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Katrina Survivor Rides Out Isaac; Isaac Batters Mississippi; Hurricane Isaac Competes with RNC for Headlines; Isaac Shuts Down Oil Production, Threatens Gas Prices

Aired August 29, 2012 - 11:00   ET

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

ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: It's now been almost eight hours since Hurricane Isaac started on this, making its second landfall in coastal Louisiana and this thing has barely budged. We're just getting some brand-new numbers on Isaac's location, its strength and the direction where it's going.

But from Plaquemines Parish all the way to the Florida Panhandle, this storm can't move off fast enough. The power is out to more than a half a million homes and businesses in four different states. It is a massive storm.

And while the new and improved levees and pumps and floodgates all appear to be working as they should in New Orleans, the unimproved eight-foot levee has been overtopped southeast of the city in Plaquemines Parish.

And on the other side of it, there are reports of 12- to 14-feet of water. That is floodwaters that go through homes and damage things.

Take a look at this, rescuers carrying out their own neighborhood rescues and they may have themselves ignored the evacuation orders.

At this point, Isaac is a long way from Tampa, but it is still looming large over the other big story of the week, the Republican National Convention. We, of course, are going to have a lot more coverage of that just a little later on.

But to the immediacy of this story now, our coverage is going to begin this hour with CNN's Martin Savidge who is standing by, live in New Orleans and obviously being pelted by the rain.

You know, Marty, as I hear it that this storm is only six-miles- an-hour, it just means you are getting dumped on there and this could last for up to 48 hours. Can they withstand that where you are?

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's the big question everyone wants to know. Is the flood protection system up to the task?

It's not so much the strength of this storm. It is the longevity of the storm and that's a question that won't be answered until it is well past us here. We should tell you we're in the French Quarter. We're standing in Jackson Square. The heaviest winds and heaviest rain so far we've been feeling this morning, even though this storm started impacting the city last night.

And I'd love to walk you around and show you, but the truth is just trying to stay standing at this particular time is the greatest challenge. I've got my back to the wind. We're somewhat sheltered, but you're still being pelted here and the reality is I'm trying to protect the microphone and you worry what may be coming from that direction.

It's definitely blowing hard down here. It's the rainfall, though, in a city that is pretty much below sea level that is the biggest concern. They've made a lot of improvements since Katrina exactly seven years ago, we should point out.

One of those improvements, improving the pumping system. They upgraded the pumps and they also added a lot more new ones. They need to get the water out of the city as fast as it's coming down and, in a storm like this, it's a real challenge.

So far, they say the system's holding. I should point out that, as the wind swings with the passage of the storm, it means levees that were stressed now get eased off on, but other levees are now impacted and the Army Corps of Engineers is going to be keeping a close eye on those wind shifts.

Ashleigh?

BANFIELD: I don't know how you're standing upright right now, but be very careful about what you said, the debris that could be blowing in from behind you.

In the meantime, the Plaquemines Parish president, Billy Nungesser, who became a fixture during Katrina, said this morning - and I quote - "this packed more of a punch than originally thought."

So, my question, Marty, is, is it going to be OK for the rescuers to go around to actually do their job and get some of those people who are either on their roofs right now or in their attics? Can the rescuers get around in these conditions?

SAVIDGE: Well, officially, no, they cannot. Because, as they have said, it's simply too dangerous to go out in circumstances like this. It's easy to see why.

There was a mandatory evacuation. Not everybody heeded it. There are neighbors and they are coming to help. This is the traditional way in this part of the country here, but, you know, the one thing we should point out is that, even during Katrina, it was felt this city, this area had dodged a bullet.

It wasn't until the next day that you realized, no, that wasn't the case. It's very bad. I'm not predicting anything quite like that. All I'm saying is that it's very difficult to ascertain damage and problems in the thick of a hurricane.

BANFIELD: And it's obviously very difficult from your vantage point, essentially being lashed by these bands that keep coming in. As to just how much water is going to actually affect this because that was the story in Katrina, not so much the winds, it was the water. And, like you said, it took until the next day.

But, so far, does it seem as though those pumps and those levees are actually going to be able to withstand what you're standing in?

SAVIDGE: No, they definitely should. As bad as this may look, this is really a Category 1 storm and that system of which billions was spent is designed to take at least a Cat 3 or slightly higher.

So, it's a test of the system, but it should not be a stress of the system. As far as we've heard so far, it is holding up and holding up well, Ashleigh.

BANFIELD: And, Marty, where you're standing is usually sort of a den of activity. The French Quarter is usually packed with tourists.

Clearly, from 5:00 in the morning on until right now, I have not seen one soul walk in front of that camera angle. So, obviously, people are staying away. There's no traffic.

But what about power, street lights, just functionality of the city?

SAVIDGE: Well, the power situation is about a half-million people, roughly, in the heaviest states. That's Mississippi, Louisiana and Arkansas are without power at this time.

Really, that's probably not that high a number considering the amount of wind and rain we've been suffering for so long.

You pointed out that maybe this is a storm feeling a little stronger than many thought. It's true. I think the winds are heavier than many people anticipated with a Category 1.

And we've already talked about how long it's been lasting and tat's going to become the key for the rain. How long will it stay here?

BANFIELD: And you just quickly, Marty, before I let you go, I know that you're in the same location where our Soledad O'Brien spent most of the morning, as well.

And just over the course of about two hours, it just seems like things are getting a lot stronger. The winds seem to be stronger. The rain seems to be stronger. Are you over the worst of it or is that still yet to come?

SAVIDGE: Well, I think this is - we're still building, actually. Part of the reason is, of course, the storm has been a long time approaching. And, so, even though it came ashore in Southern Louisiana eight hours ago, it's slowly, very slowly, been making its way, which means the hurricane-force winds didn't arrive until probably this morning.

And even here, we should point out we're heavily sheltered. This is not as bad as it is, but it's bad enough.

BANFIELD: All right. Well, get to some of those shelters and stay safe. And thank you for being there for us. Martin Savidge, live in New Orleans for us.

I also want to let you know that our CNN meteorologist, Rob Marciano, is also live on location. He's been in New Orleans. He's been watching all of this and how the city's levee system has been handling the torrential rainfall. And just wait until you see a structure almost literally being shredded behind him as he reported, live.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Winds have switched. Here's the river. Winds were going this way last night, pushing the water upriver against the flow.

Now, winds are coming out of the east. You can actually see white caps there coming out of the east and bashing up this side of the wall.

By the way, the river up here is not going to overtop. The levee that protects the city of New Orleans that's been here for years is not going to overtop. The flow was pretty low to being with, but the levee that surrounds the city that's been beefed up by the feds, that's holding up fine from what we've been told.

As far as what's going on in Plaquemines Parish outside of the beefed-up (INAUDIBLE), those are Plaquemines Parish privately-held levees that are lower, earthen, for the most part.

Those have been overtopped, continue to be overtopped. And, hopefully, they don't go to a full-out breach where we get a hole in one of those levees because then we're talking about a whole other scenario.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Right. And, also, we do want to remind you that Rob Marciano was upwind from that structure, so that if it did lose its integrity, it would not have endangered his life or our crew, as well.

Of course, this incredibly powerful hurricane is not over, not by a long shot. Our meteorologist, Jennifer Delgado, has been watching very carefully the path and, so, I guess just get me up to speed. From where Marty stood, it looked like it was pretty darn bad, but that's not it, is it?

JENNIFER DELGADO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely. We're going to continue to see some of those gusts today up to about 90-miles-per- hour.

As we look at the graphic, the latest information in from the National Hurricane Center, sustained winds at 75, 90 mile-per-hour gusts, moving to the northwest at six-miles-per-hour.

As I said last hour, it looked like the center circulation was inland. In fact, it has moved inland, so it will continue to weaken and very likely to become a tropical storm as we head later into the afternoon.

But, yes, weather conditions are going to continue to be bad. We are not going to see the center of circulation, as I said, it's going to weaken, exiting out of Louisiana it looks like until Thursday morning when it's going to actually make its way into Arkansas.

Let me correct you there. I should say, actually, Friday morning. The days are starting to blend in a bit. But notice Wednesday, 8:00, 65-miles-per-hour, and then, of course, it will continue to weaken.

But the rain is going to be the big event once we continue to see more of those winds weakening because we're talking, some of these locations, 10 to 20 inches of rainfall. A lot of flooding problems are going to be setting up, especially in these coastal regions.

Now, we showed you live shots coming out of New Orleans with Marty, as well as Rob. Look at the winds. They've been up to 67 and 70, so it's still going to continue to be gusty out there because the center of circulation right now located about 45 miles south-southwest of New Orleans and, of course, it's going to continue to move up towards north. Right now, still coming out of the east.

I want to hop over and show you on another graphic we do still have a tornado warning in place for part of Mississippi, what you're seeing in pink and that is going to last for really about the next 15 minutes. We're talking 10:15, local time and that means anybody needs to make sure that they're listening to their local authorities, going to a place that's safe in your home.

We're going to see this tornado threat really as we go throughout the afternoon, a chance, possibly, of up until about 4:00 this afternoon.

BANFIELD: All right, Jen. Just as you were speaking, some information from the Red Cross, as well, that 80 different shelters across six states were housing about 5,200 people overnight.

So, with what you've just been saying, they probably shouldn't be leaving right away and we're going to watch that clock for the next 15 minutes for that tornado warning, as well.

Jen Delgado, thanks so much.

Want to remind you all. Stay with CNN for all of the latest developments on Hurricane Isaac.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: A quick note for those of you heading out the door. You can continue watching CNN from your mobile phone. If you're also heading to work, you can get us up on your P.C., right there on your desktop. Just go to CNN.com/TV and follow those instructions there.

And it's a good thing to do, too, because this story keeps changing. Even before Isaac developed into this Cat 1 hurricane that we're watching right now, the coastal town of Grand Isle, Louisiana, was being pounded by those outer bands. The powerful, torrential rain and wind that hit this place, remarkable stuff.

And, at one point, the eye of Isaac was smack dab over the middle of the town. Take a peek at your screen. Not the kind of thing you want to look out your window and see. And things have only gotten worse since this photo was taken since Isaac made landfall.

The flooding, yeah, that's someone's house, unpleasant and it ain't like they haven't seen this before.

Ed Lavandera reporting on those who've been affected by this now and those who've had to deal with it once before.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We are in the midst of going through Hurricane Isaac here in Grand Isle, Louisiana. I want to kind of give you a sense of the conditions that we're battling against.

Right now, we're in the garage of Dean Blanchard's home. This is ground level and you can see now that the storm surge and the water is now starting to come into the garage here and this is where things start getting a little bit dicey.

And this is what the water does. It moves slowly. Look right over here, as each wave kind of comes in, it creeps closer and closer. This is the entrance into the house, into the ground floor.

I wanted to show you this shot. You can't keep the door open very long because the wind is just too much, but watch what we're dealing with here as the water creeps closer to where we are. It's hard to keep this door open. Work with me. But this is the storm surge. This is the - ah, sorry. See how fast moving the water is all around us?

We've probably got another two feet here before water starts coming inside the house. It's hard to keep the door open with the wind, but just look how powerful that water is cutting across the yard.

Gave you the ground-level view of the storm surge and the water pushing by the house, but, you know, this is what we needed to stay away from. We just don't know how high this is going to get and, obviously, being on the ground floor is too dangerous and being down there with all our equipment isn't smart, either. And then one last thing I'm going to show you. I'm going to show you the one room that has basically kept us on the air and able to do all the reporting we've done all day.

You know, a little bit about this house, Dean Blanchard was telling us that the man who built this house actually used to work for Exxon and developed oil rig platforms out in the Gulf of Mexico and a lot of the engineering behind that ideas from that and materials from that was used to build this house and that's why we're in safe conditions here. It's why this house has been holding up so well during these wind gusts.

We took one look at this generator here. We knew that we would be in good shape. This generator is able to power up the house, keep it on. No problems here. It's absolutely amazing.

It's gone out a couple times, you know, kind of been struggling a little bit, but you can't complain. We've been able to stay up through the worst part of this storm, so thank God we have that with us.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BANFIELD: OK, Ed Lavandera, now, live for us on the telephone in Grand Isle. Ed, if you could just update me, when you were taping this piece and the water outside that home was creeping so close to their door, has it made it inside?

LAVANDERA (via telephone): Oh, it sure has. We shot that, I think, around midnight last night and the water is now three to four feet higher than what you saw there in that garage, so you can't even walk into the garage anymore. You'd be probably close to waist-high at this point.

And, so, you know, Dean Blanchard and several family members, they've been trying to rearrange furniture down there on that ground floor to try to keep it as dry as possible, but you know, they just kind of resigned themselves to, at this point, that part of that bottom floor is going to be flooded out and that's just the way it's going to be at this point.

BANFIELD: Can you just give me a reference point? Because we are sort of jumping all throughout the coastal areas. Given what we're seeing you report on, how close and how similar are your conditions to, say, Jefferson County and the Ninth Ward? And how does, you know, Grand Isle differ from that?

LAVANDERA: Well, you know, I've been able to kind of briefly talk to some colleagues that are up there. We are about 60 miles south, directly south of New Orleans and this is kind of the end of the road when you come down into the marshland south of New Orleans toward the Gulf of Mexico. This is it. This is as far south as you can go, basically.

Grand Isle is an island that is about seven miles long and only about a half mile wide in its widest places, so, at this point, the bay waters are meeting the Gulf of Mexico waters. You know, there's water across every part of this island.

I would imagine that we got the center of the storm here and it's been kind of jogging across us. So, last night just before we were wrapping up the day of reporting, we were on the western edge of the eye of the storm which makes it a little bit easier to take because, you know, if you have to pick a side, that would be the safer side.

But the eye of the storm has moved over us and, now, we're on the eastern edge and it's definitely -- the winds are much more ferocious and much more sustained than they seemed to be last night when we were on the western edge of the storm.

So, the winds have not died down. I don't think it's raining as much. You know, we have better visibility today. At some points yesterday, we didn't see beyond 200 yards from the house and we had visions of the surrounding homes around us was obscured.

So, we can see that now and the good news is, from our vantage point, that most of the power lines I see are still intact. There is, you know, some roof damage and then that sort of thing, but, structurally, everything around us seems to be holding up pretty well.

I don't see homes that have collapsed off their stilts or anything like that, so that is the welcome news. Here, the problem is we're just going to have to ride out this storm surge and it's going to take awhile for this water to recede.

BANFIELD: Yeah, the storm surge and that continuing with a six- mile-an-hour storm that just won't buzz off.

And we should also remind out viewers that, if Grand Isle, Louisiana, sounds familiar, it's because we were talking a lot about Grand Isle just two years ago with the Gulf oil spill, so these people have had their fair share of major hassle and inconvenience and difficulties.

Again, 5,200 people-plus, even more than that, have been fleeing Isaac's pounding rain all across the states. You were seeing pictures of Mississippi and where Ed is in Louisiana, as well, Alabama, too. Everybody seeking shelter, that many of them from the Red Cross, spending the night. We are going to continue to update you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: Hurricane Isaac is lashing New Orleans right now and it is impossible to ignore that this is all happening on an eerie anniversary, the seventh anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. It's today and it's like adding salt to a very deep wound.

This is what people have been dealing with for hours now. Making matters worse, Isaac is moving so painfully slowly, about six-miles- an-hour, and just dumping and dumping and dumping its rain.

The big concern there for flooding and the big question there for the levees, will they be able to hold this time? This is the first real test, the real test, for New Orleans since those levees failed during Katrina.

And that was something none of us will ever forget, particularly General Russell Honore who is feeling Hurricane Isaac's fury in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He's joining us live.

And, alongside Russell Honore, we're also going to speak to the New Orleans mayor, Mitch Landrieu, who is on the telephone with us.

Mayor Landrieu , let me start with you. I just saw some breaking news that came in. Sheriff's boats were able to get mobilized and into Plaquemines Parish and they were able to assist some of those residents who were using their boats to rescue people.

And I think that I'm getting information that about 150 of those residents had called 911, needing rescue. Can you add to that or clear any of this up or tell me what the situation's like?

MITCH LANDRIEU, MAYOR, NEW ORLEANS (via telephone): Well, first of all, General Honore can clear this up for you, but knowing your geography's really important. Plaquemines Parish is quite a distance from Orleans Parish and we each have our separate fights.

The levee system that surrounds New Orleans, which is the federal levee system that we spent $10 billion dollars investing in that's 310 miles long is stable, it's fine, it is not being compromised and it is not in fear of being compromised.

What you're referring to is at Braithwaite, Louisiana, which is about 20 miles away from New Orleans in Plaquemines Parish. That's an interior, local levee that has been, from what we can tell, has been overtopped.

President Nungesser who's the president of the parish has been speaking more directly to that issue and, evidently, there's a search- and-rescue operation going on there. And I'm sure the parish president and the governor have teams deployed to do search-and-rescue missions in that area.

As it relates to the city of New Orleans, the levees are fine. The pumps are working. Everything is moving according to plan.

The complication with this storm is, as you noted in your intro, it's hovering over us. It's going at only six-miles-an-hour and, when that keeps dumping water, it creates interior flooding problems -- we haven't seen much of that yet - and electrical outage problems, which we're seeing a lot of.

So, we'll continue to stay in the fight and do as well as we can do.

BANFIELD: So, Mayor Landrieu, one of the things I remember General Honore saying seven years ago is that communications are critical as these storms hit and after these storms hit and that is one of my questions.

Clearly, all we've been hearing about until now is the crisis in Plaquemines Parish. It seems like your parish is doing OK. Do you communicate between you? Are you mobilizing your teams to Plaquemines or are they handling this on their own?

LANDRIEU (via telephone): Well, General Honore is one of my heroes and he always will be. I can say this, that the communication has been great. We were in communication with the White House this morning. FEMA is in constant communication with the governor.

We are in communication all day. Up in my EOC, we have each federal, state and local agency speaking. Operability has been great and execution, up to this point, has been good, too.

But here's the thing. You've got to be really humble about these storms. We're right in the middle of this fight and it's a four- quarter game, not two quarters. And, so, we're going to stay vigilant, but things right now - knock on wood -- in Orleans Parish and that's all I'm talking about, not Jefferson, Plaquemines, Saint Bernard, are going as well as can be expected under difficult circumstances.

BANFIELD: Any rescues in your parish? Anybody on rooftops or in attics like in the other parishes?

LANDRIEU (via telephone): We don't have any significant flooding. We have significant power outages, but, other than that, you know, we've got some flying debris, some heavy winds.

But if this rain sits on us for a long time, we're doing fine, but, as we speak now, all the pumping stations are up, operating and working as planned and designed. The levee system is working as planned and designed and we're good to go, so far.

BANFIELD: Thank God.

LANDRIEU (via telephone): And, so, we are going reach out and help our neighboring parishes if we're able to and on an as-needed basis.

BANFIELD: Good to know and I'm only assuming that you are in communication with President Nungesser, as well, as he deals with the crisis in his parish right now.

LANDRIEU (via telephone): Yes, we are in communication with all the regional parish presidents and we stay in that mode 24/7.

BANFIELD: General Honore, jump in here with me, if you will, and let me know what you know, if it's updated from what Mayor Landrieu just said and, also, the critical element here and that is, it's one thing to have a plan going into this and, clearly, there's a blueprint because we've been through this before. It's another thing executing it and trying to deal with how bad the situation is.

LIEUTENANT GENERAL RUSSELL HONORE (RET.), CNN CONTRIBUTOR: You know, Ashleigh, we have an old saying in the army -- the first thing that goes bad is the plan. It's the first point of failure. In this case, what we are dealing with this Category 1 hurricane is put in context of Katrina. Katrina came ashore and went through Plaquemines Parish between 12- and 14-miles-an-hour in forward movement.

This storm is only moving 4 or 5 miles in forward movement, so it's staying around a lot longer and doing a lot more damage in terms of dumping water in the Plaquemines Parish and New Orleans Parish and the lower parishes.

And the search-and-rescue that's occurring right during the storm is probably going to happen by what we affectionately call the "Cajun navy" who did most of the rescue in the first 24 hours after Katrina.

And that's neighbors helping neighbors and there are more people in Plaquemines Parish with boats than people that are without, so those first rescued will probably be done by neighbors, as is the case in most of south Louisiana.

BANFIELD: And, of course, one of the biggest concerns, those known-unknowns. General Honore, thank you so much.

We've got so many other reporters we need to get to, as well, who are on the scene. For you from Baton Rouge and, also, Mayor Mitch Landrieu in New Orleans, thank you very much for being with us. We know that you're both very busy at this point.

Just a reminder, this storm is moving northwest, but it's only moving at six-miles-an-hour which means all that rain that is churning in those models is just dumping and dumping and dumping.

We're tracking it all. We're on the ground. We're at the Severe Weather Center and we've got updates for you in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: As the situation continues to worsen in New Orleans. And quite frankly, along the gulf coast we have been hearing reports. One person suggesting he might have to shoot holes in his roof because he, his wife and baby were in their attic, and not sure how long they could be there. It's frightening for anybody who decided to stay.

Connie Uddo decided to stay. She is live with me right now.

Connie, I suppose the question would be, not only do you have the history of seven years ago of riding through Hurricane Katrina but you were running a recovery center during Hurricane Katrina. I suppose the fact that you are a responder now might answer this question, but lord, how is it that you decided to stay through this?

CONNIE UDDO, KATRINA SURVIVOR RIDING OUT ISAAC (voice-over): Well, first of all, this is a Katrina recovery center that is still operating today. Totally focused and dedicated to rebuilding shattered homes and lives seven years later. Because we are a center for recovery -- we open the center a year after Katrina -- I felt it was very important we be there as a recovery center and responder center. People know us. They know where we are. They know we have, you know, access.

We consider ourselves a partner to the city in helping, you know, just doing everything we can to assist our residents in the aftermath of the storm. Not so much during the storm. I'm hunkered down with my husband. I'm riding it out here. But, I want to be, just ready to go when --

(CROSSTALK)

BANFIELD: For them, if needed.

(CROSSTALK)

BANFIELD: Connie -- I have to ask you, how bad it is. I can't tell from your phone line. But I know you have been watching out your window at the street --

UDDO: Oh, yes.

(LAUGHTER)

BANFIELD: -- and the line, the paint line in the street to see if you are going to be in trouble. You are in Orleans Parish. How bad is it? Do you have any regrets for staying?

UDDO: We are riding it out well. The white line is very visible. No signs of street flooding in our neighborhood. The wind is fierce. It's very unsettling. It's just my house. I'm in a big, old New Orleans 90-year-old house, three stories high. It has shaken numerously throughout the night. We have not slept at all. So, it is unnerving. The wind has me more rattled than -- the rain is just a steady rainfall. It's not coming down in buckets. That's usually what will flood the city of New Orleans, when you have the incredibly heavy downpours. So, this rain kind of stays at this steady pace, I think our pumps will be able to handle it. And --

BANFIELD: I hope so.

UDDO: -- Mayor Landrieu says, the concern is the storm is hovering over us and how long can we hold up.

(CROSSTALK)

BANFIELD: Connie, I'm heartened by the fact you and your neighbors met and decided to stock up on supplies not just for yourself but for your fellow neighbors as well, were careful to make sure you had generators and all the rest. But we do want to wish you well. I hope things are going to be OK for you.

I do appreciate you joining us today. Thanks.

UDDO: Well, I have one note to end on, if you allow me. This is a quote I'd like to give you. "With God at the helm and Mitch Landrieu as your major and Drew Brees as your quarterback, come hell or high water, the "Who Dat" nation will prevail."

BANFIELD: Good luck, Connie Uddo, and all of your neighbors in that neighborhood.

State of emergency has been declared by the president in the state where Connie is. Also, more than a half-million customers are now without power in Louisiana alone.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: With so much rain pounding coastal Mississippi, the flooding has begun there, too.

David Mattingly joins us from Gulfport, Mississippi where he's riding it out.

We have been watching the waves behind you and the incredible winds and the lashing rain. Tell me, I know you just got off the phone with Governor Phil Bryant of Mississippi. What did he tell you?

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: He was talking about how they have planned on this storm parking itself off the coast of Louisiana and having this kind of rain and this kind of wind for so long. The problem they are seeing in Mississippi is all the water dumping on the land, trying to get into the streams and rivers to get out. You have all the water in the gulf that's pushing inland as well. All of that is meeting somewhere in the middle.

He was talking about one community, Waveland, is having tremendous problems with water right now. Some people cut off. They were wondering how they were going to get people in there to take care of them. That's just one of the problems they are having to deal with right now with all of this water. This is a storm that's going to be continuing.

But the governor did say here, in his own words, about how this storm wasn't supposed to be here this long. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PHIL BRYANT, (R), GOVERNOR OF MISSISSIPPI: What worries me is the duration of this storm, as the bands come in, you get the heavy rain, we get this surge blocking the rivers and tributaries, and behind it, we are hearing 48 hours of rain. That's going to -- inland. That's going to be a lot of flooding. We have to shift some resources there to prepare for that eventuality.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: Now, Ashleigh, there's one bright spot here. We are looking at the ocean behind us with the slight sense of relief, just a slight one. We are at high tide right now. You can see the water is not coming up over the top of the seawall that is here. It's a different story further down the road. We went down earlier and took photographs. The water had come up over the banks around where the harbor development is here in this town. That water, not very deep at all, but making itself known, pushing its way on to the highway.

So, again, we have a lot more rain coming down and a lot more problems to deal with in the future -- Ashleigh?

BANFIELD: Be careful, David Mattingly.

Also, we should add that David was reporting earlier that the curfew that was supposed to be lifted by 7:00 a.m. has been extended where he is. A state of emergency has been declared by the president in southern Mississippi as well. More than 2100 people are in shelters officially. More than 1100 people there are without power.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: Hurricane Isaac has been competing for the national headlines from the other big story of the week, and that's the Republican National Convention, which is ongoing in Tampa, Florida right now.

Which is where we find our political -- our national political correspondent, Jim Acosta, and our CNN political editor, Paul Steinhauser.

Both of you, live.

Jim, let me start with you. What a night. For those who stayed up late to watch Ann Romney -- and I say Ann Romney because I know Chris Christie was great, but Ann Romney was awesome.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Ann Romney was a force of nature herself, Ashleigh. The Romney campaign was very pleased with her speech she gave last night. I talked to some of the senior advisers to the GOP nominee. What I was told is -- and this is very interesting -- that Mitt Romney was very nervous before Ann Romney's speech -- is what I was told. Nervous in a good way, hoping that she would do well. They were all happy with the way things turned out.

I can tell you, Ashleigh, we are just getting some guidance about Mitt Romney's plans for this evening. We are told he's going to be in the hotel room tonight watching his running mate, Paul Ryan, deliver his speech. We don't expect him to come out and make an appearance like last night. But we'll have to wait and see. Expect the unexpected.

BANFIELD: Paul Steinhauser, give me the rundown for today as we look forward to the big speakers. Give me the names.

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: The big three speeches, 10:00 primetime, 10:00 eastern, you're going to have Condoleezza Rice. You are going to have Susana Martinez, the governor New Mexico. She an up-and-comer in the Republican Party. And of course, Condoleezza Rice, so well known across the country. Not a surprise. Again, we have two women. Have a lot of prominent women in primetime last night and we'll see it again tonight. And of course, as Jim just mentioned, Paul Ryan. This will be the biggest speech of his career to date. He's got a number of things he has to do. He has to reintroduce or introduce himself to the American public. And he's got to tout the man at the top of the ticket and lay out the plan, how they are going to do things different on the economy because that's what he specializes in.

(CROSSTALK)

ACOSTA: And, Ashleigh, we know it's Paul Ryan day here because I saw a P90X sign outside the forum today.

(LAUGHTER)

So we'll have to find out if he went through one of those routines this morning to gear up for today. It's just a workout getting here, I have to tell you, getting through all the security.

BANFIELD: I can only imagine.

(CROSSTALK)

BANFIELD: My only workout is lifting a cup of coffee. Ever time I see that guy, I think, ah, I need an exercise program.

(LAUGHTER)

Real quickly, guys, and either one of you can throw to this.

But, Jim, you mentioned Romney was nervous watching his wife as she was heading out to the stage. But today, he's not just leaving the building, he's leaving Tampa. What's the deal?

ACOSTA: He's giving a speech to the American Foreign Legion in Indianapolis today. This is going to be a quick deal for Mitt Romney. He's going up there. He's coming right back to Tampa tonight to watch the Paul Ryan speech. This will have some foreign policy elements in this address today. That's a subject we haven't heard a lot of during this convention. And with Condoleezza Rice taking the stage as well, there may be some of that. We may get some substance in that realm as well. I think that's something that the voters want to hear.

(CROSSTALK)

STEINHAUSER: This is a distraction --

BANFIELD: Go ahead, real quick.

STEINHAUSER: I was going to say, it's a distraction having a speech the night before the big speech, but the campaign is very happy. They say the wanted to do this speech. They think it's a smart thing to do.

BANFIELD: It's been great TV. I don't often stay up past midnight, but it was worth being exhausted this morning.

All right, you two, thanks very much.

And just quickly, for the menu, again, just want to reiterate, vice president candidate, Paul Ryan, and former secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, the key speakers at the RNC tonight. It's primetime. It all gets under way around 10:00. We are covering the Republican National Convention from Tampa. Our coverage starts much earlier. You get all the speakers if you start with us at 7:00 p.m. eastern. Heck, just stay with us all day. How does that sound?

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BANFIELD: A 6-year-old little leaguer, who plays with just one hand, just got the surprise of his life. Courtesy of the Atlanta Braves, he got the meet his hero.

And our chief medical correspondent, Sanjay Gupta, has his amazing story in today's "Human Factor."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(SHOUTING)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He can hit --

(SHOUTING)

GUPTA: -- field the ball --

(SHOUTING)

GUPTA: -- even slide into home plate.

(CHEERING)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good job, Reece. Give me five.

(SHOUTING)

REECE HOLLOWAY, PLAYS BASEBALL WITH ONE HAND: All of the way around the base.

GUPTA: 6-year-old Reece Holloway wants to play in the big leagues some day, just like his idol, Chipper Jones, who plays third base for the Atlanta Braves.

When Reece was born, his parents were shocked to discover that he didn't have a left hand and baseball was the furthest thing from their minds. They were not sure he would learn to crawl without a hand so they got him a prosthesis, but little Reece didn't want it. He did learned how to crawl and walk. And then something remarkably happened, Reece taught himself how to hit a ball. He was 2.

MALOU HOLLOWAY, MOTHER OF REECE: He would get the plastic balls and hold it under his chin and drop it and swing the bat and he would hit the ball, no problem.

GUPTA: He is a natural. And he has been playing on a team since he was 3 years old.

As far as the Holloways are concerned, Reece doesn't have a disability. REECE HOLLOWAY: I was born like that.

GUPTA: And they try to never hold him back. So far, they say, the only thing he cannot do is to tie his shoes.

MALOU HOLLOWAY: Anything he wanted to do, we let him try it. There was no, you can't do, because you only have one hand.

GUPTA: His parents are not the only ones rooting for Reece. When Chipper Jones saw our story about him, he invited the little leaguer and his family to see the Braves play the Marlins in Atlanta.

First came batting practice.

CHIPPER JONES, ATLANTA BRAVES: Nice to meet you, Reece.

GUPTA: And then autographs.

JONES: There you go, bro.

GUPTA: And then a private meeting with his hero.

REECE HOLLOWAY: He signed my glove and my ball. He signed my banner, too.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was squirming the whole time.

GUPTA: Then it was time to play ball.

(SHOUTING)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It meant a lot to him. He will remember this for the rest of his life.

GUPTA: After this experience, Reece is even more determined to follow in Chipper's footsteps and make it to the big leagues.

(CHEERING)

Dr. Sanjay Gupta CNN, reporting.

(CHEERING)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: We have some video just into CNN that we want to show you from WWL in New Orleans, and it shows families getting rescued throughout this morning. And we have been telling you that some of the flooding has been particularly difficult in Plaquemines Parish where the water breached a levee in Braithwaite. And they've been talking about five to 15 feet on other side of that eastern side of that levee.

Let me show you the video and you can listen in. I don't know much about it other than it is a family being rescued. Take a peep.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How bad was it back there? How high is the water?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, it is about 15 feet, maybe 16.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How many people back there?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: None right now. As far as we have, we had a couple of rounds of it. This is it. This is where we are.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We will talk in a minute.

Are you OK?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm fine.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's it like back there?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is horrible. Everybody's house is gone. Nobody got a house in Braithwaite. Nobody.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How high is the water?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The water is almost over my head. It is over 20 feet.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BANFIELD: Oh, that is heart wrenching. She says it is horrible. Nobody has a house in Braithwaite, according to that witness who was being evacuated. I don't know if that is the National Guard or sheriff who is sent out this hour to start the rescues, but up until now, it has been other civilians who are launching their own boats. The Plaquemines president said to us, he knew of two people in particular doing their own personal neighborly rescues. So really remarkable stuff.

I want to bring in Christine Romans, our chief business reporter.

but there is so much that affects all of us with the sadness of people losing their houses, like the witness says, but there is a lot going on underneath the ocean floors.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: That is right. You know when people are evacuated, you know industry has been securing their property for a couple of days now. When you look within the Gulf of Mexico, these platforms, oil drilling platforms and rigs, they've gone and shut off the valves, subsurface valves to guard against an oil spill or leak. They have had to evacuate the platforms. They have had to have nonessential personnel in some parts of the western part of the gulf.

You look at the part of New Orleans and they have locked down the cranes and locked up wharfs, and had to protect against dangerous chemicals and --

(CROSSTALK)

BANFIELD: The New Orleans port is done. It's closed completely, right?

ROMANS: It is a massive, massive port. Yes, it's closed down. And they will look to see what they need to do next, what kind of damage there is. But it as a few years ago, in Katrina, you had frozen chicken rotting on the wharfs and big piles of important industrial metals that were unsecured.

BANFIELD: Chemicals --

(CROSSTALK)

ROMANS: They've learned. They know how to do this. They know how to protect against it and they've taken every precaution that they can.

BANFIELD: Quickly, I remember the pictures but I can't specify what kind of massive vessels that were toss tossed about like toys on the shore. Those vessels, did they mobilize them out to see or secure them in the port?

ROMANS: Well, some out to sea, some secured in the port. In the port of New Orleans, there are six vessels. The largest I think is 778 feet. Huge vessels. Think Carnival Cruise Lines. Go in and out of the port as well. A ship took out Thursday. There's one coming back on -- maybe will come back Sunday. But it is a very busy, bustling part of the country.

BANFIELD: Christine Romans, thank you so much for that.

And according to AAA, the price of a gallon of gas shot up to $3.80 across the country. It's almost an increase of five cents overnight, which is the biggest one-day spike since last February.

Thanks for watching, everyone. We are continuing to watch this storm and all the rest of the news.

And NEWSROOM INTERNATIONAL starts now.