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People Still Leaving Houston; Winds Making Waves in Galveston; Bus Fire On Interstate 45; Hurricane Rita Update; Levee Breach In New Orleans; Red Cross Prepares for Rita

Aired September 23, 2005 - 10:00   ET

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

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Again, we should mention of course, a special edition of AMERICAN MORNING coming this weekend.
Let's get right now, though, to Daryn Kagan. She's at the CNN Center and she's going to take you through the next couple of hours on CNN LIVE TODAY.

Good morning, Daryn.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Soledad, good morning to you and to Miles.

We'll get started.

Good morning, everyone. I'm Daryn Kagan at CNN Center in Atlanta.

We begin by taking a look at the latest for Rita.

In the midst of fear of an advancing natural disaster, a manmade tragedy unfolds on a highway south of Dallas. This bus was ferrying some 45 elderly evacuees from Houston and Rita's possible path when it caught fire on a gridlocked interstate. As many as 20 people are feared dead. It appears that malfunctioning brakes sparked a fire that then caused on- board oxygen tanks to explode.

That crash brought some traffic to a standstill, but the flow of evacuees outside Houston has been gradually moving and improving today. Some two million people under evacuation orders and there have been estimates that a remarkable 90 percent have heeded that warning in some areas. Overnight, many drivers ran out of gas on the clogged highways as they inched along at maybe a mile or two an hour.

The past 24 hours have put New Orleans more in harm's way. The Katrina ravaged city will likely avoid a direct hit from Rita. But heavy rains from the outer band could prove equally disastrous by overwhelming the damaged and weakened levees.

Over the next three hours we're going to bring you up to the minute information on Hurricane Rita as it turns menacingly in the Gulf of Mexico. The category four storm weakened just a bit overnight but it's still considered extremely dangerous as it drifts towards landfall. Probably sometime early tomorrow morning. It's expected to hit the upper Texas coast or into Western Louisiana.

We do have CNN correspondents posted at major points of this developing story. Our David Mattingly is in Galveston, Texas. Our national correspondent, Bob Franken, is inland. He is in Houston.

And, Bob, we're going to start with you.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And one of the few people, relatively few people, left in Houston. And, of course, among those trying to escape a terrible tragedy just south of Dallas. It was a bus full of people from a nursing home here in the Houston area. Many of them using oxygen. Reports on the scene say more than 20 may have died in an accident that apparently started because of one mechanical problem or another. There was a fire that then spread and consumed, officials believe, some of the oxygen tanks causing explosions on board the bus and a terrible tragedy there.

It has been part of this awful exodus it's only way to describe it of this evacuation plan from Houston that has turned, many believe, into a debacle with 24 hours on the road as people tried to escape Houston. Traffic jams had back up to 100 miles according to some eyewitnesses who complain that the various traffic flow initiatives that were put into effect, such as the so-called counter momentum one, which is supposed to move traffic on all highway in one direction, caused more confusion than it solved problems.

At any rate, it is letting up just a little bit. The mayor of Houston is saying, if you haven't left by now, just don't bother.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR BILL WHITE, HOUSTON, TEXAS: We're not advising people to get in their car and leave because of the conditions on the road and the condition of the storm. We are, as we said from the outset, there would pass a time where if you didn't leave, the conditions could be more dangerous for you on the roads.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FRANKEN: Now, as for those of you who might be watching who are trying to fly out of Houston, in just a short time, a couple of hours, they're going to shut down the airport. That was kind of a mess, too. There were just thousands of people trying to leave Houston by international airport here. But a lot of the security people just didn't show up.

It was a horrendous mess. They're going to be shutting it down about noon local time today. And, Daryn, all of these problems have happened before the storm has even hit.

KAGAN: And so no easy way to get out of Houston with this storm. We've seen a lot of people run out of gas on the highway but apparently there's not a lot of gas to be had in the city as well.

FRANKEN: No. We had a personal experience with that. We, on the other hand, were trying to get into Houston and had to sort of weave our way past blockades. It reminded me a little bit of going into a war zone. But every once in a while we try and find a gas station. Finally did. But there was a very long line and it was so long that local policemen somewhere in one of the suburbs decided he better station himself there just to prevent trouble. And, believe me, he was useful.

KAGAN: Bob Franken, thank you so much.

Right now the mayor of Houston is speaking. Here's Bill White. Let's listen in.

QUESTION: With people. Perhaps no way to the highway (INAUDIBLE).

MAYOR BILL WHITE, HOUSTON, TEXAS: (INAUDIBLE), they this is a dangerous storm. It is a dangerous storm for the Houston region with these kinds of winds and with this kind of rain. For some people, there may be special danger. That's why we took precautions to evacuate early from nursing homes. That's why a judge and I made a decision to open the contra flow lanes at 2:00 a.m. in the morning.

I'm not telling people there is a safe place or any guarantee of their safety. I am saying, though, that there are certain that there are things that could pose greater risk to people in a shelter situation or being in route to shelters and that there is a plan for those most at risk to shelter them. And that we are not encouraging the general public to go on the streets looking for a shelter.

Yes.

QUESTION: So what should they do?

WHITE: What the judge said. What you want you want the judge to repeat that?

QUESTION: Well, no. But if there's stuff on the side of the road, I mean, it's 9:00 and in the next couple of hours or so the fuel truck doesn't get to them . . .

WHITE: Yes. OK. That plan is being implemented. There are resources that have made their way up and there are a number of people those that have been implemented throughout this morning. Now . . .

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE) plans are. They're listening to us on the radio. They're . . .

WHITE: You mean on the highways? OK. Yes.

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE) there is one.

WHITE: Yes. Well, I mean, if they're without if a person is on the side of the road, that all of our emergency response capabilities and metro is mobilized to get people off the roads to a safe place and we're asking people to cooperate if they're stranded on the side of the roads with those people that are rescuers and we're beginning in Harris County. We'll try to project our resources out. And when judge and I leave here, we're going to ongoing meetings with the state where there is a responsibility of surrounding counties and state officials. We'll try to do as much as we can.

KAGAN: We've been listening into Houston Mayor Bill White. The concern of all those folks getting out. Perhaps getting out too late and being stuck on the side of the road. What they're trying to do so that people aren't stuck there when Hurricane Rita does come ashore into the Houston area.

Basically the mayor saying there is great risk in this storm and there is no guaranteed safe place where people can ride it out if they still are in Houston.

Let's head to the southeast now from Houston into Galveston and that's where we find our David Mattingly. David, good morning.

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn.

The winds picking up just a little bit every single hour. But this is one of those deceptive times before a big storm comes in. You want to look out at the surf. You want to take in the conditions out here. Think it's going to be a very nice day. But conditions are really going to deteriorate later today.

But with talking about the surf, it proved to be irresistible for one man before dawn this morning. He went out with his surf board and police really didn't appreciate that. So when he came back into shore, they slapped the handcuffs on him and took him away. There's been so much talk about all people who have left for a very brief time today that focus was on the one man who stayed behind.

We have life pictures to show you of the surf right now. You can see why it was so irresistible to him. You can sit out here by the sea wall and just see one pounding wave after another coming in. Their frequency and their size are gradually increasing as well.

And just to give you some sign that there is a big, big storm out there. Earlier in this week they were so afraid that a category five was going to come right over the top of them here. Now they believe now we're down to category four and they believe it's going to track off to the north.

But Galveston is still very much in that area of danger if the storm decides to come back to the south a little bit. We could be right in the cross hairs again and see some very, very serious damage. But even as it stands right now, we're going to see 100 plus mile an hour winds after midnight tonight causing extensive damage across this island.

Daryn.

KAGAN: David, one break that Galveston does catch I was listening to the mayor talk yesterday. How even if it does get this incredible storm surge, it will not be like New Orleans because just the natural tides, they might come up one side but it will go out the other as the tide goes down.

MATTINGLY: That's right. This is something that we would see normally and normally associate with your traditional hurricane. Because New Orleans was in a bowl, the water came in and stayed there and had to be pumped out. But here, if the water comes in with a tidal surge, as soon as the tide goes out, the water's going to disappear with it.

KAGAN: David Mattingly live from Galveston, Texas. Thank you for that.

One of the tragedies already associate with the storm, a bus that caught fire near Dallas carrying a number of older evacuees. With the latest on that, I have on the phone with me right now Sergeant Don Peritz. He is with the Dallas County Sheriff's Department.

Sergeant, thanks for joining us.

SGT. DON PERITZ, DALLAS CO. SHERIFF'S DEPT.: Thank you, Daryn.

KAGAN: What can you tell us about this terrible bus fire, please?

PERITZ: Well, about 6:00 this morning sheriff's dispatchers received a number of phone calls advising that a bus was on fire on northbound Interstate 45 at Marsh Road (ph), which is in the southern portion of Dallas County. When deputies arrived, and before fire personnel arrived, they found the bus was fully involved in flames. And a number of elderly people were trying to get off the bus. The bus driver was trying to assist them. They both the deputies and the bus driver tried to get a number of people off the bus as quickly as they possibly could when a series of explosions on board the bus fueled the fire and drove it to the point where the flames exceed the deputies and the bus driver's expectations and they were unable to save everyone.

KAGAN: And so a number of people died on board this bus. Do we have any numbers, sir?

PERITZ: We believe, at this point, we may have 24 souls remaining on the bus.

KAGAN: And what about those who made it off? Were there injured that had to be taken to hospitals as well?

PERITZ: There was a number of injuries. Most were smoke inhalation, of course. We have one that may be in critical condition at Parkland Hospital (ph) in downtown Dallas. The remainder had been taken to Parkland and area hospitals with bruises, burns, and smoke inhalation but they all are believed to have survived.

KAGAN: You talked about a number of explosions that took them by surprise. Is it believed that it was the oxygen container that some of the elderly might have had on board this bus?

PERITZ: That's what we believe at this point. A number of the people had oxygen tanks on board and the deputies and the bus driver advised that they believe those oxygen tanks were ignited by the fire and further fueled the fire when they did go off.

KAGAN: Do we have any more information about where these people were coming from, a particular home or residence?

PERITZ: Well, we know they came from Bellaire, Texas. We're not releasing the name of the facility at this point. We believe it was a managed care facility or a nursing home facility. We're trying to contact relatives and family member in that area to let them know what's happened. So at this point we're with holding the name of the facility but it was from Bellaire.

KAGAN: Such a sad, sad story. I know part of this too caused a huge traffic problem on the highway. Has that part been cleared up?

PERITZ: Well, actually, we've opened two lanes of traffic southbound on Interstate 45. Both of the service roads north and southbound are free-flowing. The freeway northbound is still closed down. However, we've been in close contact with the National Transportation Safety Board, the Dallas County Medical Examiner's Office and, as a group, we've made the determination it would be in everyone's best interest to move the bus with the remaining souls on board to an off-site location to complete the investigation and open the freeway up and try and get some of these backlogged evacuees through our area and out of harm's way.

KAGAN: As we look at live pictures of the site. That looks like that's what's happening as they're trying to get the bus, what's left of the bus, as you said, with the 24 people as many as 24 people who perished on board, get the bus on to a tow truck and get it to a different site.

Sergeant, such a sad, sad story on this morning. Thank you for the information.

PERITZ: Thank you very much.

KAGAN: Appreciate it.

Once again, as many as 24 people dying on board that bus this morning as it caught fire. A bus that was carrying evacuees from a home in Bellaire, Texas. They're releasing the name of the facility right now. They're still trying to get in touch of family members of those who were on board.

We head back to the southeast now. One city that is projected to be in the path of Rita is Port Arthur. That's about 75 miles east of Houston. And from what we saw from Katrina, what the winds don't destroy, the storm surge could very well swallow.

Look at this computer animation. It's from the University of Texas and it shows how Port Arthur would be inundated by flood waters. The animation combined satellite images of today's local landscape with information from the flooding left by Hurricane Karla. That was back in 1961. And that storm was a category four, just like Rita is. The model was constructed for emergency workers and so-called first responders so that they would understand the severity of the devastation that they just might face.

So we're talking about two million people who have been urged to evacuate their home in Texas and Louisiana as of today. There's still a question that overshadows all others, where is Rita headed? Too early to say for sure but still a lot of information out there. Let's check in with Jacqui Jeras.

Jacqui.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, Daryn, well it's going to be getting close, we think, to the Texas-Louisiana state line. Somewhere within that neighborhood. It still has time to do a little bit of wobbling around.

And the forecast right now keeping it to the north and to the west and that would bring it in east of Galveston, getting close to the Port Arthur area. If it stays on the exact track, that would bring that eye wall right into Port Arthur and bring them an immense storm surge. We just saw those computer models. And that's about 15 to 20 feet of water that would just go on up and over and go a number of miles inland.

The storm is staying very strong. It's 140 miles per hour right now. Still in the category four strength category. We could see this weaken a little bit and go down to a three. That's a possibility. But right now we're anticipating that despite some fluctuations, it will probably be somewhere around a four at landfall.

It's about 260 miles to the south and to the east of Galveston. The effects already being felt across parts of lower Louisiana. The showers and thunderstorms have been hitting you really since yesterday. So far the rainfall totals have been pretty light. The winds are starting to increase. And you can see the rain picking up in intensity down near Houma (INAUDIBLE) and over towards New Iberia.

The wind sustained right now. About 19 miles per hour here in New Orleans. Houma at 19 as well. And there you can see New Iberia, 20 miles per hour. But we are getting some gusts around 25 to 30 miles per hour.

We'll head west into Texas. There you can see Beaumont and there you can see Houston. Houston, 14 miles per hour. Looking at 24 sustained right now in Galveston and then up towards Beaumont, 14 miles per hour.

You can see the rain has not moved in here. That's going to happen later on tonight, we think that should be arriving. And those winds will continue to pick up throughout the day for today.

Forecast track. Here it is for you. Moving on that northwesterly track. We might see a little bit of a bend on to the north. If we see that, landfall would be earlier. But if it stays exactly where it's going to be at, landfall probably won't be until tomorrow morning. If it does go a little bit more east, then that would be in the overnight hours. Maybe 3:00, 4:00, 5:00. Otherwise we're looking more like 6:00, 7:00, 8:00 likely for landfall.

Daryn.

KAGAN: All right, Jacqui, be checking in with you many times over the next few hours. Thank you.

And just a reminder for you at home, if you're away from your television, the very latest on Hurricane Rita is as close as your computer. Turn to our continually updated Web site, cnn.com, where you can track Rita's path. You can view free video and you can see the latest images.

The Red Cross is on the scene in Texas before Hurricane Rita strikes. And from the looks of things, they could be there for a while. We'll go live to Galveston to see what the disaster relief agency is doing ahead of the storm.

Also, New Orleans already getting hit with rain from Rita. How much can the city and its levee system take? We will check in on that.

And in the days following Hurricane Katrina, some needed supplies sat in trucks waiting to be distributed. It's a story about federal foul-ups that might leave you frustrated.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: With Hurricane Rita on the way, big concerns in New Orleans about the levees. Can they hold? We're getting news that there's already a levee breach in New Orleans. With more on this, let's go right to New Orleans and our Mary Snow.

Mary.

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Daryn, this is what the Army Corps of Engineers was fearing. The rain is just really starting here in New Orleans. And as you mentioned, we are hearing word now from the Army Corps of Engineers that water is overtopping the Industrial Canal Levee.

The Army Corps of Engineers is saying that this structure is still intact, but it has triggered some flooding in the ninth ward. Our photographer who is on the site is reporting about two feet of water in the lower ninth ward.

Now, flooding had been anticipated, but not at this early stage. What forecasters had been saying or engineers had been saying is that they were expecting about three to five inches of rain over a couple of days. But the rain is just starting here and there is flooding already.

We are being told that the Army Corps of Engineers has been monitoring these levees throughout the night and, of course, through today and crews in the past couple days have really been racing to shore up the levee structures and the canals leading into these areas. So this is the first task that these levees that breached since Hurricane Katrina three weeks ago that devastated this city and this is the first significant rainfall since then.

Daryn.

KAGAN: And the ninth ward, to remind our viewers, in is one of the hardest hit areas in the aftermath of Katrina and that flooding, Mary.

SNOW: Absolutely. We had flown over it just yesterday. We were there the other day. It is just decimated in that area. It is right off the Industrial Canal Levee. What had been going on there in the past couple days were search and rescue teams. They were recovering they were looking to see if anyone was there. They were mostly recovering bodies. They had to stop those efforts yesterday when it started raining. They were the only people in that area up to this point. So there's no one living there.

KAGAN: All right, Mary Snow live from New Orleans.

Once again, a levee breach impacting the ninth ward neighborhood. More on that just ahead.

Mary, thank you.

And we're going to take a look at what the Red Cross is doing. Is it overwhelmed by what it had to do with Katrina. What does it have to offer for the victims of Rita? We'll get to that after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Let's talk about the Red Cross. It is already taking in Texas evacuees before Hurricane Rita hits. This in addition to what all its had to do in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Peter Teahan is with the Red Cross and he's in Galveston, Texas.

Peter, good morning. Thanks for being here with us.

PETER TEAHAN, RED CROSS: Good morning.

KAGAN: You've got to wonder what kind of resources your organization has left in the wake of everything you've had to do to try to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

TEAHAN: Well, the greatest resource we have is the American people. And that's who we continually call on to be volunteers in responses like this. We have over 147,000 already out. More joining the Red Cross, making this the greatest humanitarian response the Red Cross has been involved in. So we're looking for more and more workers all the time because Americans are making a difference on these catastrophic disasters.

KAGAN: We want to ask you about the new volunteer in just a moment.

But there have, Peter, been complaints in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the number of either Red Cross shelters or places that the Red Cross has stepped in and giving the impression that perhaps the organization is stretched beyond its limits. TEAHAN: Well, I'm not certain there's any organization, whether it be the government, to the news media, to the Red Cross and all the local churches who are not doing the absolute 110 percent plus trying to make a difference in this response. That is why we work with local agencies and other non-profits to fill the need, to address the needs of the public. They're our primary concern.

As we see today, as millions again are evacuating from this storm, we're working with government officials and local agencies to staff those shelters. We want those people safe and, of course, one of our biggest concerns right now are all those people who are trapped in their cars. We need to get them out of their cars in somewhere safe before this storm hits.

KAGAN: Let's talk about those volunteers right now. Usually we ask or the American Red Cross asks for money that that's the best way people can help. But I'm sure that is still true. But it also seems like you could use more people to join the ranks and get trained quickly as volunteers.

TEAHAN: Absolutely. It's a two-prong approach to this response. You mentioned money. We're already $1 billion short of response of Katrina. But we're also looking for staff. And for anyone out there throughout the United States, if you can get involved, you can get involved two ways. Go to your local Red Cross chapter. Volunteer for two, three weeks to come down and help the folks in the Gulf area. And if you can't come, then write the check and make a difference that way because money and human personnel are if two greatest things we need right now.

KAGAN: One thing we're seeing with Rita, whether it's the government, military, we're seeing people have learned some lessons and are doing things differently this time around. Same true of the Rd Cross? Anything different for Rita than Katrina?

TEAHAN: Well, absolutely. I mean, this is a magnitude that no one has ever seen. I think we see government agencies and organizations working together as they practice and trained for for years. You know, we saw similar reaction last year in Florida. So, you know, these responses are not completely unique. They are what we have prepared for for years.

We did learn lessons from Katrina. We learned how systems can fail and we're making sure that those same failures don't occur again. And that's what's making this response as great a response as we saw last year in Florida.

KAGAN: And you can big, important work ahead of you still. Good luck with all your work.

TEAHAN: Thank you.

KAGAN: Peter Teahan with the Red Cross from Galveston.

Peter, thank you for that.

We're going to be go back to New Orleans to get more information in just a minute. The levee affecting the ninth ward. There's an overtopping taking place. We'll get you the latest information right after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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