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Galveston Evacuating Ahead of Rita; New Orleans Busses Evacuees Out of City; History Shows Category 4 Storms Devastating; Houston Calls for Voluntary Evacuations

Aired September 21, 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: Rita rages on, gaining strength and gunning for the Gulf Coast. We're tracking the storm.
Lining up and getting out of town. Texans preparing for the worst from Rita. We're on the story.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LT. GEN. RUSSEL HONORE, U.S. ARMY: We've got buses. We've got troops. We've got doctors. We've got helicopters standing by. I've got backup troops, and we've got medical capability, across the street.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Gearing up for whatever this storm sends to an already devastated region.

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

ANNOUNCER: CNN, your hurricane headquarters.

PHILLIPS: And now we wait. The latest monster hurricane in a monstrous season has cleared the Keys and is tracking toward Texas, some 2 1/2 days away. In between, the vast and sultry Gulf of Mexico. Hurricane fueled, the highest octane already pushing Rita to Category 4, the top winds of 140 miles an hour.

CNN's meteorologist Jacqui Jeras has the latest stats and forecast tracks in our weather center -- Jacqui.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, Kyra, it looks like it's continuing to gain strength at this time, believe it or not. We're waiting to hear from the hurricane hunters, who are going to be flying in this storm this afternoon, and whether or not those winds are getting stronger.

But a very good looking storm in terms of a classic, very powerful hurricane. It's very symmetrical. It's very large. In fact, the wind field on this thing goes across nearly 300 miles. So it's almost 300 miles wide for the tropical storm force winds. And it's expected to continue to expand, as it moves through the Gulf and continues to get stronger. In fact, we could see this become a Category 5 hurricane, believe it or not. But we tend to see fluctuations in intensity when storms are this strong, so we could see it go up to a 5, but then it very easily could go back to a 4 as well.

We don't get our advisories as often, either, anymore. We are going to have to wait until 5 p.m. to get a new advisory from the National Hurricane Center.

At 11 a.m. Eastern Time, that's where we got the 145 mile per hour winds. And the location for that, which is about 755 miles now east-southeast of Corpus Christi, Texas.

We have to rely on satellite imagery now, as you can see. We can't really pick up the entire storm any longer on our radar. It's getting too far away. The farthest outside right there is Key West, Florida.

You can see the Keys doing much better right now. I'm not really looking at much for rain there. Some isolated showers and thunderstorms will be possible throughout the rest of the afternoon but nothing compared to what they have been enduring.

Strong storm heading off to the west right now, 15 miles per hour. It is expected to eventually start curving up to the west- northwest and then just northwest. And I still -- by the way, take note of some of these strong winds in the forecast Thursday. There you can see Friday, 140 mile per hour wind. That's Category 4. Making landfall as a major hurricane, Category 3 or better, is what we are expecting.

The best estimate at this time between Corpus Christi and Galveston. And even if Galveston doesn't get a direct hit, they're probably going to see some significant storm surge and some very powerful winds, as they will be on the bad side of that storm -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Jacqui, thank you so much.

Well, it's almost high tide in Key West where Rita as a Cat 2 caused some flooding but did little other damage. All eyes now on Texas: the island of Galveston and big city Houston in particular.

But New Orleans and Biloxi both know they could miss Rita's landfall by hundreds of miles and still suffer tragic setbacks.

We have reporters and crews all over, including Deborah Feyerick in Galveston.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: People in Galveston started boarding these buses at 10 a.m. in the morning; 2,000 people reserved spaces. The city called in some 80 school buses to make sure that everyone could be evacuated. And so these folks called on Monday to make sure they'd get one of those seats. People are bringing a bag filled with a couple of changes of clothing, medication. City officials telling these folks bring at least three months' worth. A couple of folks brought some Bibles and school books.

Families evacuating with their children, people evacuating with their pets. The city made the determination that yes, pets could go with their owners, try to avoid some of the problems that happened in New Orleans.

But a state of emergency does exist. Mandatory evacuation earlier this morning for people living in nursing homes and assisted living facilities. Depending on how the storm hits and where it hits, it is likely that Galveston will impose that mandatory evacuation by 6 p.m. They're willing to move up the time -- that's Central Time, of course -- if indeed, they have to.

All these folks going to shelters in Huntsville, Texas. Red Cross ready to receive them there.

Deborah Feyerick, CNN, Galveston, Texas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: And we'll hear more from Deb in just a few minutes at the Galveston command center right here on LIVE FROM.

Well, once again, the convention center figures into evac planning in New Orleans. But this time, only a staging point for buses that are ready and waiting to take the willing to high ground.

CNN's Mary Snow is there -- Mary.

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, you know, the Army Corps of Engineers has said that New Orleans is essentially dry. But there's so much concern that even a couple of inches of rain could trigger flooding because of the weakened levees and pumping stations.

What the mayor has done is ordered a mandatory evacuation for the east bank here of New Orleans. And he's told people that they can come to the convention center, that outside of this convention center there is a staging area. He says he can have 500 buses available if need be.

So far, this morning, only a handful of people have come by to get on a bus to leave New Orleans. Yesterday there were about two busloads, according to the mayor.

But one resident we ran into, we want to introduce you to, is Al Gant.

Al, you stayed here in New Orleans during Katrina. You have a house in the Central Business District that was flooded. You told me you're staying in a hotel. Last night you decided to leave. Tell me why. AL GANT, NEW ORLEANS RESIDENT: Well, after staying for the duration of Katrina and all that and now have being exposed to the water, I haven't had a chance to have any shots or anything. Then with Rita coming along and it looks like it's going to delay thing a little longer, plus I heard the mayor yesterday with the news conference, about leaving. So I decided about time to get out of Dodge.

SNOW: Yes, enough was enough.

GANT: Enough's enough. About the size of it.

SNOW: Now you showed up here today. You're not really sure where you're going, right?

GANT: No. I'm hoping I go somewhere north where I can connect with some family members up in Memphis, hopefully.

SNOW: And I see you have with you only one bag. What did you bring with you?

GANT: Few things that I scrapped together, a change of shirt, pants, books, things like that. A few personal, you know...

SNOW: So you're just going to get on a bus, hope for the best? And make your...

GANT: Hope for the best, that's about the size of it.

SNOW: Will you come back to New Orleans?

GANT: By all means.

SNOW: Are you -- how are you feeling at this point, having to leave here now?

GANT: Well, I've been here for a few years and I always -- they always spoke of the big one. We finally got it. So we just have to rebuild from here. Which we will do.

SNOW: Al Gant, thank you very much for joining us. And all the best of luck to you.

GANT: Thank you.

SNOW: I hope everything goes OK for you.

GANT: Thank you.

SNOW: And Kyra, we're going to through it back to you.

PHILLIPS: All right. Mary Snow, thank you so much. We'll continue to check in with you there at the convention center.

And when it comes to Cat 4 hurricane, the "cat" may as well stand for "catastrophic." CNN's Anderson Cooper takes a look back. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON COOPER, HOST, "ANDERSON COOPER 360" (voice-over): Galveston, Texas, already knows what it's like to be in the crosshairs of a Category 4 hurricane. The worst natural disaster ever in the United States was the Galveston hurricane of 1900. It slammed into that town on September 8, a Category 4 storm.

We only have still pictures to remember the devastation. But moving pictures aren't needed to feel the storm's power. One hundred and thirty mile per hour winds and waves 15 feet high leveled the town. Half of its homes were lost. More than 8,000 of Galveston's residents died.

Category 4's haven't been much kinder in recent times. Charleston, South Carolina, felt the force of Hurricane Hugo in 1989. The storm hammered the historic port city and wreaked havoc inland with intense tornadoes and flooding. meteorologists later estimated the hurricane had 3,000 tornadoes embedded within it. The storm claimed 26 lives and caused $7 billion in damage.

Last year's Hurricane Charley was a tightly wound Category 4 that literally tore apart tiny Punta Gorda, Florida. Winds topped 145 miles per hour, and gusts were recorded as high as 180.

One house will be fine, the house next door will be completely destroyed.

Charley's aftermath turned the town into something of a moonscape. Bricks and mortar were torn apart. The roofs of houses provided no shelter. Charley claimed 10 lives in the U.S., and damages topped $14 billion.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS (voice-over): Next on LIVE FROM, Rita roughs up Florida. And the Gulf Coast prepares for the strengthening storm. Emergency officials give us the sit rep on getting ready.

Later on LIVE FROM, billions of dollars to pay for rebuilding after Katrina. Where's the money coming from?

SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV), MINORITY LEADER: It's not the tax time for cutting Medicaid.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now is not the time for us to reduce our commitment to our soldiers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our children ultimately are going to have to pay for it.

PHILLIPS: We go to Capitol Hill to find out.

Also ahead, the dauntless dolphins. An update on how these hurricane survivors stuck together and made it through the storm.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, as Hurricane Rita moves fast, so do all our reporters in the area. We've been tuning in with all our affiliates. This time with KIRV as folks are getting out of Galveston. Here's what one reporter just brought to us moments ago.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You got all your stuff?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shortly after sunrise, they began to line up and wait. These are Texas evacuees, among the first ordered to leave Galveston on city buses.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We ain't going to stay around for this one.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No one here will be sticking around. They're all headed, men, women, children, even beloved pets in carriers, to a shelter in Huntsville. Some say they know they may never see their island home again.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't even bother. There's not going to be anything left.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Across town, more evacuees this time at the Edgewater Nursing Home. Nursing homes and assisted living care centers are the first to leave under Galveston's mandatory evacuation order.

The mayor called for voluntary evacuations Tuesday. The rest of the island is ordered to evacuate by 6 p.m. today.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If you are staying, your services are going to be disrupted and when the storm, tide waters get high enough and we can't get to you, we cannot rescue you. So please make plans to evacuate.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Once again that was Todd Duplantis (ph), reporting to us there through one our affiliates in Galveston, Texas.

Now I'm being told -- are we going to go to Frank Michel? OK, great. He's with the Houston mayor's office.

Frank, can you hear me OK?

FRANK MICHEL, HOUSTON MAYOR'S OFFICE: ... Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Can you hear me?

MICHEL: I can hear you, yes.

PHILLIPS: Terrific. Thanks, Frank. Obviously, this is happening quickly. Thank you for calling in. We appreciate it.

You're based in Houston right now. Obviously, work for the mayor there. A lot going on to prepare for Hurricane Rita. A lot of people there in Houston that actually fled Mississippi and Louisiana. And all of you, of course, get incredible marks for what you've done for the people in other states. But now you're preparing for Rita, correct?

MICHEL: That's correct. The mayor and the county judge just came out of a press conference a little while ago and were calling for people in the low-lying storm surge areas -- and there are a lot of low-lying areas in Houston, of course, and people moving in mobile homes to go ahead and, on voluntary basis, begin to evacuate.

PHILLIPS: Now, Frank, as you can just imagine, everybody there that came from Louisiana, Mississippi, and now they're finding refuge in Houston, do you get a sense that a lot of these folks seem to think they just can't get a break?

MICHEL: Well, yes. We're hearing from some of those people who are concerned, obviously concerned about it. We're getting a number of phone calls here at the mayor's office. And, you know, we certainly sympathize with them. But we're going to do our best to deal with this storm. And we're going to use the same efficiency and energy and compassion we did, the sheltering operation, to do what we can to help people through this, too.

PHILLIPS: Well, the low-lying areas, those are the areas you're that you're concerned about, only those areas, correct?

MICHEL: Well, at the moment, but, you know, Houston is a pretty low-lying place and there are a lot of bayous and streams and things. And we've had flooding problems even without hurricanes.

Also, this is, I'm told, a Category 4 storm, and if it continues on the present path, we're likely to be on what they call the dirty side of it. So, you know, the high winds and -- in addition to the storm surge, they're certainly a concern.

PHILLIPS: At what point will you call for an evacuation? Do you think that that's what you'll need to do?

MICHEL: Well, the mayor and county judge has called beginning at 6 p.m. tonight. In our state emergency plan there are sort of three zones, starting at the coast and working inland, zones A, B, and C. And starting at 6 p.m. tonight, there will be a mandatory evacuation kind of rolling through 6 a.m. tomorrow. And then we'll make a judgment after that or sometime during that about whether we have to take further steps.

PHILLIPS: And of course, Frank, we've got to go, but I've got to ask you this. You're making sure that those who do not have cars or transportation, specifically in the poorer neighborhoods, transportation will be provided to get those people out, correct?

MICHEL: We do. We have mobilized the metro system here and a number of other assets. We've got, you know, the transit bus and things. We've got hundreds them standing by. We're asking people to call 311 if they -- we prefer people to make their own arrangements and make them early. But if somebody absolutely needs our help, we'll ask them to sign 311 and sign up for that assistance.

PHILLIPS: All right. Once again, that's 311, if indeed you need assistance getting out of Houston. Frank Michel with the Houston's mayor's office, thank you so much, Frank.

MICHEL: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Well, something else to consider. Houston, Texas is home to the Johnson Space Center, currently the earth-bound command post for the International Space Station.

NASA officials are working out possible evacuation plans. And that involves turning over control of the space station to Russia's mission control near Moscow.

The Johnson Space Center is near Clear Lake in southeast Houston and employs about 15,000 people.

Hurricane Rita's still uncertain path has coastal residents from northern Mexico to Louisiana anticipating a possible direct hit. People living in the storm's projected path are leaving for higher ground, many of them ordered to do so.

Major General Doug Burnett joins me now. He's the adjunct general for the state of Florida, meaning he's in charge of the state's Army and Air National Guard. He's been down this hurricane prep road many times.

Good to see you, sir.

MAJ. GEN. DOUG BURNETT, ADJUNCT GENERAL FOR FLORIDA: Good morning -- good afternoon, Kyra, good to see you.

PHILLIPS: Oh, it's a pleasure.

I want to talk about Florida and Texas. I know you have a lot of assets in Louisiana right now. But when you and I were talking about how you're going to go forward and make sure these areas are covered with the men and women you command, you said, No. 1, the communications and the technology, communication-wise, is a huge priority.

We saw the breakdown in Louisiana. Tell me where you're on front of this. BURNETT: Well, there's no question that high-tech communications, satellite-based -- for us, it's a system called Isaacs, which works extremely well. It's a piece of gear the National Guard must have to report the search and rescue piece and assess requirements.

We have that Isaacs system right now at Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, providing not only telephone communications but Internet capability, data stream, those kind of things.

We're supplying for the chief of police, the mayor, as should be, and we also have another system readily available.

So that is a piece of equipment that is key. We need to look at funding that for the future. And there's no question there's a shortage of those kinds of communication, of pieces, in the National Guard. Fortunately, we have enough to get the job done that's in front of us. We'll need to be a little more resourced to do it better.

PHILLIPS: What about high-wheel vehicles? I know you have a lot of assets overseas. We saw that that was basically the miracle vehicle in Louisiana. Do you have enough of those?

BURNETT: We do have enough to meet needs. But basically, before 9/11, we had about 74 percent our requirements for high-wheel trucks. We're now down across America to about 34 percent. We need to look at that.

The Army has done a great job in resourcing the equipment needs of the National Guard: $4.3 billion in the last two years. And we hope that commitment continues. But right now, there needs to be about $3 or 3.5 billion worth of High-wheel vehicle, five tons if you will, that would be purchased and put back in the National Guard so we can continue to do all the great things that we do.

PHILLIPS: You've got 2,000 troops in Florida. You've got troops in Louisiana. Do you have enough troops to send to Texas, if the governor says, "General, I need help?"

BURNETT: Yes, we do. And of course, that request would come, as it should, through civilian elected leadership, governor to governor. We do have about 2,000 -- a little more than that, actually -- mobilized for Hurricane Rita right now, another 2,000 on high alert. We'll remain there. It's about 2,000 oversea, 1,500 in Afghanistan.

That still leaves us in round numbers, 7,000, 8,000 soldiers. So we'll keep some reserve for another hurricane that may be in the breech. But there's plenty.

And remember, Lieutenant General Blomba (ph), chief National Guard bureau, constantly balances forces across America. So there's no question that the forces in Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, are available to Florida or Texas.

And as the adjunct general, we all know exactly where that capability is. And it's kind of a seamless piece. But forces are available and we can push out huge capability very, very rapidly. And we're resetting to do that for Texas now.

PHILLIPS: Well, I also know you sent special forces in to Louisiana, too, via Black Hawks. You've got those guys on standby.

Sir, we'll continue to check in with you. Let us know as things develop. We'll be calling you, also.

BURNETT: Thank you very much, and your communication is very helpful, very smart in these disasters. There's no question, we get a good sight picture from our media. Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Well, you help us tremendously, General Doug Burnett. Thank you so much, sir.

BURNETT: Proud to serve.

PHILLIPS: Straight ahead, retailers are calling it a panic for being prepared, and some of them have been having a hard time keeping up with that demand. We're going to have details later on, on LIVE FROM.

And up next what will Hurricane Rita mean for the nation's oil supply? Ali Velshi is going to tell us all about it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ever wish you could do a keyword search through your memories, to recall a phone number or part of a conversation? Sunil Vemuri discovered a way to make that dream a reality.

SUNIL VEMURI, PRINCIPAL SCIENTIST, MIT: What I have is a portable device which I carry around with me at all times, and which allows me to record anything that happens in my life.

After we've recorded all the conversations and I have a database in my life that dates back about two to three years, I can do, similar to what we do when we search the Internet.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This tool also converts audio into text files, allowing for a quick search through hours of conversation.

VEMURI: ... and years from now when exactly that big tsunami hit.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But don't expect this device to be on the market for a few more years. Vemuri says he's still working out privacy issues and how to protect these memory recordings from being subpoenaed.

VEMURI: I want it to get to the point where you could record for the sake of memory, while at the same time not worrying about somebody stealing your recordings to use against you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Galveston, Texas, hoping not to be ground zero of what the governor says will quite likely be a devastating storm, Rita, by name. And CNN's Deborah Feyerick following the worst case scenario prep at the Galveston command center.

Give us a feel for what it's like, Deb.

FEYERICK: Well, Kyra, we can tell you that the evacuation this morning of about 1,500 people went off without a hitch. It was smooth. It was organized. They got those people on the buses. And they got them on, in some cases with their pets, dogs and cats. Everybody heading off to Huntsville, Alabama -- I'm sorry, Huntsville, Texas. I apologize. For a two-hour ride. They rolled down the windows in the school buses and everybody went off, eager to get off the island.

There are still some buses in place. That's for people who come later on in the day. The mayor has said that they will be available. And obviously, if more people come, they will make sure that those buses get off the island.

There are no shelters on this island. Red Cross has opened up nothing. They just feel that this is going to be hit so hard that it's not even worth setting up these shelters. And that's why they're moving everybody north to get them out of the hurricane's path.

Now the mayor has warned for anybody who chooses to stay behind, there is no guarantee that they will be rescued. Nine-one-one, fire, police, all of them will be weathering out the storm, but it is unlikely that they will be able to respond to any sort of 911 calls whatsoever until the storm has cleared. And the mayor has made it very clear.

The street of Galveston, in the meantime, they are quiet. All the stores by the ocean, boarded up. Everything quiet. People have gotten out of town. It's a little bit eerie almost to see so few people at lunch on a Wednesday.

Now, as for the bridge, one of the big concerns and the reason they want to get some people off is because at some point winds will make it almost impossible to cross that bridge from Galveston Island onto the mainland. And that's why they began the evacuation 72 hours in advance, to make sure that those people who live here can get off in time.

As for the hospitals, those have been cleared out, as well. So right now, everything in place. The mayor and her team expected to ride out this storm at the San Luis Hotel. We are told it is built over a World War II bunker. So they are in good shape. They feel they will be able to weather this.

Back to you in the newsroom.

PHILLIPS: All right. Deb Feyerick, thank you so much.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

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