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Isaac A Category 1 Hurricane; Updates on Louisiana's Preparations for Hurricane Issac from Governor Bobby Jindal; Isaac To Test Katrina Lessons

Aired August 28, 2012 - 12:00   ET

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

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to CNN NEWSROOM INTERNATIONAL. I'm Suzanne Malveaux.

Here's what's going on:

We're taking you inside some of the worse in Syria violence since the civil war began.

And she was an American woman who died fighting for Palestinian rights. Now, Israel says its military is not responsible.

But begin, of course, with wind and water. Isaac intensifying as promised. Now, this storm almost the size of Texas is likely to become a hurricane very soon.

Forecasters have a better idea of where the Gulf Coast will make a direct hit. I want to bring in our meteorologist Jennifer Delgado here at the severe weather center tracking Isaac and Brian Todd. He is live from New Orleans, monitoring the levee situation.

Brian, we'll get to you.

But, first, Jennifer, what do we expect of the path of the storm?

JENNIFER DELGADO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: The path of the storm right now, it looks like it's going to be a slow mover. We're not seeing any changes. We had a last advisory just roughly an hour and a half ago.

But the winds right now are still at 70 miles per hour. So, still not a hurricane but it's not really whether or not it becomes a hurricane. We're really concerned about the storm surge, as well as the heavy rainfall.

I'm going to walk over here real quickly. We're going to talk a bit more about the storm. Again, maximum winds as I said, 75 miles per hour, with some gusts up to 85. Right now, it's located roughly about 80 miles south of the mouth of the Mississippi.

You can see for yourself, this storm is huge. It's really having a hard time really pulling itself together because it is so large. Now, again, as we go through really the next 24 hours, of course, weather conditions are going to deteriorate. We are going to see it making landfall. Looks like late tonight, possibly late tonight into the overnight hours, very likely as a category 1. See the winds, 80, 75, even as we go through Wednesday morning at 8:00 a.m. -- as I said, it's going to be a slow mover -- but we're expecting tropical storm conditions to arrive in the area as we head later into the afternoon.

As I take the track out further, as want to point to you, as we go into Thursday, we're still looking at a potential of a tropical storm. This is going to bring very beneficial rainfall for parts of the Midwest. We'll talk about that later on.

But the winds right now 35 coming out of New Orleans, 32 coming out of Panama City. So, still not picking up those tropical storm conditions just quite yet.

But new for us right now, we have a tornado watch in place from southeastern parts of New Orleans, or should say Louisiana, spreading over toward Florida, and this is going to be in effect until 7:00 tonight. You can start to see some of those stronger bands. This is another threat with tropical storm Isaac.

Also want to point out to you the storm surge. We're expecting it to peak late Tuesday as well as into Wednesday a.m. Some of these locations, Suzanne, eight to 12 feet high. That is above ground, obviously.

MALVEAUX: And the Army Corps of Engineers, Jennifer, says they're about to close the New Orleans flood gates. This is the first time since after it was built after hurricane Katrina. Tell us, what is the significance of this?

DELGADO: Well, you're right. This is the first time we've seen this, a massive project done by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, basically $15 billion. Well, what you're looking right now, as we come back over possibly to our Google Earth, this is the west closure complex. This, alone, was $1 billion.

What it's designed to is basically the closure and the gates, maybe we can zoom in just a bit more. Of course, when you get some of that storm surge coming in from the sea, what this gate is going to be doing is blocking it. They are going to close this. This is the first time that they've done this since hurricane Katrina.

Now, I want to point out to you on the back side of this closure, there are a bunch of pumping stations. What they're designed to do is kick that water back out and try to keep the city nice and dry.

So hopefully this new $1 billion facility does its job, what it's designed to do because they've got a lot of pumping stations out there. Roughly 72 up and down this region. So they're a lot better prepared for this time than from Katrina.

And keep in mind, Suzanne, if it makes landfall at midnight, that would come on the anniversary of Katrina, very ironic.

MALVEAUX: We're all keeping our fingers crossed. Jennifer Delgado, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

DELGADO: You're welcome.

MALVEAUX: President Obama says response teams and supplies are ready to move in when Isaac hits. He spoke at the White House just a couple of hours ago, directly addressing those who are expected to be in the part of the storm. Listen in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: As we prepare for Isaac to hit, I want to encourage all residents of the Gulf Coast to listen to your local officials and follow their directions, including if they tell you to evacuate. We're dealing with a big storm and there could be significant flooding and other damage across a large area.

Now is now the time to tempt fate. Now is not the time to dismiss official warnings. You need to take this seriously.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: The president says he's already approved a disaster declaration for Louisiana.

Now, of course, the main fear from Isaac is the potential for flooding here. The storm is set to hit the Gulf Coast on, believe it or not, the seventh anniversary of hurricane Katrina.

Brian Todd, he is looking at the preps that are going on in Louisiana.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Louisiana residents prepare for a familiar menace: an approaching storm. Lurking in the minds of many, the catastrophe of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans in 2005 -- levees overtopped, thousands flood out and a city paralyzed for weeks, a city that in some ways is still struggling to recover.

Could that happen again?

This reassurance from the mayor of New Orleans:

MITCH LANDRIEU (D), MAYOR OF NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA: I want to assure you all that there is nothing that this storm is going to bring us that we do not believe that we are prepared to handle.

TODD (on camera): Experts agree that since Katrina, hundreds of millions of dollars in improvements to levees, canals and pumping stations have made New Orleans far better prepared for flooding. But even with these sturdy defenses, they say if a perfect storm were to hit New Orleans, they couldn't rule out flooding.

(voice-over): We spoke to Tim Doody, who is on a local oversight board for flood protection. He says the levees are exponentially better than they were before Katrina, built to withstand the level of storm strength that comes once every 100 years.

But he says the new construction should be built to an even higher standard to protect against even the most rare of extreme storms that comes once every 500 years or more.

TIM DOODY, LEVEE AUTHORITY PRESIDENT: Other developed countries are building to a much higher standard. Surely it's going to be more expensive to do that, but a 100-year standard is not what we would have them build to. We would like 500-year or a 1,000-year.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: Brian is joining us live from New Orleans.

Brian, let's talk a little bit about evacuations here. We know the authorities said it was not mandatory to evacuate in New Orleans, but there are some low-lying surrounding areas and parishes where that is important. Are people actually heeding the warnings of officials this go-round?

TODD: They do seem to be heeding those warnings, Suzanne. Mandatory evacuations were ordered for low-lying parishes that are along the coastal areas. Plaquemine Parish, part of that parish, ordered evacuated. All of St. Charles Parish, part of Jefferson Parish ordered evacuated. Those some were mandatory.

No mandatory evacuations as you mentioned for the city of New Orleans. But Mayor Mitch Landrieu did say strongly urged residents outside the levee protected areas of New Orleans strongly urged them to get out. And he was doing that as of yesterday and even earlier.

So some areas, mandatory if you're along the coast. Inside the city of New Orleans, not mandatory, but they're saying, you know, make your preparations. If you're going to hunker down, you should have already made those preparations. If you're in the city of New Orleans, outside the levee protected areas, they strongly urge residents there to get out. Those are susceptible to flooding, of course.

MALVEAUX: All right. We're going to be keeping a close eye on this. Brian Todd -- thank you, Brian.

With Isaac off in the gulf, the Republican national convention getting revved up in Tampa today. Mitt Romney arrived in Tampa less than an hour ago. It looks Paul Ryan hit the round any minute now. Moments ago, we just saw Ann Romney. She was on the stage at the convention site, of course, checking everything out. She's going to speak tonight at 10:00 Eastern.

And tonight's keynote address, that is going to New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. Choosing somebody very outspoken like Christie, a departure from the party that really hasn't been big on keynote speeches in recent years.

I want to bring in Brooke Baldwin to explain.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, even a late summer walk on the shore quickly becomes an event.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, Governor. How are you?

GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), NEW JERSEY: Hello, man. How are you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you looking out for the working man?

CHRISTIE: Trying the best we can.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right. Thank you very much.

BALDWIN: Christie has become a Republican rock star who is about to play the concert of his life.

CHRISTIE: Nice to meet you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nice to meet you. Best thing to ever happen in New Jersey.

CHRISTIE: Thank you.

I think the reason I was picked is because of the job I'm doing here.

BALDWIN: Just a week before Christie was to deliver his GOP convention keynote speech, he talked of building a middle American economy that looked a little more "Jersey Shore."

CHRISTIE: I have said right from the state of the city address forward that the New Jersey comeback has begun. Not that the New Jersey comeback has arrived. Not that the New Jersey comeback has peaked.

BALDWIN: Better, bolder, brasher governance. It's a dish Republican keynoters like to serve hot.

SUSAN MOLINAR, 1996 GOP KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Americans know that Bill Clinton's promises have the life span of a Big Mac on Air Force One.

BALDWIN: And the Democrats like to dish back.

SEN. BARACK OBAMA, 2004 DEMOCRATIC KEYNOTE SPEAKER: There is not a black America and a white America and Latino America and Asian America. There's the United States of America.

BALDWIN: But while the Democrats never miss a keynote speech, the Republicans had none in two of the last three conventions.

PROF. COSTAS PANAGOPOULOS, FORDHAM UNIVERSITY: They have to try to avoid the risk of someone saying something they're not supposed to say. It could be risky to say.

BALDWIN: Chris Christie is different. He's popular because he's combative. He controls his storyline.

CHRISTIE: Did I stay on topic? Are you -- are you stupid? On topic. On topic. Next question.

BALDWIN: Sixteen former keynoters have run for president. Christie says he's happy as New Jersey's governor, bristling at suggestions his Jersey comeback story didn't make for a good keynote speech after the state unemployment rate rose to 9.9 percent over the last three months.

CHRISTIE: The unemployment rate is a survey, a poll, of 1,200 people in the state. It's not like they're out there specifically counting heads and jobs. That's not what it is.

BALDWIN: By the end of last week, his Jersey comeback theme had gone away.

CHRISTIE: There are three words that are not in my speech on Tuesday night -- the Jersey comeback.

BALDWIN: He says he's saving his new storyline for the party faithful.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: Brooke joins us live here. So, Brooke, the keynote speech, pretty important for those who have future political aspirations.

Real history there, of course, the speakers get that slot end up running for president. But Chris Christie says, and I think these were his words, shy of committing suicide. He's not doing it. He's not interested in becoming the presidential nominee. Has that changed?

BALDWIN: So he says. So many people, as you know, have asked, we're journalists. That's our job. When you look back historically speaking, I mentioned in my speech, 16 keynoters went on to run for president and two of them, only two actually won the party's nomination, President Obama and Warren G. Harding in 2008, in 1920 respectively.

Might we see a Chris Christie ticket eventually? We shall see

MALVEAUX: All right. One of the things clearly that people are focusing on is the storm that is barreling down coming over potentially New Orleans and some other areas, on the seventh anniversary of Katrina -- really, in some ways, bringing up the specter, memories of how former President George W. Bush handled or perhaps mishandled all that. Is that a concern for folks here in terms of how Romney and Ryan deal with this impending storm?

BALDWIN: Of course. Of course it is. I mean, Suzanne, talk about it's just really bad luck here, and the Republican Party in particular as you mentioned because of Katrina, can you believe, you know, seven years ago tomorrow, are extra sensitive to that and there is still talk and there are a lot of headlines down here in Florida. The ghost of Katrina haunting the GOP just because of the political fallout that we saw with then-leader, President George W. Bush in his handling or some critics say really mishandling of hurricane Katrina.

So watch for a very delicate dance in terms of words coming from these Republican speakers the next three nights.

MALVEAUX: And, Brooke, we are seeing Ann Romney actually there on the convention floor. Obviously she's been going through some sound checks and working with the teleprompter, that type of thing.

Describe for us, tell us what is the importance of the message that she's delivering this evening?

BALDWIN: It is so crucial, because when you look at those polls, when you look at the polls, President Obama's lead over Mitt Romney, specifically yesterday, it was the "Washington Post" poll, six-point lead, when it comes to women. That chasm is even greater with the CNN/ORC poll, question being, are they in touch with women? It is Ann Romney's job to -- I'm going to use this word -- humanize her husband, to show him as a compassionate family man, a father, a successful businessman, some of which Chris Christie will certainly touch on as well.

Just to show that really just human, human side of her husband that apparently so many Americans have yet to see.

MALVEAUX: We see her calm and relaxed as she's speaking to reporters. We're going to pay close attention later today as she delivers her address. Brooke, thank you very much. Appreciate it.

CNN's primetime coverage of the Republican National Convention begins tonight, 7:00 p.m. Eastern, with my colleague, Wolf Blitzer.

And authorities, not mincing words. They are demanding that everyone living in the grand isle Louisiana get out of Isaac's way. We're going to hear from the mayor live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: The outer bands of tropical storm Isaac now hitting the Grand Isle, Louisiana. I want to bring in -- there's a mandatory evacuation order that's in effect. Just about everybody in the small community has pretty much packed up and left.

Ed Lavandera, let's bring him. He is braving the storm.

And, Ed, I understand you have the mayor as well with you. How are these things going there? Have people left? What is left to be done?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, it's kind of one of those schizophrenic hours just before landfall of a major storm like this where you have a rain band come through and now the sun has come out. We haven't seen it in a while. It's rather bright.

So we have the mayor here of Grand Isle, David Camardelle -- and I guess your group of the last men standing basically on the island.

How do you expect the island to hold up here?

MAYOR DAVID CAMARDELLE, GRAND ISLE, LOUISIANA: Well, again, you know, as long as it stays a tropical storm, I mean, we're surrounded seven miles long, and you're looking at the winds blowing, coming out of the east toward the mouth of the river which is about 15 miles from here. So we're in the eye of the storm.

All in all, hopefully this thing comes right through and looking at the water situation and the bands hitting us now, we want this thing to get through and get it over with.

LAVANDERA: Are you worried it's a slow-moving storm and it's going to take a while to get through?

CAMARDELLE: You know, this type of storm is very dangerous. We talked about this earlier. As it gets closer to the river, it can really intensify. We've seen that happen. I remember hurricane Juan pushed a lot of water.

So, again, we're going to monitor it and make sure everybody's safe.

LAVANDERA: You've been here through hurricane Katrina in 2005, hurricane Gustav in 2008. Do you think this will be more similar to Gustav?

CAMARDELLE: Yes, that's what it's looking like. We've been through many hurricanes. We were all born and raised with these hurricanes. I have firemen patrolling the roads, my police officers, state police, all into this.

But in the meantime, we're going to make sure we take care of people.

LAVANDERA: The sun has left us once again. Another one of these rain bands starting to come through.

How many people on the island normally, and how many people left now?

CAMARDELLE: Usually 1,500 residents. Right now, we've got about 30 people left. We're still trying to get them out as we speak.

You can see the band (ph) hitting us now, the first major band. We're trying our best, Ed, to get them all out. The ones that doesn't want to leave, my firemen, my policemen, know where they're at and my (INAUDIBLE) director. We're going to make sure we get to them at the last minute. After all hell breaks loose, we're going to get them after.

LAVANDERA: They're getting annoyed with you because -- we'll let you guys dry up a bit before this goes. We'll be in touch with the mayor throughout the coming hours.

You can see here, Suzanne, just how quickly things change up and, you know, those initial hours before the storm makes its way here into grand isle. But the storm surge is really one of the things they're most concerned about, perhaps as much as seven to eight feet. Where we are is about 4 feet high. We're on the second floor of a home here on the island. This stands about 15 feet high.

So, you know, we've been crunching the numbers and feel confident about where we're going to be throughout the storm. As the mayor said, the center part of this storm he expects to come dramatically close here to the Grand Isle island -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: Are you safe, are there places that are safe for people, for the mayor, for his officials and those folks that are going to be staying like yourself? Do you feel comfortable?

LAVANDERA: Absolutely. We're going to be in close touch with mayor and his team. Those were people from the levee board, the fire department standing with him and also Dean Blanchard who owns the home we're going to be at.

They're at a command center just a few blocks away. This home that we're in has been reinforced several times since the last few hurricanes. And --

MALVEAUX: We lost Ed Lavandera. We're just learning now Isaac is a category 1 hurricane, officially a category 1 hurricane, as expected, of course, as it picks up steam and power as it heads into the gulf.

Well, the government of Syria is doing all they can to keep camera crews away from the massacre that is occurring there. But it could not keep out this one. Going to bring you new video of just how awful things are gotten in the civil war.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: We want to bring in Jen Delgado. Of course, we are learning that Isaac has turned from a tropical storm to a category 1 hurricane.

Jen, tell us what this means.

DELGADO: Yes, we do have updated information. Actually the National Hurricane Center issued an immediate advisory. Now we do know that Isaac is a hurricane, a category 1.

As we look at the graphics for you, I want to give you the updated details -- 75 miles per hour, just becoming a hurricane. You can see for yourself this is the circulation right now located roughly about 80 miles southeast of that coastline, the mouth of the Mississippi. You can see, we're going to start to see some of those outer bands working in as we start to go a little later into the afternoon.

Now, this means hurricane conditions are expected later into the evening with tropical storm conditions very likely to arrive later into the afternoon, moving to the northwest right now at 10 miles per hour.

Now, we track this for you and you have to forgive us, we're just getting this information in, so it takes a little while for the National Hurricane Center's graphic information to update with ours. Again, notice, it keeps it as a category 1. This is Tuesday at 8:00. Now, forgive us. This is Wednesday, 8:00 a.m., and it's still category 1.

With it moving so slowly, we're going to be dealing with the great potential for flooding. Of course, we're talking in some locations 12 to 18 inches of rainfall. And then as it moves so slowly, you can see for yourself we're talking about it still being a tropical storm as we head into Thursday.

To give you an update on some of the winds out there, right now, 37. These are actually wind gusts, 37 at times at Panama City. Yes, those winds will increase throughout the day, as well as throughout the evening. And also want to point out to you, yes, we do have hurricane Isaac out there now, but notice we're starting to se some of those stronger bands, some of those storms working into southeastern parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and even over toward the very western part of Florida.

So, Suzanne, we were expecting it to become a category 1. Right now, we just need to make sure the flood levees and everything else does its job. We're concerned about storm surge. Some of the locations, possibly New Orleans, 8 to 12 feet above surface.

MALVEAUX: All right. Jen, we're going to be talking to somebody very important who knows that firsthand, General Russel Honore. He is in Louisiana. He's going to be talking about what the storm surge mean, whether or not he believes the levees will hold up and the kinds of things that have been done since hurricane Katrina, now that we're dealing with hurricane Isaac, up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Hurricane Isaac, category 1 now.

I want to bring in retired Army General Russel Honore, who's in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to talk about whether or not New Orleans is ready.

Honore, General, you coordinated the military relief efforts in New Orleans after the city was basically in chaos after hurricane Katrina. There's a lot of work that has been done.

Is New Orleans ready?

LT. GEN. RUSSEL HONORE, U.S. ARMY (RET.): Yes. For this storm and the conditions we have, we put -- the federal government has spent $10 billion on the levees. Much of the city infrastructure has been replaced. People have invested in their homes. Many of them have been raised. Yes, the city is better prepared and I think the people are better prepared, as a result of the investment that's been made since Katrina.

MALVEAUX: General, are you concerned at all you do not have mandatory evacuations that were ordered for New Orleans? Officials are relying on the levee system that has not yet been tested and there are folks that are in the city. Is that a problem?

HONORE: It could be, Suzanne, because that levee system was designed primarily to keep that surge water out. The problem with New Orleans before Katrina and ever since the city's been there is how we get the water out. And if we get a sustained flow of water coming in from the storm, that could be problematic. That's why most of the houses in the city have naturally been raised off the ground.

So, the water from the rain could be a problem if it comes in too fast that the pumps cannot handle it. Now, people know if their streets flood during normal thunderstorms, and they should take extra precautions. They should also check in on people who live alone that may live in flood-prone areas inside the city and make sure they're taking proper actions to get them out. and don't assume somebody else has done it.

But yes, this is still a dangerous situation if that water comes in beyond what the pumps can push it out of the city.

MALVEAUX: And the New Orleans mayor, Mitch Landrieu, he says it is too late to evacuate the city. What is the best advice that you would give to people who are hunkered in, they are staying in their homes instead of evacuating earlier? And are going to ride out this storm? This hurricane.

HONORE: Well, I think people need to go back and assess where they are. This amount of water that is being predicted to come into the city, up to a foot or above, could cause the electricity to go out. Can you live in your home without electricity for three to five days or even longer? And if the answer is no, then you need to go to the nearest evacuation point and seek shelter. Because that is the condition we may be facing inside the city of New Orleans.

And to any doubting members who say this has been a tropical storm, it's now a hurricane. You have bragging rights to say you have survived a Category 1 hurricane. Please, if you are outside the levee protection system, please move immediately to the local parish or county evacuation center or pickup point and get to high ground. Because this storm will cause flooding along the coast of Louisiana and Mississippi, and it will turn the electricity off.

MALVEAUX: General, you were dealing with post-Hurricane Katrina. You know very well what some of the biggest challenges are for New Orleans, including the level of poverty there as well. What is going to be the biggest challenge this go-round?

HONORE: It's to get people to look out for one another, number one. The government is not good enough to take care of everybody. We must look in on our neighbors and our relatives. Don't assume somebody else is going to do it.

And the great actions by a lot of volunteers that came in after the storm, after Katrina, is how do we recover in a timely manner without recreating a lot of the drama that happened after Katrina? So, the city is still being rebuilt. The central business district is strong and is coming back as strong as ever. But there's still part of the Lower Ninth Ward, as you know, Suzanne, and the Seventh Ward that has not been rebuilt. It's still fighting blight. We still need to get that work done so there's affordable housing throughout the city of New Orleans so we can get this city back. The population to the great city, it remains and was before Katrina in terms of its population and its people.

MALVEAUX: General, I know that firsthand. I was just in New Orleans about four weeks ago and really saw some of those neighborhoods, Seventh Ward, Ninth Ward, really doesn't look very different than it did seven years ago.

Thank you so much for your advice. And we urge people to heed the advice and General Russell Honore, getting to safety.

We're waiting for the governor of Louisiana, Bobby Jindal, to address the community and talk about the storm, now a hurricane, that is charging toward Louisiana. We're going to bring you live that press conference as soon as it starts.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Isaac is now a Category 1 hurricane. Dusk to dawn curfew has been announced in Harrison County, Mississippi. That is the Gulf port area that suffered a direct hit from Hurricane Katrina seven years ago. Our David Mattingly is there with a look at how that area has rebuilt and is now bracing for Isaac.

But first we go to Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal to get an update on what is taking place in Louisiana.

(BEGIN LIVE COVERAGE OF PRESSER - JOINED IN PROGRES)

GOV. BOBBY JINDAL (R), LOUISIANA: -- Weather Service. According to them, the storm continues to appear to be getting better organized but it is also slowing. We know that tropical storm winds have started in Plaquemines Parish, there have been tropical storm gusts in New Orleans as well. Tropical storm winds will start to spread into Baton Rouge later today.

As we have said earlier including yesterday, the storm is moving slowly so we can expect to see tropical storm wind duration for as long as 24 hours in many locations. Some locations will have sustained tropical winds up to 36 hours. For areas in the direct path of the storm, there will be hurricane-force winds lasting as long as anywhere between six and 10 hours. Additionally, the slow movement of the storm means there's a greater chance of heavy rain. The forecast shows there could be as much as anywhere between 10 and 16 inches of rain in some of these areas.

Slow movement obviously means not only longer duration for the winds but the rains. We could see tornadoes both today and tomorrow. In terms of tidal surge, we expect tidal levels of five to eight feet around Lake Ponchatrain and Lake Warafah (ph), six to nine feet around Grand Isle and Port Fuchon, six to 10 feet west of the Mississippi River, seven to 11 feet east of the Mississippi River, five feet in canals and bayous. One of the things we want to warn folks, again, according to the National Weather Service, that you could see tidal surges all the way through Wednesday's high tide cycle, meaning you could see the tidal surges after the storms has actually passed through the area. So, just because the storm passed through the area doesn't mean you've seen the highest level of tidal surge in a give area.

The first point I want to stress based on the update from the National Weather Service is this is a slow-moving storm. So, there are going to be many communities that are going to face several hours of heightened wind strength as well as heightened rainfall compared to normal. And so, that will result in localized flooding, likely result in downed tree limbs and power lines. We strongly encourage people to follow the advice of their local leaders about when it is safe to leave and use extreme caution and common sense when approaching the debris in the road and certainly to avoid any downed power lines.

In terms of disaster declarations, 41 parishes have declared emergency declarations. In terms of evacuations, seven parishes have already done mandatory evacuations for at least part of their parishes. Jefferson -- these were as of yesterday as well as today. Jefferson to Grand Isle, Ground Point, Baratario (ph), La Fouche, south of the Leon Teriel flood gates including Golden Meadow and Port Fuchon, Plaquemines of the east bank, central bank, and west bank from Irontown south to Venice. St. Charles did a parish-wide evacuation effective 6:00 p.m. Sunday. (INAUDIBLE) including Lees Landing. St. Bernard did outside levee protection system effective 4:00 p.m. yesterday. St. James did for all mobile homes, flood prone and low lying areas.

In addition to these, we also had some parishes that did voluntary evacuations. Tangibahoa did south of Highway 22 effective at noon yesterday. Terrebonne did low-lying areas. La Fouche did the entire parish other than those already covered in the mandatory area. Assumption parish - and these are the new ones - Assumption parish did it as a precautionary evacuation for the entire parish effective Monday afternoon. St. John did low-lying areas. Livingston did parish wide. St. (INAUDIBLE) did low-lying areas. Again, those are all voluntary evacuations.

In terms of other declarations, as of today, 28 school districts were closed. We have another two that are probably going to be added to that list that are making that decision. For tomorrow, we expect that to be 31 school districts that will be closed. Most school districts are waiting to make decisions about Thursday. We have three that have already decided to close. But other districts are waiting and making those decisions.

Yesterday you may have seen the president granted a limited disaster declaration for the state that provides for direct federal assistance. However, the limited declaration does not provide for reimbursement of expenses that state and local governments are taking to prepare for the storm. Therefore, we sent a letter yesterday to the president requesting a full declaration. We have learned from past experiences that you can't just wait, you have to push the federal bureaucracy. We think it's important to be aggressive to do everything we can to protect our people and our property. We asked the folks from FEMA who are in the meeting today. There are certain declarations FEMA can make. Other declarations require presidential signature. They say it has moved from their regional office to their central office. So, they have the request. They have not yet acted upon it, but they do have that request.

In terms of getting ready for the recovery efforts after the storms come through our parishes, we've already got -- our plans are to have 40 pods available for southeast Louisiana. Another 20 pods from north Louisiana. Each of those pods can each feed 5,000 people, so we're already prepositioning those pods and ready to ramp up additional pods as they become necessary. The National Guard is in charge of that.

We also hope to be able to get out -- hopes to be able to get out with their federal partners with FEMA and do damage assessment flights as early as Friday as well as on-the-ground assessments to start documenting the damage to trigger assistance for our people.

In terms of different agency updates, Department of Veterans Affairs, I'll start there. Preparations are ready -- done in terms of sheltering in place. There are vans and buses from Monroe and Bosier (ph), from those homes as southeast, Louisiana Veterans Home and Reserve in case they're need. But currently, the plans are to shelter in place. A DOA announced state office closures today and Wednesday in 22 parishes. They'll continue to monitor conditions, work with those state police and DOTD to identify and communicate additional office closures as they become necessary.

OGB has issued an emergency memo and taken steps to offer special prescription drug and health care assistance to members impacted by Isaac. For example, that could include early refills, could include waiving for authorizations, taking other steps to help beneficiaries get the health care services they need during the storm. From National Guard: National Guard has requested Title 32 authorization from the Pentagon to provide more support for their activities. We sent in that request yesterday. We've not heard anything back from the Pentagon on that request.

We have activated 4,158 soldiers and airmen to support the response effort. Lang (ph), for example, is providing 67 bus drivers to help support the Department of Transportation and the Department of Education. They've sent 23 liaison officer teams to parishes in the storm warning areas. They are helping DHH and DCFS. For example, yesterday they assembled 2,500 cots in Rampiche (ph) Parish, 225 cots at the LSU field house. They also delivered a 100-kilowatt generator to the St. Margaret Nursing Home in New Orleans.

In terms of search and rescue, and we do anticipate there to be missions not only starting today but going on until tomorrow and perhaps beyond that as well, based on local flood conditions -- National Guard has 48 boat teams deployed to predesignated storm locations as well as eight engineer work teams. They have 13 (INAUDIBLE) teams deployed as well. That's an increase from the 10 we announced previously. Just to give you an idea in terms of the boat teams and the search-and-rescue assets, that includes Plaquemines Parish, New Orleans and other areas likely to see the earliest - and coastal areas likely to see flooding. National Guard has 921 security and command and control patrol vehicles, 503 high-water vehicles, 74 boats and 40 aircraft available to help us get ready to and respond to the storm as well.

In terms of the Department of Corrections, they have completed moving offenders from coastal parishes. They moved 2,124 offenders from New Orleans, Terrebonne, Plaquemines and St. Bernard ahead of the storm. They were moved to state prison facilities. They've completed -- they're not moving additional prisoners at this time. They moved them out of temporary facilities and other facilities that may have been threatened by the storm to state facilities.

They also have two different teams of 20 inmates each filling sandbags for Iberville Parish. In addition to that, they've also -- their inmate crews have assembled 92 kennels on five different trucks to help with pet evacuations. We're working very closely with the sheriffs to make sure they've got local security. The resources they need to provide local security.

The sheriffs, themselves, have organized 100 sheriffs deputies from north Louisiana ready to deploy in the southern parishes as needed. They can call up as many as 400 deputies in total if needed to supplement local sheriff's response efforts in these coastal and other parishes impacted by the storm. In addition, state police and national guard are also ready to help provide and supplement security efforts in any parish impacted by the storm.

In terms of search and rescue, FEMA has deployed Texas One -

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MALVEAUX: You're listening to Governor Bobby Jindal of Louisiana outlining the state's plan to take on this category one Hurricane Isaac.

We're going to go to Ed Lavandera, to one of the places where there's a mandatory evacuation that is going on right now to get the situation on the ground. We're just going to take a quick break.

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MALVEAUX: Ed Lavandera in Grand Isle, Louisiana. That is where there's a mandatory evacuation that is underway.

Ed, are most people out of their homes and to safety? ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: By in large here on the island of Grand Isle, where there are normally about 1,500 residents, the mayor just told us a little while ago there are about 30 people left. And many of those people include emergency management officials that live here and will be hunkering down and riding out this storm here.

But, Suzanne, I think kind of this -- a perfect moment of just how bizarre the hours leading up to one of these storms looks like. You know, the sun has come at just moments before we came out. If you look up at the sky, we're at -- a big patch of wide open blue sky that you can see right before this. But I would imagine here that it wouldn't be bizarre. That by the time we're done talking together here in the next few minutes that it starts raining again. So these clouds and these storms -- and these rain bands starting to move through much more quickly. And I think that's an anticipation of what we will begin to see here in the coming hours.

Where storm surge really appears, even though this storm has now been upgraded to a hurricane, a category one storm, the storm surge is what they're going to be most concerned about. Back in 2008, my colleague Ali Velshi and his team rode out Hurricane Gustav here. This roof, which has been replaced, came ripping off the home here and flew back over here toward the bay. And all of this area that you see out here below us had about three feet of water.

We're on the second floor of this home that is very securely built and we're going to be riding out the storm here and we're well prepared for all of that, regardless of how rough it gets here. But that's why we're really concerned about the storm surge. We've been crunching the numbers, trying to figure out if we're safe here at this -- at the height that we're at. And everything seems to be working out well so far. But we'll continue to monitor that here in the hours ahead. And as I mentioned, that storm surge is really what they're going to be most concerned about.

But, for now, most of the people, as you mentioned, Suzanne, have evacuated this island.

MALVEAUX: All right, Ed. We're going to be keep a close eye on you, as well as those 30 or so folks who are still in Grand Isle. Make sure that you are safe.

And, of course, like a lot of Americans, my family was hit by Hurricane Katrina. We're going to talk about how the folks in New Orleans are weathering this new storm, like my cousin Adrian. He's on the ground and he is waiting -- waiting out for Isaac to hit.

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MALVEAUX: Isaac is closing in on New Orleans around Hurricane Katrina's anniversary. When Katrina hit seven years ago, it struck me personally. My family is from New Orleans and many of my relatives suffered through that storm. Some of them lost everything. But we all survived. So we were really the lucky ones. I had a chance to document our experience in a series of stories that I did shortly after Katrina hit. And one of those stories featured my cousins, The Dobard (ph) brothers, seen here. And joining me is Adrian Dobard.

And, Adrian, it's good to see you. It's good to see -- you're looking good. That's good. You and I have been talking a little bit. Tell me, you were not in one of those areas that is mandatory evacuation, but you left the house and you left the house with the rest of the brothers. Where have you gone and tell me why.

ADRIAN DOBARD, LIFETIME NEW ORLEANS RESIDENT: Well, we're at my best friend's house, Eric Broshier (ph), in the inner city. He has a two story home. A pretty solid home. And we had weathered the Hurricane George here once before. So we decided to come here because my house is a single level home and some of my brothers can't swim and I didn't want to take that chance if something catastrophic would happen.

MALVEAUX: We're hoping, Adrian, that nobody is going to have to swim, but, yes, it could get pretty bad. We understand that the flooding could get pretty bad.

What are things like there in New Orleans? Are you able to grocery shop? Has the power gone out? Do you have the things you need?

DOBARD: Yes, we've got everything we need. We're able to get all the stuff in preparation for the storm without any problems. And so far we still have all the power and everything we need. It's not been bad so far.

MALVEAUX: You told me that -- this was just a couple weeks ago -- that you actually went to the levees to visit them and you saw for yourself that they were structured, they were fortified, that you felt better about going into this storm because of it. Why did you go to the levees? What did you see?

DOBARD: Well, there's a walking path up on the levee now. And occasionally I go up there to do a little exercise. And I was surprised to see that the entire water side of the levee was all made with concrete. And that's to prevent what happened with Katrina, where the water side eroded and then the levees actually collapsed. So I was glad to see that. Plus, watching on TV, the big structure (INAUDIBLE) to prevent storm surge from coming into Lake Pontchartrain and the other waterways really made me feel good about staying.

MALVEAUX: Adrian, are most people, are they seeking shelter? Are they -- I know that New Orleans doesn't have to evacuate, but are most people doing what you're doing and trying to find families and neighbors that have homes that are better able to deal with this kind of thing, or are people just saying, hey, you know what, it's not that big a deal?

DOBARD: I think a combination of both. I know a lot of my co- workers decided to stay and weather the storm. Like I said, because of my situation with some of my brothers unable to swim, I didn't want to risk any chance of something catastrophic happening. And that's why I moved over to Eric's house.

MALVEAUX: Yes. And I know people think that's really bizarre when you talk about whether or not your brothers can swim, but it was the case where you actually had some of your brothers who were getting in to boats off of some of the houses and trying to rescue folks. And I know the last go-round, one of the brothers was missing, Rooster (ph), for at least a week or so. Is everybody together this go around?

DOBARD: Yes. Yes. I made sure of that this time.

MALVEAUX: All right. Adrian, good to see you. Good to see you're safe. You know we're going to check in with you from time to time and see how the brothers are doing. Thank you very much, Adrian. Nice to see you.

DOBARD: Talk to you (INAUDIBLE).

MALVEAUX: We're going to have more on the hurricane after this.

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