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The Situation Room
Interview with Bryan Beatty; Some New Orleans Suburbs Reopening Today; North Carolina Under Assault By Hurricane Ophelia
Aired September 14, 2005 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: It's 5:00 p.m. in North Carolina where the coast is under assault by Ophelia. We'll have a new forecast just being released by the National Hurricane Center.
And it's 4:00 p.m. Central Time in Southeast Louisiana where some suburbs are reopening for business in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. But when will that happen in New Orleans?
It's also 4:00 p.m. in Mississippi where we're seeing some new images of devastation -- get this -- an entire town being cordoned off with possibly a large number of bodies inside, possibly.
I'm Wolf Blitzer and you're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
North Carolina's governor is warning that the hurricane threat to his state is getting worse as Ophelia churns forward. The National Hurricane Center's just released forecast shows the storm moving closer to the North Carolina coast and pounding it with torrential rains and strong winds.
The brutal conditions are likely to last another day or more, since the slow moving storm isn't expected to maim landfall at least until tomorrow. Flood warnings are in effect and thousands of people already have lost power.
Along the wet and battered Gulf Coast, the search continuing for bodies. FEMA's new on-site chief, Vice Admiral Thad Allen is promising the remains of Katrina's victims will be treated -- and I am quoting now -- "with dignity and respect."
And it's "Mission Critical" in the hard-hit Mississippi town of Long Beach. The authorities have sealed off the most devastated areas and are building a four-and-a-half mile barbed wire fence and keep out potential looters.
Let's get straight to our reporters witnessing the power right now of Hurricane Ophelia. Our meteorologist Rob Marciano is live for us in Atlantic Beach, North Carolina. Rob, give our viewers a sense of what you're seeing and feeling.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I can feel that, I tell you that much, Wolf. Right now we're at high tide. We're on the beach - this is one of the many piers and we're about as close to land as you can get. But the surf is rolling up to the sand dunes.
I've got my back to the wind, it's been that way all day long, and if we do our little weather trick, point to the left, that means the storm is out that way, actually, if anything the winds have switched a little bit out of the south which means this storm hasn't past us yet. I have got to be able to point behind me so we know the storm will have passed us to our south.
But it looks like it is heading right towards us and we're in the thick of it right now with the northeast movement of the storm about seven miles an hour. We have winds gusting close to hurricane strength. But even though it looks pretty nasty right now, I have yet to record a wind gust of hurricane strength.
So just to give you an idea how ferocious these winds are, just down the road, Ocean Isle, in Brunswick County, a beachfront road completely washed out; police have retreated to a hurricane safe house on the mainland; 34,000 people without power. FEMA, by the way, has put an unusually large amount of folks on by in stages areas ready to go if this thing gets any worse. Right now it's a little bit stronger than we thought. It might even go to Category 2. We'll have to check with Jacqui Jeras in just a little bit.
The situation is different here, Wolf, than the Gulf of Mexico. On the Atlantic Ocean, here on these Outer Banks, we have got these sand dunes that pretty much protect a small storm surge. So we don't expect the surge to get over these dunes. Inland, the rivers and the sounds, all that water is being banked up, you get inland rivers, so they might have flooding inland as far as 40 miles, and the surge on the sound side nearly 10 feet. So it's a completely different situation than Hurricane Katrina, and certainly Ophelia has her own perils.
BLITZER: You experienced, Rob, Hurricane Katrina and now you're experiencing Ophelia. The people there where you are, have the people been affected visibly by what happened to Katrina? In other words, are they evacuating, taking greater precautions than they might have, hearing that a Category 1 hurricane with winds of about 85 miles an hour could endanger them?
MARCIANO: Well, there have been folks who have been evacuated. We have six counties that are under a mandatory evacuation orders. And the streets -- there's not many people on the streets. I've been in Category 1 hurricanes where people are out goofing around, but they don't seem to be doing much of that this go-around.
So the answer to your question, I think after Katrina, even though this is a Category 1 storm, a hurricane is still a hurricane. And here in North Carolina, they get a lot of them, so they're used to it.
Back to you.
BLITZER: You're in Atlantic Beach and I want you to go inside if it gets dangerous at all, I don't want you to endanger yourself. But what's behind you? It just looks like a complete whiteout back there
MARCIANO: Are you still with me, Wolf? Can you repeat the question? BLITZER: Yeah, I was going to say what's behind you? That surf looks like a complete whiteout.
MARCIANO: It's unbelievable, Wolf. Just about six hours ago, it was low tide and probably 50 yards from here. Now it's high tide, the surf is crashing in and the breakers are easily 15 to 20 feet.
The surge on the ocean side about six to eight feet above normal. It normally doesn't get -- it is coming all the way up to my feet. It's coming all the way up to the base of these sand dunes. It's about 20 yards in distance above what the normal high tide is. So the saving grace here in North Carolina, at least for the folks who live just a little bit inland, are these protective sand dunes. But they're being eroded by the minute. And they have been getting pounded by winds and waves now for the past 36 to 48 hours. They are going have a huge problem with beach erosion. Most of this beach, or much of it, I should say, may very well be gone tomorrow.
BLITZER: Rob Marciano, please be careful over there. Go indoors as quickly as you can. We don't want you to endanger yourself. Our meteorologist Rob Marciano covering the story for us.
Susan Candiotti is covering the story for us.
We have an affiliate reporter, Chad Tucker of our affiliate WGHP covering the story for us. You're in Wilmington, Chad, or exactly where are you?
CHAD TUCKER, WGHP CORRESPONDENT: We're in Carolina Beach in New Hanover County, North Carolina, where this has pretty much been the scene all day today. The storm did calm down a little bit around noon today when the eye got close to the coast, and the winds calmed down a little bit. But then, as it moved north, it picked right back up, pounding us with rain, lots of wind.
As you can see, the surf is up four to five feet storm surge. Another big worry is of course high tide, which is expected to happen in about an hour. If I can get my photographer to pan over, we have got some debris that's about to come off the roof of this hotel over to my photographer's right that this storm has really just taken a pounding for pretty much most of today, most of the buildings here have been able to withstand it but after hours and hours of taking this, they are starting to give at some sense.
The winds have been clocked at one point as much as 80 miles an hour gusts here at Carolina Beach. Wolf?
BLITZER: That's just outside Wilmington, is that right, Chad?
TUCKER: Yes, just south of Wilmington in New Hanover County.
BLITZER: Is there a mandatory or voluntary evacuation from that area?
TUCKER: They had a voluntary evacuation for this area, although a lot of folks who are natives to this area, locals to this area, they did not leave. This is a Category 1 and for them, this is a norm. This is something they don't leave for. Most of them tell me they don't get out of town until they get at least a Category 3. They can withstand this kind of storm and they will stay put. So a lot of locals are still here. About 1,200 here in Carolina Beach.
BLITZER: Chad Tucker from our affiliate WGHP reporting for us. Chad, be careful over there. Thank you very much.
Let's go to our national correspondent, Susan Candiotti. She's joining us now live from Nags Head, North Carolina, a little bit north of where Chad is. It looks relatively quiet where you are, Susan.
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Hours to go before Ophelia makes it up to this direction. Probably not until late tonight or into the early morning hours of tropical-storm force winds. So the hurricane might not pass by this area until midday tomorrow. That's what they're saying now.
Earlier today, we were on Hatteras Island. And it's like a ghost town down there. That's under a mandatory evacuation. You know how Rob was talking about the sand dunes? We have got similar buildup here along Nags Head. You see how it's built up here. And we're at high tide, the waves are crashing to shore. So they are expected to have a problem here with beach erosion as the storm approaches, and begins to approach and pound away at the sand.
And now coming back in the opposite direction, we're at the Nags Head Pier. And this looks like a very, very old pier. And during Hurricane Isabel, just a couple years ago this very week, it did some serious damage and -- although the pilings did stay in place. But you can see the people out on the pier this hour because it's really quite pleasant out here for now. The winds aren't that bad. The people are out there fishing off the pier, just taking in the sights and enjoying the breeze.
And as I'm coming back up to come back up to get a little closer to the camera, we can tell you that there is only a voluntary evacuation here in Dare County. No shelters are open.
They have advised people who might be worried about the storm and the flooding that is expected to go inland to that area Rob talked about. Rocky Mount is probably the closest area to here where people here should go to seek shelter.
Other than that, schools have been closed, people taking some precautions. But for the most part with this Category 1 storm, staying in place and prepared to ride it out.
Wolf?
BLITZER: All right. Susan, be careful over there as well. Susan Candiotti is in Nags Head, North Carolina.
Our meteorologist, Jacqui Jeras is joining us now live from the CNN Weather Center. There has just been a new forecast released by the National Hurricane Center. Jacqui, update our viewers.
JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, two significant changes here on this, Wolf. And one is that the direction of the storm has changed just a little bit. It is now moving northeasterly rather than north-northeasterly. So that keeps a little farther away from the coastline. The second change is in the intensity forecast. It has it as a much stronger Category 1 hurricane, but not at a Category 2. And the longer it stays offshore that means the more time it has time to strengthen. So we can't rule out maybe a weak Category 2 hurricane. Ninety-six mile per hour, that is what it has to be to in order for it to become a Category 2.
But whether or not it makes landfall really not all that important, because either way these folks are getting a direct hit with the eye wall of the storm, that's been kind of brushing up against the coastline throughout much of the afternoon hours. And this is where we're seeing some of the strongest winds and also where we're getting some of the heavy rainfall. And that is going to continue to kind of graze right along the coastline as it continues to push into a north to northeasterly direction. And if we do get landfall, we think the most likely place where that will be probably right here over Cape Lookout. And so it will be brushing throughout much of the Outer Banks. That is not going to happen until tomorrow afternoon.
BLITZER: Jacqui, when is this hurricane season finally going to be over?
JERAS: Well, we're at the peak of it right now, Wolf. September 10 is the actual date. We tend to see a lot of activity through the month of September and even a fair amount through October, but it's not officially over until the end of November.
BLITZER: Can't be over quickly enough. Thanks very much, Jacqui Jeras for that update.
Just ahead here in THE SITUATION ROOM, we'll check in with the National Hurricane Center, just out with its new forecast of Ophelia's trek toward North Carolina. We'll go there live. Some more information coming up. Plus, a different take on the latest storm threatening the United States. We will show you new on-line satellite images, much more of our coverage.
You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: More now on our top story, Hurricane Ophelia. Emergency teams are now on alert in North Carolina. And no doubt they're very well aware of problems that slowed the response to Hurricane Katrina.
Bryan Beatty oversees emergency management in North Carolina in his role as secretary of the Department of Public Safety. He's on the phone and he's joining us now. Secretary Beatty, thanks very much for joining us. Are you ready for this hurricane? SECRETARY BRYAN BEATTY, NC DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY (on phone): Wolf, we have been waiting for this hurricane for days now. I believe we're about as ready as we've ever been for any event.
BLITZER: Are you more ready because of what happened, because of Katrina?
BEATTY: No. I don't really think Katrina changed the way we do things. We have plenty of experience in North Carolina, we are following basically the same procedures, but we learn from every event and we certainly tried to learn from what we saw in Katrina.
BLITZER: In the areas where there's a mandatory evacuation, do you believe everyone is out?
BEATTY: Not everyone is out. Most people left -- certainly those who were visiting, the tourists. But occasionally you have residents who decide they are going to stay. And there are still some residents in the areas that had mandatory evacuation.
BLITZER: What about those who don't have cars or those who are sick, the elderly and hospitals and nursing homes? Have you managed to get in there and remove those people?
BEATTY: Those persons who indicated they didn't have a way out, we've been able to assist. But I'm not aware of anybody who is there because they didn't have a way to get out.
BLITZER: What about the coordination with the federal government, specifically FEMA? How is that coming along?
BEATTY: FEMA has been here for several days now. They have, I think, almost 250 personnel here. They have all kinds of support. And the partnership between our state and FEMA has always been very good.
BLITZER: Bryan Beatty is the secretary of the Department of Public Safety. Good luck to you, Bryan. Good luck to all of your friends and everyone in North Carolina along that coast. We'll stay with that story as it continues.
Jack Cafferty is watching that story and watching other stories as well. He's joining us once again from New York. Jack?
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks, Wolf. Former New York City Mayor Ed Koch once called the United Nations a -- quote -- "stagnant cesspool." One of my favorite descriptions of that august body over the years.
When the General Assembly opened its 60th year of business today, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said that one of the first orders of business was reform. And he said it with a straight face. Imagine that.
There's a lot that needs reforming at the UN. Former UN official Pedro San Juan details the extent of the corruption at the UN in his book. It's called "The UN Gang." He is the former director of political affairs.
He says that sexual harassment, nepotism, secret meetings between possible terrorists, even drug deals, go on daily at the United Nations. San Juan says the place is a monument to ineffective bureaucracy. They have a $2 billion budget and he says it's not uncommon for employees to arrive at 10:00 in the morning, take a three-hour lunch break and go home at 4:00. And nobody has any idea what the people that do show up and work there do.
Here is the question. How would you reform the United Nations? CaffertyFile - one word -- @CNN.com is the e-mail address.
Their cars clog up the streets. They don't pay their parking tickets. The foreign people that come here get away with stuff under diplomatic immunity. I remember, Wolf, a number of years ago some diplomat's kid raped a woman in New York City and he was just put on a plane home, diplomatic immunity, didn't face any criminal charges.
We decided on the morning show at one point that the initials "UN" stand for "Usually Nothing."
BLITZER: I guess you have strong feelings on this subject, Jack. Thanks very much. We're going to get back to you to see what our viewers think about it as well. Jack has strong feelings on a lot of subjects, which is good.
Coming up, the situation in Mississippi. People there are still getting a handle on the level of damage. We are going to go there live for a full report.
And from Katrina to Ophelia in North Carolina. They're eyeing Ophelia with anticipation and dread. We'll tell you where it's heading next.
Stay with us.
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BLITZER: First Delta files for bankruptcy and now another major airliner filing for the same thing.
Chris Huntington is joining us from New York. Chris, what's happening?
CHRIS HUNTINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, deja vu all over again. This again, not entirely unexpected. But Northwest Airlines, Northwest Airlines Corp., which is technically the parent of the airline, has indeed filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. This just approximately half an hour after Delta Airlines did the same.
Again, this was not unexpected. Northwest was facing the need to trim its costs by more than $1 billion per year. Again, as with Delta, they were in serious negotiations with their pilots -- apparently not able to come up with enough to satisfy, to close that gap. In fact, they had a big, big payment, Northwest Airlines, big payment due tomorrow to its pension, employees' pension fund that if they were not able to make that payment, certain liens would take effect against assets at Northwest.
So now officially, Northwest Airlines in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Delta Airlines just a half an hour ago. They join us United Airlines and US Airways that are already operating under protection.
And as I said half an hour ago, Wolf, with Delta, the same pretty much pertains to Northwest. From a customer and passenger standpoint, you're not likely to see much of a change in service, at least in the near term. They are honoring tickets, mileage programs. Their route system will pretty much stay the same for now.
You can look for changes, though, as the plans begin to emerge for how the company will restructure in bankruptcy proceedings.
Wolf?
BLITZER: Thanks very much, Chris Huntington reporting for us. Two major airlines filing for bankruptcy in the past few minutes.
Let's get a different perspective now on our top story. A fascinating view of Hurricane Ophelia which is hammering the North Carolina coast right now.
CNN's Tom Foreman is in THE SITUATION ROOM. And he's joining us live. Give us a little sense of what's going on, Tom.
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, what's going on right now with the storm, there's a couple things important to note about this.
Let's bring the map out here and take a look at our satellite view.
When you fly in over all these storms right here, and you take a look at this, we are going to look specifically at what's happening on the coast underneath this storm. Let me see if I can get the right image to come up here, see if we can control that.
If we fly all the way back in to where the storm is, you can see what it looks like under the land underneath it. Let's just fade this out like this. This is the storm right now. And that's what it's hitting right now. You get a very specific view of the areas it's hitting.
You know what these areas are like right here when that storm comes in and out? These are many small, low-lying costal areas. But why does this not get the same impact generally on the East Coast as they do on the Gulf Coast?
There are two very specific reasons. One, the Gulf waters are very warm. We know about how those power up hurricanes. Everybody knows that now after the past few weeks.
But another reason. Look out here. You see all this out here? This is indicating, something to do with the general depth of the water out here. Down on the Gulf Coast, everything gets shallow and it focuses the power of the waves and the power of the storm surge and the power of the storm itself. So as it hits the shore, it has a tremendous amount of energy being released.
On the East Coast, a little bit harder to do because it drops up more sharply underneath the water. This is the same reason you don't have big storms like this generally hit Hawaii, because it's sitting out in the middle of the Pacific, you would expect it to get hit all the time. It makes it hard for the storms to get tremendous energy. Nonetheless, a lot of energy is coming in here.
Now look at where our reporters are right now. Right on that storm. Right here, right here and right up there in Nags Head. If the storm keeps moving up this way, right now these guys are getting pounded a bit.
But when you move up here, you're talking about a little tiny strip of land that is going to be really exposed. And one of big questions that we have to ask about this storm as we continue to look at it as it approaches is what's going happen when it gets a little bit closer to those areas? Will it pick up speed or will it keep drifting?
The reason that matters because some years ago on the Gulf Coast we had a big storm that sat on the coast. And when it didn't pick up speed and go anywhere, it just ground away and it was grinding, grinding, grinding on that coast for a long time.
Then, even if it doesn't have a whole lot of power in places like that, it does a whole lot of damage on these little, isolated areas.
BLITZER: Tom, check this out, moving from Hurricane Ophelia to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. We're getting some new pictures in right now of a C-130. Look at this. You can see it up on the monitor right there. A C-130. It's actually spraying insecticide over parts of New Orleans. They're worried about those mosquitoes and those mosquito-borne illnesses that potentially could develop. But you see that C-130 flying over New Orleans.
I guess that's a good sight that they're spraying. On the other hand, it's not a good sight that they have to do this.
FOREMAN: A bit of return to normalcy, in some ways, though, I must say. Because in New Orleans, there is so much standing water, so many low areas, they have worked many years to control mosquitoes there. So the amount of water they're dealing with now, the health threat is clearly pronounced compared to what it normally is.
But nonetheless, you have to remember New Orleans in its history had giant outbreaks of yellow fever and malaria which killed many, many people over the years because there's so many mosquitoes there.
So you're right. It's a bad sign that they have to deal with at such a level now, but the fact that they can deal with it is something of a return to normal life down there, we hope.
BLITZER: I don't know if you're like me, but if you are, there's mosquitoes under the best of circumstances, even here in Bethesda, Maryland.
FOREMAN: Right out in the backyard.
BLITZER: Thank you very much, Tom Foreman.
We are going to continue our coverage. Coming up here in THE SITUATION ROOM, it's gaining strength and raising fears, Hurricane Ophelia. When and where will it hit and what's going on right now? We're going to go live to the National Hurricane Center for a better understanding of this new hurricane.
And as Ophelia approaches, we're still monitoring the aftermath of Katrina. What's happening in Mississippi right now? There are new pictures and new developments. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
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BLITZER: Welcome back. Forecasters watching Hurricane Ophelia are predicting an excruciating long passage along the North Carolina coast. That's bad news for flood-prone areas. Right now the storm is slowly but surely closing in on the Outer Banks of North Carolina.
Max Mayfield from the National Hurricane Center is joining us now with an update. You just issued a new forecast, Mr. Mayfield. Update our viewers.
MAX MAYFIELD, NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER: Well, this has been -- we had a report of a hurricane-force wind right here on Cape Lookout. The strongest winds are in this donut or eye wall around that very large eye. And unfortunately it's moving so slowly, it's going to take it all night and most of the day tomorrow before it really clears the Outer Banks of North Carolina.
BLITZER: Mr. Mayfield, our meteorologist Rob Marciano is in Atlantic Beach, North Carolina right now, braving this hurricane. He has a question for you. I guess it might be something of specific interest to him. Rob, you can hear me OK?
MARCIANO: Yes, I hear you, Wolf.
BLITZER: Go ahead with your question for Max Mayfield.
MARCIANO: Hey Max, we just hit high tide here, so I expected the surf to go back. High tide variance is about four feet, but what kind of surge are you expecting here right along the beach? And should we retreat from this position?
MAYFIELD: Well, it really depends on the locations here. You know, the -- all along the Outer Banks here from even down near the border, the South Carolina/North Carolina border, up throughout the Outer Banks here, in the areas where you have the onshore flow, you are going to have, you know, a storm surge that amounts to four or five, maybe even six feet along with the wave action on top of that.
Now, those folks are -- you know, they've gone through the drill and they've seen that before. The biggest concern, Rob, is really here up in the rivers. And the Neuse River, the Pamlico River, as long as that flow is still pushing water, you know, through the Pamlico Sound, it will go up into these rivers here and they could have some very high amounts there, nine maybe even up to 11 feet in those areas. And then as it slowly moves along the Outer Banks here, you know, even the lower portion of the Chesapeake Bay may have four, five, six feet of storm surge, possibly a little bit higher.
MARCIANO: All right. Well, we will keep an eye on it. As the tide goes down, I think the surge will kind eliminate any sort of retreating tide. Tell me what's your best guess right now? We have an easterly wind with a bit of southerly component, which kind of tells you we're getting a little bit closer to the center. Will our winds go southerly and/or will we get into the eye at some point this evening?
MAYFIELD: Yes, Rob, I didn't hear. Where are you in relation to Cape Lookout? You're still -- tell me where you are in relation to Cape Lookout.
MARCIANO: We're in Atlantic Beach, so you know, Morehead City, North Carolina.
MAYFIELD: OK, yes. tThe -- in fact, this is the Morehead City radar that we're looking here and, you know, the eye is still about 50 miles there southwest of Cape Lookout itself. So, you're -- yes, you will get in the eye there before it's all over.
BLITZER: That's it with Max Mayfield. He's got other work to do. Thanks to Max Mayfield very much for joining us. As usual -- I always say this to you -- I wish we were meeting under different circumstances. Max Mayfield, the National Hurricane Center, doing an outstanding job as they always do.
Rob Marciano -- give us a sense, Rob, where you are right now what you're seeing and what you're feeling.
MARCIANO: I'll tell you, well, first of all, we're obviously right on the beach, which -- you get sandblasted more than anything else. That's what hurts. It's like needles just pounding your face and your entire body. But really what's the most impressive is the surf behind me.
I'll tell you what, if we can take the other camera that we have and kind of zoom in to the surf and the pier here, one of the may piers that line the Outer Bank beaches of North Carolina and South Carolina, extends almost 100 yards into the ocean. This -- the end of this pier, it's a little suspect, getting a little weak out there.
I'm thinking that the end of this pier is going to be history here within a couple hours. And the question is, you know, how far up the pier towards shore does that get? So the power of the ocean, Wolf, is what impresses me the most.
Katrina, when we were in Hollywood Beach, we were on the beach and we got a serious, serious wind but most of it came in at night. We couldn't see the ocean and then for the second landfall of Katrina, we were inland to protect ourselves from the storm surge. And the force of the wind and the damage there was mind-boggling, but seeing the sight of this surf and this angry ocean and watch it pound away at this what should be a protective sand dune is just an awesome sight to see.
BLITZER: Rob, I know a lot of our viewers are watching you. They're probably a little nervous. At what point do you decide that it's too dangerous and you go inside?
MARCIANO: Well, that's why I was asking Max. But we're just going to have to make a judgment call on that. Excuse me, guys. Excuse me, guys. Common sense. We want to watch the end of this pier and see how it holds up. Right now the surf should retreat a little bit because the tide should be going out, but as the storm approaches, you get that counteracted with a surge. So we expect the wave to stay right here. If they start pounding us more, we're going to retreat to the parking lot. Not taking any chances, that's for sure.
BLITZER: I want you to err on the side of caution. Rob Marciano, our meteorologist, on the scene for us. He's unfortunately had to cover a lot of these hurricanes over the past few weeks and years, for that matter.
From Ophelia to Katrina, in the disaster zone there's a lot of work being done right now, still a lot of work that will have to be done.
Our Deborah Feyerick is tracking all of the developments. She is joining us now live from New York with a status alert. Deb, the train track in New Orleans reopened today. I suppose that's going to have a positive impact on the recovery. What are you hearing?
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, definitely. Supplies and workers are going to be able to get into the city much quicker. Workers were able to lift a five-mile section of track that had slid onto the lake back onto the Pontchartrain Bridge. It took them about 16 days to do that.
They were also able to repair parts of the bridge throughout -- I'm sorry -- parts of the track throughout New Orleans. So that means that supplies that they're going to have to bring in to rebuild New Orleans, and to get it back up on track, get food in, all those kinds of things, that's going to get there a lot quicker. Wolf.
BLITZER: These are live pictures, by the way, Deb, that we're seeing over New Orleans. You can see whole areas now no longer under water, which is a good thing.
The FBI in Houston issued some sort of warning today. What's that all about?
FEYERICK: Well, in Houston, the FBI there basically warning about violent crime, the potential for violent crime. They were talking to police about the possibility of gang activity in the Houston area. There were rumors about a potential crime spike, but an information officer with the police department said, no, in fact crime is down for the month.
Houston took in about 150,000 evacuees from the Gulf states. And of course, the FBI and other federal agencies just want to make sure that people are on top of it, so that if there are any patterns of crime, they can keep an eye on it and address it very, very quickly so things don't get out of hand.
Wolf.
BLITZER: Deb Feyerick, thanks very much.
And this is a C-130 we're looking at right now. Take I look, these are live pictures, a C-130 flying over New Orleans right now. It's been spraying, spraying as a result of fears from mosquito-borne illnesses, spraying insecticide, trying to make sure that everyone in New Orleans stays as safe from disease as possible.
This is not a very common situation -- a military C-130 flying relatively low over New Orleans spraying the area trying to kill those mosquitoes and prevent disease from breaking out. We'll continue to watch all of these developments.
Among the tragic stories from Katrina -- God knows there are so many -- some of them stand out. Dozens of people who drowned in a nursing home outside of New Orleans -- that certainly stands out. The owners have been charged. We will have a complete update when we come back.
Also, exclusive new images of devastation in Mississippi. Why one town is now being cordoned off.
You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
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BLITZER: We're getting some pretty amazing video in from Long Beach, Mississippi.
Joining us now on the phone, CNN producer Peter Tedeschi who is covering this story for us. Peter, tell our viewers what we're seeing.
PETER TEDESCHI, CNN PRODUCER: Well Wolf, we were just in Long Beach, Mississippi, west of Gulfport a few hours ago. And we're seeing barbed wire strewn across the entire length of the city about a half mile up from the Gulf of Mexico. So when it's completed, we will see about four-and-a-half miles of rolling barbed wire by a half mile down to the water.
What security guards there are telling us is that they want to keep looters out. But what some military police told me privately was that they expect to find a lot of bodies in the area, that they're finding a debris field where very nice, middle to upper middle class homes once existed. And that they can't even get into the debris field in order to be able to find the bodies.
They are also sending out special teams with the Long Beach Fire Department in order to see if they can find cadavers amongst the ruins.
I'll tell you, it's among the worst damage that I've seen in my several days now in Mississippi. And it really is a wakeup call to realize that as much as we talk about some of the road to recovery, there's a very, very long, difficult road for many, many people ahead.
BLITZER: Peter Tedeschi is our producer, showing us this video. Thank you, Peter, very much.
Our senior correspondent Allan Chernoff is also in Mississippi -- in Biloxi, Mississippi. Specifically Allan, what are you seeing today?
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, have a look at this. This is the remainder of US 90, a bridge that used to span across the Biloxi Bay. As you can see, totally demolished. Just imagine the force of the waves and the wind just crushing this like dominoes falling down. An incredibly powerful storm.
The Transportation secretary, Norman Mineta, saw this yesterday. And afterwards he said the US government will pay to fix this. They'll be paying for the roads and bridges throughout the ravaged area -- estimated to cost at least $1.3 billion. And add in Louisiana and elsewhere, the estimated cost of this, more than $3 billion, the biggest such reconstruction of transportation infrastructure in the nation's history.
Also, unbelievable, the damage to some of the casinos. We can roll some video. We had casinos literally lifted out of water, across this highway and they ended up on the other side of the highway. Massive structures. Keep in mind the casinos in this state are required to be in the water.
The hotels are still standing, but also quite damaged. And in those hotels, workers have been cleaning out. They're drying the places out. All 10 hotels in Biloxi are saying that they will rebuild. And that's good news here, because the hotels are the biggest industry, critical to the state's revenues.
Wolf.
BLITZER: Alan Chernoff reporting for us. Allan, thank you very much. Allan Chernoff on the scene in Mississippi.
Coming up, Katrina relief: our Internet reporters are following the situation online. They'll have a complete update. Plus, you're e- mail on our question of the hour. Jack Cafferty sorting through them. He'll join us with the "Cafferty File" right after this.
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BLITZER: I want to go back to these live pictures we're getting from Atlantic Beach, North Carolina. Hurricane Ophelia pounding and pounding away.
We had showed you just a little while ago that pier that's out there. Our Rob Marciano is our man on the scene, our meteorologist. That pier now being literally eaten up by this pounding surf and this pounding wind in Atlantic Beach. It's a very, very dangerous area right now. We're going to be joining Rob in a moment. But this is Hurricane Ophelia. It may only be a Category 1 with about winds of 85 miles per hour, but it's a serious Category 1. It could cause a lot of damage.
Check out this pier. It's being -- it's being significantly damaged by this surf, this wind, this rain. We'll watch this pier for you. A chunk of it only within the past few minutes was literally swept aside by this pounding surf.
This is North Carolina. This is the result of Hurricane Ophelia. And according to the National Weather Service, the National Hurricane Center, this pounding rain is going to stay there for some time, maybe 24 hours, maybe 36 hours, because this is such a slow-moving hurricane. And the outer winds -- the outer bands of this hurricane are going to continue to pound and pound and pound away.
If you're anywhere close to that area and you haven't evacuated yet, this is a good time to stay indoors and find a safe spot in one of those shelters, certainly on the coast of North Carolina. You can just see that -- you can just feel that pounding surf eat away at that pier in Atlantic Beach, North Carolina.
Let's listen in. Our man Rob Marciano is on the scene there. He's describing what he's seeing.
Unfortunately, we don't have him right now. We're going to try to connect with Rob Marciano, our meteorologist. He's in Atlantic Beach.
Sustained winds right now of about 85 miles an hour. And as part of this hurricane -- and it's affecting almost the entire coast of North Carolina -- it will at some point -- the outer bands of this hurricane, even as it moves in a northeasterly direction. It's off coast of North Carolina. There you can see the eye of that hurricane. But you can see the state. You can see Wilmington right in the middle of the screen.
But you can see it's affecting the uppermost northern part of South Carolina, and it's affecting North Carolina as well.
I think Rob Marciano is with us right now. Rob, you just saw that pier when we were watching it as well. Tell our viewers what's going on.
MARCIANO: Unbelievable, Wolf. Just less than 20 minutes ago when we were talking, I said the end of this pier looked a little suspect. The support beams were getting a little bit weak in the knees. And sure enough, as these 15 to 20 foot breakers continue to roll in, boom, there went the end of the pier. It was unbelievable to see. This is not the only pier on the North Carolina Outer Banks. Certainly there are piers in South Carolina that took some damage as well, but this is going to be a story that is likely echoed up and down the coastline, when we start to pick up the pieces really tomorrow afternoon. Just to give you an idea of how big a chunk of the pier that was, the pier itself extended about 80 yards into the ocean. We're in first 10 yards of it right now on terra firma, so we're not threatened by this thing falling into the ocean. Of course, if we start to feel it, we're going to head off the -- head for higher ground.
But right now about a 20-yard chunk of the end of this pier was ripped away by the ocean. And it went from about 80 yards to a 60-yard pier in a matter of 30 seconds. Unbelievable to see the power of the ocean though, Wolf.
BLITZER: And right now is the wind -- it looks like it's dying down just a little bit, but maybe that's my imagination.
MARCIANO: No, no. It's not. You know, it comes in waves. There comes a puff right there. So, you know, there will be times when it's relatively calm and then there will be times when it's absolutely nuking through here. So, you know, that's the way it is.
When you get the outer bands and we get closer to the eye wall, the winds will become more sustained and stronger, maybe to the point where we can't stay on the air. It could be a signal or it's just not safe for us to stay on the air. We'll make that judgment call in a minute-by-minute basis.
But here comes another puff. There's a piece of wood flying down the beach right here. As long as the wind remains in this direction, or even southerly, we're not going to get any debris off the ocean. So that's not going to be an issue with our position. What will be at issue is how high this surf gets, and we'll just keep an eye on that. Technically, the tide is receding, or waning. But also, technically, the storm surge will be kicking in, and we could see an additional four to six feet of water start to pile up on these dunes, which are shrinking by the minute.
Wolf.
BLITZER: That pier looks a little rickety right now. What about you? You're on some sort of a deck. How secure is that area?
MARCIANO: Well, you know, it's pretty secure. I mean, the waves are getting up here, but think of it as like a dock on a lake on a rough day. We're anchored pretty securely here. But you know, it's just a matter of how high this water gets. We'll just have to watch. And again, technically, the storm should be -- the tide should be receding, but the storm surge may cancel that out, and these waves, these breakers, will continue to get bigger as the storm gets closer.
So, you know, safety first here with me. And I feel completely responsible for the crew, so there's not going to be -- we're not going to be hot dogging it out here, that's for sure. We just want to give the viewers an idea of what it feels like to be in the storm, and to show them the force of the Atlantic Ocean when one of these storms -- even a Category 1. What it can do if you're on the beach, unbelievable. BLITZER: And it's a Category 1 right now, about 85 miles an hour. But it could reach a low Category 2 status if it gets a little bit heated up to a certain degree.
MARCIANO: Well if it becomes a Category 2, you know, we get winds over 90 miles an hour, that would create a larger storm surge. So the theory of this water ending at my feet would be gone out the window. So I'm in close contact with the CNN Weather Center. I meant to ask Max Mayfield whether he thought this storm was going to weaken. It sounds like, everything I read out of the National Hurricane Center, you know, they expect it if anything to strengthen.
I have got to tell you, Wolf, the waters out here are not that warm. You need 80 degree waters, at least, for a storm to survive. But the Gulf Stream, which is, you know, it's offshore a bit. You've got 81, 82, 83 degree waters. That's why this thing is continuing to strengthen. But if it gets closer -- look at that sea foam. Wow. Wow. Wow. If it gets closer to the water here, which is probably 70 to 75 degrees, it could weaken. You know, we certainly hope that's going to happen. But it shows no signs of doing that right now.
Wolf.
BLITZER: I've got to tell you what I'm worried about for you, Rob, is flying debris. As you know, that's the biggest challenge that you face right now. I hope that area around you is clear.
MARCIANO: Well, I'll tell you, Wolf, that's a good point. And oddly enough, the closer you are to the ocean with the winds being off the ocean right now, the safer you are, because there's no debris out in the ocean. It's just water and sand that's pounding us right now. So if the winds -- I don't expect the winds to go offshore, not any time soon. If anything, the winds will go southerly later on this evening, and then south westerly tonight and overnight tomorrow. We shouldn't get an offshore wind, which would then maybe put us in the path of debris. That shouldn't happen, I think, until tomorrow. And then by then the storm would have moved on and weakened just a little bit. Debris is that much of an issue.
BLITZER: What worries me, Rob, is that pier. You said a big chunk of it was just thrown aside. I'm worried about that wood from that pier, God forbid it should get anywhere near you or anyone else.
MARCIANO: Well, that's valid. But the railing, like I say, the railing I'm leaning against here, there's one just on the other side from me about 15 feet. But these are rock solid. They have not moved at all. This entire pier would have to collapse to get any sort of debris to come flying towards me or towards the crew. So I appreciate the concern, Wolf. Debris -- knock on wood -- shouldn't be an issue right now. We will keep an eye on the tides as they continue to roll in.
BLITZER: And right now you anticipate -- and you're a meteorologist -- that this kind of level, the intensity, that could stay where you are for, literally, hours. MARCIANO: That's the difference between this storm -- and everybody wants to compare this one to Katrina, and rightfully so. It's the first landfalling hurricane we've had since the worst one in our lifetime. So to compare it to Katrina is like comparing apples and oranges. Katrina was a Category 4 storm. It was a quick mover. It got in, got out. It hit on the Gulf Coast where the asymmetry of the ocean, or a $10 word for saying the way the Gulf of Mexico looks like under water, really agitates -- it forces the storm surge even higher than it would over here.
This is a weaker storm, but it's a slow moving storm. So it has pounded the beach here for the past two days, will likely do it for another day. So it continues just to rip away. You know, I don't know which is worse almost, Wolf. Obviously the results of Katrina has been worse, but this is like a marathon runner as opposed to a sprinter or a body-builder of some sort. This one is a long-distance runner and it's just relentless, and we're not even close to it being over.
BLITZER: Be safe over there. Err on the side of caution. You and our crew, thanks very much. Rob Marciano, our meteorologist, on the scene in Atlantic Beach, North Carolina. This hurricane clearly a serious Category 1.
Jack Cafferty is watching all this. He's also reading your e- mail. Aren't you happy you're not in North Carolina, Jack?
CAFFERTY: Indeed I am.
The United Nations opened for business, its 60th session here in New York City today. And it prompted our question, which is how would you go about reforming the United Nations. We got some pretty interesting stuff.
Alexander in Coral Gables, Florida, "Reform the UN. Move it to Geneva. Expand the Security Council. Publish an annual report and external audit. Give security forces some teeth and make deliberations more transparent. Then be on the lookout for flying pigs."
Michael in Bloomfield, Connecticut, "Reforming the UN would require in these days of democracy the removal of the veto power from only a privileged few. Are the Americans who gripe about reforming the UN prepared for that change, or would they hypocritically try to change everything else but that?"
Thomas in Tucson, Arizona, "The best way to remove the United Nations would be to give Kofi Annan's job to Bill Clinton. You never know, he might be able to fix it. Or the Republicans will finally get the motivation they need to get rid of it."
Dan in Los Angeles writes, "Yeah, yeah, yeah. The UN's a lousy place and so's the world. Thank God it was around in 1862 for President Kennedy during the Cuban Missile crisis as a forum to expose the Soviet Union as liars, or you, our kids, most of America, and even Texas might still be glowing in the dark."
And finally, Jerry in Austin writes, "Pay all the employees by the hour."
BLITZER: Jack, how's traffic in New York City today with 100 world leaders who have come for the 60th anniversary of the UN?
CAFFERTY: Well it's awful. I mean, the traffic is New York's no good anyway, but when all those diplomats and their entourages get here, and all the wives and significant others come, because they want to do the shopping and they schlep the kids around to the Broadway -- and it just goes, you know, it ties up everything. They should hold the UN sessions in Brooklyn on Sunday mornings between 6:00 and 8:00, and then put them right out of Kennedy Airport and fly them home.
BLITZER: Jack Cafferty, we'll see you tomorrow. Thanks very much. Jack Cafferty is in New York.
And we'll be back here in THE SITUATION ROOM at a special time tomorrow morning 9:00 a.m. Eastern. The John Roberts confirmation hearings will resume. We'll have extensive coverage of that.
Until then, thanks very much for joining us. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington.
LOU DOBBS TONIGHT starting right now. Lou standing by in New York. Lou?
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