest sight. I was going in to one of the hardest hit areas. And the city of New Orleans rescinded the citizen passes to get back in to the hardest hit areas, so you couldn't drive back in to your neighborhood to gather what belongings you had left.

So people were literally parking their cars miles away and walking in to the most damaged neighborhoods, going into their homes, strapping what little they had left on these dollies and pulleys. And they were walking them for miles out of the neighborhood, because they were afraid if Rita produced a lot of rain, their homes would flood again and they would lose whatever they had left. I must say that was one of the saddest sights I saw yesterday.

WALLACE: Incredible. And, obviously, Carol, you know tensions must be high. Because you know you continue to watch the tracking of the storm, and it's moved -- keeps moving in an eastern direction. Give us the sense of sort of the mood of people on the ground there.

COSTELLO: Well I think they're a little anxious. But, frankly, most people are out. And the areas that would get flooded are the areas already mostly damaged. And there are no people living in there, so I suppose that's a bit of good news.

As the mayor said, it's the wind and the storm surge that's really a concern, because that could really -- that could break that 17th Street levee again. It's already broken, but the Army Corps of Engineers, you know, they put sandbags in and they put gravel and sand and they erected these big steel curtains to handle a three-to-six- foot storm surge.

But if it's higher than that, they admitted that they can't control it. It will go over the levee and the areas will flood again. But again, the areas that would flood are the areas worst hit and there are no people in there. And you've got to wonder what difference does it make, because those homes have to be torn down anyway.

Now you talk about the pumping stations. I talked to Joe Sullivan, the guy who runs New Orleans pumping stations. They're running at 44 percent capacity right now. He says that he can handle four feet of water, which is what three to six inches of rain would produce in parts of New Orleans. He said I may be mule headed, you remember that soundbyte, I may be mule headed, but we'll get that water out, it'll just take some time.

WALLACE: Yes, Carol, that's one of the more memorable soundbytes, as well as with Lt. Gen. Honore saying don't get stuck on stupid, reporters. Can't forget that.

OK, Carol, we're going to talk to you in the next hour. Carol Costello, our very own, reporting live from New Orleans this morning. We appreciate it.

And this just in to CNN, folks, we want to tell you about a situation going on right now in Manchester, England, at the Manchester Airport in England. We understand that portions of the airport are closed after British police arrested a man they say was acting suspiciously on the airport apron close to one of the stands where aircraft are parked.

Apparently, as officers tried to arrest the man, police say he struggled with them, forcing them to use a Taser stun gun to take him into custody. Right now the bomb squad is investigating a package at the airport, so portions of two terminals are closed. We will continue to follow this developing story and bring you the latest as we get it.

Well, turning again to Hurricane Rita. As you know, President Bush has asked his father and former President Bill Clinton to raise money for Katrina victims.

Our Soledad O'Brien talked to the former president about his relationship with President Bush. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The deal I have with him basically is, and the deal I have with former President Bush, is I haven't asked them to abandon their politics and their differences with me and they don't ask me to do that. All we do is we -- I don't like personal attacks.

And I try to, if someone asks me where I stand on you know the future of FEMA or the tax cuts or whatever, I answer in good conscience what I believe. But I don't ever attack the president personally. In fact, I go out of my way to say look, he believes this. He has a deep conviction that he's right and I just disagree.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALLACE: OK, you want to find out just what those disagreements are by watching Soledad's interview with former President Clinton. It airs in its entirety on "AMERICAN MORNING" at 7:00 a.m. Eastern.

Well all this wicked weather has got people wondering is it the worst it's ever been and is it some sort of sign? We'll get answers from an expert later this hour.

Plus, find out what Houston hospitals are doing to prevent the dire conditions we saw at hospitals in New Orleans during Katrina.

But first, here is a look at what else is making news this Friday morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WALLACE: And welcome back.

Your news, money, weather and sports. It's 44 minutes after the hour. And here is what is all new this morning.

President Bush is keeping a close eye on Hurricane Rita. He will visit emergency workers in San Antonio, Texas, today and later fly to U.S. northern command headquarters in Colorado where he will watch as Rita arrives.

In money, Delta Airlines announcing big changes as part of the company's restructuring. Nine thousand jobs will be cut, along with capacity along its domestic routes. Some key executives will also take as much as a 25 percent pay cut. Delta filed for bankruptcy protection just over a week ago.

In culture, Hollywood is trying to capture the church-going audience. Studios are starting to offer advanced screenings of some of their more family-friendly films in churches. That includes Disney's "The Chronicles of Narnia," which hits theaters in December.

In sports, the New York Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles to lengthen their lead in the American League East. Yankee fans are happy. The five-to-one win puts the Yanks one game ahead of the Red Sox. That's their biggest lead over Boston since the second week of the season.

To the Forecast Center now and meteorologist Bonnie Schneider.

Hello -- Bonnie.

SCHNEIDER: Hello, Kelly.

Hurricane Rita is still a powerful Category 4 storm with maximum winds at 140 miles per hour. This storm is moving to the northwest at nine miles per hour. And on this track, we are expecting landfall sometime early Saturday morning on the north Texas coast.

Now even though the storm has not made landfall, we are still feeling some effects in the city of New Orleans. We're getting some light to moderate rain. We've had some spotty showers through the night. And the winds have picked up as well. We're getting some wind speeds that are recorded to be on the way up, especially in Grand Isle, Louisiana, where current winds are at 33 miles per hour, almost at tropical storm force strength. So we'll be watching that throughout the day -- Kelly.

WALLACE: OK, Bonnie, we'll talk to you in a few minutes.

Well still to come here on a busy morning on DAYBREAK, is it global warming or just a natural cycle? What exactly is causing all of this wild weather and what can we do about it? Next, we'll talk to an expert who will have some answers. That's all coming up. Don't go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. KATHLEEN BLANCO, LOUISIANA: Next year when hurricane season starts, you know FEMA is going to have to come in and maybe establish itself along the coastline to be able to have quick response or learn how to staff up very, very quickly. And that makes a very big difference.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALLACE: That's Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco looking ahead to next hurricane season as she prepares her state for a possible second hit, this time from Hurricane Rita, less than four weeks after Katrina flooded New Orleans. Blanco is now pleading with people to get out of the city. And she says those who stay should -- quote -- "write their Social Security numbers on their arms with indelible ink." An incredible quote there.

So here's a question I bet you've been asking and talking about with your family and friends, what is up with all this wild weather this season? Two Category 4 hurricanes striking the United States in less than a month is unprecedented. Is it the worst it's ever been? Can we expect more to come? So many questions, but what about answers?

Joining us live is Jay Hobgood, Director of the Atmospheric Sciences Program at Ohio State University.

Boy, we are all so excited to talk to you this morning, so many questions. Thanks for joining us.

JAY HOBGOOD, PH.D., OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY: You're welcome. Good morning.

WALLACE: Good morning. So first question, why are we seeing such wild weather, more wild weather this season than we've seen in previous years?

HOBGOOD: Well there are two factors that are causing all the activity we're seeing in the tropics. The water is abnormally warm this year and the upper level winds have been very light. And those two factors are just perfect for the development of hurricanes.

WALLACE: A lot of people, of course, as you know, are asking or speculating is this a sign of global warming. Is it?

HOBGOOD: Global warming may be playing a slight role in all of the activity that we're seeing. But what's really happening is that we're in a longer-term cycle and we're in the part of the cycle now where we see more activity, more hurricanes and tropical storms forming.

WALLACE: So you talk about this, this is part of sort of a natural cycle. So we have seen these cycles, I imagine, in previous decades?

HOBGOOD: Correct. We, in the '40s, '50s and '60s, we saw an upsurge in hurricane activity. And in the '70s and '80s and early '90s, we were in a relatively quiet period. I mean I think it's interesting to note that the 1950s were actually the decade with the most hurricanes.

WALLACE: That's interesting, so the 1950s a decade with the most hurricanes. Compare it to what we're seeing now, because certainly people say, even meteorologists say, we are seeing you know kind of record numbers of named storms this season than in previous years. So is it the worst now that it's ever been?

HOBGOOD: It's close to the worst now that it's ever been. I mean we're on pace to have a record number of tropical storms this year. But again, I think it's useful to remember that the current record is 1933, which had 21 tropical storms. So we still need to have five more tropical storms to form to set a record this year.

WALLACE: I think this other point you're going to make in just a second is not going to be good news to folks in Florida and all along the Gulf Coast. You think we're going to see many more years of active storm seasons.

HOBGOOD: That's right. The active periods that we've seen in the past have lasted 20 to 30 years. And the current active period really only started in 1995. So we could have another 15 to 20 years of enhanced hurricane activity. WALLACE: That is tough to hear, certainly for all the folks in those hurricane areas. But we really appreciate you talking with us. Jay Hobgood, Director of the Atmospheric Sciences Program at Ohio State University, answering some questions that have been on a lot of our minds lately.

Still to come here on DAYBREAK, how Houston plans to shield its hospitals from the approaching storm so that what happened in New Orleans doesn't happen in Houston. Don't go away. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WALLACE: And welcome back.

During Hurricane Katrina, we all watched and listened to the desperation at hospitals in New Orleans. Patients and staff trapped and without power as the water rose relentlessly. It took days before the people in hospitals could be rescued. So, what's the plan for hospitals in Houston?

CNN's senior medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta explores that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. JEFF KALINA, METHODIST HOSPITAL: Beyond that, the smaller circles are what we call special lead times.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the wake of Hurricane Katrina four weeks ago and Tropical Storm Allison four years ago, Texas Medical Center is taking no chances with Rita.

(on camera): Where did the water get to? Did it get all around here?

KALINA: It got around three feet up.

GUPTA (voice-over): Dr. Jeff Kalina, who's on the Texas Medical Center's Disaster Preparedness Committee, says they have learned a lot and are confident they can continue to safely treat patients here.

KALINA: We are not below sea level like New Orleans is.

GUPTA (on camera): Why don't you just move the patients out? I mean if this place might get hit by a Category 5 hurricane, why not just move them out?

KALINA: Well you know evacuating a hospital is not an easy task. We're a pretty safe haven for patients.

GUPTA (voice-over): Houston falls into a very interesting position, you see they won't accept any patients once the hurricane starts, because they may get hit themselves. But they aren't quite worried enough to evacuate the thousands of patients here now. (on camera): I'm standing on top of Methodist Hospital. All around me 70 acres and about 40 hospitals. It is the largest hospital complex in the world. And today, all of these hospitals are talking to one another. They are preparing for a hurricane, loss of electricity, loss of water, loss of plumbing and possible flooding. This will be their first true test since Tropical Storm Allison.

You lose power, what happens?

KALINA: We have generators and the center point (ph) has backup trucks in case the generators go out.

GUPTA: You lose communication, can't call anybody on the phones?

KALINA: We have walkie-talkies and satellite phones.

GUPTA: The water goes out?

KALINA: We have our own self-contained water supply.

GUPTA: There's violence. Looting breaks out around the hospital?

KALINA: We have security and we have in-house police that are off duty, with an agreement from the police department that those police officers are allowed to stay on duty here.

GUPTA: Flooding, lots of flooding?

KALINA: Yes, we have floodgates.

GUPTA: Your ventilators stop working in the ICU?

KALINA: We have backup generator power.

GUPTA: Really, and you've thought of everything.

KALINA: Yes.

GUPTA: How comfortable are you right now with you know preparedness of Texas Medical Center?

KALINA: And so I'm very confident that we can ride this thing out.

GUPTA (voice-over): For now, they are 100 percent confident. And some of this helps. Sure, there is the obvious, like boarded up windows. But consider this, unlike at Charity Hospital in Louisiana where generators were in the basement and quickly shorted out, these generators are several feet above sea level. And there are 300,000 gallons of diesel fuel to power them all through the hospital.

There are also wireless devices, if communication goes down. Places to sleep and plenty of food and water, a stockpile for eight days. And these remarkable doors, floodgates really, just like a submarine. First to keep the water from getting in, second to contain it if it does seep through.

Dr. Jeff Kalina will be on duty here through the hurricane. And this time, they say, they're ready.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Texas Medical Center, Houston.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALLACE: And we thank Sanjay for that report. The next hour of DAYBREAK is just one minute away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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