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The Situation Room

Hurricane Rita Lashes Florida Keys; New Orleans in Path of Another Hurricane?

Aired September 20, 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 at one place simultaneously. Standing by, CNN reporters across the U.S. and around the world to bring you the day's top stories.
Happening now, it's 3:00 p.m. in the Florida Keys, where low- lying islands are feeling the lash of Hurricane Rita. Those who haven't left are warned to hunker down.

In Texas, it's 2:00 p.m., 900 miles away. And three weeks after Hurricane Katrina, residents are wondering there if it's their turn. And evacuees from one storm are forced to flee another.

And it's 2:00 p.m. Central in New Orleans, where they're boarding up, closing down and moving out again. Could Rita reflood the city?

You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

Thousands got out ahead of the storm, but for the thousands who stayed behind, it's too late. They will have to ride out Hurricane Rita, which is whipping the Florida Keys with high winds and driving rain right now.

Our Dan Lothian is stand big live in Key Largo. Our meteorologist Jacqui Jeras is at the CNN Hurricane Center.

But we begin with some live pictures that we're getting in right now.

John Zarrella is joining us now live from Key West as well.

John, set the scene for us where you are. I don't know if you can see these live pictures, but that surf looks mighty powerful.

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, you know, you wouldn't know it here down on Duval Street. You can see down behind me, though, it is pretty much deserted. Any other day of the week here, this is the main drag in Key West. And it would be absolutely filled with tourists, not the case today.

You mentioned -- and we will take a walk out here a little bit. You can see, everything is boarded up down Duval Street. There are few people up and down the street. In fact, about 50 percent of the city is evacuated, but that left about 13,000 people in the city who did not evacuate. And we have seen them coming up and down the street in cars and riding motorcycles, walking. So, the ones that have remained have been out and about all day. And, quite frankly, right now, we're in another one of these lulls. It has been steady rain. It has been wind and gusty wind. But the city officials are breathing a bit of a sigh of relief. It has -- they are holding their breath because, right now, it looks like the storm is going to pass to our south and not make a landfall here.

Some of the worst of the conditions that have been experienced here -- you can see some of the gusts picking up again here, the wind and rain. Some of the worst the conditions have been, on that Overseas Highway, one lane in, one way out, the Florida Keys. It's been closed now by police officials. Several sections of it have been overwashed up around mile marker 75, the Lower Matecumbe Key area under water up there, debris covering the roadway, and several other pockets of that road, the Overseas Highway washed out.

Officials telling us they are going to have to do a structural assessment of the highway to make sure before -- that it is OK and safe before they let people back out on it to get up in or out of the Florida Keys. Again, Wolf, this is about the way it's been all day. It comes in squalls and gusty wind. But if this is the worst it gets here the rest of today, city officials are really going to consider themselves lucky -- Wolf.

BLITZER: I don't know if you can see air, John. Can you see return video there?

ZARRELLA: No. No, we can't.

BLITZER: Yes. Well, but you're not that far away from the surf and the beach from your location?

ZARRELLA: Right. That's exactly right. And you're getting what the storm surge and those high waves pounding in along the coastline. And that's what is doing much of the damage all along the middle Keys and the lower Keys and even up and around the Atlantic side of Key West, but, obviously, a much different scene as you come right into downtown.

Now, we did lose power here about 11:00 this morning. About 100 yards up from me where I'm standing, transformers were blowing out, huge explosions when those transformers went out. So, certainly, there's a hurricane here. But, again, if this is the worst it gets, Wolf, they are going to feel themselves very, very lucky come tomorrow here in the Keys.

BLITZER: How word are they, John, about flooding?

ZARRELLA: Well, they were very concerned about it yesterday. They were very concerned that what they might end up with was six to nine feet of storm surge overwashing, plus a lot of heavy rain. But the storm is moving quickly, 15, 16 miles an hour. The faster they move through, the less chance they have to drop a lot of lot of rainfall in one particular area. So, the street is not even flooded here. And the overwash of -- is primarily up north of us on the Overseas Highway. So, with each passing hour, getting a little bit of a better sense that it's not going to be as bad as they had feared yesterday -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, John Zarrella, thank you very much from Key West.

Let's head over to Key Largo. That's where CNN's Dan Lothian is standing by. And he can set the scene for us where he is -- Dan.

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN BOSTON BUREAU CHIEF: Yes, Wolf, the dark clouds rolling in again. And this has been how it has been pretty much throughout the day, where you get these bands of rain and then high winds and then it gets calm again.

You can see a little bit of the sun peaking out. Then it gets dark again. About the only way for me to really illustrate the wind situation here now -- and it's sort of died down, but we use the palm trees behind us as a good indicator. Relatively calm now, but when the winds start kicking up here, you see all the palm trees blowing with the wind behind me, is the Gulf air.

And we were really expecting that perhaps, when this storm would be kicking up that perhaps this water, the surge would have brought it up here to where we're located. There had even been concerns at this hotel, the underground garage that potentially could be flooded. But that of course didn't happen.

But you were asking a few minutes ago about any flooding, concerns about flooding. And a little more than 15 miles from here, in Islamorada, we went down there to check it out this morning. And it was incredible, some of the pictures that we found. There's a mobile home parked right off of Highway 1, the main drag that runs from Homestead, all the way down to Key West.

That mobile home park flooded. It's right there on the ocean side. At some points, the water was about three feet high. Folks were coming back to check out their homes. And one couple we talked to didn't get water inside their home, but a shed and a workshop that they had right next to their home was flooded. Others, according to one of the residents we talked to, said their homes were just destroyed by all the water that came rushing through there.

Again, these mobile homes are right there on the water's edge. About a mile-and-a-half down from the mobile home park, we also came across a motel. And they had some cottages, also, again, floodwaters coming through the bottom of that hotel and right into the cottages. So, we have seen some of that water damage. There had been concerns about the sporadic, spotty flooding in various different areas. And it is happening. It is materializing in those areas that are low- lying areas or right there on the water's edge -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, Dan, we will check back with you. Dan Lothian is reporting for us from Key Largo.

Let's find out how the storm is doing right now, what it is doing, where it might be headed.

For that, our meteorologist Jacqui Jeras standing by at the CNN Hurricane Headquarters.

What's the latest information we have, Jacqui?

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, the most important information I need to get to you right now is that area that Dan Lothian was talking about, Islamorada, just to the north of there, here on Plantation Key, Tavernier has been getting hit very hard with a series of these isolated storms that have been moving through on the feeder bands.

Monroe County, including Plantation Key here, under a tornado warning for a possible waterspout that is moving up to the north and the west and moving over that island. There's also a tornado warning in effect for Miami Dade County and also for Monroe counties over on this part of Florida because of this possible waterspout making its way onshore. So, we're starting to get some of these tornado warnings. We haven't heard of any ground truth yet, so to speak of, that there have been any actually on the ground.

We also had tornado warnings earlier for Hollywood. You can see there's a little cluster of thunderstorms just to the north of there. But this one offshore is of concern. That's also moving northwesterly and could be heading towards Ft. Lauderdale about 15 to 30 minutes from now. So, those storms are very threatening at this time.

We also heard from John Zarrella talking about, is this as bad as it's going to be getting for Key West? Well, just about, at least in terms of the sustained winds, how strong they are going to be. The storm itself is about 80 miles to the south right now of Key West. And it's moving due west.

So, it is starting to pull away from that area. But some of these outer feeder bands are going to be moving on in. And those could make conditions as bad as they are right now, if not worse, bringing in tropical-storm-force wind gusts, certainly on the order of maybe 60 miles an hour or so.

Right now, the maximum sustained winds are 100 miles per hour. From the center of the storm, the hurricane-force winds only go out about 30 miles, so that would mean, unless we get a northerly jog here, that would mean the hurricane-force winds, the sustained winds, anyway, will not be reaching the Keys or the Dry Tortugas.

So, that is some good news. It doesn't look like we're going to get the direct hit here. Some wind gusts reported at this hour, 61 miles per hour, Key West, 44, Marathon Key, 33 miles per hour in Miami, and 32 up there at Ft. Lauderdale.

Here's the forecast track. It will continue to intensify and getting close to hurricane Category 2 status -- or 3 status, rather -- by later on this evening, maybe even by 8:00. Tomorrow morning, there you can see it over the open waters and intensifying as a Category 3 storm then and starting to curve on up towards the north late in the forecast period on Friday, making landfall likely late on Friday or sometime on Saturday morning, still a big area that we need to watch, Wolf, northern parts of Mexico, all across the coast of Texas and into western Louisiana.

And keep in mind that this is a pretty large storm. The tropical-storm-force winds go out about 120 miles from the center of the storm. So, even if you don't get the direct hit, if it does follow this exact path, we still could see quite an impact across the Houston and Galveston areas -- Wolf.

BLITZER: A quick question, Jacqui. The millions of people who live in Miami-Dade, in Broward County -- that's Ft. Lauderdale, Hollywood, Miami itself -- what should they be bracing for?

JERAS: Well, they need to be bracing for some heavy rains, also some flash flooding. There you can see some Miami-Dade on the map. And, right now, they are not getting much more than just some light rainfall.

But farther to the north of here, here's Ft. Lauderdale. It's this storm that is going to be headed their way that I'm most concerned about. And then you can see this area down here. That eventually is going to be pushing in. So, they need to worry about heavy rain, flash flooding, some minor wind gusts and also the threat of tornadoes.

BLITZER: All right, Jacqui, we will be checking back with you. Jacqui Jeras, thank you.

Almost 1,000 miles from the Florida Keys and Hurricane Rita, residents of Galveston, Texas, are nervously eying the Gulf of Mexico. With the storm tracking toward Texas, they are boarding up homes and businesses and Galveston officials have called for a voluntary evacuation of the island city.

Tomorrow, the city will start running buses for people who can't leave on their own; 105 years ago this month, Galveston was wiped out by a hurricane. An estimated 8,000 people were killed in what was the deadliest natural disaster in American history. Texas is already hosting Hurricane Katrina evacuees from Louisiana. Thousands who are still living in the Houston area shelters are being evacuated again, this time to Fort Chaffee, Arkansas.

And Texas National Guard troops, who have been helping out in Louisiana, are being brought home to prepare for Rita.

Let's check in with CNN's Jack Cafferty. He's joining us now live in New York.

This is awful, awful stuff, Jack.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Can you imagine these -- these poor refugees who -- I'm getting a feedback. I'm going to take this out of my ear. These poor refugees who are evacuated out of New Orleans, and they get up there to Houston, and now the people are coming and saying, you know what? There's another hurricane on the way and we're going to have to move you again. I mean, it's -- that's got to be tough stuff to deal with.

As the evidence, Wolf, continues to mount, that the government managed to blow it pretty much on all levels, federal, state, local, when it came to Katrina, maybe it's time to look to the private sector for some meaningful results. For example, the world's largest company, Wal-Mart, actually improved its image as a result of Hurricane Katrina, so much so that John Tierney, who is an op-ed columnist for "The New York Times," is suggesting today putting Wal- Mart CEO Lee Scott in charge of rebuilding the Gulf Coast.

Now, Wal-Mart trucks rolled in right after the hurricane hit, long before any government assistance showed up. The stores opened their doors, said, take what you want. They gave away supplies to the people who needed them. The company had its own emergency operations center in place and operating a week before Katrina hit. It sounds like the government could take some lessons.

So, the question for this hour is this: Should the Hurricane Katrina recovery be turned over to Wal-Mart? Doesn't sound like a bad idea to me. CaffertyFile.com -- one word. And we will read some of your letters a little later.

One footnote to this. In 1997, Congress gave FEMA $500,000 and they said, we want you to take this money and develop an evacuation plan for the city of New Orleans. FEMA gave the money to the state of Louisiana and they used it to study building a bridge. So, you know, the government just continues to amaze as we move through this thing.

BLITZER: Well, Wal-Mart clearly doing some good work.

Jack, take a look at your monitor. I want you to see what is happening in Miami Beach right now. These are pictures we are getting in. These are surfers out there, who think this is a good opportunity to go have some fun...

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: ... as a hurricane is dealing with this area. But they want to go surf.

CAFFERTY: You know, these are guys who have parts on order that are lost in transit. They just haven't come in yet and probably never will.

BLITZER: All right. Just wanted to show you that picture, Jack.

Appreciate it.

BLITZER: All right, that's not far from Miami right now happening. Those are live pictures. CAFFERTY: And she just said, there's -- that huge storm is moving in there. It's probably going to be there in the next hour or so, right?

BLITZER: Yes.

CAFFERTY: We just saw the weather forecast.

BLITZER: It's a good time for those surfer boys to come back home.

CAFFERTY: I mean, that's just nonsense.

BLITZER: Yes.

CAFFERTY: Crazy.

BLITZER: I don't disagree.

All right, Jack, thanks very much.

I want to bring in our Ali Velshi. He is watching a very important story. And it's related. It involves interest rates.

Ali, what is happening?

ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the Federal Reserve didn't stop its trend of increasing interest rates. Just about an hour ago, the Federal Reserve, for the 11th time, raised interest rates one- quarter of a percent, now at 3.75 percent. That's the chart. It's not a fake. That is exactly how the Federal Reserve has been operating for the last little while.

That's going to increase the cost of borrowing. They commented directly on the devastation of Katrina, saying that it has caused dislocation of the economy and it's going to have a cutback in spending, in jobs and production. But they feel that this economy is strong enough to withstand.

You can imagine that those Fed governors right now are watching closely what is happening with Rita. The infrastructure in this country can't take too many direct hits without it feeling a bit of a pinch. But, right now, the Fed says we're still strong and good to go -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, Ali, we will see you in a little while. Thank you very much.

I want to check in briefly with our affiliate reporter Jeff Weinsier of our affiliate WPLG. He's in Key West.

JEFF WEINSIER, WPLG REPORTER: It was a much bigger flow that was going through the parking lot. So, while it looks bad, even at this point, Dennis was still worse as far as the surge goes here.

Matt and Laurie, if I can hear you, I will try to answer some questions.

BLITZER: All right, he's talking to his anchors, Jeff Weinsier, our affiliate WPLG in Key West. We will try to check in with him shortly ourselves.

Still to come here in THE SITUATION ROOM, waiting away in Margaritaville. The drinks are still being poured, yes, in Key West. We will take you to one bar there where they have decided not to evacuate.

And a little bit later, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, he's under fire for his on-again/off-again plans to repopulate the city. He's giving a news conference in the next hour. We will bring it to you live as soon as it happens. We're also standing by live for the governor of Florida, Jeb Bush.

You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: It's a hurricane, Category 2, 100-mile-an-hour -- 100- mile-per-hour winds, Hurricane Rita. For those who didn't pack up and leave the Florida Keys, they are hunkering down right now, hoping to survive this storm.

One of them is Dan Brock. He works at the Green Parrot. It's a bar in Key West. He's joining us now live on the phone.

Dan, thanks very much for joining us.

First of all, what is it like right now?

DAN BROCK, RESIDENT OF KEY WEST: Right now, we just got a lot of wind gusts and just a little bit of rain.

BLITZER: Why did you decide to stay?

BROCK: Well, I just never have left before. So, there was no reason to leave.

BLITZER: Is it -- your bar, the Green Parrot, is it safe from flooding? Are you boarded up there?

BROCK: Yes, sir, we're boarded up. And we're -- we are inland a little bit. We're about six blocks from the southern-most point. So, we're pretty safe.

BLITZER: You have power there?

BROCK: No, sir, we don't have -- power went out this morning at 11:00.

BLITZER: So, you have a backup generator?

BROCK: I have two generators here, yes, sir.

BLITZER: Are they operating?

BROCK: Both of them are, yes.

BLITZER: So, you -- so you do have some power right now?

BROCK: I have power available, but I'm not using it at the moment.

BLITZER: How long do you think this power is likely to be out, based on past experiences?

BROCK: I would say probably about 30 hours or more.

BLITZER: You have any customers over at the Green Parrot?

BROCK: No, sir. We're closed today. We closed last night at 7:00. And we haven't been open at all today.

BLITZER: What is your expectation? When do you think you'll get back to business?

BROCK: Well, we were -- we were hoping to try to do it tomorrow. But it's just according to how the power goes.

BLITZER: You have ridden out a few other bad storms and hurricanes. Talk about those compared to this one.

BROCK: This one is small compared to, say -- George was the last big one that came through, in '98. We were out of power then for like two-and-a-half, three weeks.

BLITZER: And do you remember Andrew?

BROCK: I had just left Key West when Andrew came through. I was -- it wasn't because of the hurricane, but I wasn't here when it went through.

BLITZER: Are most of the people that you know, your crowd, in Key West, are they there or have they left?

BROCK: Most of them are still here.

BLITZER: Even despite the experience of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, people decided to try to ride it out, huh?

BROCK: Yes, sir, they do.

BLITZER: And what is their explanation? What were they -- what is the general sense among the population there?

BROCK: Well, just, you know, we have survived everything before, and a lot of people just don't have places to go, you know?

BLITZER: Are you with friends now? Or are you by yourself?

BROCK: At the present time, I'm by myself. BLITZER: Are you scared?

BROCK: No, sir.

(LAUGHTER)

BLITZER: Dan Brock, good luck to you. Let's -- we will check back with you later and see how you're doing. Appreciate your joining us.

(CROSSTALK)

BROCK: Yes, sir.

BLITZER: Now to the aftermath of an earlier storm. That would be Hurricane Katrina. Right now, President Bush is finishing up his fifth trip to the disaster zone. He's in Louisiana right now. Earlier, the president went to Gulfport, Mississippi, where he again pledged to clean up the devastated Gulf Coast, even as Hurricane Rita is threatening another disaster, potentially, in that area.

Addressing complaints of red tape hampering the cleanup process, the president said he's personally making calls to speed things along.

Let's get some more on what is happening right now in New Orleans.

Our Mary Snow is in one of the most badly damaged sections of the city, the Ninth Ward. She is joining us now live with the latest.

It looks pretty bad where you are, Mary. What is going on?

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, people call this the worst of the worst in New Orleans.

And what we're doing is, we're riding the back of a pickup truck because we try to find the most effective way to give you a first glimpse, a first (INAUDIBLE) glimpse at the damage and destruction here. And this area has been decimated.

What is happening here is, we are about three blocks away from the Industrial Canal levee. And this area was hit not only by the storm surge, but also by the levee break, and, as you can see, just an entire community decimated.

One of the people who have been working here is Eric Baum. He's with the Urban Search and Rescue of Miami-Dade County.

Eric, you have been here for the past couple of days. You said you went through about 1,400 homes here. And you also found somebody alive a couple of days ago, right?

ERIC BAUM, FLORIDA TASK FORCE ONE: That's right.

On our first operational day, we were alerted by the National Guard for some noises coming from a home. We immediately sent our closest team out there. We listened to the house. We were able to open up the door and take out a gentlemen from there.

SNOW: How was he? What kind of condition is he in?

BAUM: We had our medical team initially assess him. And we transported through -- we handed him off to New Orleans EMS to take to a local-area hospital for treatment.

SNOW: Your primary mission here is to recover bodies. And your mission is now becoming, has -- extreme urgency because of Hurricane Rita, correct? You're keeping close tabs on that.

BAUM: That's correct. Our incident support team is keeping us abreast of the situation, if we have to make a hasty exit from the area. The safety of our team members is of utmost importance.

However, we are keeping with our mission. We are leaving our base of operations very early in the morning, working in extreme heat conditions, going house by house, structure by structure, searching for any survivors, searching for bodies, doing a structural assessment to see exactly what type of destruction we're talking about.

SNOW: And, as you're doing this, you guys are keeping close tabs on your family back home in Miami, right?

BAUM: That's correct. Rita has affected us. Our fire chief and our USAR chief in Miami has been keeping us abreast.

We have been getting nightly updates. We have been using satellite phones to speak to our family. And our fire department is making sure that our members here can do our jobs helping others by taking care of our (AUDIO GAP) in Miami.

SNOW: As you look around this absolute devastation, your thoughts?

BAUM: It's very difficult. A lot of members of our team have gone through Andrew. They have seen nothing like this before. Our hearts go out to the residents of New Orleans.

It is -- there's a lot of stuff here -- you just said there's nothing left. There's -- that's -- there's homes wiped off of their foundations. There are roofs. There are areas we are trying to write down addresses that there's just nothing there. You can see these here. I mean, we have just mass destruction in the area where we're going through place by place to make sure. We're also using dogs to assist us in certain areas, where we can't physically get in due to the amount of destruction.

SNOW: All right, Eric Baum, thank you very much. And good luck to you with all your work.

And, Wolf, you know, yesterday, we showed you a scene from St. Bernard Parish, which is the neighboring parish here. They had been allowing people to go in and just kind of salvage, because it was so hard-hit. People were allowed to go in and get their belongings. But the police are now turning people away, saying, do not go into that area any longer, this as the city of New Orleans is telling people not to remain here -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Mary, these scenes behind you, they are awful, awful. Is it -- is it an isolated just couple of blocks or is it widespread in this so-called -- in this Ninth Ward, this badly damaged area where you are?

SNOW: No, it is widespread, Wolf.

And we just were talking to Eric Baum. The area that he has been looking at is pretty much like a two-mile-square radius, but to blocks and blocks of homes like this. And we are right near the Industrial Canal levee. And people here say this really is ground zero. You see homes -- one gentleman was telling us one home was a block from where it originally was.

People couldn't find some of their structures when they came back here. Also, some officers were telling us that, throughout the past couple of days, some people have come back to try and go into their homes to see if they can take out some belongings. But they are really telling people not to come here and do it, because it is unsafe. And, as you can imagine, there are downed power lines here as well. But it is just utterly unbelievable.

BLITZER: All right, Mary, you be careful over there. We will check back with you later here in THE SITUATION ROOM. Mary Snow is on the scene for us in New Orleans.

Still to come, more on Hurricane Rita. It's now bearing down directly on the Florida Keys. Plus, important news happening in Iraq, more violence, unfortunately. And the U.S. death toll now tops 1,900. We will have the latest.

And a little bit later, the mayor who is fighting the feds. Ray Nagin of New Orleans, he's speaking out once again, together with the Coast Guard Vice Admiral Thad Allen. They are having a joint news conference. We will bring it to you when it happens.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: We're watching Hurricane Rita. It's now a Category 2 hurricane, 100-mile-per-hour winds, approximately, in the coming days, as it continues to move across the Gulf of Mexico, expected to intensify to a hurricane Category 3.

Just a few moments ago, our affiliate reporter Jeff Weinsier of WPLG filed this report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF WEINSIER, WPLG REPORTER: What are you getting? What are you getting? What are you getting sustained wind wise?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At least the mid 60s.

WEINSIER: Mid 60s? Sustained?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Yes.

WEINSIER: Is this the highest you have seen around the island?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, so far. Yes, really.

WEINSIER: OK. Stay safe, guys. Well, we're in the middle of traffic here. Tell me, tell me, you guys -- now, you guys are from -- you said you're from Miramar, right?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

WEINSIER: What is your name?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Chris, Chris Kolora (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Excellent.

WEINSIER: Chris the viewers are seeing what you got on the top there. Tell our viewers what you're seeing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, that's what they call a mobile mesonet (ph). It's basically a portable weather station that can be put on any vehicle. It's a magnet and strap mount. It goes on the cargo rack. We use it a lot for rental cars when we're in a tornado alley during the season out there in May, and obviously we're using it for hurricane season right now. This is my own personal vehicle here. It's a Ford Focus. And we're just taking wind measurements, pressure ...

WEINSIER: You built this yourself?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, that was actually built in my garage.

WEINSIER: Is this a hobby?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hobby and also some freelance photography and try to report it to the Weather Service. This is where they get a warning out to property (ph) too.

WEINSIER: How does this compare to other storms you have been in?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This actually is one of the more milder ones, believe it or not this year. We just got done with Katrina about two weeks ago, three weeks ago. We were between Biloxi and Gulfport, Mississippi. And we saw a 30 foot surge there. This surge here is about six feet, so that's about five times what you see here. That is the surge we saw in Biloxi.

WEINSIER: How long did it take you to get this contraption together?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I perfected it after maybe about a year's time. WEINSIER: Thousands of dollars worth?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A few hundred.

WEINSIER: A few hundred.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's basically a cutting board, magnet mount and the rest is PVC tubing and ...

WEINSIER: What do you do with the data?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, we -- I keep it on my Web site, and also report it to the Weather Service, as well.

WEINSIER: Thank you for ...

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Jeff Weinsier, of our affiliate WPLG reporting for us from the keys right now. We'll be checking back with him live at some point. Let's check in with CNN's Zain Verjee. She's joining us live from the CNN Center with a quick check of some other stories making news. Hi Zain.

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN ANCHOR: Hi Wolf, a developing story we're getting in to CNN. A judge has declared a mistrial on the most serious counts against John Gotti and his racketeering trial in New York. Witnesses tell CNN it's because of a hung jury. Now, it's not known if the government is going to continue to pursue the case. Gotti was found not guilty of conspiracy to commit securities fraud.

On the nomination of John Roberts to the Supreme Court, the Senate minority leader Harry Reid is drawing his line in the sand. In a speech from the Senate floor last hour, the Democratic senator says he intends to vote against the Roberts' nomination. The Senate expected to debate the matter next week. Reid did say, however, the arguments against Roberts do not warrant a filibuster.

In New York City, prayers and praise for Peter Jennings. Many attended the memorial at New York's Carnegie Hall today for the long time ABC new anchorman. One of them was Ted Koppel, ABC News anchor of "Nightline" who had this to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TED KOPPEL, ANCHOR, "NIGHTLINE": Peter and I knew one another for most of our adult lives. When we began at ABC together, he was known as the handsome one and I was known as the smart one. Over the course of decades he was still known as the handsome one but also as being very, very smart.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VERJEE: Peter Jennings died on August 7th of lung cancer at age 67. And in Iraq, one U.S. soldier is dead from an explosion today north of Baghdad and another eight Americans were killed in three incidents yesterday. In Ramadi four soldiers were killed by improvised explosive devices while conducting combat operations. In Mosul a U.S. State Department employee along with three employees of a security contractor died in a suicide car bombing -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Thank, Zain, we'll get back to you soon. Zain Verjee reporting for us.

Still to come here in THE SITUATION ROOM -- leaving New Orleans. Hurricane Rita is forcing the military to pull out part of its forces. We'll find out what impact this will have on recovery efforts.

Plus, hunkering down, the Florida Keys taking the brunt of the new storm. Where will Rita go next? We'll find out the path of the storm from the National Hurricane Center. We'll go there live. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

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BLITZER: We're watching Hurricane Rita, now a Category 2 storm, winds approximately 100 miles an hour. It's moving through the Florida Keys heading into the Gulf of Mexico. Reporter Jeff Weinsier of our affiliate WPLG is in Key West. It looks pretty bad where you are, Jeff, but tell our viewers what is going on?

WEINSIER: Wolf, we are definitely feeling it on the south side of Key West. For those of you familiar with the Key West, this is A1A, also known as South Roosevelt Boulevard. And you'd think we'd be the only ones out here, but take a look. There are sightseers and storm chasers all over the area.

What you are looking at is storm surge. That is the Atlantic coming up over South Roosevelt right into our parking lot. And it's not every day you see horseshoe crabs and sponges from the sea floating through your parking lot but that is exactly what we are seeing here on the south side of Key West.

What a difference a few hours makes because the wind was coming in the opposite direction between 6:00 o'clock this morning and noon and that was as flat as a pancake. At about 12:00 this afternoon, the winds started shifting and I would say between noon and 3:00 o'clock we have been seeing sustained winds.

We had storm chasers come by a few minutes ago, telling us that they are clocking sustained winds of some 60 miles an hour. Monroe County sheriff's deputies and Key West police were telling us that they were going to pull their deputies and officers off the road once the storm hit 35 to 40 miles an hour sustained. But we have continued to see emergency vehicles on the road doing damage assessments.

I'm going to walk over this way a little bit because the rain is pounding. This is some of the strongest winds that we have seen here all afternoon long. The south side of Key West. About 45 minutes to an hour ago, we were able to do a quick drive around. We saw power lines down, we saw signs down. But the winds were not as strong as what you are seeing. This is blinding, blinding wind and rain right now, Wolf, on the south side.

We are just to the east of the airport, where the airport closed yesterday afternoon. The last flights taking out at 5:30. We are told that storm surge has come up over U.S. 1 in several places. U.S. 1 being the only road in and out of the Keys. That is the very latest.

We are live on the south side of Key West. I'm Jeff Weinsier. Wolf, Back to you.

BLITZER: Hey, Jeff, before I let you go, you're standing on what is A1A. That's water that you're standing on, water that's come in, that's surged from the Atlantic. Is that right?

WEINSIER: Absolutely. And at times -- and you can see the middle of the road over here, let me turn my back towards the wind so you can hear me -- at times, you do not know where the ocean is and where the road is. And let me tell you something, we have sightseers, not right now, but people have been driving back and forth here all day long. In fact, we questioned one of those people about an hour ago.

I guess, Wolf, if you live here and you know the roads, you know where it ends and you know where the ocean begins. But right now, you can see here, you cannot tell where the ocean is and where the road is. And I'm going to walk back a little further for cover by this tree because we are getting some major winds here -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Are there any people around? Or has everybody basically gone inside?

WEINSIER: No. There are sightseers up and down. In fact, Wolf, there's -- I see headlights coming this way right now. So you will see a car, unless he turns around. It's a van, a white van. It's going to be coming right now. You'll see him. He's stopping there. Maybe he's realizing that this is not a good idea.

But we've had people come through in very, very small cars. Here he comes now, Frank, if you want to pan over. Frank, pan over there. You can see, the sightseers are out, Wolf, and this is, like I said, it's hard to imagine. He's driving on the right side of the road. He's looking at the ocean, and he's grabbing the steering wheel pretty hard.

We've seen people out here -- mothers and fathers with two kids in the backseat, sightseeing. Pretty amazing sight. But like one gentleman told us, like I said, who was sightseeing, when you live here, you know where the road starts and where the ocean starts.

BLITZER: Have you covered any of the hurricanes in the past, Jeff?

WEINSIER: Absolutely. I was in this exact spot for Dennis in July. I've been here for George back in 1998. The difference between this and what we saw in July with Dennis, the storm surge for Dennis back then was flowing right through our parking lot. Actually, our satellite dish in Dennis was floating away. We had to stop and move our satellite to the second floor.

The winds seem a little higher here, the storm surge not as bad. But Dennis came through at night, so when it was so dark out, the power is out in the area, the power was out with Dennis. When Dennis was here, we didn't check out this far, because we couldn't see what we were stepping in.

And Wolf, we also talk about, like I said, sightseers. There you go, somebody in a pickup truck just driving through, sightseeing. Not a police officer. We've seen crews from Key West Public Works and Monroe County Public Works. That is not one of them. So people are out and about, not heeding the warnings out here.

BLITZER: All right, Jeff, be careful over there. Jeff Weinsier of our affiliate WPLG, reporting from Key West. Jeff, we're going to try to check back with you in a little while and get an update. Be careful of flying debris. That's always a serious risk that all of our reporters take covering these stories.

Up next, Hurricane Rita. It's pounding the Florida Keys, as you can see, but where will it hit next? We'll go live to the National Hurricane Center to find out the latest path of this storm.

And little bit later, investigating Katrina. The White House appointing one of its own to find out what went wrong and what went right. Is this person the best person for this important job? We'll hear from both sides. Stay with us.

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BLITZER: Right now, it's raking the Florida Keys. But will Hurricane Rita do more damage far across the Gulf of Mexico?

Joining us now from Miami is Richard Knabb of the National Hurricane Center. Richard, thanks very much for joining us. Give us the latest. What's the word on Hurricane Rita?

RICHARD KNABB, NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER: Well, Hurricane Rita has been strengthening throughout the morning and early afternoon today. It has now reached Category 2 status, with maximum sustained winds of 100 miles per hour. The center of the hurricane is passing about 50 to 60 miles south of the lower Florida Keys, moving west at about 15 miles per hour.

But just because the actual center isn't going right over the Keys doesn't mean they aren't receiving an impact. There has been some storm surge flooding in the Florida Keys on the onshore float to the northeast of the center. Some very heavy rainfall and tropical storm force winds and gusts to hurricane force.

BLITZER: How high in the Florida Panhandle is that going to go, in the peninsula? KNABB: Well, we've -- here at the hurricane center in Miami-Dade County, we have been seeing some very squally weather, and a little bit of surge on the East Coast there. Those conditions should gradually improve as we get into the evening hours. But it's going to be well into early tomorrow morning before the conditions improve in the Keys.

Tropical storm force winds extend outward to about 120 miles from the center of this hurricane. So even on the southwest Florida coast tonight and early tomorrow morning, they'll be receiving some impacts, as well.

BLITZER: Now, as Rita moves across the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, presumably it's going to build up its speed. Where is it heading and how dangerous a hurricane do you expect this to be?

KNABB: Well, unfortunately, we anticipate continued strengthening. And it could very well become a major Category 3 hurricane as early as tomorrow morning, continuing to move westward toward the western Gulf of Mexico during the next two to three days. Could even reach Category 4 status late in the week.

We just can't really right now, this far in advance, tell you whether or not this is going to make an impact in Louisiana or Texas or perhaps even northern Mexico. So residents throughout that the entire area need to watch this very closely. Once we get closer, we'll be able to refine the track forecast and put out the appropriate watches and warnings in a couple of days.

BLITZER: Richard Knabb at the National Hurricane Center. Richard, thank you very much. We'll check back with you later.

We've got some live pictures coming in from Hurricane Rita. These are actually live pictures in Miami. Miami-Dade County. You see some surfers taking advantage of the surf there. I hope they're going to be safe and secure, because the storm is significant even where they are, further north in the Florida peninsula.

Jack Cafferty is going to be joining us next. He's sorting through your e-mail on the question of this hour. Should Hurricane Katrina recovery be turned over to Wal-Mart? We'll see what you're saying. Stay with us.

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BLITZER: As we watch Hurricane Rita, Jack Cafferty has been going through your e-mail this hour and he's joining us now live from New York. Jack?

CAFFERTY: Given the sluggish federal response to Hurricane Katrina, perhaps it's time to look to the private sector for some meaningful results. In today's "New York Times" Op Ed Columnist John Tierney writes a fairly convincing column suggesting that President Bush should consider putting Wal-Mart in charge of rebuilding the Gulf Coast. So that's the question this hour. Should Hurricane Katrina recovery be turned over to Wal-Mart? Again, a lot of mail. Bob in Ottawa, Ontario. In my business Wal-Mart knows how to rattle the supply chain, and the same is true for Home Depot. During the ice storm of the Northeast a few years ago the government took their checkbook over to Home Depot, and things got done.

Steve writes this, I'm no sure if Wal-Mart has the capability to steward long term rebuilding endeavor, but I think the private sector in general is better poised to handle this mandate. Give them incentive clause as well as penalty, you'll be dancing on Bourbon Street before the next Mardi Gras.

Cathy in State College, Pennsylvania. Since Wal-Mart has played a major role in destroying hundreds of businesses in small towns across the country, I guess it only makes sense that they help rebuild at least one city.

Eric in Newark, Ohio. Turn the recovery over to private citizens and companies, what a novel idea. Stop counting on the government to meet your every need. That's exactly what should be happening. The government was never meant to meet every need we have. I suppose when those morons surfing in Miami come up missing, that will be the government's fault, too.

And Shal in Arroyo Grande, California. Should Wal-Mart take control of hurricane organization relief? Yes, but don't expect a lunch break.

BLITZER: All right. Interesting responses. Jack, thanks very much. We're going to get back to you momentarily.

There's much more ahead here in THE SITUATION ROOM as Hurricane Rita closes in on the Florida Keys, we'll have live updates on the storm's assault now, and where it may strike next.

And with the keys in danger, the Florida Governor Jeb Bush preparing to go before the cameras. We'll go to his news conference as soon as it begins. Stay with us.

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BLITZER: It's almost time for the markets to close, the closing bell. Let's check in with CNN's Ali Velshi. He's checking that and more -- Ali.

VELSHI: Well it's no secret to any of us, Wolf, that the weather's got as much to do with the markets as anything else. Let's start by looking at a weather map here. This is the weather that has made oil -- made oil go up more than $4 a barrel yesterday. What we're seeing is the Florida Panhandle, but you see that trajectory. It's heading toward Texas, and that was what worried a lot of traders yesterday.

Now, oil is down about $1.16, but the issue here is that there are refineries at risk in that area around Houston, Baytown, Galveston. Those are areas, not only used as staging for offshore oil, but they are used to refine oil. Now, let's take a look at -- these are the refineries. That's the same area. You've got an ExxonMobil -- the ExxonMobil one right in the middle there. That's the Baytown refinery. That is one of the biggest refineries there is. Those are all very large refineries, all putting out more than 200 thousand barrel as day in the area. If those have to shut down, either for safety or for damage, we're going to see a bit of a problem.

Now we flew over the Baytown refinery back when we were in Texas, and those are the shots we got. This is a massive, massive facility. And if that has to shut, that's going to cause problems. So that's what we're watching right now. Looks like the track of that storm is probably a little bit away from that, but those are the areas that we're worried about. That's where a lot of out gas comes from, Wolf.

So what we're looking at right now is that. We're looking at the fact that the Fed did raise interest rates again by one-quarter-of-a- percent to 3.75 percent for the 11th time in many -- in over a year, and the Dow is reacting to both of those pressures, down 73 points to 10,485. The NASDAQ, on the right of your screen, down 13 points to 2,132. Those are preliminary numbers. We'll see if they change -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Thanks very much, Ali.

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