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CNN Live Today

Katrina's Path and Aftermath; Disaster in Europe

Aired August 26, 2005 - 10:59   ET

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

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: The ex-wife of BTK serial killer Dennis Rader is fighting to keep the proceeds from selling their home. A judge is hearing arguments on the issue this morning. Rader's wife wants his name removed from the title on the house. There are liens against it from civil suits by families of Rader's victims.
Good morning. Welcome to CNN LIVE TODAY. Let's check the time around the world.

Just past 11:00 a.m. in Miami, Florida; just past 5:00 p.m. in Paris; and just past 7:00 p.m. in Baghdad.

From CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Daryn Kagan.

Let's get started with Hurricane Katrina, its path and its aftermath. Katrina is blamed for at least four deaths in southeast Florida. The storm left more than a million customers without power.

Katrina was briefly downgraded back to a tropical storm, but it has regained hurricane status. The storm has entered the Gulf of Mexico after sweeping south Florida. The slow speed of the storm raises concerns about more flooding.

Already, some streets and neighborhoods are under water. The storm dumped up to 13 inches of rain in some areas of southeast Florida. Several small planes and a hangar at this airport were damaged.

There's our airport video. Major airports that shut down during the storm are starting to reopen this morning.

Chad Myers, Susan Candiotti are monitoring Hurricane Katrina and where it's been and where it's going. Susan is in Hollywood, Florida. Chad is at the weather center here in Atlanta.

Chad, we start with you.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Starting with the new 11:00 advisory, Daryn. The storm getting stronger now, 80 miles per hour. Just had a wind gust in Key West Harbor on a NOAA ship to 86 miles per hour.

The storm is 60 miles from Key West, but one of those outer squall bands, one of those feeder bands, moved right into Key West, Key West Harbor, now to about Shark Key. But that area had wind gusts to 86 miles per hour just a few minutes ago. There you see the big line of orange and red there. And obviously that's what happens anywhere, anywhere that you get one of these little outer edges or outer bands. There were a couple earlier, they're gone now up there across the north. But as they go away, or as they come and go, one band will bring some rain, and then it's going to be calm and the sun comes out. Then another band will bring some rain.

It is moving away from the coast of Florida now. There could be a little bit of storm surge from the wind that blows from about, oh, the Everglades back up to Naples. Looking at maybe a three-foot extra kind of storm surge there. Talked about that with the hurricane center a little bit ago.

But there's Key West. There's the storm.

Where does it go from here? Well, the new update -- this just came in -- it's 80 miles per hour. But also, if you can see this, you've got a good enough TV, there's a number three inside that hurricane.

That means Category 3. That means 111 to 130 miles per hour. This is 8:00 Monday morning, making somewhere landfall here, at least on this, in western Florida.

Now, notice -- I want you to see the cone. The cone gets all the way from Cedar Key to completely off the screen. So it's still not out of the question that this thing gets to Louisiana.

We have to watch the upper-level winds. The problem, Daryn, when it gets into the Gulf of Mexico, we don't know where they go sometimes until the NOAA jet flies back and forth, back and forth, and puts down all of these little observations.

Guess why? Nobody lives here. Nobody lives in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico. There are no weather balloons floating around up there telling us what the winds are like. So it's very hard to get a wind direction in a place that you don't have any data.

Back to you.

KAGAN: But from the looks of things, it's a good thing no one's living there, because no one's going to want to be in the middle of all that.

MYERS: Yes. When Sunday comes around, Saturday night and Sunday, we're really going to have to watch to see what part of Florida, Mississippi, Alabama or Louisiana this thing hits.

KAGAN: All right. You'll be doing that for us, Chad. Thank you.

MYERS: You're welcome.

KAGAN: Now let's get a closer look at the damage that Hurricane Katrina is leaving behind in southeast Florida, and bring in our national correspondent, Susan Candiotti. She is in Hollywood, Florida, this morning -- Susan.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Daryn.

As people are cleaning up here in Hollywood, you can some of them -- that work going on over my shoulder. You know, one of the hardest things you have to try to do without after some of these storms is power. And over a million people here in south Florida are without it. Crews are already trying to restore power to as many customers as they can, but realistically, the people at Florida Power and Light tell me it will take throughout the rest of this day before they can even make a real hard estimate about how long it will take to restore power to all of its customers.

In the meantime, about 200,000 customers are back on line so far since the overnight hours. So that, of course, gives some hope to other people. But naturally, they are starting first with mostly fire departments, police departments, hospitals and the like.

But there's a lot of work to be done because of a lot of flooding that has taken place and a lot of trees down. We have seen people in canoes having to get around their neighborhoods. Not uncommon after a lot of these hurricanes.

And south Florida, being below sea level in so many areas, makes flashfloods particularly harmful. And you usually find that after hurricanes here. Anywhere up to 15, sometimes isolated cases of 20, inches of rain in parts of south Florida.

Also, dramatic pictures of an overpass that was under construction that collapsed. Evidently, the strong winds and/or the rain made the beams weak. And that forced this huge concrete structure that was under construction to fall down on the highway below it.

Fortunately, no one was hurt, but it's going to take some time to clean that up and then find out whether the highway below it is useable, is passable. But a lot of detours in that area right now.

Small planes at some of the regional airports flipped over; however, we can tell you that both Miami International and Fort Lauderdale International Airports are both back open for business this day. But as we all know, Hurricane Katrina not done yet.

This word of advice for panhandle residents from Florida Governor Jeb Bush...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. JEB BUSH (R), FLORIDA: We're at least three days away from another landfall, which means that the families in the panhandle area, once again, should take precautions to prepare for the possibility of a storm coming. You have two days to calmly go about your business of making sure that you have the necessary supplies for your home, that your home has been secured. And we would urge you to do so.

(END VIDEO CLIP) CANDIOTTI: And here's a statistic to think about as we wrap things up. Six hurricanes have hit the state of Florida alone in just the past year. We believe that sets a record for the number of hurricanes hitting a single state in just one year. This is since last August.

Daryn, back to you.

KAGAN: Yes, not the kind of history folks in Florida want to make. But we will make note of that. Thank you.

Susan Candiotti in Hollywood, Florida.

Other flooding to talk about today, this in parts of central Europe. Cleanup and recovery efforts are getting under way. One of hard-hit areas -- of the hard-hit areas is the Swiss capital of Bern, where a surging river had authorities racing to save lives.

Our Chris Burns has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS BURNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The River Ara, which goes around the capital here, just down below me is raging. It is lapping up on the edges of the banks, and it has actually breached the banks at one place. And hundreds of people had to be evacuated from a low-lying area of the capital yesterday, not only on boats, but from helicopters as the river suddenly rose.

Now, the river has come back down to the edge of its banks. But authorities are, again, thinking that the water could come back up, because back up river there could -- there is likely to be more rain the next few days, and (INAUDIBLE) are blasting away at driftwood, trying to clear those rivers to prevent major flashfloods from happening. And that could loosen up some water as well.

So that concern. But there are towns and villages across the Alps from here all the way to Bulgaria that are -- that are cut off. And helicopters here in Switzerland as well are being used to evacuate tourists, even cows from areas that are cut off by the high water. There's also the cleanup effort going on throughout the area, also in Germany, where some of the flooding has eased. But there's still flood warnings.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: And now let's look at other stories making news overseas.

To Japan. Typhoon Mawar ripped through Tokyo, packing 67-mile- per-hour winds and dumping torrential rains there. The typhoon is being blamed for one death and the injuries of two people.

It has since been downgraded to a tropical storm. Although the storm is letting up, parts of Japan's main island are still under flood watch as the storm turns towards the Pacific. In southeastern Paris, an investigation is under way into an overnight apartment fire that left 17 people dead and 30 injured. Six of the dead are children, and authorities expect the number of fatalities to rise.

The fire erupted in the main stairwell, preventing some residents from escaping. The seven-story building was home to a number of several West African immigrants. The cause of that fire is unknown.

When the buzzer sounds, it means a reporter has asked Thailand's prime minister an unconstructive question. It's his way of turning the tables on the press, which he says is critical of him. The prime minister says he brought in the children's toy to loosen up the mood at press conferences, but some reporters say they don't see what the buzz is all about.

I bet there's some politicians in this country that would love to get one of those out.

Katrina and the coverage staying front and center this hour.

Plus, these stories as well...

Beach homes mean beach blues for American taxpayers. How hurricanes cost you even if you live in the middle of the country. You might be shocked at this.

And when news makes news. It happens when Katrina pulls the plugs. How one Miami station covered the storm in the dark.

And Lance Armstrong and the doping allegations. He blames what he calls a slimy French newspaper for starting a sink (ph). His talk with our Larry King just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: People around the country watch CNN when disaster hits. But if it's in your own back yard, you often depend on your local news coverage to find out what's going on. So what happens when local news gets caught up in the crisis? We thought you might like to see this behind-the-scenes look of one of our affiliates, WSVN, as it had to deal with the eye of the storm.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are off the air because of a generator problem.

TOM HAYNES, WSVN NEWS ANCHOR: It's unbelievable. And I say that literally, because I've been asking folks around here in the newsplex who have been here for many years, 15, 20 years, they've never seen anything like it. And what you were saying before is true, this place hasn't been in the eye wall of a hurricane.

BELKYS NEREY, WSVN NEWS ANCHOR: Craig and I are on the desk. We just tossed to Phil Ferro. He was updating us, doing his thing, and it went to black in the studio and everywhere.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just lost my -- I just lost my computer.

HAYNES: Not only is the power out, but our generator has blown. And you and I walked out there earlier and saw sparks flying out of it. I mean, this is the power that this storm is packing right now.

CHARLES BILLI, WSVN REPORTER: Actually, what we are experiencing right now is unprecedented in Miami television. I don't believe that Channel 7 has ever gone off the air during any sort of storm coverage. Maybe for a short time because of a power situation, but you are taking a look inside the 7 Newsplex in a way you will probably never see it again. You are looking at literally hundreds of news personnel, all here to cover Hurricane Katrina, and sitting in front of computers that don't work, television sets that are not on, and inside of a station that is dark, black.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Who's got a full battery cell phone?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I do.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I do.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was looking forward to old school.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh.

Wow. There you have it. There you have it. They're running.

We have -- we have executive producers -- look at this, look at the activity to get this newsplex back up and running, a team effort of massive proportions. You can see Craig getting back up on the desk right there. Belkys is running in.

You'll be able to see them. And the cameras are up. Everything sparked hot, up and running.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you the only reporter here?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, ma'am.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You've got to put together this package.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Now, you know that person who was pointing fingers, that's either a supervising producer, an assignment editor, getting right to it. You, you, you, do something.

We are covering the hurricane from viewers like you. You never go away. People who ride out the storm and are sending us pictures of some of the damage that they have seen. Wes Roddy of Doral, Florida, sent us a picture a tree uprooted blocking a road. And here's another angle with a closer view. Ooh, nasty. Doral is located west of the Miami Airport area.

Bruce Gilling sent us this picture from Miami. You can see that some boats have collided with the bridge, and one of them sank.

You can add to our coverage. If you live in an area affected by Hurricane Katrina, email us your photos. You can do that by logging on to CNN.com/stories. Please include your name, your location and your phone number. We really appreciate your help.

And we're getting news this morning out of Jackson, Wyoming. Alan Greenspan is speaking out, and he is saying he's concerned for some specific reasons about the U.S. economy.

Our Kathleen Hays is on the phone to tell us more -- Kathleen.

KATHLEEN HAYS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Daryn.

Well, you know, this is a very interesting conference I'm attending. It's the 29th annual symposium. We're in the foothills of the Grand Tetons with policymakers from the Federal Reserve, from around the world. And, of course, this is kind of a big academic enclave, but there -- he's looking at some really basic things that I think really have a lot of importance for regular American consumers and investors.

And in particular, he's talking about what the Fed's going to have to look when he leaves the Fed. He's been there for 18 years. And a lot of people are wondering, who's going to take over from the maestro?

One thing he singles out in his remarks opening this conference this morning is the run-up in stock prices and home prices. And, of course, that's on everyone's mind -- is it going to last?

He seems to be saying that there is always the possibility that people are putting too little risk on the chance that home prices, stock prices, could go down just like they go up. And that's something that policymakers are going to have to watch very, very carefully.

He said it in Green speak, but it's something that's on his mind. And I think he's saying it's something that should be on policymakers' minds in the months ahead.

KAGAN: Well, and Kathleen, he realizes that when Alan Greenspan speaks, people listen. Markets can respond. It can have very serious implications.

HAYS: That's right. And I think that's why he's saying it in the broadest terms, the most veiled terms. Not like he's saying this is going to happen, but he's just saying it's something that everybody has to keep their eye on. He's also talking about how the Fed has followed a policy for the last 18 years of not looking at anything specific thing, like oil prices or inflation or jobs, but how they look at a broad array of factors. And what they try to do is avoid any kind of meltdown in the economy.

They try to avoid that by managing risk. And someone commenting on Greenspan's record today talked about the record of oil shocks and how the Federal Reserve has had a good record of managing them, not cutting rates to offset them when they hurt consumers, not raising rates when it looks like it might be inflationary, and perhaps suggesting that that's the policy the Fed should continue to follow now.

But again, the question of oil prices definitely on everyone's mind, not just when they fill up at the gas pump, but when they're at the Fed trying to set interest rates.

KAGAN: All right. That's Kathleen Hays calling in from Jackson, Wyoming.

Kathleen, make sure you get outside a little bit. You're in one of the prettiest places in America. Just don't stay inside listening to all the economists talk. My two cents there.

We're going to take a break. We are watching Hurricane Katrina and other news of the day after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: There is a new development with Hurricane Katrina. Chad Myers here to tell us about that.

MYERS: Yes, I thought I'd give you this update, because we just gave you the 11:00 update saying it was 80 miles an hour. The National Hurricane Center has an airplane in the storm.

The Hurricane Hunter aircraft just found a 100-mile-per-hour wind in the storm. Not a gust, a sustained wind of 100 miles per hour. And it's taking it up to 111, 110 knots in 60 hours.

So that's right at almost Category 4. Here's what we're looking at here.

Here's Key Colony Beach, here's Key West right there. There was a NOAA ship in the Key West Harbor. It had a wind gust of 86. And look how far that is away from the eye itself.

So here is now the updated, updated 11:00 Category 2 hurricane, 100 miles per hour. The numbers didn't change because the distance didn't move very much. But the storm is much larger.

Now these numbers have changed. Now this Category 2 -- because it already is a Category 2 -- then getting to Category 3 by Sunday morning. The position didn't change, but the strength did now, 110 knots. And let me work that out for you. I have a little converter here.

That's about 126 miles per hour as it sits off the northwest Florida Gulf Coast right there for Monday morning. This is getting -- we knew it was going to be a very dangerous storm. And right now, there's no real reason why this couldn't even get to be a Category 4.

We know, Daryn -- we know it's going to be a major hurricane with major damage. And also major damage inland as well.

This thing isn't going to just stop and go to zero as soon as it hits Florida. This is going to hit Mississippi, Alabama, maybe Georgia. And then on up through the Carolinas with a lot of wind as well.

KAGAN: All right, Chad. We'll be checking back with you on a regular basis. Thank you for the latest on Katrina.

MYERS: You're welcome.

KAGAN: Coming up on CNN LIVE TODAY, it is the final day of the BRAC Commission hearings on military base closings. The fate of many bases still unknown. We're going to have a live interview with South Dakota Senator John Thune. He put his political career and reputation on the line to save a base in his state.

That's just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: And this latest news involves the disappearance of Natalee Holloway. The two brothers, Satish and Deepak Kalpoe, have been re-arrested, along with another person in Aruba, in connection with the disappearance of Natalee Holloway.

The brothers, the Kalpoe brothers, were first arrested back on June 9, along with Joran van der Sloot. They -- the brothers were released in July. But as we said, they have now been re-arrested in connection with the disappearance of Natalee Holloway.

The Alabama teenager has not been seen since May 30, when she was seen leaving a bar in Aruba, along with the two brothers and Joran van der Sloot. More on that just ahead from Aruba.

Right now, let's take a look at what's happening "Now in the News."

Four people are dead, five are missing in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The storm is now a hurricane 2 -- Category 2 hurricane, passing over southern Florida this morning, producing damaging winds and nearly two feet of rainfall. Katrina is picking up steam as it moves across the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

Keep it tuned here to CNN, your hurricane headquarters, for the latest storm update.