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Hurricane Rita Lashes Florida; Bush's Poll Numbers Drop in Katrina's Wake; Cuba Prepares for Storm

Aired September 20, 2005 - 14:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR, CNN LIVE FROM: Live pictures now. Hurricane Rita attacking the Florida Keys. We're tracking the storm's next move. Reporting live from areas getting hit right now. Will the Gulf Coast get hit again? They're boarding up in New Orleans for the second time.
Wall Street watching the Fed closely. In just a few minutes, an announcement about interest rate changes expected. We'll bring it to you live when it happens.

From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I am Kyra Phillips. This hour of CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.

Keys today, Gulf tomorrow. God only knows after that. Hurricane Rita is striking the Florida straits this hour with 100 mile an hour winds and a surge that's already swamped the only highway running through the keys. CNN's John Zarrella is spending a very turbulent Tuesday on Key West. Hi, John.

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Kyra. Right now, the folks here say it could is been a heck of a lot more turbulent, although we're still not over and don't expect the worst of it to be through here for the next two to three hours.

But as you can see, things have gone downhill in the last hour since we spoke. And of course there's still lots of people going up and down the street in their cars, walking, on bicycles. They did evacuate about 50 percent of the city. So about 12,000, 13,000 people left. Leaving another 12,000 or 13,000 people here.

I think we've seen all of them on the street today, just out and about, not really heeding any advice or warning to stay indoors. We're going through one of those squalls again now, where the rain is really starting to come down harder again and the winds are picking up.

But all up and down Duvall Street, you can see that it is pretty much deserted. We lost power a couple of hours ago. A couple of transformers blew. An awning has come off. But if that's the worst of it here in the Keys, they're going to be very thankful, come tomorrow.

What they experiencing, though, is a lot of storm surge, over- wash, on the overseas highway. That's only road in and out of the Keys. One lane in, one lane out. From about mile marker 11, all way up to mile marker 110, there are pockets where the overseas highway has been over-washed from the storm surge, in combination with high tides and astronomical high tides because of the full moon.

Authorities have closed down portions of that overseas highway. And they're saying they don't want anybody out on it. It's too dangerous. They're not even going to reopen it now until they are convinced that it is safe. They're going to have to go over and do structural analysis and make sure it hasn't been undermined portions of that highway, before they do reopen it.

Police are telling us because of deteriorating weather, police departments ordered its officer off the streets from this point on. So if anybody gets in trouble out there it's going to just be a case- by-case basis whether they can get to them and rescue them.

Again, right now, city officials are hoping against hope, this storm, even though it's a Category 2 remains to the south and we don't get the core of the hurricane coming over Key West. But do still expect, Kyra, some pretty significant weather through here in the next two to three hours. Kyra.

PHILLIPS: OK, John, we'll be talking to you of course every hour. John Zarrella, thank you so much. He's in Key West. Beyond the Keys, the cone. That's what forecasters call the range of potential hurricane movement. The margin of error, higher, the further in time you try to project. CNN's meteorologist Jacqui Jeras eyeballing hundreds of miles of Gulf Cast from our weather center upstairs.

(WEATHER REPORT)

PHILLIPS: Jacqui, thank you so much. Jacqui is monitoring things there in the weather center. Meanwhile we have reporters scattered all throughout the area. Including Shomari Stone with our affiliate WFOR. He is reporting now from Islamorada.

SHOMARI STONE, WFOR CORRESPONDENT: Now as you can see, the water is now going up into this area. And sorry about over there -- those waves are very powerful. The storm surge is serious. The good thing is a lot of these people evacuated.

There were a lot of tourists here at the Islander Resort. But many of them evacuated. They got out here. But you know what's interesting, there's a mobile home residents that are near here and they did not evacuate. Some of them said "we're not going anywhere." and this water continues to move inland.

Let me just show you, you can just see that in the water and before, earlier being I could stand in there. But now, the water's here. I mean, look at this the volleyball court. Look at that. Look at that volleyball net. I wonder if the water's going to get that high. I doubt it. But I tell you what, this is definitely serious. Hurricane --

PHILLIPS: And we'll continue of course to follow all that serious news along that area there in Florida. Meanwhile, Rita's threat, as war ships in the Gulf getting serious and gearing up to move. The Pentagon so concerned about the hurricane, several navy ships that have been providing assistance in the Katrina recovery effort have been ordered to seek safer waters if the storm stays on course. Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr live with the latest from there. Barbara?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, the Pentagon indeed watching that potential turn to the north of Hurricane Rita. Whether it is the just tropical storm winds or not, there are plans now for the warships, the Iwo Jima and Shreveport, which have been in New Orleans to set sail by tomorrow and get out of town.

Those ships would have to leave even if it is just tropical storm winds that hit New Orleans. Also plans in the works to try to get the National Guard troop, the active duty troops, in to safe shelter, especially if that storm track turns north. Here at the Pentagon, they are continuing to watch all of it, very closely.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, General Richard Myers (ph), chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, just concluding a news briefing in which they took an awful lot of questions about this. About the planning, once again, for Katrina, the storm that the Gulf Coast is try to recover from.

Whether the National Guard troops that went to Katrina had enough of the right type of modern communications gear to do their job. General Myers, referring to some questions that had been put to the head of the National Guard, General Steven Bloom, answered some of that, just a little while ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEN RICHARD MYERS, JOINT CHIEFS CHAIRMAN: We need less National Guard artillery units than we say, National Guard military police units, in the security environment we think we're going in to. Military police will have a different set of communications than perhaps an artillery unit. There will be different requirements.

I think what General Bloom was talking about, for the future; we need to have a certain capability. I think we do as a nation, not just in the military. But other federal response systems probably state and local responders need better communications, if the towers are going to go down that control your cell phones and the rest of it; you need to have a better way to communicate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: It's really one of the underlying factors that is emerging at all levels of government involved in Katrina, Kyra. There just was not the type of communications that survive this kind of catastrophic storm. It is something the National Guard is looking at, the military is looking at, and of course FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security.

So in the weeks ahead, expect to hear a lot more about getting compatible survivable communications gear out into the field. Defense Secretary Rumsfeld again saying in these catastrophic type of natural disasters, it may, indeed, be the military that has the capacity and the capability to respond first and help people out. Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Barbara Starr, live from the Pentagon, thanks Barbara.

President Bush is back on the Gulf Coast today, with efforts to reopen New Orleans on hold. Or to reopen, rather, areas there. But residents are keeping their eyes on Hurricane Rita, and hoping to avoid, of course a one-two punch there. CNN's Mary Snow is in one of the most badly devastated sections of New Orleans, the Ninth Ward. And she bring us more from there. Mary.

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, we're just about three blocks from the Industrial Canal. And you can just see where the storm -- the pictures, that is, tell the story of the devastation. We'll pan over. The Industrial Canal levee, just not far from here.

And as people leave New Orleans, recovery teams are sensing the urgency to get their jobs done. There's a task force from Florida here in about a two-square mile radius. They're going door-to-door, looking for bodies. And they are finding some, recovering some, and they are also keeping, obviously an eye on hurricane right Rita, and trying to speed up their operations here.

On the other side of the industrial canal levee -- (AUDIO GAP) through the street, telling people, if they're there, to get out of their home. Nearby, St. Bernard Parish, which is a neighboring Orleans parish, where we are, people were allowed in their homes over the weekend, to go in and get whatever items they could salvage and take them out.

That area's absolutely devastated just as well. And what the police are now saying is that they are stopping people from entering. We saw long line of cars and trucks, people trying to go in. They're being turned away.

And at this point, officials in St. Bernard Parish, saying they're trying to get anybody out of that parish as well as Hurricane Rita make its way closer. And they don't want to take any chances. Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Mary, just to point out for a minute so folks get a sense of what the ninth ward is. This is one of the hardest hit areas. It's also the lower-income area. You look at the difference between the ninth ward and, say, the French Quarter. I mean this is an area that was absolutely devastated.

And this is where so many of those people that were trapped at the Superdome and the Convention Center, this is where they lived. And so you look at the pictures behind you and you see the difference in the devastation.

SNOW: Yes, there is nothing left. We'll show you a little bit more of these homes. There's an -- absolutely nothing left here. In different areas where people are allowed in, like St. Bernard, even though it's been decimated, to try to go get some belongings, people here -- there's nothing to come home to. I just talked to the task force from Miami-Dade County working in this area, and they said over the past couple of days, some people, they said not many, but some have come in to try to get things from homes and they're also being turned away.

This is just completely flattened. Right near that levee, they call this ground zero. And there really -- it's just unbelievable how much damage has been done here.

PHILLIPS: Mary Snow, live in the Ninth Ward there, thank you so much, Mary. We'll continue to check in.; meanwhile all eyes are on Rita, of course. We're tracking the hurricane. We're going to be live from Havana, Cuba, later this hour.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In a time ultimate crisis who needs me more? The police department or my wife?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: The moral dilemma facing New Orleans police officers. An APL cop tells his story. Straight ahead on LIVE FROM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: As you know, things continuing to develop as we follow Hurricane Rita. Let's go straight to Jacqui Jeras. Reports of tornado now touching down. Jacqui.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes this is a radar indicated tornado, actually Kyra, just in from the National Weather Center for Eastern Broward County. If you remember just a few minutes ago, I showed you this on radar. I'll zoom in.

Here's the storm of concern. It does include Hollywood. Also, the town of Davie. This is a radar indicated tornado, moving northwest, this way, at about 45 miles per hour. So Hollywood, Cooper City, Davie and Weston and the intersection of I-75 and US-27, all included.

I'll loop this and show you, as the storm's been progressing, it's been moving very, very quickly. But there are more feeder bands that are going to be pushing in after that. So we may see more warnings throughout the evening and afternoon hours. And of course we do have a tornado watch, which is in effect for the entire area.

We'll get that up for you. There, you can see the watch box. That goes from West Palm Beach, all the way down South Florida peninsula and on through the Keys -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Jacqui, thank you so much. And as we follow developing news there on the weather, we're also following developing news from the New York Stock exchange. The Fed's decision on interest rates is imminent, as we know. Susan Lisovicz standing by live to tell us the latest. (FINANCIAL REPORT)

PHILLIPS: All right Susan, thank you so much. We'll take a quick break. More LIVE FROM after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Quick update on Hurricane Rita right now before we go to another break. Residents remaining in the Florida Keys told to hunker down. High winds and rain lashing out right now as Hurricane Rita moves in, being upgraded now to a Category 2 storm with 100 mile per hour winds. We're talking about 50 miles southeast of Key West.

Stay with more coverage. We're continuing on.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: As we look at these picture just in, looking over Gulfport, Mississippi, area. Those in Florida are praying right now that what has happened here will not happen to them. LuAnne Sorrell brings us more now from Key West, Florida.

LUANNE SORRELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The wind is picking up quite a bit here. You can see it's gusting pretty strong. We do have moments where it goes up and down here. Over the past few minutes it has been pretty strong. You can see here the stop light; the power is out in this area of town. We told you a few hours ago, we heard a transformer blow.

A very loud explosion here over our heads. And the hotel that we're staying in is out of power. We're told some 3,200 people from the seven-mile bridge down here to Key West are without power at this time. Now, (INAUDIBLE) told us an few hours ago that the wind was going to pick up and the rain was going to die down. That's exactly what happened.

We're not getting a lot of train here right now. So we're not too worried about the flooding. We are expected between 5 to 15 inches of rain. We still have to wait to see if that will happen. We're in a dry spell, but a windy spell right now. But that hasn't stopped people from coming out.

There's a good shot of the wind, you can see the signs and the police tape, which was up around some tin on a building that was loose earlier, until the fire department came and cut that down. So you can see the wind blowing here, strong. But as we look across the street, this lady is out walking her dog. This tow truck is out, probably looking for some clients.

We have people on bicycles, people on scooters. It's just amazing. I wouldn't think that so many people would be out walking around and being in this type of weather. But they are. And we've told you time and again that people who live on Key West are somewhat of a different breed. They don't tend to leave a lot of times when tropical storm or Category 1 or 2 hurricane blows through. I want to talk to one woman who is out here with a little friend of hers right now, ask her why she's out there. Ma'am, give me your name. Who's your friend here?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Debra (INAUDIBLE). This is Bitsy.

SORRELL: And why are you out here, you, and Bitsy? Bitsy looks prepared, in case she blows away. She has her little life vest on here. So she is ready. Why are you out here?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well we came out to take pictures of the hurricane and just see what was going on.

SORRELL: You're not nervous about being out here as Rita blows through?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No. It beats staying in the house. Especially with no electricity.

SORRELL: Tell me why you didn't evacuate. Fifty percent of the people here on Key West choose to get out of town but you're one of those who decided not to. Let me block your wind here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, I never do evacuate because I want to be here after the hurricane. And there's always that fear that the bridges may go. And I work for the Department of Juvenile Justice so I feel like I need to be here.

SORRELL: So you want to keep a close eye on your property?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, and, you know, be able to get back in afterwards and to my job and make sure everything's okay.

SORRELL: Doesn't look like Bitsy's liking this too much, though. She is trying to get out of her life vest. Well you be safe.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.

SORRELL: Go inside as soon as you can.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bye.

SORRELL: OK. As you heard, a lot of people enjoy I guess, the rain, and the winds. I don't find it too enjoyable. But like we said you know, 13,000 people still here on the island, some trying to make their way around, trying to see what's going on. But as the winds pick up -- and they're expected to be this strong for quite sometime for a few hours longer, you know, it could be dangerous out here.

As we said just a little bit ago, a piece of tin was flapping on a building here and the fire department, actually with sirens blaring, came out here and removed that just because it could be so dangerous if it loosened and blew off as a projectile. So that's the very latest from here on Key West. We'll send it back ...

PHILLIPS: All right, LuAnne Sorrell there in Key West. That was our affiliate WSVN. Jacqui, were you able to see that live shot? Probably not, because you're tracking -- I know. The citizen there holding little Bitsy, the dog, with a little life preserver on. The head kept popping in and out of the little life preserver. I'm hoping she doesn't let go of that dog. But anyway, what are the radars showing you right now?

JERAS: Well, still some possible tornadoes, Kyra, and we've got a new one to talk about. First of all, we'll update you on the one for eastern Broward County. Then we'll for -- get you to the one for Monroe county, which include the upper Keys near Plantation Key.

This is the storm we've been talking about right here. They're actually kind of separated into two storms. And this is the one over here that was near Hollywood. And it's progressed east very quickly, moved past Davie. It looks like it's really weakened very significantly on radar.

But there's this new storm coming in and this one is showing signs that it may have some rotation with it as well. So the tornado warning remains in effect until the top of the hour. Again, eastern Broward County, so you need to take cover.

And, of course, this is the time of the day a lot of the kids are coming home from school. Kids if you're home by yourself, your parents aren't there, you need to get to the lowest level of your home. If you've have a basement, go there. Otherwise, get to an interior room away from doors and windows, and that's the safest place to be until the warning expires. So wait until that thunder and the lightning stops. Wait until 3:00 o'clock before you ahead and head back on out.

The other storm, we'll zoom on down here, farther down to the south. This is Plantation Key, and there you see Islamorada. And this is the area of concern, a possible water spout right in this area here. And this one is also heading off in a westerly direction. This was indicated by radar, near Plantation Key, nine miles south of Key Largo. It's moving northwest at 40 miles per hour.

Tornadoes expected to be near Rock Harbor, and then Plantation Key, within about six minutes from this time. That's a pretty good signature on our radar there so we're a little concerned about that. And as I pull out here, take a look at this line and how far out that extends.

We'll loop it for you, and so you guys are going to be under the gun across the Central Keys, in particular, Key Largo and Plantation Key, over the next number of hours, because of all these little thunderstorms that move on through, any one of them could possibly provide rotation, so you need to be paying very close attention here to these thunderstorms as they continue to move on through.

Let me talk a little bit more on latest update on Rita and walk on over to the weather wall here for you. Rita is a Category 2 hurricane. It did get upgraded. The winds are about 100 miles per hour right now. It is in a strengthening cycle. And we are expecting it to continue to get stronger through the rest of the day. One good note, though, is that it is moving due west. Its closest approach now is just right now and that's about 80 miles south of Key West. The hurricane force winds only extend out 30 miles from the center of the storm. So it looks like we'll probably miss out on some of the sustained hurricane force winds. But we could see a wobble northward. And if we do that, we could see stronger winds move in, but certainly gusts up to hurricane strength, certainly a good possibility.

We're expecting this westward motion to continue, getting close to Category 3, as early as 8:00 for tonight. We'll move through the Gulf of Mexico, through the day on Wednesday, through the day on Thursday, start to turn up to the north by your Friday. Landfall possible Friday night, into Saturday morning into the western Gulf, all eyes right now on Texas -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: OK, Jacqui Jeras, there live in the Weather Center, tracking all the storm's developments. We'll continue to check in with you. We're going to take a quick break. More LIVE FROM, right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, if you didn't get out already, don't try now. That's the warning Florida Governor Jeb Bush is giving to anyone who didn't flee the Keys ahead of Rita. The U.S. one is cut off thanks to high water and hurricane debris, so unless you've got a boat and a serious death wish, well, there is literally no way out now.

That's a feeling that people in the island nation of Cuba know all too well. CNN's Lucia Newman joins us by phone from Havana, where Hurricane Rita has thousands of people hunkered down -- Lucia.

LUCIA NEWMAN: Hello, Kyra. Well, here in Havana the wind and the rain is really beginning to pick up as Hurricane Rita moves closer to the capital and also to Havana Province. Now although (ph) a maximum hurricane alert has been issued, even though the island of Cuba is not in the path of the eye of the storm itself.

Now, as of this morning, some 58,000 people have been evacuated from coastal areas, in the center of the island are just as a precaution. Officials say that hospitals and evacuation centers have been fully stocked with everything necessary to face an emergency. Even though, Kyra, so far very few people have been forcibly evacuated in Havana itself, but there is concern there could be flooding caused by storm surge, even after the eye of the Hurricane Rita gets closer to the Gulf of Mexico -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Lucia, every time this type of weather comes through this area, especially in the Florida area, we always talk to you and get an update. So -- and sometimes it hits Cuba worse than other time. And it seems that they usually fare pretty well there, those living there. They prep for this but it's different because of the way the homes are and basically the urban planning of Cuba, right?

NEWMAN: Absolutely. I mean, people are really very, very prepared and organized in terms of getting out of harm's way, getting people away from where they could be inundated, near rivers, near the sea. But the homes themselves are very decrepit, very, very weak.

So people are taken to evacuation centers often by the millions. Last time are when Hurricane Dennis came by, almost two million people had been evacuated, Kyra. The bad part is afterwards, picking up the pieces. It's a very poor country. They just don't have the resources. Right now, though, they seem to be not get the worst of the storm and so they're counting their blessings, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Lucia Newman there, live in Havana. Thank you so much, Lucia. And as we mentioned earlier, President Bush is on his fifth trip to the battered Gulf coast since Hurricane Katrina hit that region more than three weeks ago. First stop, Gulfport, Mississippi. Despite recovery efforts now underway, many survivors remain angry and bitter over the slow response by the federal government, especially FEMA. And based on the latest polls, much of that anger is directed at President Bush. On top of that, he's taking a big hit over the Iraq war.

Joining me now with his take on all this, our senior political analyst Bill Schneider. White House is not so good a shape, Bill?

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: That's right, the president's job rating are down. And in particular, his rating for the handling of Hurricane Katrina, 57 percent negative in the latest poll. That is actually down. That's that top figure up there. That's actually down from before he gave that prime time speech in New Orleans, which is indication that speech really didn't do the president any good.

Notice also, that a couple of these ratings are lower than his rating on Hurricane Katrina. He gets 63 percent negative for handling the economy and even higher, 67 percent negative, for handling the situation in Iraq. Katrina is only one of President Bush's problems, and it's not the biggest.

PHILLIPS: Well, let's talk about leadership for a minute, Bill. As we look at this next poll, do you think George W. Bush is a strong and decisive leader? You and I were talking about these numbers. And if you think back to 9/11, immediately you saw him at the bullhorn with the fire chief, he was in there and people responded to that. We didn't see him in New Orleans or Gulfport for quite sometime.

SCHNEIDER: That's right, Bush has always survived as a take charge guy, a strong leader. That's one of the advantages he had over John Kerry whom he portrayed as a flip-flopper, one of the main reasons he won re-election.

But you can see, that image has sharply eroded. These figures are just, over the last month or so, actually about three weeks. 60 percent considered him a strong leader in August. Now it's down to fewer than half, 49 percent. Fifty-one percent of Americans say he is not a strong leader. He did not have that bullhorn moment, as they say, as he did after 9/11. And he's struggling to recapture the image as a take charge guy. There is one thing the president does have going for him, however. He's kept his base. He's still strong with Republicans, unlike many of his predecessors who got into trouble, including own father. Republicans are still solidly behind this president, and that's important.

PHILLIPS: But he's pretty much collapsed with Democrats. Let me ask you another question, Bill. And this is just switching gears for a moment. We just got word, Senator Harry Reid, speaking on the floor, talking about John Roberts. Will he be the next chief justice? We've got a little bit of sound here, and then let's get you to respond.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV), MINORITY LEADER: But I have reluctantly concluded that this nominee has not satisfied the very high burden that would justify my voting for confirmation, based on the current record. Based on all these factors, the balance shifts against Judge Roberts. The question is close and the arguments against him do not warrant extraordinary procedural tactics to block his nomination. Nevertheless, I intend to cast my vote against this nomination when the Senate debates the matter next week.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Bill, let's talk about the impact of that vote.

SCHNEIDER: He is the leader of the Democrats, the minority in the Senate. They don't have enough votes to prevent John Roberts from being confirmed. But that's a very important signal. Because he's the first Democrat to come out and take a position on John Roberts and to say clearly he's not going to vote for his confirmation.

He also said, as we heard, that he didn't think that he warrants extraordinary circumstances that would cause the Democrats to support a filibuster to stop Roberts, because everyone agrees that Roberts is qualified for the position.

But Democrats have come to the -- he, at least, has come to the conclusion, probably along with some other Democrats, that Roberts is too risky because he failed to answer questions about his views on some important constitutional issues like abortion rights. So, therefore, he, the leader of the Democrats, is prepared to vote against him.

PHILLIPS: Bill Schneider, thanks so much.

SCHNEIDER: Sure.

PHILLIPS: Straight ahead, fine dining and Cajun cuisine. The Louisiana restaurant industry generates more than $5 billion a year, and it's been hit hard by Katrina. Just ahead, we'll find out about efforts to get the cafes and the bistros back in business.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) PHILLIPS: Well, it's been more than three weeks since New Orleans restaurants served up some of their famous Creole cuisine. Several restaurants across southern Louisiana are trying to reopen, but many challenges remain.

Jim Funk is the chef executive officer of the Louisiana Restaurant Association. He joins me live from Baton Rouge. And Jim, restaurants -- I mean, that's the lifeline of New Orleans.

JIM FUNK, LOUISIANA RESTAURANT ASSN.: Well, you're certainly right. It's big business in this whole state and particularly, New Orleans has the crown jewel of our restaurants. So we have our challenges to -- that we're facing right now.

PHILLIPS: So do you think it's true? I've been reading some numbers. I read that 25 percent of restaurants may never open again. Do you think that will -- that's true?

FUNK: Well, I think that's true in the affected area, in the area that Hurricane Katrina hit. Out of the 3,000 restaurant, 3,300 restaurants that exist in that area, we estimate probably 25 percent of those may not reopen because of different reasons. One, they were totally destroyed. Two, they can't get employees. Three, they didn't have enough insurance to take care of their operation.

PHILLIPS: Well, $2.2 billion a year is what restaurants bringing into that economy -- that's just in New Orleans -- $5 billion statewide. And you mentioned employees. Tell me about this job posting Web site or part of your Web site on LAR.org, what you're doing to try and help the employees.

FUNK: Right. In cooperation with the National Restaurant Association, we've established a job bank. And employees that are displaced all over the country, and they're about 56,000 of them that are out there somewhere, that are working in other areas right now. Hopefully a lot of them will be coming back. Because that's one thing we're really going to need, workers in restaurants when the city reopens.

PHILLIPS: All right, Jim Funk, chief executive officer of Louisiana Restaurant Association. Keep us posted, please, on how things are developing, especially from a health perspective.

I want to get on to a restaurant owner now that I've known for quite a while. When I lived and worked in New Orleans, almost every day, I headed to the West End Cafe, right on Lake Pontchartrain, for lunch. Well, it's now been wiped out. One of other favorite restaurants was right outside of New Orleans in Metairie, called Zeke's.

And Zeke Unangst owns both of those restaurants. He's a longtime friend and is waiting for inspectors now to give him a clean bill of health for his last standing business before he can even reopen. Zeke is in Houston, Texas, joins me now by phone.

Zeke, thanks for being with me. I know it's tough for you and definitely the family. You've been there your whole entire life. You guys know the restaurant business. Looking at what Jim said, what's it going to take to get your restaurant up and going again? I know you're all over it.

ZEKE UNANGST, NEW ORLEANS RESTAURANT OWNER: Well, we just can't give up, you know? We just got to do it. Kyra, before we get started, I want to say, man, you got a pulse of the city and you stand right on top of things and we all really appreciate it, the year you spent down there.

And also, let me say something about the people of Houston, Texas. We came here, you know, with no place, like homeless, and these people rolled out the red carpet. Especially two guys, Dr. Ed Brentsamer (ph) and Ron Sopher (ph). These guys have been princes and it's like they -- it's like you're part of their family.

PHILLIPS: Well, I know you suffered some injuries. And they've been helping you there. And you're trying, meanwhile, while you're taking care of your physical self, your restaurant could possibly open. What's your biggest concern right now, as health inspectors are getting ready to go in and insurance adjusters? What are you the most concerned about right now?

UNANGST: Right at this point in time is my staff, scattered all over the country. They're in California. They're in Minnesota. They're in Montana. They're in Kansas. They're everywhere. But we've communicated with Chef Smitty (ph) and I, we've communicated with them. And everybody sounds like they're ready to come back. And I'm looking forward to come back. You know, it's -- we got to come back, we got to do it. I'm looking at the picture of my kitchen staff there. That's a great crew right there. Chef Smitty's right in the middle.

PHILLIPS: Well -- and as we look at this crew, I mean, they're right -- your biggest challenge right now, as we look at your crew inside your kitchen, is your cooler, right?

UNANGST: Right.

PHILLIPS: I mean, that's the thing that's holding things up. Explain to folks why that's so important.

UNANGST: Well, the cooler is -- it's right -- to that right-hand side of that picture is a 20-by-10 walk-in cooler, which holds all the food that unfortunately, when we lost power, spoiled. And what I'm concerned about is the toxicity -- you know, when food turns toxic. I'm concerned about toxic mold getting into walls. I don't think it's going to happen, but that's my big concern. Once we get the insurance adjustor in there to see the thing and we start cleaning up, we'll know further where we have to go from there. But then, of course, we also have to pass a Board of Health inspection, because I've already got a notice from them.

PHILLIPS: Well, and you know I have to ask you about -- I mean, you're famous for your fresh seafood. That's what makes your food so good. Have you been able to get in touch with your oyster guys, your shrimp guys, and all the fish guys? Because that what makes your food so great.

UNANGST: I've been trying to get the oyster guy since day one, Nick Bez (ph). My crawfish guy, he took a hit in Bucktown. Speckled trout, that's -- I can't find them. I've been trying to find everybody from Houston, Texas, and it's tough. The fresh seafood, like crabs and oysters and -- I think the fish will come back. But crabs and oysters are going to be in jeopardy for an while. Especially oysters. They took a beating.

PHILLIPS: Well, Zeke Unganst. The restaurant is Zeke's on Metairie Road. It's still standing. I hope the inspection goes well. You know I'll be following it, because as soon as I'm there, I'll be headed for that seafood, I'll tell you that. And I'll get the crew there.

UNANGST: I know one thing, sweetheart, we'll always have three staples: Smitty's seafood gumbo, red beans and rice and fried chicken.

PHILLIPS: And you know what? That's all we need. Zeke Unangst. Thanks, Zeke.

UNANGST: Thanks, Kyra, love you to death.

PHILLIPS; Ah, the feeling is mutual.

We're going to take a quick break. We'll be right back.

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PHILLIPS: Quick check on Wall Street. We're watching the numbers. Dow Industrials down 53 points. We're going to take a quick break. More LIVE FROM right after this.

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PHILLIPS: And video just in from WFOR. Actually, this is a live picture right now, from WPLG. Thousands of residents off the Florida Keys, moving to safer territory ahead of Hurricane Rita. And now officials say if you haven't left yet, don't try to leave now. High winds and sheets of rain lashed the Keys all morning today, as squall lines from Hurricane Rita moved through.

Key West Mayor Jim Weekely says that 40 percent to 50 percent of the residents of his city had left ahead of the storm, leaving about 13,000 people there. Buses took 250 people to Florida International University in Miami. Also, the mayor saying, in past hurricanes, he said, only about 25 percent of the city's residents left. He's crediting the recent Hurricane Katrina disaster with prompting people to take the evacuation seriously, listen to evacuation orders and get out.

Now we're told the storm surge has pushed about a foot and a half of water and debris over U.S. Highway 1. You'll know that area well if you're from that area. We're continuing to follow all the coverage. Our Jacqui Jeras live in the Weather Center, tracking every ounce of Hurricane Rita and her movement. She'll be bringing you live coverage throughout the day.

SITUATION ROOM starts right now.

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