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The Situation Room

Power Outage in L.A. Not Linked to Terrorism; Bush Visits Katrina-Ravaged Gulf Coast

Aired September 12, 2005 - 17:30   ET

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

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: It's been about 90 minutes since they lost power in a major portion of Los Angeles and the surrounding communities, although we are now being told that power is being restored slowly but surely. Unclear, the source of what happened. One indication according to our Jen Rogers that one power worker inadvertently cut a line which caused the chain reaction causing this black out in parts of Los Angeles. It's slowly but surely going to be repaired.
No indication, no indication whatsoever of any terrorist related activity, despite the al Qaeda video that came out only yesterday, coincidentally -- we are told by sources here in Washington as well as in Los Angeles -- threatening Los Angeles with some sort of terror attac,k as well as Melbourne, Australia. No indication of that whatsoever. We will continue to watch what's happening in Los Angeles.

But this has been a day of a lot of news happening, including more fallout involving the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The mission along the Gulf Coast is critical, the situation rapidly changing.

Here are some of the latest developments in the hurricane disaster.

There's a new death toll out right now even as crews continue to recover the bodies of victims. As of right now, officials say at least 426 people have been killed. And although that number will rise, some are now downplaying earlier estimates predicting thousands of people dead.

Forty-one pumps are now working around the clock in New Orleans to push the flood waters out of that city. And while there is visible progress, 40 percent of the city remains, at this point, remains under water. That's a lot better than the 80 percent of only a few days ago.

President Bush paid his third visit to the disaster zone today. He saw the damage to New Orleans up close for the first time. He was on the ground in New Orleans today for the first time riding in the back of a military truck. Let's take a look at the situation in certain states right now that we're following.

Forty-five bodies have been found at one abandoned hospital in New Orleans a week after the flood waters have surrounded it. According to FEMA, at least five hospitals are up and running in New Orleans with 500 beds available.

In nearby Texas, 40 -- more than 4,600 evacuees are waiting to be placed in the four main shelters in the Houston area.

And over in Mississippi, the St. James Catholic Elementary School became the first school in the disaster zone to reopen. And the state says electricity has been restored to 169,000 customers.

He was the lightning rod for criticism of the federal government's response to Hurricane Katrina. Now three days after he was removed from on-scene command of the relief operation, the director of FEMA, Michael Brown, has resigned. The news came as President Bush was wrapping up a tour of the disaster zone.

Let's go live to CNN's White House Correspondent Suzanne Malveaux. She's following the story for us and has more information. Suzanne?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, we just got some new information, of course, coming off of Air Force One -- a full report essentially saying -- Scott McClellan the press secretary coming back to the plane reporters, saying that the president appreciates Mike Brown's service.

The president was asked about whether or not he was aware, in fact, that he was resigning. Earlier today the president had said that maybe you know some news that I don't know. Scott McClellan clarifying that saying well the president actually did know. He was aware of his resignation early in the day, but he wasn't aware that it had actually been made public and that Mike Brown came out himself and said so.

But clearly the president has been dogged by questions whether or not he still maintained confidence in his embattled FEMA director. The president really refusing to disparage him in any way, but it really created a problem for the Bush administration.

It was early on, just days after the hurricane hit, that already the Homeland Security secretary, Michael Chertoff, had a private conversation with the president at the white House, essentially saying that he was moving him to the side -- that he was no longer going to work in the field -- moving him to a desk job. It was the following day on that Thursday when Chertoff met with Vice President Cheney out on the ground in the hurricane damaged region. Again, both of them getting numerous complaints about the job that he had done -- pretty much considered a failure in some ways, from some administration officials.

And they have already decided to name the designate to replace him wasting no time at all, that designate being David Paulison of Florida, the acting undersecretary for emergency preparedness and response. He is the current head of U.S. Fire Administration at FEMA.

Just to give you a sense on how things have changed and how they've evolved so quickly, let's take a listen.

This was President Bush the Friday, just a couple days, three or four days after the hurricane struck. And then, of course, Chertoff following up with that demotion.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I want to thank you all for -- and Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job. The FEMA director is working 24 -

(APPLAUSE)

They're working 24 hours a day.

MICHAEL CHERTOFF, SECRETARY, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY: I have directed Mike Brown to return to administering FEMA nationally. And I have appointed Vice Admiral Thad Allen of the Coast Guard as the principal federal official overseeing the Hurricane response and recovery effort in the field.

BUSH: I have not talked to Michael Brown or Michael Chertoff. That's who I talk to. As you know, I've been working. And when I get on Air Force One, I will call back to Washington. But I've been on the move.

QUESTION: Our understanding is that he has resigned. Would that be appropriate ...

BUSH: I haven't talked to Mike Chertoff yet. And that's what I intend to do when I get on the plane. You know, maybe you know something I don't know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Well the president has talked to Michael Chertoff since then, since that exchange with our own Dana Bash there on the ground. The president returning to the White House imminently. And, of course, they have wasted no time in actually filling in that position, at least temporarily, to make sure that there's no lack of leadership there. But, Wolf, clearly the administration has had a tough time with this one, a great deal of criticism in their handling of this effort. They certainly hope that by allowing this to move forward, that they can put some of that aside. And at least some of the latest polls showing that perhaps they have turned the corner.

Wolf.

BLITZER: Suzanne, very briefly any indication that the president actually spoke on the phone with Michael Brown?

MALVEAUX: We don't know whether or not he has actually had a conversation with Mike Brown. We do know that earlier today, at least, the letter of resignation got in the president's hands. That he was very much aware of all of this early afternoon or so, much more so before he was actually asked that question. We don't know if they had a private conversation today, but we do know that that letter was his in hands.

BLITZER: Suzanne Malveaux at the White House. Thanks very much.

Let me read to our viewers the written statement that was released by Michael Brown.

"Today I resigned as director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. As I told the president, it is important that I leave now to avoid further distraction from the ongoing mission of FEMA."

Brown praises what he calls the hard working men and women of FEMA and then he adds this - quote -- "There is no other government agency that reaches people in a more direct way. It has been the best job in the world to help Americans in their darkest hours."

That statement released just a little while ago from Michael Brown.

President Bush got a closer look at the devastation in Louisiana and Mississippi today. And for the first time he actually entered New Orleans on the ground riding in a military truck in through the hard hit areas of the city, occasionally ducking to avoid low-hanging branches and wires.

At various points the president spoke about relief efforts. And he also spoke about the issue in response to a question about race, about the heavily criticized response to the storm, and about the deployment of troops at home and abroad. Here's a sampling of Mr. Bush's remarks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: The storm didn't discriminate and neither will the recovery effort. When those Coast Guard choppers, many of whom were first on the scene, were pulling people off roofs, they didn't check the color of a person's skin. They wanted to save lives.

QUESTION: Where were you when you realized the severity of the storm?

BUSH: I was -- I knew that a big storm was coming on Monday. So I spoke to the country on Monday morning about it. I said there's a big storm coming. I pre-signed emergency declarations in anticipation of a big storm coming -- which is, by the way, extraordinary. Most emergencies, the president signs after the storm has hit.

I think it's very important for Congress to take a good, close look at what went on, what didn't go on and come up with a series of recommendations. And my attitude is that we need to learn everything that we possibly can.

It is preposterous to claim that the engagement in Iraq meant there wasn't enough troops here, just pure and simple.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Unclear what the president meant when he said that he spoke to the nation as the storm was coming on Monday since the storm hit early Monday morning, came ashore early Monday morning. We'll get some clarification from the White House on that, what the president was specifically referring to. There were actually traffic jams heading into New Orleans today, by the way. Business owners were among those allowed to try to retrieve some vital records.

As New Orleans begins a massive clean-up, let's go live to the city of New Orleans. CNN's Sean Callebs is standing by. Sean, it looks where you are, it looks like a lovely part of the city -- looks pretty clean over there.

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Indeed. We're on the edge of the French Quarter here on Decatur Street. And actually, President Bush drove right by this street. I was right down there when he came by early this morning. And certainly by design here in the Quarter, it is actually above ground, so flooding not a huge problem here. And employees with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Coast Guard have been able to clean up historic Jackson Park, which you see behind me, in about 24 hours. They've done amazing work.

Now, we have also seen a number of troops and police officers from all over the country. One of their most important jobs; many are going door to door. You talked about the flooding still being a big problem throughout much of the city, between 40 and 50 percent. Their job is look for survivors and also victims. And they place various markings on the house if indeed they find victims.

We can tell you, Wolf, you asked me a couple of hours ago about the death toll here. In this state it is now at 279, including 45 victims who were found yesterday in Memorial Hospital here, in the city as well.

So certainly work continues. The city is taking baby steps toward a return to normalcy, but always, the sobering reminder of just how punishing this storm was.

Wolf.

BLITZER: Sean Callebs, reporting for us from New Orleans. Sean, thank you very much.

As authorities works to bring security and stability back to New Orleans, a bus station has been turned into, get this, a jail.

CNN's Ed Lavandera is on the scene for us. What's going on, Ed?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, you know, in the days after Hurricane Katrina struck here in New Orleans, and chaos and looting was rampant, here in the city, the city jail had been flooded. So all those officers picking up people on the streets in all of the mayhem, had nowhere to take any of these people. And they looked (ph) here in New Orleans to find a place. They searched exhaustively around the city and found that the bus/train station would be the best place to have it. And it's an amazing feat of ingenuity. In 24 hours, this city had a jail up and running again -- Wolf.

BLITZER: If your photographer could pan a little bit, I'm curious to see what we see behind you, what part of the city we're in. LAVANDERA: We're right on Canal Street. If you want to look across the street here, we're just across the street from Harrah's Casino, for those of you who have been in here in the downtown area, and just a couple of blocks away from Bourbon, where you can see the facade of the building there, the bricks have just come cascading down to the ground. And it's something that you see quite a bit. Many parts of downtown New Orleans were spared much of the intense flooding and that sort of thing, but you do find a lot of the brick buildings like this that experienced that kind of damage.

BLITZER: Ed Lavandera is on the scene for us in New Orleans. Thanks, Ed, very much.

We are going to continue to watch what's happening in Los Angeles. Right now, if you've been watching CNN for the past hour and a half, plus, you know there's a power outage in a big part of the city. We'll continue to watch what's happening. We got some new information coming in. We will go to Los Angeles after a quick break.

We will also watch other stories, including this: Separated by Katrina. We will have the very latest success stories of children that have been reunited with their families. Brian Todd is standing by with that.

And the next threat. An update on the storm called Ophelia. Where is Ophelia right now? Who could be in its path?

We'll be in THE SITUATION ROOM when you come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back to THE SITUATION ROOM. I want to update you on the power outage in Los Angeles. Just before 1:00 p.m. Pacific Time, just before 4:00 p.m. here on the East Coast, nearly two hours ago, a power outage in a major portion of Los Angeles, causing widespread traffic problems. A lot of people stuck in high-rise elevators.

Let's bring in Carol Tucker from the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power for an update. What do we know, Carol, about the situation right now?

Carol, you can hear me? Carol Tucker of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, are you there?

All right. We'll try to connect with Carol Tucker and get an update.

But once again, there have been areas of Los Angeles where power has been restored, including LAX and elsewhere. But unfortunately, the power outage continues in some parts of Los Angeles right now. We do know that the Department of Homeland Security here in Washington says that there appears to be no connection whatsoever to any terrorism. It looks like there was a technical problem that emerged at some of the power stations in Los Angeles. We will try to reconnect with Carol Tucker of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and get the latest information for you on that.

The other big story we're following, the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. There are some new stories coming into CNN right now, success stories of children reunited with families they lost. But there are still many more still separated.

CNN's Brian Todd once again joining us from the Center for Missing and Exploited Children in nearby Alexandria, Virginia, with more on this part of the story. Brian?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, this place is buzzing, as it has been for the past week. You've got dozens of volunteers here, working virtually around the clock, as they have been since last Monday. And they have had some success stories. Since last Monday, when this hotline was set up -- it's called the Katrina Missing Persons Hotline -- they have resolved 466 cases, kids reunited with their families.

We are going to put up two now actually that we have -- we were just about to highlight as being missing, told moments ago that they were found.

Emil Stevenson. He turns 14 years old in two weeks. We have an outdated picture of him. But he was just reunited with his caretaker, as was the young lady who he was last seen with. Her name, Treneka Worthy, 3 years old. These two were seen together. They are not brother and sister, but they were last seen at a bus -- on a bus at the Superdome with two other children, an adult female companion and an adult male companion. We were told just moments ago that they had been reunited with their caretakers. So a success story there.

But the other part of the story, Wolf, is that the numbers keep going up. Right now, they list 1,753 children as missing. That is double the number that we first reported on when we came here last Thursday.

I'm joined now by Bob O'Brien. He's the incident commander of the Katrina Missing Persons Hotline. Bob, why, with all the successes, are the numbers still going up of the missing?

BOB O'BRIEN, NATIONAL CENTER FOR MISSING AND EXPLOITED CHILDREN: I think there's a number of circumstances where the entire family disappeared. The adults have been panicked and not been able to actually report in detail that would come back to our center here. Other relatives, grandparents, aunts and uncles, have been calling in, and we're getting a very thorough report on missing children that have not been accounted for. Missing adults as well.

TODD: OK, Bob, good luck. And we're going to come back to you later and check some of the numbers.

We're going to also highlight now another child. We talk a lot about the smaller kids that are missing; there are a lot of older kids who are also missing. Here's one. Seventeen-year-old Anthony Hingle, last seen fleeing to a rooftop of a relative's home in New Orleans. Anthony still listed as missing. He is among more than 1,700 children listed as missing.

Again, another success story that had to do with a CNN report last week. Caleb Broussard-Fleming. He turned 7 years old on Sunday. We reported he was missing last week. As a result of our report last week, he was reunited with his mother in Panama City, Florida.

Once again we will put up the number 1-888-544-5475. That is the number to call for the Katrina Missing Persons Hotline. You can also go to www.MissingKids.com. They again, are working 16 hours a day here to try to reunite these kids with there families. Having a lot of success, but a huge challenge lies ahead -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right. Wish them a lot of luck and thank them on our behalf, Brian. Thank you very much.

There is also new international reaction coming in today to the Katrina disaster. Our Zain Verjee is following that part of the story from the CNN Center. Zain?

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN ANCHOR: Wolf, there's been plenty of criticism by those who say the Bush administration could and should have done more early on.

Rondi Adamson says blaming Bush is just ridiculous. Adamson writes somewhat sarcastically in the "Toronto Star" if only George Bush had treated the United Nations with more respect these past four years, not only would Katrina's aftermath have been different, but hurricane season this year may have been avoided all together.

This is close to the level of silliness we've been hearing since August 31.

Meanwhile, Mexico's "El Universal" is basking in the historic presence of Mexican troops in the U.S. for the first time in more than 150 years. Now it says the sight of Mexican troops marching across U.S. territory through San Antonio, no less, to deliver aid to hurricane stricken Americans is one of those sweet historical convergences that permits at least a thin ray of hope. Perhaps events will conspire to save both countries from themselves after all.

And further south, the Colombian newspaper "El Tiempo" appears surprised that race remains an issue in the U.S., writing this. "Katrina has brought to the fore racial consideration that were believed to be extinct. Widespread poverty has entered center stage, rarely news before, but a bitter little-seen reality for the better part of the southern United States".

And finally in the "Japan Times," Wolf, the former British Ambassador Hugh Cortazzi cautions against arrogance, saying "Before we loudly criticize the U.S. response to Hurricane Katrina, we should make certain that we can cope quickly and effectively with emergencies whether natural or manmade within our own borders".

And that's just a little flavor, Wolf, of what people are saying from around the world. BLITZER: Always interesting to hear what people around the world are thinking. Zain, thank you very much for bringing that to us. We'll see you tomorrow.

It's like an imperfect storm. Not sure which way to go. That would be Ophelia. A hurricane -- it's been a hurricane and not a hurricane three times now, but it's now a tropical storm for the fourth time. Are you confused? I am.

That's why CNN's meteorologist Jacqui Jeras is joining us. What is going on with Ophelia, Jacqui?

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, we have seen some changes today, finally, Wolf. Not so much in intensity but in location. It has made some significant progress now towards land, unfortunately. It was basically stalled all weekend long, and now it's moved about 100 miles closer to the coastline making it more likely that this storm will make landfall somewhere in the Carolinas.

It is a tropical storm. The winds right now about 70 miles per hour. So it has weakened a little bit, which is good news. It's moving off to the north and to the west at around three miles per hour. There are tropical storm warnings and hurricane watches that have been posted, from Edisto Beach extending on up to Cape Lookout. That means tropical storm conditions are possible within 24 hours.

Now there are some of the outer bands which have been kind of brushing the coastal areas throughout today. And some of the wind speeds have been starting to pick up as well. We are starting to get some common reports of wind gusts anywhere between 25 and 35 miles an hour. But sustained winds, there you can see them in Savannah, still 11 miles per hour, up into the 20s for you in Charleston. And up towards Wilmington we've been seeing gusts around 30 -- 35 miles an hour.

Forecast track now is tacking that turn on up to the north. Until that happens, we won't have an exact idea of exactly where the storm will be making landfall. Right now our best estimate is somewhere along the southeastern coast here of North Carolina. Still can't rule out South Carolina completely. And still can't totally rule out missing land altogether. But the likelihood now does appear like North Carolina is going to be the bullet, and that will probably happen on Wednesday, though it will likely be a weak Category 1 hurricane when that happens.

Wolf.

BLITZER: All right. We'll watch it. And thanks for that explanation. Jacqui Jeras helping us better understand Ophelia right now -- tropical storm/hurricane keeps going back and forth.

Jack Cafferty is joining us once again with the "Cafferty File". He has some of your responses to the question he posed not that long ago. Jack?

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: It seems like yesterday, Wolf, since the roar of criticism over Hurricane Katrina. In the last week or so, the administration has gone into damage control mode. In the meantime, a new CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll shows that President Bush's approval rating is actually higher than in many of the other polls taken over the last week.

Our question this hour -- actually it's from last hour -- is the administration's damage control working?

Libby in Burnsville, Minnesota, writes, "Damage control is not working quite yet. They haven't figured out whom to smear. Give them time, they'll find a veteran who can be Swift boated".

Gary in San Marcos, Texas, "Of course it's working. As people see all the facts about the bungled response including state and local governments, I foresee the Democrats in Louisiana losing big in the next election".

Beverly in Las Vegas, Nevada, "Absolutely not with me. It's affirming what his entire tenure has shown; that he is incompetent, his administration is incompetent and that he is inextricably tied to his base, the haves and the have mores".

Alex in Waynesburg, Pennsylvania, "If you have an average approval rating of 42 percent, not much is working at all".

And finally, Maya writes this. "I know it pains you enormously to learn that the president's numbers are up. It has nothing to do with damage control. It had everything to do with the rejection by the American people of your shrieky and shrill campaign to sully him. You elitist snobs are just so transparent".

I'm not sure what that means.

BLITZER: Are we still getting, Jack, a lot of e-mail?

CAFFERTY: No.

BLITZER: Really? I wonder why.

CAFFERTY: I don't know. But it's probably a computer glitch somewhere. Actually the number of e-mails has fallen off rather dramatically in the last hour or so. And I have no idea why.

BLITZER: Maybe there's a power shortage in Los Angeles and people normally write from L.A. and they are not writing to you.

CAFFERTY: Or perhaps we're just not that interesting or compelling today, Wolf.

BLITZER: Maybe. All right, Jack.

CAFFERTY: I'll see you tomorrow, and we'll try it again.

BLITZER: We'll try it again tomorrow. Thanks, Jack.

Allan Chernoff is in Gulfport, Mississippi. I want to bring him in right now. What are you picking up, Allan?

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: We're looking at some debris laying along 25th Avenue the main drag of Gulfport, Mississippi. And it is damage from the Palace Grill, and yes, the front glass of the restaurant totally blown in by the hurricane, as was part of the roof over here. So the restaurant suffered some severe damage. It's been here for 28 years.

And we have Kelli Hawkins with us. Her family owns the restaurant. Kelly, right now you've done an incredible job. I know your family has been cleaning for the past couple of weeks. What did it look like after the hurricane?

KELLI HAWKINS, LONG BEACH, MISS. RESIDENT: Allan, you wouldn't believe what it looked like. We walked in, and my first reaction was we're never going to open. There was just piles of debris on the floor. You couldn't see the floor. A little water on the floor from the rain. Piles of debris on the tables. And I thought, I have got to look for another job.

CHERNOFF: At the same time, almost amazingly, some of the things on the walls, such as your dad's fishing lures, the snapper he caught, the flounder over there, they still are on the wall. That's exactly where they were before the storm.

HAWKINS: Exactly. It's like Katrina knew not to mess with those items. Those are prized possessions of my dad's, Don Parks. And it didn't mess with them. I mean, you would be amazed at some of the heavy things that she blew down and then some of the small items, the tokens that were remaining on the wall.

CHERNOFF: Well Mother Nature had some respect. Our anchor Wolf Blitzer has some questions for you too.

Wolf.

BLITZER: Actually, I can't right now, because we are out of time, Allan. But thank her very much for joining us. We've got to check the situation online.

CNN's Jacki Schechner is standing by for that. Tons of reaction to what's going on, Jacki.

JACKI SCHECHNER, CNN INTERNET CORRESPONDENT: There is plenty online. We wanted to point out something interesting for you in the wake of Michael Brown's resignation. The White House has appointed David Paulison as his follow up on the ground. That name may not be familiar to you, but it will be in just a second. You might remember that he was the guy, the U.S. Fire Administrator back in February of 2003 who suggested as part of your emergency preparedness kit you have duct tape and plastic sheeting. That again, back in February of 2003. That was part of an emergency kit that was suggested by him at the time.

Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, Jacki. Thank you very much. Jacki Schechner checking the situation on line for us.

Once again just want to recap what's been a very big story the past couple hours or so, the power outage in Los Angeles. We're watching that story for you. Some areas coming back on line, restoring power right now, but still significant areas of Los Angeles without power. Unclear exactly what happened.

We're here in THE SITUATION ROOM every weekday at this time. We'll be back tomorrow morning at a special time, 9:30 a.m. Eastern, for the resumption of the John Roberts confirmation hearings. Until then, I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington.

LOU DOBBS TONIGHT starts right now. Lou is standing by in New York.

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