[Don Lemon, Cnn News Anchor:] All right. CNN is your hurricane headquarters. We are tracking all the latest developments on what is now Tropical Storm Ike. We want to get you to some live pictures. What you're looking at here on the left, that is coastal Texas, around the Galveston area. All this devastation that's been happening along the coast there. And on the right, this is Plaquemine's Parish in Louisiana. And they have major flooding going on. There's flooding on many of the coastal parishes in Louisiana. But Plaquemine's Parish with Gustav, which was just over a week ago, really had some problems. I want to bring General Honore in to talk about that issue. You see these pictures from Plaquemine's Parish, all this flooding. You have been speaking to officials. I know that you have been speaking to people because I asked you about the National Guard. And had you on my tour with them just a couple of days ago. Were there any breaches of levees in Louisiana because of Ike?
[Gen. Russel Honore, Cnn Analyst:] Yes. There was some some of the private levees in lower Plaquemine's Parish were breached. The people quickly worked on it. They worked on it to try to save as many as they could, but there's some damage here. In Plaquemine's Parish there is some degree of flooding in smaller communities near the Phillips Petroleum plant down there. So that has happened. The state has that under control. They're working that hard. And they were able to save as many homes as they could.
[Lemon:] That's a concern, because we have been hearing a lot about fuel prices and a lot about the energy, the rigs and what have you, out on the gulf coast. When you have last week when I was there, it was Conoco in danger of flooding in St. Bernard's Parish. And in Plaquemine's Parish you have all of this flooding as well and you mention Phillips. Look, General, at these homes here under water. They were inundated last week for Gustav, and now this is blow number two, in less than two weeks later.
[Honore:] And that is Plaquemine's Parish you're showing there now?
[Lemon:] Yes, and those were the bridges over the waterways last week in Louisiana, many of the spill way was closed for some reason, the.
[Honore:] Absolutely.
[Lemon:] The Bonnie Car spill way was closed.
[Honore:] That's last week's footage.
[Lemon:] I believe these are live pictures. Are these live pictures? These are taped pictures. Is this from last week or now, guys?
[Unidentified Cnn Employee:] Just shot today.
[Lemon:] Just shot today we're told. Just want to make sure.
[Honroe:] That is something else.
[Lemon:] There was just shot today, General.
[Honore:] I think the piece we want to speak to is that the surge had an impact on Louisiana, the lower parishes. They are still out there assessing it, and we hope to have someone on from the state headquarters from Louisiana that can give us more details.
[Lemon:] You're looking at the emergency officials on the ground there. Many of them did not leave after Gustav. And they're having to re-up now and do this all over again. I'm sure from this that there were evacuations in these areas. If not, people will have to leave, because they cannot live in these homes in Plaquemine's Parish.
[Honore:] We've got issues here. I've heard and seen on print down in Terrebonne, some issues down in Calcasieu Parish, the lower part of Calcasieu's and Cameron Parish, some homes inundated by water from the surge.
[Lemon:] All right, General. And our Chad Myers is listening as well. Chad, I'm sure this speaks to how big, how wide, what was it, like up to 600 miles wide?
[Chad Myers, Cnn Meteorologist:] It was.
[Lemon:] If it can do this all the way over to Louisiana, then this was a giant, giant storm. Chad, hang on one second. We're getting live pictures in now, if we can go to that. These are live pictures from Surfside that we're looking at right here. There we go just in to the CNN "NEWSROOM." Surfside, many of these pictures coming in, you see that is pool pictures, pool feed coming in from our affiliates all across the area. The general was explaining how they let news media go up very shortly after storms. They pick one person and then they become pool. They provide these pictures for the television stations and also for FEMA and the government so they can assess the damage. Again, this is Texas. We were looking at Plaquemine's Parish in Louisiana before. Now we're back to Texas. Let's talk about what we're seeing on the ground here in Surfside. Let me let Chad Myers get in here and talk about, General, on the ground here in Surfside.
[Myers:] This flight is over the Blue Water Highway, 257. And they've flown now from Surfside. They've tried to take us a littler further to the north. What they're going to do eventually is get us all the way to south Galveston Island, where there was not that sea wall. Remember, there was a building, with four little peaks. I'm following this flight on Google Earth. Before the storm, there were six peaks to that house, and now there are only four. Obviously, the other two are gone. But there is going to be damage all the way up. and the farther we get to the north, I believe, Don, I believe the damage is going to be worse, because you're going to be closer to the eye, as we fly north and fly north and fly north.
[Lemon:] In a way, this is obviously way more powerful than Gustav, but the damage that Gustav provided for Louisiana, you didn't get as much down south in New Orleans. You got more in higher up in the state, north Louisiana, Baton Rouge and what have you. This is doing the same not that Galveston was spared, obviously, and Houston.
[Myers:] When you see Galveston, it didn't get spared.
[Lemon:] But you're seeing up north you believe the damage is going to be even greater than what we're seeing now?
[Myers:] We're south of Galveston Island here, still in Surfside. As we fly north, up toward Galveston, it will be worse. When we get over over to the peninsula, you will see High Island and it is going to be a wreck. Then we'll go farther north yet, almost to the Louisiana-Texas border. and there's the surge up there, I know was pushing 20 feet and it went right over those barrier islands and those barrier peninsulas and right up into Port Arthur, into Bridge City. Those areas there are still trying to recover. And they're still trying to rescue people from the high water because this water doesn't go away in one fell swoop. It takes a while for this wash to go away. It doesn't just slosh in and slosh out.
[Lemon:] Stand by, Chad Myers. Also, General Honore standing by. And we also want to go to since we're looking at these pictures and looking at all this devastation, just how widespread it is, we want to go to Christi Harlan. She is the spokeswoman for the American Red Cross joining us from San Antonio. She can talk to us about really the depth of this and just exactly what resources the Red Cross will have to use in order to help these people out. Are you there, Christi?
[Christi Harlan, Red Cross:] Yes, I am, Don. Thanks for having me.
[Lemon:] Are you able to see these pictures?
[Harlan:] Yes, I am looking at the pictures.
[Lemon:] When you think about what the Red Cross has to do, the task at hand, what goes through your mind?
[Harlan:] I'm glad seeing Plaquemine's Parish, I think your viewers would be interested to know the Red Cross is still serving the people affected by Gustav. In fact, I started in Mississippi 17 days ago with the Red Cross where we have many Louisiana residents and we still have folks in shelters in Louisiana. And we're preparing shelters here in Texas. We know that once the damage assessment is made, just like you've been describing, the emergency responders are making, we'll make our own damage assessment. And when it's safe, we'll be prepared to serve shelters closer to the coastal areas. But it's just a testament to Red Cross workers. I'm impressed by everyone I've met. That we've been on this for 17 days now, and we don't go away.
[Lemon:] I have to tell you, on I think it was on Wednesday or Thursday, when I went to Wednesday it was. When I went to Louisiana, there was the entire plane from Atlanta to Baton Rouge, was filled with Red Cross workers. Many of them going in and swapping out workers who had been there for 14, 15, 16, 17 days, as you said, on the ground. So the Red Cross really is working very hard here. And now you've got this double whammy, so to speak, here. I want you to talk to people about the importance obviously because we want to help the Red Cross out about helping the Red Cross, especially when it comes to funding, so you can help people who are devastated like this.
[Harlan:] Well, the fact that we've had three hurricanes back to back, we were also in North Carolina in time for Hanna. We've that didn't do as much damage as it could have. But this is this underscores why the Red Cross asks for donations to support the general disaster relief fund. In fact, we have Red Cross workers responding to the train accident in California. So when you give to the general fund by calling 1-800-red-cross or www.redcross.org, you make it possible for us to be here. We've got one million meals prepared to ship out. General Honore will understand the MRE, the Meals Ready to Eat.
[Lemon:] I'm glad you said that. He is standing by here. Real quickly, because we've got to get to other stuff we have here, Christi, but the general is standing here with me and he wants to ask you a question about this.
[Honore:] Christi, I'm a Red Cross volunteer. It's important to note that, Don, the majority of people doing this work are Red Cross volunteers. Red Cross operates out of the goodness of the American people, the people around the world donating so they can feed the people. The Red Cross's mission is to keep people alive. Give them food, water, counseling, medicines and let them get back in their homes. So they woke up this morning with 20,000 people they were feeding in shelters. I think that number will go by a multiple of ten, as all of these people will not go back to their homes and some who didn't evacuate will have to leave. This is going to be a big job for the Red Cross, Salvation Army and faith-based to feed everyone they meet. Money is sorely needed by the Red Cross.
[Lemon:] Very well said, General Russel Honore. Christi Harlan, the spokesperson for the American Red Cross, and our Chad Myers, all three of you please stand by. We're getting new pictures in to the CNN "NEWSROOM," of the latest developments when it comes to Tropical Storm Ike, which was a hurricane, just a short time ago. Pictures we haven't seen that are coming in now, just starting to assess the damage. It is not over yet by any mean, folks. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.