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Hurricane Harvey Aftermath; Trump Decision on Dreamers; Flood Victims Return Home; Estimated $136,000 in Damage. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired September 01, 2017 - 13:00   ET

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

JIM ACOSTA, CNN ANCHOR: Hello. I'm Jim Acosta, in for Wolf Blitzer. It's 1:00 p.m. here in the Washington. Wherever you're watching from around the world, thanks for joining us.

We start with the first steps on the road to recovery in Texas and it's coming for desperate residents who have lost they are homes and businesses. But as some communities assess the damage, others are still under water.

The military is on the ground helping rescue people trapped by floodwaters. We're also seeing the evacuation of the most fragile people in these communities like these tiny babies.

Look at this, at a hospital neonatal intensive care unit in Beaumont, Texas, now being moved to hospitals not affected by the hurricane.

The numbers are staggering. At least 47 deaths on the storm -- are being blamed on the storm and the flooding. More than 72,000 rescues so far and as many as 136,000 homes and other buildings have been flooded. Many damaged beyond repair.

And take a look at this. It's a traffic jam there. Unbelievable traffic jam of tank of trucks at a fuel transfer station in Houston waiting to fill up so they can get the gasoline out across the state where we are seeing some very long lines at the pumps. That being one of them. Wow.

Fourteen babies, 11 from the neonatal intensive care unit are evacuating right now from a hospital in Beaumont, Texas.

CNN National Correspondent Miguel Marquez is there. Miguel, talk about precious cargo. What can you tell us?

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Man, I mean, there is no more precious cargo than this. A newborn baby. A healthy newborn baby is fragile enough. But can you imagine having to turn over your prematurely born baby to hospital staff to be transported by air? Well, that's what's happening here today.

We had been told they were going to go by helicopter. But when the doctors and nurses started looking into it, you know, they're in these large incubator devices. We've got a little video of some of those babies before they were transported.

They didn't want to take the risk of putting those incubators on a chopper that they might have been squeezed into and maybe not quite as stable. So, they made the decision to move them by ground, and ambulance to a local airport here. And then, fly them out to Galveston, Texas, for on a fixed-wing aircraft where they can be cared for there until the water crisis here is over.

There were still 83 patients in Baptist Beaumont Hospital this morning. And there hasn't been a big pace of individuals leaving. We've seen one helicopter, so far today, taking one patient away.

Part of that might be due to the fact that there might be a solution to the water issue here in Galveston. Several companies, along with the city, have been working for a temporary solution to the water problem here. It is not clear they have that solution.

But what has happened, some residents are reporting they are seeing water flowing from their spigots and from their households. The city now put out a boil order. If you see water coming out of your faucets here in Galveston -- or in Beaumont, excuse me, you have to boil it because it's not entirely fresh.

They are now testing this temporary fix. Seeing if it will work. Seeing if it will survive the cresting of the Neches River and seeing if it will be able to pressurize the system enough to get water out there.

All of those big ifs right now. The system may be coming back online a little earlier than expected. Officials crossing their fingers. But so far, no promises - Jim.

ACOSTA: Very critical for people to heed those warnings. Miguel Marquez, thank you very much for joining us.

Kaylee Hartung joins me now from Beaumont, Texas where people are desperate for clean water after the city's water pump shut down. Kaylee, Miguel was just talking about this. They're trying to fix the situation. That may not come soon enough it sounds like.

KAYLEE HARTUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It may not. Already it has not. We're thinking about, what, 36 hours now? A little bit more than that. When these people have been without clean water to drink or to shower with.

The city set up this water distribution point earlier this morning, started handing out water about three hours ago. And this line, Jim, it goes as far as I can see, down towards the interstate of I-10.

Around this block, cars have been in constant motion here. When operations began this morning, they were servicing five cars a minute, loading them up with two cases of water and two gallons of water.

Now, they're up to 11 cars a minute. Incredibly efficient. And by our math, that means they've serviced at least 500 cars already this morning.

The situation so dire in this town as people look for clean water. One local reporter told me that she went to a store last night. Saw people literally fighting over what was left on the grocery store shelves.

And when she tweeted out there were still baby wipes and diapers on the shelves, she saw that tweet get more attention than anything she's ever put on social media, because people were so hungry for anything information of that sort.

And just a couple of minutes ago, we actually learned where all this water you see being forklifted behind me has come from. Sixteen trucks from the grocery store AGB traveled here yesterday from Houston. It took them six and a half hours to get here.

[13:05:04] I've made that drive before. In good day traffic, it should only take about two hours. But after a six and a half hour drive, 16 trucks with 32 palettes of water each came here to help distribute clean water to the people of Beaumont.

They say here, they will keep running this site until supplies run out or it gets dark, whichever happens first. And the southeast food bank actually just opened their doors for a distribution point as well. They will be open until 3:00 this afternoon -- Jim.

ACOSTA: OK. So, much-needed relief there. Hope it keeps coming even though it's happening incrementally.

Kaylee Hartung and Miguel Marquez, thank you so much for both of those updates.

The Army Corps of Engineers is sending eight water pumps to Beaumont, Texas to help the city deal with its water problem. Flooding has left the city with no safe drinking water, as we've been hearing all day.

Our Brian Todd is live in Beaumont. Brian, you just got into Beaumont a few moments ago. We just heard from Kaylee that, you know, a two- hour drive in those parts might take you six and a half hours.

Tell us about some of the complications that you're running into.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we had complications getting into town, Jim. But it's not as bad a drive today as it was yesterday from Houston here into Beaumont.

Here is, kind of, a ground zero for the efforts to try to get the water pumping again in Beaumont. This is the water treatment plant here in Beaumont, Texas. And, of course, the water has been out since 1:30 a.m. on Thursday.

This is what they're doing. There are engineers from ExxonMobil here, a company called Echo, a company called Tiger Industrial. They've come in, along with city experts, to try to get the watered pumping again.

And this is what they're doing. If you look over here, our photojournalist, Eddie Gross, will zoom into that pump over there. That's a temporary pump that they've set up coming from the Neches River which is -- you know, normally the water does come from the Neches River to this pumping station. But because the main pumping station up river that has three pumps inside it is flooded and under water and the engines, the motor shorted out, that's done.

They have to try to set up these temporary pumping stations. They are pumping water from the Neches River into that -- those orange pipes. And if you look over here, it's basically coming through this pipe here and going up to the water treatment plant right here.

Now, it's slow going. They're trying to, you know, do some tweaks to the system. They're trying to get this up and running. And, of course, there are different systems that need to be activated here.

But they are trying to get the water going, and I'm here with Ashley Alemayehu. She is a spokeswoman for ExxonMobil. Ashley, talk about - if you could just tell me basically the efforts going on here and how urgently your teams are working.

ASHLEY ALEMAYEHU, SPOKESWOMAN, EXXONMOBIL: Oh, man, this is all about teamwork. I mean, to -- the storms that have occurred over the past week, ExxonMobil together with the city of Beaumont and a number of industry players, including Entigy (ph), Echo, Tiger Industries, have all just come together.

And when you see a crisis, you just look around and see how can you put something together and fix it.

TODD: If you can give a bit of a technical explanation, without getting too technical, about what's going on over here. I said it to our audience but if you can say it better than me. As we show that pump over there, go ahead and tell us what they're doing over there with that temporary pump and how it's working.

ALEMAYEHU: Sure. So, the regular water pump station was flooded. And it'll take a little bit of time before the Neches River gets (INAUDIBLE) and operating again.

And so, we've, together with our collaborative partners, have developed a temporary solution. It's a pump that can get things going. It's powered by generators and equipment. We've got a lot of equipment that's being - that's been brought in just to make this work.

TODD: Do you know -- you may not know -- but, do you know how long it will take water from the Neches River to get through this pump to the station and actually to people's homes?

ALEMAYEHU: That's a really good question and glad you asked. The water has actually been running since last night at a slower pace. And we're slowly working with the city to get that reservoir filled up.

There's a lot of steps that still need to be completed. They need to go through the water treatment phase and work through all of the treatment facilities that you need in order to actually get back into the homes. I know the city doesn't have a timeline on that just yet, but we're definitely moving in a faster pace than we were yesterday.

TODD: Can you give us even an estimate on the timeline? Can you say anything to the 100,000 residents of Beaumont who are just so desperate to get their water back?

ALEMAYEHU: I'm hopeful to take a shower tonight.

TODD: All right. OK. There you have it. Ashley's hopeful to take a shower. All of us are hopeful to do that, Jim, as are the 100,000 residents of Beaumont.

But you can see here, just a furious effort that is taking place to try to get these temporary pumping stations working. You know, the pumping station upstream was completely under water. It's got to be above water because it's got motors in it. It shorted out.

There's a secondary source where there are additional pumping stations off of a well not too far from here. They got flooded as well. That's how this all happened, Jim. And they've got the best engineers in the world trying to fix this.

[13:10:00] ACOSTA: Brian, I remember during Katrina, you know, I had to live on a boat for a couple of weeks. Getting a shower is not easy when you're in an area like that after that kind of devastation. I can understand why that woman there you were just talking to would say something like that.

Can you talk about that a little bit? Just how it has been for you and other people that you've come across? I mean, just dealing with the daily basics in life. I just -- I can't imagine what folks are going through down there. Not being able to take a shower. Not being able to turn on the faucet and get a drink of water.

TODD: It's, of course, extremely difficult. Those are very basic things that you expect to have those at your disposal any time.

What we - you now, our colleague Kaylee Hartung is at that area where they are giving away some water. And the line of cars is just immense. It goes for what looks like a mile around the corner and down the street.

So, people, they're being real troopers here in Beaumont. But, of course, they're trying to get any kind of water they can and they're depending on the efforts here to get that for them. You know, people are being kind of stoic about it.

They're tough here and they know how to fend for themselves and improvise if they have to. But, of course, you know, when you're without water, that's the most basic of things, and it's very tough for these people and probably will be for much of the day.

ACOSTA: OK. Brian Todd, we appreciate that very much it. And we want to tell our viewers that we do expect to hear from the president in just a few moments over at the White House. We understand some pool reporters were brought in.

And he was asked about not just the situation down in Texas, the flooding down there, which he commented on. He was also asked about this upcoming decision that's expected over at the White House on the so-called dreamers. That is in reference to the DACA policy that was implemented during the Obama administration.

The Obama administration giving relief to kids who were brought into the country by their undocumented parents. They've had relief for the last several years.

Here's the president now. Let's go to the president and hear what he has to say on those topics and more. Hears the president in the Oval Office just a few moments ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A decision on DACA?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Sometime today or over the weekend we'll have a decision.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The dreamers seem worried.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We love the dreamers. We love everybody. Thank you very much. Thank you. We'll issue it sometime over the weekend. Maybe this afternoon.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) emergency funding (INAUDIBLE)?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're working on emergency funding. We're doing everything we can and we're working very well with the governor who's done a terrific job.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: (INAUDIBLE) are terrific.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you very much. Thank you.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Thank you very much, everybody.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you. Have a good afternoon.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: And so, you hear the president there, just a few moments ago, while he's there with the vice president and others in the Oval Office, talking about storm funding for people dealing with the aftermath of Harvey.

He was also asked about this decision that's coming up on DACA, dealing with those dreamers that are here in the country awaiting for some kind of decision from the government. It appears that the president may be doing that here shortly.

Here with me now to talk about this, Betsy Woodruff, Political Reporter for "The Daily Beast" and Senior Congressional Reporter Manu Raju.

I guess the president also tweeted today about former FBI Director James Comey. I should point "The New York Times" is reporting right now that Special Counsel Mueller has a letter how written by President Trump and his team, laying out his case for firing Comey. It's not a letter we have seen before or its contents. But the newspaper says that the president has, I guess, given his rationale for doing this.

Let's start with that and then we'll talk about some of these other issues. How significant is that, do you think, Betsy?

BETSY WOODRUFF, POLITICAL REPORTER, "THE DAILY BEAST": It depends on what's in the letter. It's possible that Mueller's team could use this letter to put together what prosecutors refer to as a mosaic of intent. If you want to bring charges against someone for obstruction of justice, you have to show that they were actually trying to obstruct justice.

It was perfectly legal for Trump to fire Comey. He had that power as president. What Mueller and his team would have to do if they really want to get him on that particular charge is show why he did it.

And if this letter shows that the president had a corrupt purpose when he fired Comey, then it would be very useful to Mueller. But we don't know what's in the letter, so it's, kind of, an open question.

MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER: Yes, I agree. And also, you look at the way the president and the White House handled explaining the decision for firing James Comey. I think what this letter does is shows it undercuts, in some ways, of exactly the timing. When the president decided to fire James Comey.

They've given conflicting responses about their decision to fire Comey, as well as whatever this letter says. If it does contradict what the president said publicly, that would also be problematic for this White House.

And, as we know, the president said that, you know, Comey's credibility was tarnished. But then, later in a public interview with NBC News, said the Russia investigation was on his mind when he fired Comey.

[13:15:05] So, all of this will go -

ACOSTA: Of course, he could say there were other things on his mind. That was one thing on my mind. It seems there could be - there could be an explanation for all of these things if you're looking at this from the White House point of view.

Let me ask you, you know, both of you, about DACA, because I don't know how much time we have exactly to talk about all of this. and I thought the president's comments there were very interesting. He said a decision may come down today or sometime over the weekend.

We heard from our sources that it's not expected today. But you heard the president there saying those remarks that we love the dreamers. The president has also said that he was going to approach this issue with heart, with great heart, and a lot of critics, of course, are asking, Betsy, how can you show great heart to the dreamers while at the same time ending this program? Even if you give these folks a year or two to sort their lives out, I suppose some of them do face the prospect of having to go back to a home that they fled when they were babies and they may not even know the native language of that country. It's a big problem for this White House.

BETSY WOODRUFF, POLITICAL REPORTER, "THE DAILY BEAST": Absolutely. That's completely an issue. There's a number of DACA recipients who are from Venezuela, a country that's changed radically in the last few years as we've seen violence just unfurl there. The idea that the president is saying DACA recipients shouldn't be worried is really disconnected. DACA recipients are extremely worried.

ACOSTA: They've been worried.

WOODRUFF: Their supporters are extremely worried.

ACOSTA: Yes.

WOODRUFF: Him saying that is not something that's calming.

What's important here he that is really torn in -- by two very powerful forces. On the one hand, of course, folks like Gary Cohn, business people, people in the academic world who have just been unflinching in their support for DACA recipients. On the other hand, of course, his own attorney general, Jeff Sessions, is one of the most outspoken opponents of DACA.

And the funny thing that could happen here is, if the president decides to keep DACA in place, then we know a handful of state attorney generals who are Republicans are going to sue. And then the Justice Department has to decide, are they going to argue that DACA is legal? That would be Session's decision.

ACOSTA: That's one thing that we heard. Yes, we -- and we've heard that the White House may just decide to let these attorneys general go ahead and do that and then see what happens and give Congress time to look at it.

But let's play this video from earlier this year, Manu. This was back in February at the president's -- his only full news conference that he's had when he was asked about DACA. Let's listen to that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We are going to deal with DACA with heart. I have to deal with a lot of politicians, don't forget, and I have to convince them that what I'm saying is, is right. And I appreciate your understanding on that.

But the DACA situation is a very, very -- it's a very difficult thing for me because, you know, I love these kids. I love kids. I have kids and grandkids.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: And there you have it, he loves kids and grandkids. And, of course, many of these dreamers are the kids and grandkids of people who have been in this country for a very long time. They've been in this country for a very long time.

RAJU: Yes, and they are the most -- of the most sympathetic are the folks who are undocumented in this country and there's really bipartisan support on The Hill to try to figure out how to deal with the dreamers without deporting them. But --

ACOSTA: And we should mention, Paul Ryan said today that the president should not just end DACA.

RAJU: Exactly. And he's had a more liberal view on immigration than the president has. And to that point, the president, on the campaign trail, vowed to get rid of it. This is one reason why he won the Republican nomination, because of his hardline view on immigration policy. If he does backtrack on that, he is going to get criticized from his base. And we'll see what he decides to do.

And if he decides to punt this and say Congress should fix this, even though there is bipartisan support in fixing it, this is such a thorny issue, the issue of immigration. Getting anything done in Congress would be very difficult, which means the White House may have to do something administratively.

ACOSTA: OK. Many Raju, Betsy Woodruff, thank you very much. We appreciate it.

Coming up, many residents in Houston returning to their homes to assess the damage. We'll hear from one family. Some remarkable video just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:22:55] ACOSTA: As floodwaters drain from buildings and roads, many in the Houston area are starting to return to their homes, or at least what's left of them. CNN was there as one woman opened her front door for the first time since evacuating. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIE MARIE BURTON, HARVEY EVACUEE: I feel like crying, but then I'm joyful because I could have been in the water and it could have got. So I'm just grateful.

I'm just getting back to see what's left.

Water is a powerful thing. It toppled over the sofa. And that love -- that loveseat. And it just

moved all of this stuff.

When you see it, the wall, the sink came up.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And the refrigerator fell.

BURTON: And the refrigerator's over. Lord, Lord.

Whoa.

Let's see what this is. I put this up here. Thank you, Lord. These are pictures from a long time ago.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. And they're dry?

BURTON: And they -- yes, this thing kept that dry. It didn't get wet. That's good.

Hi, Lassy. Hi. I know that storm scared you. But I'm glad you made it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's OK. It's OK. It's OK. (INAUDIBLE). You know we always get through this. He always takes care of us.

BURTON: I know. This too shall pass.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Pass. Yes, ma'am.

BURTON: It will. I know that it will.

Today is my 66th birthday. What I'm going to do after we go through some of this is I just want to eat seafood. I love seafood. So if I can get some seafood, I'll be happy. And if I get a martini, I'll be happy. But if not, I'm just glad to be here. I'm glad to be here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[13:25:02] ACOSTA: And that is Houston area resident Willie Burton, who says she'd like a martini. I'm sure a lot of folks down there could use a drink.

Rosa Flores is joining us now.

You were there with Willie Burton when she saw her home for the first time. Rosa, that was remarkable there. And it just gives you a sense as to what people are going through. I mean sometimes, you know, they just have to break down and cry.

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, it's a very emotional moment. We've seen a lot of gratitude. People are just grateful to are alive. But then when they come home and learn that they have lost everything, there is just this heavy sense of grief.

We are actually just a few streets down. This is a home of Ms. Evelyn Hawkins (ph). Here she is. Hi, Ms. Evelyn. Say hi to everybody. We're so glad that you're doing OK. You doing good? EVELYN HAWKINS: I'm doing fine, thank the Lord.

FLORES: Yes. So a neighbor saved her. Took her to safety. And now her entire church, Jim, is here helping her rebuild.

Now, these folks tell me that Ms. Evelyn that given so much to this community, to all the people at her church, that they felt that it's time for them to help her as well.

Now, if you can -- if you see inside -- I know it's a little difficult and we don't want to kind of get in the way so we're going to show you through a window, but you can see that everything was toppled over. It was a giant soup inside. (INAUDIBLE) -

ACOSTA: Rosa, you're -- Rosa, your shot maybe -- I think it's back. Keep going, Rosa. I think your mike broke there for a second. It's back. Yes. What were you just saying?

FLORES: OK. Let me bring you right over here. This is the fourth time that a storm hits her home. And every time her church comes out. She gives so much. You can see even kids coming out, helping out, helping her get all of this soaked stuff out of her house so she can rebuild. She just has such a great spirit, Jim.

And, by the way, this family says hi to Wolf Blitzer. They are a huge fan. So they just wanted to say hi to Wolf.

And they are just so grateful that, you know, that she survived and that, you know, all this stuff -- all this stuff can be replaced. And she's OK, and that's all that matters, they say.

Jim.

ACOSTA: Rosa Flores, that is great. That just gives you a glimpse right there of a community pulling together. And I loved how she was just so wonderful a few moments ago. What -- I mean she's in such great spirits despite the fact that, you know, her house has really been torn apart there. We wish the best for all of them as they recover from Harvey.

Thank you very much, Rosa Flores. We appreciate it.

ACOSTA: A local official estimates that around 136,000 structures, buildings, homes, what have you, have been flooded in Harris County alone. According to a federal official, more than 1,000 federal housing inspector are already on the ground in Texas and another 200 are on the way.

I want to talk about what happens next with Richard Serino. He's the former deputy administrator of FEMA.

Richard, when you see scenes like that, that we just saw a few moments ago with Rosa Flores, it's just incredible. It seems like it's overwhelming to figure out how to begin. What do you do? I suppose you just need teams of people to go from neighborhood to neighborhood to assess all of this. RICHARD SERINO, FORMER FEMA DEPUTY ADMINISTRATOR: I think one of the things that we just saw in that story is how she said, you know, she's appreciative that she can do this, but I can do this, we can do this. It's really bringing the whole community together with the support from her neighbors, from the faith-based community, as we saw. And that's going to repeat itself thousands and thousands of times across all of Texas and Louisiana as well.

And I think it's good to remember that this is about the people. This is about what they need. And the force of government coming to help, federal, state, local, bringing that ability to work across the whole community with the faith-based community, the non-profits, the Red Cross. You also have different groups, Samaritans Purse, Team Rubicon that are going out, mucking out people's homes so they can go back and live back in their home.

Because this isn't something that just one agency can do, not anything that just one individual can do. This is not one city can do. This has to be all of us coming together, working together to support the survivors in this time of crisis.

ACOSTA: And many homeowners in the area, I think this is a very important question, they don't have flood insurance. Obviously, people who live in certain areas, they don't think a 500-year flood is going to happen to them, so they don't get the insurance. And then something catastrophic like this happens. What are they supposed to do?

SERINO: Well, this is one of the problems is that 80 percent of the people in this area have no flood insurance. So that means that they will qualify, hopefully, for some FEMA assistance. But FEMA assistance wasn't designed to make people whole. The maximum somebody gets is about $33,000. And even with that, the average is only $6,000 to $7,000. So it's going to help people jump-start, but it's not going to help them get back on their feet.

[13:30:08] And that's where all the volunteer, all the donations that people are making are both monetary and in time that --