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One New Orleans Neighborhood Returning; Florida Keys Evacuate Ahead of Storm; Corps of Engineers Works to Prepare for Another Hurricane; Still 2,000 Children Missing from Katrina

Aired September 19, 2005 - 13:00   ET

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

BETTY NGUYEN, HOST: And running from Rita. Evacuations ordered in the Florida Keys as the tropical storm gains in strength.
From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Betty Nguyen. CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.

Ready or not, here they come. It is three weeks now since Hurricane Katrina, and today people are returning to a section of New Orleans amid warnings that the city just isn't ready yet.

This morning, President Bush added his voice to the chorus of caution against New Orleans moving too fast. And now another big storm. Tropical Storm Rita is tracking toward the Gulf of Mexico. Let's go live now to New Orleans and Kyra Phillips, who is heading up our coverage from there.

Kyra, have people even had time to think about the threat of Rita just yet?

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN CORRESPONDENT/HOST: Yes, there's a lot of people talking about that storm, and they're very concerned that it's going to affect New Orleans. There's a lot of concern about the levees.

It rained here just a couple of days ago. And you should have seen the panic in the eyes of everybody that lives here and the business owners. People are like walking on eggshells around here, concerned about the rain, as you can imagine.

And even when that rain came through here, once again, you just got that smell, that horrible smell that we had to deal with within the past two weeks, so you can just imagine how that affects everything.

So while people are gearing up and coming back into the city, bringing their own cleaning supplies and trying to work on their businesses to get up and running, the great news today, of course, is Algiers and that people are already going into that area.

It's amazing at night, you look over, and you can see lights. You can't see lights in so many parts of this city. And that was the first sign that, hey, there's good news happening in this area.

Our Mary Snow has been there. She's been working this story for days. Mary, what are people saying? Are they excited? Are they bringing in the boxes and the trucks and getting ready to get up and going?

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, Kyra, it's really a mixed feeling. There's some excitement, but there's also some concern about that very thing you were talking about, Tropical Storm Rita among other things.

But I just want to pan over a little bit. We're at the office of city councilwoman Jackie Clarkson. Here are some volunteers who are here at her office today.

And they're having an official ribbon cutting to announce that Algiers is back in business, and this to show their enthusiasm for getting back in business.

People have been coming in throughout the day and as you know, here on the west bank, this is a community that has drinkable water. Most of the power is running. Some people say they even have cable TV, but it is far from business as usual.

There are no grocery stores opened, for instance. That's one thing people that are lining up to get some supplies. Also, there is a curfew here.

And I just spoke with one resident who came in. He said he went to check his house. There was damage there. Because residents are the only ones are allowed in, he couldn't really get his insurance person in here. But he said that he is very concerned about disease. That he went to get some shots this morning and that he does not want to stay here and he is not going to have his family join him.

Others people said that they stayed here the entire time. Others saying that it felt good to be home, but they're keeping a very watchful eye on Rita -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Mary Snow.

Now, let me ask you about the health concerns. As you know, Admiral Allen has talked so much -- even though the mayor wants people to start coming into areas around here, Admiral Allen is coming forward and saying we need to be a little more careful. There's still a lot of health concerns, and he's worried about that.

What are you hearing in Algiers? Say someone needs to call 911? Or someone needs to get hospital care? How are local leaders there feeling about that?

SNOW: Well, in this area the 911 system is working, but still people are concerned. Even though this area really suffered the least amount of damage, they say there's still concern, certainly about disease, as well, even though the water is safe to drink here.

Over the weekend I also spoke to some business owners who are coming in to inspect their business. PHILLIPS: Where are we going next?

SNOW: None really rushing to start up again in New Orleans so soon until they found out they could get electricity and safe water.

PHILLIPS: All right, Mary Snow live in Algiers, thank you so much.

And coming up, you know, Mary mentioned the storm, Betty. We're going to talk with actually a member of the Army Corps of Engineers about the levee system and the concern that, of course, those engineers have about the levees if, indeed, large amounts of rain and possibly another hurricane, you know, can come through this area. We'll talk about the concerns there.

Also, we've got members of the FBI SWAT team that are going to be with us, security, law and order still a big concern as people start coming back into the city and things get up and running. So we'll be addressing those issues, of course, coming up in the next few minutes.

NGUYEN: Everybody out of the Keys. The 17th named storm of the season is on the way and getting meaner. This time yesterday Rita was a mere unnamed depression. This time tomorrow it is expected to become a hurricane, and it could be a Category 2 by the time it reaches the Keys.

CNN's John Zarrella is in Key West.

Are John, are people there taking this storm seriously?

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, they certainly are now, Betty. A heightened sense of urgency here in the Florida Keys certainly during the past six hours.

As you mentioned a mere depression yesterday morning. Now they're expecting that it could very well be a Category 2 hurricane and could very well hit the lower Florida Keys sometimes, perhaps, late tomorrow afternoon or evening.

And all morning we have seen boarding up taking place here. You can see the boards are all up on this one shop. As I look down Duvall Street and we're on famed (ph) Duvall Street, there is plywood stacked everywhere, shutters stacked. See the sandbags there down by the doorway as people here are certainly taking this very seriously and the state of Florida is taking this extremely seriously.

The local officials, state officials started off with evacuations for just tourists and nonresidents. Those evacuations have now been extended to be a phased evacuation of the entire Florida Keys, not just for tourists and nonresidents, but for residents, as well, 80,000 people in Monroe County being urged by local and state officials to get out because of the possibility that this storm Rita could be a Category 2 and could very well impact the lower Florida Keys.

Now, the last time that they had a storm of potentially Category 2 status hitting the Florida Keys was 1998, and that was Hurricane Georges, which swept across Marathon and dealt the middle Florida Keys a real serious blow and even down here felt very strong conditions down here in the lower Florida Keys.

I recall, Betty, after that storm went through talking to residents here, longtime conks (ph), as they call them, the natives, who said to us, you know, they rode that out but they were never going to ride another Category 2 out. It was mean and it was nasty.

And when you come through these small island chains like we have here in the Florida Keys, it doesn't take much to get a storm surge, and with Rita potentially going over 90-degree waters as it comes across the Florida Straits, certainly some potential for explosive development over the next 24 hours -- Betty.

NGUYEN: John, Florida is no stranger to hurricanes obviously, but do you think because of Katrina that people are acting quicker?

ZARRELLA: I don't think there's any question about it. I think that the decision to evacuate the entire Florida Keys, based in some part on what transpired in New Orleans, but also based on the fact that the mandatory rules here, if there's a two coming, you evacuate for one category higher. So the expectation of a two means a three.

But people here certainly -- not just Katrina, though. They go back to last year where they evacuated three times for Ivan and Charley Frances and once for Dennis already this year. This is the fifth evacuation in two years. Are they getting tired of it? Yes, but they understand the consequences far more now, so people here are taking it very seriously -- Betty.

NGUYEN: All right. CNN's John Zarrella in Key West, thank you for that.

Now, by the latter part of this week, Rita could be a Category 3, officially a major hurricane with the whole Gulf of Mexico to feed on and the whole Gulf Coast to choose from.

Meteorologist Bonnie Schneider is watching the radar in the CNN Weather Center.

And Bonnie, as we talk about that in the Gulf Coast, which has already been hammered, the question also arises, is this going to possibly strike New Orleans?

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I wish I could say for sure not, but unfortunately our computer models that project five, six days in advance do include Louisiana in that cone of uncertainty. So it's something we'll be -- have to be watching in the days to come.

The immediate threat that Rita poses right now is, I'd say, the Florida Keys. That's where we have the hurricane warning in effect. A hurricane warning is very serious. That means that hurricane conditions are expected within the next 24 hours.

And looking at Rita right now getting more organized, more developed, that outflow growing, as well, we'll like see those strong winds work their way towards the Florida Keys as early as tonight and into tomorrow.

So the hurricane warning continues for part of the Bahamas, for the Florida Keys and even lower sections of Miami-Dade County. We have a tropical storm warning that stretches as far north as Deerfield Beach in Florida, because tropical storm conditions are likely to be felt there, into south Florida.

Now, here's a look at the track and notice the change in intensity. What's happening is Rita is coming into some very warm water. Not only that, but it's not going to face some strong upper level winds that would help to shear it apart or break it up or diminish it in any way. The opposite effect is actually going to happen.

Rita is intensifying to a Category 2 storm as it gets close to or strikes the Florida Keys sometime on Tuesday. But before the storm even gets close enough to strike the Florida Keys, we're looking at those strong winds and rough surf, as well.

And you have to remember looking back at Katrina, Katrina first came through south Florida and dumped heavy rain. We had reports of 9.6 inches of rain for the Florida Keys when Katrina came through. So this is not a good situation to get drenching rain.

Eventually, the storm will work its way into the Gulf of Mexico. And, Betty, that's really the next concern: where we see this storm go next?

NGUYEN: We'll be watching. Bonnie Schneider, thank you.

ANNOUNCER: CNN, your hurricane headquarters.

NGUYEN: Children of the storm, an update on efforts to reunite kids displaced by Hurricane Katrina with their families. We're live from the Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Plus, paying for Katrina. Is it realistic for the federal government not to raise your taxes?

And securing the city as evacuees return. What is being done to protect residents? Some members of the FBI will join us live.

ANNOUNCER: You're watching LIVE FROM on CNN, the most trusted name in news.

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NGUYEN: Taking you live to New Orleans and the Algiers neighborhood where a ribbon-cutting ceremony is under way. Councilwoman Jackie Clarkson there in the red is about to cut the ribbon.

JACKIE CLARKSON, NEW ORLEANS CITY COUNCIL MEMBER: ... council office now in the historic Algiers courthouse. Welcome to rebuilding the greatness of the city of New Orleans. NGUYEN: And with that snip signifying the welcome of residents in Algiers to return to their neighborhood and begin the cleanup and rebuilding process. Of course, we'll be talking about Algiers all week long here on CNN as we take this rebuilding effort, ZIP code by ZIP code.

Now, with New Orleans and the levee system there already weakened, what could happen if Rita hits the city? It's a scenario that the Army Corps of Engineers is already assessing.

The commander of the Corps of Engineers, Brigadier General Robert Crear, is heading to New Orleans to tour the levees today. And right now he joins me by phone from Baton Rouge.

We appreciate you being on the show. The first thing I want to ask you, though, is with the threat of Rita coming ashore right now, it's just a tropical storm, but it is expected to become a hurricane, what is being done to prepare the levees for this?

BRIG. GEN. ROBERT CREAR, COMMANDER, ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS: Good morning. This is General Crear.

Right now, we're all working at deliberate speed to first of all prepare the breaches that were caused by Hurricane Katrina. And we're also preparing the breaches that were done deliberately to drain the city.

An additional protection from hurricane, we would also prevent the water from entering the weakened interior canals from Lake Pontchartrain both at the 17th Street site and also at the London Avenue site.

NGUYEN: So work is being done. Let's just talk about the possible scenario here. If, indeed, Rita does become a powerful hurricane to slam into New Orleans again, what kind of damage would you see so soon after the damage that's already been done to the levee system?

CREAR: Well, first of all, we can't be sure what kind of damage would happen. We certainly know that if it did hit directly it would certainly cause much of the same type of damage that we had before. The added protection we'll have this time, of course, is we will not allow water to come to the interior through the canals.

NGUYEN: And so at this point as you prepare and you continue to rebuild, what's your biggest concern?

CREAR: Well, biggest concern right now is time, quite frankly. We're doing -- we're moving out as fast as we can. We have all the resources available to us. We have, you know, the private sector, contractor. We have the United States military, as well as the National Guards.

We're looking at cleaning out sewer systems. We have about 50 percent of the pumping capacity back up now. So we continue to work on the pumps. And so really time is the factor at this point. NGUYEN: And as people wait and they watch and they hope that Rita doesn't become a hurricane and doesn't hit New Orleans, you also have to be concerned about the residents being allowed back into the city, not only in the main business districts but also in the Algiers neighborhood.

CREAR: I think you probably know that there are certain parts of New Orleans that were not even affected by Katrina, and one of those areas is the Algiers area, the west bank. So those folks are going back over there.

It's probably something that certainly the mayor through a lot of consideration, a lot of advice from others, but they should not be affected except for, you know, proper precautions as far as evacuation, should that become necessary.

NGUYEN: So you're saying if another hurricane hit the folks that being let back in right now should not be affected?

CREAR: What I'm saying is that there were certain parts of New Orleans that were severely hit by Katrina and there are other parts were not. And Algiers is one of those parts that was not.

NGUYEN: Right.

CREAR: And this levee protection system is still intact.

NGUYEN: How long will it take to complete these repairs? Obviously, you've got a lot of work ahead of you.

CREAR: I agree. It's a lot of work, but we've given ourselves some deadlines. First of all, we want to get an inner level of protection and get that done prior to the 1st of December, 2005. Then we want to have the authorized project level -- that's a Category 3 -- back to that level by hurricane season for next year.

NGUYEN: Brigadier General Robert Crear, commander of the Army Corps of Engineers, we appreciate your time today.

CREAR: Well, thank you.

NGUYEN: And CNN continues to follow stories of families split apart by Hurricane Katrina, and we're also helping get them back to their loved ones.

Want to go live now to CNN's Brian Todd at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in Alexandria, Virginia.

Brian, what kind of progress is being made to get these youngsters back with their folks?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Betty, they've had amazing progress here, and they're now entering their third week of operating this center here with the Katrina missing persons hot line and the volunteers you see behind me. Amazing success. The numbers as of now reported by this center: 854 cases have been resolved. Children located, reunited with parents or loved ones since this hot line has been operating, and it went up on Labor Day.

But the calls that come in offer a real challenge to the volunteers here. Information is often fragmented. People calling in don't know where the children were last seen, who they were last seen with, other important information regarding the children.

And pictures are a big issue. Now, in many cases they're getting either a bad picture of the child, an outdated picture and in most cases no picture at all.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERNIE ALLEN, NATIONAL CENTER FOR MISSING AND EXPLOITED CHILDREN: The reality is that many of these families lost their photograph from the floodwaters or the storm. They didn't take everything with them.

We've sent people on the ground into these shelters with digital cameras to take as many pictures as we can, but we want people to look at the pictures. We want them to go to MissingKids.com and search that list of names. Our premise is, somebody knows where these children are.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: now, the numbers as of now, and we know we're going to be getting some new numbers of missing kids in just a moment, but as of now they have 2,172 children that the center lists as still missing from Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath.

If you have any information about these children, you're asked to call 1-800-THE-LOST. That is 1-800-843-5678. Or you can go to www www.MissingKids.com and get as much information as can be gotten from this web site on the missing children -- Betty.

NGUYEN: And we're going to have that number up throughout the day. Call it if you recognize a name or a face that's put on there the right -- actually, your left side of the screen, my right screen. Thank you, Brian.

Now the latest on the medical concerns in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. As the floodwaters in New Orleans recede, concern shifts from disease outbreaks to other problems. Emergency doctors say the greatest are from accidents, yes, accidents as residents return to damaged neighborhoods. Cuts and lacerations, injuries from falls and carbon monoxide poisoning from generators are among the major concerns.

Meanwhile, a grim assessment of the state of hospitals in New Orleans in the wake of Katrina. The vice president of a national hospital accrediting organization say several facilities seem to be damaged beyond repair. He says the health care infrastructure in New Orleans is essentially gone. And picking up the tab. Will U.S. taxpayers really get a break when it comes to covering the costs of Katrina? We'll take a closer look at who will pay for that recovery.

Plus, a small town destroyed. We will speak with the mayor of Waveland, Mississippi. He's actually in New York for tonight's NFL telethon to raise money for hurricane victims. Hear how his town is doing in the aftermath of Katrina.

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