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Relief Efforts Underway to Aid Hurricane Survivors

Aired August 30, 2005 - 13:30   ET

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

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KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: As what's left of Hurricane Katrina moves away from the Gulf states, convoys of emergency crews and supplies are moving in. CNN has learned that the Pentagon also may be sending in some troops to help coordinate that massive relief effort. New Orleans mayor estimates 80 percent of his city is underwater, the airports included. And those waters are still rising because of a breach in one of the levees. No one's even hazarding a guess on the loss of life, the extent of the damage or how long it will take for the lights to even come back on.

Nearly two million customers are now without power, a third of them in Alabama. President Bush is cutting short his vacation and going back to Washington to monitor the disaster relief effort.

We want to take you back to Biloxi, Mississippi now. Our Randi Kaye is standing by live. She was -- had the opportunity to talk to a number of families. Randi, what did -- who did you meet, and tell us their story.

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, I just spoke with a woman named Mary Ella Rontinent (ph), and we were, you know, just driving through the streets here, looking to talk with people and hear their stories so we can share them with viewers. And we came upon this woman sitting on this lone fold-out chair in her yard, sitting with her curlers and her sunglasses on, with a single tissue, crying into it. And we had to stop and we went over and asked her what used to be here.

And sure enough, among all the debris, used to be her home. And she showed us from where we were standing across the street, we could see that her front porch was across the street. Her car had been lifted up and is now across the street. Their boat is across the street.

And her daughter-in-law was with her, as well. And her name is Constance. And we talked with Constance and it was very emotional for her, because she was -- she has been looking through the debris all morning and all day, because she's missing a photo album that belonged to her mother, who she lost at the age of nine to a drunk driver. And that's all she has left of her mom and she's been looking through the debris and has had no luck finding that photo album.

So this is just one family's story that we're finding here along the way in Biloxi. It's just very, very emotional. The older woman that we spoke with, she's in the yard collecting her grandmother's statues, that sewing machine that her -- belonged to her grandmother who died in 1937. And it's just very, very emotional to hear these stories. This woman lived through Camille, which rolled through here back in 1969. And she evacuated this time, but thought that she'd be able to have her home withstand Katrina. And she came back through this morning and sure enough, her home is just absolutely gone -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Randi, an you talk with all these families and these individuals and you start to hear these personal stories -- just a few minutes ago, I was talking with Susan Rosgin (ph), reporter and anchor there in New Orleans. And she -- it took my breath away. She was telling me, in the middle of her report, that inside the Superdome somebody actually jumped to their death. And I guess that really puts into perspective just the frustration and the depression and the feeling of loss and how it's affecting people emotionally right now.

From where you are, can you -- are you feeling that it's getting to a point where, if help doesn't get in there soon, that we could see something like what we saw now at the Superdome?

KAYE: Sure. I mean, I hadn't -- I would certainly hope not. But just driving through the streets here -- I mean, we had only been in town for ten minutes, and people were coming up to our car, as if, you know, we were bringing food and water. I mean, they were at our car. It was like going to, you know, Africa or something, where they haven't had food or water in God knows how long. But they were coming up saying do you know when FEMA's coming? Do you know when FEMA's coming? When are the supplies coming?

And it just breaks your heart to see that. They have absolutely nowhere to turn, and no idea what to do. And, you know, everywhere you turn, there's people crying into their -- into their tissues and hugging each other. And they're just -- they're so lost. I mean, this woman here in Biloxi's telling me, you know, a friend is offering her an apartment in Birmingham. She's going to have to uproot her whole life and she has absolutely nothing left.

And it's just so sad. And I do think that for many of them, it will push them over the top. It's very, very difficult to see this, let alone live through it on your own.

PHILLIPS: Understandable. Randi Kaye, coming to us via telephone there in Biloxi, Mississippi. Thank you very much. And as you can see, as we cover this aftermath, we are looking at the destruction. We are seeing how people are without power. We are seeing those that have to go to hospitals because of injuries. Even the rescue crews that are out there, still looking for people who may be missing.

But we really do want to focus on the emotional toll. If anything, it cries out to the American public and even overseas, how much these people need our help and need aid and need emotional support right now.

Anderson Cooper in Meridian, Mississippi. Anderson, you were there from the beginning. Now you're starting to see the aftermath and you're talking to people and you're talking to families. I don't think anybody expected just the severe emotional toll that this is taking on so many people right now.

ANDERSON COOPER, HOST, "ANDERSON COOPER 360": Yes. I mean, the swathe of the storm, in terms of the damage and just the impact on people's lives, that's the story that's really yet to be told because we are only now kind of starting to see, just scratch the surface of the loss that has been experienced.

And people, really, all across the state of Mississippi but also in Louisiana -- and, you know, it's not just -- people don't want sympathy right now. What they want is information. And they want -- everywhere you go -- we spent, in the hotel in Philadelphia, Mississippi, after, you know, following the storm really all day yesterday, and there's just no information for people.

People come up to you. They recognize you from CNN. They come up and ask, do you know what's happening in my town? Do you know what's happening -- you know, live in a town just about 30 miles west of Gulfport. Have you heard any information? And there is no information out there. And that's what's so frustrating.

Emergency officials are trying their best. They're getting into position. But they're often not there yet and the information isn't coming out. And that's really frustrating.

We're trying to get, right now, driving from Meridian, Mississippi, down to Biloxi or down to Gulfport just as everyone else is trying to figure out how they can get home. You just don't know. We just got on Highway 59 heading south. We're going to take it as long as we can. We've heard maybe it's closed down. We've heard all the roads are shut down south. But we don't have the information.

This is what everyone's going through, just trying to get on the road and see what you can find and see if you can get there or find some back road.

The other thing we're seeing a lot of is just people, obviously, lining up for gas, and there are few gas stations open; people lining up for ice. We just saw a long line at an ice factory.

We're also seeing people coming out and helping their neighbors and coming out with chain saws and, you know, clearing trees off roads so traffic can move. They're not getting paid to do this. They're just doing this to help out their neighbors -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Anderson Cooper making his way through Mississippi. Anderson, thank you so much. We continue to bring you just the personal stories now surrounded -- or coming out from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. And a number of unique stories, too.

I'm being told now we have Lieutenant Colonel Jordan Jones at Camp Liberty in Baghdad on the phone. You may be wondering, in the middle of Hurricane Katrina, why we would go to Baghdad to do this interview. But there's an interesting twist. Lieutenant Colonel Jordan Jones is actually the commander of the 101st Battalion, 256th Louisiana Brigade. And he and his men and women are set to come home in eight days from Baghdad.

And, Colonel, I'm curious, you're coming from this war on terrorism in Baghdad, back home to Louisiana, where you see what's happening here to Americans. And I'm curious if you're going to have to get right back into a different kind of fight once you're home in eight days.

LT. COL. JORDAN JONES, LOUISIANA NATL. GUARD: Well, hi, Kyra. First of all, thanks for affording me the opportunity to talk to you. My unit is the first of the 141st artillery battalion out of Jackson Barracks in Chalmette.

First, let me tell you that we send our condolences out to all those who have lost their lives, friends and loved ones. All of you are in our thoughts and prayers. It's important for the locals to listen to the local officials for when it's time, when it's safe to return to the neighborhoods.

I heard your previous caller mention that getting vital information about what's going on in the neighborhoods is really important.

So let me tell you that the emergency contact information for people to call is 1-800-621-3362. That's a toll free number to the Federal Emergency Management Agency and all the questions that people have about disaster assistance is available through that line.

PHILLIPS: And, Colonel, you said you're based in Chalmette, is that right? You're coming home to Chalmette that...?

JONES: That is correct.

PHILLIPS: Well, you know, and I'm sure you've gotten word, Chalmette was one of the areas that got devastated. I'm curious, do you have friends, family, within your battalion -- not only you, but those within your battalion? Is everybody OK, connected to you personally?

JONES: Well, first of all, being my family is safe. They're in Beaumont. As far as the rest of my family, the members of my unit and their family members, for those who have made contact with their family and friends, they've learned that there is extensive damage there.

But as the professionals they are, they have maintained as good morale as is possible under the circumstances. They're doing very well.

Obviously, they're anxious to return back to the States. But we are citizen soldier. Our first primary mission is a federal one. And we're serving that now but we're also prepared to change hats and return home and help the community as much as possible.

PHILLIPS: And we'll follow those efforts.

Lieutenant Colonel Jordan Jones, thank you so much, sir, for your time.

Straight ahead, it's a daunting task and obviously a very dangerous job -- providing rescue and relief to those in Katrina's path. Straight ahead, I'm going to speak to one of those involved from the U.S. Northern Command. Don't go away.

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PHILLIPS: As you've been seeing the full wrath of the storm in Mississippi and elsewhere, well, you're also seeing -- the reporters are seeing, rather, that full wrath of the storm firsthand. Gary Tuchman, once again, joining us via videophone. He's been travelling throughout Mississippi. He's in Bay St. Louis, right now -- Gary.

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, we're in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. This is a portion of the state, the southwestern portion that was right next to the eye. This was the extreme part of the eastern eye wall. They got the highest velocity of winds. And they have an incredible amount of damage. It was very hard for us to get here today.

Once we got here, I can't tell you we were shocked at what we saw, but very saddened. This is the main street of Bay St. Louis. This is old town, lots of antique shops, lots of stores, beds-and- breakfast, everything completely destroyed.

Over here, you can see a bunch of stores. This was a very popular art market. And now there are just tons of debris everywhere.

And I want to show you something that was incredible. We've seen this during tornadoes before. But once again, we see it. Art market completely destroyed. And I'm sure the owner won't mind if I take out this beautiful vase that he has here. But it gives you an incredible idea. There are vases inside this store, we can't get this far with the camera, that are still standing. They're not broken. The whole place is destroyed, yet the vases and the incredible artwork survived. I'm going to put it back so when he comes back he can see that his artwork is still OK.

We want to give you an idea of some of the other damage that has occurred here in this main street. This big thing, just in the middle of the road -- this was the drive-in window at the bank down the street, the Hancock County Bank on the corner, which was destroyed. The drive-in window. The bank itself on the corner of the street -- once again, the camera can't get that far -- completely destroyed, except for the vault area, and that's still vaulted. But you can see cars, tree, telephone poles, wood.

Down the street, this is the St. Louis Bay, which connects to the Gulf of Mexico. The Gulf of Mexico is in that direction, to the south. The hurricane came from this direction. The damage is unbelievable. Lots of beautiful houses along the bay here. All the houses along the bay are gone or heavily destroyed. A bridge across that bay, the U.S. 90 Bridge -- U.S. 90 is the road that runs across the entire Mississippi coast. The bridge, one mile long, completely gone, destroyed. There's no way to get from here on U.S. 90 to the other side. And that direction is where Gulfport and Biloxi are.

We talked to a woman a short time ago who said she was in her bed and breakfast, she decided not to leave her bed and breakfast because it survived Hurricane Camille in 1969. It did not survive this time. The house was destroyed while she was in it. She and six other people, including guests, got out and waited in a tree as the waves were coming up to them. They waited three hours in the tree, terrorized. The water finally let down, they got out and they survived.

We're told by the police chief here in Bay St. Louis that people have died in a small community of 8,000 people. He said he did not know the number of people who have died, but he said, and very sadly, there are fatalities.

One more thing I want to say. And this is so important, because we've gotten so many calls from viewers who want to know how their relatives are in these small towns in southwestern Mississippi, like Bay St. Louis and Waveland. And if you haven't heard from them, it's fine. There's no way to call out. There's no cellular service. We can't even call out to the people we work with at CNN to let them know we're about to bring live reports. There's no way to keep in touch. So if you haven't heard from loved ones, don't worry about it, 99.999 percent of them will be just fine. Don't worry about not being able to call. They just can't do it right now.

Back to you -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Gary Tuchman there in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. Unbelievable pictures via videophone. Thank you so much, Gary.

Well, as you know, the massive storm dictates a massive response, and that include the U.S. military, standing by to be called into service wherever FEMA needs it.

Major General Rich Rowe joins us now from Colorado Springs, Colorado, at the U.S. Northern Command, right inside the JOC, the Joint Operations Center, where right now he's working out that plan and expects to send a number of teams. Actually, has already dispatched a number of -- in a number of areas of support.

Can you hear me OK, General?

MAJOR GENERAL RICH ROWE, U.S. ARMY: I can, Kyra. Nice to talk to you today.

PHILLIPS: Nice to talk to you, too, sir. First of all, a lot of people don't realize U.S. Northern Command and its new role. It is about homeland security, homeland defense. And this is something you've been training for since 9/11. I mean, obviously, your focus is to keep terrorism out of the United States, and keeping it from coming into the United States, as well, from ground, from air. But this is also what you train for and that is natural disasters. And you've been extremely busy.

ROWE: We have, Kyra. And it is our -- we have a two-part mission. Our first mission in the homeland defense realm is very much like our fellow commanders, using our department defense forces in order to protect the homeland and (INAUDIBLE).

We also, though, have that part known as defense support to civilian authorities. And in that case, we will always be in support of a lead federal agency. In the case of this natural disaster, the Federal Emergency Management Agency. And in order to do that, we have worked to commit to brigade commanders from the Army to the states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida, to work with FEMA's federal coordinating officers, in order to be prepared to provide Department of Defense support as requested by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

PHILLIPS: So, sir, as you're carrying out this NRP, this National Response Plan, you're putting troops on the ground and helping with that effort. As we look at this videotape, this amazing rescue on behalf of the U.S. Coast Guard, I also know in the JOC there, you have a representative from the Coast Guard. Tell me about that part, and how the Coast Guard is just playing an incredible role in responding to this disaster.

ROWE: It is incredible. And I mention the Coast Guard, and I think it's also important to mention our National Guard at that state status, working for the governors and the (INAUDIBLE) generals. More than 7,000 national guardsmen across Louisiana and Mississippi and Alabama today, committed.

The Coast Guard and Coast Guard District Eight is leading the effort. And they are coordinating support along the coastal areas. Our Navy component is very actively engaged with them to identify and determine where, in fact, Navy capabilities may be needed to augment and help support the Coast Guard and the tremendous work they're doing to help the people in the coastal areas that's so impacted by this natural disaster.

PHILLIPS: General, tell me your biggest concern right now. What are the governors asking you for specifically?

ROWE: The -- I would -- I tell you, Kyra, the top thing being asked for now is the capability to help the governors and the emergency management people, the states, get out, look to make their damage assessments. So both through the National Guard, as well as through active duty forces, we are working to provide rotary wing helicopter capability in order to assist, particularly Mississippi and Louisiana, to do that very important damage assessment, and also to contribute to search and rescue capabilities from the air, in support of the states.

PHILLIPS: Sir, any other DOD assets that you've been able to deploy that we haven't talked about, that maybe we don't know about? Something that's going on at NorthCom that we have not seen or heard?

ROWE: Well, we have -- we have leaned forward as appropriate within the part of supporting the lead agency. And so we have Lieutenant General Russ Oneray (ph), the 1st Army commander, who works for U.S. Army Forces Command in Atlanta. He has displaced Ford (ph) to Camp Shelby, Mississippi. He is the primary, day-to-day director of the brigade commanders who are serving as the defense coordinating officers. And he's prepared to provide leadership and support to work with the FEMA's representatives, as well as the state representatives, to ensure a coordinated response.

PHILLIPS: Well, sir, that was a perfect segue. We're going to be talking with General Oneray (ph) coming up in the next hour. General Rich Rowe there at U.S. Northern Command, telling us what exactly is taking place out of Colorado Springs to help support FEMA in getting troops on the ground and rescue crews out there to respond to this disaster. General, thank you so much.

And coming up in the second hour of LIVE FROM, before it was a city of history and culture. Now much of it, as you can see, a city in shambles. The big changes in "The Big Easy." That's ahead.

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