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CNN Live Saturday

Information About How Evacuees Can Cope With the Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina

Aired September 10, 2005 - 15:30   ET

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

JOHN DEGNAN, AMERICA RED CROSS: ...Red Cross has almost 30 different specialties in terms of its services. You might be involved in a logistics capacity, which would be watering, tracking supplies, moving supplies and you need special training for that. You might be working in a kitchen, in a field kitchen, and you need, you know, it's not like cooking eggs for your family. You know, it's like cooking dinner for 6,000 people, so it's a whole different kind of, in terms of recipes and how you prepare recipes and how you serve that, how you maintain and work with the health department people to make sure everything's fine, so it depends on the specialty.
I would think three to six hours' worth of training, minimally. We require all of our volunteers to be trained in first aid and CPR as a basic. We require all of our volunteers to make sure that their own health is taken care of, so that we have healthy volunteers coming to work with people, so that they're effective on the job.

But the amount of training that they need is dependent on the kind of job they're doing. But that training will be available locally within their own chapters and once they're recruited and once they're trained, then they'll be looked to schedule those volunteers to come into the area as we go forward. The first replenishment of volunteers is going to be two weeks away, so we've got to work with the volunteers we have and train new ones. Three weeks after that we're going to be looking to bring more volunteers into the area. So, it's going to be an ongoing process that will go on for many months and we're going to need a lot of people to do that.

QUESTION: And the typical stint, are you saying is three weeks or what...

DEGNAN: The typical deployment is three weeks.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Last question and Mr. Degnan will be available later.

DEGNAN: Yes.

QUESTION: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) are you in danger of running short on volunteers for this effort?

DEGNAN: We have a lot of dedicated people and if you asked a Red Cross, you know, it's not a 9:00 to 5:00 type of operation.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: All right, looks like we lost that signal temporarily, hopefully, out of Baton Rouge there where we're hearing from John Degnan, he's the public affairs specialist with the American Red Cross announcing an unprecedented volunteer drive to try to recruit some 40,000 people that the American Red Cross wants to train. Let's listen in some more now.

DEGNAN: ...is fresh talent and people who are going to be involved for the first time and once they've had the training and once they've had the experience that Red Cross will give them in the field, you have a whole new corps of volunteers to be available to this country if there's another, god forbid, another disaster, another problem that would require an additional force like this. You have 40,000 new people, so not only do we need them here, but we will need them in the future as well. Thank you. I'll be available to you off- camera.

WHITFIELD: Again, a bit more from John Degnan, the public affairs for Red Cross, saying that the volunteers will be working in three-week cycles. Right now, they are running some 675 shelters across the country, and that underscores the need for 40,000 more volunteers.

DAN HITCHINGS, U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS: We have a presidentially declared disaster like this, we work -- we follow FDMA's lead into all of these disaster areas, and we've become, in a sense, America's bank. In that sense we not only help business owner, we help home owners, we help renters that have lost personal property, we can even help individuals that have lost a vehicle in the flood and perhaps only had liability insurance. These are low-interest, long- term loans. There is an application process, we encourage everyone to call the FEMA. 1-800, number to register and that will automatically put them in cue for an SBA loan application.

In addition to that, at every disaster recovery center, we will have SBA loan officers available. They will be issuing applications, and answering questions to anyone interested in our program. It's an important part of the program, in the sequence of the delivery, because after they come to FEMA, then to SBA, we approve them for a loan. If for some reason we can't approve them, then we refer them back to FEMA for possible grant assistance. That's just a quick overview of the program and I'd be happy to take some questions.

QUESTION: For example, renters -- what can a renter ask for?

HITCHINGS: Our -- the loan limit for personal property is $40,000 for renters, and the same for home owners. If you'd like me to run through -- for a home owner it's $200,000 for real property damage, $40,000 for contents, the same for renters, and for business owners, the loan lended $1.5 million.

QUESTION: Have you already started providing (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

HITCHINGS: Absolutely we're taking applications daily through the centers, through the mail, and those are being processed as we speak.

QUESTION: They're in the pipeline, but has anybody actually received the funds? HITCHINGS: I didn't bring any statistical information with me and I'm sure we can cover that at a later news conference.

QUESTION: Do you have any guesstimates yet about how many small businesses in New Orleans area you expect you could possibly serve?

HITCHINGS: No, we don't have any estimates and we're just kind of planning for the worst really and we assumed just about everyone could be affected. Not only -- it's important to note that we not only help with physical damage, but part of the business loan can be an economic injury. So, perhaps your business didn't have any physical damage, but obviously, you're closed, you're out of town and you've obviously suffered an economic injury. That's part of the loan package also. Thank you.

HITCHINGS: Any questions of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers? Mr. Hitchings's available, right?

QUESTION: Is it -- you direct the estimates on the draining New Orleans have moved up considerable from earlier?

HITCHINGS: Yeah, I've got some of the dates here for us, that I can share with you. The question was, have we moved up the dates for expectation of when we'll get the water pumped out of the currently flooded areas.

QUESTION: Can you identify yourself?

HITCHINGS: Yeah, name is Dan Hitchings with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

QUESTION: how do you spell it?

HITCHINGS: H-i-t-c-h-i-n-g-s.

QUESTION: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

HITCHINGS: I am director of regional business at the Mississippi Valley division of the flood -- of the Corps of Engineers.

The New Orleans area, the primary flooded area where the 17th Street Canal and London Canal is, is currently projected for two, October; the New Orleans east area, eight, October; Chalmette, the St. Bernard Parish, eight -- also eight, October and Plaquemine Parish, 18, October. Those dates on the longest side, cut the date, the time about in half, we were looking at about 80 days and the revised estimate takes it to about 40. The shorter ones didn't really change very much.

QUESTION: What was the last one?

HITCHINGS: Eighteen, October, Plaquemine Parish.

QUESTION: Explain how you were able to cut those in half? Is it (UNINTELLIGIBLE) of the number of pumps that you've had up working or... HITCHINGS: Exactly. It really is the number of pumps, the size of the pumps, the addition of temporary pumps, and how many of them we have going at one time. That's really what it's about.

QUESTION: How many pumps do you have up?

HITCHINGS: We -- today, well, let me say, actually as of yesterday, as we get the reports in at the end of the day -- 35 pumps were operating in pumping stations, and we had 39 portable pumps operating.

QUESTION: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

HITCHINGS: Under the permanent pumps, there was 10,485, and the portable pumps, were 723.

QUESTION: Can you explain the number of pumps (UNINTELLIGIBLE)?

HITCHINGS: There is 174 total in all of the parishes, including Jefferson Parish, which, you know, we're not needing to operate any of those. So there's -- but there are 174 total.

QUESTION: Is that 40 days is when it will be (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

WHITFIELD: This press out of Baton Rouge from FEMA, what has become the FEMA command post, kind of running the gamut on the progress report, the Army Corps of Engineers saying now it appears that most of the water will have been drained out of New Orleans east area, as well as other parishes, St. Bernard and Plaquemine Parish, all by mid-October that is might possibly be dried out and that is great hope for the Army Corps of Engineers because originally they had estimated that it would take about 80 days, now it's down to about 40 days. You also heard from the small business administration, say that obviously a lot of livelihoods were impacted, many businesses that have since had to fold because of the water, because of this hurricane, now they're issuing some small business administration loans.

And the American Red Cross, you heard from, the public affairs specialist who is trying to encourage as many people as possible to step forward, because they need 40,000 volunteers. It's an unprecedented number and for the first time the American Red Cross is issuing this kind of plea, going out to the American public, because right now, they're operating some 675 shelters across the country, and they want to circulate the volunteers in and out of the process every three weeks, and the American Red Cross would like to train these volunteers as well, and that's why they're looking for that number of 40,000.

We'll continue our coverage of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Biloxi, Mississippi is the states's third biggest city, but Katrina destroyed more than one-fifth of it, more than 5,000 buildings in all. Tens of thousands of people there are now homeless and in dire need. CNN's Allan Chernoff joins us from Biloxi to tell us more about the cleanup effort.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right across the street where the hurricane literally flattened homes is the U.S. Navy, camped here on the beach. This is Camp Restore and half of the sailors in those tents were on their leave, they were called back, they had been in the Mediterranean just two weeks ago. They're joined by sailors who are offshore in the Gulf of Mexico on the USS Baton and the USS Wigby Island. Everyday they come ashore; they've been helping with the cleanup process and working on the sewage system, getting the water back in shape, and getting help, as well, from Mexican sailors and also sailors from the Netherlands, making this truly an international effort to get the Gulf Coast back on its feet.

Allan Chernoff, CNN, Biloxi, Mississippi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN ANCHOR: Well, limited delivery of U.S. mail in the region hit by Hurricane Katrina's resuming. The Post Office and the Federal Express are delivering to the Astrodome in Houston, which now has its own zip code for evacuees. Join us now is post master general, John Potter, to explain how his workers are handling the emergency.

Thanks so much for being with us.

JOHN POTTER, POST MASTER GENERAL: Good afternoon, Zain.

VERJEE: How should people, who are now in temporary housing, get their mail, if they want their mail?

POTTER: Well, people in temporary -- wherever we have relocation centers we've set up post offices, we're giving them temporary addresses, we're asking them to file a change of address notice. And it's not only people in relocation centers, but we have a lot of people who have moved throughout the country, we're asking everybody to give us information, come to the post office and fill out a change of address notice, or get online at www.USPS.com and fill out a change of address or call 1-800-ASK-USPS and give us change of address information. And don't worry, the mail will follow you. We recognize that a lot of you are in temporary locations. You may move again, but we need that address information so that the mail can follow you as you move around the country.

VERJEE: What are you doing with the mail that's already in the mail stream?

POTTER: The mail that's already in the mail stream is being run through our systems, as we have restored delivery to much of the area. For those zip codes where we cannot deliver, we're running that mail across our postal automation redirection system which will pull out the mail that's to be forwarded, and will put new labels on it and move that mail to wherever people are in the country.

VERJEE: How are you working to get social security checks to people who've been affected that need it and depend on it to survive?

POTTER: Immediately after the hurricane and then the subsequent flood, we set up delivery units for those affected in the area, where those people receiving social security checks, retirement checks, disability checks, came and picked up their checks. There were 17,000 checks in the mail. We were able to deliver 15,000 of them. We will forward, we will work with the Social Security Administration to make sure the other people who did not receive them get them, but we need information, again, we need change of address information, so that we can affect delivery wherever you are in the country. We want to bring that sense of normalcy back in your life. Every day you receive mail from -- through the United States Postal Service, and we want to make sure that mail delivery is restored, regardless of where you are.

VERJEE: Now you know a lot of people will send the tremendous amount of junk mail.

POTTER: Well we don't...

VERJEE: Is that going to impede some of the efforts that you're trying to make in being more effective? Do you want to tell people, look don't send junk mail for now?

POTTER: Well, first of all it's not "junk mail." It's advertising mail, and the businesses that depend and the charities, by the way, that depend on advertising mail to solicit for donations are using the postal service today to generate funds for the hurricane victims and the flood victims. We have worked with the advertising community. They have held back from putting advertising mail into the system and as zip codes come online, and the previous time I was on we shared a map with you and showed the areas affected by the storm, for the most part, we've retoryd delivery to all but the very tip of Mississippi, the communities right on the water, and the city of New Orleans, but as those zip codes back online, our advertisers are going to put mail back into the system and they've work very closely with us to -- a very coordinated approach to make sure that the priority was given to first class mail, to checks, to medications that had to go to customers, so we're working as a community to bring back the mail to everyone who needs it.

VERJEE: John Potter with the U.S. Postal Services, thank you so much.

POTTER: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Children of the storm, lost, displaced from their parents. Some don't even know where they are. Some are too young to even identify themselves. Right now people are working to reunite some of these kids with their families. We'll go live to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I'm Jacqui Jeras in the CNN Weather Center with the latest on Hurricane Ophelia. Winds now up at 80 miles-per-hour and a little bit of strengthening is going to be possible today. The center of circulation pretty easy to pick out here on satellite imagery, about 225 miles away from Charleston, South Carolina. Right now, it's really not moving a whole heck of a lot, just kind of drifting around in this area. We are expecting it to pick up a little bit of speed probably about 24 hours from now and an area of high pressure is going to push in and bring it closer towards the coast.

Hurricane watches have been posted from the Savannah River extending up towards Cape Lookout, meaning hurricane conditions are possible within 36 hours. We are expecting it to move off to the west sometime tomorrow. It's going to take its time heading towards the coast and our best estimate at this time is that it would be making landfall maybe late Monday or early Tuesday, but still some uncertainty. We've got to wait for the steering to begin to kick in and there is quite a big margin here of uncertainty.

Stay tuned. We'll have more after a break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Going into two weeks now after Katrina, and imagine after all this time, still not knowing where your child is. Well, there are more than 1,000 cases just like this. Let's check in again with the Centers for Missing and Exploited Children and that's where we find our Kathleen Koch to see what their efforts have been like -- Kathleen.

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, as you said, I tell you the number now is more than 1,800 children who are still missing after the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina, but the phone banks here at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children have been just so busy since they started Monday at Noon, really operating, not quite around the clock but from 8:00 in the morning until Midnight. And one of the volunteers here helping make a big difference, are all retired law enforcement, is Bob Davis. He's a former lieutenant detective with NYPD and he has a reunion story to tell us about he brought about yesterday.

Bob, tell us a little bit about what happened.

BOB DAVIS, RETIRED DETECTIVE LT., NYPD: Well, we had a call from a grandmother, who was looking for her grandchildren, and she had a cell phone number for her daughter, which she could not reach, but I managed to reach it got the daughter, one small child, a 4-year-old was in custody of the mother already, and she was going to a second older child at a shelter.

KOCH: What was grandmother's reaction when you got the news to her?

DAVIS: Ecstatic. That's all I can say. It made my whole day, when I told her that the children, the one little one was found, and the older one was in a shelter and the mother was on the way. She was "god blessing" me and so forth and so on, but I...

KOCH: Bob, important work you're doing here, but obviously there's an important anniversary coming up tomorrow, the fourth anniversary of 9/11. As a New Yorker what is your perspective, what are your thoughts on standing here now today, four years later dealing with another national disaster?

DAVIS: Well, I spent 38 years in the police department. I was in the C.R. of the missing person's squad, I was in the disaster response team. You have to look forward, not backward. There'll always be more disasters, this one just happens to be the biggest one. I'm glad I'm able to help.

KOCH: thank you so much, Bob Davis, NYPD.

And again, just -- Fredricka, one of many volunteer, at least 50 they have here helping out doing what some might think of as mission impossible there, but they're really accomplishing a lot of good. Roughly 366 children who have now been reunited with their families because of their efforts here. Back to you.

WHITFIELD: Wow. Still, as you said, Kathleen, 1,800 other cases in that database and it's so important the volunteers give their time and effort like that. Kathleen Koch, thanks so much.

VERJEE: Our live coverage continues. Just ahead, how children are coping with Katrina from the youngest of kids finding their way around unfamiliar shelters, with thousands of strangers, to high school kids faced with fitting in. We're going to take a look at all ages. CNN LIVE SATURDAY: State of Emergency will be right back.

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