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Office Building Burns in Downtown New Orleans; Hospital Finally Being Evacuated; Bush Surveys Hurricane Damage

Aired September 02, 2005 - 13:00   ET

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

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: OK. This is my opportunity. Andreas, you've been such a huge resource and I think they're going to want you to stay put. But this is my opportunity to pass our coverage over, as it continues, to my colleague, Kyra Phillips -- Kyra?
All right. While we work on getting Kyra in position, I'll keep going here. The fires that we've been watching. Among the many lists of so many frustrating things that we've been tracking here, because the fire department, basically helpless. The water hoses not even working.

ANDREAS PREUSS, CNN PRODUCER: Well, the New Orleans Fire Department learned a hard lesson many decades with the Ralt (ph) Center fire. The Ralt Center was a -- I think the biggest building at the time, or one of the biggest buildings in New Orleans, where they had a high-rise fire on the top floors that basically -- if anybody remembers in the news business, people were jumping from the floors to get away from the flames. And New Orleans Chief McCrossen (ph) learned a serious lesson that day. They've got a problem. How do you get to these high-rise buildings?

Now, we saw some pictures earlier, obviously very low-tech. You take guys, you take them up on the roof with a hose, and you water it down. You've had a couple of guys up there. This other fire that we saw burning earlier, which was in the central business district, not far from the dome, maybe three or four blocks, maybe five blocks, near the W Hotel, which was also on Poidros (ph). Very, very dangerous scenario, if these buildings start catching fire.

KAGAN: But this is even just a case of no water pressure in some of the hoses and being able to get access to some of the buildings?

PREUSS: Correct, but we did see water being sprayed out of those hoses. So obviously some way, and this is the fire that I'm referring to right here.

KAGAN: Right. This is the central business district.

PREUSS: Yes, I can't I.D. the specific street. And this fire has been burning for...

KAGAN: At least a couple hours, two, three hours.

PREUSS: Yes. Exactly. We started covering this story as kind of the first flames started flickering right before 2 p.m. KAGAN: On the first or second story, and clearly it's made it all the way to the roof and remarkably has not -- doesn't appear to have spread to other buildings and they look -- appear to be pretty close by.

PREUSS: And you can see these buildings are like concrete boxes. I mean, this -- if they can just keep it to this building, you know you've got other structures here that seem pretty solid with concrete or they're not wood structures.

Most of the French Quarter and CBD are not your Garden District uptown wooden structures, Victorian turn of the century houses. No, these are the warehouses. A lot of them are converted warehouses, you know, businesses, coffee companies, law offices that are -- they're not tinder boxes, so to speak, so I don't think this would be a scenario where you have all these things start burning down.

If this fire was uptown, or the Garden District, serious, serious problems with things catching on fire, but, of course, those neighborhoods are also a bit waterlogged. So...

KAGAN: Andreas, your expertise as a native of New Orleans, invaluable. We're going to have to ask you to stay here. And I'm going to step out. Our Kyra Phillips steps in. Here's Kyra.

KYRA PHILLIPS, HOST: Thanks, Daryn.

Andreas, I was just -- you know, you're from New Orleans, and you've grown there or grown up there and lived there. You obviously know this area very well and then I, as we were talking about, I've worked there as a reporter and lived there, as well.

And I just got off the phone with a number of people. They actually called me because we're looking at their businesses. And some of them were even saying, "Oh, my gosh. I can see..."

PREUSS: You can see One Shell Square.

PHILLIPS: Right, right. A friend of mind called and said, "I can see my law firm is still standing up there."

But at the same time they were telling me, "Is there any way you can help locate my brother? Is there any way you can help locate my grandmother?"

I mean, these are individuals that were lucky to get out but are depending on us. And I bet you've been getting a number of these calls, too, about what can you do to help try and find a family member or a friend? It's pretty overwhelming.

But as we look at these overall pictures, I was listening to you and Daryn in the conversation. And you were talking about where the convoys were coming in exactly, right?

PREUSS: Yes. PHILLIPS: According to the military, I just got off the phone with a couple more leaders of this mission here, to bring in supplies and bring in help, and they're actually telling me that this is just the beginning. That what we're seeing right now, what we see coming in here is just the start of a massive effort that we are going to start to witness in addition to the supplies and in the buses.

PREUSS: Well, it's obviously got to be a massive effort. You've got tens of thousands of people stranded in the city in the Superdome, the New Orleans Convention Center.

We saw a live picture an hour ago of it looked like 30, 40 people on a rooftop where, you know, the footage went away or the live feed went away of the actual rescue, but there you had 30 people.

So they still have people out there on rooftops, besides the massive amount of people inside these structures, the Superdome and the convention center is what we have reported yesterday. And just, you know, all the streets are waterlogged here.

You know, I've just kind of lost my bearings here of where the camera has panned.

PHILLIPS: Well, I can tell you, did you see this recent -- we got another release from the mayor.

PREUSS: Yes.

PHILLIPS: I don't know if you saw the most recent statement here. I'll read the whole thing at one point, but -- and obviously we see troops coming in now. But it was just within the past hour we got this and it said, "I continue to hear that troops are on the way, but we are still protecting the city with only 1,500 New Orleans police officers, an additional 300 law enforcement personnel, 250 National Guard troops and other military personnel who are primarily focused on evacuation."

PREUSS: I just want to quickly jump in. Here is the New Orleans Fairgrounds, and anybody who's been in the New Orleans Jazz Fest knows this location. The New Orleans Fairgrounds is your, really, only racetrack in the city, in the city of New Orleans. The infield is always used for your musical events.

And as you can see, the fairgrounds is totally flooded. The grandstand, which you can just see leaving the corner of your right screen, is from what I saw footage earlier this week, the roof had been torn off, and it had been recently renovated, as well.

PHILLIPS: All right. And as we continue to look at these aerial pictures of New Orleans, of course, here with Andreas Boyce (ph), who is from New Orleans.

Your father -- actually, when was the last time you were able to make contact with your family and what's the status of your family's restaurant there in New Orleans? PREUSS: Our restaurant is in the French Quarter and, you know, minimal damage. And the apartment is also in the French Quarter, and it didn't sustain much damage.

My father stayed behind, and decided to ride out the storm as many people that we have seen done -- have done, and then got very frightened, as you can imagine. Once, you know, it started spiraling downward, he got very afraid, and he evacuated.

He actually left Tuesday, got in the car, drove across the Crescent City Connection and made it to Baton Rouge in two hours, so tales of people cannot escape -- now, he did have a vehicle. Obviously, he had some intelligence or some information from people on the ground telling him, you know, go down Decatur, get on the Magazine Street up on the Crescent City Connection to leave the city.

PHILLIPS: Andreas, thank you so much. Stay with us as we continue to follow these live pictures.

Once again, if you're just joining us here at CNN, we've been talking about the troops. You're seeing them. You're seeing the convoys. You're seeing the military troops now finally now moving in by the dozens. Armed soldiers in trucks with supplies in special amphibious vehicles making their way through the high floodwaters.

We are told that they are at the convention center. They are starting to evacuate those thousands of individuals at the convention center, an area that the mayor has said is not sanitary. People are dying on the streets outside that convention center.

Here you go right here. You're getting pictures once again. You're actually seeing the troops come off the vehicles and move in toward the crowd. These pictures just coming in to CNN of the troops on the ground in New Orleans, Louisiana.

You know, the situation is desperate, emergency extreme. Mission Critical is what this is being called. Four days after Katrina, three days after New Orleans was swallowed by Lake Pontchartrain, one New Orleans police sergeant is comparing his city to Somalia.

Security or the lack of it is front and center. In our hourly updates that we're calling Mission Critical, we're also following the quickly moving developments on the food and water front and tortured attempts to get medical aid to the suffering.

We hope to answer your questions on the uncertain exodus to better off cities and states, and we'll survey the levees where stopgap repairs are still underway, one giant sandbag at a time.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To the president of the United States, I simply say that God cannot be pleased with our response.

(END VIDEO CLIP) PHILLIPS: Amid the catastrophe, of course, outrage, a federal relief operation that the head of homeland security has called magnificent is being termed not acceptable by no less than President Bush. The homeland security chief in New Orleans has another word: "embarrassment."

The disconnect is drastic but simple. Billions of dollars, thousands of forces, shiploads and planeloads of aid still have not materialized in most of the places where the need is most dire.

That said, within the past hour, the world has seen dozens of military vehicles bringing in thousands of National Guard troops and provisions while dozens of buses move in to move thousands of flood victims out. Many want to know what kept them so long?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. CAROLYN KILPATRICK (D), MICHIGAN: I'm ashamed of America. I'm ashamed of our government. And as a member of the appropriations committee, I want to make sure, yes, we should approve the $10.5 billion, but it's got to go right to the people. It's got to be able to get to FEMA so FEMA could get their dollars out to the people. We don't want another Iraq, where the money just goes off somewhere. This is real human need.

And I'm outraged by the lack of response from our federal government.

MAYOR RAY NAGIN, NEW ORLEANS: Anybody do any more goddamn press conferences. Put a moratorium on press conferences. Don't do another press conference until the resources are in this city, and then come down to this city and stand with us when there are military trucks and troops that we can't even count.

Don't tell me 40,000 people are coming here. They're not here. It's too doggone late. Now, get off your asses and let's do something and let's fix the biggest goddamn crisis in the history of this country.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We have got courageous people risking their lives to save life. And I want to thank the commanders and I want to thank the troops over there for representing the best of America.

I want to congratulate the governors for being leaders. They didn't ask for this when they were sworn in, but you're doing a heck of a job.

And the federal government's job is big and it's massive, and we're going to do it. Where it's not working right we're going to make it right. Where it is working right, we're going to duplicate it elsewhere.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: President Bush, as you just -- this is actually video just coming in to us. Is this when the president arrived or is this where he is en route to right now? Can you give me some information about this videotape? OK, but is this -- we were looking at the press conference of him in Biloxi, Mississippi. We don't know what this is. So this could be the president arriving previously, earlier in the morning in Biloxi, Mississippi, is that right?

All right. We're working to get you information on this videotape. I apologize. I believe this is when the president of the United States arrived via helicopter there in Mississippi.

And, of course, you saw a bit of that interview that he did there inside the hangar with various military personnel talking to him about the relief effort. He's been spending, as you know, the early part of the morning and afternoon surveying the damage in Mississippi and no doubt will be making his way throughout the other states.

Now, Louis Armstrong airport remains a critical link, as you know, in the relief chain. CNN's Ed Lavandera was the one to bring us the first pictures from there. I guess you could call it -- well, basically, the only operating field hospital in New Orleans right now and, this area, of course, is based in Kenner. It's a suburb of the New Orleans area -- Ed.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra.

Well, it's also become one of the places where people are being dropped off, and you're able to hear for the first time the stories and the horrible stories of what people have endured the last couple of days.

Joining us here is Dr. Jeff Myers, who has spent the last five days in the Tulane Hospital, which is right on Canal Street, very close to the French Quarter.

Give us a sense of what you've been through the last five days.

DR. JEFF MYERS, TULANE HOSPITAL: Well, initially as you know, we thought we were OK when the hurricane came in and then after that first night when the water came over the levee, we immediately lost all of our power and went to generators, and in pretty short order after that we lost our generator power, which of course took our elevators away, and lost all of our telephones, so we had no communication and no power. We were...

LAVANDERA: We also heard at one point the governor say that your hospital had been evacuated while you're sitting in it.

MYERS: We had heard that yesterday she announced the hospital was evacuated. I don't know if that's true, but we still had 350 people in there today when we woke up so...

LAVANDERA: And what you're most concerned about now, the hospital now is cleared out but there are two other hospitals you were telling me in the immediate vicinity of Tulane Hospital, Charity and...

MYERS: And University, right.

LAVANDERA: And University that are still in dire straits?

MYERS: Right, in fact, they're in very bad shape. They sit basically a block away from each other. And Charity Hospital is the large state hospital run by and maintained by the state, and they have absolutely no resources there. They're beginning their evacuation today, but I know from talking to the Charity doctors, people are dying in that hospital for lack of resources. And the nurses and the staff there are without water and food. The same thing at University Hospital, which is another block down. These people are losing people now simply because of basic water and food.

LAVANDERA: The doctor was also telling me that nurses were given each other I.V.s to keep them with energy and that, in some places bodies were being stacked up in the stairwells.

MYERS: The story of the university that they're completely out. They have no drinking water whatsoever, and the nurses are now giving each other I.V.'s, really, just to stay with it.

There's been multiple deaths at Charity. We had about 35 Charity patients we were able to evacuate, but we lost two of those in the Tulane garage. We simply were unable to keep them alive with the resources we had. And from speaking to the Charity doctors, people are dying all the time at Charity right now.

LAVANDERA: You were able to get out because the parking garage next to the Tulane Hospital you were able to clear it so they could use it as a helipad and get these helicopters in. You told me the other two hospitals aren't that fortunate. How can they get out, do you think?

MYERS: You know, the only way we've evacuated patients for them by bringing their patients by boat down the street to Tulane and then the helicopters meeting them there.

Some of them have come by Army vehicle, as well, the Big Deuce and a halves (ph), but they still have an evacuation of 600 plus people that have to be taken over to Tulane up this garage to the roof and then out on helicopters. And without the large, large helicopters that got us out, primarily probably thanks to Lieutenant Colonel Matthews of the Louisiana National Guard, you know, we had Chinooks in there today and we had Black Hawks.

So instead of taking people out two and four at a time we were taking them out 25 and 60 at a time. And that's the only way that they're going to get those patients out of there without multiple, multiple other deaths.

LAVANDERA: There's been a lot of talk about the disconnect with all of this. Talk briefly about what that's been like.

MYERS: Well, it's been horrible. I mean, we simply had no idea what was going on. We could see things in the distance. We would get intermittent reports. We lost cell phones, as well. We got our cell phones back last night for some reason, but we had no idea what was going on. We knew there was rioting in the streets. We've had gunfire in our garages, so we know that things were bad, but we never knew how bad.

LAVANDERA: Doctor, great to see you, that you're safe. Dr. Jeff Myers, who spent the last five days in the Tulane Hospital. Kyra, back to you.

PHILLIPS: All right. Ed Lavandera, we'll be checking in with you. Thank you so much.

We understand the president is actually flying to New Orleans right now. Who knows? He could possibly land where Ed Lavandera is, but we'll be tracking the president, bringing you pictures of that as soon as it happens.

Meanwhile, we're looking at videotape right now previously in the day when the president was touring Mississippi. He landed at Keisler Air Force Base and then loaded up in this caravan, as you can see, and made -- made his way through the Mississippi area. Actually, this is close to the Waterfront actually there in Mississippi. You can see some of the hotels. You can see for a minute off to the right.

But you can see the destruction from Hurricane Katrina and also see all the Secret Service cars and what an intense caravan this is as the president makes his way through the area.

Also with him, by the way, Senator Trent Lott. Trent Lott lost his home in Pascagoula. He's been traveling with the president as they've been walking through and taking a look at the damage here in Mississippi.

I don't know if we'll bring you the pictures at the same time. But here are live pictures of the Army Corps of Engineers actually working on the levee, working on the area where it was breached.

You know, we had been talking about all the sandbags that were brought in and, of course, all the steel and concrete that needed to be brought in to start working on this part of the levee that was breached. As you know, this is what caused New Orleans to literally become submerged in water when this levee -- when the water was able to break through this levee.

Now the Army Corps of Engineers working feverishly to start working on that and repair that part of the levee.

Andreas, I want to bring you back in here for a minute, because we've been doing a lot of research on just the levees there in New Orleans. And a lot of the articles throughout the past years -- we're actually going to talk to a "Times Picayune" reporter coming up in the next hour about a series of investigative reports that they had put together about this exact situation.

You grew up there. You lived there. You know how important, historically, it was to build these levees, considering the damage to the city from other hurricanes and other powerful storms. And it was rainfall that New Orleanians were very concerned about, not necessarily a hurricane doing this. But what do you remember about the levees and the money to build these levees and it was a tremendous project?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was, and, you know, taxation in New Orleans is just like any other community. Do you want to pay more taxes to get things, infrastructure fixed?

I just want to quickly note here, we're seeing some very encouraging signs, not just of the Superdome evacuation and all these buses lined up and all the troops and everybody working out.

But here we have live pictures of levee repair, which has got to be encouraging to people that they are actively -- and I have -- I've seen these sandbags being dropped. But from what I can remember this is the first time that we've actually seen a -- as you see here, a truck pushing the dirt, the earthen mass, trying to close this breach in the levee. I mean, this is an awesome picture right here. Look at that. This has to be very encouraging.

Now houses are already flooded. I don't know exactly what streets and all this and that, but this is a very hopeful sign. So today, it looks to be a pivotal day at least in this Superdome evacuation and this, as well.

Now, the levees, I mean, New Orleans flooding, heavy rain will flood New Orleans. Uptown, there are just parts of the city that will flood. Is it inevitable? Of course, it is. You cannot control Mother Nature. There isn't the largest levee you could build that will keep out a Category 4/5 hurricane. It's just -- there's just no way.

Now, the Army Corps of Engineer -- Engineers, they take their work very seriously. They're obviously out here trying to fix the situation, but I mean, look at this. I mean, look at this thing here. I mean, this is...

PHILLIPS: Well, and the Army Corps of Engineers, they have been telling leaders there in the city, and city leaders have been telling federal leaders -- it's gone all the way to the president. I mean, look at the SILA project, Southeast Louisiana project. And that was all -- that's all about bringing in funding for flood projects, flood protection projects like the levees, and it's a political battle every year.

I mean, this city is unbelievable that it's been able and these individuals and the pump operators and everybody that have been able to really keep this city alive through heavy rainfall and hard-core hurricane damage.

We're going to take a quick look at -- we'll follow what's happening there, those live pictures on the levee, of course, and rebuilding of the levee and talk more about that.

But what you're seeing now is the president of the United States touring the damage, once again, in Mississippi. Earlier today he flew into Keisler Air Force Base (ph) and landed there and connected with local officials. Senator Trent Lott, as we were mentioning is with him also. He lost his home in Pascagoula.

And now the president just for the first time touching ground and actually walking through the devastated neighborhoods and the devastated areas here in Mississippi.

Wow. You can see the residents here within this neighborhood greeting the president with tears, obviously extremely devastated. No doubt probably telling the president what has happened to their neighborhood. Let's listen in.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BUSH: They'll get you some help.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We all know that.

BUSH: I'm sorry for you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We don't have anything.

BUSH: Well, they'll help you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's too much, Mr. President.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Covered the beach area.

BUSH: Are you doing all right? You're safe. That's good.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They said water was up to here. I couldn't find him for four days because I thought he was dead. And we tried to find him, but he came to my mother's house yesterday.

Bush: Good. That's good news.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And my son, had to take my son to Alabama because we had nowhere to go.

BUSH: I know. I know.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And I came here looking for clothes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They'll get you some clothes, the Salvation Army or something.

Ma'am, there are going to be a lot of people helping.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We don't have anything.

BUSH: I understand. I understand. Where are you staying now?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm staying...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: At my mom's house.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How devastated. Water come in and I had to rescue the neighbors. The water was like so high.

BUSH: Do you know where the shelter is down here where I'm talking about?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is no center there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's trucks.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is a school about two miles away. The elementary -- the middle school and the high school.

BUSH: Isn't there a salvation center down here?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's down.

BUSH: The temporary center?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sir, they got a truck.

BUSH: That's what I'm saying. Food and water. They'll give you food and water. They'll get it to you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're getting it slowly but New Orleans -- my father used to -- he's watching me in Florida right now.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is the only clothes that I have.

BUSH: We'll get you some. I understand. Mayor, she's looking for clothes and food.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Our house was just down over here.

BUSH: The Red Cross is on its way. You're a young looking 24.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thanks.

BUSH: All right. Hang in there.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thanks.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: You're watching videotape that just got fed to us. The president arm in arm with victims of Hurricane Katrina. These pictures are coming to us out of Biloxi, Mississippi.

You know, the president made his way first to Mobile, Alabama, and then he went aboard Marine One to head here to Biloxi, Mississippi, to assess the damage. You can see him mingling with residents in their neighborhoods. Neighborhoods that have been completely flattened, completely demolished.

And now we are being told that the president of the United States is on his way to New Orleans, Louisiana. So for the first time, starting early this morning, the president touching down in these devastated areas, getting a chance to meet with, well, your everyday people that lost everything.

And the president obviously getting a lot of hugs and a lot of tears and a lot of complaints. They're asking him when are they going to get help and he's saying to them help is on the way. The Salvation Army and the Red Cross. You could hear a little bit of the conversation among the president and those here in this Biloxi, Mississippi, neighborhood.

Well, grab a pen if you can or your DVR remote, because in a moment we're going to put up some phone numbers that you can call to help the relief efforts. First, though, you should know CNN is planning a special three-hour edition of "LARRY KING LIVE" on Saturday, all three hours devoted to helping the hurricane and flood victims. That's at 8 a.m. -- or sorry, 8 p.m. Eastern Time, 5 Pacific Saturday right here on CNN.

Well, straight ahead, racial issues and the high ground in a city below sea level. A closer look at the neighborhoods of New Orleans as we bring you the newest video from the entire Gulf Coast this hour on LIVE FROM. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Taped pictures from the past hour. This is what you see in New Orleans, Louisiana, right now. Joint Task Force Katrina led by Lieutenant General Russell Honore. Troops now bringing in 9.3 million MRE's, we are told, meals ready to eat, sent by the Department of Defense.

Also you see a number of the helicopters there along with this convoy, Coast Guard aircraft, 113 helicopters, 61 National Guard and 52 Department of Defense supporting operations going on right now.

Medical air lifts continuing to come in and out of the New Orleans area also and several Air Force bases being set up as staging areas for relief supplies and personnel.

So right now, first pictures you are finally seeing of boots on the ground bringing in supplies, food, water to help those victims there in New Orleans, Louisiana. And the president of the United States also finally setting foot in Alabama, Mississippi, and we're being told he's on his way to New Orleans now.

But as we look at these soldiers coming in on the ground -- this is actually the convention center area. And you'll remember it was yesterday that we brought you those incredibly disturbing pictures from the convention center, where for the first time we were seeing dead bodies lying across the street. Our reporter, Chris Lawrence, was on the ground, pretty devastated by what he was seeing, and he was feeding the pictures in to us.

And while I'm sitting here talking about the troops on the ground right there near the convention center, our Barbara Starr, as we've been telling you, our Pentagon correspondent, has been traveling with General Honore as he landed in New Orleans today.

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