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CNN Live At Daybreak

Hurricane Rita Bears Down; New Orleans Fears Second Round of Rough Weather

Aired September 23, 2005 - 06:00   ET

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


KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is Friday, September 23.
It's being called the great Texodus, as hurricane Rita bears down. Still a massive category four. The storm nears the Texas- Louisiana coast. Thousands attempting to flee but finding the highways are no way to get out of harm's way.

And in New Orleans, the big uneasy fears a second round of rough weather.

From the Time Warner Center in New York, this is DAYBREAK.

I'm Kelly Wallace, in today for Carol Costello, who is on assignment in New Orleans.

Good morning, everyone.

Thanks so much for starting your day with us.

Meteorologist Bonnie Schneider will have your forecast in just a moment. She is in for Chad Myers this morning.

Also ahead, after the storm, will the country see a Rita recession? And Americans dig deep into their closets to help hurricane victims but relief agencies say thanks but no thanks. We'll tell you why.

First, these stories now in the news. A suicide bomber aboard a bus killed one person and injured 17 others in central Baghdad today. The incident occurred near a bus station.

Also word today that two U.S. soldiers have been killed in separate incidents. One was killed by an improvised explosive device. The other was killed by small arms fire during combat.

Senate confirmation of John Roberts as the nation's 17th chief justice is all but assured. He was given a thumbs up from the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday. The Senate is voting next week.

And Coretta Scott King is back home after undergoing rehabilitation for a stroke and a mild heart attack last month. Doctors say the widow of the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. is now able to take a few steps with the help of a walker.

To our top story again on this Friday morning, hurricane Rita.

Tracking it all for us, meteorologist Bonnie Schneider in Atlanta -- hello again, Bonnie.

Everybody is going to keep asking you the same question -- where is the storm and when are we going to see it hit landfall?

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, ATS METEOROLOGIST: Well, it's not hitting landfall, I don't think, until tomorrow morning. But the thing to note about Rita is it's such a large storm, a powerful category four, maximum winds at 140 miles per hour, that the effects of Rita are already being felt in some locations. We're getting some reports of rain, certainly, in the New Orleans area, where we don't want it, and in the southeast corner there of Louisiana and those lower parishes.

Now, the rain is light to moderate. We haven't recorded that much in our indicated Doppler radar estimates. But we are starting to see the winds pick up. Look at this. Gusts now are stronger than this. But this is sustained winds, 33 miles per hour, in Grand Isle, almost tropical storm force strength. They'd have to get to 39 miles per hour to do that.

We do have a tropical storm warning in effect for New Orleans and for much of the coastal area of southeast Louisiana. The winds are a little calmer further inland. But as we travel out and we head back to the west, where we're concerned about landfall, we're starting to see the winds pick up a little bit, but not quite as much.

As we take a look at the winds now here, we've got them 21 miles per hour in Galveston, but in Houston, things are still pretty calm. The weather is not being affected right now in Houston, which is good news, since so many people are still trying to get out of the city and maybe out and about.

But I do think you'll start to feel those tropical storm force winds as early as this afternoon. Hurricane force winds for coastal Texas and into southeast Louisiana will be felt by tonight, even though the storm isn't expected to make landfall until early on Saturday morning.

The hurricane warning continues for the City of Houston. There's a tropical storm warning, which includes the city of New Orleans. And, once again, as we look toward landfall, a category four is a possibility, possibly a category three. In any case, Kelly, there is going to be a very large and a very powerful hurricane that will affect a pretty large area, as well.

WALLACE: I know. You keep reiterating it and it's so important to talk about sort of the size of this storm, that massive cone, and how all those areas, in those areas, are going to be affected.

SCHNEIDER: Yes. And, you know, I just want to mention, we have hurricane force winds that extend outward of 85 miles. So even if the storm comes through this area and doesn't hit Houston, we may see these hurricane force winds right over the border into Louisiana. And not to mention, I should have mentioned that storm surge. It's possible we could see storm surge as high as 20 feet. That's a lot of water in a short amount of time.

WALLACE: Absolutely.

OK, Bonnie, thanks so much.

SCHNEIDER: Sure.

WALLACE: We'll check in with you in about 10 minutes.

We want to take a look now at what is going on in the areas being threatened by hurricane Rita.

Traffic is moving slowly through parts of Texas. In Houston, the delay got so bad that some people ran out of gas or overheated. Others decided to go back home instead. Thousands are trying to leave the coastal areas of both Texas and Louisiana.

At least 11 oil refineries in Rita's projected path will be shut down by the time the storm rolls in. Facilities in Houston alone handle around 15 percent of the country's capacity. Three quarters of all the manned oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico have already been evacuated.

And New Orleans could face more trouble from hurricane Rita. But Mayor Ray Nagin says the levee system will be able to handle the projected three to five foot storm surge there. The already fragile area could still see several inches of rain, as well as high winds.

Well, as we've been hearing, hurricane Rita expected to make landfall some time early tomorrow morning. The area of most concern for a direct hit is between Galveston, Texas and the Louisiana state line. Galveston's mayor estimates that 90 percent of the residents have left the city.

But CNN's David Mattingly hasn't gone anywhere.

He's joining us now live this morning from Galveston -- good morning, David.

Good to see you.

Give us a sense of the situation on the ground there.

Are those winds picking up?

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The winds are picking up a little bit right now, as well as the surf. We are under that hurricane warning, which means to expect hurricane conditions here within the next 24 hours. We're expecting to see tropical storm force winds as early as late this afternoon.

But I have to tell you, for so many days leading up until now, there was a great deal of concern here because it looked like this island was the bull's eye of this storm. But as Rita continued to track to the north-northwest, it looks like landfall will be to the north of here, up the coast, and closer to Louisiana than it was earlier expected to be. For that reason, public officials are somewhat relieved, thinking that they will only get the one side of the hurricane that is the less intense side with the less winds, less of a storm surge and less rain. But they're still telling everyone to please remember that this is a very big and powerful storm. This island is going to take quite a bit of a hit regardless of where this hurricane decides to go right now.

Evacuations, as you said earlier, have been very, very successful here. They believe 90 percent of the population heeded the evacuation warnings and went off to the mainland to seek shelter.

Of the people that are remaining, the mayor believes there might be a few thousand left behind. They are probably going to stay here and ride the storm out now because, as you saw, there's tremendous lines of traffic. If people leave now, it's very likely they will get stuck in that traffic and have to ride the storm out in their cars.

Public officials here are now in their, sort of their hunkered down mode. They've moved to a hotel on the waterfront that it built to withstand this type of storm. There are dozens of police and law enforcement, rescue there. And they are preparing now for their plans of what they're going to do after this storm.

And because so many people got out of here, again, a source of relief. They think they will have less to worry about, more worried about property instead of human life after this storm is over -- Kelly.

WALLACE: David, obviously there is a little bit of relief there. But they're going to be watching everything oh so very closely.

David, thanks so much.

We'll be watching your reports throughout the morning and the day here on CNN.

David Mattingly reporting for us live from Galveston, Texas.

Well, where all roads out of South Texas lead to is really anybody's guess. As David was just talking about, thousands upon thousands of motorists trying to escape the hurricane have jammed Texas highways. They are stranded and their patience is fast running out.

Amy Barnett of CNN affiliate KPRC joining us live.

She's along -- she's off Highway 290 out of Houston.

Amy, thanks for joining us.

Give us a sense of the situation there right now.

AMY BARNETT, KPRC CORRESPONDENT: Well, the situation here is traffic is moving. That's wonderful compared to yesterday. But people have stopped now because they're running out of gas. We're at a gas station here right outside of Houston. There are a few cars still left here. You can see there is a person sleeping in this vehicle here. And this has been the situation since about yesterday evening around 7:00.

People running out of gas. They decided to stay here, hoping this gas station would get gas today and they could fill up.

But there's no word that that's actually going to happen. So these people don't know what they're going to do.

You'll have to excuse us. Sorry.

We're here with some people right here. We have Christine. We have Irene and we have Myra here. They have been here since yesterday. They were trying to evacuate from Pasadena. An hour drive typically took them two days to get here. And now you don't have gas.

What is your biggest concern right now?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My family, just my son, getting him back home or to a relative's so we can make it home safe. And we're probably going to make it home tomorrow or the day after.

BARNETT: And here's the situation we also want to talk about. The state is supposed to be sending in these big tanker trucks to help people fill up with gas. They are doing that. But now there's another problem, we've learned. They do not have the correct nozzles so that the gas tankers are in various parts of Houston and outside of Houston, but they can't get the gas to the people.

Fifteen miles from here, there's a truck ready to go. There are 50 people waiting around. But they can't get the gas to them right now.

And what is your thought about that? You're thinking about maybe going anyway, to wait for that gas in the...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm not waiting. I'm going with what I have and take off where I heard there is gas right now, which is off of another road. And I'm thinking of -- it's my own thoughts now. I'm not thinking about anybody -- I'm not waiting around for anybody to help me now. I'm going to get my -- try to get my kids, where I know they're in a safe place and that's all on my mind right now.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, the storm is coming.

BARNETT: Right.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The storm is coming and we're still here (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: One hour from Houston.

BARNETT: And how much gas do you have left in your car?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have like maybe, maybe a quarter of a tank. I'm just guessing, because in my car it doesn't read exactly right.

BARNETT: OK. And you're planning on waiting it out until somebody comes here, correct?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have to.

BARNETT: OK. OK.

People in a desperate situation, not knowing what they're going to do. So a lot of them are going to wait. A lot of them are going to drive until they run out of gas, hoping someone can help them as soon as possible.

We are live in Houston off 290.

I'm Amy Barnett reporting for CNN.

WALLACE: Amy, thanks so much.

We hope those folks get to a safe destination very soon.

Amy Barnett reporting from affiliate KPRC in Houston.

And something else that affiliate station is reporting, as well, that some ATMs are running out of cash at the same time.

Well, still to come this hour of DAYBREAK, will hurricane Rita blow in another recession?

And clothes by the truckload overwhelm relief agencies. We'll tell you why they would rather you didn't give storm victims the shirt off your back.

But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Friday morning, September 23.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WALLACE: And welcome back.

Your news, money, weather and sports.

It's almost 14 minutes after the hour and here is what is all new this morning.

A second person has died from that pedestrian accident in Las Vegas. The driver, 27-year-old Steven Ressa, facing murder and attempted murder charges. Police say he deliberately veered onto a sidewalk and ran over a dozen people on Wednesday.

In money, Bill Gates is still America's richest man. Gates topped the "Forbes" magazine list for the 11th straight year. His net worth is listed as just below $51 billion.

In culture, Warren Beatty is taking aim at California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. At a nurses association meeting, Beatty says the governor is pushing Bush administration policies on California. Lots of speculation that Beatty might consider running against Schwarzenegger in the next election.

In sports, a second delay for Louisiana State's first football game at Baton Rouge. Saturday night's game against Tennessee will be played Monday because of hurricane Rita. LSU's original home opener was postponed by hurricane Katrina.

And to the Forecast Center now.

Bonnie Schneider checking it all for us -- Bonnie, what's hurricane Rita doing at this moment?

SCHNEIDER: Right now winds are maximum at 140 miles per hour, Kelly, and the storm center is 250 miles southeast of Cameron in Louisiana. That's in southwest Louisiana in Cameron Parish.

The movement is to the northwest at nine and we're expecting that to continue on this track. We're expecting landfall some time early tomorrow morning. And that will be in the northwest Texas coast. So we do have a hurricane warning in effect for much of Texas into southwest Louisiana, a tropical storm warning continues for the City of New Orleans and coastal sections of southeast Louisiana.

Take a look at the track for Rita. You'll see landfall is imminent with this storm. It's a pretty wide range, though. We have hurricane winds that extend outward 85 miles from the center. So much of the region there will be affected by Rita when it makes landfall tomorrow morning.

WALLACE: OK, Bonnie.

We'll check in with you in about another 10 minutes or so.

Thanks so much.

Well, we have been telling you all morning about the traffic nightmare around Houston. A number of motorists have run out of gas and police are escorting National Guard gas trucks to aid those motorists.

We're looking at some of that bumper to bumper traffic you're seeing there right now.

We want to see what the Texas National Guard is doing.

Chief Master Sergeant Gonda Moncada of the Guard joins us on the phone from Austin.

Thanks for being with us today.

We appreciate it.

GONDA MONCADA, CHIEF MASTER SERGEANT, TEXAS NATIONAL GUARD: Good morning.

How are you?

WALLACE: Good.

Well, first, tell us a little bit about what the Texas National Guard is doing in terms of getting these tankers out onto the highways to help people who have run out of gas.

MONCADA: Yes, from what I understand, and I talked to my emergency operations center, we have dispatched two tankers, each containing 5,000 gallons of gas. And they tell me that they have been dispatched to Interstate 10, Interstate 45, Interstate 59 and Interstate 290.

Now, I have been listening to -- or I've received a lot of calls from your listeners throughout the night. And if the numbers that are being quoted to me are correct, those two tankers are not going to be sufficient, because I've been quoted thousands of cars that are without gas.

Sop I believe what we are planning to do is give each car enough gas to go to the nearest gas station but then, of course, we have been told that the gas stations are out of gas, too. So I am afraid I don't have all that great news.

WALLACE: Well, what about the possibility, then, of getting more tanker trucks out there? You know, Chief Master Sergeant, some people are saying didn't authorities anticipate that so many people would be leaving the area that you would have, one, traffic jams, and that you would need to have these traffic lines out on the highways?

MONCADA: Yes, ma'am, I understand what you're asking me, but I can only speak for this agency. And the Texas National Guard, basically the tankers that we have full of gas were earmarked for us to move into the affected area after the hurricane had gone through. So I've heard listeners say that the gas stations are going to be restocked with gas. So I'm hoping and praying that that, indeed, happens.

I've been looking at some news reports that were on earlier. The governor was saying that the gas stations were going to be restocked.

So this is really, at this point, this is all the information I have, that two tankers are on their way. And I fully understand that that is not going to be sufficient for the number of cars that's out there.

WALLACE: Sure.

Let me ask you, also, one of our affiliate reporters from KPRC, Amy Barnett, was reporting that at least one of the tankers out there doesn't have the correct nozzle to get the gas to both cars and gas stations, if that's the case.

Do you know anything about that?

MONCADA: Yes, ma'am. That was addressed earlier. We had to fly in one inch nozzles because our military vehicles, the nozzles are too large for civilian vehicles. So we had to fly in one inch nozzles and that has happened. So now they are retrofitting the nozzles to fit in the civilian gas tanks.

So that immediate problem has been resolved.

WALLACE: Well, that is good to hear. And I know you're doing a lot more on behalf of the Texas National Guard to help people both before the hurricane and after it hits.

Chief Master Sergeant Gonda Moncada of the Texas National Guard, joining us on the phone this morning.

Thanks again for being with us.

The watchwords are up and out. When hurricanes strike the Gulf Coast, gas prices go up and we don't go out.

Carrie Lee looks at the ripple effect of these storms.

And New Orleans is singing the blues, from the one-two punch of Katrina and now Rita. A live report from our very own Carol Costello coming right up.

But first, a live look at the waves rolling into Galveston Island this morning. You see it there.

DAYBREAK will be right back.

Don't go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WALLACE: And time now for a little "Business Buzz."

Even the world's largest retailer knows when to close its doors. Wal-Mart has closed more than 60 stores and distribution centers around the Houston area in anticipation of hurricane Rita. The company also has stored items that will be needed after Rita strikes, including about 620,000 gallons of water and 24 generators.

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita are wreaking havoc on the U.S. economy. So the question is, could this all lead to a recession?

Carrie Lee joins us now with a look at all of this.

People are using the "R" word now.

CARRIE LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Starting to think about this.

WALLACE: I'm a little surprised to hear that.

LEE: Well, it might be a little preliminary. But think about this. The last four recessions we've seen in this country have been preceded by very high oil prices. Well, this time around all of these refineries shut down in the Gulf of Mexico, causing some people to worry about rising costs for gasoline, $5 a gallon. We've heard about that. Some people afraid of it.

And the buck doesn't stop there, because it's not just gasoline. Natural gas prices are also at an all time high and 50 million homes use natural gas for heat. So consider this, energy costs for home and car usually amount to 5 percent of the family's budget. Well, with prices so high, they will eat up a bigger chunk this year, and that leaves families with less to spend elsewhere.

Retailers are already weighing in. Wal-Mart said high gas prices were hurting its customers, and this was even before the hurricanes came. Also, Applebee's say high gas prices resulted in fewer visits to its restaurants and companies are paying these high prices, too, meaning it's costing them more to make and ship goods.

So this all forces them to raise prices, leading to the "I" word, inflation, perhaps.

One final factor, the job market. More than 200,000 people have lost their jobs due to hurricane Katrina. That's just so far.

So what can we do to prevent a recession? Well, it probably comes down to me, you, everyone watching, spend money. Consumer spending, that's what kept our economy afloat after 9/11.

WALLACE: But there's one concern, which is that because of the high gas prices, people might say, you know what, I'm not going to go to the mall or I'm not going to make that trip to my aunt Susie's...

LEE: Exactly.

WALLACE: I'm going to stay home.

Are we seeing that now?

LEE: Exactly. Well, that's Wal-Mart, Applebee's. What's going to be interesting, when we start to hear about third quarter preliminary numbers. We'll see how this impacts corporate America in the third quarter. So it hits them as far as consumers spending less and then their high costs go up. It's a double whammy.

WALLACE: And how are the markets reacting to all of this?

LEE: Well, right now futures are looking mixed, so we'll see what happens at 9:30.

Yesterday, though, we started off weak and ended higher. All the major market indices actually added a little bit of ground. So maybe some people coming in and seeing a buying opportunity.

WALLACE: All right, maybe already kind of factoring in the possibilities.

LEE: Exactly.

WALLACE: OK, Carrie, great to see you.

You have a wonderful weekend.

LEE: Yes, same to you.

WALLACE: Carrie Lee with the "Business Buzz" this morning.

Still ahead here on this Friday edition of DAYBREAK, we are tracking hurricane Rita as the storm continues its slow trek toward land.

And how prepared is New Orleans for round two, this time with Rita? Carol Costello joining us live from there. We're looking at a live picture right now of the Crescent City connector.

DAYBREAK continues in just a moment.

Don't go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WALLACE: And from the Time Warner Center in New York, this is DAYBREAK.

I'm Kelly Wallace in today for Carol Costello, who is on assignment in New Orleans. And we'll be checking in with her in just a moment.

Thanks so much for waking up with us.

Coming up this half hour, we'll see how Texans are getting ready for hurricane Rita. We've got a live report coming up from Galveston.

We'll also go live to New Orleans. And that's where Carol is. She's standing by to tell us how that city is getting ready for its second storm.

But first, these stories now in the news.

President Bush wants the nation to know the response to Rita will be different from what happened with Katrina. He travels to San Antonio, Texas today to review hurricane preparations. Later, he'll monitor the storm from the U.S. Northern Command headquarters in Colorado.

A prison disturbance erupts in Chino, California. Authorities say guards used foam bullets, pepper spray and tear gas to get control of about 200 inmates. There's no word on what triggered the disturbance. Five prisoners were taken to a hospital.

Father and son terror suspects from Lodi, California have court dates today in Sacramento. They're charged with lying about attending terror training camps in Pakistan. And the younger man facing new charges of providing material support to terrorists.

And again, to our top story on this Friday morning, tracking hurricane Rita.

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