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Hurricane Bears Down on Texas; Rescue on for Six Stranded in Flood; Coast Guard Works to Save Disabled Freighter; Will Hurricane Impact Gas Prices?
Aired September 12, 2008 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TONY HARRIS, HOST (voice-over): The onslaught of Ike. A hurricane almost as big as the whole Gulf of Mexico is threatening to swallow Galveston, Texas. Leave or die is the warning, but time is running out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You live out Passewal (ph) Boulevard, along this stretch of the road, keep in mind, it's already under water. The storm hasn't even made landfall yet.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Already underwater. Hello, everyone. I'm Tony Harris at CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. We are tracking this colossal force of nature all day and night, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
And as we heard from that helicopter reporter from our affiliate KTRK, Ike is still a long way from shore, the center of Ike, anyway. It is almost 200 miles southeast of Galveston. You'd never know it from these pictures, though. Tropical Storm-force winds extend some 275 miles from the eye. Hurricane winds go out more than 100 miles. Ike is still a Category 2, with top winds of 105 miles an hour but could -- could -- hit Cat 3 by tonight. The single biggest danger is the surge, that pounding, ever-growing tide that could top out above 20 feet.
The first effects are apparent on the Galveston shore where folks who live in one- or two-story houses were warned last night to get out or risk certain death. Last we heard, about half of the island had taken that warning to heart, and many of those hearts are heavy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Going to look at the house and remember the good times and go.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're really worried about it, aren't you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: I don't have to tell you that CNN reporters and correspondents crews are all over this storm, but we're also watching our Houston affiliates, and you will see the best of their coverage, as well, as Ike churns ever closer to land.
Spearheading CNN's coverage this hour and for many hours to come, our Rob Marciano is in Galveston. Sean Callebs in Houston. Reynolds Wolf is in Clute, southwest of Galveston. And in our severe weather center here in Atlanta, meteorologist Jacqui Jeras.
Rob, let's begin with you in Galveston.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, the red jacket is on, Tony. We finally got some -- a little bit of rain that we squeezed out of Ike, which is still well off shore. We've gotten a little bit of wind, not a whole lot of rain. We've got a lot of water.
Look behind me. This has been the story all morning long, really, since sun up. The water has been pounding against this, what should be a protective sea wall. We'll see how it fares going forward, because for the most part, I think that water's going to easily overtop it. We're not even near the center of the eye, and these waves are crashing right up against it. On a typical day, you'd see beach for 500 yards out to either the ocean or to the Gulf. Today, it's just pounding relentlessly up against that sea wall, spraying debris up on the boulevard.
A further bit down the beach, where there is not so much of a sea wall, already communities are flooded out. And from time to time, the sun keeps on peeking out. So we are not even near the center of this thing, and it's so big the water is already creeping up here. High tide, it's right around now, but it's not much of an issue. Tide from this part of the gulf only go up one, one and a half feet. So compared to the relative storm surge, which could be 15, 18, 20 feet, the tides really don't make much of a difference.
We have had people evacuated. About 60,000, 58,000 people live on this island. But we're told just over half of that have left town. So there's going to be thousands, tens of thousands maybe, of people in the path of Ike as this thing comes ashore tonight. And they've been -- instituted a curfew beginning at 8 p.m. They want people to abide by that curfew. And they're also telling you if you get in trouble during the height of the storm, we're not coming to get you. So you're on your own, as are we in the media.
But we have a pretty high spot here and a pretty fortified structure, as well. So it's going to be a long night for residents who decide to stick around, Tony. Evacuations certainly would be smart.
HARRIS: Yes.
MARCIANO: At the risk of sounding like a hypocrite. We want to give you the play by play here with...
HARRIS: Yes.
MARCIANO: ... all due safety in mind.
HARRIS: And Rob, just to be clear here, is it too late to get out if you -- if you want to get out, after hearing your report?
MARCIANO: No, no. It's not at all. The winds here have not been strong enough to close down any bridges or causeway. Authorities are still urging people to get out. I'm told, or I've heard, that in Houston maybe they said traffic is an issue there; maybe you should stick around. But here in Galveston, they wouldn't mind if you got out of town. And it's not too late to do that.
HARRIS: OK. Rob Marciano in Galveston for us. Rob, appreciate it. Thank you.
Now to Houston, the fourth largest population center in this country. Much of that population has cleared out, but many others are being told to stay put. Let's get to CNN's Sean Callebs.
Sean, good to see you.
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Tony.
If you look over my left shoulder here, you see Interstate 45. Yesterday gridlock, bumper to bumper traffic. Well, that clearly indicates that a lot of people that lived in those mandatory evacuation areas heeded these very stern warnings that have been coming quite often, and have left the area.
Here's what we've learned in the last couple of hours or so. What's going to happen when the winds in this area get 55 miles an hour or greater, and police and ambulances are going to stop answering emergency calls. They are not going to shut the interstates down, but once these tropical-storm-force winds begin to hit the area, the mayor, other county leaders have said, "Look, we want people off these roads."
We're talking about evacuating about a million people in about 24 hours, including a quarter of a thousand -- a quarter of a million, rather, from Harris County.
Tony, back to you.
HARRIS: OK. Sean Callebs for us. Sean, appreciate it. Thank you from Houston.
Let's go to Surfside Beach, that community not far from the city of Freeport. Our Susan Candiotti is there.
And Susan, if you would, give us an update on that urgent sort of 911 call from a short time ago from people who are trapped there, who may have ignored the evacuation orders and now are in need of a rescue.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You should get your coat on.
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where'd you get that?
CANDIOTTI: I'm here (ph).
HARRIS: Susan, can you hear us? All right. Let's stay with the shot as we indicate that...
CANDIOTTI: ... pretty much. Let me tell you what's going on...
HARRIS: OK. Yes. Take your time, Susan.
CANDIOTTI: ... right now. Can you hear me?
HARRIS: Yes, absolutely. Take your time.
CANDIOTTI: Can you hear me?
HARRIS: I sure can hear you.
CANDIOTTI: OK. Good deal. What's happening now -- what's happening now behind us is there's a -- there's a rescue going on. Now the numbers have increased since the last time we told you about this. We thought at first we heard two people, then three. It's now six people. Six people. We don't know if they're all adults, adults and children. We do not know that.
But they have launched a boat that's gone quite some distance out there. I think it might be out of our view right now. But we followed it all the way. And we hope relatively soon they will be able to bring these people out.
Let me give you a set-up here. This is Surfside Beach. Only about 1,000 people live here. They've been under a mandatory evacuation order for a few days now. So people were ordered out and had plenty of time to get out. In fact, the police chief told me, "I thought everyone did follow that order." Apparently, at least six people chose not to.
So the chief got a phone call about an hour ago from these folks that said, "We're scared. We want out of here. We want to leave." So with that -- let me get over on this side now. When that happened, the chief then -- they took the guns off their belt. He and about two other people went out and walked their way in waist-high water to see if they could reach these people that are way off as far as the eye can see. They're that far back.
That didn't work out, so they called in the fire department to bring in a rescue boat. With assistance from the fire department here. The U.S. Coast Guard is represented here. The sheriff's office is represented here. And they're out there. And learned now that it's six people that they're going to be bringing out shortly. And as they have some water standing by. They've got -- I think it's a National Guard truck out here, vehicle so that they can get out and across the causeway, back onto the mainland.
Every house on this slip of an island here are on -- every house is on wooden stilts. We were out here last night doing a live report on the beach road. We could not be doing that now, because that road is now underwater. The water has encroached that beach highway. The surf is high. The waves are crashing. And they're only about four feet about sea level here. The houses bring it up to maybe 14 feet to the first level. So clearly, if there's a storm surge...
HARRIS: Yes.
CANDIOTTI: ... anywhere of 10 feet, 14, up to 18 or 20 feet high, well, you do the math. They're going to be in deep trouble.
So they're waiting to bring these people out.
HARRIS: Sure.
CANDIOTTI: They hope that will happen in short order. As far as we know, everyone is OK.
HARRIS: Yes.
CANDIOTTI: But that's why it's so important when authorities tell you you've got to get out while the getting's good.
HARRIS: Well, Susan...
CANDIOTTI: Because once the weather starts to turn, they're not going to be able to go back then.
HARRIS: Absolutely. And Susan, and that's exactly -- this is exactly the scenario that the -- the emergency management officials and personnel and the local police and firefighters, this is the scene that these officials would like to avoid, of having to go in and to rescue people who, for whatever reason -- and we know there are a lot of reasons why people would choose to stay in their homes. But the evacuations are issued for a reason. And -- and now we've got a situation where six people are in need, at least six people are in need of a rescue.
Susan, we will be checking back with you shortly. If those folks come closer to your location, just give us a shout and we'll get back to you as quickly as we can. Susan Candiotti for us.
The town of Clute, Texas, now let's go there; also in the danger zone as Hurricane Ike gets closer to landfall. It is just 45 minutes from Houston. CNN meteorologist Reynolds Wolf is there.
And Reynolds, if you would, give us the latest on what you are experiencing right now.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: What we're experiencing here, Tony, is a little bit of deteriorating conditions. I'll tell you earlier when we'd first gotten out here, we still had some sunshine. We still had very light winds. The winds have picked up considerably. The skies are getting a bit darker. Obviously, much worse where Marciano is going to be, way over on the -- a little bit to our east, over towards -- towards Galveston.
But I'll tell you conditions here. And the wind is picking up. And the biggest fear we have of the wind and the rain and the storm surge is not necessarily here in the county in terms of the population, because most of the people are gone. Over 70 percent of the population has evacuated. There's still that 30 percent we're deeply concerned about, and hopefully, they're going to be evacuating soon also. But another big concern that we have, across Highway 288 over here, we've got a couple of chemical plant areas, namely BASF and you've got Dow.
Let's go to our other camera that we have high and long (ph). That shows a better shot that we have across this area. This is one of the biggest chemical plant installations we have in the United States. If this area were to take a direct hit from that storm, it is -- it is really frightening to think of the -- of the issues we would have.
Not only do we have the problems of the chemicals but we have the problems with the petroleum areas. I think you've got Gulf. You've got Shell. You have the Strategic Petroleum Reserve all in this area. And if they're hit by the storm, it does make you wonder how it would affect the economy. Certainly not good. No question about it.
Let's send it back to you very quickly in the studio, Tony.
HARRIS: OK, appreciate it. Reynolds Wolf for us in Clute, Texas.
Picture this for a moment, if you would: a disabled freighter more than 100 miles from shore. Waves getting higher, Ike getting closer by the minute. It's really happening. And the U.S. Coast Guard is on the case. Chief Petty Officer Mike O'Berry is on the line with the very latest.
And Mike, if you would, can you give us the very latest on maybe the location of that freighter and what kind of shape it's in right now?
CHIEF PETTY OFFICER MIKE O'BERRY, U.S. COAST GUARD: Absolutely. I also got some good news. We've actually launched a rescue operation to go out there and get those folks.
HARRIS: Well, let's start -- let's start with that. Tell us about the rescue operation.
O'BERRY: We've launched two HH-60 Jayhawk rescue helicopters out of New Orleans. Those are Coast Guard helicopters. We also launched one Falcon jet out of our ATC Mobile office, which is in Mobile, Alabama. We also got the Air Force to pitch in. (AUDIO GAP) We got two of their Osprey, CV-22 Osprey crews from Hurlburt Field, are en route, as well. They launched probably within, you know, an hour ago to go out to do a rescue.
HARRIS: Wow.
O'BERRY: Those HH-60s can hold about 16 each. So plenty of room to go get the 22 members off that boat.
HARRIS: Twenty-two members on board. And that rescue operation is underway right now?
O'BERRY: Right now, yes.
HARRIS: All right. So at some point we will be able to report that the good news -- the good news that the rescue has been successful.
All right. Let's take a big circle back, if we could, Mike. Tell us what the idea was initially here. Was the idea to move that freighter out of harm's way?
O'BERRY: Absolutely. Typically, when storms are approaching, the Coast Guard will release information that says, you know, storm is 26 hours of 72. And for these big freight ships, it is our desire and the ship's desire to get out into safe haven, leave ports. And they had left port as directed. And just as they were heading for a safe haven, they had engine trouble. And so they actually broke down in the path of the storm.
HARRIS: Got you. All right. Chief Petty Officer Mike O'Berry from the Coast Guard is with us right now.
Mike, appreciate it. Thank you.
Want to get the very latest on this rescue. It sounds pretty dramatic. Let's go to the Pentagon now and our Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr.
Barbara, good to talk to you. This sounds like -- boy, this is pretty dramatic right now, it sounds.
BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, what we are hearing from the U.S. Air Force, actually, it is the U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command in Hurlburt Field, Florida, that got the call from the Coast Guard to please come help rescue these 22 seamen on this freighter stuck in the gulf during this terrible storm.
Air Force Special Operations, we understand, is prepared to send this help, and the Coast Guard spokesman you just had seems to indicate it is underway. The Air Force has some CV-22. These are vertical take-off and landing aircrafts. As well as some helicopters: an MH-53 helicopter and a refueling aircraft.
But what's really significant here, the Air Force Special Operations Command is, like the Coast Guard, very expert in this. But they normally operate in the toughest of circumstances, rescuing downed pilots, rescuing personnel behind enemy lines. They're very experienced at these matters, and we are told from the Air Force that they are dedicating 12 to 16 Air Force Special Operations personnel, essentially pararescuemen. These are the kind that you see on TV, jumping into the water...
HARRIS: Yes, yes.
STARR: ... to help rescue, to go over the deck of this ship, in conjunction with the Coast Guard, of course, and try and get these 22 people off the deck. The information just emerging, of course, so we hope to have more for everybody shortly.
HARRIS: Outstanding. Barbara Starr at the Pentagon for us. Barbara, thank you.
The gas prices spike as Hurricane Ike gets ready to pound the Texas coast. We will go live to Baytown, Texas, where Ali Velshi will tell us what to expect if the storm takes a big toll on oil refineries.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Take a look at Galveston. The coast there and the sea wall being pounded as that surge continues just to do real damage there. And I'll tell you what. At some point the window really does close, and this is a word to the folks in Galveston who are making this go-don't go decision right now. The window closes here pretty soon, and you won't be able to leave. So maybe just take a look at some of these images and reconsider the decision that many of you, it seems, have made, which is to stay.
Let's get to Jacqui Jeras now, who is tracking this enormous, this monstrosity of a storm.
And Jacqui, that surge -- boy, we're still hours away from -- are we even at tropical-storm-force winds at this time?
JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Not -- not quite yet. But you know, we're starting to see surges in and around Galveston Bay on the order of six to eight feet, so it's getting higher. You know...
HARRIS: Yes.
JERAS: ... we heard that this morning, looking around, three or four feet.
HARRIS: That's right.
JERAS: Now we're talking upwards of eight feet. And you know, landfall, we're talking about, you know, maybe even just 12 hours from now. So we've got a long way to go...
HARRIS: Yes.
JERAS: ... as we continue to watch this. You know, one thing about those winds, I'll be honest with you, I thought that we probably would have already seen the sustained tropical-wind-force winds arrive. Part of the reason why I think that we haven't is if you take a look at the storm's structure here from the satellite, notice all the purple is really over here on this side. You know, this is still what we call the good side of the storm. And just because the winds extend out 275 miles from the center of the storm doesn't mean it does that equally all the way across from the eye, you know up and down or left or right. Normally, we see those strongest of winds in this northeastern quadrant.
So we do, though, think that we're just around the corner from that. We're getting gusts out in Galveston Island now of 39 miles per hour. So that's tropical-storm-force wind gusts. You get the sustained winds, and that's when you start to see that trouble.
You can see the cloud cover is already pushed into the area. Rob Marciano reporting some of those rain showers. Those will increase in intensity and frequency throughout the day. You know, for the most part, Louisiana has been seeing more of an issue in terms of showers and thunderstorms and the threat of tornadoes. And we don't have any warnings in effect right now. They've also been seeing those sustained tropical-storm-force winds.
Grand Isle, look at that: 40 miles per hour.
HARRIS: Wow.
JERAS: So they're well in it. The forecast right on track. We're seeing this west-northwesterly turn. So we'll be looking at late tonight, tomorrow morning. But you know, don't even look at that line, because this storm is so big. You know, pretty much this whole area getting the brunt of Ike.
HARRIS: OK, Jacqui. Appreciate it. We'll check back with you in just a couple of minutes. Thank you.
If you would like to get involved in relief efforts for those affected by the hurricanes, visit CNN.com's "Impact Your World" page. There you will find links to groups and organizations providing food and shelter to people in need. Here's the address once again. That's CNN.com/impact.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: OK. Hundreds of miles to the east of Hurricane Ike, a big spike in gas prices. Take a look at this. We found this earlier today: $5.23 a gallon in Sumter, South Carolina, east of Columbia. Apparently, it's because of concern that Ike will heavily damage oil refineries in the Houston area.
The Pantry, that's a convenience store chain, is asking customers in 11 states, mostly in the Southeast, not to panic but not to buy more than 10 gallons of gas at a time. The company says it doesn't have any supply problems but is just being proactive.
We are looking at a -- and let's look at the big board now, New York Stock Exchange. This just popped up a moment ago, and we identified this. As you can see, the Dow is down over 100 points. Not sure if this is reflective of troubles in the financial market or -- because that sector, as you know, is a big under siege right now -- or perhaps this sell-off is tied to concerns about this storm and its potential impact on oil and gas supplies and then prices.
Texas, as you know or may not know, has 26 oil refineries, many of them around Houston. And their refining capacity is more than a quarter of the nation's total. So what could we expect if Ike knocks those refineries out of service for any extended period of time? Maybe that's the caveat there, extended period of time. CNN senior business correspondent Ali Velshi joins us from Baytown, Texas.
And what are your thoughts on this, Ali? First of all, what are you seeing at your location?
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Well, I'll tell you what's going on here in Baytown. There are, as you said, 25 refineries in Texas, about a quarter of the country's refining capability. That makes oil into gasoline.
And over my shoulder you'll see that flare on that stack. That is a Baytown refinery, Exxon Mobil's refinery. That's the biggest one in the country. It refines 590,000 barrels of oil into gasoline every day.
Now, the water here has risen. There's the dock over there. About an hour and a half ago, I walked out to it. Water is coming out here, and refineries are susceptible to -- to water being in them. They can't operate if they're flooded. They can't operate if the power goes out.
So right now, of those 25 Texas refineries, ten of them are shutting down or shut down. And I say shutting down because some of them are trying to get gas to those -- to their distribution terminals so that tankers can be full as late as possible today.
We just heard from Shell. They are still refilling tankers, probably for the next couple of hours, to try and get gas to all of those stations that are running out.
But Tony, you hit the nail on the head when you said short-term impact. There is likely to be short-term impact, because we use a lot of gas. Refineries run at more than 80 percent capacity. And if ten of them are shut down, that's a big percentage of the country's oil that's not being made into gasoline.
Now, the issue is how much damage will there be? After Hurricane Katrina there was so much damage that there were some major refineries that were down for up to nine months. And that's where the concern is going to come in.
In the short-term you're going to see, definitely around this part of country, we're going to see gas shortages at some gas stations as they're not able to refill them. But if there's permanent damage or there's big damage, you're going to see that moving up to other parts of the country.
You've also seen those gas spikes...
HARRIS: Yes.
VELSHI: ... that you just talked about. And one other thing, is we've just had confirmed that over at Fort Bouchal (ph), east of here in Louisiana, that offshore oil fork is now completely flooded. Their highest point is about 4 1/2 feet above sea level, and they've got waves coming in above six feet right now. So that is shut down and flooded. So...
HARRIS: Boy, oh, boy.
VELSHI: That's a bit of an issue.
HARRIS: All right. Ali Velshi for us. Ali, great reporting, as always. Thank you.
The power of Hurricane Ike. Our iReporters are showing us what it's like all along the Gulf Coast as the storm moves closer to landfall. We will show you what they're seeing.
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HARRIS: Dramatic live pictures now. Take a look at this. Look at that surge. This is just off the coast, obviously, of Galveston, Texas. Pretty dramatic and we are just starting, we're looking at another 12 hours or so before landfall for hurricane Ike and we are seeing this surge.
We started the day way surge of about three to five, maybe six feet, and Jacqui Jeras telling us just moments ago that we may be up to six to eight feet in terms of a storm surge right now. We, of course, will be showing you this picture and others like this throughout the day. You know, the next barrier island over from Galveston is the Bolivar Peninsula. Earlier, we've got this report from one of our affiliate reporters from KHOU, reporter Butch Alsandor, on a coast guard rescue.
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BUTCH ALSANDOR, KHOU REPORTER: Yes. Basically, we're here in Ellington and they're about to have lockdowns so, we may run out of here soon. But what the story is, there are a few residents from the Boliver and Crystal Beach area who basically decided to roll the dice and they thought they might ride out the storm and then they realized that was a really bad decision. So, they contacted the Coast Guard. In fact, the coast guard had over 150 requests for rescue out of Bolivar at this time.
And so at this point, they've been running what they call -- they've been dropping off and going back out to pick up more. The rescue operation is on going as we speak and the residents are being airlifted to Ellington Field. The problem is, though, the Coast Guard is using three helicopters at this time. So, when you talk about the pilots and the rescue crew, they can only bring aboard three to five people at the time.
As you can see, we're seeing video right here of a rescue that took place just a few minutes ago. That dog is Sugar. She belongs to Aldine Umbright (ph), who's the lady you see right there getting off the helicopter. She came over from crystal beach. She wasn't planning on staying to ride out the storm. She was going to try to drive out this morning, but that area is already seeing lots of flooding at this point. But what the point I was making before, with the pilot and the rescue crew, they can only take three to five residents, evacuees on to the helicopters. So, this is a pretty slow process. They come on, they drop off the residents that they picked up and they go right back out. You know, they go back down there and try to bring in some more people.
At this point we have 16 confirmed that have been rescued and are brought back here. At this point we do not know where they're going to be transported. They're also using a Gulf Greyhound Park as a drop-off point. They're going -- some helicopters are landing there. So, they're coming into Ellington Field or they're going over to Gulf Greyhound Park.
Like I said, they've had 150 requests so far. We have 16 confirmed. So, this is a busy time. Right now, though, there are 70 people still waiting with the water rising at this time. And the problem with that is, once the wind gets to be between 70 and 80 knots, these guys can fly. So, they have to go with safety first in these situations.
So, it's really a rush. They're going to be extremely busy over the next couple of hours trying to get some of those residents who are still stuck down there out and bring them over here to Ellington or Gulf Greyhound Park.
From Ellington Field, Butch Alsandor, 11 News.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: All right. Let's check in right now with CNN's Rob Marciano. He is in Galveston.
And Rob, we talked to you just a short time ago, we saw some deteriorating conditions there. Give us the very latest.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Rain bands are now starting to come in from time to time. The sky is brightening from time to time and the winds get gusty from time to time. We're in a bit of a lull right now. And that, as you know, is the way this goes until we get into the outer core of the storm, which is still well over 100 miles away.
So, it will be several hours before we get a steadier rain and wind. But nonetheless, the bigger story has been the wave action and the surf. Check it out. You would normally see on any given day, a much flatter Gulf of Mexico, wouldn't be nearly as murky and foamy. And you see a whole lot of beach stretching about 400 or 500 yards out before you even hit the water.
So, a significant surge already in anticipation, or advance of this storm. And as we've been reported on either side of this island where there is no sea wall, there are already communities completely inundated and in some cases people somewhat trapped. They have, still asking for people to get out of here. But we've also are hearing reports that some parts of the causeway are getting water pretty close to lapping over that area. So, even though they want get to out of here, it's getting to a point where they may not very well advise that.
A little bit over half of the population has evacuated. Officials are hoping that would be a higher number. But, that's the fact as of a couple hours ago. And they put a curfew in -- 8:00 tonight until 5:00 in the morning on Sunday. And they say if you break that curfew you're either going to be one, arrested, or, two, they're going to slap a $2,000 fine on you. So, they're going to take this very seriously. And on top of that, Tony, if you do stay behind and need help, you may very well be there --
HARRIS: Oh well, you're going to be there.
MARCIANO: Exactly. So, we're in a pretty good spot. Obviously, we're hoping that we don't have to --
HARRIS: For now.
MARCIANO: We're pretty high up here. For now.
We'll give you the play-by-play from a safe spot. I think we're more concerned about the winds. It's going to be a dangerous situation with that and at some point we'll take cover. But, obviously right now, we got no problems and we'll be able to give you some action well into the night, I'm sure.
HARRIS: OK. Rob, appreciate it. Thank you.
You know, speaking of those winds, lets get to Jacqui Jeras.
Jacqui, I'm not sure. Are you at the Extreme Weather Center or are you at the magic wall right now. But, I know that we've been spending a lot of time talking about the surge. But boy, you've sent at least one note to us indicating that we really need to be mindful of the winds attached to this. I'm not sure what you've prepared but I'm sure it'll be terrific information.
JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I've got a little bit of both for you, actually. And I'm glad you asked about the winds. Because, you know, we've been talking about how we thought they'd be arriving any minute now. And this from stormpost.com will show you the center of the storm. The inner ring here, shows the orange, that's 74 plus mile-per-hour winds. So, that's hurricane-force wind. And then the outer circle is where we have the tropical storm forced wind gusts. So, you can see that spreads really, from the mouth if the Mississippi, all the way over towards Corpus Christi.
So, at a minimum, we're going to be getting gusts in here very shortly. As we advance into time, we'll take you into 8:00 tonight and then you can see this orange band on the inside. That is Category 1 plus winds, starting to make their way towards the coast. So, that's going to happen this evening already. And then continue into the overnight hours. And part of the reason why we're not getting a lot of wind action right now is A) we haven't seen a lot of the squalls make their way on shore into Texas yet. And then also because the strongest winds are always here, in the right front quadrant of that storm.
All right. Let's show you a little bit of data here. We put our hurricane impact zone information. This is a computer model forecast. A lot of it based off FEMA and government information based on the intensity and strength of the forecast of this storm. And I want you to take notice of all that orange around here. That's the equivalent of Category 2 peak wind gusts. And then you can see that moves through the Houston area and just on off to the east.
And when we're talking about winds like that, it means we could be seeing many high rise windows being blown out, mobile homes completely destroyed, small residences, maybe roofs are going to be coming off of them as well. And the property damage expected to be just phenomenal. Total, $12.8 billion. That's property damage only. So, buildings mostly. But look at how much property that covers up. Or, how much real estate. So, this is going to be a lot, a lot of people being affected by the winds alone from this storm.
HARRIS: That is just -- have you ever seen anything quite like that? That size? I mean, come on.
JERAS: It's the size. It's all about size. Size does matter with Ike, definitely. And that's because those winds extend out so far from the center of the storm that so many more people are going to be feeling the effects of this.
You know, even Dallas, I don't know if you can see it up there. Let's get into the Dallas/Fort Worth area. They're going to be seeing tropical storm force winds. So, power outages there, power outages in Houston. It's going to be days and days that it's going to take people to recover from this storm.
HARRIS: Jacqui, thank you.
Once again, just another reminder for you. If you'd like to get involved in relief efforts for those effected by the hurricanes. Boy, I'm certainly thinking of the folks in Haiti right now. Visit CNN.com's Impact Your World page. There you will find links to groups providing food and shelter to people in need. at CNN.com/impact.
The fury of hurricane Ike through the eyes of our iReporters. We will show what you they're witnessing as the storm gets closer to landfall.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: OK. Here we go. For a huge part of Texas and Louisiana coast, there is absolutely no escaping Ike. And time is running out to evacuate. This vast hurricane is closing in on Galveston Island, where an expected surge of anywhere from 20 or more feet could be absolutely catastrophic. Ike's top sustained winds are 105 miles an hour. But could get stronger before the eye comes ashore overnight. Got to tell you, we are getting -- Josh, how are you doing? Are you all right?
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, what's going on, Tony?
HARRIS: We got a big kerflupple (ph) up there. Are you all right?
LEVS: It was about time for a kerflupple. We have gotten so many iReports throughout the day. We have our big, fancy screen. About to go on the air 10 seconds ago and my screen goes blank.
HARRIS: Oh, all right.
LEVS: And you know how much I love my screen.
HARRIS: Yes, OK. All right.
LEVS: And I still get to show you this cool piece of video that just came in. I love this iReport. So they say, go to the desk, let's take a look at it. This is really good stuff. OK. I shouldn't be laughing because this is kind of depressing stuff. Let's take a look at this. This has just come in. We're told that this is at the Beau Rivage Casino. Look at that. And basically, it's under water.
HARRIS: That's in Biloxi. OK.
LEVS: Yes, it's in Biloxi. And that's another reason I wanted to do this. Because earlier I said Biloxi. This is my chance to say Biloxi. That's what happens when you come from Albany.
This came to us from Alfonzo Walker. He's one of many people -- and I want to emphasize as we look at this. It's fantastic video. We appreciate that he sent it to us from iReport. He took it safely. And if you look at the perspective, you can tell, folks, he was not in it. He was well above it. And we are getting a lot of video today, a lot of photos in iReport.com.
We certainly encourage to continue to send your photos, your videos, your stories. We're piecing through them like crazy, sharing everything we can with you here on the air, whether it be up at the big, fancy anchor desk here next to Tony, or all the way over there at the Hurricane Center where we got my screen shut off.
HARRIS: Can we re-wrap that? Because here's what's interesting. We know the kind of damage that hurricane Katrina did to a lot of the casinos . A lot of the casinos in the Biloxi and in the New Orleans area.
LEVS: A lot of casinos expect this. I mean, some casinos know that this is going happen. But, this. What they're seeing today is obviously, incredible.
HARRIS: And what I'm wondering, is this one of the casinos that was impacted by Katrina that was repaired and now maybe is getting a second hit here, but you're right. These are some pretty strong images of what the storm surge -- boy, and this is Mississippi.
LEVS: Yes. That's --
HARRIS: Can you imagine, for a second of what we're going it see here in just a few hours?
LEVS: And you know what? We are getting video, and we are showing them in iReport. We have been throughout the day. You've got pretty much the entire Gulf region. I mean, you have like, all the way down from Texas, all the way over to here in Florida. Everybody is getting affected in some ways.
We obviously are doing a lot of focus for you today on where Ike is headed. And that's important. We need to do that. And there, you can see the map right there. But we do want to keep in mind, that everyone throughout that region, anywhere in that coastal area, can be seriously affected by this. Jacqui's talking about it, they're getting pounded. That's why we have these iReports, like that.
HARRIS: Great point. Thanks, Josh. Appreciate it.
Now Galveston is expected to Ike's doorway to the United States. The city goes under curfew tonight, as you just heard, from Rob Marciano. For those who are staying, you need think about that, please.
Mary Jo Nashke is Galveston's public information officer. She is on the line with us.
Mary Jo, thanks for your time. I know you are very busy right now. So, we appreciate the few moments that we can get with you. First of all, I'm just sort of curious about the people who have decided to stay. Give us the latest numbers on those who have decided for whatever reason, and I guess we can't get into that, and shouldn't.
How many people have decided to stay, what's the latest on that?
MARY JO NASHKE, GALVESTON PUBLIC INFORMATION: Our estimation is that about 25 percent of the population opted to stay. And of course, we have no control over that.
HARRIS: And what's that in real numbers? So, 25 percent of your population?
NASHKE: 25 percent of 58,000.
HARRIS: OK. All right, you're going to make me do the math here. All right. So that's still a considerable number.
You've issued a mandatory evacuation. I just want to be clear about the facts here in hoping that people in Galveston are listening to this -- you've issued a mandatory evacuation, correct?
NASHKE: Correct. HARRIS: Which is for folks to just get out? There's a stern warning from the National Hurricane Center about the potential impact of a storm there particularly on one and two-story homes. You can hazard a guess -- and I hope you're still there -- Mary Jo, can you hazard a guess, even, as to why people make the decisions they do to stay with the information that is accumulated?
Well, we did, we just lost her. OK. We'll at least attempt to get Mary Jo back online for us.
Moving on now, in Haiti, people literally fighting for food and water. We're going to stay on that story as well. Desperation after the deadly storms. Four of them, in fact. We will show you what peacekeepers are forced to do to keep things under control.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Very quickly now, we want to get you back to Susan Candiotti. She is there, in that shot there. We'll see her in just a second -- Surfside Beach, Texas.
And Susan, I understand you have an update on rescue effort that is underway right now for at least six people who decided enough is enough, it's time for us to get out of here.
Oh, we may have lost --
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You've got it, Tony.
HARRIS: OK, great.
CANDIOTTI: Right now, look at this. This is something else. Jet skis -- do you see that?
HARRIS: Yes, absolutely. We've got it.
CANDIOTTI: You see the jet skis coming in?
We've got two people on one jet ski. That's right. And you've got another guy on another jet ski. And evidently they didn't follow the evacuation order, decided to wait it out. Now the police chief tells me -- they just wanted to stay at home. It is their property, it is their home, they didn't want to leave it. But obviously something made them change their mind.
So, this is an adult -- you've got a father and a couple of his grown children that have come out by jet ski. This was preceded by a rescue of five other people, for a total of eight people, that they rescued this day, people who decided to wait it out thinking they could stick it through the storm, get through all right, and obviously had second thoughts.
Here you've got a dog coming out, too. Two dogs I see. In fact, we just saw a little while ago another couple that were brought out on a big truck, escorted out here, before that they rescued a couple of other people. Another man, I am told, made it out by himself. One dog was lost in all of this. And in any case, a total of eight people have now decided that they should have come out, when they didn't earlier.
Let's see if these people get a little bit closer whether we can get an interview with them --
HARRIS: Yes.
CANDIOTTI: -- and see if they can tell us what happened here.
We have this guy who is tying up his boat right now. But this, again, just indicates why it is important to follow orders, because while the weather isn't bad now, it is going to turn for worse --
HARRIS: That is right.
CANDIOTTI: -- and so we better to do it.
You know, we are live on CNN right now. I am wondering if I could ask you a quick question. Why did you decide to wait so long?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It wasn't really wasn't -- it's -- I don't know.
CANDIOTTI: Well, what do you think about leaving? You could have stayed longer, evidently, but someone made the decision that it is time to go. Why do you think that was important?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't know what to --
CANDIOTTI: Why do you think you've come out?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because we needed to, because the power and things were out, so we had to go.
CANDIOTTI: Were you getting a little bit scared?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, it is not that bad.
CANDIOTTI: Well, it is not that bad now, but you understand about how high the water can get --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right.
CANDIOTTI: -- what that could do to your house.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, we know.
CANDIOTTI: Tell me.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have been through a few now, but it's fine now. We are safe now, so --
CANDIOTTI: Well that's true you are safe now.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. CANDIOTTI: I don't know, any lessons learned from this?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Maybe just next time we'll get out a little sooner.
CANDIOTTI: We are very glad that you are OK.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
CANDIOTTI: All right. What is your name?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Marissa (ph).
CANDIOTTI: Marissa what?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: McMinn (ph).
CANDIOTTI: Thank you very much.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.
CANDIOTTI: Is this your dad over here?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, that's my dad.
CANDIOTTI: All right. Well maybe he can tell us a little bit more.
Hi, Marissa's dad --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look, we have to go.
CANDIOTTI: I understand. But can you tell us why you decided to come out now?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have to go.
CANDIOTTI: Why did you wait so long? You think that was the right call?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The surf was great, yes..
CANDIOTTI: The surf was great.
Well, there you go. Some people -- you heard it Tony -- it is their house, they don't want to leave. He's got jet skis and he decided to wait until the tail end. He does have two children to worry about. It would appear that --
HARRIS: Well, but, Susan, that is exactly --
(CROSSTALK)
HARRIS: That is exactly what you don't want. You don't want to have --
CANDIOTTI: Safety is important.
HARRIS: Absolutely. You want emergency officials to have to respond to real emergencies, true emergencies.
Anyway, Susan Candiotti for us there. And I don't know if that necessarily qualifies as a real emergency, folks with boards.
CANDIOTTI: Yes, Tony, I cannot hear you anymore, but if you can hear me, I know that authorities will soon be leaving with all of their cars as well because the road on the other side of this bridge, which crosses the intercostal -- there is water on the other side. It is coming over the highway. They are now telling all of us it is time for us to go, too.
So Tony, we will be wrapping up here. But suffice it to say, at least eight people got out OK. They think that everyone is out. They hope everyone is out.
HARRIS: And this is just what you don't want to see. You don't want to have your emergency personnel, Susan, responding in -- I will let you go, because I know that you have more work to do on the story -- you just don't want to have your emergency personnel responding to situations where people are saying -- answering the question of why did you stay? Well, well -- I don't know, I don't know why we stayed.
All right. The situation in Texas is having an impact on the campaign trail today. A quick political check when we come right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Just a quick look at politics right now. Despite the threat of Hurricane Ike, the presidential candidates are on the campaign trail today. John McCain is making some TV rounds in New York City. He stopped by to chat with the ladies on "The View." He is also paying a visit to the "Rachael Ray" show.
Barack Obama is in New Hampshire for a couple of events. That state shows off a tossup CNN's electoral map.
Hurricane Ike did force Joe Biden to cancel some Texas events. The Democratic vice presidential candidate had fundraisers scheduled today in Austin and San Antonio.
Want to know more about the vice presidential candidates? Another invitation for you to tune in this weekend to our CNN presents special reports -- "Sarah Palin Revealed" and "Joe Biden Revealed." That is Saturday and Sunday nights starting at 9:00 p.m. Eastern.
Hurricane Ike is closing in on the Texas coast. While landfall is still hours away, the storm is already making its presence known along the Texas coast. Just look at what it is already doing in Galveston. The latest pictures for you right now.
Floodwaters covering much of the region and huge waves are rolling in from the Gulf of Mexico. Our Rick Sanchez is one of the danger zones, Morgan's Point, Texas, just south of Baytown. He will be joining us live from Texas on the other side of this break. There he is.
We'll be right back with Rick Sanchez in just a moment. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
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