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Navy Hunting for Debris in Waters off Louisiana; Some Insurance Claims Being Denied in Wake of Katrina

Aired September 14, 2005 - 13:32   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, one of the biggest cleanup jobs in the aftermath of Katrina is taking place offshore. The Navy is hunting for debris in the waters off Louisiana to ensure safe and clear passage. It's a critical step in resuming operations at Louisiana's big shipping ports. The USS Bataan was the first ship on the scene. Captain Jonathan Tobias is commodore of Mine Countermeasures Squadron Three and tactical commander for the Deployed Mine Warfare Assets. He joins me now aboard the Bataan, joins me by phone.
Good to hear your voice, sir.

CAPT. JONATHAN TOBIAS, USS BATAAN: Good afternoon. Good to be with you.

PHILLIPS: We're actually -- it's great to have you with us. We're actually looking at a live picture of NSV-2, and I believe that is the Naval special warfare ship we're looking at now, in metro New Orleans. We'll continue to look at that.

But let's talk about your ship actually and what you're doing. First of all, set the scene for us, captain, about why it's so important to clear these waterways that are clogged by massive debris.

TOBIAS: Well, we're cooperating and coordinating with the U.S. Coast Guard on our assigned mission, which is to conduct underwater surveys of the Louisiana offshore oil port, commonly referred to as the LOOP, and other offshore oil platforms, as well as a number of the safety fairways and channels, using our mine countermeasure ships and our multimission helicopters. It's giving us an opportunity to use our war-fighting skills and our mine-hunting equipment to perform the surveys, to locate underwater obstructions and identify hazards to navigation.

PHILLIPS: And of course -- I'm sorry.

TOBIAS: That's all right, go ahead.

PHILLIPS: No, well, I was just going to say, a lot of folks don't understand you do that through sonar capabilities. Maybe you can explain what you've been able to pick up and what you've been able to see, sir, through those capabilities.

TOBIAS: Well, that's correct. We're using our mine-hunting sonars, both from the ships and towed by helicopters, to locate underwater obstructions and hazards to navigation, and what we've been able to do to date is identify debris and debris fields so that the transit lanes to the ports and facilities will be able to be navigated in the future, and for any future recovery efforts that will take place, planning can get done to do that.

PHILLIPS: And, Captain Tobias, we talked with Sean Callebs on the ground there, and he was talking about the debris that was coming through, everything from power lines, to large poles, to huge trees, to couches, to pieces of homes. I mean, just the debris is unbelievable. Is that what you're encountering, coming across?

TOBIAS: Actually, we're a bit offshore and what we're actually encountering are the debris from oil platforms that are generally located in the immediate vicinity of where the platform is located. So it's mostly localized debris from the platforms.

PHILLIPS: Well, you bring up a really good point. Let's talk about that for a minute, about the oil, and what kind of problem that this is posing with regard to this cleanup. I was talking to Admiral Mark Fitzgerald over the weekend, and he was telling me this is going to be one of the most tremendous tasks for all of you environmentally and also professionally.

TOBIAS: Well, we are actually looking at the physical damage that is, has been caused by Hurricane Katrina, the damage that's been caused to the platforms. We are getting some reports of oil sheens on the surface. But fundamentally, we're concentrating, really, on hazards to navigation and ensuring the waters are safe in and around Louisiana and Mississippi.

PHILLIPS: Now, I also want to talk for a minute, as we look at these live pictures, of some of these areas that we're talking about, you -- the Bataan was also the first ship on the scene, and we saw a lot of rescues taking place, a lot of helicopter activity. Just tell me about the other capabilities of ship and how you've been able to get involved in this relief effort.

TOBIAS: Well, Bataan is just a super platform for just about any requirement we have. It's serving currently now as our command-and- control platform for these offshore survey operations. But as has probably been described, this is a ship with significant capability to support various kinds of amphibious operations, and it's just a superior platform to be working from.

PHILLIPS: Now, I can -- as we're look at pictures of the Bataan, and of course those operations that took place, we had a life pictures just a moment ago, sir, of the high-speed vessel, the HSV, and I remember when this vessel was in Iraq, and I remember the SEALs and the Polish Gram (ph), they were using this as a command center. But let's talk about this ship and how it's been able to help. It's an interim mine warfare command-and-support ship right now, right?

TOBIAS: That's correct. Swift is an experimental vessel. And as you can see, it's being used in various roles throughout the Navy. In its mine warfare role, it fundamentally serves as a command-and- control platform. It also serves in the capacity of deploying unmanned underwater vehicles from it, and it's been an experimental vessel for the Navy's efforts to develop a mine warfare modular system of responding to mine countermeasures.

PHILLIPS: It's pretty incredible what you've got going, just from dealing with the debris and clearing those waterways, monitoring the oil platforms.

Anything else, sir, that we haven't touched on, because I know there's so many capabilities that you're in charge of right now. Anything else that we should be paying attention to and looking forward to with regard to monitoring your activities?

TOBIAS: No, we're just -- we're a few days into our effort. And we're on plan and progressing nicely, making our reports to the Coast Guard, who is going to coordinate all this when we're done. And, you know, just from the sailors who are out here, we're just happy to be able to contribute to the effort and do what we can to restore confidence in access from the sea to the Gulf Coast areas most heavily affected by Hurricane Katrina.

PHILLIPS: Captain Jonathan Tobias, aboard the USS Baton there.

Sir, thank you so much for your time. We'll continue to follow your operations.

TOBIAS: You're quite welcome.

PHILLIPS: Straight ahead, water versus winds. How the Pearsons got destroyed -- or how a person's home -- sorry -- got destroyed. We're going to talk about some home owners who lost everything. Not an uncommon story, that's for sure, but one particular family, they're receiving some pretty frustrating news from their insurance companies. We're going to investigate that and talk about that more.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, as if things weren't bad enough for people dealing with the damage from Hurricane Katrina, a lot of them are hearing two words you never want to hear from your insurance company, claim denied. CNN's Allan Chernoff now reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SENG THAI, BILOXI, MISS. RESIDENT: When they tell me its fly (ph)? If no wind is going to bring it in, how the water get into the house, six feet high, eight feet high? And now he said nothing's covered.

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Biloxi resident Seng Thai venting to his neighbor. An insurance adjustor told Mr. Thai it was a flood, not a hurricane that caused the bulk of damage to his home. Mr. Thai's policy does not include flood coverage.

THAI: Oh, he already came this morning. Above the water line inside, six feet high, above is covered, below is not covered. Which is everything below is damaged, the whole thing.

CHERNOFF: The same devastating news is being heard up and down the demolished streets of Biloxi. Many homeowners didn't buy flood insurance because the area is not designated as a flood zone. Thai's insurance company, Nationwide, tells CNN it can't speak about individual claims for privacy reasons.

The company says flood insurance is needed to cover damage from water that enters through the home's foundation. Nationwide says a homeowners policy will cover flooding if water comes through the roof, by a tree falling. Flood insurance adjuster Dan Wiley of CNC Insurance Adjusters has been handing out checks to people who have flood insurance. He says there's no doubt flood caused much of the damage.

DAN WILEY, CNC INSURANCE ADJUSTER: We know for a fact there was a 20 foot surge here so we know that was done by water. But on the beach up there we have to assume it was done by water because the water had a 20 to 30 foot surge.

CHERNOFF (voice-over): Bob Migues has flood coverage. His insurer said only that portion of his policy will apply.

BOBBY MIGUES, BILOXI MISS. RESIDENT: If you look around and you see parts of my roof in trees, parts of my roof over here and there, parts of my roof is sitting way over there, OK, which shows you that wind had to take that roof. Give me what I'm due. I want the insurance company to come in here and give me what I'm due.

CHERNOFF: The mayor says insurance companies need to have a heart.

MAYOR A.J. HOLLOWAY, BILOXI, MISSISSIPPI: If they're not in business to help the people, they need to get out of business.

CHERNOFF: President Bush heard the complaints when he visited Monday, but was noncommittal.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I said I'll find out the process that determines whether or not it's a wind or water event.

CHERNOFF: There are calls for the government to help insurance companies cover flood damage. But so far, there's no sign that will lead to changes in the law. Local authorities say they may have to sue the insurance companies while homeowners, now without a home, are hoping their insurance companies will make good on the policies they thought had been protecting them.

Allan Chernoff, CNN, Biloxi, Mississippi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Straight ahead, will Hurricane Katrina silence the unique sounds of New Orleans? Well, one filmmaker's efforts to preserve the city's jazz legacy, he joins us next on LIVE FROM. You won't want to miss it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) PHILLIPS: We have a revealing new look at the battered Mississippi coast today, this time from the air. CNN photo journalist Steve Sorg joined a crew of Navy SeaBees yesterday to get an aerial view of the mile after mile of the devastation. He joins me now by phone outside Montgomery, Alabama.

And Steve, first of all, just kind of give us a feel for what you saw, because we've been concentrating so much on New Orleans, we don't want to forget about this incredible coastline here and what people are dealing with that live in this area.

STEVE SORG, CNN PHOTO JOURNALIST: Yes, well, just taking off from Keesler Air Force Base, you know, they've cleaned that place up very nicely. And once you get up to cruising altitude with the SeaBees and their helicopter and start moving over these devastated area, it's just unbelievable. It's mile after mile, just homes devastated.

You wonder what has happened to these people, where they've gone. We saw places being cleared out, where temporary housing is going to be going in for the troops. We saw an area of schools that were being cleaned up. The area just looked like an atomic bomb had gone off. You know, like Jolly Green Giant took the swath of his hand and just took Mississippi out. There were bridges out on Highway 90. We've got train bridges out. Highway 90 just looked like it was a little game of dominoes, just stacked up, ready for someone to push it over. Just unbelievable.

We flew over, also, some of the ships that were in the Gulf. We've got one from the U.S., one from Mexico, one from Canada. The one from Mexico, ironically, has brought 15 tons of water to the region. Nice, clean water for everyone to drink. The one from Canada, they're doing humanitarian relief efforts. And the one from the U.S. just doing air support and, you know, relief support. But the thing that just strikes you is the houses, just gone.

PHILLIPS: And, Steve, you're with the SeaBees and these were the men and women that were in charge of rebuilding this area the last time it was struck by such a devastating hurricane. Obviously, not to this magnitude in quite some time. What will be the SeaBees doing to help rebuild and get involved in this community? I know they're going to be very active.

SORG: Well, we saw them a couple days ago, we joined them out in Gulfport with -- they're clearing up some of the -- the port area there so that ships can get in. You know, during and after the storm, we saw all these containers, 40-foot tractor trailer containers of Chiquita bananas. But apparently a very large port, the main port for Chiquita to bring their bananas into. So my understanding is, in less than a week from now, we can be expecting Chiquita bananas to be rolling back in.

PHILLIPS: That's great news. All right, Steve Sorg, our CNN photographer there, had the exclusive opportunity to fly with the SeaBees, and take a look, as you saw there, from these aerials of the Mississippi area. And just talking about the rebuilding that has ready started and the supplies coming in. It's pretty amazing when you see the pictures. Once again, we've been focused so much on Louisiana, we can't forget, of course, the coastal damage there in Mississippi. We'll stay tuned in, obviously, to both states.

Now how long will it take for New Orleans music district in the French Quarter to recover from Hurricane Katrina? So many people have asking this question, including the musicians themselves. And jazz lovers are no doubt worrying about what the devastation could mean for the city's musical heritage.

New Orleans resident and filmmaker Michael Murphy has just finished a documentary on hometown's music scene. It's sort of been bittersweet for him, the release of this film. Because I recently had a change to speak with him about the musical legacy that he has preserved on film and about his losses from the storm.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAEL MURPHY, FILMMAKER, NEW ORLEANS RESIDENT: I know my home is standing, but I've heard that it's been damaged and, you know, may not be in good shape. And, you know, It's been tough. You know, but my family's safe. But we just don't know about our homes. But, you know, we're lucky. I mean, we're safe and sound. It's the people down there that, you know -- it's been heartbreaking to watch.

PHILLIPS: Well, let's go back to when you were putting together "Make It Funky." Why did you want to do this?

MURPHY: It was a five-year odyssey to make this film. And the reason I wanted to do it was I've been doing work with the -- on the music and culture of the city for almost 20 years. But I don't think anybody had really captured the depth and breadth of what that music and the people of the city and its wonderful culture has brought to the world. So I try to create a two-hour overview of just touching upon, you know, the surface of what is really there, culturally.

PHILLIPS: Well, I think Art Neville says exactly what you're trying to say very well in this film. Let's take a listen.

ART NEVILLE, MUSICIAN (voice-over): The music of this city can be directly tied to the families that have produced generations of musicians. Music is a language and whether it's the jazz that's heard in the streets and the clubs, or the rhythm of the Mardi Gras Indians, or the Latin-tinged sound of our drummers and piano players, this musical language of New Orleans has influenced music around the world.

PHILLIPS: And, Mike, it has influenced the world. And I love how The Neville Brothers call it "gumbo funk."

MURPHY: Right, exactly, it's great. Oh, yes, I mean, you know, the -- what that city has given the world -- I mean, just from its music, its culture, its architecture, its -- you know, the literature. I mean, it's phenomenal what that city has given to the world. And I'm hoping the film and -- hope the film helps New Orleans give back to the city. PHILLIPS: Well, how about the Treme neighborhood. I mean, I remember going through there, and musicians play on the street. They play all through the night, all through the day. There's so much rich history there. And the Louis Armstrong Park.

MURPHY: Oh, I mean, as Troy Andrews in the film say, you know, a brass band can be an alarm clock. So Treme is -- Treme is the cradle of jazz in the cradle of jazz. And it's an area that is so rich in history and so important, I'm hearing that it's got some major damage. But, you know, I'm hoping to find out soon because communication's been tough.

PHILLIPS: Yes, no doubt. You know, talking about the Treme neighborhood and just the history of people that come out and listen. I mean, when you talk about the audiences and the musicians -- I mean, let's talk about those jam sessions that happened years and years ago when it was illegal for black and white musicians to even play together. But they would come into these halls, lock the doors, and jam all night and learn from each other.

MURPHY: Absolutely. I mean, music -- you know, what's wonderful about music, it just -- it cuts through all that race stuff. I mean, black and white musicians, all they really cared about was playing together and learning from each other. And, you know, it's just -- as Errol Palmer (ph) says, lifelong friendships were made through music.

PHILLIPS: But...

MURPHY: And...

PHILLIPS: Go ahead.

MURPHY: And that's something that the musicians of the city really, really talk about. I mean, music can uplift and music can heal. You know, it's so rich, culturally that -- it's just remarkable.

PHILLIPS: And you talk about that healing and that goes back to a part of history when this music also meant survival. Let's listen.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The history of music and the history of survival was so very close together for African-American people, and so it's very difficult for anyone to tell what was first. And out of that come a hum, a moan and a sound and a tone. And then it got translated to an instrument. And then here you go, this child out of slavery takes this horn and blow it all over the world.

PHILLIPS: He just puts it so well. Whether it's the horns or it was the black spirituals. I mean, it is music that contributed to the survival of so many of the black people.

MURPHY: It has. And it's going to continue to do so. And I'm really determined to do something on a bigger scale now, just to help that city, the people, my hometown.

(END VIDEOTAPE) PHILLIPS: Well, Michael Murphy told me that he's been in contact with several of the musicians featured in that film, and they're working to organize a telethon to help victims of Katrina. "Make It Funky" is playing in Los Angeles and New York. You're not going to want to miss it.

More LIVE FROM right after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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