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Haiti Earthquake: L.A. Search Team Detects Tapping In Rubble Of A Daycare Center; Nerve-Wracking Rescue Is Underway; Major Johnson & Johnson Medicine Recall

Aired January 16, 2010 - 16:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello again, I'm Fredricka Whitfield at the CNN Center in Atlanta, and here is the latest on Haiti. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Port-au- Prince, just about an hour ago. She is the highest ranking U.S. official in Haiti right now since Tuesday's earthquake. She's meeting with Haitian leaders and international officials to discuss the rescue and relief effort.

And it's still not clear how many people died in this disaster. Rough estimates run in the tens of thousands. A U.N. official says 1,300 bodies have been recovered as of last night.

And President Barack Obama met this morning with former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. They will head up an effort to raise private donations for the relief efforts.

A U.N. officials says this is the most challenging disaster ever for the United Nations because so much of Haiti's government infrastructure has been destroyed. Karl Penhaul and Jason Carroll are both at food distribution centers.

Let's begin with Karl Penhaul.

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, right now we're in a distribution center for the World Food Program on the edge of Cite Solei. And what the world food program is handing out here are high- energy biscuits. I'm just going to reach in and show you one of these packets. These are biscuits, cookies, that is specially fortified with a series of vitamins.

So right now they are not getting the full menu. They are not getting the oil, the rice, the maize flour, a lot of these families want. But this at least for the time being will keep them going. Now, not only in addition to these high-energy cookies, earlier on while we were here across in the field over there, a U.S. helicopter swooped down and from very low level began tossing out boxes of food.

Now that, of course, did create some chaos among the Haitians. They were running around, pushing and shoving amongst one another to get their hands on the contents of those box but then things have calmed down. It must be said as well that this food line here, if they wait for the handout of these cookies, has been very orderly.

Now, of course, it's been with the assistance of Argentinean peacekeeping troops. They've been keeping order there. Another thing that I suspect in talking to some of these Haitians must be said that that these high-energy biscuits are not necessarily their favorite. So they're probably not fighting to get a hold of them, even though many of them say they have been days without any solid food, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And then what about water? Is water being distributed at the same location and in the same fashion?

PENHAUL: Water is not being distributed by the World Food Program at this point but I have seen both yesterday and today in certain parts of Port-au-Prince, water tankers going around handing out water, not the bottled water, although we do understand that, that will also be handed out by certain aid organizations, but people bring along their own containers, plastic jugs and buckets and film that with water.

And here, these group of people here in Cite Solei, at this particular camp, they estimate there are 4,500 people and here as well they do have a supply of water. Although a couple of the women that I was talking to say the water is not particularly clean. That, of course, creates worries that some of these people could then pick up parasitic infections and that type of thing, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Karl Penhaul, thank you so much for that.

President Obama says the Haitian relief effort will be measured not in days or weeks but in months or even years. We want to go with our Jason Carroll, who is actually on the ground as well in Port-au- Prince, with more on where he is. Jason?

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, I'm actually in the western part of this city, in a place, that neighborhood called canopy area. We can see a distribution site has been set up here as well. A bit chaotic but this is what many of the distribution sites are like throughout the city. At this particular location, they are handing out water. In addition to that, they are also handing out bags filled with clothes and hygiene.

So you can see there's a need desperately for both of these items here. That's why there's so much commotion. The people who organized this, the folks over at World Vision, that's a Christian relief organization. They say it's pretty much like controlled chaos. And that's why you see what you see here. There are thousands of people who have lined up, trying to get in, trying to get any sort of relief they can.

Want to bring in one of the people who is responsible for all of this. This is Dave Toycen. He is the president. And you are the one responsible for organizing all of this. It is a bit like controlled chaos, is it not?

DAVE TOYCEN, WORLD VISION CANADA: It is a bit like controlled chaos. I have to make one clarification. I don't want to take credit that I organized all of this. I'm here as a senior leader representing the organization. CARROLL: Of course, of course. Tell us about the need and how you go about trying to figure out what the need is for the various communities?

DAVE: Well, the need is so powerful, it seems obvious all you have to do is just give out things but we actually learned through the years, you have to work hard. We come in, we talk to the local leaders. There's actually leaders in this community right here and we ask them to help us identify the people who need help here in this community.

CARROLL: I want to explain that to Fredricka and some of the other people who are watching. Fredricka, basically what he's talking about is in many of these tent cities, what they do is a de facto leader sort of emerges. It could be a pastor or an elder. And what you guys do is you come out, you speak to those people, before you actually come out to do distributions like this to get a better idea of what the need might be.

TOYCEN: Yes, they make a list. We actually have a list of names. And so then when people come here, we know who will identify - it's usually a local leader but there's people around them as well and that's how we do that. But, of course, what happens, I mean, I guess if I were in this situation, other people hear about this so they come. And that's where some of the clamor comes in. Unfortunately, we just don't have enough for everybody who just shows up.

CARROLL: And I think that's a worry for some people, too, is it not? They're worried about not having enough. They're worried about distributing the goods and making sure it's getting actually into the hands of the people who need it. Because sometimes you get it into the people's hands and they end up selling it.

TOYCEN: That's right. And you don't want it wasted and the other thing is, there still is an opportunity even in a situation like this to build a sense of community and that there could be a leadership structure and the people understand they can have some confidence in it, that it will be fair.

CARROLL: All right. Peter, I want you to keep showing a little bit more of what we've got going on here so people who are watching can see all those who are lining up. I just ask one more question here, tell us about your short-term goal and your long-term goal while you're here.

TOYCEN: Right. Right now we're really overwhelmed with the short-term goal, which is basically to get food, water, clothing, medical care. The basics of life. That's the first thing. And we're still way behind. We have to do that.

Then the second piece is how people recover? How do they get their homes back? How do they get - if they have a bit of business before, how do we get kids back in school? We have concerns about the children. They are always the most vulnerable in this situations. Making sure - especially the little ones because illness and disease turn into death, high mortality rates here to begin with. CARROLL: So much to do, so many challenges.

TOYCEN: Absolutely.

CARROLL: I want to thank you very much, Dave, from World Vision out here trying to do what he can. Fredricka, I also want to describe another area where we were earlier today, a place called Delmar 40-b. If anyone out there is watching, this is an area where we have 10,000 people who live there, still waiting in that tent city. You can see that the challenges here on the ground all throughout Port-au-Prince are very great no matter where you are. Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: All right. Jason Carroll, thank you so much in Port- au-Prince. They were underscoring the short term as well as the long- term need. That's exactly what this administration tried to keep in mind today. As President Barack Obama met with predecessors George W. Bush and Bill Clinton and they talked about the fund raising efforts, the private fund raising efforts and how that is going to be so vital.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: By coming together in this way, these two leaders send an unmistakable message to the people of Haiti and to the people of the world. In these difficult hours, America stands united. We stand united with the people of Haiti, who have shown such incredible resilience, and we will help them to recover and to rebuild.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux joins us now from the White House. This is an undertaking that all three presidents seem to be incredibly passionate about.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: You're absolutely right, Fred. It was really interesting to see all three of them, kind of fascinating all together in the Rose Garden there and very, very emotional about what they are undertaking here. We heard from President Clinton talking about that this is a time where everybody needs to step up, where he has a very strong relationship with the Haitian people.

He said that quite frankly there were quite a number of people who perished from this earthquake in the rubble. People he knew in the United Nations, he's the U.N. special enjoy to Haiti, and that he's gone back since 1975 when he had his honeymoon in Haiti with Hillary Clinton. That it is a very special place for him.

President Bush also quite expressive and emotional in saying that he was very grateful for President Obama to call him up on Wednesday and to ask him to be a part of this humanitarian effort. He said he and his wife, Laura Bush, were sitting at home in their Texas home and he felt sick to his stomach seeing the kinds of terrible images, the kind of pain and chaos that is going on. And he wanted to reassure people that he is going to step up and make sure that people's money that their funds are well taken care of, well accounted for and that it is worth it at this time for Americans to give. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, FMR. U.S. PRESIDENT: Like most Americans, Laura and I have been following the television coverage from Haiti. Our hearts are broken. When we see the scenes of little children struggling without a mom or a dad or the bodies in the street or the physical damage of the this earthquake.

BILL CLINTON, FMR. U.S. PRESIDENT: I believe before this earthquake Haiti had the best chance in my lifetime to escape its history. A history that Hillary and I have shared a tiny part of. I still believe that but it's going to take a lot of help and a long time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Both of them emphasizing today as well, Fred, that this is not just about the emergency relief, the short-term relief but looking at Haiti in the long run here that when the attention is gone, it is going to be these two presidents, they committed today, that they are going to make a difference in bringing this issue forward, reminding people there's still a lot of support and work that needs to be done when it comes to health care, when it comes to education, the economy, in that desperate country, that they're going to bringing that to the forefront.

If you want more information about how you can contribute as a private citizen or a private corporation to this fund, go to www.clintonbushhaitifund.org. That's www.clintonbushhaitifund.org. Fred.

WHITFIELD: Suzanne Malveaux, thanks so much.

And former presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton will talk even more about this Haiti relief effort on CNN's "State of the Union" tomorrow. Join CNN's John King for that, 9:00 a.m. Eastern time, right here on CNN.

The U.S. Navy ship "Comfort" is now on its way to Haiti. The floating hospital pulled out of Baltimore Harbor this morning. It is fully staffed with doctors, nurses, medical supplies, you name it and it should arrive in Port-au-Prince by Friday. Right now in Haiti, medical aid is in very short supply. More medical help is on the way, in other fashions to Haiti as well.

The Red Cross has a huge convoy driving over from the Dominican Republican because Haiti's airport is simply too congested. On that convoy, a 50-bed field hospital, surgical teams and more equipment to establish emergency communications. New teams of Red Cross workers are expected to arrive in Port-au-Prince later on today.

And you, of course, can help as well. Logon to our web site at cnn.com/impact your world. A list of agencies providing emergency relief is there. And you'll also see a find your loved ones module with the State Department's toll-free number and a link to the iReport, looking for loved ones photo gallery.

So as images from Haiti pour in, people with loved ones in Port- au-Prince are still awaiting word from their families. Some were able to tell our cameras and the world that they're actually safe.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I say thanks god because I was upstairs when that happened last week and I get down safe. God make that happen. I will say to all of my family and friends, I'm still alive.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Five days now after the devastating earthquake in Haiti, there has been another aftershock. It was light, magnitude 4.5, but it's all relative. It happened hours ago. Jacqui Jeras is in the weather center with more on that. Sometimes 4.5 can be pretty nasty.

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes.

WHITFIELD: But after a 7.0, may some feel like that's light.

JERAS: Well, it's considered light actually on the scale. That's the technical term for it. But, you know, a 4.5 can easily cause some shaking going on in your house and one of the biggest concerns with these aftershocks is as these buildings and the concrete are very unstable, so any little shaky moment, you know, motion could be enough to maybe trigger something more and cause some additional collapsing of some of these buildings that are extremely unstable.

So I know that they were undergoing some searches at the time. They stopped it for about five minutes to make sure everything was safe and then they started back again. Here's Port-au-Prince. The big, large orange circle that you see right there, that was the initial big 7.0, and then this little orange one, as you can see right near the epicenter, is where this aftershock happened.

We are going to continue to get these aftershocks. This can go on for weeks. This can go on for months and even sometimes more than a year to continue to get these aftershocks. You get the big movement and then it takes a while for that earth to kind of settle into the place where it wants to kind of stay put. So we are continuing to monitor this situation. But certainly continues to remain unstable.

The other concern is what is the weather going to be doing because a lot of people are homeless. They're sleeping in the streets and it's very warm in the afternoon hours. In fact the humidity is really high today, like 66 percent. So uncomfortable and it's muggy and these people need some shade. Temperatures staying into the upper 80s to lower 90s, we think, over the next five days. And the overnight temperatures are a little bit higher than they have been as of late.

They are used to warm weather here. So when you start to see temperatures dip down into the upper 80s to around 70 degrees, that can be cool at night when you don't have a blanket. It's good to see we're getting a little bit warmer with some of those overnight lows as well. You can see partly cloudy skies expected but I do think there's a chance of seeing some pop-up rain showers as we head into Tuesday and Wednesday.

Of course, we'll continue to monitor any weather system that come into there as well as aftershock information. Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thank you so much, Jacqui.

We've been hearing from so many people who have personal connections to Haiti and they have loved ones who were there, too. But then there are folks who visited and have done work there and they feel like Haiti is near and dear to their heart.

Among those, John Eaves, former regional manager for the Peace Corps. He's here now to talk about your personal experiences after volunteering and spending a significant amount of time in Haiti. You can kind of help us understand the dynamic of this.

JOHN EAVES, FMR. REGIONAL MANAGER, PEACE CORPS: Sure.

WHITFIELD: We know it's an impoverished nation, the poorest in the western hemisphere but it gets doubly hard when it gets hit like something, like this, to this degree.

EAVES: Exactly. Again, when I was - when I worked for the Peace Corps as a regional manager of the southeast, I was a part of an assessment team that went down to Haiti to look at what the work of the Peace Corps volunteers, very, very impactful experience for me to arrive at the airport and see the poverty firsthand. The lack of infrastructure in terms of roads, in terms of electricity, in terms of running water.

But, again, as I pointed out earlier, the spirit of the Haitian people really struck me in terms of their strength and also their work ethic. But the other thing that I think is interesting is that Haiti shares the same island with the Dominican Republic, and Hispaniola, the island, Hispaniola. Haiti is one third of the island and the other part is the Dominican Republic. So when I was there, I had a chance to see the various differences between Haiti and DR, in terms of infrastructure, in terms of greenery, environment, et cetera.

WHITFIELD: In fact, we are hearing a lot about the Dominican Republic right now because one of the ways in which people, relief efforts, correspondents, reporters, et cetera, are getting into Haiti is by going into the D.R. and then making that become like a 10 to 12- hour trek and a very difficult one at that. But we're seeing a lot of the aid, a lot of medical aid and other supplies are coming in that way. What's to be expected along that journey?

EAVES: Well, when I went, I flew across so it was much easier of course. But the infrastructure, again, the roads between Haiti and D.R. are not very good. And so even though it's not a long geographical distance between the two to be able to go through D.R. up to Haiti is a pretty long, meandering path. So it is somewhat problematical to go from point A to point B.

WHITFIELD: The volunteer effort is huge. And volunteerism has been the lifeblood of Haiti for such a long time. There are a lot of folks who have an opportunity to leave right now, particularly Americans who have been doing missionary work, volunteer work there and say, you know what, I don't even want to leave right now because I want to help.

Can you kind of understand that passion, that connection that some people are feeling? There is an opportunity to leave, to find some comfort but instead they kind of want to be there to help.

EAVES: I certainly understand that. Again, with Peace Corps, we were there in the early part of this decade and - and when Peace Corps pulled out as a result of some of the political instability, a lot of the volunteers didn't want to come out because of the connections that they have with the locals, the Haitians.

Again, it cannot be overstated in terms of the spirit of the local community, the spirit of the Haitians in terms of their work ethic, in terms of their desire to make the most out of the least. And so the personal connection at Peace Corps volunteers as well as volunteers with other international organizations were there, those connections, it's hard to sever them.

WHITFIELD: All right. John Eaves, thanks so much and thanks for sharing some of your memories and thoughts on Haiti as the world is watching to see all that can be done to help the people there, so devastated by a horrible earthquake earlier in the week. Appreciate it.

EAVES: Thanks for having me.

WHITFIELD: All right. Well, in the hours and the days since the earthquake hit, thousands of families found themselves in limbo and not knowing exactly what happened to their loved ones there. We'll take a look at what some are doing to actually find them.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're back in the NEWSROOM. I'm Josh Levs. You know, we're following the stories for you of so many people who are searching for their family members, for their loved ones who might be under a rubble inside Haiti. I got to talk earlier today to a brother and sister who have a young seven-year-old sister inside Haiti. They were terrified for her and for their father and they got a bit of good news. Let's take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JODINE DORCE, FOUND FATHER AND SISTER IN HAITI: I couldn't believe it. I was just like, OK, a quake happened. My father should be OK, but when I started seeing the images that started coming in, I think I spoke to my brother and there was kind of a silence, like what do we do? So immediately I went to Twitter.com, I went to Facebook, and I just started literally just posting everywhere.

LEVS: So Jodine, you took advantage of every opportunity there was online. You used CNN I-report. You used the Red Cross web site, you used everything.

DORCE: Exactly.

LEVS: All right. I don't want to delay the great news. Tell me, you got a phone call and it was the good news, Shezar.

SHEZAR DORCE, FOUNDER FATHER AND SISTER IN HAITI: Exactly. Yesterday morning I was on my way to pick her up for breakfast. It was on 10:22, I was at i-20 west heading to her house, I received a call from my father. And you know, at first, I couldn't believe it.

Just like one of the previous story, you know I was stunned to hear that he was OK. Very elated to hear his voice. Very difficult to keep the car on the road. I kept saying, who is this? Who is this? He was saying, yes, it's me. I'm OK.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEVS: You know, we are seeing so many horrible stories. It's so nice to see these moments when people find out that their relatives are not only alive but in these cases OK. Let's do this. Let's zoom in to the screen right here. I want you to see a few things that are available to you from cnn.com. We are linking you to this at iReport. Looking for loved ones in Haiti. On here what you will see is now we have about 6,000 submissions from people who are sending in their photos of loved ones and saying, please, if you know anything about this person, tell me what you know.

We have also found that in more than 500 cases now, people have submitted new iReport saying my loved one have been found, my relatives have been found,. It's very comforting to a lot of people including that little girl you were just hearing about. This is her right here, Prisca, age 7. And so there are these cases that are quite a relief.

We do have some photos for you, however, that we want you to take a look at here. I will tell you what, I will show you two things. One is some videos that people are posting saying that you know what, I'm alive. If my family is worried about me, I'm here. I'm OK. Let's look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEAN BATISTE-JEAN, EARTHQUAKE SURVIVOR: I'm Jean Batiste-Jean. I want to say to people in Boston, especially my sister we're OK in Haiti.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to let you know that all of my family is OK. So about my daddy and my brother, my brothers and my sisters, everything is o. We have no problem. We are all right.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEVS: And we love getting those videos obviously. But I also want to show you now some photos from people, submitted to ireport.com from families that are looking for their loved ones. Because by far the vast majority of the situations, that's what we are seeing. And you can see some of the pictures right here.

People writing to us along with these pictures. They will send descriptions. They will say this is my brother, my cousin, my grandmother, my niece. Whatever it is, they will talk about what kind of clothes they often wear, what areas in Haiti they hung out in, where their offices were, where their homes were. Any kind of identifying information.

We are getting some real specific information that might help anyone, including rescuers, potentially ultimately find some of who these people are. There's one more thing I want to show you before I go. Let's zoom back into the board one more time. Because not only are we doing this at ireport.com but we are also linking you to a few other places that are doing this. We have the Red Cross family links web site. We also have a web site called connection (ph) that is helping people link people to their loved ones.

All of it, all of it linked from right here at cnn.com. So don't worry about writing down all of the links I told you. Just go to cnn.com. You will see it will take you to the information about finding missing loved ones in Haiti. We have a lot more stories about that, including one I will bring you this hour about a woman who was told that her cousin was dead until she then saw here cousin alive on CNN. That's coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A look at our top stories right now. The drug recall involving Tylenol is getting wider. Johnson & Johnson is now recalling Motrin, Benadryl, Extra Strength Roll Aids and St. Joseph's chewable aspirin because of a moldy or mildewed smell.

And it's down to the wire in the Massachusetts senate race. President Obama heads there Monday to campaign for the Democratic candidate Martha Coakley. Polls suggest that Republican Scott Brown is within striking distance. The special election is Tuesday. This is the late Ted Kennedy's Senate seat. A Republican victory could doom the Democrats' health care reform plan.

And Virginia swore in its first Republican governor in eight years today, Bob McDonald takes over as a rising star in the GOP as it battles back from election losses two years ago. But he also faces $4 billion in a state budget shortfall.

And we're continuing our coverage of the ongoing effort in Haiti, five days now after that earthquake. We know that U.S. secretary of state Hillary Clinton is in Port-au-Prince. She's actually meeting with the president and she was greeted by a large contingent there. And we're also hearing from a number of our correspondents there on the ground who are describing lots of different efforts as it be energy biscuits that are being distributed to a number of Haitian people. There are long lines of people who are also trying to get gasoline and, of course, the medical need is still very great there.

Of course, you can also help out by going to cnn.com/impactyourworld and find out in what ways you might be able to help.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Well, everyone keeps asking us why is the aid not getting to Haiti faster? Well, we found out one reason - there are major problems here at the main port. Look what they've run into. The earthquake has buckled the road almost as tall as I am. There's no way you're going to get a truck through there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That was my father's house, so we lose it, my mother was -

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now, we have somebody - somebody here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is some person inside the house.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We can't find him. We don't have a loader to dig them out.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My name is Maggie Lee Laurent. I'm looking for my brother in Haiti and my cousin Jaycee Jean Louis (ph) and my uncle, Jean-Baptist Jean Louis (ph). They were at 142 Winston Martin (ph) in Port-au-Prince.

MICHELLE OBAMA, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: The suffering and destruction that we see, the images that are coming out of that country are just overwhelming. And it is important for the people of Haiti to know that we are keeping the victims of this tragedy and their loves ones in our thoughts and in our prayers.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: In earthquake-ravaged Haiti, the desperate struggle to survive. More American people is actually on the way. Here's what we know right now -- the search-and-rescue operation will continue through the weekend but the chances of finding people still alive in the rubble are dimming.

The hospital ship USNS Comfort left Baltimore this morning to deliver medical assistance. It's expected to arrive in Port-au-Prince in about five days from now. And Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Haiti a short time ago to get a firsthand look at the devastation.

And former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush are teaming up to lead a fund-raising effort for the quake victims. Both former presidents joined President Obama for the fund-raising announcement this morning at the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, FMR. PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Most effective way for Americans to help the people of Haiti is to contribute money. That money will go to organizations on the ground and who will be able to effectively spend it. I know a lot of people want to send blankets or water. Just send your cash. One of the things that the president and I will do is to make sure your money is spent wisely.

BILL CLINTON, FMR. PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I have no words to say what I feel. I was in those hotels that collapsed. I had meals with people who are dead. The cathedral church that Hillary and I sat in 34 years ago is a total rubble.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So it is a very busy week ahead for President Obama, trying to continue the push for help there in Haiti.

Meantime, in Port-au-Prince, our Anderson Cooper is among our contingent of correspondents who are there. Last we spoke, Anderson, you were at a scene where an intense search was underway for a 10- year-old girl that her mother believes is caught in the rubble of what may have been a school. What's the latest?

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, just an incredible development. For the first time, the rescue workers there, the personnel from the Los Angeles County Fire Department, search-and- rescue team, have confirmed somebody is alive. I cannot tell you what -- what this means to these rescue workers who have been seeing today an awful lot of death and not a lot to celebrate.

You know, they are redoubling their efforts now. I know you can see the picture where they are moving into -- deep into an enormous collapsed structure, what used to be a day care center. We don't know for sure who is alive in this day care center. Originally we were summoned here when a mother, a woman by the name of Manuska (ph), a Polynese (ph), who's 30 years old, came running up to us on the street. We were following with the Los Angeles County Fire Department. She said her little daughter, Lynk Alexandra (ph), who is 10 years old, was alive and trapped in this building and had been since the earthquake and nobody had come to help.

Of course, the L.A. County firefighters immediately came. They heard what they believed was very faint tapping when they were calling to her, using our interpreter to speak in French. For the last four hours they had been working on hope alone. The dogs that they brought in didn't get a positive hit. The last dog they brought in didn't get a positive hit. So they started to believe maybe -- maybe this child wasn't alive, maybe there was nobody alive.

I can tell you just about five minutes ago, our interpreter and the team from L.A. County went in a different direction, the opposite side of this building, two rescue personnel and a local man, whose sister is also believed to be in the structure --we don't know if she's alive or dead -- went into the building. Basically, this local man who had been inside the building, and had been trying to get help for days, led the two rescue personnel who took a great risk to go deep inside this rubble, And for the first time heard very distinct three taps. I talked to the man who heard the taps, and he said this is a 10. One out of 10, in terms of whether, how real this is. He said this is a ten. The clock is ticking. We got to go. They are moving very quickly.

It is going to be a long process, they believe. They are buried -- whoever is alive is deep inside this structure and they are working very hard to try to get to that location. They believe they have a general sense of where this person may be. They don't know where this little girl, Lynka Alexandra, 10 years old. Her mother fervently believes it is her. Her mother is outside, beside herself. She is praying. I can tell you there is now hope somebody is alive in the structure.

Fredricka, when you think about it, we are almost exactly four days since the quake. The quake was Tuesday afternoon. I think some time in the 5:00 range. It is now Saturday afternoon. It is almost 4:30 here. To think that somebody could still be alive four days later is just extraordinary.

WHITFIELD: Really is tremendous. Now, tell me about what, if any kind of equipment, these L.A. County rescue workers have with them to support this structure while they or anyone kind of climbs into to try to get to this person who may be tapping?

COOPER: Well, these men and women from the L.A. County Fire Department are professionals. They have been doing this for a long, long time. They've been on the ground in Haiti since the morning after the earthquake. There is a huge concern about aftershocks. There was an aftershock yesterday. The structure did shift. I just talked to one of the firefighters who pointed to this -- what remains to be a seven-story building, which is right next to what you are probably looking at.

You probably can't see that building from where we are. We will try to have the camera pan over, but there's a seven-story building which is collapsed but which is still towering over the building that these firefighters are working on. That's a huge concern.

They don't want that seven-story building to suddenly come sliding down on them. That could very well happen. What they've done is they have gotten sticks of wood, scavenged for wood and they have asked local people who have gathered to take up 2 by 4s, whatever wood they can find. And these firefighters have been cutting it and they are using that to try to shore up the structure for additional support as they dig deeper and deeper into this structure.

These men and women from L.A. County, I mean, they have, they have been traveling around in basically a flatbed truck. They have generators, they are completely self-contained. They have power drills. They have saws. They have jackhammers. They have all of the things that they need to cut through concrete. They are working very hard but it is -- I mean it's like picking apart an intricate jigsaw puzzle, but a jigsaw puzzle that could pull out the wrong piece, and it could collapse and kill you.

So they are moving literally concrete block by concrete block, doing it as safely as they can. But they are really trying to push this in terms of getting this done in time because they don't know how much longer, or how long this person can hold on.

WHITFIELD: Again, Anderson, for those who are just now joining us, the way in which you all found this location, you traveling with the L.A. County rescue team, a mother just simply approached you all and said, hey, I want you to focus on this build?

COOPER: Yeah, we've been going out with the L.A. -- let me get a quick update. We're just on the air live. What's the latest?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The latest right now is we confirmed through listening devices --

COOPER: You confirmed somebody is alive in there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They are tapping back, in a series of three taps.

COOPER: The official -- what is the greatest concern, how concerned are you about this big building possibly next to it?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Obviously, our structural engineer has stepped in and discussed it. The leaders discussed it. We feel right now our persons are safe and we are dedicated it by shoring, as we put it.

COOPER: Right.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Status (AUDIO GAP)

COOPER: Thanks. Appreciate it.

So, they feel OK, in terms of moving forward but, again, it is a race against time.

WHITFIELD: And the mother that you mentioned, who approached you all, where is she while all of this is taking place? Is she still -- is she still nearby?

COOPER: Yeah, she's about 10 feet away from me. She's been here since we got on the scene. Our -- our we have a young man who works for CNN, named Vlad who just started, actually working at CNN, and just got out of Columbia Journalism School. And came down here. His family is of Haitian descent. He speaks French. He has been acting as the interpreter, helping these rescue workers. Literally calling into these voids, calling into these holes, calling out to this person to tap, whoever may be alive, in French, because they didn't have an interpreter available to them. He is now talking to the mother. But there are several relatives who believe their loved one may be the person alive in this building. WHITFIELD: Wow. What an extraordinary effort. You mentioned earlier how there are a lot of people who converged on this area, but these rescuers want everyone to remain quiet so that they can really, you know, be tuned into this listening device. How cooperative is everyone else being in this effort?

COOPER: Our cameras panning just to give you a sense of scene. I think they're going to show you there's a small group of people who are with Vlad. Vlad is in a blue shirt. The mother is wearing a hat. She's obviously very concerned. She's been here and praying silently for several hours now. Yes, there's a large crowd which has gathered. They've been watching this carefully. They're very respectful. Everyone wants to find somebody alive. When the word goes out be quiet, everyone in the neighborhood is as much as possible quiet for the one-block area.

Even people on surrounding buildings, who are searching through rubble, are trying to clean up the rubble of their homes or of their businesses, they stop all work and they sit. And it's very strange. It's an eerie feeling -- eerie to suddenly see a Port-au-Prince street suddenly go quiet as everyone strains to hear the faint tapping of life.

I can tell you at the moment, about now, it's been about 10 minutes, or so ago, when for the first time, they heard distinctly strong three taps. There are a lot of people here who are extraordinarily excited. And, again, this is -- this is day four. Almost exactly four days. To think somebody could be alive, what they say is there are these void spaces inside some of -- what looks like just a complete destruction, complete rubble. And a void space could be underneath a stairwell. There could be a room that only partially collapsed and one interior wall remains so that somebody could actually be uninjured, or just slightly injured. But literally entombed inside rubble and unable to get out. That's the people that they have been finding alive, yesterday, and certainly in this case, somebody alive in some sort of air space, some sort of a void.

WHITFIELD: It's extraordinary to see these variation of pockets of activity. While the location where you are, earlier you described this is a downtown location, not far from the collapsed presidential palace. Where here the concern is, and prayers are going out for the search for this person that might be tapping, while in other areas you have pockets of people who are trying to get these rations of energy biscuits that are being handed out, or perhaps even water. Here it seems people are lacking any concern for themselves. They're just holding out hope for this person.

COOPER: Well, I know also, another side to the story, another young man came up to us, in fact, he this young man helped the rescue workers. He actually went in with two rescue workers to show them the location where this morning he heard tapping. He had gone in -- he had gone in over the last four days trying to get help.

And, in fact, he told us, his name is Harold Philidore (ph), his sister, Marie Leerenea Philidore (ph), he believes is somewhere in this structure. He doesn't know if she is alive or dead. She may be the person tapping. He certainly hopes so. She was a worker at the day care center. But Harold has been trying for four days to get somebody, anybody to pay attention, and to come here. And he's told us that he went to the Haitian fire department, the Haitian rescue personnel days ago, and begged them to come. And at first he was told they weren't interested.

Finally, some team from Haitian fire department came, but then they told him that they were just here to recover any bodies. They were only interested in cadavers. They weren't interested, or able to search for the living, and they left. They have been without help for four days. So -- what's so infuriating about this, of course, for people in this neighborhood, this is not some remote neighborhood where it would be difficult for -- if there was a Haitian government here for a Haitian government, of course, to help in this effort.

This is just a short distance from the presidential palace in downtown Haiti. This is a short distance from hotels where, places where I'm staying, where other people are staying. It is a -- it's a neighborhood in downtown Port-au-Prince. If somebody here cannot get help from the Haitian government, imagine what it's like in more outlying areas?

WHITFIELD: About how many people make up this Los Angeles rescue team, Anderson?

COOPER: Well, the group that I'm with probably has about -- I'm just estimating about 25 to 30 personnel on hand right now. They're men and women and a lot of them have been doing this for an awfully long period of time. And as I said they are very self-contained. They have three dogs that I have seen so far on site. One dog named Cadillac, one dog named, Hunter and another dog named Maverick.

All of those dogs have been deployed at one time or another trying to get a sense of this person. But only one dog had -- showed interest, but not even a real positive hit. That was very early on in the search. What they believe happened is they believe whoever is alive is very far down in the rubble, beyond the smell of any of these dogs as well trained as they are.

WHITFIELD: And this has been going on for about how many hours now?

COOPER: Well, we are arrived on the scene probably around 12:30 local time, which is East Coast time in the United States. It's been going on for some four hours now. But, of course, for the families, and for all the people in this neighborhood, this has been going on for four days.

WHITFIELD: That's incredible. Hopefully they will continue to hear this tapping, signs of this life in that rubble as they -- as this team of now 25 and three dogs try their darndest to try to get to that person.

Anderson Cooper, thanks so much. We will keep tabs with you. And, of course, holding out hope and keeping those prayers going that this person will be rescued in this concerted effort. Much more straight ahead right after this.

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WHITFIELD: This breaking story we want to bring to you out of JFK Airport. We understand there has been a security breach reportedly at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. That's coming from an American Airlines spokesperson.

Passengers are actually being evacuated from Terminal 8 for rescreening and planes arriving at the terminal are not deplaning at this time.

No word on exactly what the breach is all about, but this is the information that we're getting right now that we're able to bring to you. Of course, more information as it comes.

Meantime, back to the devastated country of Haiti. Now four days after that 7.0 earthquake. Field hospitals are filling the medical void for a little bit as best they can. And CNN Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is joining us now from Port-au-Prince.

Elizabeth, you have been telling us that there are more people in great need and there's a dearth of the medical technology, and aid and doctors, in which to fill that kind of void. What is taking place as a result of the few field hospitals that are in place?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, in shortage here is actually (AUDIO GAP)

It's estimated about a third of them need surgery, quickly, some would even say within the next 24 hours if they are to survive. In the midst of all of this sadness that we might be seeing much higher death tolls at this hospital, amidst this sadness, there's a happy story I want to bring you.

There was a two-month-old baby that was taken out of the rubble just today. Doctors were shocked that she was still alive, two months, in the rubble with no nourishment whatsoever. They brought her in. They found she had a broken rib and they were so concerned about pneumonia and she might die that they managed to get her on a plane to Miami.

Here with me is one of the doctors who was in the car that brought her to that flight to Miami, which is Karen Schneider, with John's Hopkins University. She's a pediatric emergency medical specialist.

Karen, this is just an incredible story of what happened when you went to take this baby and put her on a plane.

DR. KAREN SCHNEIDER, JOHN HOPKINS UNIV. So from the time that initially when we got her, she was in horrible, horrible shape. Absolutely in shock. No pulses, full extremities, unresponsive. But we were able to resuscitate her. When we got to the point where two hours later we got a flight for her and we were able to get her onto the plane, I got onto the plane, I put her down into the seat.

We were trying to arrange the IV fluids and she looked up at me, made eye contact with me, and gave me this big smile. It was the first time that she actually recognized me. So after two hours of resuscitating her, we definitely got her back.

COHEN: And it was the first time she showed any signs of consciousness at all, right?

SCHNEIDER: Intermittently, she would moan, she would grown, she would, you know, uh, roll her eyes back but nothing that, you know, made us think this child would actually make it. But it was absolutely the first time that -- she looked at me. It was kind of one of those, thanks a lot.

COHEN: Now, her flight to Miami, we're told, is going to be landing any minute. How do you think she's going to do? Do you think she'll do OK on the rest of the flight and on the ambulance ride to Fort Lauderdale? Actually, the plane lands at Fort Lauderdale, so you have to take an ambulance from Fort Lauderdale to Miami. How do you think she'll do?

SCHNIEDER: I think she'll do fine. She was in so much better shape by the time that she left us. I couldn't - I mean, she was moving her extremities. She was making eye contact. She had urinated. So we knew we got enough IV fluid into her. I think she's got a fair chance of making it.

COHEN: She's one tough baby.

SCHNEIDER: Absolutely. I couldn't have survived it. I don't know how she did it.

COHEN: It's amazing again. Thank you, Doctor Karen Schneider from Johns Hopkins University.

SCHNIEDER: You're welcome.

COHEN: Just an amazing story of a baby who they really feared was going to die. They really feared she was going to have a raging infection. But they think they've gotten her so safety to Miami - Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Wow, that is extraordinary. Now, meantime while that is a little glimmer of hope, you mentioned there are so many people in dire need of surgery, and within the next 24 hours, is there any information you're getting that says, some of that equipment that they have been looking for to arrive today, might actually be close?

COHEN: Fred, I was just on the phone with a spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services. He said tonight at 7:00 o'clock, they are expecting equipment to land that will allow them to set up an operating room near here. An Israeli team is also setting up an operating room. If those two things happen soon, that will be two operating rooms where they can send patients back here. That would be huge, because right now they have nowhere. You can imagine, Fredricka, people have bone fractures. They have like pelvic bones sticking out of their skin, other parts of their body. People are moaning, infections are beginning to set in. If they can start getting people to the U.S.'s and to this Israeli operating rooms, that would be pretty phenomenal.

WHITFIELD: My gosh, that's incredible. Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen, thank you very much from Port-au- Prince. We appreciate that.

So much bad news coming out of Haiti it's certainly nice to get those glimmers of hope, whether it be the two-month-old, or perhaps even people who have been looking for their loved ones, who are actually finding out now that some of them are actually are OK. Our Josh Levs just talked to a woman with a very intriguing story.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, indeed. I'll tell what you we're going to do now, she was told that her cousin was dead in the earthquake. Then she found out that her cousin is alive. The way she found out is she was watching CNN. I know we're running out of time. We'll show you a little bit and we'll just pull out.

Basically what you will see here is the clip from "LARRY KING LIVE" that had her cousin's photo and you will hear her, the woman, Talma Joseph, talking to us about how she saw that photo and it changed everything.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TALMA JOSEPH, SAW COUSIN ALIVE ON CNN: A cousin of mine went into my room and told me, Thelma, Thelma, I think I saw Kiju, which is my cousin, that is her nickname. What are you talking about? I'm watching it but I guess I wasn't really paying attention.

LEVS: So, let's go to that picture actually. This is the picture that your relatives were talking about. That's her, I believe, with the pink on her head she's being fed something?

JOSEPH: Yes, that's my cousin.

LEVS: And credit where it is due, that is a photo taken by the Associated Press.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEVS: So what you're seeing there is a little clip of our interview that took place a little more than an hour ago. Fred, this is one of those instances in which people are finding out in this round-about way because they don't have the direct communication. She saw the picture on CNN. Boom, she knows her cousin's alive. That is a start.

WHITFIELD: To be able to convey that kind of good news. Josh Levs, thanks so much.

LEVS: Yes.

WHITFIELD: And thanks to many of you who have a continuing interest in what is going on in Haiti and are trying your best to do all that you can to stay abreast of the latest information. Even make donations in so many different ways that you can. Of course, we have a great resource at hand, too, CNN.com/impactyourworld to find out other ways in which you can help.

I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Don Lemon is up next with our continuing coverage of devastation in Haiti, and other news as well.

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