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Live From...

Hurricane Relief Multi-Tiered, Involving Personal, Public Needs; New Orleans Tourist District Spared; U.S. Surgeon General: New Orleans Unsafe for Now

Aired September 06, 2005 - 13:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, HOST: Danger in the water. While the floodwaters recede, the chance for deadly disease is on the rise. The U.S. surgeon general joins me live this hour.
And military response. A live briefing from the Pentagon is moments away. We expect Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to update military efforts to help hurricane victims.

From the CNN center in Atlanta, I'm Kyra Phillips. CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.

Ecstasy can wait, so, too, the Sensation. With the health and welfare of flood evacuees still mission critical in 16 states, plans were afoot in Texas to move thousands of people from the Astrodome and Reliant Arena on to cruise ships, Carnival's Ecstasy and Sensation, at the nearby port of Galveston.

Few want to go. The Coast Guard acknowledges, quote, "Another immediate relocation is too much, too soon."

And back in New Orleans, another bitter side effect of Katrina. Acre after acre of standing putrid water and no means of fighting fires. Coast Guard helicopters are trying to at least contain two fires started this morning, both in houses: one downtown and the other in the historic Garden District.

And the floodwaters are dropping as the pumps get up and running. But police and others are still trying to clear the city of its most die-hard holdouts. Police today are denying reports that city officials have cut off deliveries of food and water to those who choose to remain in the city.

Well, helping the living, tending to the dead, somehow protecting the environment, all are on the agenda in Baton Rouge this hour, where the federal aid operation is based and where we find CNN's Deborah Feyerick.

Deb, a lot on the minds of those people there.

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, boy. They are just juggling as many things as they can on so many different levels. It's almost impossible to follow it all.

We are being told that there's a possibility they're going to send clergy into New Orleans to try to coax out the people who have so far refused to leave. They feel that that is very important, because they have to go house to house, and in some cases they're actually going to have to condemn some of those homes. It's a real issue.

They're not talking about quarantine yet, but they are very concerned about the possibility of disease outbreak, specifically the possibility of cholera. There are medical professionals in all the different shelters. They, too, are monitoring to see whether there's been any uptick in any sort of infection.

We're being told that at the Astrodome, actually, a number of children were suffering from diarrhea and so they're watching that. It may just be some sort of stomach problem. But it may be more serious.

And that's the kind of thing they want to see. They want to make sure that the signs they get are read properly so that they can contain quickly.

One thing that we learned today is that plans are actually under way to buy some sort of plot of land. And on that land, they're going to build a cemetery. Everybody will be buried there, at least to start. Once the bodies are identified, there's going to be a catalog so that families can come and identify their missing loved ones and then claim the bodies.

But for those who nobody claims, they'll be able to remain in this essentially public cemetery for the victims of the storm and memorial will ultimately be built -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Deb, just a quick question. I was talking with some friends in New Orleans. They just had a chance to get back into the city there. And they were telling me that a lot of people don't realize you can actually go to the welfare offices in various parts of the state and outside of the state and actually receive $200 credit cards.

Have you heard anything about that? Is anyone talking about that?

FEYERICK: We have not heard that specifically, but we're hearing that people are being given tax breaks. They're not going to be taxed on hotel rooms if they can prove that they were living in New Orleans proper and that they're actual evacuees.

So yes, the state is trying to do something to at least compensate people. And they're also setting up a system so that those folks who were receiving Social Security checks or other sort of government subsidies, in fact, will get that money so that they can continue.

Again, it's a long and arduous process. And trying to find documents is the last thing on anyone's mind -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Deb Feyerick there in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, thank you so much. We want to show you some new video that we're just getting in. As you can imagine -- actually, these are live picture, coming to us now as firefighters continue to deal with these ongoing fires that keep sprouting out -- sprouting up, rather, throughout the city.

This is actually the Garden District in uptown New Orleans. And it was a fire that was pretty much raging out of control. But finally, crews were able to get in there and work this building that had caught fire. It's been a tremendous challenge, as you know, just trying to find, continue on with the search and rescue operations, now having to deal with fires and bring in added firefighters.

Well, New Orleans mayor says that his city is definitely turning the corner, despite pictures like these, but it still is going to take weeks to reclaim every square and every boulevard.

Our Jeff Koinange actually found dry ground in Jackson Square.

Jeff, that's good news. A lot of history there in Jackson Square, including an incredible cathedral and a museum not far from you.

JEFF KOINANGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No doubt, Kyra. A lot of history, like you said.

On any given day, any other time, these streets, right here, Decatur Street, would have been filled with people. Traffic would be chock-a-block.

Let me just take you on a little tour before some vehicles come, because there are some emergency vehicles coming up and down.

Behind me, a felled tree, just to show extent of Hurricane Katrina. In some parts of the French Quarter which is this, the demarcating point between the French Quarter, and it goes for about two or three blocks over on that side. And it's like this in most of this area, although there's not much damage to the buildings. Mostly the streets, which as you can see, are very deserted.

Typical street right here, where it says -- it's a pedestrian, all vehicles prohibited. Empty street. It's a ghost town. This would never happen on any other day. But I guess this is what's happening.

And when you talk about billions of dollars, going to take billions of dollars to restore this and get people back, this is what we're talking about.

And this, Kyra. You will appreciate this. The first thing that strikes your mind when you think about New Orleans, Cafe Du Monde. That chicory-flavored cafe au lait with some vinier (ph). This is where it happens, Cafe Du Monde, the original cafe.

On any other day, like I was saying, you would not be able to get a seat in this place. Now a complete ghost town. Up and down these streets, the same thing. It's such an historical city, such a beautiful city. But I think the most positive thing coming out of this, Kyra, is that at least the French Quarter was spared. There's not going to be -- there's minimum damage to the French Quarter.

And residents of this quarter keep telling us that -- as soon as services are restored -- we're talking about water, electricity and sanitation services -- they feel that this French Quarter will be up and running as soon as those services are restored, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Jeff Koinange, I can't tell you how many times I've had a chicory coffee and a vinier (ph) right there at Cafe Du Monde. We were wondering if it, indeed, was still there and still standing.

Good news that there's a chance to rebuild at least the French Quarter there, Jeff. Thank you so much.

Well, one thing that we can't show you in New Orleans, the New Orleans floods, rather, is that smell. We've been talking so much about it.

The water is basically a toxic stew of garbage, human waste, corpses, chemicals, with mosquitoes on top of everything. And anybody there can tell you it smells as bad as it sounds.

Curbing the risk of disease is job one for the U.S. surgeon general, Richard Carmona. He's seen the worst of Katrina. He joins me now today, live from D.C.

Admiral, I know you've been there. It's got to be probably one of the worst things you've ever seen.

DR. RICHARD CARMONA, U.S. SURGEON GENERAL: Some of the sights were quite problematic. And we are concerned, which is why it's important that the people in the New Orleans area evacuate those who have decided to stay. It's really unsafe at this point.

PHILLIPS: Well, let's talk about why it's unsafe. And No. 1, I want to ask you, the military is talking about doing an all-out aerial assault and spraying the area for mosquitoes. Is that true? Can I confirm that with you?

And if, indeed, if that does happen, does that pose any type of health threat to the people that are still there or animals that are still around there? And how much of a concern is West Nile Virus right now?

CARMONA: All of the issues that you have brought forth are of a concern. As the water stands, at a time when mosquitoes can be regenerating during a West Nile time, we certainly are concerned. Mosquitoes are vectors for a lot of diseases, so all in all, we have concern there.

My colleagues at the Centers for Disease Control, their leadership, Julie Gerberding has deployed 24 teams out to the area to assess what needs to be done. Working with our other federal partner, FEMA, through the Department of Defense, to determine the best way to create an environment that would enhance mosquito abatement, as well as to clean up some of the toxic waste that is floating in those areas.

So we have environmental health officers. We have public health officers from the United States Public Health Service Commission Corps. We have employees from CDC and other federal agencies who are working together to get a good handle on this and then decide what the best plan is.

PHILLIPS: Now, with regard to the water, and basically you've described kind of a toxic brew is floating through that city now. I mean, while people are dealing with this, what about getting fresh water in to be able to drink and shower and be able to use for daily life?

I mean, how long is it going to take to restore the water coming through there, not just getting, you know, the toxic water out of there that's in the streets?

CARMONA: Well, there are sanitary engineers looking at the sanitation problem. We have the Army Corps of Engineers, as well as engineers with the United States Public Health Service, who are looking at that, to find out how long it will take to return clean water to the taps.

Right now, it's very important that anybody who's in the area ensures that they do not use the tap water, that they drink only bottled water. And if they have to use water it should be boiled. But we recommend against using any of the water. It should be assumed that the tap water is contaminated at this point and use bottled water for any needs.

PHILLIPS: Now I've been reading that you've seen a spike in pneumonia, strokes, lice, premature birth. Is this true? Are you seeing spikes in these? And what's being done to respond to this? And what other things are you seeing that you probably didn't expect?

CARMONA: Well, we have seen a little bit of a spike in some diseases. Now this is not uncommon when large populations come together. We've seen some minor outbreaks of diarrheal disease in children, and the communities where the evacuees are housed are handling that very well. Our epidemiologists are tracking it very closely to find out if there's a common source.

One of the things that really hasn't been spoken about enough, that we really should speak about, that I am surprised at but am heartened about, is the unbelievable resources that have come together to provide for the care of these evacuees.

Secretary Leavitt and I and others on our team traveled last few days through Baton Rouge, through New Orleans, through some of the evacuation sites in Texas. And there's been an extraordinary amount of wonderful things going on. Hundreds of different volunteer organizations, individual, federal asset, coming together. And where there was nothing in a convention center, we now see a whole hospital system, almost, that is caring for the needs of these folks as they come in. And a social service system that's evolving to provide for their needs, as well. And infrastructure that was destroyed is now coming together again to provide for the needs.

And this was really a wonderful untold story that the American public should see, because it is the best of Americanism. It's the best of volunteerism, coming together to serve the needs of fellow citizens.

PHILLIPS: And when you talk about the hospitalization, from the field hospitals, to getting people out of that city and out of those areas into other hospitals, do you have enough drugs? Do you have enough medicines? Do you have enough supplies to keep dealing with the spikes in certain problems that you're seeing, in addition to what you're concerned about? And you've talked about typhoid, cholera, asthma attacks, fever, rashes, even the concern of suicide attempts.

CARMONA: All of those issues are very real. After large scale disasters, it is common to see social problems emerge. Suicide rates can go up. Divorce rates can go up. But we have mental health professionals in the field now, working on these areas, all of the evacuee sites.

One of the extraordinary things that has occurred, when we were in Dallas yesterday, we were Houston, looking at where there was no people before in a convention center, we have a population of 14,000 or 15,000 being cared for.

And what you've seen happen is extraordinary. Big truck loads of clothes. Pharmaceuticals from Wal-Mart, from Walgreen's, from other -- from the Red Cross, coming together and raising a city to support these evacuees.

So we've gone in under the guidance of Secretary Leavitt. We've done assessments to see what are the acute needs. We've spoken to the mayor. We've spoken to other leaders in the community, health leaders. So we've got an assessment now of how they're doing acutely, what are the next steps and intermediary step, what can we do to assist. How can we supplement what these wonderful communities have already put together?

And then we're looking to the long term now. And Secretary Leavitt has directed us to make sure that we take care of the social infrastructure needs, as well as the health care needs. We have multiple teams addressing that as we speak and on the ground.

We left U.S. Public Health Service Commission Corps officers there to be the eyes and ears of the federal government, as we plan along with them to sustain them over the long period.

PHILLIPS: Surgeon General Richard Carmona, no doubt we'll be talking many, many more times. Thanks for your time, sir. CARMONA: Thank you very much.

PHILLIPS: Well, for more on the medical aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and for the latest health news, log on to our web site. The address is CNN.com/Health.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS (voice-over): Next on LIVE FROM, thousands of people, hundreds of miles from their home. What's being done to help them get their lives back?

And later, the people who stayed home.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Some people say I'm crazy. I say I'm blessed.

PHILLIPS: How they're surviving while everything around them is under water.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Some good news is going to come out of this for New Orleans.

PHILLIPS: Later on LIVE FROM, did the federal government respond quickly enough to this crisis? Is it prepared for the next one? We'll talk with one of the senators who plans to investigate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: These pictures just in to CNN. You'll recognize this. This is the -- now I'm being told these are live pictures now. Here you go. The 17th Street Canal. This is the levee that was breached. And now you're actually seeing the pumps working and getting that water out of the city.

Let's listen in to the reporter inside the helicopter there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... just gives you an idea of how much water is in this basin, if you will, below sea level, just, you know, everything northeast of downtown New Orleans area, all the way to Lake Pontchartrain and the marina. So volumes upon volumes of water.

And I can't tell you how many gallons per minute is flowing out of this, but it's been very steady like this, for the past 12 hours. Absolutely outstanding work here by the Army Corps of Engineers. And all the military -- military...

PHILLIPS: Pretty incredible pictures, because it was just a couple days ago we didn't even see this water moving at all. All we saw was the breach in the levee there and the water rising and filling up in the communities.

And now you're actually seeing those pumping working, getting that water out of the devastated area there along the 17th Street Canal where that levee was breached.

We're going to be talking so much more about this project and the funding for this project and how, for so many years, the Army Corps of Engineers warned officials, all the way up to the Bush administration that this was going to be a problem. And we're going to address just that with two senators coming up in the next hour.

Meanwhile, as we -- as we look at the progress that's being made here in New Orleans, of course, all of those high water -- all the flooding and the high waters are now contributing to a serious health concern.

We talked to the surgeon general about fears of various diseases, diseases that are already breaking out because of that contaminated water.

Carey Bodenheimer is a CNN producer, working this angle also for us. She's joining us now from downtown New Orleans. She's been working more information with regard to the health concern and new spikes that have been coming up with sicknesses that we've seen since individuals have been evacuated out of this area.

Carey, we just talked with the surgeon general. He talked a lot about what they're seeing a spike in. Also what he is alerting people to. And of course, continually trying to push the fact that people need to get out of this area, until so many of these health concerns are quelled.

CAREY BODENHEIMER, CNN PRODUCER: Hi, Kyra.

That's -- it's a concern for everyone, including the media. I just had a discussion with a highly placed official in Mayor Nagin's office, who told me that, in addition to the obvious stuff floating in that standing water, lake water, bacteria, chemicals, fuel, and corpses, they've now confirmed E. Coli to be present in that water. This is standing water that's all over the city, basically.

And the quote I was given is that it is absolutely unhealthy to be anywhere near this water.

They're renewing the mandatory evacuation order. It never lapsed, but they want to reiterate to people to get out of the city and get away from the water.

I can tell you just anecdotally that you see people, journalists, walking around with eye infections and mosquito bites and cuts. And it seems extremely unhelpful here in New Orleans, even if you're not in the water.

And there are people still living in this water. They're living in their houses, sitting on their porches, in the middle of this gumbo of fuel, bodies and bacteria, chemicals, as well.

PHILLIPS: What about the drinking water, Carey? You know, there's there have been these reports back and forth that city officials have come forward and said, "Look if you don't get out of here, we're cutting off the water to you." Is that true?

BODENHEIMER: I have heard that is not true. I have no firsthand information that people are saying anything like that. I've seen lots of evacuees, and they're all getting water first thing.

People are walking around like zombies, these people who have been stuck. And they are -- it's really unbelievable. They have almost no energy. They're walking around with their possessions in small, white plastic bags like you get at the store when you buy something from the drugstore.

And they're getting rehydrated first thing, because these people are in terrible shape, dehydration and otherwise.

PHILLIPS: Carey Bodenheimer, one of our producers there, talking about the health concerns in New Orleans. Carey, thank you so much.

Carey just adding to the list of what health officials are worried about now, with regard to the water there in New Orleans. Not only typhoid, cholera, asthma attack, more fever, rashes, but also now E. Coli. City officials coming forward and confirming that E. Coli has been found in those floodwaters.

Well, we're also talking, of course, about the investigations. And President Bush today declared that he personally will head up a probe of what governments did and didn't do when disaster turned to ultra catastrophe.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: What I intend to do is lead an investigation to find out what went right and what went wrong.

I'll tell you why. It's a -- very important for us to understand the relationship between the federal government, the state government, and the local government when it comes to major catastrophe. And the reason it's important is that we still live in an unsettled world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Congress is investigating also. And as we hear from the chair and ranking Democrat on the Senate's Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOE LIEBERMAN (D), CONNECTICUT: Hurricane Katrina was, in one sense, the most significant test of the new national emergency preparedness and response system that was created after 9/11. And it obviously did not pass that test.

We need to know why. Not just to fix what went wrong, but in my opinion, to rebuild the confidence of the American people, all of the American people, in our government's ability to protect them from attack, whether it comes from nature or from terrorists. (END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: We're going to hear more next hour from Senator Lieberman and the chairwoman of that committee, Senator Susan Collins of Maine.

Well, they're huddled together in a strange city a state away. And now those in charge want to move some of them again, but they won't go.

CNN's Keith Oppenheim is with evacuees at the Houston Astrodome -- Keith.

KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Kyra. There was a plan to take 4,000 or so evacuees to two cruise ships, to Galveston about 45 minutes away, on buses. But that plan is off for the moment, because many people didn't want to make the transition.

And one of the key things that I'm going to be talking about now is that many people are looking for loved ones.

With me right now is Hishaunda Riles. She is from New Orleans.

And Hishaunda, you are looking for your 23-month-old daughter. Tell me about her.

HISHAUNDA RILES, LOOKING FOR BABY DAUGHTER: Yes, I'm looking for my 23-month-old daughter, Taishaundra (ph). She got apart from her daddy on the I-10.

OPPENHEIM: Let's wait a second as that bus goes by. And I'll just says that her name, her nickname is Taidy (ph).

RILES: Taidy (ph).

OPPENHEIM: Taishaundra (ph). And it was last Tuesday that her father, Joseph, was trying to get her onto a bus.

RILES: Yes.

OPPENHEIM: What went wrong going from New Orleans to -- where was she when?

RILES: Well, what went wrong, he couldn't bring his dogs. So he gave Taishaundra (ph) to one of his friends that he knew named Kiva (ph).

OPPENHEIM: Kiva (ph).

RILES: And by the time he came back, they was gone. He didn't know where they went at.

OPPENHEIM: OK so the father of your daughter, Joseph, he's trying to get onto this bus with his dogs.

RILES: Yes. OPPENHEIM: There's some confusion there. He gives the baby, Taidy (ph), to a good friend, Kiva (ph). That bus went where?

RILES: I don't know. He doesn't know either.

OPPENHEIM: Give me a sense of what you're trying to do to figure out where your daughter could be.

RILES: I'm trying to figure out if she here in Houston or if she anywhere. I'm trying to, you know, locate her. If Kiva (ph) is looking, she can contact me.

OPPENHEIM: You're here at the Astrodome.

RILES: Right.

OPPENHEIM: Now, you're looking at the web sites for the National Center for Missing Children?

RILES: Yes.

OPPENHEIM: Red Cross, too?

RILES: I done all that. She wasn't registered. So hopefully, like I said, today they'll have more information that she registers.

OPPENHEIM: As we go here, what is it like, just to be in this situation?

RILES: It's very hard, for anybody to be going through what I'm going through without your child.

OPPENHEIM: And unfortunately, there are so many other people like Hishaunda here. We have no shortage of people to talk to, Kyra, who are going through similar situations.

If there's just one distinction between what Hishaunda just told me, is that she has the belief that her daughter is alive somewhere. That's her hope, at least. But there are a lot of people who really don't have that belief, not necessarily, and they are very, very worried.

Back to you.

PHILLIPS: And Keith, we'll keep continuing to cover, of course, as many of those individuals as we can, showing pictures and bringing names about.

You know, while listening to her story, of course, we've been to tell you so many wonderful stories of reunion, too. So as Keith said, a lot of people keeping a lot of faith and hope that they will find their loved ones.

Well, while Houston has had a high concentration of evacuees, hundreds of shelters in several states are offering people a place to stay. Just within the past hour, more than 100 of them arrived at Dulles Airport in Washington. The D.C. Armory is set up with cots, along with medical and mental health personnel.

And in San Diego, they've put out the welcome mat for up to 600 displaced people.

Southern California has formed a task force to help find evacuees more permanent housing and jobs.

And Oklahoma is hosting thousands of evacuees. As many as 5,000 are making their way to Camp Gruber, a National Guard training camp.

And in Portland, Oregon, they've readied their first ever hurricane shelter. The governor has told FEMA the state could house 1,000 evacuees right now.

Well, it's frightening enough for able bodied adults to experience what happened in New Orleans. But just put yourself in George Taylor's place. Reporter Leila Walsh from our San Antonio affiliate, WOAI, with more on deaf evacuees.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LEILA WALSH, WOAI CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It wasn't the wind, the rescue helicopters or the calls for help that woke up George Taylor. He couldn't hear any of those things. George got out when he felt the cold water creeping up the side of his bed.

GEORGE TAYLOR, DEAF EVACUEE (through translator): I broke through the ceiling to the roof and then we had to lift and use the bed and had to rearrange everything to climb up to the roof of the house.

WALSH: On top of the building, he kept waving his arms. Help never came.

TAYLOR (through translator): ... and other things. I had to get my family out.

WALSH: He didn't know where to go, where to get help. Even when people gave him written direction, George couldn't understand.

(on camera) How much more complicated is that?

TAYLOR (through translator): I felt hurt.

WALSH (voice-over): Eventually, he was rescued from the I-10 bridge over the Mississippi.

There are nearly 100 evacuees who are deaf here in San Antonio. Like so many, they too, are looking for relatives.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, just imagine your home, your neighborhood, under water. Just ahead, we're going to show you how some of the people staying in New Orleans are surviving.

And in the next hour of LIVE FROM, we expect a live briefing from the Pentagon on Hurricane Katrina. We're going to bring you that live when Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld begins.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's common to see football player getting pounded on the field. What's not so common is this: A new device to spot concussions from the sidelines.

DR. DAVID WRIGHT, EMORY UNIVERSITY: It's hands free. The athletic trainer, coach, parent on the sidelines can put the DETECT device on, which is essentially like a helmet, start the test and six minutes later, they get a result.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Normally, a suspected concussion calls for a trip to the E.R., a long with tests that can take two hours. That's bad news for athletes who just want back in the game. But Detect inventors David Wright and Michelle Leplaca say the new system would mean faster results and less risk.

WRIGHT: If you get a concussion on top of another one, that is, before you recovered from your initial concussion, it can actually be lethal.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Researchers say DETECT will be tested out this football season and the future game plan: Using the device for early detection of Alzheimer's and testing for brain injuries on the battlefield.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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