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Effects of Gustav: How Did Oil & Gas Industries Withstand?; Republican National Convention Gears up for Day 2
Aired September 02, 2008 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning once again, everybody. You're with CNN. I'm Heidi Collins.
Developments keep coming into the NEWSROOM on this Tuesday, the second of September. Here's what's on the rundown.
CNN i-Reporters capture Gustav's surge along the Gulf Coast, but New Orleans dodges the full force of the hurricane.
It looks like a parade of storms, though. Hanna and Ike could threaten the U.S. And moments ago, Josephine blew to life in the Atlantic. We'll keep our eye on all of them.
Republicans put on their party hats and move ahead with a full schedule in St. Paul. Conventional wisdom in the CNN NEWSROOM.
As Gustav fades away, its damage coming into focus this morning. In New Orleans, post-Katrina levee system held back the floodwaters. The city saw some flooding and some wind damage, but mostly got a glancing blow from Gustav . Across the region, damage could run about $8 billion. At least seven deaths blamed on the storm in the United States. Officials are asking the 2 million evacuees to not return to the Gulf Coast before tomorrow at the earliest.
Today we should learn more about the extent of damage to the nation's oil and gas industries. Investors, for their part, optimistic there are no great losses. Oil, as we just reported, has hit its lowest level in months.
Gustav now just a tropical depression, but more storms are on the horizon. Want to check in once again with Reynolds Wolf in the Weather Center now.
OK, let me remind everybody, next comes Hanna , then Ike, then Josephine. That's your newest information about Josephine.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I know, it's like we're calling roll in the classroom. We have all of these names coming out. Goodness gracious. Let's start with the storms we have in the western half of the Atlantic. Then we'll finish up with the storm that just formed.
Let's go right now to Hanna . As we zoom in on Hanna, the latest we have from this one, Heidi, still a tropical storm. Winds at 70 miles an hour, gusting to 85 miles an hour. It is a tropical storm but not expected to stay that way for very long. This storm is expecting to intensify. The latest path we have from the National Hurricane Center brings it back up to the north and very quickly right off the Florida coastline, as we get into, say, Friday, and then perhaps Saturday, veering very close to Savannah or Charleston.
I don't want to say for sure that definitely it will go to one of these two places because there's a very good chance that it could deviate from the forecast path. These storms, again, can be highly unpredictable. They do tend to wobble quite a bit. In this cone of uncertainty, shows it could make landfall perhaps in Florida, maybe go as far north as the Outer Banks of North Carolina. We just have to watch that for you very carefully.
Meanwhile, the next stop, the next storm we're keeping a sharp eye on, not Hanna, but the center of the Atlantic we have Ike. Ike has winds of 60, gusting to 70 miles per hour, moving west. Last update was around 15, now it's been increasing to 18. This will race right along the Atlantic and notice winds, again, as I mentioned, 60 going to 70, then increasing to hurricane strength as we get into Thursday. Then Saturday and Sunday, notice going from a Category 1 storm to a Category 2 storm.
Not really the best time to go visit the Bahamas if you're going on, say, Saturday or Sunday. The storm should be going right through that area. Certainly we will watch that one for you carefully.
This is the next one. Follow me here . Josephine, with winds of 40, gusting to 50 miles per hour. This one has intensified very quickly this morning. As this one races its way -- look at this -- back across the Atlantic. As we get into Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, winds increasing to 70 miles an hour. Right now the forecast is going to keep it right at a tropical storm. A strong one, though, because as long as those winds stay below 73 miles per hour, which is pretty close to the threshold, you see in the forecast, it's going to stay a tropical storm. But should it get up to 74, boom, it becomes a hurricane. Yet another one.
We have three named storms this time, Heidi, in the Atlantic. It's going to be a busy time, no question.
COLLINS: Yes, that's to say the least. All right, Reynolds, let us know if we need to come back to you.
WOLF: You bet.
COLLINS: Thank you.
Message from the Gulf Coast -- the storm isn't over yet. Last hour, federal and state officials updated emergency efforts in Louisiana. The situation, still an emergency.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. BOBBY JINDAL, (R) LOUISIANA: There, when you look at the needs we've identified, we've got 12 hospitals we've identified that may need to evacuate over the next 72 hours, depending on how quickly we can get them power. What we're doing now is literally supplying additional fuel to generators where hospitals have generators in place. We're working with the Corps. They're sending out assessment teams to see if hospitals without generators need generators.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: If power cannot be restored, hundreds of patients may need to be moved to other facilities. Over night, more than 50 patients had to be evacuated from hospitals in central Louisiana. The storm had knocked out their generators.
Before Gustav charged ashore one big concern was possible damage to oil facilities. And that could mean a big wallop to your wallet. Ali Velshi, always looking out for your money, rode out the storm on Grand Isle, a hub of the nation's oil production -- fishing -- industry as well. He's joining us by phone now.
What a different situation you are likely seeing where you are today, Ali?
ALI VELSHI, CNN SR. BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, in fact, Heidi, the storm hit us with winds above 100 miles an hour, and we had a storm surge, water up to about seven feet. The water finally receded. We got out on an ATV that belongs to the man whose home we stayed at, and we stayed at his home. He was riding out the storm here. His home was fortified for a hurricane. It held up very, very well actually.
But now this is the first ride we've taken. I'm on Louisiana Highway 1, which is a main road in Grand Isle. The road is impassable over than with an ATV because power poles are all down, the electricity poles are all down. That is about 80 percent of them are down, the rest are not going to stay up much longer.
The road, which is a normal tar road, is now all sand. The levees were breached. They were broken, and they were sent onto the road. So in many cases there is no beach left here at the Gulf Coast. The ocean comes right up to what were some of the levees. They've been broken. I'm walking on sand in the road.
The devastation to the houses is not something we saw from where we were reporting. We were at houses that withstood this very well. There are houses here. I see virtually none that don't have some damage to them. In some cases it's minor, its parts of the roof. In some cases it's entire homes or structures completely damaged.
This is going to take a long time to clean up. One of the problems they've got here is the chief of police, the chief of the fire department, came in this morning. He had relocated with the city's residents out in Thibodaux, Louisiana. He came in this morning and he had to walk a couple of miles from the bridge that leads onto Grand Isle because he couldn't get any of his emergency vehicles on. Slowly we're starting to see people, mainly emergency workers, riding bikes and ATVs. But they'll need bulldozers in here just to clear the roads so that people can start to get back.
Port Fourchon, which is west of here, that's the hub of offshore oil energy. That's where the imports come in. That is were the service center for all the offshore activity is. That's 20 miles from here. We can't get there from here because of the road conditions, but I have to tell you that with the sort of devastation we've seen here makes me wonder what kind of damage there is over at Port Fourchon, with the oil facilities. We probably won't have a full picture of that for a day or two -- Heidi .
COLLINS: Certainly a lot to be reporting from where you are -- that tiny, tiny island -- from where you are. Boy, we sure do appreciate it. Grand Isle is where Ali Velshi is, Grand Isle, Louisiana, just a barrier island there. Just very, very narrow stretch of land. Really saw a lot of action, not good action either, obviously, as you heard Ali say. We will keep in touch with him and try to find out more about those refineries that he's mentioning.
The levees, though, in New Orleans, that is something that Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal talked about just a few moments ago. He said it's good news that the levees weren't breached but he also said his state is dealing with other serious challenges in the aftermath of the hurricane. Our Chris Lawrence is in New Orleans to talk more about this.
I was just talking with our producers, Chris. I have pages and pages of notes here. He said so much about the situation that obviously still remains where you are.
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, exactly. When you think about it, you think of all this high-tech equipment, all this planning, everything. Sometimes it comes down to good old-fashioned sandbags and a lot of muscle. People getting there, to these walls, sandbagging at the last minute like they did right here in this neighborhood. Thousands and thousands of bags that they got out there, even as the back end of that storm was coming through, you can see here, you know, the sign they wrote here on this wall, "Times are tough -- times are hard." Which is kind of the motto for the folks down here right now.
This wall, yesterday, was just completely overtopping. The water was coming through. It was starting to seep through the wall right here. And there was some real concern, even one of the parish presidents got on the air and said, everybody get out of this neighborhood. We are very concerned that this is just going to let the water through. They got out here and, again, last-ditch effort to sandbag seems to have slowed it down. And in the past few hours, we've been out here just about 4: 00 this morning. We definitely have seen the water on the other side of this wall recede greatly.
When you look at that big picture yesterday when we were at the Industrial Canal, saw the same thing. Within a matter of five or six hours, you saw significant drop in the water level, which if that's repeated in areas as around here, that is really good news when it comes to trying to get folks back into their homes -- Heidi.
COLLINS: No question about that. Chris Lawrence. We did learn from Director Paulison that the same way you went out will be the way you come back in. Very interesting how they're handling those tiered returns, if you will. Chris Lawrence, sure do appreciate that coming to us live from New Orleans.
LAWRENCE: Yes.
COLLINS: Northwest of New Orleans, in Baton Rouge, at least one city official says it's the most destruction in memory. At least two people have died there, an elderly couple killed when a tree toppled onto a house. They had come to the inland city hoping to escape the storm as it hit the coast.
Hurricane Gustav, through your eyes, i-Reporters sending us lots of pictures of the storm. They're coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: We have our reporters and crews out all along the Gulf Coast covering the aftermath now of Hurricane Gustav . We also have you, our i-Reporters, helping us tell the story. Our T.J. Holmes is here now to share some of your stories.
Hi, there, T.J.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, good morning there to you, Heidi.
We certainly have a lot of resources here at CNN and certainly our viewers have been one of them. We talk about these i-Reports. Getting people to send in their reports helping us tell the story. One of our I Reporters today -- would you believe -- is going to be the Coast Guard. The video here taken by the Coast Guard. They went up in a helicopter. I'll just get this thing rolling for you here. This is at the Industrial Canal there in the greater New Orleans area. You can see that ship over there. They say that became unanchored and just started floating around through this canal.
There's a wider perspective of what we're talking about here, this canal. Again, this is the Coast Guard helping us out on this. You can also see two other barges, right here, on the screen. Again, became unanchored, they say, and just pretty much took off on their own. So this gives us a different perspective of New Orleans.
We have video from our actual i-Reporters out there, the non- Coast Guard type. Let's go to this first one here. This video given to us by a Lynn Magnuson. She's a writer and photojournalist. This is in the Lower Ninth Ward are. What she said was alarming here is that right there -- that might have really scared some people. This is a newly rebuilt canal wall, a flood wall. It's supposed to keep that water from doing just that. She saw places where, in fact, it was coming through. That certainly would have scared some folks. But thankfully most people heed the warnings and got out of the Lower Ninth Ward and greater parts of New Orleans this time around.
Also, another one here, which is very interesting to me. This video of a tornado taken by Kevin Rockwell, this is in Pensacola, Florida. One of the most interesting tidbits is this guy is a pizza delivery guy. He works at Pizza Hut. He was on his way to deliver a pizza and decided to pull over and get video of a tornado that he saw.
He said he actually heard this on the radio. Weather Service saying a tornado in the area and when it was going to be there. Sure enough, as soon as he looked out his window, he was right there. No word on whether he got the pizza to where it needed to be on time. But he stopped, he pulled over.
And we could take a listen here. If we could prod up that sound, just of what he was hearing as he took this video.
Again, Kevin Rockwell, another one of our i-Reporters helping us out on this story.
We have one more video i-Report. This one given to us by Dray Williams. This is at the warehouse district in downtown New Orleans. This gentleman, 35 years old, said it was taken from a rooftop. He and several others had hunkered down and just decided to stay. They said they stayed because they planned on volunteering and helping others out after the storm. They escaped relatively unscathed where he was, and he wasn't too far, actually from the Convention Center, which we all know was certainly a hub during Hurricane Katrina three years ago. We certainly appreciate our i-Reporters there.
This is just an idea. We're not just getting them -- certainly, getting them from the New Orleans area, but this is an idea of how to -- how some of these are popping around. Our i-Reporters really all along the Gulf Coast. This is just a few where we've gotten. And you can kind of see where they're coming from here. So, we certainly do appreciate them. Please continue to bring those to us.
Now, a lot of you trying to find ways to help: Impact Your World at CNN. You can go to that. CNN.com, Impact Your World. We have resources collected there for those of you who want to find reputable organizations and ways to get your money to them and help out, go to our Web site, Impact Your World.
Heidi, we are going to continue to scan through the i-Reports as we continue to get them. Certainly on major stories and certainly weather stories we've seen time and time again, that people have sent us in those i-Reports and help us bring the story to our viewers.
COLLINS: Excellent. T.J., thank you.
Gustav focused on Louisiana, but the hurricane also battered the Mississippi coast, reenergizing the memories of Katrina.
CNN's Kathleen Koch has a look at that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Lashing winds and a ferocious storm surge wreaked havoc on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. In Biloxi, all eight casinos shut down as Highway 90 was submerged by the rising water. Tropical storm-force winds pushed a massive tree down onto one home where the family had evacuated. Neighbors lost power but didn't mind as long as Gustav kept going west. MISSY MASSEY, MISSISSIPPI RESIDENT: They can have it. It's ugly. We can send it somewhere else. I don't mind.
KOCH: In Gulfport, winds ripped roofs off several businesses, tore down signs and sent debris smashing through the window of a downtown quick loan business. The wall of another building collapsed into the street. Police tried to clear potential projectiles, while National Guard convoys patrolled the streets watching for looters and sightseers. Governor Haley Barber said keeping order was essential.
GOV. HALEY BARBOUR, (R) MISSISSIPPI: One of the reasons we have deployed so much armed, uniformed, manpower is to protect private property.
KOCH: In Long Beach, utility crews wrestled with tree limbs tangled in power lines. In Pass Christian the storm surge devoured the small craft harbor, sinking some boats and tossing others onto shore; $2 million of federal, state, and local funds have been spent repairing it after Katrina. The work was nearly done and oyster season was supposed to start today.
WILLIE DAVIS, HARBORMASTER: This thing here is really going to affect a lot of jobs for a lot of people because all the seafood dealers and all the shrimpers, and oyster people and stuff like that, they're not going to be able to go back to work right now when they should be going to work today. There's a lot of people going to be affected by it just here in the seafood industry.
KOCH: Finally, to the west, the towns of Bay St. Louis and Waveland were cut off from the rest of the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Both Highway 90, the beach road, and the one access north from the road were close, clogged with debris and water from Gustav's relentless rain and storm surge.
(on camera): A 24-hour curfew is still in effect here on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Many roads are still under water, covered by debris, tens of thousands of homes still without power. So the Governor Haley Barbour is urging residents to wait until Wednesday morning before they even try to return home.
Kathleen Koch, CNN, Pass Christian, Mississippi
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Let's recap the losses now across the region. At least seven deaths are blamed on this storm. Across the Gulf Coast, 1.4 million homes and businesses are without power. New Orleans' Mayor Ray Nagin says half of his citizens have no electricity. He and other officials asking the 2 million evacuees to wait until tomorrow, at least, before returning home.
A hurricane delay, now back to business tonight at the Republican Convention. But storm clouds could stir for John McCain's running mate.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: After a day's delay, the Republican National Convention gets into full swing today. The decision was made -- just a few hours ago - to go ahead with original plans. Monday's schedule was pared down a bit, of course, because of concerns over Hurricane Gustav Cindy McCain and First Lady Laura Bush did make brief speeches to the delegates.
Tonight's convention schedule includes President Bush, via satellite, plus speeches by Senator Joe Lieberman and former Senator Fred Thompson. The theme for tonight's convention -- Who is John McCain?
Joining me this morning to talk a little bit more about it, CNN political Contributor Donna Brazile, in St. Paul.
Hi, there, Donna.
DONNA BRAZILE, CNN POLITICAL CONTRIBUTOR: Good morning.
COLLINS: And Amy Holmes coming to us from New York.
Hello to you as well, Amy.
So what do you think? I want to begin with you, Donna, because you are there. About the decision to, obviously, postpone things because of the potential devastation of Gustav and then starting things off, back to normal activities today?
BRAZILE: First of all, I applauded the Republicans for truncating their schedule yesterday and really paying tribute to the people of the Gulf Coast. They're resilient people and clearly last night they took time out to raise money to help those who will go home and find out that perhaps their homes were damaged again.
But, you know, the show must go on and tonight the Republicans will return to business as usual. And I suspect they'll take off their American hats, or put them aside, and put back on their partisan hats to begin the process of nominating John McCain.
COLLINS: Amy, what do you think? They're starting a day late here. They didn't get that big huge kickoff, the fanfare that they had probably planned. What do you think about their decision and how they'll get momentum going now?
AMY HOLMES, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Starting the convention on Labor Day -
COLLINS: True, true.
HOLMES: It was never going to be a big media day. I really appreciate Donna Brazile's words about the Republicans taking off their partisan hats, yesterday. Fortunately, Hurricane Gustav did not devastate the region nearly to the extent Hurricane Katrina did, of course.
I think that the Republicans , as she says, are going to get back to business today and they're going to be making their case for John McCain, re-introducing him, yet again, to the American people and his extraordinary life story. And, you know, the convention goes on.
COLLINS: We should probably talk a little bit about how these candidates handled themselves and made the decisions they did regarding Gustav. Again, you know, it didn't turn into what it could have, which is really a blessing. Donna, I know you have family there.
But what about John McCain? He was in Mississippi over the weekend and also Obama has decided -- you heard him say, I'm sure -- that he didn't want to become a distraction and chose not to go to the area. Donna, what do you make of it?
BRAZILE: First of all, both Senator McCain, as well as Senator Obama, reached out to their supporters, encouraged them to send money to the Red Cross and other relief efforts. I applaud Senator Obama for taking the day down as well. Again, not to detract from the relief efforts and making sure that we help those citizens, who are now preparing to go back home.
It was a wise decision by both candidates, and it's something that I'm sure, come November, the people of the Gulf Coast will remember.
COLLINS: Amy, what about you?
HOLMES: Well, I think the American voters and the people watching appreciate that even in the rough and tumble of a presidential election that both of these candidates can take off their partisan hats and do what's best for the American people.
I might also add that the McCain campaign, that they provided airplanes to send Louisiana Gulf Coast delegates back to their home states so they could take care of that very pressing business of protecting their homes and their families. So, you know, I think yesterday was a really good day for both parties.
COLLINS: All right, to the two of you we certainly do appreciate it. We'd love to talk with you longer but as you probably know, we are now following hurricanes or potential hurricanes, I should say, Hanna, Ike and Josephine. So we've got a lot more to talk about with the weather situation as well.
Thanks once again, Amy Holmes and Donna Brazile. Be sure to tune in today at noon Eastern for our special expanding coverage of the Republican National Convention. Soledad O'Brien will be at the CNN Election Center in New York with all the latest news and analysis. Today, noon Eastern.
After Hurricane Gustav, evacuees desperate to return, but is Louisiana ready? General Russell Honore assesses the damage, in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COLLINS: The remnants of Gustav have moved inland. Now the Gulf Coast is dealing with the hurricane's aftermath. The storm, now a tropical depression. At least seven deaths are linked to Gustav's assault on the Gulf Coast. Louisiana's governor, Bobby Jindal, just a short time ago said 1.4 million households are without power this morning and that his state is facing major challenges in the aftermath of the storm, mainly because of the power situation.
The storm made landfall southwest of New Orleans as a Category 2 hurricane. Heavy rain and possible tornadoes in the forecast today for Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, and Arkansas. New Orleans mayor, Ray Nagin, says he wants evacuees to stay out of the city for at least another day. Local leaders will be talking with the governor about when they think it's safe for people to come back.
So, Gustav now just a tropical depression, but there are several other storms we're keeping an eye on. Reynolds Wolf is keeping them all in check for us right now.
I don't think before I have seen so much swirling and whirling behind you, Reynolds.
WOLF: I know, it's crazy. You see all the colors up here, it's almost like a Grateful Dead concert. You see everything here, all of this looks like tie-dye.
I'll tell you what, Heidi, it's this time of year that the Atlantic turns into -- really a storm factory. You get plenty of products (ph) that are popping up here. Let's start off first with this one that is just to the north of Haiti and the Dominican Republic. This is Tropical Storm Hanna. This one was a hurricane, was downgraded as winds dropped below 74 miles per hour. Winds are now at 70, gusting to 85. It is moving west-southwest at 6 miles an hour.
All that is going to change. The storm is expected to gain strength once again and as we take a look at the latest forecast path we have from the National Hurricane Center, the storm expected to veer right off the Florida coastline as we get into Thursday, into Friday. And then sometime by -- I'm thinking midday Friday, the storm could make landfall somewhere near the Georgia or perhaps Carolina coast. It is way too early to say.
If you look at the cone of uncertainty, there is a chance the storm could go a little bit more to the west, perhaps make landfall in Florida or go a little bit more to the east, maybe even hitting the outer banks of North Carolina.
We keep rolling. From Hanna to Ike. Ike the next one up and Ike, at this time, is still out in the middle of the Atlantic. It is also gaining strength. Winds are at 60, gusting to 70 miles per hour, moving west at 18. This storm also expected to intensify as we get into the end of the week, a Category 1 storm then becoming a Category 2 as we get into Saturday and Sunday.
Now keep in mind it's going to move right along the islands which may take away a little bit of the strength of the storm in long-range forecast. However, still, as it runs through an area where you have that warm water which is the case in the Strait of Florida and of course in the area with minimal sheer (INAUDIBLE) it could be a tremendous danger to many people. So we have to watch that one very carefully too.
Very quickly, the final one we're following, Josephine -- Josephine with winds at 40, gusting to 50 miles per hour. At this time, the forecast has this storm just as a tropical storm through Saturday and Sunday. Be warned, though, fluctuations in power could change very quickly as we make our way into the weekend. This one also worth watching.
That's the latest we've got for you, Heidi. We'll have more updates throughout the rest of the day, into the afternoon, and evening if needed.
COLLINS: Yes, it sounds like it may well need be.
Thank you very much, Reynolds Wolf. Appreciate that.
For tourists in New Orleans, all roads lead to the French Quarter. So how did that area fare? CNN's meteorologist Rob Marciano has been there all along and has the very latest for us now.
What a difference a day makes, Rob? I hate that cliche, but I can't help it as I look at your shot there.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, it's a whole different day that's for sure.
Still a bit breezy but definitely drier, the sun tried to poke out here a couple of times. The folks who stayed behind to hang around for the storm -- well they're OK and they're just picking up the pieces here in the French Quarter. Quite a bit of wind damage, a little water and flood damage, but mostly just wind and they're very thankful that they didn't have a direct hit.
But nonetheless, it was a pretty hairy day at times high atop this rooftop yesterday afternoon with winds pounding the eastern banks for a good several hours. And at one point we looked over towards the east and we saw a coast guard helicopter, a chopper, hovering over and I was thinking, oh, goodness, are they going after water rescues here? Is this the same scene we saw a year ago?
Well it turns out that NASA actually has a chemical tank facility over there, and there was seepage, some steam coming out of one of those tanks. They went over there to check it out and they got a handle on it quite quickly. But then the storm passed and the folks in the French Quarter got out and about their normal business, those few that stayed behind. Quite a bit of dog walking and quite a bit of just reminiscing on the storm and being thankful that it was not the same as Katrina.
There were a few businesses that were open to take care of the folks that were left behind. We talked to one business owner. Here's what he had to say. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It takes more than Gustav to move my son and me out of here. We're tough, we come from a tough family. We're not afraid of anything. Our main purpose here is to take care of the people of New Orleans, which we didn't do last time but we're doing right now, taking care of our people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARCIANO: That's Papa Chubby talking tough. He was able to feed not only the law enforcement officers but the media as well.
But Heidi, Mayor Nagin saying he's first got to get the assessment teams in here, maybe do a little bit of minor repair work before the next step, which is to bring businesses in here and then get the folks back in here, hopefully as soon as tomorrow, more likely Thursday, Friday by the latest. Schools are closed for the rest of this week. And there's still spotty areas -- areas that have no electricity, and that would include some of the sewer and drainage and water pumps. Those are on backup power, at least some of them are. Obviously, those operations have to get have fully up and operational before everybody can be let back in.
COLLINS: Yes, no question. That is certainly the biggest concern right now, according to the governor of Louisiana. 1.4 million households without power. So they're really dealing with that.
Rob Marciano, we sure do appreciate it. You've been in the French Quarter this whole time. Appreciate the reporting.
Other places checking in with damage now. Coastal Mississippi, hundreds of homes have been flooded in an area still trying to recover from Hurricane Katrina. Tens of thousands of homes and businesses are without power.
Also taking a big hit, the fishing industry along the Gulf Coast. Many commercial fishermen are finding their boats destroyed and their livelihoods now in peril.
Almost 2 million Hurricane Gustav evacuees. What will they find when they get home? Retired General Russel Honore is here now. He was in charge of relief efforts after Hurricane Katrina back in 2005.
It's really a valid question when we talk about these people who will eventually -- we've heard that it should be days, not weeks, that they will be returning home. Nearly 2 million people -- how do they prepare for that? What do you bring along when you know you are likely to be without power for some time? You had mentioned to me you think about medications because the drugstores aren't going to be open, and food. These are all basic necessities.
LT. GEN. RUSSEL HONORE, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Basic life support -- this is the challenge. First thing is safety, taking the power lines off the road so people can enter. The other one is security of the community, which the police are doing. But the overall second and third overall effect of not having power, Heidi, takes back our life as we knew it 80 years. Possibly no running water, no electricity, no television. Only having access to something like a weather radio, if you had one before the storm started.
COLLINS: I guess the question for me right now -- we're looking at some live pictures coming in -- we should mention, WGNO, one of our affiliates there in Louisiana -- pardon me. It looks like this taped earlier and those are their graphics that say live. We just want to give you as much of a picture as we can as we talk with General Honore about the aftermath. We see the National Guard, I believe, doing their work.
HONORE: Clearing the roadway.
COLLINS: Which is going to be obviously crucial to people coming back. Why would you want to go back at this point? Why not wait --
HONORE: People want to get back in their homes. You've got people in Lafayette in a hotel, no electricity. They'd rather be in their home in Jefferson Parish with no electricity as opposed to a hotel. You've got 58,000 people in shelters in 10 different states who know that their homes survived, it's not flooded. They want to come home.
The dilemma the government has is, how do we get sustaining life in there enough power -- drugstores? The other dilemma we've got is gas, Heidi.
COLLINS: Yes, definitely.
HONORE: On the way out, we sucked all the gas out of the gas stations. Now those gas stations are out of gas and they don't have generators. And all it takes to run a gas station is IBG, an itty- bitty generator. The problem is, most states have not done like Florida. Florida has a law that if you have over five gas stations you have to have generators at them. I think we're seeing the lessons learned that could be applied to Louisiana in the future to get generators at those gas stations.
COLLINS: Does it seem strange that since Katrina, that law, just that one law, has not changed?
HONORE: Well, it hasn't changed in Louisiana. We did see a difference at the hospital --
COLLINS: That's what I mean.
HONORE: -- that Sanjay was at. They lifted the generator up so if they had flooding they could continue to operate. That lesson did not get passed necessarily to Baton Rouge hospitals, who are now struggling because they don't have BFGs, big facilities generators, that can be used --
COLLINS: That's not what that stands for, but I know what you mean.
HONORE: So that is a challenge. And I think we'll continue to learn from these. But the distribution of gas, the distribution of food -- you know -- how will people get food when they come back? I think people are willing to look beyond that. They want to get home.
COLLINS: Yes.
HONORE: And the government is trying to make it as safely as they can so people can get back in a safe and orderly manner. But it's going to be a lot of confusion here in the coming days because of people who need the information the most don't have CNN now. They don't have television, they don't have power. So they're struggling. And the ones that are displaced want to come back home.
COLLINS: Well that's understandable. And they call that the resumption of normal services. You've got to wait until you have the resumption of these normal services before the government anyway will tell you that it's OK to come back.
HONORE: But if I make one point here, we need to make a cultural shift where this becomes normal policy for gas stations and drugstores. People -- there's a high degree in southwest Louisiana of (INAUDIBLE) elderly people. It's documented. If they can't keep their medicines cool they may have to be evacuated, as well as those in nursing homes. So I think we've got an opportunity here to set another policy in every state, for hospitals and drugstores and gags stations to have generators.
COLLINS: Yes. This will not be the last major storm or hurricane to affect the area so it's certainly worth talking about.
General Russel Honore, sure do appreciate that. We'll talk with you again a little bit later on.
Meanwhile, who is stepping in to help those people affected by Hurricane Gustav? Find out at CNN.com's Impact Your World page. There you will find links to some organizations already offering assistance. CNN.com/impact.
Plenty of people in New Orleans listened to the warnings and got out before Hurricane Gustav hit, but thousands of rescue workers stayed behind risking their lives to save others. Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta spent the day with some of them.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're going to help a lady stuck in her vehicle. Do you have the address for it?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Today, Mike Guillot's goal -- that no one dies. As director of Emergency Medical Services at East Jefferson Hospital, during a hurricane, today will pose a special challenge.
MIKE GUILLOT, EAST JEFFERSON EMS: It was a house burning, but it came out as five houses burning. That potentially could have been a whole neighborhood burned down.
GUPTA: He takes me out on patrol right as the worst of the storm starts to hit. You can hear the pounding rain. You can feel the entire vehicle shudder. In an area where nearly 2 million live, there is no one on the road.
GUILLOT: It is very quiet.
GUPTA (on camera): A major American city on a holiday weekend, no one really to be found.
(voice-over): We get a rare look at the levees --
GUILLOT: This is the 17th Street Canal.
GUPTA: -- in the middle of a hurricane.
GUILLOT: You're hoping that levee holds. If the levee doesn't hold, we're in trouble. It's scary. This is scary because this is high. That's actually broke a section on our side of the parish break at any time -- that's high. That's a lot of water.
GUPTA: Mike Guillot has been here through Katrina and other storms. He is one of the guys we hear about. He is one of the guys who always stays.
(on camera): The governor's been on, the mayor's been on, saying evacuate. I think it's maybe fair to say you're still here. Did you think about leaving?
GUILLOT: Well, you know -- I've been a paramedic my whole life, since I was 20-years-old. So -- I don't think about leaving, but I think my priority is to make sure my family -- my wife is safe, my kids are safe. And as long as those things are in place, then, you know, I look at as this is our job. I don't see it as something heroic. It's just our job to do.
GUPTA (voice-over): But it is heroic. Staying and trying to protect people from this -- an angry Lake Pontchartrain.
(on camera): The only way that we can even be out here right now is with the assistance of EMS. They have brought us out here to show us exactly what they're concerned about. You can see it behind me, all this water over here that is really kicking out on Lake Pontchartrain. There are levees all around. The water is nowhere near close yet, but the concern is that it might get there.
They're patrolling right now in some of the worst conditions to try and see if anybody needs help. But at some point, even the EMS is going to be told enough, it's time to go in. We're almost there.
(voice-over): It's been a challenging day, but this area just west of New Orleans has a better chance because Mike Guillot has chosen to stay.
GUILLOT: If you want to go back out again, we can do that. GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Jefferson Parish, Louisiana.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Oil prices dive, stock prices soar. We're on market watch in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Gustav stirred up the Gulf of Mexico, but the storm is having the opposite effect on oil prices, and crude is actually tumbling. Susan Lisovicz is at the New York Stock Exchange now with a look at whether this trend may actually continue.
Boy, that would be terrific news, Susan.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. We're seeing a big fall in oil prices today, Heidi, which is interesting because, you know, production in the Gulf has basically been suspended. But it's really a sigh of relief that Gustav didn't do a whole lot of damage.
So what we're seeing in the oil pits is that crude is down nearly seven bucks, below $109 a barrel. Of course, it's early yet. Companies are just starting to get in there to assess the damage so that could change.
But what we're seeing on Wall Street, in the meantime, is a nice, big rally on the first trading day of September. The Dow right now up 187 points or one and two-thirds percent. The Nasdaq is up 1 percent. And -- stocks leading the charge, airline stocks, United Airlines, Delta Airlines, Continental Airlines, are all up about 16 percent. And energy stocks, not surprisingly, under a little bit of pressure today -- Heidi.
COLLINS: OK. Wow, it is very interesting. We'll be watching all of those numbers.
Susan Lisovicz, thank you.
LISOVICZ: You're welcome.
COLLINS: A call to order. The Republican Convention back to a full schedule. But they'll have to wait a little longer for their candidate.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: The show must go on. Republicans deciding this morning to go ahead with a normal convention schedule today. CNN's Ed Henry is joining us now live from St. Paul, Minnesota.
So there's going to be some stuff going on in St. Paul, hey, Ed?
ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Good morning, Heidi. They are trying ever so gently to get things back to normal here. You had President Bush this morning, once again being briefed on the hurricane. And he essentially said there are encouraging signs that the damage is not nearly as bad as it was for Katrina. And so they're trying to get back on schedule, essentially. And it will start with the president himself.
Of course, he was supposed to speak last night in prime time. That of course, did not happen because of the hurricane. Instead, the president will be speaking tonight. He'll be doing it by remote, he will not be here live in person, but will be doing it by remote to the delegates. That suits some of the delegates we've spoken to just fine. Because while they want to honor the president, these, of course, the die hard Republicans who show up for the convention, they also want to turn the page to John McCain. They want to make sure the spotlight is on him.
Another person who will be speaking tonight is Fred Thompson, who ran for president himself. He's a close friend of John McCain and is rumored to be somebody who would be on a short list for various cabinet posts if McCain were to win.
But I think a lot of the drama tonight, really is going to be focused Joe Lieberman, the Independent Democrat. I mean, if you look at this story, how dramatic is it. Eight years ago, at the Democratic convention in Los Angeles, he was the Democratic vice presidential nominee. Now he has recently been on the short list for John McCain. Of course, did not get the No. 2 slot, but is speaking in primetime at his first Republican convention. He talked about that today on "AMERICAN MORNING."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOE LIEBERMAN (I), CONNECTICUT: So very good to be here. Obviously, crossing party lines to support John McCain, because to state it simply, country matters more than party and I just feel so strongly that John McCain is the best candidate for president for our country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HENRY: Now, the point of that, obviously, a showcasing Lieberman, is to try to also highlight John McCain's appeal to Independent voters. Another reason they were planning to have a keynote speaker, Rudy Giuliani, the former New York City Mayor. He was supposed to be the keynoter tonight. We're told he will still speak to these delegates, but it's going to slide back to either Wednesday or Thursday, as they try to adjust all these things. And I can tell you, I was at an event last night, I saw the former mayor, he was picking out a cigar. I guess he was getting ready for his big speech, Heidi.
COLLINS: I bet he was. All right. Very good.
Ed Henry, sure do appreciate that, coming to us live from St. Paul, Minnesota. And check out our political ticker for all the latest campaign news. Just log on to CNNPolitics.com, it's your source for all things political.
Safe from the storm. Kids living in hurricane shelters wondering what happened to their homes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Out of harm's way. Hundreds of thousands of people fled southern Louisiana ahead of Gustav. Many ending up in shelters along the way.
CNN's Christine Romans reports from Alexandria, Louisiana.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): 2,700 evacuees and counting. And children are around every corner. Many oblivious to the wind and water outside. Others thinking of home. 10-year-old Devon Larnate (ph) and his mother have no idea how long they'll be here.
For now, more than 1,000 children call this 5-acre facility home.
(on camera): This shelter was started after Hurricane Katrina for the very purpose of avoiding disasters like the Superdome. In fact, the building was completed just two weeks ago, barely in time for hurricane Gustav.
(voice-over): No one wants to repeat those mistakes. Here there is supervised play and safe zones for children.
TERRY BISCHOFF, RED CROSS: We're trying to be very watchful to make sure that they're getting the attention that they get the reassurance that they need to know that it's going to be OK.
ROMANS: Many of these kids have lived through this before.
JEANNE-AIMEE DE MARRIS, SAVE THE CHILDREN: Every time a storm happens, particularly a large storm or a new evacuation, they're re- traumatized.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's been hard.
ROMANS: Odyssey Sibers (ph) has three young children and a baby on the way.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My oldest son thinks this is home now. And I told him temporarily, you know, for now. But no, this is not home.
ROMANS: At least for now, there are 2,700 temporary residents here.
Christine Romans, CNN, Alexandria, Louisiana.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: CNN NEWSROOM continues one hour from now, 1:00 p.m. Eastern.
Our special coverage of the 2008 Republican National Convention begins right now.
