Anderson Cooper
We weren’t sure how to cover the third anniversary of Katrina.
I think I’ve said it before, but I’m not a big believer in anniversary broadcasts. They always seem a bit contrived…a bit treacly. Lots of somber music and video montages. I don’t know how much attention this 3rd anniversary is going to get from newscasts. There is so much other news this week, and now John McCain has announced his vice presidential candidate.
We’ve broadcast from New Orleans on each of the anniversaries, of course, looking back…looking forward. All in all, I’m not sure how many times we’ve visited the gulf coast, I know we’ve done more than twenty broadcasts from there since the initial month we spent in the region after the storm. It’s more than most, but not enough.
Much has improved, much work remains, and now Gustav is out there, growing stronger, getting faster, threatening all that has been done…all that is still undone.
It was strange to leave the euphoria of the convention and this morning board a flight to New Orleans. Sitting on the plane right now, talking with people returning home, there is concern about the levees, anxiety about their homes, but there is, resolve as well - resolve to face whatever may come.
We will broadcast from New Orleans tonight, a two hour live program. Most of it will be about politics. We’ll go in depth on John McCain’s selection and look closely at Barack Obama’s speech last night. It was a soaring speech, but was he factual, was his rhetoric fair?
As always, we’re checking the facts - keeping them honest. We’ll also have the latest on Gustav, and whether or not New Orleans in ready. I will also have a reporter’s notebook on the memories of Katrina, and all that we have witnessed these past three years. See you tonight from New Orleans.
Editor’s Note: Anderson Cooper 360° is in New Orleans tonight, as Tropical Storm Gustav barrels toward the Gulf of Mexico, expected to reach Category 3. We’ll look at whether New Orleans is ready, after being devastated by Hurricane Katrina exactly three years ago today. Watch our special report tonight at 10p ET.
Kathleen Koch
CNN Correspondent
Katrina for me is like a recurring nightmare you have so often that every detail is etched in your mind….the massive debris fields, the stunned survivors wandering shell-shocked through the rubble, the smell of rotting food, rotting vegetation…death.
The Mississippi Gulf Coast was my home. And when we moved there after Hurricane Camille, I always knew there was a chance that our two-story brick house on South Beach Boulevard could be reduced to an empty slab like the ones that still dotted the beach. Curving driveways and stairs leading to nothing.
So driving down the beach after Katrina, searching in vain for landmarks, neighbor’s houses, anything to orient myself, I knew what I would find. An empty slab….a pile of bricks…a driveway and stairs to nowhere.
But it was the enormity of the destruction that was most stunning. Nearly all my friends and neighbors, and their brothers, sisters, parents, cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents had lost everything. I’ve never felt so powerless. I knew that even as a reporter, any effort would fall short. I felt like an ant trying to move a mountain.
But that’s when it began. Mississippians came out of the rubble and started helping one another - some, even before they went to check on their own homes. And volunteers began pouring south from every corner of the country. And I realized that together, millions of ants can move a mountain.
Ismael Estrada
AC360° Producer
At first glance, driving in from the airport in New Orleans last night, things didn’t seem much different than the last time I was here. 3 weeks ago, I was here working and things have been improving. We interviewed people in the lower 9th ward and talked with business owners who all said, New Orleans is on the way back.
Last night the interstate was jam packed as people were headed to the New Orleans Saints pre-season game at the Superdome and things seemed normal. Then, I got out of my car and started talking to people.
Raynell Hamilton works at our hotel and couldn’t help but tell us her worries. Raynell just moved back to New Orleans one year ago. She has been struggling working long hours and volunteering, but felt she needed to move her family back home to the 9th ward, where she lost everything. She says she did so at the urging of her family and husband to keep her family together. She moved to Houston where she says she lived for over a year, where she says, she was impressed with the opportunities the city had to offer. She was employed, getting out of the debt that the aftermath of Katrina put her in 3 years ago. But she felt compelled to move back home. Now, she says, if Gustav continues on it’s course toward New Orleans, she is leaving and never coming back. It’s too much, she says, to do all over again.
Editor’s Note: Anderson Cooper 360° is in New Orleans tonight, as Tropical Storm Gustav barrels toward the Gulf of Mexico, expected to reach Category 3. We’ll look at whether New Orleans is ready, after being devastated by Hurricane Katrina exactly three years ago today. Watch our special report tonight at 10p ET.
Kimberly Segal
CNN Supervising Producer
Bria Johnson would be 15 years old by now. Before I sat down to write this I decided to try and find the teen, again. I dusted off those Katrina reporter notebooks that I can not seem to throw away yet they are kept in the bottom of an out of way drawer.
I met Bria three years ago outside on the New Orleans Convention Center. Our cameras were the first to arrive at the convention center where thousands of evacuees made their way to escape the flood waters. Some had been there for days with no water, food or medical assistance. Bria had spent a long, dark, fearful night on the street in front of the convention center. When I met her she was hysterical, terrified that darkness would fall again as she sat on the corner of the town where she once felt safe. “Why can’t they put up lights?” she wept. Bria said people fought and yelled things at night. She did not want dark to come. Bria was my niece’s age and since that day, just like my niece, Bria holds a special place in my heart.
Editor’s Note: Anderson Cooper 360° is in New Orleans tonight, as Tropical Storm Gustav barrels toward the Gulf of Mexico, expected to reach Category 3. We’ll look at whether New Orleans is ready, after being devastated by Hurricane Katrina exactly three years ago today. Watch our special report tonight at 10p ET.
David M. Reisner
AC360° Digital Producer
Today, on the 3rd anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans braces for the possibility of yet another hurricane, this time named Gustav, and the possibility of a direct hit.
General Honoré was known best for serving as commander of ‘Joint Task Force Katrina.’ He was responsible for coordinating military relief efforts for Hurricane Katrina-affected areas across the Gulf Coast. Now retired, he spends much of his time in the region, and works to prepare families for future natural disasters.
I caught up with the general as he was traveling from his Georgia home to New Orleans last week. Our conversation covered as much ground as the general did, and we will share with you parts of that conversation over the course of the day.
We talked about other cities that if faced by a hurricane, could be decimated. Before I could finish the question, he had his answer….
As if the coincidence of having Hurricane Gustav threaten the Gulf Coast wasn’t enough,
“Tropical Depression 8″ has formed and is set to become Tropical Storm Hanna… and it’s quite possible by the end of next week, ‘Hanna’ could head towards the city General Honoré warned us about.
________
What about other cities, what other cities need more planning, what do you fear could be the next ‘New Orleans?’
Miami.
You have a large population, its right on the water, there’s no buffer between Miami and the gulf. New Orleans has about 60 miles of land between it and the gulf, so it was somewhat protected by the marshland, and the terrain leading up to the city. But if you take a city like Miami. It can get hit like Biloxi.
Biloxi got hit with a 30 ft wall of water because there was nothing between Biloxi and the gulf. The storm just came right out of the gulf and came right into the metropolitan area.
Houston also scares me. Houston is the 4th largest city. Both cities have close concentration of people, many people live in high rise. Houston has a lot of chemical plants and a lot of stored poisonous gases, things that are ‘industrial grade’ stored in their port.
What scares me the most about Miami is the number of people in structures that are sitting right on the water… without any protection? Like Biloxi, if you get a tidal surge with 30 feet of water, it would just about destroy most of that south eastern coast of Miami.
The other thing that scares me about Miami is the people in Florida are very hard headed. They don’t like to evacuate. The reason they don’t, is due to the fact that they see a lot of storms come through their state. They’ve become conditioned to the fact. ‘Hey it’s just another storm.’ If you do a mandatory evacuation of Florida, the best you’re going to get is 50 percent of the people evacuating. Some won’t move. Even with a mandatory evacuation.
Editor’s Note: Anderson Cooper 360° is in New Orleans tonight, as Tropical Storm Gustav barrels toward the Gulf of Mexico, expected to reach Category 3. We’ll look at whether New Orleans is ready, after being devastated by Hurricane Katrina exactly three years ago today. Watch our special report tonight at 10p ET.
Dan Simon
CNN Correspondent
Of course, all of us remember the utter devastation.
One block after the next was under several feet of water. But from a reporting standpoint, one of the first things that comes to mind about Katrina was the infrastructure put in place by CNN.
Obviously, there was no access to gas stations, stores, etc. Within days of the storm, the network had created its own mini ‘Costco’ for its staff. Notepads, hats, suntan lotion, toothpaste, underwear and even Red Bull was available to all of us covering the story. (Though whoever was in charge of purchasing, went a little overboard on the grape jelly. There were literally pallets of the stuff in HUGE containers.)
It was quite impressive to see how the network had built up this infrastructure from nothing. A lot of us wondered why the government couldn’t be as efficient.
Editor’s Note: Anderson Cooper 360° is in New Orleans tonight, as Tropical Storm Gustav barrels toward the Gulf of Mexico, expected to reach Category 3. We’ll look at whether New Orleans is ready, after being devastated by Hurricane Katrina exactly three years ago today. Watch our special report tonight at 10p ET.
Ed Lavandera
CNN Correspondent
One picture I have stashed away seems to capture the enormity of Katrina. It sits in a stack of old photos from my travels across the country. It’s a picture of Bourbon St. The lights are out, except for the moonlight glimmering off the top of some French Quarter buildings. And the street is empty. I mean totally deserted, just me and two colleagues walking down one of the most famous streets in the world. I should call the picture “Bourbon St: Population 3.”
It was a late night just days after the storm hit. I remember standing there and thinking (hoping really) that this moment would never repeat itself.
Keep reading
Editor’s Note: In the week after hurricane Katrina struck, Waveland, Mississippi was a wasteland. Dead bodies lay in the street for the days. Many of those who managed to survive the storm lost everything. We caught up with one family we met; the Kearney’s to see how they were recovering. The Kearney’s sends us this blog:
Charles Kearney
Former resident of Waveland, Mississippi
On the eve of the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina I find myself in a myriad of emotions. Currently there are two named storms being tracked with one showing a very similar landing as Katrina.
My wife has already gathered up all of the insurance papers, important documents, precious photos, etc. and has expressed interest in Valium. (This is a woman who rarely takes an aspirin.)
The flood of memories that she has experienced while preparing for another possible storm, are a bit overwhelming. The kids, wanting to help their mom, have gathered all their most important toys and brought them upstairs.
As I drive through Waveland, Bay St Louis, Gulfport, Biloxi, and New Orleans, during my travels for work, I am amazed at how much work is still yet to be done before things are a semblance of what they were. So many homes have still not been touched since the storm. Where are these people now?
Editor’s Note: Anderson Cooper 360° is in New Orleans tonight, as Tropical Storm Gustav barrels toward the Gulf of Mexico, expected to reach Category 3. We’ll look at whether New Orleans is ready, after being devastated by Hurricane Katrina exactly three years ago today. Watch our special report tonight at 10p ET.
David M. Reisner
AC360° Digital Producer
The Hurricane season has picked up this past week, with one storm headed for the Gulf Coast, and another on course to become the 8th named storm of the year.
General Honoré was known best for serving as commander of ‘Joint Task Force Katrina.’ He was responsible for coordinating military relief efforts for Hurricane Katrina-affected areas across the Gulf Coast. Now retired, he spends much of his time in the region, and works to prepare families for future natural disasters.
I caught up with the general as he was traveling from his Georgia home to New Orleans last week. Our conversation covered as much ground as the general did, and we will share with you parts of that conversation over the course of the day.
We talked about how families readiness. How people can’t simply rely on the government to bail them out, as we saw in Katrina. He provides us with 3 rules that every family in a danger zone should follow, and plan for.
________
You’ve taken hurricane preparedness to the next level - how can people prepare themselves?
I’m a Red Cross volunteer, so i follow that doctrine. It’s time proven, and the Red Cross is the gold standard for family readiness.
- Rule # 1: Have a plan. If you live in a hurricane prone area, you must have a plan as to where you are going to evacuate to… and what time you should leave. If you live in Tampa and say the storm gets to Key West, say ‘we have to leave.’ Now you don’t have to leave at that point , but if you don’t, guess what, you can spend 12-15 hours sitting on the road trying to get out of the hurricane danger zone. You saw on this week with “Fay”, people leaving Key West - a lot of people were stuck in traffic 4-5-6 hours. Everybody tried to leave at the same time. If you look at most of the deaths from hurricane Rita, it came from people who were trying to evacuate Houston… not from the storm itself. So having a plan and determining when you are going to leave and where you are going.
- Rule #2: Stay informed. We stay informed by watching TV, and watching local news, but they key to staying informed is to have a weatherproof radio. One of those radios that will wake you up in the middle of the night, if there is a tornado warning, or it alerts you that the eye of the hurricane is coming and will be of danger…
- Rule #3: Have an emergency kit. Have a 3 day supply of food and water and have an emergency preparedness kit. If you have to leave in a hurry you grab that kit and leave. The key parts of that that kit are food water and emergency rations, important papers and documents, and maybe a fresh set of clothes for you to wear.
The first two rules don’t really cost you money; having a plan and staying informed.
What is the biggest threat we pose to ourselves?
Keep reading
Editor’s Note: Anderson Cooper 360° is in New Orleans tonight, as Tropical Storm Gustav barrels toward the Gulf of Mexico, expected to reach Category 3. We’ll look at whether New Orleans is ready, after being devastated by Hurricane Katrina exactly three years ago today. Watch our special report tonight at 10p ET.
Sean Callebs
CNN Correspondent
I went from living a mile above sea level, to living below sea level overnight. CNN moved our Denver Bureau to New Orleans to focus on the recovery. It’s provided a front row seat to what hopefully will be a once in a lifetime event. Rebuilding a major U.S. city. It’s the images that captured our attention as a nation. Desperate crowds at the Superdome, the Convention Center, and interstate overpasses.
But it’s the characters that I remember and it’s hard to believe it’s been three years. So much has been done, and sadly so little has been done.
One of the first locals I met was Jeff Chaz, The Bourbon Street Bluesman. He lost everything, including in his health, and his ability to find work at what he does and that is ease his fingers over the maple neck of his custom guitar.
I did a story with Jeff early in 2006 he had his sense of humor and optimism. We’d talk every few months and he slipped deeper in an abyss of emotional distress despite constantly doing what he could to find work. Last time we chatted he was depressed working as a maitre’de, his pre-Katrina life a distant memory, and every time I hung up the phone I wished there was more I could do.
Then there’s Robert Green. Robert called me early in 2006 as well, saying “can you come to the lower 9th, I found my mother’s body.”
A behind the scenes look at “Anderson Cooper 360°” and the stories it covers, written by Anderson Cooper and the show’s correspondents and producers. Insight you can’t find anywhere else.
For more details, read our tips on how to win 360° approval for comments.
Send your instant feedback to Anderson Cooper 360°.
