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CNN Live At Daybreak

Rescue Operations From Katrina Enter Day Four; 20,000 Expected to Arrive at Astrodome

Aired September 01, 2005 - 04:59   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 Thursday, the 1st of September. Hurricane Katrina will be remembered for a very long time. The evacuation is under way.
People fleeing the waterlogged city of New Orleans begin arriving in Houston and in other cities across the country, but this is only the beginning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We just have no job, no home, no vehicle. All we have is our life. And I don't like living it like this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: All gone. Residents of battered Biloxi tell heartbreaking stories of survival and loss.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We are dealing with one of the worst natural disasters in our nation's history.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: And the feds to the rescue. President Bush checks the damage and promises one of the biggest national relief efforts in history.

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

And good morning, and welcome to DAYBREAK.

People on the Gulf Coast are waking up and realizing it wasn't a nightmare. Hurricane Katrina all too real.

Let's head to the forecast center and Chad.

Has this thing broken up yet?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It really has, Carol. A lot of rain showers now have moved up into Atlantic Canada, also even into Maine, right on down into Boston. But this is the last of it. There's literally nothing left after this point.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: Thank you, Chad. We'll get back to you.

MYERS: OK.

COSTELLO: Rescue operations from Katrina are now entering day four. And progress has been painfully slow. Here's where we stand this morning.

At least seven New Orleans hospitals are being evacuated after enduring primitive conditions. One million customers still without power in Mississippi alone. And Mississippi State officials have reopened U.S. Highway 49 from Jackson to Seminary, and that should help the trucks bringing in food, water, fuel and medical supplies.

Rescue recovery and desperation, that is what we're seeing in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. In coastal Mississippi, many residents complained to our reporters there that aid is slow in arriving. But now food and water has finally arrived in some parts of the state.

CNN's Ted Rowlands is in Biloxi this morning.

Hello, Ted.

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol.

We are seeing evidence of a drastic change in terms of help. The National Guard is here in force, and other medical supplies are arriving not only here in Biloxi, but along the Mississippi Gulf Coast in cities that were battered by Katrina.

The key now is trying to get those supplies to the people that need them. A lot of people have been holed up in their homes or near their homes and their vehicles, and they have been without food and water.

As far as the search and rescue teams that have been deployed as well by FEMA, they have been hard at work looking for any sign of life, any survivors at all. And at this point we are hearing a lot more stories of finding bodies than we are of hearing about people that have been surviving and in need of medical help and trapped in that -- in that situation.

It is a horribly painful thing to see to take place here, and the local people, I think it's really just starting to hit home with them. The gravity of this not only of what happened, but what lies ahead in terms of challenges and trying to get help. And then to the rebuilding process.

People have been walking and milling around here. People that survived the storm OK, but now they're dealing with real issues of dehydration and a lack of food. And it is very comfortable, frustration is starting to set in along the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

But, as we said, help is here. And the National Guard has taken control of the streets. And there is evidence that the medical response is in here as well. And they're trying to get this help to the folks that need it, but it is a daunting task because of the devastation and the way it is spread out across the Gulf Coast.

COSTELLO: Ted, I can't help but notice that American flag behind you. You may have just arrived at the scene and don't know who put it there. But, I don't know, it's telling in the midst of all that rubble around it.

ROWLANDS: Yes. Actually, we do know. The gentleman that was out here sleeping in his car that we woke up, he emerged and told us that they put it up there. They found it up in a tree and it was relatively undamaged, and they decided to put it up there.

They say it's their sign of hope. And I asked him then what his long-term plans were, and he said that's still up in the air, they really haven't thought about that. They're just sitting here. He's down to one bottle of water, and I think that help is arriving in this area just in time.

COSTELLO: That's right. Help is on the way.

Ted Rowlands, live in Biloxi, Mississippi, this morning.

Turning to New Orleans now, hundreds of displaced people from the Superdome have begun arriving at the Houston Astrodome. They're being shuttled by bus more than 300 miles. But in one of the more bizarre moments of the night, a so-called renegade bus arrived at the Astrodome.

Those people came looking for help, but they did not come from the Superdome. They were allowed into the dome eventually, and will be able to get food and water. Initially, they had turned them away.

At least two busloads of actual Superdome evacuees have also arrived in Houston. Forty-five thousand cots have been laid out to accommodate them. We're going to have a live report from the Astrodome coming up in just a few minutes.

Now, many of those being evacuated are children. In an effort to keep some semblance of normalcy for them, Texas is allowing those kids to go to school. Texas officials say they're accepting kids from Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. RICK PERRY (R), TEXAS: I want those stranded families to know that the doors of Texas public schools are going to be immediately open to their school-age children. Under federal law, these children are entitled to enroll in school districts where they temporarily reside.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Back in New Orleans, the water has finally stopped rising. And repairs can now begin on those broken levees that led to more massive flooding. There are still many people stranded in their homes, though. The Coast Guard has been working around the clock to rescue these people.

Some of the rescues and evacuations have been complicated by the apparent breakdown in security. And you've seen it. Some ambulances have been looted, even turned over on the streets. In fact, one ambulance company said somebody stole their generator.

We've all seen the pictures of people coming out of the stores, too, with armloads of food and clothes. Many say they're just trying to survive. But others seem to be taking advantage of the lack of police presence.

The mayor of New Orleans says that is going to stop. Ray Nagin has reassigned 1,500 officers from search and rescue missions to security. Louisiana's governor also wants order restored.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. KATHLEEN BLANCO (D), LOUISIANA: I will tell you something. We are going to restore law and order. We will do what it takes to bring law and order to our region.

We're not going to put up with petty criminals or hardened criminals doing their business. This is not a time or a place for any of that behavior, and I am just furious. This is intolerant.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Governor Blanco has ordered 5,000 additional National Guard troops into the city.

Also, National Guard troops are fanning across coastal Mississippi. They're joined by search crews who are combing through the rubble of cities and towns that were literally wiped off the map. The death toll in coastal Mississippi is nearing 200.

CNN's Kareen Wynter is also in Biloxi this morning, and she's going to center on that part of the story.

Good morning, Kareen.

KAREEN WYNTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, good morning to you.

You mentioned the fact that these emergency crews are trying to come in, but it's been such a difficult process for them because there are so many roads that are filled with debris they just can't get to those isolated sites and those pockets where many communities stand in ruins.

Now, disaster relief teams continue to bring in the much-needed emergency supplies, but it just seems in many areas that relief just can't get there quickly enough.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WYNTER (voice over): Looting is widespread across New Orleans. The Louisiana governor vowed to do whatever it takes to secure the city.

BLANCO: We're not going to put up with petty criminals or hardened criminals doing their business. This is not a time or a place for any of that behavior, and I am just furious. This is intolerant.

WYNTER: Those sheltered in the Louisiana Superdome started being moved overnight to the Houston Astrodome, but many have yet to make the trip.

In Mississippi, where more than a million people are without power, rescue teams continue to search for victims that did not evacuate before the storm. Many residents also made grim discoveries.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I went up in the attic and nothing. So broke that window out, and they're right there. I mean, right inside the window.

WYNTER: Three thousand National Guard troops activated to help with the cleanup are having to literally bulldoze their way through debris to get to coastal communities. Authorities are calling on medical personnel from across the U.S. to come to the area to help victims.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WYNTER: And in this state alone, roughly 20,000 people are still in shelters, Carol. And officials expect that number could grow significantly as people return home, only to find their property in ruins -- Carol.

COSTELLO: You know, later, Kareen, we're going to talk to some people from the Fairfax County, Virginia, Urban Search and Rescue Team. And they're saying what really hasn't been explored yet are the number of collapsed buildings. Their job is going to be to look through that rubble to see if anybody's surviving underneath.

How many buildings around Biloxi and Gulfport have collapsed that no one's checked yet?

WYNTER: A great majority of them. In fact, upon hearing from the governor of this state after serving his region by air -- you know, he mentioned 90 percent of the buildings lining the beaches of Biloxi were completely wiped out. And so he's saying that there's widespread damage.

It's really hard to put a number on there because there's so many pockets. But that will definitely be a challenge.

And yesterday, rescue teams were even out here, Carol, trying to go through some of that debris. They had a K9 unit. They say it's a very, very tedious process, not only trying to find potential survivors, but when they do find bodies it's going to take quite some time to remove those layers and layers of rubble -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Yes. Always the big hope is just to find someone alive under there. And the other problem is they can't take all of their heavy equipment with them because the roads are blocked.

WYNTER: Absolutely.

COSTELLO: So you can't drag all that equipment with you. You have to travel light. So we're going...

WYNTER: Absolutely.

COSTELLO: Yes -- go ahead.

WYNTER: I was going to comment on the fact that there were bulldozers behind us, and you can see them trying to make their way through all of that. And it was just like a wall there. So that's going to be definitely a challenge that they're going to have to figure a way around because of the debris and the magnitude of just how many buildings collapsed, one on top of the other -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Kareen Wynter. Thanks so much, live from Biloxi, Mississippi, this morning.

In our 6:00 hour, we're going to talk to a team member of that team from Fairfax County, Virginia.

The next stop for a number of storm-wary flood evacuees is Houston's Astrodome, which saw a renegade bus come this morning. We're going to have a live report for you right after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: International markets trading in positive territory. Japan's Nikkei closes up 93 points. Britain's FTSE trading up 24. The German DAX is up 40 points.

Let's talk about oil prices, though. They rose today, trading 24 cents higher, at just over $69 a barrel. This, despite an offer from the Bush administration to lend refiners crude from its Strategic Reserve after Hurricane Katrina sidelined two Gulf Coast pipelines. We're going to be talking about the price of gas and gas lines in just a moment.

But first, "Now in the News."

Funerals being held in Iraq today for victims of a massive bridge stampede in Baghdad. Some 965 Shiite pilgrims have died. They panicked and ran after hearing rumors of a suicide bomber in a crowd.

Bells ring as Russians mark the first anniversary of the Beslan school massacre today. Some 300 people were killed after gunmen stormed the school and took more than a thousand hostages. The militants demanded Russian troops withdraw from Chechnya.

Now -- and Chad.

Good morning.

(WEATHER REPORT) COSTELLO: We're getting new pictures in of these buses headed to the Astrodome. And you know they're coming from the Superdome in New Orleans.

MYERS: Yes. And that's a long drive. I mean, you know what?

COSTELLO: Three hundred and fifty miles.

MYERS: And then the guy's got to turn around and go back and drive and pick up another, you know, batch. How many can you get in a bus, 60, 70, maybe 80?

COSTELLO: Well, the strangest thing that happened from this morning, Chad, is a renegade bus showed up. A 20-year-old guys driving the bus. They look inside the bus, and these people had been through something. I mean, they were suffering.

But they weren't from the Superdome, but they were looking for shelter in the Astrodome. At first they were turned away.

MYERS: Wow.

COSTELLO: Because they didn't know who these people were, where they came from. They did come from New Orleans, though, and eventually they allowed them in. But how sad.

MYERS: It is a sad situation now. And with all those homes so flooded now with salt water -- remember we talked about this salt water flood we had in St. Marks, Florida, how that does much more damage to the interior, to the woodwork, to the copper pipes, to the copper wires than a freshwater flood does? So they are in a world of hurt down there.

COSTELLO: They really are.

Do we have that new video now? Because those busloads of people from Louisiana are arriving in Houston, Texas, this morning. We're going to get the pictures for you pretty soon. We're just getting them into our system now.

Many of those people, of course, are evacuees from the battered Superdome. Around 20,000 people are expected to be bused along that 330-mile route.

Mike Glenn of "The Houston Chronicle" is at the Astrodome. He joins us live now.

Good morning, Mike.

MIKE GLENN, "THE HOUSTON CHRONICLE": Good morning.

COSTELLO: Set the scene for us.

GLENN: Well, there have been about seven of the chartered buses have arrived. We estimate, sort of the general consensus here, there's probably about a thousand people. Really can't, you know, really tell more specifically than that because most of the windows are blacked out.

They come by, they come to the gates here at the Astrodome, and they rush them right into the stadium complex. And there's not really much for a way for us to get any more specific information about that. But...

COSTELLO: What's it like inside the Astrodome?

GLENN: Well, it's a very old -- well, at this point now, it's a cavernous stadium with -- we saw maybe a couple hundred cots laid out. And they are ready to -- they are still -- I mean, this is something that the county has put together the last minute, really, today. So they're still rushing around, getting all the last-minute preparations set up. But at this point now it's a cavernous, empty stadium, filled with -- filled with cots, waiting for more of the people coming in from New Orleans.

COSTELLO: You know, Mike, you can't help but think these poor people are coming from a horrible experience in one stadium, and now they're heading into another stadium, and who knows how long they'll be there.

GLENN: Well, that's true. The -- some of the county officials here estimate that the could be here, you know, days or weeks or months. Nobody can really tell at this point now.

I mean, they're -- what they would like to do is to get them here and sort of get them set up and settled down a bit, and then move them off into a more permanent location. A stadium obviously is not a place to spend, you know, too much -- too much time at.

COSTELLO: No. At least it has electricity and working...

(CROSSTALK)

GLENN: It sure has electricity and air-conditioning. And they have the kitchen facilities and -- that they didn't have at the Superdome. So it's -- you know, if you have to stay at one of them, it's a better -- you know, it's not a bad place to be if you have to be in a stadium.

COSTELLO: Will they have freedom of movement? I mean, they can -- they can come and go as they please, right?

GLENN: Well, we've been told that they will -- they will be allowed to come in and out. Apparently, they're going to be logged into the system, given some sort of identification card. And then they'll be allowed to come -- you know, come and go as they please. I mean, they're not under arrest. I mean -- but -- so they will have freedom of movement, but beyond -- I don't know -- but, you know, beyond that, I'm not too sure.

COSTELLO: You know, there's a picture on the front page of "The New York Times" this morning, and you can see people who have been evacuated from the Superdome. They're carrying bags of their belongings. Some of them are carrying their children. This is all these people have left in the world. And they're bringing it to Houston, to quite an uncertain future. It's hard to imagine how that would affect you.

GLENN: Well, it certainly is. I mean, it's obviously very traumatic for all of these people.

There was one of the buses that -- where the windows were not blacked out that you could see the people as they come in, and a few people -- a few people sort of waved at the press as they went by. But most of them just sort of stared -- you know, stared out -- stared out the window at us. I mean, obviously exhausted not only from their ordeal in New Orleans, but just from this seven-hour bus trip.

COSTELLO: Oh, yes. Our reporter on the scene, Sean Callebs, you know, this -- I know you don't know much about this renegade bus that just showed up at the Astrodome, but he said the people on board that bus were hollow-eyed and seemed to be in shock.

GLENN: Well, I've seen -- I've spoke -- it seems like most of the refugees or evacuees, no matter whether or not they were at the stadium, or they left New Orleans on their own accord before -- you know, before it got very worse, they all seem to have that look. Obviously the look of a refugee. I've talked to several of them, and it's obviously a traumatic experience for them.

COSTELLO: And there's no plan as of yet where to put these people or where to tell them to go after their stay at the Astrodome is complete.

GLENN: No, it's all still -- this is all obviously -- all still being worked out through various government agencies, various, you know, philanthropic agencies. So at this point now -- I mean, it is pretty impressive they managed to put this together in essentially one day. I mean, you know -- but, yes, they're all still -- all the details are still being worked out between all the different -- the various agencies involved.

COSTELLO: All right. Mike Glenn, from "The Houston Chronicle." Thank you for filling us in on DAYBREAK this morning. We appreciate it.

GLENN: My pleasure.

COSTELLO: Thanks, Mike.

Still to come, a father and son reunion right here on CNN. One family's story of survival just ahead.

Now let's check some other developments happening right now on the Gulf Coast.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: It's probably not the only small town to share this fate, but the town of Waveland, Mississippi, has been all but obliterated by Hurricane Katrina. We're going to talk about that in just a second.

These pictures right now are the ones I've been telling you about, new pictures that we just got in from the Houston Astrodome. These buses are arriving from the Superdome in New Orleans after a 330-mile trip.

On board the bus, of course, all of those people who have been stuck inside the Superdome. They're now going to go into the Houston Astrodome. And conditions there are much better. At least there's electricity and running water so people can take a shower.

There are working toilets. You can see there are cots set up for these people.

No telling how long they'll have to stay there, or where they'll go after they have to leave the Houston Astrodome. But the people of Texas very generous. They got this up and running in just one day.

We're going to talk to Sean Callebs, our reporter live on the scene, a little later on DAYBREAK. So be sure to stick around for more information.

All right. Now let's talk about this town of Waveland, Mississippi. As I said, it's all been -- all but obliterated by Hurricane Katrina. Rescue workers say the town of 7,000 people has been completely wiped out.

Relief workers didn't reach the town until yesterday, and found shell-shocked survivors among the rubble. Not a single structure is left fully standing in Waveland. A few roofs are intact, but the houses underneath them are washed away.

President Bush says we're dealing with one of the worst national disasters in our nation's history. A massive relief effort is under way to help people in the storm zone.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: I think the folks in the affected areas are going to be overwhelmed when they realize how many Americans want to help them. At this stage in the recovery efforts, it's important for those who want to contribute to contribute cash.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: If you want to donate -- and a lot of you have been e- mailing us, asking how you can help, you can contact any of these organizations: the American Red Cross, Operation Blessing, or America's Second Harvest. Their telephone numbers are up there on the screen, or you can always go to our Web site, CNN.com, for a complete list of organizations. We're going to have someone from the Red Cross in our 6:00 hour.

And I'm looking at your e-mails now. So if you have specific questions for the Red Cross, please send them along to me at DAYBREAK@CNN.com, and I will pose those questions to that person from the Red Cross. CNN.com if you want those phone numbers I just mentioned.

If you're looking for a loved one or a friend, CNN may be able to help, too. Our Web site has set up a list of people who have contacted us to say they're OK. You can find the Hurricane Katrina safe list at CNN.com/safe.

Or, our victim and relief desk might be able to help you. E-mail names and photos of the victims to HurricaneVictims@CNN.com, and we will post as many as we can and bring you live updates all day.

Talk about gas prices now. Imagine gas at $5.00 a gallon. Oh, don't just imagine it. It's reality in some places.

Katrina is having a very painful effect at the pump. More on that coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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