Storms to Come; Nagin's Plan; Hurricanes and Oil; Built for a Hurricane
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST (voice-over): ...13 to 16 named storms. Eight to 10 of those hurricanes. Four to six of those hurricanes, major category three or higher. Katrina was a category three when it hit the U.S. So were Dennis, Rita and Wilma. There were 15 hurricanes last year, 28 named storms. Far more than predicted, and one of the deadliest in history.</s>MAX MAYFIELD, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER: If there is anything good that can come out of the last hurricane season, and that's pretty hard to find, I hope that the motivation to help create a culture of preparedness. We have got to do a better job than we've been doing.</s>MARCIANO: Absent that culture of preparedness, Katrina killed more than 1,500 people and caused an estimated $100 billion in damage. Now, it seems, everyone is preparing.</s>DAVID PAULISON, ACTING DIRECTOR, FEMA: What we've been doing in FEMA is fixing those issues that we saw that did not work well in Katrina, looking at our logistics, how having the right things at the right place at the right time is so important.</s>MARCIANO: But preparation isn't just about supplies. It's also understanding the risks posed by more hurricanes for at least a decade ahead.</s>MAYFIELD: It's not all about the numbers. It just takes that one hurricane over your house to make for a bad year. We're in this very active period for major hurricanes that may last at least another 10 or 20 years.</s>MARCIANO: So whether it's the 2006 hurricane season or the next 20, if you live in the path of hurricanes, the forecast does not look good. Rob Marciano, CNN, Atlanta.</s>ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Well, one of the people strongly criticized for the way he handled Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath is getting a second chance. New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin won reelection Saturday, beating his challenger Lieutenant Governor Mitch Landrieu by a narrow margin. The outspoken mayor didn't waste time telling people what he plans to do in his second term to get New Orleans back on track -- or to at least plan to get New Orleans back on track. He's CNN's Gulf Coast Correspondent Susan Roesgen.</s>SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN GULF COAST CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Nine months after Hurricane Katrina, much of New Orleans is still a wasteland. But after the election, Mayor Ray Nagin says give him 100 days, and he'll figure out how to fix things.</s>ELLEN SCHULLY, HOMEOWNER: What does he think he's going to do in 100 days that he hasn't done in nine months? That's what I don't understand.</s>ROESGEN: Homeowner Ellen Schully says, look around. Her neighborhood flooded and is barely hanging on.</s>SCHULLY: They've moved. this one's moved, that one has moved. The next one, she moved.</s>ROESGEN: Ellen says her neighbors need help to move back and she's sick of seeing all the trash. Mayor Nagin says he'll form a commission to spend the next 100 days focusing on trash collection and housing. But this isn't the first time he's asked a commission to come up with a game plan. Back in January, the mayor's "Bring New Orleans Back Commission" recommended the city abandon the most badly damaged neighborhoods, to focus on protecting those on higher ground.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tell it like it goes.</s>ROESGEN: But the outcry from some neighborhoods was so great, the mayor rejected his own commission's report. On Saturday, Mayor Nagin narrowly won reelection, defeating Lieutenant Governor Mitch Landrieu. Nagin got 80 percent of the black vote and just 20 percent of the white vote, but that 20 percent was vital. Political analysts say Nagin was able to convince conservative white voters that Landrieu was too liberal to be trusted, and that gave Nagin just enough of a boost to win.</s>RAY NAGIN, MAYOR, NEW ORLEANS: I want to thank all the wonderful people of the city of New Orleans for this encouragement, for this victory, for this time for us to set the stage for our recovery.</s>ROESGEN: Like Mayor Nagin, Ellen Schully is also hopeful for recovery. She just thinks 100 days to study the city's problems won't be enough to get things done.</s>SCHULLY: I think it's going to take five to 10 years to get it back the way it was. Unfortunately. Susan Roesgen, CNN, New Orleans.</s>COOPER: Well, when the Gulf Coast was hit last year, we all felt the effects, especially at the gas pump. The average price of a gallon of gas jumped over $3 last year after Katrina and Rita tore through a number of oil rigs. Right now gas prices are already nearing that and there is yet to be a major storm in the Gulf. So CNN's Randi Kaye took a look at what oil companies are doing to prepare for this year's hurricane season.</s>RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're on our way to the Gulf of Mexico right now. This helicopter is going to take us out to the Ram- Powell oil platform. It's one of about a half a dozen deep-water floating platforms operated by Shell Oil out there. And this will be our first look at the damage that was done and the repairs still under way. The hour-long flight takes us over the water, which is spotted with oil platforms that survived the terrible sisters -- Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. According to the U.S. Department of Interior, 113 structures were lost in the Gulf. Now, most of those were the older oil platforms that were in shallow water. But when those platforms toppled down, they did major damage to the pipelines and disrupted the flow of oil. Shell's Mars platform, which was the biggest producer in the Gulf was one of the hardest hit. Unable to land there, we stopped at the similar Ram-Powell oil platform. This is what the rig looks like on Mars. It weighs as much as two 747s. The problem was that during Katrina, it actually toppled over and fell onto the processing area, putting oil production at a standstill.</s>GREG GUIDRY, SHELL OIL: For Hurricane Katrina, the clamps that clamp the rig down on Mars, they failed. And so the entire rig toppled over.</s>KAYE (voice-over): For this hurricane season, Shell has designed new clamps to withstand more than 2 million pounds of pressure -- enough to withstand another Katrina. That's the oil well right there?</s>GUIDRY: That's it.</s>KAYE: During last year's storms, drilling rigs also lost their moorings and floated aimlessly, dragging their anchors along the ocean floor. An underwater robot like this one, never before used so deep, repaired this crack in 2,700 feet of water. Shell says it spent between $250 million and $300 million on Gulf recovery.</s>GUIDRY: We came back online, and by the end of 2005, we had about 70 percent to 75 percent of our production back on.</s>KAYE: And finally, starting today, Mars is producing oil and gas again. Before Katrina, it turned out 140,000 barrels of oil each day. It expects to reach those numbers again in June, just as the next hurricane season begins. Still, 15 percent of the Gulf oil platforms are still down. But with an estimated 71 billion gallons of oil still out there, ready to be drilled, there was no question Shell and its competitors would rebuild. And it hopes when the next Katrina blows through, they'll be ready.</s>COOPER: So, Randi, it seems like most of these companies chose to rebuild in the Gulf and repair pretty quickly. How quickly did they need to make the decision, given the damage they suffered?</s>KAYE (on camera): Normally, Anderson, they have to make that decision in about six months. Within that time, they have to evaluate, repair and actually ramp up production. And if they don't, the federal government can actually take over control of that oil platform. Now, being that Katrina and Rita were both so severe, these oil companies are getting a bit of an extension and they're working very hard, Anderson, from what we saw today. Already Shell has put in over 1 million man hours in Gulf recovery. And they're also getting creative. We showed you how they're coming out with these new clamps now on the oil rigs for the next hurricane season, the one that's starting just in another week or so. They also are coming out with some new anchors, they've come up with those to try and keep those oil platforms in place. And some of the oil companies are actually planning on using GPS on the oil rigs in case they break free. So they're trying to do this as quickly, but as efficiently as they possibly can.</s>COOPER: Randi Kaye, thanks. The Gulf of Mexico is a major source for America's oil needs. Here's the data. As Randi mentioned, oil reserves in the Gulf total an estimated 71 billion barrels -- 56 billion of those are in deeper waters. Before last year's storms, companies produced 1.5 million barrels a day. Barring future disruptions, it estimates at about 2 million barrels of oil a day will be produced. So while the oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico make preparations for the hurricane season, so is the National Weather Service. It's got to provide vital information, even when it's right in the middle of a storm. So last October, in Key West, Florida, it opened a bunker, designed to keep operating even when Mother Nature is at its worst. CNN's John Zarrella takes us inside.</s>JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Sloppy Joe's bar, the southernmost point in the U.S., a postcard sunset -- all are must- sees for anyone visiting Key West. And now, this...</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ahead on the far left corner is the new location of the National Weather Service in Key West.</s>ZARRELLA: The new weather service bunker has made the famed constrained tour.</s>MATT STRAHAN, METEOROLOGIST-IN-CHARGE: I wake up in the middle of the night thinking about hurricanes. It's become such an obsession down here, and rightfully so.</s>ZARRELLA: The $5 million structure is designed to allow Matt Strahan and his staff of 21 to continue gathering data right through a category five hurricane.</s>JOHN RIZZO, METEOROLOGIST: We can't even hear, for the most part, that the storm is going on outside.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good evening. And the launch from the corner of White Street and United is approved. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE Thank you very much. Launching in one minute.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Roger.</s>ZARRELLA: Sending up last-minute data-gathering balloons, analyzing changes in the storm. It's the kind of information that emergency managers say could save lives here in the Keys if people listen.</s>BILLY WAGNER, MONROE COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGER: And I can assure you, if they don't pay attention to this, we're going to lose thousands of people if we have a three, four or five make landfall down here.</s>ZARRELLA: The bunker is made of concrete and steel. The windows are made to withstand winds of 165 miles an hour. If that's not enough, 500-pound storm shutters add protection. (</s>On camera): Now, if for whatever reason, this outer area should fail, the forecasters can retreat inside here. This is the safe room. The walls are 13 inches thick, poured concrete, steel reinforced. The door weighs 450 pounds. It opens to the inside so that it can't be blocked by debris. The entire room is designed to withstand winds of 255 miles an hour. (</s>Voice-over): On one wall are pictures drawn by schoolchildren who went through Hurricane Wilma last October. One child wrote, my house had two feet of water. My room was destroyed. Another said, Wilma destroyed everything. But Wilma wasn't the big one. Forecasters say if the big one does hit, though, they'll be here.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The forecast for the lower and middle keys, including Key West in Marathon.</s>ZARRELLA: Tracking the storm, even if they're in the middle of it. John Zarrella, CNN, Key West.</s>COOPER: Well, if anyone were to adhere to federal safety standards, you'd think it would be the federal government. Just ask folks living in those infamous FEMA trailers. Turns out that some of the people who got them have also been getting sick from them. We'll tell you why. Plus, this weekend's mining tragedy was exactly the kind that talking heads and politicians vowed wouldn't happen. We'll look at why it happened again. Also, step into the real world of Opus Dei. In the "The Da Vinci Code," the religious groups is painted as powerful and corrupt. We'll meet some real-life members, and can you judge for yourself, when 360 continues.