Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live At Daybreak

Fear of Undiscovered Death in Mississippi; Tensions Rising in New Orleans; Deadly Stampede in Baghdad

Aired August 31, 2005 - 5:00   ET

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

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: It is Wednesday, August 31. Rising waters, rising fears. New Orleans this morning is the Big Uneasy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The federal, state and local governments are working side by side to do all we can to help people get back on their feet. And we have got a lot of work to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: A lot of work to do, indeed. He's sending in the Navy and planning an aerial survey himself.

Plus, running with the goods. Some are hoodlums, others are just trying to stay alive.

And a city and lifestyle challenged like never before. From Mobile to Biloxi to New Orleans, we've got reporters lined up to bring you the latest.

ANNOUNCER: From the Time Warner Center in New York, this is DAYBREAK with Carol Costello and Chad Myers.

COSTELLO: And good morning to you. Welcome to DAYBREAK.

People on the Gulf Coast awake this morning to see even more devastation from Hurricane Katrina. Let's get straight to Chad. He's in the weather center.

Good morning, Chad.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Carol.

The irony is now that Tropical Depression Katrina is way up to the north, just spreading rainfall from New York back down into about Chemung and even into -- oh, we'll call it northern sections of Pennsylvania. Here's our live Titan radar.

One big cell not that far from Williamsport. There is a big red box in the middle. That is -- yes, that is a tornado watch box for all of Pennsylvania.

Here's Williamsport and the points north to it from about Eagles Mere, right on up into the Poconos. And then the rain showers and thunderstorms, some of them severe, not that far from Elmira. That's what those -- those orange boxes mean.

There you go, Elmira. That's your storm right now, and that's going to be moving on off toward your area, pretty much like in the next 15 or 20 minutes. You're going to get rain and thunderstorms; you're already hearing the thunder at this point.

Here goes the storm, on up into Quebec and Ontario, really. There was an awful lot of heavy rain across parts of Kentucky and Tennessee, and there still is this morning. It's still not out of the way yet. But later on today it pulls on up into New York, pulls on up into Quebec, Ontario, and even into the Atlantic provinces.

Carol, we heard all day yesterday about the levee break in New Orleans. They have been dumping these 1,500-pound concrete barriers, the ones that they use to line the roadway with during construction, they've been dropping those in. And they've also been dropping 3,000- pound sandbags into that hole.

COSTELLO: And we're going to have an engineer on later, Chad, to explain to us what they can do, because they have to get that problem fixed before they can get the water out of there.

MYERS: This was the worst nightmare. A lot of meteorologists, including myself, thought that this breach would actually come during the storm, water would come over the top, but it actually occurred after the storm because the ground in the levee was so saturated with water, it just turned into a mud flow.

So sad.

COSTELLO: And, you know, the bowl, so to speak, is filling, because, as you know, New Orleans is in a bowl.

MYERS: Yes.

COSTELLO: And it's coming over. But like I said...

MYERS: It's still coming in.

COSTELLO: Still coming in. And we're going to have an engineer in the next hour of DAYBREAK.

Let's see where things stand two days after Hurricane Katrina now, before it brought such havoc to the region.

At least 2.2 million residents remain without power in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Some power outages stretch deep into those states. They aren't just along the coast.

Officials urging people not to touch any downed power lines or move tree limbs off them, or touch nearby metal objects. They remain serious, deadly safety hazards.

And across the region, it's the story of water, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink. More than one million people are without fresh water. Purification plants have been inundated by flooding. We begin our live coverage this morning where the fear of undiscovered death hovers above a thoroughly destroyed landscape. CNN's Ted Rowlands joins us from what's left of Biloxi, Mississippi.

Good morning.

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

It is pure devastation here in Biloxi, and along other cities on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. There are several cities that are completely wiped out.

You can see that this scene is being played out across this region. Some houses partially standing, many completely devastated, completely flattened.

Today, the work will continue on trying to get in and assessing if there are any rescue opportunities. FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Association, has sent rescue teams, including those specializing in searching collapsed buildings to go in and check out the rubble. They have been at it now for a full day, and they've been working 24-hour shifts.

They work in teams of 70 people. They have 18 teams here already, and more are on their way.

They also have teams of mortuary specialists, private citizens that are coming in to identify and process dead bodies. And that is something that is expected to rise considerably, and that is the death toll here in Mississippi, along the Gulf Coast, as they go in and they assess this.

You have to keep in mind that this is just not one city. It is a number of cities. And the question is, how many people stayed behind? How many people tried to weather this storm, thinking they could get through it unscathed? It is those people that the folks are worried about and that most likely did not make it because of the pure devastation.

It is a long, long road ahead, Carol, not only today and through this week, next week. It's going to be years before cities like Biloxi are back to where they were before Katrina came through.

COSTELLO: Ted, a question for you. Where are people sleeping? I mean, where are you sleeping? Are there facilities for them?

ROWLANDS: Well, yes. There's no water and no electricity. Some hotels are open for the media specifically. But people who lived here, used to live here, are staying presumably in other areas or shelters and coming in.

But there's a curfew in effect, and police are managing people, telling them to get away. And anybody who does have a home here who is curious is urged not to come back, and not to come back for some time, because there just isn't -- there isn't water, there isn't electricity, and, quite frankly, it's not safe. So there aren't a lot of people milling around. The numbers of people are growing with each day, but at this point that hasn't been a problem. I'm sure it will be as people, curious, wanting to see what's left of their homes, do venture back in. The highway is opened up, but there's not much here in terms of services, that's for sure.

COSTELLO: All right. Ted Rowlands, reporting live from Biloxi, Mississippi, this morning.

Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour says he's astounded by the severity of the damage left in Katrina's wake. Barbour vows to rebuild but admits it will not be easy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. HALEY BARBOUR (R), MISSISSIPPI: The debris is stacked up in some places many feet tall, which is one of the reasons that we're having such difficulty in making speedy progress on search and rescue. That the road, many roads, continue to be impassable because they have three feet or five feet of debris in them. I can only imagine that this is what Hiroshima looked like 60 years ago.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: All waterfront casinos were obliterated by the storm, meaning Mississippi loses $500,000 a day in tax revenues alone.

Let's move westward now, into the city of New Orleans.

While the waters continue to rise in the Big Easy, so do the tensions. Widespread looting has led to the deployment of National Guard troops and S.W.A.T. teams into downtown areas. One police officer was shot after he surprised a looter in the act. He's expected to be OK. More troops are expected to arrive today.

Looters have been breaking into businesses and homes. Look at them. They're just brazen. Some actually told reporters they were just trying to feed their families while they were stuck in the flooded areas, but as you can see, they were moving out more than food. Others have been seen carrying away microwaves and other items that are seemingly useless at this point, because, as you know, there's no electricity in the city of New Orleans.

The Louisiana governor, Kathleen Blanco, wants to get people out of New Orleans. She says plans are being put together to evacuate the Superdome. As many as 20,000 people are holed up in the city shelter of last resort. Blanco says it is not a pleasant place to be.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. KATHLEEN BLANCO (D), LOUISIANA: It's not a very comfortable situation right now, you can imagine. There's no power. It's hot. You know, difficult to get food to them now that the water is -- there's water lapping at the foot of the Superdome now.

(END VIDEO CLIP) COSTELLO: New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin says, despite the need to get people out of those cramped conditions, well, he says it's not going to be easy either.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR RAY NAGIN (D), NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA: They're going to be stuck there for a little bit longer because of the rising waters as it relates to the levee breach. But we are actively working on a plan to relocate those individuals to a much better facility. But unfortunately, in the city of New Orleans, with 80-plus percent of it under water, we don't have a lot of options locally.

They will be at the Superdome for at least another week, unless we decide to evacuate because of the rising waters. And if there's a loss in generator power in the Superdome, it just escalates the challenge.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: And that will not be a pretty sight, because, as you know, the toilets are overflowing there. They're having sewage problems. And the governor mentioned cruise ships, but we don't know if that plan will go into effect.

Nagin's frustrated was evident also when he blasted what he called a lack of coordination in relief efforts. The mayor was fuming over a scrapped plan to plug a breach near a canal that could have held back some floodwater. Crews scheduled to do the repairs had to be diverted to the rescue team -- or diverted to rescue storm victims, rather.

Listen to what the mayor had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are there too many cooks in the kitchen? Is that what I hear you saying, Mr. Mayor?

NAGIN: Absolutely. In my opinion, there's way too many (EXPLETIVE DELETED) -- excuse me -- cooks in the kitchen. We had this implementation plan going. They should have done these sandbag operations first thing this morning, and it didn't get done. And quite frankly, I'm very upset about it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: A footnote this morning. New Orleans International Airport is up and running, but only for emergency relief and medical flights. One lone runway was opened yesterday at Louis Armstrong Airport, which is west of the city. All airports in this vicinity have been closed to commercial air traffic.

So many people are in need of help. If you want to donate, contact any of these organizations: the American Red Cross, Operation Blessing, or America's Second Harvest. Telephone numbers are on your screen there, and you can always go to our Web site, CNN.com., for a complete list of aid organizations.

Coming up on DAYBREAK, it's not just big cities dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Throughout DAYBREAK this morning, we'll take you to some of the small towns along the Gulf Coast that have been devastated by the storm. And of course we'll also update damage across those major cities in the -- you know, in cities like New Orleans, where there's no drinking water and food is now running scarce.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: International markets mixed this morning. Tokyo's Nikkei down nearly 40 points. The London FTSE looking brighter, up 42. The German DAX also up by 24.

We're also keeping a worried eye on oil prices. Yes, they're going up, just like the water.

Light, sweet crude oil futures are at $70.50 a barrel this morning. And you know what that translates to.

We are following some breaking news now out of Baghdad. There has been an incredible loss of life. More than 600 people killed.

A stampede over a bridge at a Shiite mosque left all of those people dead, and there could be poisoning involved. This is a very complicated and strange story, and a sad story, too.

Let's head live to Baghdad and Jennifer Eccleston.

Jennifer, what happened?

JENNIFER ECCLESTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, it was a scene of total chaos at this annual Shiite religious commemoration in northern Baghdad. Iraqi police are reporting 635 people died -- among them, women and children -- during a stampeded which erupted on a bridge over the Tigris River. This bridge is a major thoroughfare in order for these pilgrims to arrive at this mosque.

Now, according to a witness who told Iraqi police as the thousands of people walked to this revered Shiite shrine, someone in the crowd shouted that there was a suicide bomber. And as you can imagine, panic ensued as the crowds tried to flee. And early reports say that the railing of the bridge then collapsed and people tumbled off that bridge some 30 meters.

Police say while some of the people were crushed under the feet of those who were fleeing, the majority of the dead have drowned in the Tigris River. Now, police are saying that they expect that number of dead to rise, and that they are still pulling people from the river.

We also understand that 237 people have been injured and are being treated in five local hospitals, which are utterly, according to Iraqi police, overwhelmed by this tragedy. Now, earlier today, nerves were on edge because of a mortar attack on that very same shrine, the Kadhimiya mosque, which killed seven people and wounded 36 others. Now, just to give you a quick backgrounder about the history of today's event, thousands of Shiites from across the country, from across Baghdad, are gathering to commemorate the death of Imam Mousa al-Kadim. He's a prominent -- he was a prominent figure in Shiite history, and he's actually buried at that Kadhimiya mosque -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Yes, I was hoping you would explain those pictures that we're seeing to our viewers, and you have. Jennifer Eccleston, when you get more information we'll get back to you. Thank you.

Other stories "Now in the News."

Survivors of Hurricane Katrina will get a break from U.S. automakers. The big three say customers caught in the destructive storm will not have to make a car payment for 90 days. After that, of course, they'll have to pay up.

Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco has declared today a day of prayer in her state. Blanco says all Louisianans can do is pull together and find the strength they need to meet the challenges ahead.

President Bush plans to cut short his vacation in order to see the storm-ravished areas of Louisiana first-hand. Senator Mary Landrieu of Louisiana says the president will survey affected parishes on Friday.

All right. Let's head back to the weather center to check in with Chad.

Where is this storm now, and who is it affecting?

MYERS: The storm now is still a tropical depression, although it's really lost a lot of its intensity, Carol. In fact, even the hurricane center isn't even talking about the storm anymore. They've given it to the Hydromet Station, which means that this is really more of a rainmaker. That's what the "hydro" kind of means.

It's more of a rain and a flood maker, than a wind maker at this time. There is the center of the storm. You can still see the center of some circulation, not that far this morning from Erie, Pennsylvania.

If you were looking for the lowest pressure, that's where it would be. But the rain has spread on up into Maine, into Newfoundland, all the way into most of New England.

Take one last stop here for you. Looking at what's going to go on here today.

The rain is going to be heaviest just about Montreal, back into Quebec and Ottawa -- 79 Boston today, 81 in Providence. If you're flying through the northeast, things are a lot better today than yesterday. There was a lot of airport delays because of all of that low cloud covering. And most of that low cloud cover will move to the north today.

Ninety in D.C. We will expect to see a couple of showers in Atlanta, possibly a little bit farther to the south and to the east. And it's not out of the question that there will be showers in the devastated area as well.

That's never good. That's never a lot of fun to be out there trying to clean up with it raining. And it's just so muggy yesterday, one of the hotter days of the year yesterday in New Orleans because the sun was out all day -- Carol.

COSTELLO: I just keep thinking of those poor people in the Superdome.

MYERS: Yes.

COSTELLO: Thirty thousand of them.

MYERS: Now, they're going to be taken out of there because the water continues to rise.

COSTELLO: Not until they find some place to put them.

MYERS: Exactly. And by the time they find, maybe the water will be too high to even get buses and trains and then whatever else in there.

COSTELLO: You know, the governor mentioned cruise ships.

MYERS: Yes.

COSTELLO: And maybe the cruise ships can come into port there and they can transport the people there somehow. But you're right, the water is rising. And what do you do?

MYERS: Well, we were just talking here maybe an aircraft carrier could get up there, too, and they could use the top of the aircraft carrier basically as a big camp.

COSTELLO: Maybe so.

MYERS: I don't know.

COSTELLO: Thank you, Chad.

MYERS: Sure.

COSTELLO: The Navy is getting ready to provide some aid to the region. Three ships in Norfolk, Virginia, are loaded with supplies, and they are preparing to head to the Gulf Coast.

Reporter Carl Leimer of CNN affiliate WVEC is in Norfolk. He has more details about what this is all about.

Good morning, Carl.

CARL LEIMER, REPORTER, WVEC: Good morning, Carol.

Well, here at Naval Station Norfolk, where right now the Navy is preparing a massive relief operation for the victims of Hurricane Katrina, just behind me the USS Iwo Jima is being loaded with supplies, getting ready for this long journey down to the Gulf Coast.

Along with USS Iwo Jima, the USS Shreveport, the Tortuga, and the USS Grapple. They all leave Hampton Roads this morning, headed to that area.

Now, the ships will carry critical supplies and rescue personnel to the hurricane-ravaged area. There are six disaster relief teams, including medical experts on board, ready to provide help to the victims.

Medical supplies and construction equipment are also on board. This operation is a joint effort between the Department of Defense and FEMA. They also are joining the USS Baton, already in the Gulf right now. But the Navy says that they will stay there as long as necessary, and really provide whatever relief they can in joint conjunction with FEMA.

I'm Carl Leimer live in Norfolk. Now back to you.

COSTELLO: Yes, Carl, we were just wondering if those ships might be able to, you know, house some people in the Superdome. But I'm sure they -- well, have they talked about that?

LEIMER: I haven't heard anything specifically related to this. But, again, I've just talked with Navy personnel a few minutes ago, and they said they're really ready to provide whatever relief they can. And I guess that's a possibility.

Back to you.

COSTELLO: All right. Carl Leimer, WVEC in Norfolk, Virginia, this morning.

Still to come on DAYBREAK, small coastal towns and their big-time problems, compliments of Katrina. We'll check on how they're faring next.

You are watching DAYBREAK for August 31.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: The reports coming out of the Mississippi Gulf Coast this morning are grim. Governor Haley Barbour is already saying Katrina's death toll will probably go higher than the 1969 monster Camille and the death toll there.

CNN's Kareen Wynter, live in Biloxi with the latest.

Good morning.

KAREEN WYNTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Carol. And the governor took an aerial tour of his state yesterday to survey some of the damage. And get this: he says 90 percent of the buildings that line the beaches in Biloxi were destroyed.

Now, in Louisiana, the governor declared today a day of prayer in light of all their devastation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WYNTER (voice over): Chaos in New Orleans, where food and drinking water are scarce and there's no electricity. Police say there are also fires, shootings, attempted carjackings and looting.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They had several of the convenience stores (INAUDIBLE). Just people walking in and out, just taking anything that they wanted. And all of a sudden, I heard a couple shots going off.

WYNTER: The situation is also deteriorating in the city's main shelter, the Louisiana Superdome.

BLANCO: It's imperative that we get them out. The dome is degenerating. The conditions are degenerating rapidly. I think they're up to about 20,000 now.

WYNTER: Meanwhile, water levels keep rising in downtown after authorities failed to patch up two collapsed levees. Eighty percent of the city is under water. Dead bodies floating are being pushed aside as rescuers try to save the living.

In Mississippi, officials say the devastation is the worst the state has ever seen.

BARBOUR: I would say 90 percent of the structures between the beach and the railroad in Biloxi, Gulfport, Long Beach and Pass Christian are totally destroyed.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WYNTER: In one small town here in Mississippi, rescue workers are actually putting black marks on homes that contain bodies so that they can be later identified for removal -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Kareen Wynter, reporting live from Mississippi this morning.

We have spent a lot of time covering the devastation from Katrina in major cities, but the hurricane also hit hundreds of smaller communities particularly hard. From the storm's western edge in Dauphin Island, Alabama, to the eastern island of Grand Isle in Louisiana, we wanted to let you know how some of the smaller Gulf Coast towns are faring and what is ahead for them.

On Grand Isle, Louisiana, the five residents who stayed to ride out the storm did survive. The small town mayor says three of the people holed up in city hall, but two more had to be rescued from trees. The bridge to the island buckled in the storm.

Moving east now, into Mississippi, Governor Haley Barbour says the damage in the state's southern counties is worse than he expected. Hundreds of homes in the town of Pass Christian have been reduced to splinters. Pine trees and forests around the town snapped like twigs. The bridge connecting the area to Bay St. Louis have been destroyed.

In Long Beach, Mississippi, up to 90 percent of the buildings are gone. The governor says it will likely be years before the area is restored.

One survivor to note this morning. The 600-year-old Friendship Oak, the symbol of Long Beach, did make it through the storm. It lost only one branch and a bunch of leaves, and now stands as a symbol of the community's determination to recover from Katrina as well.

And on Dauphin Island, in Alabama, a wayward oil drilling platform washed ashore. The resort island's 1,200 residents all evacuated. The area emergency management official says he has no idea where that oil platform came from.

Public safety officials in all coastal areas are urging people not to try to return home just yet. Only one major highway to the Gulf Coast remains open. And it needs to stay clear for rescue workers.

And here's what's all new in the next half-hour of DAYBREAK.

The floodwaters in Mobile, Alabama, are going down, but that's not the only bit of good news coming out of this port city this morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com