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Haiti Awaits International Aid; Rescued Girl Dies; Secretary of State Meets Haiti's President; Obama Calls for Clinton and Bush to Lead Fund-Raising Efforts

Aired January 16, 2010 - 22:00   ET

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

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Wolf, thank you very much.

Hello, everyone, I'm Don Lemon at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. We start tonight with a rescue in progress in Haiti. Crews working against the clock to save people trapped under the rubble of a collapsed bank. Victims desperately text messaging, we're told, their loved ones for help.

And our breaking news earlier, a little girl trapped, possibly more beneath the rubble, an update if anyone made it out alive.

Plus, this.

(VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Well, this is the kind of scene playing out in Port-Au- Prince today and around Haiti, where aid is pouring in from around the world. The people are growing increasingly impatient tonight. People are worried about not getting food, not getting water. We're going to update you on the entire situation in Haiti this hour.

So we start with hope. Still alive in Port-Au-Prince possibly. Tonight, there are text messages reportedly coming from an earthquake survivor trapped beneath the collapsed bank in Port-Au-Prince.

Our Susan Candiotti is live on the scene. Susan, what have you learned?

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Don, well, they are digging for signs of life right now. We have an incredible position right now being given to us, thanks to the Miami-Dade Florida Fire Department and the L.A. County Fire Department as well. They are part of that urban search and rescue team.

Right now, you could see over my shoulder here, they are digging deeper and deeper into a building. We are at what have been a five- story high building right now, and they still got 40 feet above the ground looking down into what they're doing. You can hear the jackhammer. They're trying to dig a hole.

Here's what started the whole thing. Yesterday, a car that was parked near this building that collapsed because of the earthquake. Something set up that car alarm that belonged to an employee. And then later on, they got a text message from a woman who is a bank employee. And the message said, I'm OK, but help. I can't take it anymore.

That prompted -- eventually the word got to these rescue teams that are in here from the United States, and they send some -- they send some team over at about noontime today. They have been here ever since noon time today.

We can feel a couple of tremors since we've been up here for the last two hours. They brought two dogs up that smell for signs of life. Life only. That was at noon time today. Two different dogs, two different times and they hit on a living scent. That's when they started to drill a small hole. They dropped down a camera, and they also dropped down some sound equipment, but they didn't hear anything. Pressing up those hits, they kept digging deeper and deeper with that drill hammer.

And then they -- about 8:00 tonight, they sent another dog up from the L.A. County Fire Department. It also got a hit in this very same spot, so they're digging even deeper to see whether they can find signs of life of that one. He might be down there. As amazing as that is, more than four days after the earthquake hit. And there's another possibility that someone else, another employee of another office in the same building might also be down there.

They're going to be going -- this particular team will be working until midnight tonight. And then they'll bring in a brand new team. And they're going to be swapping each other out, give each other rest. And then keep on going, until they hopefully find some survivors. They'll keep bringing the dogs in to see if they can see anything, and keep using that sound equipment, trying to find a crevice in there, so they can -- I'm told that you can be tapping quite a distance and still hear it from the spot where they drop in that microphone -- Don?

LEMON: Oh, boy, Susan -- I mean, it's just amazing to see this going on, and just how up close you are. I can't keep my eyes off the pictures there.

Let me ask you this. Just so for me and for our viewers, this text messaging, where were the text messages going to. Was it to people here in the United States, was it people in Haiti? Was it to rescuers? Where were the text messages going to?

CANDIOTTI: As we understand it, from the information we're getting, from a representative of USAID whose helping the search and rescue, we understand that the message went to a relative. And in turn, the word spread from there. They called a radio station. The radio station called in a search and rescue unit, and finally they arrived down the scene and started their digging.

It's just, we have an incredible perch here to see what's going on. These two teams from L.A. County Fire Department and Miami-Dade Florida had given us amazing access as well. So they've been going at it, non-stop. It's really remarkable. I believe if someone's down there, they'll find them. LEMON: Susan, listen, you said someone set off a car alarm. Do they believe that this person may have had a key to set their own alarm off as an indication to someone who was, you know, above ground that something was going on? Is that what you're saying?

CANDIOTTI: That's what they're guessing. That's what they're guessing that somehow from inside the building, they might have been able to set off a car alarm. And so, that was followed by the text message. So those were the first to -- that they're might possibly be a survivor inside that building.

LEMON: And what's interesting, Susan, as you look at -- you know, I mean, these obviously heavy concrete and steel rods, and what have you, and they're going at it. You can hear the jackhammers and you can see the shovels. But, I mean, really for what they're going to need, they need some big cranes and some building movers and earth movers to really dig out of that. I mean, they're going at it, but I mean, just getting to it, it really takes some time just using shovels and jackhammers.

CANDIOTTI: It sure does, and they have to be delicate about this task. They can't come in with bulldozers and cranes, because if something falls, you wind up crushing anyone who might still be alive inside. So that's why they have to go about this in a very methodical manner, bit by bit, inch by inch. Slowly, you can have jackhammers dig a hole as slowly as they can, so they don't endanger themselves or anyone who might be living down there.

LEMON: Susan.

CANDIOTTI: And so that's why it's taking so long. It's a delicate process. And, obviously, these guys are experts.

LEMON: Susan, how high up are you just so -- we can't really get the perspective of how high up are you? Are you on the bottom floor, the second floor? And how far, how big, how tall is this rubble?

CANDIOTTI: This building used to be five stories high. Obviously, it collapsed to a degree once that happened. But now -- I think I said earlier, they estimate we're about 40 feet high off the ground now.

I don't know whether, how much light we have, they might try to -- I don't know whether you'll see much. No, I don't think we will, to show you how high up off the ground we are.

But sufficed it to say it's high enough, and it's a bit of a slippery slope here. So everyone's walking very, very carefully up here. And they've got all kinds of equipment they got to take care. The drill wet and moist so it doesn't jam up. They're moving away from the rocks, some of the rocks that are impeding progress a bit. They clear those out every once in a while. And then they also took a break after they brought the dog in. And they hit about 8:00 tonight and dropped that microphone down there again. At that time, we've seen this done before, where they make everyone be very, very quiet, very still to see if they could hear anything or hear pin rocks, even if it happened many feet away from us.

And the other thing they pointed out, too, is that this particular building unlike other structures they had so far, since they've been drawn in here on Wednesday this week, this one is extremely well-built, this bank building. And so it's taking them a lot more time than it has in other structures to get that jackhammer down, cutting through the cement, because it's pretty tough down here. There could even be a bank vault down here on the bottom where perhaps, perhaps, the people went and took cover if they had time enough to react when the earthquake hit. So all kinds of possibilities going on.

LEMON: Yes, some of that -- I asked you some of the questions twice, Susan, because as you were speaking in the beginning, the jackhammer was going, and I wasn't able to hear you. So I'm sure some of the viewers at home may not have been able to hear you as well.

But, Susan, listen, stand by, because we're going to be coming back to you throughout the evening here on CNN, because we want to know exactly what's going on. If they are able to get to someone, and how close they are, if they were -- if they are indeed able to get to other people. So stand by Susan Candiotti. We appreciate it.

Susan Candiotti on the scene of a rescue taking place at a bank. It is believed that someone, possibly beneath that rubble set off their car alarm maybe with a key and also text message a relative, and rescuers went to that building to look for possible survivors. We're standing by for that.

Also we talked about another rescue earlier. The dream of a successful rescue dashed elsewhere in the city. The race to dig a little girl out from a crumbled day-care center ended when the sounds of life stopped. Rescuers were led to the site today by the little girl's mother who said her 10-year-old daughter had been buried for four days. A Los Angeles County crew worked for some six hours on a -- what they believe -- a belief that they heard moaning and tapping underneath all that rubble. But then the noise has stopped, and the rescue dogs couldn't pick up the scent. And the squads search for an hour after sounds tapered off, but eventually they had to move on to another rescue site.

Our Anderson Cooper led our breaking news coverage on that just a little bit earlier. Sad, sad story there.

You know, as the hours pass without aid, the scramble for survival means scuffles on the streets of Port-Au-Prince. CNN reporters watched as frustrated Haitians tore open these empty cardboard boxes looking for food and water. And you can see some people scavenging the boxes, taking them away just to sleep on them.

Finding bedding is another necessity in a city where many bed down in open air in the evening. Safety and numbers they believe. The aid drop. While it became a scene of chaos as Haitians ignored the wash of air from the helicopter blades to really grab desperately the food that they needed.

The trickle of aid is nowhere near enough in a country where many have gone without adequate food and water for days.

Imagine a trip to the park, a beautiful day and then the ground literally opens at your feet. Our guest describes her harrowing trip from Port-Au-Prince, and she is back home now. You won't believe what she endured.

And the family of this student just hopes to have their daughter home again. We'll tell you her story, and about her friends who did make it home safe.

We want to know what's on your mind tonight. We're taking your questions. We're also trying to get some answers for you about your loved ones and you're your relatives. Their whereabouts. If you need any information, log on to any of those social networking sites and we'll help you out.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: And now we talk about the state of our nation. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spent several hours in Haiti today. The highest ranking U.S. official to visit Haiti since the earthquake. She met with President Rene Preval, and her plane delivered food, water and medical supplies. Secretary Clinton said the U.S. will remain in Haiti as long as it takes, but that all U.S. efforts will be closely coordinated with the Haitian government. In her words, every day, we are making progress, and I expect that will continue.

Well, during her stop, she spoke with CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta. And she told him that Haiti has faced challenges throughout its history, but she is hopeful this tragedy can be overcome.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, SECRETARY OF STATE: It's just tragic. I mean, the fact that the Haitians can't seem to get a break. Last year, hurricanes, this year, earthquake. It's something that you just find hard to fathom, but at the same time, these are resilient, strong people and they deserve our help.

It's been a series of reasons, Sanjay. I mean, it was a colony. It was largely populated by slaves. It was never recognized. The United States didn't recognize it, when it won its independence. Other countries didn't help it. We even occupied it for a period of time in the 20th century. They had a series of bad leaders who didn't really help the people. It's just an unfortunate confluence of events, and yet we know that Haitian-Americans are some of the most successful people we have in many of our communities from Florida to New York.

So the ingredients are all there, and what I want to see is a good partnership with the Haitian government and the international community to help the people of Haiti now build bigger, better, into the future.

(END VIDEO CLIP) LEMON: Well, President Barack Obama is calling on two former American presidents to lead the fund-raising effort for Haiti. President Bill Clinton and President George W. Bush joined Mr. Obama this morning at the White House. President Obama says the two will spearhead the Clinton-Bush Haiti Fund. Similar to the appeal launched after the 2004 Asian tsunami.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Here at home, Presidents Bush and Clinton will help the American people to do their part, because responding to a disaster must be the work of all of us. Indeed, those wrenching scenes of devastation remind us not only of our common humanity, but also of our common responsibilities. This time of suffering can and must be a time of compassion.

GEORGE W. BUSH, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The most effective way for Americans to help the people of Haiti is to contribute money. That money will go to organizations on the ground who and will be -- who will be able to effectively spend it. I know a lot of people who 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, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I have no words to say what I feel. We need -- 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...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Those two former presidents echoed Mr. Obama's remarks, and they called on Americans to give generously.

President Bill Clinton and President George W. Bush will be on "STATE OF THE UNION WITH JOHN KING" tomorrow to discuss their Haiti relief efforts. That's at 9:00 a.m. Eastern right here on CNN. Again, "STATE OF THE UNION WITH JOHN KING," 9:00 a.m. Eastern here on CNN.

So many emergencies in Haiti, so what do rescuers tackle first? Carlos Castillo is a former FEMA administrator, and he joins us now live from Washington.

Thank you, sir. Good to see you. Wish it was better circumstances.

Hey, I want to get back to our breaking news at the beginning of this broadcast. As I'm told by my producer, the Miami-Dade rescue, you worked with them?

CARLOS CASTILLO, FORMER FEMA ADMINISTRATOR: Yes, that's correct. I was head of the team since the early '80s, and our first international mission was to the Soviet Armenian earthquake in 1988.

LEMON: So what are they up against, sir? If you work with the earthquake you said in the Soviet-Armenian earthquake, and there, again, there's our Susan Candiotti up there, and you see the pictures there. That was from just a little bit earlier. When you look at that scene and you look at your former rescue team, what are they up against? And what do they need in terms of equipment?

CASTILLO: Well, that they're very well equipped. You know, part of the philosophy is that we would come in as self-sufficient as possible. Needing some fuel, perhaps later, but for the most part, self-sufficient. And if you look at the way this evolves, typically, following an incident like this, even of this magnitude, the largest number of rescues are completed are self-rescues, family and neighbors helping people out.

As time passes, people are trapped more deeper into buildings. There's voids that will be had there that will be live victims, but it takes a lot of finesse. It's a very labor intense and hazardous process. In Armenia, the first person we pulled out was six days after the quake. So we don't lose hope. There's still a possibility. As you see, there's a lot of people being rescued still.

LEMON: And Susan mentioned a vault in the bank that people possibly went into, and that could have saved their lives.

Do you agree with that assessment?

CASTILLO: Absolutely, that's possible. You know, people, even in elevators, if somebody was in an elevator, perhaps, an elevator shaft is maybe not in this building, but in typical buildings, an elevator shaft is usually stronger, so if somebody is there there's a higher probability of them still being alive.

LEMON: Just the idea that someone is underground texting loved ones. I'm not sure if it was in Haiti or if it was in other countries. Unbelievable. Or may have -- and it was a smart idea if they did indeed do that, set off their own car alarm with a key. It is just amazing to think about that. But when you're in a situation like that, you become very industrious, correct?

CASTILLO: Absolutely. And, you know, the concern now is, it's going on four days, you know. And batteries, cell phone batteries will begin to die off. And then it's just people will go back to whatever -- whether they tap on pipes and it's heard or voices, when they are -- canine than comes in and search, and try for some odor that they can be able to sense with another tool that there may be people still alive in there. Because, again, it is dangerous for the rescuers to go in there. And if they take the risk, it's an informed risk, knowing that there's probably somebody still alive in there.

LEMON: There is a team that is heading to Florida right now, right, that you founded. Is that correct?

CASTILLO: Well, actually, the team from Miami-Dade Florida.

LEMON: Is that the team?

CASTILLO: Yes, they are there. LEMON: I think there was a separate team on top of that. No, not so?

CASTILLO: Well, there's a team out of Miami as well, primarily made out of the Miami Fire Department. I understand there may be a smaller team also heading out. We worked closely with the Fairfax County team as well. And they have a large team, and then a smaller team that's more agile and perhaps doesn't have as much equipment, but able to reconnaissance some of the area and get out into places where you can't with 50,000 pounds of equipment.

LEMON: I got to tell you, Mr. Castillo, we really appreciate you joining us tonight. Best information -- it just so happens by coincidence that our breaking news, those folks that are possibly trapped beneath that bank and it is your former team. Appreciate it. Best of luck to you.

CASTILLO: OK, thank you.

LEMON: All right. Back home tonight in the U.S. after a harrowing trip in Haiti. She survived, but now waits for a word of her mother. Whether or not her mother is safe. There she is right there. She's going to join us in just a bit. Her story is coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: One of the most dramatic scenes we watched this week happened Thursday, when I interviewed CNN's Ivan Watson. He showed us a young girl who was trapped in the rubble. This was all live. And at the time, there was hope that she could be rescued and that she would possibly survive. I want to show you how it played out. We have an update for you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It was an 11-year- old girl named Anaika St. Louis. She's pinned underneath this rubble. And the volunteers here are snaking through a hose right now to give her some drinking water. She is about ten feet away. And you can see the braids of this little girl's hair. I talked with her, she is wearing glasses and she is crying. She's in a lot of pain right now. And she's terribly scared.

This little girl, it is kind of hard breaking to hear this, because she is pinned there, Don.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: That played out live on CNN on Thursday. And that little girl was rescued, but sadly we later learned that she did not survive her injuries. Ivan Watson attended her funeral today, and he now joins me from Port-Au-Prince.

Ivan, very sad story. We were both hoping at the time that they would pull her out. What they were trying to decide whether or not they were going to cut off her leg, honestly, or leave her there until they could get blood and the right equipment to get her out. But now we're talking about her funeral. You went today.

WATSON: That's right. We visited with the family of this little girl, and I think it's important. The scale of this disaster, according to one Haitian government official, between 50,000 to 100,000 people roughly may have been killed. And we're taking a look at one, just one victim in this colossal catastrophe, Anaika St. Louis.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WATSON (voice-over): Anaika St. Louis, an 11-year-old girl who sang in the choir at church and at school. Classmates nicknamed her the little lawyer, because she hoped to study law one day, just like the aunt who raised her. Those dreams were shattered last Tuesday, on the day the earth shook Port-Au-Prince.

We found Anaika on January 14th, two days after the earthquake. Her aunt begged us for help. She had been trapped for 48 hours. Her right leg crushed under the rubble, screaming in pain and fear.

"My lord God save me," she cried. For hours, the only tool the men from the neighborhood had was a hacksaw. Volunteers gave Anaika a pair of glasses to protect her eyes from the falling dirt. She told us her name.

ANAIKA ST. LOUIS: Anaika St. Louis.

WATSON: Anaika.

And took a blessed moment to rest when the workers paused their struggle to cut her free. Thursday night volunteers pulled Anaika out, and rushed her to a hospital where a Cuban doctor cleaned her wounds and fed her painkillers. Soon after she passed away. A victim of her appalling injuries.

At a relatives house an hour's drive north of the disaster zone. Anaika's family is now deep in mourning.

"Did you see how brave my girl was," asked her aunt, Etiana.

Friday night relatives held a funeral in a church and then buried little Anaika in this cemetery. Her mother is visiting for the very first time. Anaika's uncle says the 11-year-old displayed strength throughout the ordeal. Before she died, he says she was willing to have her crushed leg amputated.

(on camera): What did she say?

RODREFFE JEAN-BAPTISTE, ANAIKA'S UNCLE: She said, "thank you, God. He saved my life. If I lose my feet, I'll always have life." Every time, I got some tears in my eyes. It was painful.

WATSON (voice-over): Is it fate, chance or the God, Anaika so deeply believed in that allowed this little girl to suffer so much. 11-year-old Anaika St. Louise, just one face among the tens of thousands of victims of a disaster that defies comprehension. (END VIDEOTAPE)

WATSON: And this is just one face again among so many here. Nearly every family you talk to, T.J., has suffered some kind of loss. Very difficult for anybody to deal with. And then with the subsequent challenges of trying to survive in a very difficult conditions that many people here in Port-Au-Prince are having to live with now. With difficult access to food and water. It's really overwhelming.

This family, they have travelled to a location about an hour and a half's drive outside of Port-Au-Prince, which has not been affected by the earthquake, and fortunately it is more of a refuge and an escape from kind of the misery that we're seeing in the capital city here -- T.J.

LEMON: All right. Ivan, it's Don. But thank you very much for your reporting. We really appreciate it.

You know, only CNN has the global resources to bring you non-stop live coverage from inside Haiti. Thousands of people with relatives and friends in Haiti are watching CNN to find out if their loved ones are still alive, CNN.com/HaitiMissing is a place that you can find their photos and their descriptions.

For survivors in Haiti, getting to a CNN correspondent like Anderson Cooper has been the only way that they can let people know that they are OK.

Take a look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because me and you, life, life.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, alive.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know what I'm saying?

COOPER: You're happy because we're both alive.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I saw you, too. You know?

COOPER: So how was your family? How are you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everything is OK. (INAUDIBLE). Everything is OK. Yes.

COOPER: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. My dad live in St. John Place in Brooklyn.

COOPER: Have you been able to communicate with them?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I can't. I can't.

COOPER: Do they know if you're -- do they know you're OK?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, they don't know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Even though survivors lucky enough to escape from Haiti have their horror stories. And our next guest made it home to New York where her journey sounds really like a nightmare. Her name is Nahumy Jean-Louis. And she was visiting family in Haiti and her mother when the quake struck.

We said earlier that you haven't heard from your mom, but we're understanding that you have heard from your mom and your mom is OK.

How are you doing?

NAHUMY JEAN-LOUIS, HAITI EARTHQUAKE SURVIVOR: Yes, she is. I'm OK. Thank you. I'm here. I'm just happy to be home with the people that I love the most. And I'm just grateful to be alive.

LEMON: Yes. I would imagine that you. Are you a little bit hoarse from talking so much? Or is this naturally how you talk? Is that excitement?

JEAN-LOUIS: Crying, crying and praying and singing to the Lord while I was in Haiti. So at times I lost my voice, you know, just crying with the effect, being scared, not knowing what's going to happen. It was so overwhelming. Words can't even describe how happy I am to be home right now.

All my children, I thought I wasn't going to ever see them. My younger sister, my brothers, my aunts, everyone that loves me, that I love, I thought I wasn't ever going to get the chance to see them. Even the people at home. My brothers in Haiti, in Carrefour, I don't even know what happened to them, because I was in Leogane. And at the time it was finish, and they need help. The few people that are there needs help. It's bad. It's real bad out there.

LEMON: You were there, and we understand that just a few hours before, you took some pictures, what have you. If you can describe to us what happened, where you were and then what happened. And then your journey to get back here to the United States.

JEAN-LOUIS: Well, I was supposed to go back to Port-Au-Prince that Tuesday afternoon. However, there was practicing, like a carnival band was practicing, because next month is carnival. So I decided to stay and go watch.

I went to a police in Leogane called Forsa (ph). And my cousins and I, we were having a good time, listening to the music, just enjoying, you know, the riches of our land and, you know, our culture. And then all of a sudden I just -- I heard a noise, I thought it was a fight. I saw everybody running, so I decided to run with them. But then all of a sudden I felt like the ground was lifting me up and I fell. And it's when I fell, I feel like the ground was cracking and water was coming up. And then at that moment, I didn't hear anything but just the ground and my own heart beating, and racing to the nearest tree and holding on.

At that time I felt it, and I don't know what was going on. I don't know what was going on until it stopped. And then I started walking and I had to cross a bridge, and it started shaking again, and I fell because someone pushed me. And I tried to, you know, paddle my way up, and then when I did, that's when I saw disaster.

All the houses, all the little houses just collapsed. People screaming. And that's when I realized that it was an earthquake. And then I asked the lady next to me, like, has this ever happened before? And she was like no. I was like, oh, my gosh.

My mom -- automatically my mother, my cousin, like everybody in Delmar; my little brother in Carrefour, my sister that I just met for the very first time, her daughter, my uncles. It just -- I lost it. I didn't know what to do, and then I got lost.

LEMON: Yes. Well, somehow you did make it, you made it to safety. And Naomi, I could sit here and listen to your story all evening. And we hope to talk to you a little bit more here on CNN in the future.

Best of luck to you. And our hearts and prayers go out to your loved ones. We hope they are OK.

JEAN-LOUIS: Wait a minute, there's a lot of people -- I don't mean to cut you off, but there's a lot of people of mind that are missing.

LEMON: No, go ahead.

JEAN-LOUIS: And I was like -- and I wrote it down. If someone could go look for them, because I myself couldn't do anything for them. I wanted to leave. I was scared. There's corpses all over the place. Dog is eating corpses, they're blowing up the stench with the wind. People are going to get sick. Infection is going to happen. I don't know. They need to go to Leogane.

I understand Port-Au-Prince got hit bad, but Leogane and elsewhere, and further up into Tigas, there's a lot of things going on out there, too, and they need, they need the government. You know, I'm so grateful for America because they're in there, and all the other nation is coming in and helping. And I feel so proud of America for that. I'm so proud to be an American, to see that, even though my ancestors are Haitians that were coming together. Everyone wants to come together and help my country. I'm just thankful. Thank you.

LEMON: Well, listen, we can -- you know, I can only imagine how you feel. We're all proud to be Americans at this point, when, especially with the relief that we're getting into.

If you look right behind you there, there's the assignment desk at CNN in New York. You hand those names to them. And they will get them to our producers in the field, we will look to those people that are on that list for you, OK?

Just straight behind you, walk up to that desk and talk to the first person you see.

Thank you so much, Naomi.

JEAN-LOUIS: All right, thank you so much. Thank you. And God bless.

LEMON: God bless you, as well.

You know, amid all the heartbreak in Haiti, there are some bright spots there as well. You're going to hear from one family in Texas, who got some very good news after waiting for days.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Our iReporters have submitted thousands of photos of missing family and friends in Haiti. And you can find them at CNN.com/HaitiMissing.

Jacqui Jeras has been talking to family members. Right here in the U.S., who have been fortunate enough to find out that their love ones are alive.

Jacqui, finally some good news really in this broadcast.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, I know. I mean, there have been so many awful and devastating stories. And where the outcome is not good.

Now that we're getting some more communication, some cell phones are now working as well, some BlackBerries, and right here on the Internet, in Facebook and other social networks, we're starting to get some good, positive stories. And instead of seeing all of this missing, missing, missing, we're now starting to see found, found, found.

So that's some good news. We wanted to bring you a great story to share with you from Houston, Texas.

Elaine Lanoue is joining us on the phone, whose mother-in-law has been missing for four days now.

Elaine, thanks for joining us. Tell us the good word.

ELAINE LANOUE, RELATIVE SURVIVED EARTHQUAKE (via telephone): We were just ecstatic yesterday. She apparently got a hold -- early this morning or late last night in my brother-in-law here in Houston. And he called us right away, and we still hadn't heard about our brothers and sisters, but -- we just -- she sounded terrific. And we hadn't talk to her yet, but finally we were able to get through to her again tonight about 5:00 Houston Time. And she just sounded wonderful. She sounded. We were so stressed and worried, she sounded better than we did. She was --

(CROSSTALK)

JERAS: Well, what kind of condition is she? She's 83 years old, and I know there's been some damage to her home.

LANOUE: Oh, yes, and she's sleeping out in the fields. Something that's just -- like I said, she's a hearty 83-year-old. She's short but spunky, and she was -- she said, you know, her house was slightly damaged but the U.N. had told them not to stay in there at night. And she did have water, and she has plenty of food. My brother-in-law just sent her a large container of rice and beans, and she's the kind of person who would share with all of her neighbors, even if it was one little piece of bread.

JERAS: That's some wonderful news.

LANOUE: Yes, it was. We were just thrilled. And we really felt great. We had somewhere to post her picture.

JERAS: And there she is, and she looks beautiful.

Elaine, thank you very much.

LANOUE: She does. She does. Thank you.

JERAS: Thank you for sharing your story with us tonight. And we also understand that she has some water as well. She's got well water. So one of the good stories finally tonight coming out of Port- Au-Prince.

Don?

LEMON: Exactly. And it should come from you, Jacqui. A ray of sunshine in all of this.

Our meteorologist, Jacqui. Thank you so much.

Haiti's hospitals have never been more important or less able to rise to the challenge. A report from Port-Au-Prince is straight ahead.

And she went to Haiti on a humanitarian mission, but she is now the one in need of rescue. The latest on the missing students, and the faculty from Lynn University.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: You know, any city's hospitals would be hard pressed to respond to a disaster this big. But in Haiti, well, the tragedy has simply overwhelmed hospitals, and doctors are now finding themselves setting up shop right in the middle of the street.

CNN's Steve Kastenbaum joins us with more on the medical angle in this.

Hey, Steve, we got to tell you, I spoke with a women who was a survivor there, and it sounds terrible. She said it. She said that dogs were eating bodies. We even saw video of bodies being burned in the street there, because they can't bury them. Give our viewers a reality of what's going on there? STEVE KASTENBAUM, CNN RADIO: The need for urgent medical care here is absolutely overwhelming. I don't think any hospital system in a first class city could meet the need very well right now, let alone here in Port-Au-Prince. There are very few places where average Haitians in need of urgent medical care can go to in close distance and get it, but we did come across one hospital where they can find quality attention right now from many doctors and nurses.

It is the Hospital La Paz, the Cuban medical system sent doctors here, many, many months ago to train doctors in Haiti and doctors from around the Caribbean. Well, they have now used those resources to administer the Hospital La Paz. And they've been joined by several surgical teams from Spain, as well as many countries in Latin America. And for the last 2 to 3 days, they've been treating between 600 and 700 people.

And we're not talking about the simple cases here. We're talking about people with traumatic severe injuries. I can't tell you how many compound fractures, how many amputations, how many severe flesh wounds we saw when we walked through the halls of this hospital. But, Don, they were doing it in an orderly fashion. They were triaging patients at the front entrance. Folks were getting in there in an orderly way. There was no panic. The patients were receiving the first aid that they need as soon as they walked in. Then their cases were assessed by quality health care professionals from Cuba, from Spain, from South America, and from there they would go to one of three surgeries that are operating around the clock. 24-7 at this hospital.

It's amazing to see this in the heart of all of this destruction. There is this one oasis where people would absolutely horrific injuries can find treatment and get quality care.

LEMON: Steve Kastenbaum, thank you so much for that update.

How are you responding? What are you doing? Have you given any money? Have you helped? Have you considered helping? What are you talking about online? We're going to tell you next. We've been tracking it right here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: The port in Port-Au-Prince has been out of service since the earthquake, adding to the logistical headaches. But dock workers today started trying to clear broken concrete from the area, and they are only working during daylight hours for now. But they hope to get a generator up and running so work can begin 24-7. Again, once the port is operations, relief supplies will be able to enter Haiti by sea.

Helping out by logging on. Social networking is changing the way we respond to emergencies. How you, guys, are helping save lives. We're going to talk about that.

And found and lost. Parents thought their daughter was rescued, turns out it wasn't true. She's still missing along with three other students. Humanitarians in her group. So, tonight, prayers and pleas from their friends.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: CNN.com, Facebook, Twitter, The Internet playing a huge part in the search and rescue efforts in Haiti. James Andrews, co- founder of Everywhere. He joins me now live.

He has been checking the social networking sites. What's popping now, James?

JAMES ANDREWS, CO-FOUNDER, EVERYWHERE: Well, what's popping now is you have people like Karylle Padre (ph) live from Twitter, you know, telling us what's happening on the streets, looking for water at an orphanage. You have an amazing group of celebrities that are actually in Miami, Save Haiti Saturday. I think it's an awesome thing. Lenny Kravitz is involved in this. It's really an awesome movement happening right now.

LEMON: OK.

ANDREWS: And, of course, the Google stuff we talked about. Google has actually created something called Google Crisis Response. I'm looking for somebody on the left-hand side. I have information about someone on the right-hand side.

LEMON: Real quickly, I want to ask you. We talked about Yele, and Wyclef Jean talking about his organization. There was some controversy about where the funds are going. Show us -- do you have the site where there's a video of him, right?

ANDREWS: Yes. It's Vlad.TV.

LEMON: We're going to actually put it on our blog if you can show it. There's a video of him online responding to what happens.

ANDREWS: Well, it's really powerful. What it really talks, it shows from his heart, live from his computer, from his laptop, talking directly about what -- against him, the allegations against Wyclef. He really pours out his heart and talks about the fact that he's in the streets of Haiti.

LEMON: There it is right there. And we're going to put that on our blog. And you can hear from Wyclef Jean what he has to say about that and the relief efforts going on in Haiti.

ANDREWS: Yes.

LEMON: Thank you for helping out.

ANDREWS: Thanks for having me.

LEMON: We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: We want to get back now to our breaking news that we reported at the top of the show. Happening in Port-Au-Prince at a bank.

This is our Susan Candiotti earlier, part of her report. But I'm going to walk you through this as we show this video. Role this video. This is from earlier.

So I'm being told by Susan Candiotti that these rescuers from Miami-Dade search and rescue are still looking here. They said that they had no longer, they are no longer hearing about any signs of life, but they're going to continue to dig as long as possible.

Again, this is -- that's the report earlier from Susan Candiotti. We're trying to get Susan Candiotti up there. And as they were -- as we were on the air tonight. Susan was trying to get up. The batteries went out. Generators went out. Obviously, those are the problems that they're having there in Haiti, because of this earthquake.

But, again, just sort of the background on this story is that when this -- obviously, when the earthquake hit, the building collapsed and there believed that there are people who are trapped under this rubble. There might be some people in the bank vault. Someone set off a car alarm, and they believe that someone inside of that bank may have set off that alarm with a key that would set that alarm remotely. And they also believe that someone is texting from beneath the rubble of this earthquake. So they are looking.

But, again, according to our Susan Candiotti, who was on the ground, they are no longer getting any signs of life. They're not hearing any tapping or anything there. So they're working on it, and we're going to bring it to you live here on CNN as soon as we get any more information.

Also, we want to tell you that the U.S. military today set up a joint task force in Haiti to respond to the dire situation there. About 5,000 U.S. military personnel are currently operating in Haiti. And from U.S. Navy and Coast Guard vessels that are offshore. Another 7,500 military personnel are expected to arrive by Monday.

A U.S. Navy destroyer and aircraft carrier with 19 helicopters are offshore. Their mission there is to help the United Nations stabilize Haiti, and to deliver supplies to its citizens.

Boy, a lot going on, we had for you this hour. I also want to tell you before we go off the air tonight that CNN's Larry King is once again reaching out this time to help the people of Haiti just as he helped the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Monday night, Larry King hosts a special two-hour Larry King Live, it is called "Haiti: How You Can Help." Larry will bring together celebrities and opinion leaders to encourage people to help the people of Haiti. That is Monday night 8:00 p.m. Eastern only here on CNN.

We're running out of time here. I don't have much time to show you some of the things that we have been able to get from our social networking sites, but I appreciate your feedback. We really do. And I thank you so much for joining us. I'm Don Lemon at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. See you back here tomorrow night, 6:00, 7:00 and 10:00 p.m. Eastern. Again, thanks for joining us and have a great evening, everyone.