Mandatory Evacuation Near Pearl River Canal
TUCHMAN: We are tracking a mandatory evacuation order near Louisiana's Pearl River. People there are urged to leave right now, because a lock failure is believe end to imminent on the Pearl River diversion canal. Rivers are swollen from Isaac's downpour. Meteorologist Karen Maginnis is following the story -- Karen.</s>KAREN MAGINNIS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. This has been in imminent danger of failing. They have buses in the area and they are taking people out. Just to give you some idea, the St. Tammany Parish, this is this region right around Slidell. Here is New Orleans, you just have to go right across the lake. Let's zoom in across this area. This is a diversion canal along the Pearl River and they are saying that from lock two right around here, extending all the way down to lock one, in the vicinity of Hickory, they are saying that lock two is in imminent danger of failing and for people to get out of that area immediately. This is because in some parts of Louisiana, they have seen more than 20 inches of rain fall, thanks to what happened with hurricane Isaac. Right now, we are also staying on top of the some of some of the tornadic activity that seems to be erupting across the Midwest. The central Mississippi River Valley and these red shaded areas, that's where we have tornado watches. Lesser across central Illinois, where we get down towards Missouri and Kentucky, from Cape Gerardo, into Paducah. We are looking at the possibility of tornadoes. Even into Memphis, all the way down into northern section of Arkansas. But most of these tornadoes, associated with the squall lines, which ordinarily would have been feeder bands associated with hurricane Isaac, have really spawned up just a few reports of some isolated tornadoes. There was some minor damage but no report of any injuries. Over the next several days, what we ever looking at and what we can count on, primarily east of the Mississippi River Valley and I emphasize that because to the west of Mississippi, they are in desperate need of moisture, farmers and growers there. Now all we can expect it is moisture for some of those winter wheat crops. But if you look across the Ohio River Valley, we are expecting between four to six possibly isolated areas of as much as six inches of rainfall as we go into the next 48 hours. This isn't strictly due it remnants of Isaac. It's associated with the funnel system and remnants of Isaac are kind of melding with that frontal system as it waves towards the east. Well, temperatures in New Orleans, it's 88. But take a look at what the heat index is showing us. We had seen the heat indices up around 100 to 105. Right now, it feels like 99 degrees in New Orleans. I just checked the number of people without power in New Orleans. And they are saying right around 110,000. Just in the New Orleans, but throughout the entire state, roughly 380,000. Most of them will be back in full-service as we go into Monday. But perhaps some leftover going into Wednesday. So, Gary, not completely out of the woods, but Isaac was just this pest that continues to affect a good portion of Louisiana, with this evacuation now along the diversion canal. Canal number six or lock number two, I should say, but also into the Ohio River Valley where the rain fall could come down very heavy the next several days and the potential for tornadoes.</s>TUCHMAN: A brutal and difficult labor day for many. Karen, thank you very much. Well, heartbroken people are struggling with the aftereffects of Isaac. Floods devour people's homes, their precious belongings and their pets, and as you just heard a new evacuation order has people on the move again. George Howell joins us live from Belle Chase, Louisiana. George, thank you for joining us. What are you hearing about the mandatory evacuation a little north in St. Tammany Parish?</s>GEORGE HOWELL, CNN CORRESPONDETN: Well, you know, Gary, again, we are talking about hundreds of homes that could be affected by this. Again, as you heard a moment ago, between locks one and two, they are on the Pearl River. This river is above flood stage. Flood stage right around 16 feet, river just above 18 feet from last we checked and expected to crest right around Monday. So mandatory evacuation and officials are even using reverse 911 to reach people to make sure that they get out of the way.</s>TUCHMAN: George --</s>BILLY NUNGESSER, PLAQUEMINES PARISH PRESIDENT: If we try it wait it pump it out, it'll take weeks if not months. By breeching the levy in strategic areas in low-lying areas, we will get the bulk of this water out in five to seven days, hopefully. Some projections are 16 to 17 days. But we are going to breach it in many locations to do the best job we can to get the east and west bank dry.</s>HOWELL: Gary, so I want to set that up, what you just heard there. We heard from the president of Plaquemines Parish. He is talking about the situation just on the other side of the river. Over there, you can see by the tree line, that's the levee right over there. And on the other side of the levee, Gary, you find these neighborhoods that are under water. We are talking about the storm surge, you know, up to 14 feet of water. That certainly was much more than the eight- foot high levees over there. So officials are taking time to pump out the water. They are doing that. But as you heard, he is also doing controlled breeches along the back levee there, the fastest way to get the water. Now, I also want to speak with Gina Meyer. I have a person here who -- you know, you live over there. You just came back. I want you to tell people kind of the situation over there from what you saw.</s>GINA MEYER, SUPERINTENDENT OF EMS, PLAQUEMINES PARISH: The water is receding. The highest it got, 14 feet in my house, I'm six foot off the ground, about two, three feet in my house. Everything's topsy- turvy, upside down. Majority of my sentimental things are still hanging on walls and are safe but my house is in bad shape.</s>HOWELL: Gina, you know, I went over there and I saw so many homes in that situation. You went through Katrina?</s>MEYER: I did go through Katrina. But we only got about three and half foot of water where we live. It did not get in my house. Wind damage I have from Katrina.</s>HOWELL: You get this sense of resilience for people who have lived through this and began through this. And the question that I have for you and I'm sure, many people ask, you know, how do you start that process to start over.</s>MEYER: Trust in God. Rely on your family. And it is not just the people who are blood related to you. It is the people you have grown up with, all your life. And that's what gets you through something like this.</s>HOWELL: Gina, thank you. Thank you for taking time with us.</s>MEYER: Thank you.</s>HOWELL: Gary, I also want it bring attention to one other situation that I learned from the president of Plaquemines Parish. He said there a plant on the other side of the river, a plant where there may be a leak, I should say, of hazardous materials. He is looking into that. Officials are paying very close attention to it. But what you see today, that process of trying to get as much water out of that area and trying to get people back to their homes, to see where they will have to start over -- Gary.</s>TUCHMAN: George, seven years ago, I was there in Plaquemines Parish after hurricane Katrina. It was destroyed. And I wondered how are they going to rebuild this place. They did successfully. Now they are going through it again, those poor people. George, thank you for reporting their story. Good seeing you?</s>HOWELL: Gary, thank you.</s>TUCHMAN: Well, as we've been reporting, a mandatory evacuation has been declared north of New Orleans, in parts of Louisiana's St. Tammany Parish. Officials say a lock failure is about to happen on the Pearl River diversion canal. Suzanne Stymiest with the St. Tammany Parish government joins us on the phone. Suzanne, what's the latest on that evacuation order?</s>SUZANNE STYMIEST, PIO, ST. TAMMANY PARISH (via telephone): We have received permission from the Army Corps of Engineers to begin relieve efforts in an attempt to prevent the failure. We have opened some valves. We are beginning to relief some of the pressure and we are hopefully. However, the mandatory evacuation is still in place. We cannot -- we cannot determine total -- we continue determine we have yet been successful but we are beginning to take some steps to prevent it.</s>TUCHMAN: Now, my understanding, Suzanne, is that Pearl River is expected to crest Monday, two days from now, more than 18 feet, which is extraordinarily high level. Could the evacuation area get bigger between now and Monday?</s>STYMIEST: We certainly hope not. We are actually talking -- the Pearl River diversionary canal is a little bit to the west of the Pearl and the west pearl rivers. So this is a manmade canal with locks in it that was dug some years ago. And it is one of those locks that is beginning to stay open that is causing mandatory evacuation. At the same time, we have a watch on the Pearl River and the west Pearl River. The west Pearl is supposed to crest sometime late Sunday into Monday at perhaps record heights. And so we are watching that entire area. So we are asking a much wider area to be watchful of the Pearl and the West Pearl. But at this moment, our specific concern is between locks one and two on the Pearl River diversionary canal.</s>TUCHMAN: Suzanne, can you explain to some of us land lovers, what just -- what a lock does?</s>STYMIEST: A lock allows a boat to go from different levels in a river or canal from one to the other. Just as for instance, the most famous would be, of course, the Panama Canal, where you enter and go through a system of locks, you connect water bodies that are of different levels.</s>TUCHMAN: Suzanne --</s>STYMIEST: This allows for boat traffic or commercial traffic to go through there. At one time this was a commercial -- a commercial waterway.</s>TUCHMAN: I didn't mean to put you on the spot, Suzanne, but you explained that extraordinary well. I wish you and all of the residents of your parish a lot of luck, on what is a tense time. Suzanne, thank you for joining us.</s>STYMIEST: Thank you.</s>TUCHMAN: Well, the president of the United States spoke just a short time ago, and we will take a listen to what president is saying on his bus tour as he heads to the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte. That's coming up next.</s>LEMON: You don't have to be in front after television to watch CNN. You can do what I do. You can stay connected. You can do it on your cell phone. Or you can do it from your computer at your work. Just go to CNN.com/TV.