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CNN Live Saturday

Hurricane Katrina: The Aftermath

Aired September 03, 2005 - 18:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to our continuing coverage of Hurricane Katrina, state of emergency, from the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Fredricka Whitfield.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good evening. I'm Tony Harris. Let's start with the latest developments. Firefighters in New Orleans are using water tankers to battle flames inside an upscale mall near Canal Street. Looters carrying bags of merchandise were seen leaving the building earlier. Officials suspect arson.

WHITFIELD: Evidence today that many people in the city still remain to be rescued almost a week after the arrival of Katrina. An army Blackhawk helicopter today dropped meals ready to eat and bottles of water to residents still trapped in the flood.

HARRIS: New Orleans Charity Hospital has been fully evacuated. Score of patients, doctors, and nurses had first been trapped by the floodwaters and then by gunfire outside. While they waited to be rescued, staffers ran out of food and water and resorted to giving each other, listen to this, intravenous solutions.

WHITFIELD: And many of those hurt in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina are being transported to hospitals in neighboring states. Some are ending up in Nashville, Tennessee, where dozens of ambulances were standing by today.

HARRIS: And engineers, Fred, continue to work around the clock to repair levees that allowed water to spill into New Orleans. The breach in one key levee is now about a third filled in.

WHITFIELD: And now thousands of people have been evacuated from downtown New Orleans, but the situation remains very difficult there. CNN's Nic Robertson is standing by for us now along Canal Street -- Nic?

NIC ROBERSTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, one of the difficulties in the city at the moment for the firefighters in particular there have been several fires today. From the very early hours this morning, there were several fires across the city.

One started just up the street from here at a very prestigious shopping mall at about 8:30 in the morning. Firefighters believe it was started by looters. They say there was no gas in the building, no electricity in the building. When they went inside, they found a couple of looters inside the building, and they suspect that those looters could have set fire to the building. But the problems really began for the firefighters when they tried to put the fire out. They connected their fire hoses to the water hydrant at the side of the road. There was no water in there yet. Just half a mile away down this street, the road is flooded.

Normally, they would have brought up their fireboat to the canal at the other of the street, pumped water into the fire. They couldn't do that. They had to watch the blaze take hold of this prestigious store. What they did was to commandeer two 7,000-gallon containers of water that were being driven to a telephone company to call the telephone exchange here.

They then pumped that water into the sprinkler system. Five and a half hours later, they were able to put that blaze out. But this is a problem for the firefighters across this city. Eight days, many, many fires. Seventy fires. They're beginning to lose count how many they've put out. Some of the firefighters we talked to so tired they didn't even know what day it was. Some of them have lost their homes, many have got their families outside of the city.

They wanted to send a big thank you to all the citizens outside of this area who are making way for their families, putting their families up while they're still here fighting the fires. But it seems to be, talking to the fire chief today, going to be a long job, especially when they're working against arsonists to keep on top of all the fires here, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Wow. And Nic, fires are certainly a problem, but still of paramount concern, the many people who have been stranded who are left behind, looking for a way out. We're looking at a live picture right now over the Superdome where we know busloads of people have been taken out.

But then, down the street from you on Canal Street, at the convention center, there were thousands of people there. What's the latest on being able to bus the majority of those people out?

ROBERTSON: Well, most of the people at the convention center have been bused out, about 3,000 to 4,000 people. Yesterday, people had gathered there to get food and water. There was a lot of anger. Today, people were a lot happier. They had water, they had food. The lines of people waiting to get on the buses were very orderly.

And about 3,000 to 4,000 people were move out of there. The National Guard has set up outside of the convention center to process people, now they're going to go inside the convention center. Now, everyone has pretty much gone and cleaned that out.

But quite a big cleanup operation on their hands there. So many thousands of people living there with so little resources at their disposal. Quite a lot of work to do now at the convention center. Now, most of the people there at least have been bused out, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And part of that cleanup at the convention center, Nic, we've heard from a number of eyewitness accounts that a number of people died and bodies were just pushed aside there inside the convention center. Are you hearing any detail about how they plan to remove those bodies, and with dignity, find a place which to put them?

ROBERTSON: We haven't heard specific details of how they're processing it, but now the National Guard has arrived there. Now there is a system in place to deal with the casualties, to deal with the fatalities. That seems to be something that is very much under control at the convention center.

Of course, a lot of resources arriving into the city today to more search, more rescue in other areas. But the convention center at least, now the National Guard are there. That, the issue of the dead people just that we'd heard about, just being left to one side because nobody had the facilities to deal with them, that does seem to be taken care of, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Nic Robertson, thanks so much on Canal Street, just a few blocks away from the convention center on another road.

Well, throughout the day, we have seen dramatic pictures of people still surrounded by floodwaters throughout New Orleans. Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated from the city. But images like these show that other people remain isolated. These folks on the balcony seemingly at their building. Coast Guard helicopters continue to rescue people across the city. Military helicopters are trying to help by dropping food and water from above, as well.

HARRIS: Let's get a check once again on the situation at New Orleans Airport. CNN's Ed Lavandera is standing by with an update for us.

Hi, Ed.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: All right, Tony, Fredricka. Well, you mentioned those people being plucked from rooftops or from cars by the Coast Guard. Just moments after scenes like that happened, those people end up here at the New Orleans International Airport, where you see behind me a constant stream of it helicopters landing and taking off, dropping off the dozens or so people who can fit on any of these helicopters.

And basically, they're all packing very few belongings. Some people coming out barefoot, other people just carrying what they can in trash bags or in coolers or in duffel bags. And this is the beginning of the very long process of getting out of New Orleans and so many unanswered questions for a lot of these people. Because, number one, many of them as soon as they touch down here don't know where they're going, much less do they know when they're coming back.

The process here is set up and is starting to gain a little bit more momentum and a lot more organization, too. There's a bigger National Guard presence now. The medical teams that have been in place here say that they've been getting more supplies and more backups. They're able to handle a little bit more of the patients, although this is a field hospital.

We don't want to give anyone the impression that they can do any kind of medical services here that you'd get in a full-fledged hospital. That's why the rush here is to get many of these people out of this city as quickly as possible.

We've seen a lot of elderly, a lot of critically ill people, a lot of critically ill elderly people. And it's a disparaging, a desperate scene many times inside the airport as you walk through and see many elderly people on journeys just moaning and waiting and crying out for attention because they need help -- Tony?

HARRIS: Ed Lavandera, for us. Ed, thank you.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff today promised the future will get better for victims. But his comments about storm preparations differed from those of other government officials. As for evacuees, Chertoff said the government will do whatever it takes to get people back on their feet.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL CHERTOFF, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: The United States, as the president has said, is going to move heaven and earth to rescue, feed, shelter, and restore the life and health of the people who are currently suffering. We are throwing all of the capabilities and assets of the United States into this effort.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Secretary Chertoff also said that the government planners did not predict the kind of disaster that hit New Orleans. That point differs from past statements by scientists and government officials who have long warned of catastrophic flooding in the event of a category four storm.

If you want to help the hurricane victims, you can donate money to a number of organizations, including the American Red Cross. You can also log on to their website at redcross.org, or call them at 1- 800-HELP-NOW.

You can find a full listing of charities on our website, CNN.com. If you've been impacted by Katrina, you can share your story with us. You can also let people know you're safe by posting your name on our safe list. The address again, CNN.com.

WHITFIELD: And learn more about how you can help the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Join Larry King along with Harry Connick Jr., Teri Hatcher, Bill Cosby, Leann Rimes, Clay Aiken, John Mayer, Celine Dion, a host of other celebrities for a three-hour special, "How You Can Help." That's "LARRY KING LIVE" tonight at 8:00 p.m. Eastern.

In the past 24 hours we have seen a marked change in efforts to help those in need in New Orleans. But much more still needs to be done. Coming up, we'll talk live with FEMA about the criticism it has taken and what's in store to help the victim there.

Also, he's the head honcho in New Orleans. CNN's Barbara Starr goes on an exclusive ride through the streets with Lieutenant General Russell Honore.

And it's a story that tore many of us apart; a woman who left her son behind to seek help, then delivered a child. How this family was reunited when our special coverage continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: We've been seeing dramatic images of rescues for days now out of Louisiana. Today, there were more. A chopper picked up a little boy from a balcony in New Orleans. The Coast Guard has rescued more than 9,500 people this week, and there is no telling how many more people are still out there, stranded by Katrina's floodwaters.

HARRIS: FEMA has been taking the brunt of the criticism over hurricane relief. Most people are shocked by the apocalyptic images we're seeing coming out of the Gulf Coast states. Some say FEMA was ill-prepared for this disaster. Patrick Rhode is FEMA's deputy director. He joins us from Washington.

Patrick, thanks for talking to us.

PATRICK RHODE, DEPUTY DIRECTOR, FEMA: Thank you for having me.

HARRIS: I'm going to give you an opportunity to have your say because I know you've heard a lot of the criticism and you would like to take some of that on. But let me ask you a hindsight question, one of many you'll hear over the next few days I'm sure, and weeks. If you had it to do all over again, what would you do differently?

RHODE: Well, that's quite a hypothetical question. I think it's a little too early to really talk about things like that because we are right in the middle of a very, very response phase. This is a mobilization the likes of which this country has perhaps never seen before applied to a domestic incident.

Not only are we talking about life-sustaining efforts to try to make sure we're evacuating as many people who are mobile as possible, and also all of those patients here over the last several days. We are also talking about one of the largest urban search and rescue efforts that this country has ever put forth.

These courageous men and women who are out there on the front lines right now risking their lives, and I wish everyone had an opportunity to see the full story of this 90,000-square-mile effort that is going on right now. These people have saved some 10,000 lives out there, many times risking their own lives by using hatchets to break their way into rooftops, literally saving people who are just inches away from their own death.

HARRIS: But Patrick...

RHODE: It is truly one of the most compelling stories that we have seen and it represents part of this overall amazing mobilization that we've seen over the last several days.

HARRIS: Patrick, forgive me. You have to understand the other side of the story, as well. You have to be able to change your perspective on this and understand that many people feel that more lives could have been saved with a more efficient, crisp response to this disaster.

RHODE: Well, there is no question that this hasn't been a perfect response, but there rarely is a perfect response to any disaster. FEMA administers some 50 declarations a year. And let me tell you, there are many different conditions and variables that go into how we respond in each particular case.

Certainly, this brought with it some of the most unique challenges that we have seen in the 30-year history of this organization, and I dare say most of the federal family, as it relates to applying our relief to any particular area.

You are talking about a category four hurricane that struck one of the largest major metropolitan areas in the South. Not only that, it compromised the entire infrastructure system that led to the compromise of the levee system, which led to three days worth of a flooding event which only became under control in the last 24 hours. This is something that is truly unprecedented, and I think it's too early to judge this overall response and recovery effort.

HARRIS: Well, I understand that that's your point of view. But let me just state for the record, the president did issue a disaster declaration before the storm made landfall. Here's my question for you. Once that declaration was made by the president, could FEMA have moved more resources into staging areas around New Orleans and the other cities impacted by the storm?

RHODE: I think it's important to realize that what FEMA does is in partnership with our state and local partners. It takes the state to come in and make a request so that the president can then begin to mobilize resources.

The president rightly saw the fact what we needed to do when the states began to ask for that, when they saw it was important to get their own citizens very engaged within an evacuation effort, he immediately declared, when the state requested, these emergency declarations for Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. That afforded the state to set up everything that they possibly could to make sure that their citizens were evacuated.

HARRIS: OK, Patrick, one more question. Your agency is now under the umbrella of the Homeland Security Department. Some suggest that since that has taken place, your mission has changed from one of preparing for natural disasters such as this one to preparing for acts of terrorism. How would you respond to that?

RHODE: Secretary Chertoff made it very clear, as has Director Brown, that this an all-hazards agency, and that is the way we practice. It doesn't matter whether this had been a manmade act or whether or not this was an act of Mother Nature, as this unfortunately was. We are going to respond and recover as aggressively as we possibly can to assist every potential disaster victim. There is no way, regardless of what kind of a disaster this was, that we would not be as committed and as mobilized as we are right now. You're talking about many of the same baseline capabilities that can be brought to bear on behalf of the United States government, together with our state partners, regardless of what kind of intercept that it is.

And I think that this mobilization that you've seen here over the last 72 hours, despite some of the greatest disadvantages perhaps ever imposed upon first responders, marks what this agency and this federal government, the Department of Homeland Security, our state and local partners, and of course now the American people behind us, can accomplish when we want to.

HARRIS: OK. Patrick Rhode is FEMA's deputy director, joining us from Washington this evening. Patrick, thank you.

WHITFIELD: A lot of folks have been trying to figure out how they can help. Perhaps you're considering offering your home to hurricane evacuees.

Up next, we'll talk to an expert about some things consider before opening your door for those seeking shelter.

And returning home under the worst of circumstances, two NFL quarterbacks try to help victims in their hometown.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Live pictures right now of New Orleans. You're seeing this over and over again, that Navy helicopter there conducting a rescue mission, just plucking some people there from those high waters there in that New Orleans neighborhood.

HARRIS: And what we've seen throughout most of the day today is a scene of helicopters like that.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

HARRIS: Dropping water. These MREs, ready-to-eat meals.

WHITFIELD: Meals ready to eat, right.

HARRIS: Into neighborhoods, identifying first. The choppers have circled the city, looking for folks who are still stranded. And then they have, with, in many cases, pinpoint accuracy, just dropped these bottles of water, these cases of food into these areas so that people have to do, in many cases, little more than just sort of reach out with a broom or something else in order to reel in that box of food or that bottle of water. It's been quite an amazing afternoon of seeing just tremendous pictures of the effort that is now fully engaged, fully ramped up.

WHITFIELD: Well, these pictures and other pictures that you've been seeing over the last six days of human suffering in New Orleans and Mississippi and even Alabama have been pretty overwhelming for everyone. But it's been nearly unbearable for the people with family and friends in those hurricane zones.

HARRIS: That's right, Fred, and CNN is trying to help. Carol Lin is at the Victims and Relief Desk.

CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, guys. There are websites matching people who do not have homes with people who are wanting to offer them shelter. One, for example, hurricanehousing.org says that close to 100,000 beds have been offered nationwide. Now, the offerings range from large shelters, some church-related, to space for one or two people in a spare bedroom.

People seeking shelter can find people offering shelter by region and then they can send their contact information to them. Now, the websites cannot vouch for the information and they don't screen people who are looking for shelter. So we asked Bruce Deel to come in, he's the executive director of City of Refuge, which gives housing and teaches skills to poor people and homeless people.

Bruce, I think it's important, because so many people want to open their doors and do something for these people who need help. But how do you know who's going to walk through your door and stay with you?

BRUCE DEEL, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, CITY OF REFUGE: Well, the answer is you don't know. So, in this kind of situation, there is no screening process, as you mentioned. So you don't know if there's a criminal background, you don't know if there are behavioral issues or mental issues that may have to be addressed. There's no screening process, so when you allow folks in, you understand that there is a risk associated right off the bat just because have you no background on those individuals.

LIN: And once they're with you, who's going to help you feed them, clothe them, or is that my responsibility?

DEEL: Well, families that have opened their home have a responsibility, initially, for food and clothing, medical assistance. But the long-term reality is these folks are going to have identification issues resolved, they're going to have to have job issues resolved, where they're going to live permanently.

And so, if you don't have a network of resources that will assist you in providing those things, you're going to find yourself scurrying around, trying to find out what those are, individually. And there are very real needs that these folks bring with them, an abundance of those needs.

LIN: So you should ask the organization, whoever it may be, whether it's your local church or even the Red Cross, "Listen, how long is this person going to stay? Are you going to help give me things to help support this person." And what do you do if this person doesn't want to leave?

DEEL: Well, that's a question that has to be asked up front. And the answer may vary. What we try to tell folks who are referred to by us is that this is a long-term commitment. And so, there are some individuals who are willing to offer a night or a week. What we're going to need are individuals who are willing to offer up to 90 days, perhaps 180 days, depending on the circumstance, the situations.

They have to be able to invest long-term for it to have the kind of positive effect that it needs to have on these individuals. And so, a connection with a local agency or resource that knows how to do that will be vital to these families that want to take folks into your home.

LIN: You bet. And you've been helping people yourself, so that's good to hear. And we've got your name and your organization out there. Thanks very much, Bruce.

Fred, Tony, they've been able to help folks, including a young cancer patient who had to get treatment at Emory university, but the family had no place to stay. They too are refugees.

WHITFIELD: Wow, it's so nice to see. So many folks are trying in so many different ways to reach out and help one another. And that's what it's going to take for years, really. This is not an effort that's going to end in a matter of weeks, but there's some long-term effects here.

HARRIS: And you just hope folks get fatigued from giving, and that they continue to understand that the need is there, continue to open their hearts and help.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

Well, the damage and the destruction expands well beyond Louisiana, as you very well know. Up next, a live report from the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

HARRIS: And a different kind of story. One man began the storm on the water and finished it, believe it or not, far from the sea. We'll explain.

WHITFIELD: Also, trapped in the floodwaters, she sought medicine for her five-year-old son and then ended up in a hospital in Baton Rouge. How this mother was reunited with her young child, and how she met his little brother for the very first time.

HARRIS: But first, this reminder to watch a three-hour Larry King special tonight, "How You Can Help." Teri Hatcher, Harry Connick Jr., Leann Rimes, Bill Cosby, and others lend their voices to the effort to help those who need help now more than ever. That's tonight at 8:00 Eastern. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: He has a rough voice and a gruff manner, but to many in New Orleans, he's a godsend, a take-charge kind of guy to get things done. He is Lieutenant General Russell Honore, the man in charge of U.S. military relief efforts. Our Barbara Starr had exclusive access riding with Honore as he hit the devastated streets of the Big Easy. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GEN. RUSSELL HONORE, COMMANDER, JOINT TASK FORCE KATRINA: Put those weapons down, damn it. Screen them!

BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They cheer a man they don't even know. Lieutenant General Russell Honore is one of them, a Louisiana native, known inside the army as the Ragin' Cajun. He is using his sheer will, barking orders.

HONORE: You're delivering food.

STARR: Tolerating no excuses to make the military's relief efforts, which he commands, happen quickly. We followed him on one of his 20-hour days through New Orleans. At the Superdome, he meets with his planners who have set up shop just steps away from hundreds of dazed victims living in miserable conditions.

On this day, the general is determined to get a huge relief convoy into the city. The troops and trucks begin to appear. He watches from his command perch, a street corner.

HONORE: As you can see, there's helicopters in every direction. There's trucks flowing in. There are men here ready to issue the food. We're on it. It just took time.

STARR: This three-star commander waving helicopters in himself. Going street by street to assess relief needs. He is already deeply upset at those who say the military response has been too slow.

(on-camera): So you've been able to make this happen pretty quickly?

HONORE: Well, according to some people, not quick enough, obviously. But it's coming together.

STARR (voice-over): Honore clearly has the trust of New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, who has criticized much of the federal government, but calls him a John Wayne sort of guy. At this late night meeting, they talk about retrieving the bodies floating in the water. And the mayor seeks the general's advice on how to evacuate the convention center.

MAYOR RAY NAGIN, MAYOR OF NEW ORLEANS: How do you recommend we handle this.

HONORE: I think we try to get a public message out on the radio, and you tell the governor the buses need to be there early in the morning.

STARR: Outside the convention center, a river of human misery days after the flood. The street has become an open sewer. These people, Honore's people, are growing desperate.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (@0:05:04.0: I just want to go home. I want to get from out of here and that's sad. We're homeless. I never lived like this.

STARR: There is a moment when being a three-star commander means you can save some tiny lives. He stops to help a young mother, a baby in each arm.

HONORE: Here, tiger. Here, tiger. Let's go. Come on.

STARR: He picks up another baby and mother off the street. The general commandeers transportation to a Coast Guard ship that has medical help. He tries to explain why, this time, he had to stop and help.

HONORE: I think the reading was in their face. It was one of wanting to do something for their babies and couldn't. And we're going to take care of that right now.

STARR: For the Ragin' Cajun, this one-man baby lift as vital as the effort to save thousands.

HONORE: We're going to fix it one at a time if we have to.

STARR: Barbara Starr, CNN, New Orleans.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Oh, boy. A man on a mission.

Evacuation can be hard enough for healthy people, but it can be life threatening for those already suffering from disease. Hundreds of patients are still stranded at the New Orleans Airport, which has been turned into a field hospital.

Colonel Larry Riddles of the United States Air Force is the emergency medical commander in New Orleans, and he joins us now live.

Colonel, thank you for talking to us. Let me first ask you, how much of this rescue effort are you responsible for? Talk us through your mission.

COL. LARRY RIDDLES, USAF: OK. My mission primarily is to work with FEMA to provide medical support for those that come in that are injured or those members that have been out and exposed to the elements long enough to require medical care.

HARRIS: And how many people have you seen so far?

RIDDLES: Well, today alone, we probably pushed through somewhere around 2,000 to 2,500. Since about 48 hours, I'd say, we're probably looking at somewhere around 8,000 or 10,000 people.

HARRIS: And you think you're at the head of this, or do you think you're sort of -- I don't know. Where do you think you are in this process? Any way of estimating how many people ultimately you may be treating?

RIDDLES: It's hard to know. We're going to keep going until we see the very last patient. Right now, the flow is steady. But we seem to be holding up. And every patient that we get in, treat, and get out of here is a success story. So we're going to not stop until we get them all.

HARRIS: Colonel, do you have everything you need?

RIDDLES: Right now, I think we've got all the things that we need for the mission as far as every patient that comes in gets the treatment they need and the air frames are there to take them out of there. Everybody is really working very hard from the federal agencies, local, communities. This is a one-person effort. Nobody here is trying to do it alone. It's definitely a team.

HARRIS: I have to ask you, I know you feel like you have everything you need. But if there was one thing, just give me a list -- just give me one thing that would help the operation from where you sit, from your vantage point right now. What would that be?

RIDDLES: If I had anything at all, I'd need about three days of extra time to get organized and get things to happen. But you plan as you go. We cannot plan the plan here. We've taken a plan. And as the patients are coming in, we see what parts work and what don't. And fortunately, the people are resilient and the staff we've got are very resourceful. And we're making it happen. So basically, the thing we need most is time.

HARRIS: Colonel, are you delivering babies?

RIDDLES: Yes, sir. We did two today. We started the shift with a baby boy. And this afternoon, we had another birth. So now, Orleans Parish has two more people.

HARRIS: Oh my goodness. Colonel, thank you so much for your time. And thank you for the great work.

RIDDLES: My please, have a good day now.

HARRIS: OK, you too.

RIDDLES: My pleasure.

WHITFIELD: It is all so hard to believe. Gulf Coast residents have blasted the government for its slow response and lack of preparedness before Katrina struck. Shirley Thomas lives in New Orleans. She was able to leave ahead of the storm. Her husband, James, stayed behind. Shirley is joining us now from Baton Rouge.

And Shirley, explain, was it a case of your husband not being able to get out? Or did he choose to stay behind as so many other residents did to protect the property?

SHIRLEY THOMAS, EVACUEE: No, my husband stayed behind because of his job. He wanted to work at his job and assist those at his job.

WHITFIELD: And when you decided to...

THOMAS: That was...

WHITFIELD: Sorry, go ahead, Shirley.

THOMAS: That was part of his job. Whenever something like this happened, you're on a recovery team or you're on the activated team. So what happened, he was on the recovery team. But he went there to assist them to help. And he got stuck there.

WHITFIELD: Wow. So your husband...

THOMAS: He just came home today.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my goodness. So your husband is staying as part of a recovery team, knowing that his skills would be needed once the hurricane were to pass. He came home yesterday, or at least left yesterday. Has he given you an idea of what it's been like for him, five days in New Orleans?

THOMAS: He said it was horrible. He said never seen nothing like that before. He said it was so much water there, it was so much filth. He stayed there and he had to live there without light, without water. You know, it was just horrible for him.

WHITFIELD: Did he describe how difficult it was, given the obstacles of the high water, trying to do his job, which he stayed to do? Trying to recover those in need?

THOMAS: Yes, they had to stop, you know. Once his job got started, later on they had to stop because there's no use for him to try to go on. They couldn't get finished.

WHITFIELD: And at this point now, he's out of New Orleans. I understand that he has said he has no desire to go back to New Orleans to live. If that's the case, what will you all do?

THOMAS: Well, we hope to get started someplace else because we have nothing else left but what's on our backs. So we have to get started again.

WHITFIELD: Now, talk to me about other family members. I understand your mother may still be there. And what about your husband's son?

THOMAS: Yes, my husband's son was out there volunteering services with his boat to try to help save the people down there. He helped my husband, you know, and they was -- now he can't find them. He's wondering where he's at.

WHITFIELD: And now what about your mother?

THOMAS: And my mother, she stayed behind because my brother, my oldest brother, said he was going to stay there and he was going to either live in the home with her or he was going to take her back with him. He didn't show up there. So now, you know, we're worried about where she's at because she's supposed to be in the home, but no one seems to like want to go back there, can't go back there to help her. WHITFIELD: And Shirley, I imagine you've notified so many people to try and help contact your mother or get to the area where she was last left so that perhaps they can locate her and reunite her with you and your husband?

THOMAS: Yes. We have tried so many people. You never know how many people we have tried. I've been to so many places to try to get help and see if they can go back there. I even asked them to let me go over there, take me over there, and I'll go and see.

WHITFIELD: All right, well Shirley Thomas, you know, you are up against a colossal task there. Thanks so much for sharing your story. And our hearts and prayers go out to you, hopefully, that your entire family will be reunited -- Tony?

THOMAS: Thank you so much.

HARRIS: And coming up, a heart wrenching homecoming. Two NFL quarterbacks try to help victims pick up the pieces of their hometown

And a story of faith and hope. Trapped in the floodwater, she sought help for her child and ended up in a hospital. CNN's Elizabeth Cohen will tell us how this mother was reunited with her family.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Well, thousands of people separated by the hurricane, damage, and flooding, are still trying to find loved ones. CNN medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is live from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, with one remarkable story.

Can't wait for this one, Elizabeth, hello.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Tony. This one has a happy ending. Three days ago, we told you about Rosezina Jefferson. She jumped into that fetid water of New Orleans and swam for 30 minutes while in labor. The reason she jumped in, to get help for her asthmatic five-year-old son. She told him that she would be right back. But of course, she wasn't.

What happened was that she got lifted up by the Coast Guard and she gave birth, and so it was a bitter sweet moment. She had her little baby, but she didn't have her five-year-old son. Well, now we have good news, which is that a friend of Rosezina's saw our story on CNN Wednesday night, and on Thursday, she got in touch with Rosezina at Women's Hospital here in Baton Rouge.

And Rosezina is now being discharged from the hospital. What she doesn't know, as she's being discharged, is that she's about to see her son. She thought it would take days and days to get her son to her. What she didn't know is that he had already been brought by a secretary in the hospital to Baton Rouge.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We got all of this just for you, but we got something else for you, OK?

ROSEZINA JEFFERSON, EVACUEE: My baby! Oh, thank you. Oh, I missed you so much. Oh, thank you! Yes! Oh, thank you. Let mama pick you up. Ma ain't supposed to pick up nothing. How are you?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COHEN: So now Rosezina and baby Keith and Keith Sr., as well as big brother Ashton, her five-year-old son, have been reunited. They're staying at the church of that hospital secretary that we mentioned before. They've set up a room for her. They've set up an entire nursery. And that's where they'll be staying in Baton Rouge -- Tony?

HARRIS: That's good. See? We can't see that enough. Elizabeth, thank you.

WHITFIELD: Wow, we love to see reunions like that. In the shadows of what may be New Orleans' darkest hours, many smaller communities are also overwhelmed by the damage and the destruction in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Up next, we'll talk to the mayor of one such community and hear how they're putting the pieces back together, at least trying.

And returning home under the worst of circumstances, two NFL quarterbacks try to help victims in their hometown.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Most of the attention in the Hurricane Katrina disaster has been focusing on the city of New Orleans. But 90,000 square miles were devastated by the storm, an area twice the size of Pennsylvania, the exact size of the United Kingdom.

One of the towns affected is Covington, Louisiana, just outside of New Orleans. And joining us on the phone now, from Covington, is the mayor, Candice Watkins.

Mayor, we're looking at some live pictures right now of still almost waist-deep water in some areas over New Orleans. We also had pictures of Covington before the storm. What does Covington look like right now? Is it a similar picture to what we're seeing in New Orleans?

MAYOR CANDICE WATKINS, MAYOR OF COVINGTON, LOUISIANA: Absolutely not. Covington did not have high water. We've had massive devastation here, but it's been wind related. Trees falling on buildings, trees blocking -- almost every street in the city was blocked with trees. Probably 40, 50 percent of the homes and buildings were damaged. My home is damaged.

But no, it does not -- there's no flooding. Not that kind of thing. We're actually well into recovery and have done a phenomenal job. My public works men have just done an incredible job of clearing streets. Right now, we're trying to keep lift stations running, pumps on wells, that kind of thing, to keep the sewer and water going. Right after the storm, many people had no water at all. And within two days, my crews restored water to full pressure in the city. So we're not looking real pretty right now, but thank God we're not under water.

WHITFIELD: All right, and a moment ago, we were seeing some file pictures of while the storm was underway. We could see some of that wind damage already underway. Well, given the proximity of your town to New Orleans, your town certainly relies, your economy that is, really does rely in great part on New Orleans.

You have a lot of residents there in Covington who would go into downtown New Orleans to go to work. Now, they will not have jobs to go to. What kind of assistance do you give to these people? What do you anticipate economically for your town?

WATKINS: We have not -- we're just research with the benefits to a federally proclaimed disaster area might be. We're not sure about that. And of course, immediately, we're all very upset and worried about the economy, et cetera. But what I believe is going to happen here in Covington is that immediately, housing is at a premium.

I've been trying to buy a house today for my parents who moved to Covington from Little Rock a week ago and have no house. They were staying with me and now they're homeless because I'm homeless. I've been trying to track down owners of a house in Houston who we tried to buy last week and now I'm trying to buy today at full price. And, you know, I can't get in touch with them.

So housing is going to be at a premium. Every square inch of available rental space in my city is going to fill up with people from the New Orleans and Metairie areas trying to open satellite offices. So where I was very concerned about my economy in the big picture, we may take a dip, but I think ultimately, I mean -- God, no one's to benefit from this, but the way I would say that is that my economy, my local economy is going to suffer, ultimately.

WHITFIELD: Understandably. All right, Mayor Candice Watkins, mayor of Covington, Louisiana, thank you so much. And best of luck to you and your family as you try to search out for a home for your family as well -- Tony?

WATKINS: Thank you very much.

HARRIS: Watching New Orleans and its residents in such dire straits has been particularly painful for people who grew up there. Many New Orleans natives are taking action to help with the relief effort. Among them, two of the city's most famous sons, Eli and Peyton Manning. The NFL stars organized a relief flight to Louisiana. On board, CNN's Daniel Sieberg.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LEE NALL, AIRTRAN PILOT: We're trying to help people. We're trying to do a little bit that we can so that these folks can have a little sanity to their life. DANIEL SIEBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is just one of countless aid shipments, headed to areas hurt by the Katrina. From Atlanta, we travel north, away from the disaster zone, to Indianapolis aboard an Airtran plane to pick up two famous guys who grew up in New Orleans.

PEYTON MANNING, ATHLETE: The whole town's like a family. So it's very much of a personal issue with us.

SIEBERG: NFL stars Peyton and Eli Manning who play for Indianapolis and New York, respectively, organized the flight. The plane is loaded with 30,000 pounds of supplies. Some they paid for, others donated. Everything from water to Gatorade to diapers and baby formula. Even one of life's little luxuries, some pillows. Airtran donated the flight, crew members donated their life.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can give blood and I can give my time. So it's kind of nice for me so I can go ahead and do that, and make sure I can help out in some way, and make sure everybody's getting some help.

SIEBERG: While en route to Baton Rouge to deliver the supplies to the Red Cross, we chatted with one Louisiana-based Airtran employee, another New Orleans native, who says she volunteered for the flight to keep her mind off her own troubles.

TONI PUGH, AIRTRAN VOLUNTEER: My husband did not come. Men are stubborn, for one. And he just said he was not going to leave.

SIEBERG (on-camera): And what's happened since then?

PUGH: What's happened since then is I have not seen or heard from him since Sunday night.

SIEBERG (voice-over): The plane's cargo hold is full. So is every seat and overhead bin. The operation has cost the Mannings some time and money, but they say they're not in it for the publicity.

MANNING: We donated to the relief funds and tsunamis and 9/11 and the victims in Florida. But there's something about when it's your hometown, it just triggers a nerve.

SIEBERG: The Red Cross welcomes the flight with open arms and open trucks.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The key part of the operation to get the food either to the shelters, or they're taking it out where they can into the community. And at this point, I think, in our area, we're primarily just meeting people at the shelters.

SIEBERG: Then, some amazing news. Toni learns that her husband, Ralph, is alive and well.

PUGH: My phone was vibrating. So I picked it had up and I dialed it. I went into my message and I heard this guy saying, "Is this Toni? Toni, I just need to let you know, Ralph and Raymond's (ph) all right. And I heard my husband say, "Ralph, Ralph, Ralph." And I heard him, so I know he's all right.

SIEBERG: Daniel Sieberg, CNN, Baton Rouge.

WHITFIELD: Another nice happy ending on that.

HARRIS: What an afternoon.

WHITFIELD: Yes, it's been rough.

HARRIS: Thank you, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Well, coming up next at 7:00 Eastern, a CNN premier. Anderson Cooper's hurricane special, "Sudden Fury: In Katrina's Deadly Wake." And then at 8:00 Eastern, the three-hour "LARRY KING LIVE" special on how you can help.

HARRIS: And Larry's guests tonight include Jesse Jackson, Clay Aiken, John Mayer, and Celine Dion, and this is just the beginning of the people you'll see. So tune in at 8:00 for that special.

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