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The Situation Room
Military Not Part of Forced New Orleans Evacuations; President Bush Leads Final Tribute to Chief Justice William Rehnquist; Interview With U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona; Pets Also Homeless or Missing
Aired September 07, 2005 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Wolf Blitzer. And you're in THE SITUATION ROOM, where news and information arrive in one place simultaneously. Standing by, CNN reporters across the U.S. And they will bring us the latest on the state of emergency.
Happening now, in New Orleans, active-duty troops say they won't take part in forced evacuations, but the troops will have a role in recovering bodies. President Bush asks for another $50 billion in hurricane aid, as a study warns Katrina could cost the U.S. economy some 400,000 jobs.
And a national farewell for the late Chief Justice of the United States William Rehnquist. President Bush leads a final tribute.
You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
All along the Gulf Coast, it's mission critical in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Up to five people have died from bacterial infections caused by dirty water brought ashore by the storm, according to the Centers for Disease Control. The deaths occurred in Mississippi and Texas, apparently among evacuees. The germ is related to bacteria that cause cholera.
The toxic floodwaters are slowly receding in New Orleans, but only a handful of pumps are working. Many others are blocked, in this case, by sunken barges. FEMA says it will start to hand out debit cards to victims of Hurricane Katrina. The cards, worth some $2,000 each, will go initially to evacuees at shelters such as the Houston Astrodome. Officials say they are meant to be used to buy food, gas and other essentials.
Other developments we're watching right now in the state of recovery, the recovery, in fact, cost estimates right now perhaps as high as $150 billion. Chevron's large refinery in Pascagoula, Mississippi, is still shut down. It normally processes some 325,000 barrels a day. Only one port is still closed. That would be Gulfport, Mississippi.
As far as relocation is concerned, the Alabama governor is working with FEMA to reopen two closed military bases to house evacuees. FEMA also expects a cruise ship to arrive in Mobile to house 1,800 hurricane victims.
Let's move on to security. What's the latest on that front? The U.S. Coast Guard has deployed 4,000 personnel to the disaster zone. The U.S. Navy has 21 ships in the area. And the Air Force Reserve Command in Mississippi says it has lost contact with more than 900 of its Reservists who were based in New Orleans and Mississippi.
Up first, dramatic pictures just four days before the fourth anniversary of the September 11 attacks. Look at this. New York firefighters familiar with disaster are now helping the New Orleans fire crews battle blazes.
Here's a look at some of these amazing images of cooperation between the two departments with helicopter reporter J.T. Alpaugh.
Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
J.T. ALPAUGH, POOL PHOTOGRAPHER: Now, that is the Fire Department of New York, New York Fire Department, on scene helping to fight this fire. It gives you a little bit of idea. Helping the New Orleans Fire Department come in here and knock this blaze down is the New York Fire Department.
And these guys right here can tell you a little bit about disasters. It's nearly -- we're coming up on an anniversary here in a few days of, obviously, the September 11 attack. And they are here doing -- doing their best to help with this disaster -- disastrous attack of a natural cause.
But, nonetheless, these guys are heroes in their own right, and out here helping out the heroes of the New Orleans Fire Department fight these fires. So, this is really dramatic. And you see that fire on the top of your screen. These guys are going to push their way through, try to physical -- physically entry. And you can see where he's shooting that hose under that rear house.
Fires leaping out as they open that door up. Oh, look at that. That oxygen -- that fire just grabbing for oxygen as these fires get down low. And we want to stay tight right on those three firefighters, as they get in and just getting down low to keep their heads low for the fire, as it pushes out of that door, trying to grab as much oxygen as it can to continue to burn.
So, again, you can see -- we can see some very charged -- what they called charged smoke, some heavy smoke coming out of this. We are going to start a left orbit here around this fire, try to get you on the back side.
Fire now at our 8:00, coming to our 9:00 position, as we come around the east side of the fire. So, this -- what you see there -- oh, that's a great shot. Great shot, Dave, of these firefighters just pulling apart, pulling apart this rooftop and these eaves, trying to get under this fire and put some water.
Now, their hands are literally two feet away from that heavy, heavy black smoke and fire. We're going to slow it up just a little bit here and I know we are on the downwind side, which is difficult to do when you have got 20-knot head -- tailwind, Alan Pruin (ph) doing an excellent job flying this helicopter on the downwind, downwind orbit.
You can see that the -- we are going to -- all right, now, just a little bit, Dave, to show some of this charged smoke, and maybe pan right to center that up. That's good right there. And you can see, again, this heavy black charged smoke of one of the exposures that has caught fire. We thought we were near getting a knockdown on the fire. But, apparently, something else took off. But firefighters are on scene and putting water on this fire and are probably going to have a very good control over this before it moves on to the building to its north.
Again, this fire burning just on the south side of the downtown New Orleans area, just north of the Interstate 610.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: That report from our helicopter reporter, J.T. Alpaugh. We will be speaking with him later this hour. Think about it, FDNY, Fire Department New York, nearly four years since 9/11, nearly four years to the day, firefighters from New York City battling this blaze in New Orleans.
So many rescue workers from around the United States now showing up in New Orleans to help with all the emergency undertakings that are going on right now.
Among the most significant issues, water, water so unspeakably foul that it is dangerous even to touch. That's just one reason why the mayor of New Orleans now wants remaining residents, perhaps as many as 10,000, forced out, if necessary.
Let's go live to New Orleans. CNN's Jeff Koinange is joining us live. What's the latest, Jeff?
JEFF KOINANGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, I can tell you, remember, this city about a week ago was 80 percent under water. Well, it's starting to recede a little bit. Now it's about 60 percent. But that water is still foul. It's still smelly and in some parts still very high. We went to a neighborhood yesterday in the uptown part of New Orleans and the water was chest high in some of these neighborhoods.
This is why the mayor is urging all residents of New Orleans to vacate, because that water is now contaminated with all kinds of bacterias. It's dangerous. Anything from cholera to typhoid could break out. He wants the residents to leave the city, so that emergency services can come in, pump that water out, start the whole cleanup process, and eventually get the people back in. It's going to take a while, Wolf, but people have to realize they have to leave the city first.
BLITZER: What about, Jeff, the whole issue of forced evacuations? Though the mayor says he wants the people to leave voluntarily, some of them are refusing. What's the latest on that front? KOINANGE: Well, we just heard a short while ago a New Orleans Police chief saying he's not going to force people. He still wants them to volunteer to leave.
But in the next couple of days, Wolf, if they find that there are still too many people in New Orleans, don't be surprised if they go door to door, insisting that people leave town.
Wolf.
BLITZER: And if they don't want to leave, are they going to actually physically handcuff these individuals and pick them up and remove them from their homes?
KOINANGE: I will tell you what, Wolf, if it comes to that, it may just come to that.
The police chief is insisting they have other priorities right now. They are still urging people. They don't want it to come to that. The people, on the other hand, are adamant. They are resisting. They are saying they are going to stay as long as they can. They have the right to stay. That is what they are saying. Wolf, don't be surprised if it comes to a standoff.
BLITZER: There are some people who are simply refusing, adamantly going to refuse under all circumstances, to leave their homes, their possessions, perhaps what little things they might have left.
The whole -- the whole issue of the U.S. military involvement, though, in these forced evacuations the military, General Honore and others -- whoa, it looks like you've got a little wind going on there. Are you all right, Jeff?
KOINANGE: Just fine, Wolf. It's just a Homeland Security helicopter that just landed. I don't know if you can still see us. But right behind me is the Department of Homeland Security. They've been using that Coast Guard ship as their base over here. They keep landing and taking off during their various operations. And, as you can well imagine, when they land, they create quite a windstorm, Wolf.
BLITZER: All right. Well, we just got a little nervous when we saw you jolted, as you clearly were. Fortunately, it's not a big deal, a helicopter flying over. But you are OK.
I was asking you about the military involvement in these evacuations. The military is making it clear they are not going to do it. This is going to be a responsibility for local law enforcement. Talk a little bit about that.
KOINANGE: That's right, Wolf. They want to be on the periphery. I think that's their primary role, is to be on the periphery, let the New Orleans officials handle it their way. But, Wolf, again, don't be surprised. If it comes to a standoff, the military may be forced to move in.
Let me give you a little example. Today, we had a crew going out on a boat. They wanted to go and survey the scene and see where they can -- where they can film rescue scenes. They encountered some National Guardsmen, who told them, gentlemen, this is martial law. We are commandeering your boat. And they took our boat from us. And they said they were going to return it later on. That is what it may come to, Wolf. They may force people, just like they forced us to give up our boat, may force people to leave New Orleans.
BLITZER: Jeff Koinange reporting for us. All right, Jeff, thanks very much. Good work, as usual.
Our Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr is in New Orleans. She's covering General Russel Honore, who is the military commander in the area. What is the latest that you are picking up, Barbara?
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, I'm hoping everyone can hear me.
I have to tell you first our location. We are arriving in a convoy right now of five-ton trucks through New Orleans, approaching the floodwaters. We are with General Honore, as well as the governor of Louisiana and some of General Honore's key military commanders, right now taking the governor through some of the stricken areas.
We have just finished a press conference with the governor and General Honore on board the amphibious warship Iwo Jima in the -- in the Metairie (ph) area here in New Orleans, the governor now indicating perhaps not so quick to move on forced evacuations, that they will do health assessments in these areas and try and convince people to leave their houses.
What we did is, we asked General Honore, would the active-duty military participate in forcible evacuations? Said they would not, that that would not be a job for the U.S. military. And he also very strongly said that the United States active-duty military would continue to provide food, water and humanitarian assistance to those people remaining in New Orleans. He said the job of the United States military was to save lives.
Every indication we are getting from the commanders on the ground here is, if there is any action to take people out of their homes, that would be a matter for civilian law enforcement.
Now, we can also bring you up to date on a couple of other matters. On this very difficult search for those many thousands who may have perished in the floods, we talked to the commander of the 82nd Airborne Division here in New Orleans this morning. He is saying that this his troops, his troops, 82nd Airborne, will not enter houses in New Orleans. They will knock on doors. They will knock on windows. They will attempt to locate and identify the dead and then point out to mortuary teams that will come through the city.
The commander of the 82nd Airborne, Major General Bill Caldwell, feels that they are going to get a good handle on this problem in the coming weeks. He feels presently within a few weeks they will have been able to complete a search of all of the residential areas north of the I-10 Corridor. Wolf.
BLITZER: Barbara, we will check back with you. Thanks very much.
Our Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr is in New Orleans. She's covering the military for us, including General Honore, who is the commander of the U.S. military operation now under way in that region.
Let's go to New York. CNN's Jack Cafferty is with us once again. Hi, Jack. What do you got this hour?
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: How you doing, Wolf?
Following the September 11 attacks, the French newspaper "Le Monde" ran a headline proclaiming, "We Are All Americans." That's a far cry from where the United States stands four years later in the court of public opinion worldwide, following the war in Iraq.
In the last week, much of the world has also reacted harshly to the federal response to Hurricane Katrina. But an editorial in "USA Today" today suggests that Katrina offers an opportunity to perhaps soften our worldwide image by accepting foreign aid from the 90 nations who have offered us help. The United States can start rebuilding some of its alliances.
So, here's the question. Will the world view America differently in the wake of Hurricane Katrina? CaffertyFile -- one word -- @CNN.com.
BLITZER: I believe our viewers will have some strong views on that. Thanks, Jack. We will get back to you this hour.
Hundreds of thousands of displaced Americans. It's a logistical nightmare, hard to comprehend. Perhaps more than a million Americans are now displaced. We will show you what's going on, on this front.
Also, he's brought us some of the most gripping images of this disaster. The helicopter reporter J.T. Alpaugh, he will join us this hour with more of those images.
Plus, the latest on the growing health crisis facing so many of the people in New Orleans and elsewhere in the Gulf. The United States surgeon general, Dr. Richard Carmona, will stand by -- will -- is standing by. He's going to be joining us live.
But, first, the FEMA director, Michael Brown, speaking out right now.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
MICHAEL BROWN, DIRECTOR, FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY: ... of police and others that will be assisting New Orleans in doing several things, first and foremost, focusing on the human capital needs of the NOPD, making sure that those who are still here, that we take care of them, that we feed them, house them, get them reunited with their families, so they can start reconstituting their police force.
The second thing we're going to do is to start doing the planning process to rebuild their infrastructure. Again, I think it's important for everyone to recognize, the New Orleans Police Department right now has no infrastructure. So, we have to put together the plans to reconstitute that as quickly as possible, but also have it tied into the long-term rebuilding plans of New Orleans overall.
And then the third part is the director and I both agreed that we'd provide them all the operational support they need in terms of conducting their ongoing operations. We believe we've located a facility for them in downtown New Orleans where they can perhaps bring the department back together and start operations out of that facility.
If we're able to get that facility up and running, it will mean that the NOPD has really taken the first steps to rebuilding their department.
So I think it's really good news in the sense that the city is really beginning to think long term about how they put that infrastructure back together.
Where's my numbers guy?
I've got a whole bunch of numbers here. But we'll just give you that in writing rather than go through those.
What I want to drive home right now is that we are in the process of addressing the financial and the human needs of the disaster -- the hurricane survivors, the disaster victims, those who have been evacuated.
We're putting together a very unique program for the debit card to get in to folks that register with us, or are in the shelters right now; to get them a debit card with a minimum of $2,000 on there so they can start utilizing that money for emergency supplies they may need, clothing, if they need to, you know, do some minor repairs if they happen to be in some of the areas that weren't hit quite as hard.
But the concept is, is to get them some cash in hand, which allows them -- empowers them to make their own decisions about what do they need to have to start rebuilding their lives.
This is something that FEMA has not done before. We think it's a great way to, again, empower these hurricane survivors to really start rebuilding their lives.
We have already registered over 319,000 people through either the Web site or through the toll-free number. I would ask all of you to help me get that toll-free number out because, you know, we have well over 180,000 people in shelters who are displaced out of Louisiana alone. That number is 1-800-621-FEMA.
So if you can help me disseminate that telephone number and the Web site, www.fema.gov, and in the upper right-hand corner of that Web site of that URL is a place to click on to start the registration process.
People in shelters don't have to do that themselves if they don't have access to a phone or Internet. We're going to have community relation teams in there to help them start that, and they can even have family members do it.
If they have made contact with a family member somewhere else, that family member on their behalf can go ahead and start that registration process, too.
So I encourage folks, as rapidly as possible, to continue to do that.
I have a favor to ask.
If you have minimal damage, you own commercial property or you are pretty settled right now, please wait two or three days to start calling the telephone number to give those who are in the most dire need the opportunity to get through first.
The operators are operating 24/7. We have filled the phone banks up to capacity to at least the level we had last year during the Florida hurricanes in which we registered over 1.6 million people.
So you can see we still have a ways to go in getting all these people registered. So those that have less damage that can wait a couple of days, I'd ask you to do that.
So the process has started of rebuilding New Orleans.
We're making good progress in Mississippi.
Right now, we are getting all -- we've requested over 100,000 trailers and mobile homes from Mississippi alone.
So you can see the magnitude of this process is -- it's unbelievable, but we're doing it.
I'll take a couple of questions.
QUESTION: Mr. Brown, the governor of Louisiana, Kathleen Blanco sent a letter to President Bush on September 2, as you know. What is the very latest on getting her everything she has asked for?
BROWN: If the governor asked for it, we're going to get it for her.
So anything that she has asked for to date, we're in the process of supplying. And again, we've developed this unified command structure so that all of those requests that come in, we can deal with that immediately, and that's what we're doing.
QUESTION: There are reports now of empty school buses leaving town, of Wal-Mart trailers full of water not getting into the city. We spoke to dozens of firefighters today from several states who say they are waiting in a staging area far away. They are waiting to get into the city. They want to work and yet they can't.
BROWN: They can't just yet because General Honore at this very moment -- we have asked the state and the city to grid out and map out the city for us so they can -- and, I believe as of maybe an hour or two ago, they have started the house-to-house search.
So we are using the men and women we have on the ground now, let that search continue and progress as rapidly as possibly and then there's going to come this natural time where we're going to release that floodgate of cops and other firefighters that want to come in to help.
But it's the same with everyone who wants to volunteer.
We have over 50,000 offers of donations from the private sector. We have countries all over the world who are offering help. That has to be coordinated in such a way that it's used most effectively, that it's used where it's needed. And that's the same with the firefighters and the police officers and that's why we're going through that process.
QUESTION: The Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi has called for your resignation and I'm wondering if you have a response to that.
BROWN: The president is in charge of that, not me.
QUESTION: Have you offered your resignation?
BROWN: Pardon?
QUESTION: Did you offer your resignation...
(CROSSTALK)
BROWN: I serve totally at the will of the president of the United States.
QUESTION: FEMA has three charities listed in a press release that they sent out. One of them is Operation Blessing. Can you tell me why that charity is on the list and who put it there?
BROWN: I'm sure the staff did and it's there because they've offered to help and are doing good work.
QUESTION: Operation Blessing is a Pat Robertson organization. Should that be on there?
BROWN: If they're willing to work, if they're willing to help -- we're not turning help away, we're not turning away help from anybody.
QUESTION: Can we talk a little bit about the recovery of the bodies, the deceased, in New Orleans?
I was told that there are still bodies that have not been recovered and that the efforts are -- there's no organized effort for that yet because we're focusing on saving the people that are still alive, we're rescuing the people that are still alive...
(CROSSTALK)
BROWN: No, that effort has started.
Let me give you the latest update.
The concept has been completed. We have a contractor in place. The contractor's name is Kinion (ph). They are continuing to work with the city.
This is the mapping of the grid that I was talking about. We can process -- this is not saying that this is what will happen -- we have the capacity to process 500 to 1,000 bodies per day.
We have -- the first morgue site is fully operational. All of the security at that site has been taken care of. We have the refrigeration trucks on site.
And, again, I want to emphasize that this is a very delicate process. We will treat those bodies with the absolute respect that they deserve. They will be processed as rapidly as possible through the FEMA process, turned back over to the state for the connection with the families.
BLITZER: The FEMA director, Michael Brown, shall we say the embattled FEMA director, he's under battle from a lot of people. A lot of people have been criticizing the way he's dealt with this crisis. The FEMA director, Michael Brown, saying that -- asked whether he has offered his resignation, he didn't exactly answer that question. He said the president is in charge. And he says he serves totally at the pleasure of the president.
Among others, the Democratic leader in the House, Nancy Pelosi, calling for his resignation. He did confirm that FEMA is now going to start making available $2,000 debit cards to individuals, to evacuees, to help them at least get started on their road to recovery. And they also released a number, 1-800-621-FEMA, 1-800-621-FEMA, for survivors. They can start to register with FEMA in order to begin the process of getting them back on track as well. We're going to continue to monitor all of these developments.
No doubt, no surprise, though, that there are so many, so many issues on the agenda right now that are of deep, deep concern.
New word on just how foul those floodwaters are. That word is coming in. The Environmental Protection Agency says findings from a water sampling show high levels of E. coli and other bacteria, as well as lead. It advises people to do all they can to avoid contact with the water. The bacteria can cause intestinal illnesses, sometimes life-threatening. And the lead is especially toxic for children. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as many as five people have already died from another bacteria sometimes found in coastal waters, evidently driven ashore by the hurricane.
Joining us now is the surgeon general of the United States, Dr. Richard Carmona. Vice Admiral, thanks very much for joining us.
I don't know if you saw the headline in the New Orleans "Times- Picayune": "Disease, Fire Threaten City."
How worried are you right now about disease, widespread disease, erupting, a secondary killer in this kind of a situation?
VICE ADM. RICHARD CARMONA, U.S. SURGEON GENERAL: Well, we are concerned.
My colleagues and I are concerned that -- we are aware the water is contaminated. And we are concerned for the health and safety of the citizens that have chosen to remain behind. So, we are advocating that they evacuate as quickly as possible for their health and safety and be moved to an evacuee center, where they can be evaluated comprehensively to ensure that they haven't suffered any ill consequences from exposure to the water or any other toxic substances that might be around.
BLITZER: Has -- do you have evidence already that disease, widespread disease, or any initial evidence, is breaking out?
CARMONA: No evidence of any widespread disease.
Secretary Leavitt and I and Dr. Gerberding and others on our team toured the centers over the last few days. And, actually, what we found was a very controlled environment, where infectious disease specialists, U.S. Public Health Service Commission Corps officers, CDC employees, were working very well together to very quickly identify those who might be infected, isolate them and make sure that we identify what the problems are and treat, if necessary.
So, by -- counter to what has been said, yes, there have been some outbreaks. We have seen a little diarrheal disease. We have seen some skin infection, some rashes, but certainly could not be characterized as widespread.
BLITZER: Are any of these diseases that have already broken out infectious?
CARMONA: Well, some of them are. Certainly, the diarrheal diseases can be. But children often get diarrheal diseases when you live in close quarters.
So, we aren't certain yet, is it from the fact that they were exposed to some of this contaminated water or is it just a normal diarrheal disease, a virus that maybe spread among the children and others because of the close-quarter living? But our infectious disease specialists and our public health officers have a good handle on that and have isolated those folks in the evacuee centers and are looking into that.
BLITZER: There's been concern about E. coli. Any evidence that that's prevalent right now?
CARMONA: Certainly, in the water samples that were tested, E. coli is growing in amounts that are intolerable.
The fact is, is that it is a contaminated soup, as some people have stated. However, that's why we are advocating that those who have remained in the area move as quickly as possible to evacuee centers, so that they can be checked over and allow the health officers and epidemiologists and others to get in there and start their work, from mitigating the damages and making sure that no infection is spread.
BLITZER: What about the mosquitoes? Our reporters on the scene say there are mosquitoes all over the place. That raises a fear of West Nile virus, which is a killer.
CARMONA: Well, certainly, mosquitoes can be vectors for lots of diseases, including West Nile.
And we have concern. And that concern was expressed very early on. My colleague Julie Gerberding at CDC dispatched some of our public health teams out there to ensure that we get a good assessment and begin mosquito eradication. As you know, if the water sits for a long time, you have the chance of mosquitoes replicating. And so, we are concerned about that.
But, right now, when we were there, we did not see lots of mosquitoes. In fact, we saw very few mosquitoes. But we anticipate that that will happen.
BLITZER: What about shots or pills? What can be done in advance of any disease breaking out to protect those individuals, the responders, the firefighters, the police, the military? What are you doing to protect those individuals who are staying in New Orleans and those who have come to help?
CARMONA: Certainly, the responders, first-responders, know very well that they need to have their immunizations up to date, especially tetanus. In some instances, hepatitis A and hepatitis B immunizations would be warranted. And they should check in with their medical directors or the evacuation site physicians to get guidance as to what needs to be done.
Where necessary, the CDC and our partners are providing those vaccinations at some of the evacuee sites, as well as some of the emergency care centers that have developed along the way, where responders are congregating.
BLITZER: When I spoke with the secretary of Health and Human Services, Michael Leavitt, on Sunday, he said that you really had -- he really hadn't pre-positioned public health workers in advance. Do you have enough people there now to get the job done to make sure widespread disease does not erupt?
CARMONA: As of today, we have enough people there and we have successively been sending in waves of the United States Public Health Service Corps officers, CDC employees and mental health people from SAMHSA. Our Agency for Children and Family are sending in people to deal with social infrastructure. So, we have a very comprehensive team at all of the sites in the three states that are working with the local and state authorities to fill in the gaps where they do not have the infrastructure. One of the unique things about this disaster is, the infrastructure that would normally support recovery for such a disaster is gone. The police are gone. The fire is gone. Whole communities have been wiped out. So, we're having to partner with state and the remaining local authorities to rebuild that infrastructure, to make sure that those persons who have to be evacuated can receive the services they need in a comprehensive manner.
BLITZER: The surgeon general of the United States, Richard Carmona. Thanks very much, Admiral, for joining us.
CARMONA: Thanks very much.
BLITZER: And good luck to you and all the men and women who work with you. You have got a critical job ahead of you.
CARMONA: Thank you, sir.
BLITZER: Coming up: Tens of thousands of people scattered across dozens of states. Our Mary Snow has the latest on the evacuees -- where they are now and where they might be heading.
You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Welcome back. We want to give you an idea of what it's like to be on the streets of New Orleans right now. Our Drew Griffin is there. He's joining us now with a sense of what is happening. Drew, update our viewers.
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, it's sort of a transition today. In fact, what I would normally anticipate seeing two or three days after a hurricane is now, nine days after Katrina, beginning to roll in, and that is recovery and cleanup.
For days and days now, we've had nothing but guns patrolling the street by soldiers, armed guards, federal guards, the police from all across the country.
Now we're seeing those soldiers coming basically with shovels and rakes and big equipment to pick up the trees. I'm calling it the transition into a cleanup day. They're still doing a lot of the rescue work, of course, in the flooded areas and trying to get those people or convince a lot of those people to get out of their flooded homes.
But in vast parts of the city that are dry, they can actually begin cleaning up. In fact, a Texas National Guard unit is moving in. They are a water purification team. Hopefully, this is now the beginning of bringing New Orleans back, not just settling down from the safety problem they had and also recovering these people.
BLITZER: All right. Drew is going to be coming back. He's going to be joining us later. Drew, thank you very much.
BLITZER: A new report from the Congressional Budget Office here in Washington shows Hurricane Katrina may have major consequences for people seeking jobs in this country, especially those that have been displaced.
Our Ali Velshi has the "Bottom Line" and he's joining us now from New York with more on this. Ali, what's going on?
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: Well, Wolf, the government came out -- the Congressional Budget Office came out and said things that people had been expecting to hear, that there will be a big economic impact out of the -- out of Hurricane Katrina. What I think hit home was they were talking about 400,000 people out of work, 400,000 people.
Now, we heard Barack Obama from Illinois going down, saying numbers like that the other day, saying, where are these people going to go? And while Texas and, you know, Houston and other centers like Baton Rouge doing a great job of helping people out, in the end, none of those cities are capable of absorbing 400,000 unemployed.
It's going to be months before people can get back into work in New Orleans. So where do they go? Now, we've got a map, I think, we can show you to give you some idea of where those people who are looking or talking to people about jobs can consider. Around the South, it's tight. The unemployment rate in places like Houston, Dallas, San Antonio -- San Antonio's a little lower than the national average, you can see from the green arrow. Houston is a little higher. Baton Rouge is significantly higher than the national unemployment average of 5.2 percent.
Some of the places people might think about, if they've really got to make a new start -- and a lot of those people left with nothing but what they had on their back. Minneapolis, that area, has the lowest unemployment rate in the country. Washington, D.C., the area surrounding it, has a lot of jobs available. Washington, D.C., itself is not a good place for unskilled laborers, however. Richmond, Virginia, as well. That area has some activity.
The other thing is in the Southwest, Wolf. You know Las Vegas and the Phoenix-Scottsdale area. Well, those are the fastest growing parts of the area and the biggest job creators. But it depends on what you're looking for and what your capabilities are. But for a lot of people, Wolf, this is a new beginning.
BLITZER: A new beginning, indeed. Thanks very much, Ali. We'll get back to you, as well.
Coming up -- heading home. For those who managed to get back into their communities, there are some amazing images of both the before and after. We're going to show you those pictures here in THE SITUATION ROOM.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BLITZER: Displaced from their homes, they come from New Orleans, Biloxi, Gulfport and many towns in between. But where have they gone?
CNN's Mary Snow is tracking the hurricane survivors. She's joining us now live from New York with more. Mary?
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: ... to a home in rural Pennsylvania to an Air Force base in Colorado. These are some of the places thousands and thousands of displaced people are now calling home.
It is impossible at this point to get a firm handle on just how many evacuees are homeless. But looking at the scope of Red Cross shelters across the country, we can get an idea. It says Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi have the largest number of people at its shelters.
As of today, the Red Cross says there are nearly 66,000 people in shelters in Texas -- and that includes the Astrodome -- 56,000 people in Louisiana, and about 18,000 in Mississippi. Now, thousands of others who fled are staying with relatives, friends, perhaps staying in hotels. To put a number on them is very difficult.
The city of Baton Rouge, for example, which is outside New Orleans, says, it has doubled its population to 850,000 in just the last week alone.
In neighboring Arkansas, state officials say about 6,000 evacuees arrived last weekend, were processed in an Army base and are now saying at Boy Scout camps and church camps.
In Utah nearly 600 evacuees have arrived outside of Salt Lake City. Most of them right now are staying at a National Guard base. Military barracks are also being used.
More than 300 evacuees have been taken to Lowry Air Force Base in Colorado.
And then there are people like Patricia Edwards (ph) in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, who has taken in 39 relatives who were forced out of their homes.
Wolf.
BLITZER: Mary Snow, thank you very much. Mary Snow is in New York.
The internet offers many resources for hurricane victims seeking help and those who want to help them. Our internet reporter Abbi Tatton is checking the situation online. What are you finding, Abbi?
ABBI TATTON, CNN INTERNET CORRESPONDENT: Having a look at some of the corporations that have employees along the Gulf Coast and how they are using their Web sites to disseminate information about what the companies are doing next, but also to track down their employees.
Macys.com, their site is an emergency page. They want all the associates from the New Orleans stores to check in, whether they are all right, no matter what their situation is, so they can locate all those people. There's a phone number and also an online form. Tell us what you need so they can best help them with benefits and pay.
Another one here is Chevron. They had an appeal to check in early on. Also at their page for those employees who have not been affected by the hurricane, a relief site, corporate donations. We're seeing this on a lot of the sites. Places you can go to donate to help the fellow employees.
Another one here is Dominion. Not only information on how to check in, but also relocation of the people who had been working in the area. People being relocated to Houston. Now we know, Wolf, that not all these people -- the evacuees are going to have Internet access. But we do know that what the Red Cross is doing, having been asked by FEMA, is trying to get Internet connections at as many of their shelters as possible.
Wolf.
BLITZER: Thanks, Abbi, very much.
All week long we've been showing you his aerials of the aftermath. And we've been showing you more -- and we will be showing you lots more at the top of this hour -- the coming hour. But coming up, the helicopter reporter J.T. Alpaugh. I'll speak with him live. We'll get his sense on what he's seeing today, and we'll have more of his powerful pictures. That's coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: We've all been seeing his amazing images all week long here in THE SITUATION ROOM, helicopter reporter J.T. Alpaugh. He's been flying over the disaster zone with his crew. He's joining us now live on the phone with more on what we're seeing.
J.T., thanks very much. I want to get right to the video, as we say. Earlier today you were flying over some areas and you saw the sandbagging situation unfold once again. We're going to roll that video now. Tell our viewers what you saw as far as the sandbags were concerned today.
ALPAUGH: Well, absolutely, good afternoon, Wolf. We were over the -- this is what you call the London Canal. This is a canal just to the east side of 17th Street Canal. And you can see the Chinook helicopter that's been working this area and dropping these sandbags into this canal. One of the problems here is they need to get this levee break shored up before they can start working the pumps that are a little bit further up the canal a little bit to the south to start pumping this water back down this canal. Until they get this levee closed down, they're not going to be able to shore this one up and get that water flowing back into the lake. So that's what they're working on there with that Chinook helicopter.
BLITZER: That's been -- we've been -- I'm going to keep this video up a little bit longer, J.T. But this has been pretty amazing -- sort of a stop-gap measure. I take it it's not a permanent way to fix these broken levees, but it certainly is going to help in the short term.
ALPAUGH: Yes. Unlike the 17th Street Canal levee break, this -- the London Canal break is very inaccessible. And the only way to really do it is with these helicopters. So they're going to just pound as many sandbags as they can and place them down in there and hold them. And hopefully just to do a temporary break in that water so they can start flowing and backflowing that water back into the lake.
BLITZER: Another video that you shot today, debris that was caught in nets to prevent it, in effect, from being distributed in Lake Pontchartrain. Talk a little bit about this.
ALPAUGH: Yes. Basically what's happening is there is so much debris being pumped out down the 17th Street Canal -- that's what you're looking at right here -- they had to put catch nets. And you see them coming into frame here. The catch nets were being used to stop all this debris, like you said earlier, from going back into the lake. Now after that debris is piled up, they come in there with the barge and backhoes and they clear that debris out so it can catch some more.
But again, they are trying to save the lake from much of this debris. I think it would be pretty hard to save the waters of the Lake Pontchartrain from the contaminations, but they are trying to keep at least some of this debris here, as we pushed in and showed you. Just people's lives are in this debris, Wolf -- pieces of their home, their loved ones, pieces of family treasures gone. And just floating in these waters.
BLITZER: And the waters are full of that kind of debris. Now we're looking at some video of troops on patrol. Talk a little bit about the presence and what you saw today.
ALPAUGH: Well, this is over just the north side of the downtown area. We noticed what looked to be maybe Army Rangers. And again, there you see the red berets. I'm not really familiar with who wears those red berets. But this patrol walking through the streets, being covered high overhead with a Black Hawk helicopter. Going through the streets. They didn't have their weapons out. They looked to be just walking around, talking to people, trying to get people to evacuate and to do as much as they could to keep these streets safe. But we see at least two of these patrols starting to work their way through these areas that have recently dried out.
BLITZER: That's pretty prevalent to see these troops on the street?
ALPAUGH: Yes. It's getting pretty prevalent. And, you know, they're met with a lot of people coming out, shaking their hands and waving and a lot of -- a little worry. I think the people here are a little worried about maybe a martial law situation starting to happen here. But, nonetheless, there is a mandatory evacuation plan in effect per the mayor. And I don't know if these particular troops are there to enforce that or not, but we haven't seen any evidence of people being dragged out of their homes yet.
BLITZER: J.T. Alpaugh has been doing a great job for us and for the news media in general. We're going to check back with you in the next hour, J.T. Thanks very much for joining us.
You've been hearing about the human victims in this disaster, but what about the pets that have been left behind? Up next, now that many of the residents have fled the disaster zone, we'll update you on what is being done to try to save some of those animals.
You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: There's another part of the story to the immense human drama playing out in the hurricane zone. Thousands of animals are also victims, and so many people are refusing to leave because of their pets.
CNN's Brian Todd has been looking into this part of the story. He's joining us now live. Brian, what are you picking up?
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, this is obviously a very dicey issue. Because when you talk about the human situation and that being still so dire, many ask, how can you talk about pets that have been left behind?
Well, in sheer numbers, the situation is worth noting. The Humane Society of the U.S. tells us there are tens of thousands of pets, mostly dogs and cats, that have died from Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. Tens of thousands still out there, needing to be rescued. The Humane Society has teams on the ground, and they say their teams have rescued more than 700 animals. But the key here, according to the Humane Society's president, is the emotional bond between victims and their pets.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WAYNE PACELLE, HUMANE SOCIETY OF U.S.: People treat their dogs and cats like family members. And if you say, you must evacuate, and you must leave your pet as if you're just saying you must leave your television set, people who have this emotional connection are going to say, you're nuts.
So I think the issue for us is trying to convey that whatever -- whether you agree or disagree -- it is the reality. People are bonded to their animals and they are not going to discard them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TODD: Now that means, according to Wayne Pacelle, that many people have placed themselves in danger as a result. If there is not a better response planned soon for gathering pets, he says, more people will die.
Now there are numbers to call, Web sites to visit, to get urgent help for your pets. The Humane Society says call them at 1-800- HUMANE1, or go to their Web site at www.hsus.org. Other Web sites, ASPCA.org or the Louisiana branch of that group, LA-SPCA.org.
Wolf.
BLITZER: All right, Brian, thank you very much. A lot of our viewers love their pets and certainly can relate to that.
Jack Cafferty has been going through your e-mail this hour. He's joining us now from New York with what he's picking up. Jack?
CAFFERTY: Yes, you know, there's a reason for those bonds between people and their pets being as strong as they are. The reason is that most pets are probably more dependable and reliable than a lot of people are. I mean, I've got a house full of pets, and I'd be hard pressed to leave any of them behind my own self.
Anyway, that's not the question this hour. The question this hour is this. Will the world view America differently in the wake of Hurricane Katrina?
Here's what some of you have written thus far.
Don writes, "Sadly, no. The inability to take care of our own while meddling in the affairs of the rest of the world will just be confirmed."
Doreen in Belview, Washington, "America's dirty little secret is now out. We've become a Third World country with the super wealthy controlling the government, the very poor left behind and no one in the middle."
G. in Albuquerque, New Mexico, "Katrina has exposed to the world the soft underbelly of a nation weakened by a squandered national surplus and led by posturing neo-con evangelists."
Matthew in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia, "As a Canadian, I view America exactly the same as I viewed it before Katrina. The people are generally good. The elected officials are complete morons."
Paul in Hobart, Indiana, "Of course the world community is going to view us differently when commentators like yourself continue to point out what is always wrong with America. There have been a lot of good and heroic acts over the past week. Maybe you can continue to point out these instead of your continuous Bush bashing."
It's all I have.
BLITZER: All right. Jack, we're going to check back with you in a few minutes.
Zain Verjee is checking in with us right now. She's weighing world reaction to what's happening in this country. What are you picking up, Zain?
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN ANCHOR: Just wanted to weigh in a little on what Jack was saying. Really, from the rest of the world, an outpouring of sympathy for the United States, and solidarity.
You know, so many people from around the world have been to school in New Orleans. They've enjoyed the jazz on holiday, the Mardi Gras. So they are looking at this feeling a real sense of loss.
And another sentiment that also comes up strongly is one of real surprise. You know, they are looking at this going, the U.S. is supposed to be the richest, most powerful country in the world. And they are scratching their heads and going, what happened here? Maybe the U.S. isn't that powerful.
Wolf.
BLITZER: All right. Zain, thanks very much. We're going to check back with you shortly as well.
Coming up, a hold-out in New Orleans. Why won't some people leave the flooded and filthy city right now? We'll talk to one woman who believes she has very good reasons for staying. We'll hear her personal story. That's coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: We're getting -- we're going to have much more on the state of emergency in a moment. But we're also getting word of a couple of major automobile recalls.
Ali Velshi is joining us from New York with that. Ali, what's happening?
VELSHI: The Ford F-150 is the best selling truck of all time forever. In July it sold 4,000 -- almost 5,000 a day. Ford announcing a massive, massive recall, almost 4 million vehicles from 1994 to 2002 pickups and SUVs because of engine fires linked to a cruise control switch. We've reported this heavily at CNN.
We're talking about the F-150 -- the best selling pick-up truck for 30 years -- the Expedition, the Navigator, the Bronco. Ford will be informing all of its customers of those cars about these recalls. Most who have them will know that this has been in the news. And they are -- one of the biggest, not the biggest recall in history. Toyota following up with a million vehicles, also SUVs and pick-ups being recalled for a separate issue.
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