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CNN Live Saturday

Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina; A Look at Tropical Storm Ophelia; Anniversary of September 11th

Aired September 10, 2005 - 10:00   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Forced to flee their homes, torn from their families, thousands desperate to be reunited with their loved ones. This hour, our mission to bring them back together. From the CNN Center in Atlanta, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING, the tenth day of September and good morning, everyone. I'm Tony Harris.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And I'm Betty Nguyen here live in Houston where four of the main shelters are housed. There are 7,300 people now in these shelters including the Astrodome which you see behind me. Those numbers are really low compared to what we heard earlier this week where there was some 26 or 27,000. So people are moving out, Tony. They are finding temporary houses and they're getting their lives back in order.

HARRIS: That's great to hear, Betty. Back to you in just a couple of minutes.

Mission critical now. Here's the very latest on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Restoring order, the city attorney says New Orleans is now fully secured. Around 14,000 troops are patrolling the streets. To date, there have been 200 arrests.

FEMA is scrapping its debit card program for hurricane evacuees. The agency is switching to direct bank deposit because it requires less staff. FEMA had passed out about 4,200 debit cards worth up to $2,000 each to evacuees inside Houston's Astrodome.

A huge Navy helicopter or a hospital ship is now docked off the Mississippi coast. The USNS Comfort will later move on to the New Orleans area. Authorities say the number of people waiting to be evacuated in New Orleans is going down. A mandatory evacuation order is still in effect but this time police have not been told to forcibly remove residents.

It'll take a month to dry out most of New Orleans, and the outlying areas. That's the latest estimate from workers whose are patching up the city's levee system. It could take even longer to pump the water out of some areas.

And hundreds of Katrina evacuees remain at the Astrodome in Houston, Texas. And Betty, many of these people are searching for their loved ones.

NGUYEN: Tony, they have been searching for their loved ones for over a week now. Many are very desperate. They want to get the information out not only to find their loved ones but let their loved ones that they, too, are alive. Let's talk to Chris Smith. He is missing several family members. Chris, tell me who you're looking for.

CHRIS SMITH, ASTRODOME EVACUEE: I'm looking for my mother and my two sisters who live in Bogalusa and my brother William Smith.

NGUYEN: When did you last speak with them?

SMITH: It was about the 2nd of this month, the 2nd of August.

NGUYEN: The 2nd of September?

SMITH: September.

NGUYEN: So, it was after the storm had hit?

SMITH: No, before the storm.

NGUYEN: Oh, it's before the storm. I know the days run together out here because a lot of folks are looking for lost loved ones. You've been through so much. Were they evacuating when you last spoke with them?

SMITH: Well, they had just said that they would try to ride out the storm, that they were going to stay in that area that the storm was in the path to.

NGUYEN: So obviously, that has you worried because do you know what happened to that particular area?

SMITH: Well, that particular area they say was wiped out.

NGUYEN: Wiped out. You haven't heard a single word. What are you doing to try and find them? Are you getting on the registry system here in Houston?

SMITH: Yes. I put myself on the computer online, my location and my name and where I can be found. And it went worldwide. And also I'm calling on the telephone. I'm calling every day.

NGUYEN: You're doing everything you can. Are you here by yourself?

SMITH: Yes, I am.

NGUYEN: No family members with you?

SMITH: No, no family members with me. But there (ph) are friends and family who stay in this state.

NGUYEN: That's good, so maybe you will have place to stay and some family nearby. Well, let's get their names out there. And before we do that, if they're watching or anyone they know is watching, that can tell you that they're indeed alive, what would you like to say to your family members? SMITH: Well, I would like to say that I'm all right for now. Please don't worry about my life that I might not be alive or I might not be well. I'm in pretty good shape and I would like to see you all and talk to you all. Or would you please try to call me and contact me, Mom, Edna and Gwen (ph) or William and Linda, as soon as you can. I'd like to hear from you all and make sure you all are OK too.

NGUYEN: And we have a phone number to put up. Indeed, you don't even have a cell phone out here. It's so hard, so many of these folks looking for lost loved ones don't even have cell phones, so they're giving out what number they can. This is a number we're going to put up. Is it at a hotel where you're staying?

SMITH: Yes, it is.

NGUYEN: OK. It is 713-523-3777, and it's extension 280. Chris Smith, he is alive, he's well, he just wants to find his missing family members.

On top of adults whose are missing, of course there are many children who are missing. And these are really some of the smallest victims in all of this. They're too young to say their names, who their parents are, where they come from. Kathleen Koch is live in Alexandria, Virginia to talk about what's being done to help these children find their parents. Kathleen?

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And it's just a gargantuan task Betty, here at the National Center For Missing and Exploited Children. They have a phone bank that is running every day from 8:00 a.m. to midnight and some 50 volunteers, all trained law enforcement officers are taking the calls, 25 on at a time, doing everything they can to try and reconnect all these children with their parents.

Now, with me now is Ernie Allen, who's the president of the National Center of -- Mr. Allen, how is it going? How are you doing in this task? I understand there's some 1,500 children missing?

ERNIE ALLEN, PRESIDENT, NATIONAL CENTER OF MISSING AND EXPLOITED CHILDREN: It's going very well. The public has responded in a very impressive way, and we've handled more than 10,000 calls. There are 1,500 reports of missing children. The good news is that 258 of those children have been recovered and reunited with their parents.

KOCH: Why don't you give us the full number, and again, talk a little bit about the volunteers as well who are helping here and how careful they are about what information they take, what information they give and repeat to people.

ALLEN: Well, the phone number is 888-544-5475, and these are retired law enforcement, FBI, Secret Service, state and local officers. They're capturing the information, we're verifying the information, and then we're working directly with state and local law enforcement and other agencies to try to identify these children.

KOCH: Mr. Allen, thank you. Now what we'd like to do is put up the images of two children who are on this massive bank. First of all, Patrick Sullivan. Now this is someone who is missing, the parents are looking for him. This was the most recent photo they have of him. He's eight years old, born January 24th, 1997. He was last seen on August 24th in New Orleans with his grandparents.

Now, the next photo we'll show you is of a little girl, four years old, Marisa Ceasar, who has been found. She is looking for her parents. She was found on September 4th in New Orleans, picked up from the New Orleans Airport September 4th, 2005. Again, being a four-year-old, she can't really share information about her date of birth. No one really knows when she was born.

Apparently she told those who found her she may have a five-year- old brother. The only other information we have is that Marisa has eczema scars on her arms. So a very, very big job the folks have here ahead of them, Betty, but they're doing all they can and will be for days and weeks to come.

NGUYEN: You know, Kathleen, it is just so heartbreaking just like you said. We have very little information, authorities have very little information about these victims, their names, where they came from, their parents. It's just so hard to begin to imagine the ordeal and what their parents are going through.

They probably don't have an idea -- a clue where to find their children at this point, but obviously there are people there hoping to make that connection, and we'd love to bring those stories when they happen. Thank you, Kathleen.

Tony, back to you.

HARRIS: Thank you, Betty. As Kathleen and Betty just mentioned, those affected most by Katrina are perhaps its youngest victims. Many have been separated from their families. Others are simply struggling to come to terms with their fate. Our Gary Tuchman has been talking to some of them in Baton Rouge.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In a smoky men's room in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, a little boy gets a haircut from a man he doesn't even know.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hold on, stay still just like that.

TUCHMAN: Little DJ is now living a life he has never known, as a boy without a home. He, three brothers and sisters and his mom are now residents of this cavernous sports arena, with thousands of people sleeping on cots and on the floor. It's confusing enough for the adults. Imagine being a kid.

(on-camera): How old are you DJ?

DJ: Four.

TUCHMAN: Four years old? I'm 44.

DJ: Forty-four.

TUCHMAN: Forty-four. Nice haircut, by the way.

DJ: Yes.

TUCHMAN: How do you like my haircut.

DJ: You don't (ph) got a haircut.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): DJ is one of about 600 children here, who have lost their homes, their schools, and many of the things they knew. Here, they're having to get used to being frisked, by armed members of the National Guard.

(on camera): Do you know what happened to your house? What happened.

DJ: It broke.

TUCHMAN: It broke.

(voice-over): Most of the school aged children here have just started their new school year in the New Orleans area. Arnie Olsen (ph) is five and was just getting into the swing of kindergarten. Now he too has to find a new house.

(on camera): What don't you like about being here?

It's because I can't go to sleep here really and because this floor is hard and because people being spitting all over.

TUCHMAN: People be what?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Spitting all over.

TUCHMAN: Spitting on the floor?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

TUCHMAN: That's not too good, is it?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. And throwing trash on the floor.

TUCHMAN: That must be hard, because you don't do that at home, right?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.

TUCHMAN: What's your favorite part of it here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's kind of like fun because I have new friends.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): There are plenty of kids to play with, but the fun comes amid chaos little kids shouldn't have to deal with.

A woman is on one of the few pay phones too long. She gets warned about it, and angrily leaves the shelter with her young son.

This environment is not conducive to normalcy. The sadness is everywhere. This little girl is told to draw pictures to let her feelings out.

UNIDENTFIED FEMALE: I made this with Hurricane Katrina.

TUCHMAN: Ten-year-old Maya Isadore (ph) is here with an aunt, her mother Debra Isadore (ph) was at work when the hurricane struck. And Maya doesn't know where she is now.

(on camera): What kind of lady is your mom?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A caring mom, a nice mom, a nice mother. She cared for me a lot. She's beautiful. She's nice.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): Children who gained an understanding of adversity while losing some of their youthful innocence.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

Now, we've dealt with so much bad news the last 12 days, it's great to report this. After we filed the story, we found out that little Maya (ph), the 10-year-old girl who you just met, has found her mother Debra (ph). Here's what happened. Debra (ph) and Maya (ph) were in the same shelter in Baton Rouge.

Debra (ph) could not find her daughter. She was desperate so she got a ride to Houston to stay with a relative. Her cellular phone wasn't working. Well, yesterday, last night, Maya (ph) tried her cellular phone again and reached her mother. Her mother had no way of reaching Maya (ph) to know what happened to her. They're back in touch. Debra (ph) will now head back to Baton Rouge and will reunite with her little daughter Maya (ph). A happy ending to that story. Tony?

HARRIS: That's great. Gary Tuchman for us.

Now in the news, the highly criticized sized director of FEMA has been removed as the on-site leader for hurricane relief efforts on the Gulf Coast. Mike Brown was recalled to Washington yesterday to handle administrative duties and to keep an eye on Tropical Storm Ophelia off the Atlantic Coast. He's been replaced by Vice Admiral Thad Allen, the chief of staff of the U.S. Coast Guard.

Urban warfare in northern Iraq. The curfew was in effect in the city of Talafar where U.S. and Iraqi soldiers are on a house to house search for insurgents. Troops have killed more than 140 militants in the Talafar over the last two days.

Six months after the deadly shootings at Atlanta's Fulton County Courthouse, security issues linger. A task force of judges charged with improving courthouse security say surveillance cameras are not operating and faulty doors have yet to be fixed. A judge was among three people killed at the courthouse. A federal agent was killed a few miles away. The suspect, Brian Nichols, faces the death penalty if convicted.

Still ahead this hour on CNN LIVE SATURDAY, how one woman is making Houston home for so many that have been displaced by the storm. And we'll show you how cities across the country are helping those still hurting from Hurricane Katrina. We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Well, good morning and thanks for joining us. I'm Betty Nguyen live here in Houston right outside of the Astrodome shelter. This whole area -- it's called the Reliant Park area. It's home of three of the four main shelters here in Houston. We talked a lot this week about the assistance that's being provided, the debit cards and the temporary housing.

We also talked a lot about people searching for loved ones. I got to meet two children, two precious little children who are so young they can't even tell you their names. But they are indeed searching for their parents. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN (on camera): You know every day we bring you stories of people looking for loved ones. These are children who haven't found their parents who are too young to tell you their name and that is the situation. Texas Child Protective Services is facing. We're here with Estella Olguin with Texas Child Protective Services. Tell me who we have with us today.

ESTELLA OLGUIN, CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES: Well, here we have a little boy. We think he's either two or three years old. We think his name might be David. He was brought by a baby-sitter to the Superdome and then made it -- somehow, made it to the CPS lost children's section last Friday. And here we have an 18-month old girl. We do know her name is Shakine Williams (ph) and her mother is Melkim Williams (ph). And her mother is only 13 also.

NGUYEN: Only 13 years old, so she, herself, is a missing child.

OLGUIN: Yes. And we hope that if -- you know, it could be that their parents are in a another shelter, perhaps even in another state. And we hope that we can find them this way. If heir parents are watching, we just want them to know that their children are OK. But we do want them to call us so that we can reunite them with their kids.

NGUYEN: Well, you know something she keeps saying, she keeps saying mama, mama. She apparently knows that she is not with her mother. What are we doing for children like this? Because it's got to be so -- just really difficult for them.

OLGUIN: It is. Right now what we're trying to do is just, you know, of course, provide them a safe and loving home, reassure them that they're going to be OK, try to let them have normal routines every day, and just try to keep them happy for now. But we do know they need their parents. NGUYEN: They actually do need their parents. She is now with a foster parent, the little girl. And these foster parents are so wonderful, too, because they've come out and they're taking care of these children until these children can find their real parents.

And hopefully through CNN and other sources they can because these are little, innocent victims who have no way to provide any information but are stranded without their parents. One more time if you would, please, give us that phone number.

OLGUIN: If they can call 1-800-the-lost, which is the National Center For Missing And Exploited Children. And they have the national database.

NGUYEN: All right. Well, best of luck to you. You're doing a wonderful job, and hopefully we can find the parents of these children. Precious children, but they need help finding their moms and dads. Please call that number.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NYUGEN: And, you know, Tony, that just really broke my heart when she kept crying for her mother. Every woman who walked by, she would say mama. Of course, she's so young, just 18-months old. Her mother is only 13. And as we mentioned she, too, is a missing child who is missing her child. So we've got a number of situations on our hands out here in Houston at the shelters.

There another number people can call though, even if you're not missing a child. If you're just missing a lost loved one, you can call 1-877-loved-1s. Called loved 1s. 1-877-loved-1s. And that is the national number for the Red Cross, which will link you to family members out there.

HARRIS: Let's hope we can make these connections, Betty. Back to you in just a couple of minutes. Thank you.

Houston's Astrodome may be the best known of the Katrina evacuee shelters but others have opened up all across the country. About a quarter million evacuees are staying in hundreds of shelters. The states in orange have been taking refugees, evacuees in, and as you can see it is a big chunk of the nation.

Checking in on some of those cities across America, in Salt Lake City, Utah, a fund raiser is being held for evacuees this afternoon. Hundreds of them are being sheltered at a National Guard training camp near the city and proceeds from the city's Greek festival will go to hurricane victims.

Dozens of Gulf Coast evacuees from arrived in Philadelphia and are already settling in. The evacuees got a tour of Philly's public housing and many of them have claimed apartments. Also a vacant school has been turned into a makeshift shelter.

Chicago has set up a disaster relief center to help Katrina evacuees. They've been registering for aid with a local chapter of the Red Cross at a rate of 300 a day. Meantime, colleges across Illinois are taking in s Louisiana students who have been displaced by the hurricane. More than 250 of them are now enrolled at Loyola University in Chicago.

If you thought eight is enough, how about fitting more than 50 people in your house? Ahead, one woman does just that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You can go further. It's up to you to decide what I'm going to do with this. If you want to live, lay down there and do nothing, that's on you. But my heart said get up and move.

HARRIS: Why this woman says housing 57 people is still not enough. Plus, a baby in the midst of the storm, but that's not the only surprise for the parents. Their story coming up.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VICTORIA COULTHER: This is Victoria Coulther, I'm looking for my mother, Sarah (ph) Coulther and my daddy, David Douglas (ph) and my little brothers and sisters. I'm at the Reliant Arena?

WILBERT SCOTT: My name is Wilbert Scott. I'm from Atlanta, Georgia. I've been in Houston, Texas, since Friday night. I'm looking for my daughter, Angel Marie Scott (ph). She was supposedly rescued from her home on august 29 at 10:00 a.m. and put on top of the 610 overpass. We have not heard from her since Monday morning.

Her mother was the last person to talk to her. We do know she was on the roof of her home with her two children and her fiance. Angel, please call your daddy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK):

HARRIS: Tomorrow is the fourth anniversary of a terrorist attack that changed America forever. And while the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina continues to demand the nation's attention, President Bush is taking the opportunity to discuss the issues.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES: In this time of great suffering we have seen the courage and determination of rescue personnel who willingly risk their lives to save the lives of others. We have seen the spirit of army America's armies of compassion, who rallied in response to this tragedy.

Faith-based organizations and community groups and individual citizens across the country are caring for those affected by the storm. In comforting those whose loved ones are lost or missing, across our country, Americans are generously opening their homes and hearts to brothers an sisters in need.

HARRIS: Head upstairs now to the CNN Weather Center and Bonnie Schneider for the latest on Tropical Storm Ophelia. Bonnie, good morning.

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Tony. Tropical Storm Ophelia is a strong tropical storm because maximum winds are at 70 miles per hour. Remember, once those winds get a little bit stronger, about 74 or greater, this storm will become a hurricane once again.

Ophelia is a storm that can't make up its mind. It's been waffling between tropical storm status and hurricane status. And not only is that changing, but the direction of Ophelia is also changing as well.

Right now the movement is to the northeast at ten miles per hour, so moving away from the U.S. mainland. Unfortunately this pattern will not persist. We're expecting a turn as early as tomorrow. So within the next 12 to 24 hours the storm are eventually slow down and turn back towards the U.S. coast. Question is, where will Ophelia go?

This cone of uncertainty is quite wide. It goes all the way from the North Carolina coastline down through southern Georgia coast. We're watching to see where and when Ophelia will make its turn, and then we'll have a better idea of where its going to go. Any coastal concerns certainly keep watch for Ophelia because not only will this storm turn back towards the coastline, but it's strengthen as well.

In the meantime the way it's affecting the mainland right now is some rough surf along the Carolina coast, even down to northern Florida. Up to the north it's cool. We're getting a touch of fall in two locations, up here into northern New England where temperatures dropped down into the 30s early this morning and also towards the Pacific Northwest where we had freeze warnings in effect for Oregon and northern California.

It's still hot though in the center of the country. Some hot, dry air coming up into Kansas. It will be windy there as well. Look for high temperatures in this part of the country in the mid 90s. So, we're kind of getting a touch of both seasons, summer and fall and we're certainly going to keep track of Tropical Storm Ophelia -- Tony.

HARRIS: Bonnie, thank you. And to track Tropical Storm Ophelia and to keep abreast of the latest Hurricane Katrina developments, point your browser to our Web site at CNN.com.

Talk a about a full house. One Houston woman has opened her heart, home and her wallet to more than 50 evacuees. We'll take you inside.

Plus a newborn baby wasn't the only surprise this evacuee couple received. See what else the storm dropped in.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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