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American Morning
A Look at What Progress Has Been Made Six Months After Hurricane Katrina
Aired February 27, 2006 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning and welcome to a special edition of AMERICAN MORNING.
I'm Miles O'Brien reporting live from Slidell, Louisiana on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain, a hard hit area, six months after Hurricane Katrina -- Soledad.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Talk about a hard hit area, we're reporting this morning from the convention center. And, of course, you'll remember those dreadful pictures of the tens of thousands of people who were not only inside the convention center, but outside, as well, literally begging for help, begging for food and for water, as well, as they waited for days, in many cases, trying to get some aid and assistance and literally trying to get out of the city.
But take a look today. Now, the garbage on the floor here, this is from some of the Mardi Gras parades. What they do in these little plastic bags is they put the beads inside, open them up and then they toss them off the float. But look at the paper on all these panes of glass. All of this had to be replaced. You can see that this particular part, this section, is one of eight that still remains to be brought completely back.
Inside, it's essentially been stripped. They've ripped out some 80,000 yards of carpet. They've replaced a bunch of the windows and they've really cleaned up the area.
And another thing, Miles, that's really stuck out to me is the traffic. The last time we were here, nobody was coming through, and if they were, sometimes they were driving the wrong way because, of course, the highways, to a large degree, weren't really fully open.
So some big changes here, some big positive changes. But, as you well know, and you've been reporting from Slidell, Louisiana, some big obstacles ahead, as well, and some big needs, too.
Let's get right back to you.
M. O'BRIEN: You know what's interesting, Soledad?
You notice things have really improved wherever there's high water, wherever it is certain that it'll be OK to rebuild. It's places like this where it's unclear what's going to happen, what the federal government regulations will be, for example.
This is low ground in Slidell, Louisiana. This is some of the trailers that we've been telling you so much about.
Take a look as we go around the corner here on Brookwood Drive. We're going to take a look inside that trailer in just a little bit. That's kind of the standard issue FEMA trailer.
But look at -- trailer, trailer, trailer, all the way down here. Most people cannot get back into their homes in this part of Slidell, Louisiana. And there are about 4,000 homes just like that here, of 10,000.
So this is just one city and one indication -- this is a city that hasn't gotten as much attention. The mayor was just complaining about that. But it is a city that, nonetheless, needs help just as much as, in many respects, as the City of New Orleans does.
So, in just a little while, we're going to take you inside life in the trailers, what it's like and how people here, while they are grateful that they have these trailers and at least can be near their homes, are now wondering how long they're going to be in those trailers because there's so much things -- so many things that are just in limbo.
Let's get some headlines in before we get to that.
Carol Costello in New York -- good morning, Carol.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Miles.
Good morning to all of you.
A new agreement over a controversial ports deal. A Dubai-owned company says it will undergo a 45-day review to allow it to manage six U.S. ports. The company already had been approved by a federal committee, but many lawmakers, both Republicans and Democrats, had raised objections, citing concerns for the nation's security.
A closer look at President Bush's spying program. Details coming out about a letter to the president sent by some House Democrats. They want a special counsel to check into the matter.
In the meantime, final talks on reviewing the Patriot Act start today in the Senate.
Tough talk from Israel. Israeli officials say they will not hold peace talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. They say Abbas cannot deliver the goods on a peace deal and cannot control the militant group Hamas.
And chow to Torino. It was a carnival like atmosphere at the closing ceremonies last night. The U.S. Olympic team coming home with 25 medals, second best to Germany. Speed skater Joey Cheek carried the American flag during the festivities. He was perhaps the nicest story out of the Olympics, donating $40,000 to charity after winning gold and silver medals at the Games. And good for him because some of the American athletes, well, they weren't so affable -- Chad.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Some of them didn't seem like they cared to be there.
COSTELLO: No.
It was ridiculous.
MYERS: I thought it was.
(WEATHER REPORT)
M. O'BRIEN: Thank you very much, Chad Myers.
One of the key issues when you talk about the City of New Orleans is the issue of the levee system. So much of the damage there was not so much the storm as it was the subsequent breaching of those levees, more than 50 breaches in all, large and small. And the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is very hard at work right now trying to get those levees at least back to the pre-Katrina levels of strength, and perhaps a little bit more, before the next hurricane season, which is only now 95 days away.
We got a status check from some of the people in charge.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
M. O'BRIEN (voice-over): They are driving hard with a deadline looming, an army of 3,000 contractors working seven days a week, burning the midnight oil, racing to buttress the battered levees of New Orleans before the next hurricane season.
COL. LOUIS SETLIFF, U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS: It's the equivalent of building the panama Canal in reverse.
M. O'BRIEN: Colonel Louis Setliff of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers leads Task Force Guardian, a $770 million effort to repair 169 miles of levee and floodwall damage by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
SETLIFF: Because we've got one shot at it and we want to make it right.
M. O'BRIEN: We caught up with him on the levee that was supposed to protect the city's Lower 9th Ward. Take a look at the remnants of the wall that was here.
(on camera): So from this to this is a big difference.
SETLIFF: It's a tremendous difference.
M. O'BRIEN (voice-over): The old walls failed when the water flowed over the top and scoured the soil on the other side. They are being replaced by so-called key walls, much more stout, much deeper footings.
SETLIFF: You'll still get water over the top.
M. O'BRIEN (on camera): Yes? SETLIFF: But as the water falls over the top, you have concrete behind it. So the water won't erode the concrete.
M. O'BRIEN: Right.
SETLIFF: The concrete can withstand it.
This project typically would take us years and this is going to be done by 1 June.
M. O'BRIEN (voice-over): Setliff's Corps colleague, Colonel Richard Wagenaar, gave us a bird's eye tour. At the infamous breaches in the 17th Street and London Avenue canals, the repairs are on schedule. But because they cannot vouch for the safety of the old walls, they are also building storm gates where the canals meet Lake Pontchartrain, to be closed when the waters surge.
COL. RICHARD WAGENAAR, U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS: We are certain that the interim gates will provide a higher level of protection than pre-Katrina, because there's no way for the water to get into those canals.
M. O'BRIEN: But on the vanguard of New Orleans' levee protection they are behind schedule. This earthen levee southeast of the city is so remote, the contractor has fallen behind for lack of fill dirt and equipment.
WAGENAAR: He's literally in the middle of nowhere. And it looks like he's on the back side of the moon.
M. O'BRIEN: With 95 days to go, they are 44 percent done. It may not seem like it's possible to meet the deadline, but Corps says not to bet against them.
(on camera): So by June 1, how safe can people feel here? That's the million dollar -- well, actually, that's the $770 million question, isn't it?
SETLIFF: Well, the people of New Orleans should feel that, at a minimum, they will have their hurricane protection system restored to the levels of protection they had before Katrina. They will actually have a better and stronger system on June 1 than they had before Katrina.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
M. O'BRIEN: The big question is long-term, category five protection is what many people feel the City of New Orleans needs in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. There are a lot of plans in the offing right now, a lot of consideration over that. But it'll be many years before any sort of comprehensive system to protect against such a large storm could possibly be in place, many years and, I should say, Soledad, many billions of dollars -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Yes. Yes, that might be a conservative estimate, as well. Here's another big question for you -- who is going to be the mayor of this city?
As you know, there is a hotly contested mayoral race going on. The campaigning is just getting underway.
We're going to talk this morning with the lieutenant governor, Mitch Landrieu. Deep ties to this community. He wants to take on the many problems they have here in New Orleans. We'll ask him why just ahead.
And then in just a little bit, the woman we've been talking about all morning who spent four days inside this convention center. Well, now it's stripped, the carpet's gone, it's been pretty much ripped out and cleaned up.
But what was it like to be here when it was at its very worst?
We're going to talk to Edie Mossy, just ahead.
We're back in just a moment.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: I remember our very first days here in New Orleans, we were actually at the New Orleans International Airport. And that's where we ran into a lot of the people who had been evacuated out of the convention center.
I ran into a woman there named Edie Mossy.
She had spent four days in the convention center, had been evacuated out of the city and she was desperately looking for word about her husband.
Here's what she had to say to me.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
S. O'BRIEN: You were at the convention center.
How bad was it?
EDIE MOSSY, KATRINA SURVIVOR: It was awful. Absolutely dreadful. We had no water. We had no lights in most of the buildings. We -- the sewage got to be a little bit of a problem, to say the least. It was just -- it was -- there was no police protection. There was just nothing. We were just put there. That's after being separated from my husband, who had been in the hospital. And they moved him without telling me where he was. And so all this time I've not known where he is.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
S. O'BRIEN: Edie Mossy joins us.
It's nice to see you again.
MOSSY: Thank you.
S. O'BRIEN: It's nice to catch up with you six months later.
MOSSY: Thank you.
I hope I look better.
S. O'BRIEN: You do look better.
You look -- you're really happier, too.
MOSSY: Oh, yes.
S. O'BRIEN: Are you feeling more hopeful about the city?
At that time I remember it was despair.
MOSSY: Oh, no, the city will come back.
S. O'BRIEN: Let's talk about that...
MOSSY: There are too many people that love this city.
S. O'BRIEN: Your husband Roy, the last thing you said to me was -- and I don't -- he was in the hospital and I don't know where he is.
Were you able to track down what happened to him?
MOSSY: I was.
S. O'BRIEN: What happened?
MOSSY: When I got to Baton Rouge, my children knew where he was, in Memphis. And the next day my son brought me to Memphis.
S. O'BRIEN: He was very sick. He had been in Memorial Hospital for...
MOSSY: He was in Memorial Hospital with a very low blood pressure. And he was on dialysis nightly. So he was -- he was not a healthy person.
S. O'BRIEN: And he passed away?
MOSSY: Yes, he did.
S. O'BRIEN: In December.
MOSSY: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: That's tough.
What does it come -- feel like to come back here, where you spent four days?
I mean it's -- it's the same, of course...
MOSSY: It doesn't look anything like it.
S. O'BRIEN: ... but it's totally different.
MOSSY: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: Well, you know, you had listed for me just how horrible it was.
I mean what does it look like now to you?
MOSSY: Well, it's so great to have the carpet up, because I'll tell you, it was just awful. The -- and it smells a lot better.
S. O'BRIEN: Yes, well, that was one thing. I mean we almost couldn't talk enough about how...
MOSSY: No, it was awful.
S. O'BRIEN: ... how the stench of death...
MOSSY: We stayed outside.
S. O'BRIEN: A lot.
MOSSY: Yes. Well, after the first night...
S. O'BRIEN: What was it like at night?
MOSSY: ... we stayed outside altogether.
S. O'BRIEN: What was it like at night here?
MOSSY: The first night we were here, it was interesting because they -- there were people here who had taken everything movable. They had mopeds and golf carts and whatnot and they just rode up and down all of these halls, from one end to the other, letting out these blood-curdling screams.
And it was...
S. O'BRIEN: Were you terrified?
MOSSY: It was terribly dark, so it was really kind of scary.
S. O'BRIEN: Yes.
MOSSY: No, I don't know, there's something about me, but I never was really frightened.
S. O'BRIEN: You're always -- you were always, even when you were describing how bad it was to me, you were always very, very calm.
Let's walk over here.
MOSSY: Sure.
S. O'BRIEN: Because you can see where they put the paper up.
MOSSY: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: I mean, not only the carpet is gone, but they've redone a lot of the windows. A lot of these things were broken and sort of kicked in. I mean...
MOSSY: Well, I didn't...
S. O'BRIEN: ... how...
MOSSY: I didn't remember that, but I think the -- I don't know what happened, of course, after we left. But I think the whole place was wrecked, because it had so many people. You can't imagine the people that were in here.
S. O'BRIEN: Oh, it was...
MOSSY: And the closer you got to the other end, the more crowded it was.
S. O'BRIEN: Yes.
MOSSY: They must have started coming...
S. O'BRIEN: Right.
MOSSY: ... from that end. And, of course, when we got in, this was kind of the last -- the last half.
S. O'BRIEN: We saw -- I saw, when I walked through the first time, well after everybody had been evacuated, the weirdest thing, which was chairs in circles.
MOSSY: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: Just circles and circles of chairs, and the occasional mattress, but sort of -- was that for protection?
MOSSY: I think we -- I know we stayed together. We were about 14. And we stayed together, figuring safety in numbers, because there was no -- there were no police, no National Guard, no anybody of that nature here.
S. O'BRIEN: Were people being assaulted?
MOSSY: Not that I was aware of, and we were not -- we weren't even approached by anybody.
S. O'BRIEN: Really?
MOSSY: But we were -- we were a large number. And we have now new best friends.
S. O'BRIEN: I bet. I bet you do.
MOSSY: That we had never met before.
S. O'BRIEN: I bet that's an experience you go through...
MOSSY: That's right, you do.
S. O'BRIEN: ... and you say, boy, that's a bonding...
MOSSY: I'll never forget these people.
S. O'BRIEN: ... a bonding experience.
MOSSY: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: So, outside of the carpet gone and the new windows I know that they've put up and they've kind of stripped the whole thing down, how does it feel to you? I mean do you feel like this is the beginning of recovery for this city?
There was a time when people were talking about knocking this down, that it was so bad that maybe they'd have to rip it down.
MOSSY: Oh, I don't, and I, you know, it's got -- it'll be ready for conventions, I think, by the end of this year.
S. O'BRIEN: I know.
MOSSY: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: I know, that's what they said.
MOSSY: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: In the summer it should be completely ready.
MOSSY: Yes, right. So it's -- no, I think it's kind of exciting to watch the city come back.
S. O'BRIEN: You've live here a long time?
MOSSY: I've lived here since I was 15. And my parents were from here, so I have ties to New Orleans since birth. But it's...
S. O'BRIEN: And you want it to come back?
MOSSY: Yes, I do. I do. It's...
S. O'BRIEN: Mardi Gras, a good idea or a bad idea?
MOSSY: A very good idea.
S. O'BRIEN: Really?
MOSSY: A very good idea.
S. O'BRIEN: I've got to tell you, people in Pearlington, Mississippi, where I was a week ago, and other places, outlying, say how dare they party when I have nothing over my head.
MOSSY: Well, it isn't going to put anything over our head for us not to have it. And I think it's...
S. O'BRIEN: I didn't think (UNINTELLIGIBLE) then.
MOSSY: I think it's something that New Orleaneans and the country, you know, it'll get more people in here. The more people that can see the devastation of this city, the better off we will be.
S. O'BRIEN: To get a better sense of what really happened here.
MOSSY: Because you get a better sense of what happened and the miles and miles and miles of houses that have nothing. That's awful.
S. O'BRIEN: That is awful.
It's so nice to see you. It's so nice to see you doing well.
MOSSY: Thank you.
Thank you so much.
S. O'BRIEN: I am so sorry to hear about your husband passing.
MOSSY: Thank you.
S. O'BRIEN: But it's nice to see you recovering personally...
MOSSY: Thank you.
Thanks for having me on.
S. O'BRIEN: ... a hundred percent.
Thank you for talking with us.
MOSSY: Thank you.
S. O'BRIEN: We'll just catch up every six months.
Do I get to join the group of people who are now like this?
MOSSY: All right.
S. O'BRIEN: All right! I'll be in that group.
MOSSY: OK.
S. O'BRIEN: Thank you so much.
MOSSY: Thank you so much. S. O'BRIEN: Edie Mossy, talking with us literally six months later.
Ahead this morning, we're going to be talking to the lieutenant governor, Mitch Landrieu.
Why does he want to be mayor of a city that clearly has a long way to go when it comes to rebuilding?
That's just ahead -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Soledad, from Slidell, Louisiana, we're in a pocket of that part of the world that is filled with those trailers. We're going to take you inside the world of trailer life. These are something that people were longing to see and now that they're here, they kind of wish they'd go away.
Stay with us for more AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: Live pictures of Bourbon Street this morning.
Yes, a little bit of trash there, but, boy, if you can have seen it last night when we were walking around there. People were throwing things off those balconies.
Mardi Gras is back. It's not back as big as it was, but it is back.
Ahead this morning, and, in fact, right now this morning, we're going to talk to the lieutenant governor, Mitch Landrieu.
As you may well know, April 22 is an important day. That is because it is the mayor's race. And Mitch Landrieu is one of the big names on the ballot. Ray Nagin another name on the ballot.
We were just showing some live pictures of Bourbon Street.
When you see -- and I know you've been to some of these parties and celebrations -- do you feel good about how far the city has come in six months?
LT. GOV. MITCH LANDRIEU, NEW ORLEANS MAYORAL CANDIDATE: Well, there are a lot of different pictures. The ones uptown show hordes of people last night. Some of the biggest crowds we had were families coming back. So it does -- it does make you feel good, because Mardi Gras, you know, most of the nation may not understand it as a huge celebration of life for us down here and there's a great cathartic experience going on for most of the folks down here that they can grab onto their culture that they've had for a long time, enjoy themselves with each other and know that they're not in this by themselves.
And it's really good.
S. O'BRIEN: And, hey, tourist dollars. I mean a lot of the people...
LANDRIEU: Well...
S. O'BRIEN: ... I ran into were really tourists. I mean a lot of the people doing the crazy things are actually the tourists.
LANDRIEU: Right.
S. O'BRIEN: The locals are not doing it necessarily.
LANDRIEU: Well, the big -- the big point of it is it is a huge economic engine for us. It represents about $1 billion for us every year. It's a little bit smaller this year. But nevertheless I think it's a pretty good indication to the rest of the country that we're really trying to do everything we can to stand ourselves back up, really work hard. And hopefully it'll be a big boost in the arm for us.
S. O'BRIEN: Stand ourselves back up, which means you have a long way to go and a lot of huge obstacles.
Why do you want to be mayor?
I mean talk about a job that you would think a lot of people would not want, because it is rife with problems and issues and battles, I guarantee you, with Congress.
LANDRIEU: Well, I think because it's very personal to most of us. All of us who have been down here that have lost houses really lost a lot. Everybody's just trying to do everything they can to help. And it's really been a great spirit, not only of cooperation, but just of hard work, kind of a stick-to-it-tiveness.
And as you can see, through this Mardi Gras celebration, most of these locals are really kind of grabbing onto each other, saying, look, we're going to have to do this and it's going to be hard and it's going to take a long time.
But you really kind of go where you're needed the most. And that's the thing that I think is driving most people down here. And so we're meeting other people (ph)...
S. O'BRIEN: You say most people, I was going to say, but you mean you, because you're -- you've thrown your hat in the ring. You want to be mayor.
LANDRIEU: Well, it's -- but it's not only me. It's everybody. I mean everybody is trying to find a way to help the way they can. I mean the whole point is to go where you're needed.
S. O'BRIEN: Why would you be the best mayor?
LANDRIEU: Well, I've had a long experience working not only in government, but in the private, in the business sector. We need some leadership right now that can bring people together. You need leadership that can actually build on relationships in Washington, the state and the local level all at the same time. You need to find a way to design a plan and stick to it and to just work through this thing over time.
And I think mostly people are looking for a very steady hand right now. And I think it's going to take some time for all of to get it, because there's nothing about this that's easy.
S. O'BRIEN: If you are elected mayor, you'll be the first white mayor in -- since 1978, I think, is right?
LANDRIEU: Yes. You know, a lot...
S. O'BRIEN: Does that matter?
LANDRIEU: ... a lot of people have made a lot about that. Race always matters. But folks down here like each other a lot. We've always gotten along extremely well. I represented African-American districts when I was in the legislature. I ran for mayor once in 1994 when the city was majority African-American. And most of us down here really like each other and get along. We not only tolerate each other, we embrace each other. It's a very multi-cultural community down here.
So I don't think it matters to folks as much as some of the outside noise has been. Everybody is just looking to get out of the water. They're not really caring about, you know, what color you are.
S. O'BRIEN: Literally and figuratively.
LANDRIEU: Both.
S. O'BRIEN: You know, I was talking to the sheriff of St. Bernard Parish, who said you...
LANDRIEU: Jack Stephens...
S. O'BRIEN: Yes. And his deputies, who cannot stop talking about how you showed up and literally -- and it wasn't a photo-op, they said -- I mean they went on and on and on about how you just showed up in a flatboat and throw -- started rescuing people and pulling people out, and some people who said that you made personal phone calls about people you tried to rescue who did not survive and that meant a lot to them.
LANDRIEU: Well, that's true. But there's nothing really surprising about that. For anybody that's been down here, that's been in the water before, this isn't the first time we had -- and that's not so much about me, it's so much about the way we handle things down here.
Also, that indication in and of itself is almost a failure of our communications system, because the whole reason I was down there is because we didn't have interoperability. So I was kind of down there trying to help people and trying to communicate back up to the command center. And so it's nice for them to say that, but I didn't do anything that anybody else didn't do. There was nothing special about that. You're not looking at a hero...
S. O'BRIEN: I think they were impressed by the lack of, you know, it wasn't a photo-op, it wasn't here comes the lieutenant governor...
LANDRIEU: Well, you know...
S. O'BRIEN: ... and, quick, let's get a shot of him rescuing people.
LANDRIEU: Well, let me say this. You don't have time to have a photo-op when people are in the water. And I say this very literally. I mean this is really, in a very special way for us, about getting out of the water. That's all it's about. And there's been a wonderful coming together of folks, notwithstanding the pictures that we saw here at the convention center, which I think should telegraph to the nation that we have a huge problem with poverty.
The fact of the matter is that most of the stuff that was happening on the ground were African-American and whites, Hispanics helping each other. Young black men who the national media pictured as looting also helping old white men and old white women, and white women helping young black kids get out of the water. Those thousands of acts of kindness were the things that I saw in the street. It was just an amazing and a beautiful thing that through a very difficult time...
S. O'BRIEN: So, which makes you feel hopeful this city is going to come back.
LANDRIEU: Oh, not...
S. O'BRIEN: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)?
LANDRIEU: ... not only am I hopeful, I am absolutely certain that it's going to come back. And I think Mardi Gras, as peculiar an example as it is, ought to be an indication that life really beats very nicely in the hearts of people down here, and is going to continue to do that.
S. O'BRIEN: Lieutenant governor, it's nice to have you come and talk to us.
We appreciate it.
LANDRIEU: Great.
Thank you so much.
S. O'BRIEN: Good luck on April 22nd.
LANDRIEU: I appreciate it.
It's nice to see you.
S. O'BRIEN: We're talking to one of your main competitors, Ray Nagin, tomorrow on AMERICAN MORNING.
LANDRIEU: Right.
He's a good man.
S. O'BRIEN: He's a good man, but you'd like to beat him.
I love when politicians say that about their main competition.
LANDRIEU: Well, you can be friends and still be competitors.
S. O'BRIEN: Thanks for talking with us.
LANDRIEU: You're welcome.
S. O'BRIEN: We appreciate it.
Ahead this morning, we're talking about the Mardi Gras Indians. We've been sharing a little bit about Mardi Gras celebrations. For those of us who don't spend a lot of time down here and don't know a lot about Mardi Gras, we'll tell you about one very special group and how they've been preparing for their celebration.
We're back in just a moment.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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