following hurricane issac and we want to go to a live event that is taking place, and this is billy nungesser, and

let's listen in. >>n plaqueminess parish, i, myself, does not care about the damage to the property, but i rode out katrina in the home, and the water pileded up on the eastern banks of plaqueminess parish, and we used to brag about because they never got water anymore. the perez property never flooded before katrina, and the woodlawn and now both of those are covered in water. so those areas that did not flood for katrina were flooded for this event. we will make every effort to rescue all of the people, and then begin the rebuilding process for the east bank, but we are not out of the woods yet. we are looking at the new models, and this storm has hung around back and forth and hung out longer than anyone expected. we are looking at the rest of the effects as it shifts around and it will have on the west bank levees and we are reassessing the storm surge

models working closely with kevin davis and the governor's office and to go and model and see what risk we have on the wes b west bank. as soon as we have all of the numbers and the calculations, we're going to take a look at what we need to do, and if we can do anything to prepare the west bank levees on the backside for this storm as it swings around and starts to blow the water against the back levees. >> sir, how do you explain that it seems worse than -- how do you explain it? >> well, it is a good question. i will tell you if that is a category 1 storm, i don't want the go through anything stronger. i have never seen wind and rain with no breaks. and you know, billy none gue >> i want to bring in chad myers to talk about the plaqueminess

parish and why it is so rough for those people there. >> they are the first line after the gulf of mexico, and even 108-mile-an-hour gusts are not that far south of billy nungesser's house when i was here last night, and then it comes through the bayou and hits the the back levee, and that stops it from getting into the east bank. then another levee to stop the mississippi river from getting to the east bank, is you will have a swimming pool there that is the east bank. let me walk over here. >> yes, i want to see this. >> and let me explain why these people are in such bad shape and why the water is pouring down the east bank. all night this wind has been pouring in like this h, a, and ing the water back up the east bank of the mississippi river. let me tell you what that means. this is all of the areas, and everything in red, those are the areas protected by levees, and

the east bank is right here, and going all of the way to mississippi, but this is the area right now flooding unprotected and we knew it would happen. let's fly in and i will try to describe what has happened so far. we have the bayou over here, and this is water. this is saltwater to the marshes in and out, and when it is high tide and low tide it goes in and out. this is the back levee that keeps the water out of this area here. this is the front levee, the mississippi river levee. at some point in here to here, there is a break or at least an overwashing with the washing out so that the water is pouring in here. you will see all of the people who have been carrying out, they live right there, and also down toward english turn and as far south here as waite, and the area will fill up because nothing can happen with a levee on one side and levee on the other, and a break, the water will go in like a swimming pool.

let me give you an idea of the lay of the land, and the water has been pushed, and this is an old picture obviously, because last night, it is filled with saltwater and breached over the levee over the top here and down into the i-39 here, and this is port braithwaite and you are looking at the tremendous amounts of water in here. let me show you what a home looks like down here at english turn, they are ground level and single-family and ground level homes and so if the water is up to nine feet high, that is about there. if you are not in the roof tor attic, you are in trouble in parts of the east bank. >> any way, chad to, get out of the area, because you described it so well, and it -- >> by boat. by boat. >> that is the only way? >> yes, the water is over the road and highway 39 is completely inundated and the only way is boat. the volunteer boats are going in with the national guard to rescue people off of the tops of

these homes. >> and chad, coastal highway 90 is washed out. this is gulfport, mississippi, and what is the significance of that, because it sounds like it could create problems. >> okay. let me see, judson, if you can go to gulfport and show you that 90 is the road that goes all of the way from biloxi all of the way to gulfport past cristian, and so somewhere over 90, and over there is biloxi casinos and somewhere in here, the road is completely washed out from the overwash that has come in, and we know 6 to 9 feet of surge has come from gulfport all of the way back to bay st. louis, and somewhere, that is too much. you put ten inches of rain here and a bunch of wind here, and you have the water fighting each ore, this and one going this way and one going that way, and it piled up. >> and we want to go back to

braithwaite, and this is a rescue of a guy rescued off of his roof. let's listen to him. >> he is working off of the roof. you can see that the legs are bloody and definitely exhausted, but he was in actually good spirits and cracking jokes, and jokes and certainly not happy about what he went through and he reminded me that he lost his home in that same area there seven years ago on this date to katrina. >> wow. the irony and tragedy of that. theane kwor was saying that the man lost his home seven years ago to the day when hurricane katrina hit. now he is dealing with hurricane issac and certain ly looks like the water was up to the rooftop, and he was spared. he is very lucky actually to be rescued off of the roof. this is the area we are talking about where people are in desperate and dire need of rescuing, and because of the water level, and because of the flooding and because of what chad had described as people who essentially are trapped this

their homes. this is a place where obviously that should have, that was evacuated and some people decided to go ahead to try to brave it out and weather the storm. a dangerous situation there, and we know that issac is kicking up waves and soaking up the mississippi gulf coast, and g f gulfport with the city officials saying they could get a foot and a half of rain, and you can hear it. this is rain coming down in sheets and in buckets. just flooding the streets and some of the homes there. i want to bring in our david mattingly who is riding out the storm in that area. he is joining us by phone. david, deskrcriber for us firstf all what the conditions are like right now. >> well, suzanne, they have not changed since i last talked to you on the air. the wind is still whipping through here. tropical storm force winds blowing the rain in. the visibility is very bad and just because there is so much

rain blowing around it is hard to see here. but we are still continuing to wonder when we will see some kind of relief. the wind has shifted some, and it has been blowing straight out of the east and now it is shifting where it is blowing some out of the south. that suggests this storm is moving out the wy it is supposed to. but authorities here thought that this would all be done by now and they would be in the assessment and the cleanup stage of the storm by now and that is not the case and we could be hours and possibly a day of seeing that happen. they are concerned in the state of mississippi right now about flooding. they have got all of this water being dumped inland that has no place to go, because the ocean is up higher, and the tides are higher because of the hurricane, and it is not letting any of that water drain out. they are expecting some very bad flood i flooding conditions inside the, well, the interior of the state of mississippi. i spoke to the governor, and he said they may have to be redeploying some of the

resources to deal with that, and he mentioned some problems in the city of waveland on the coast here in mississippi, and he said that there were some people there cut off by some of the rising floodwaters. all in all, we are not seeing a storm surge like we saw with katrina, but we are seeing something that is definitely unique to the storm. the fact that it has been in one place for so long is going to leave the mark in a very distinct way when it finally gets out of here, suzanne. >> david, we are looking at the still pictures and incredible pictures of like trees going horizontal because of the rong, strong winds, and i'm assuming that the reason you are on the phone and not seeing you actually on television is because of those winds and the conditions that you were actually facing out there covering the story. give us a sense of what you are dealing with now and what you are seeing. one of the things that you never see on the air here is all of the work that goes to putting us

on the air in the hurricane, and we have to find a secure place for the satellite truck to sit so that the dish will not blow off, literally blow off in the hurricane, and the winds have shifted such that the truck is no longer protected and we weren't able to get a signal out, and so that is why i am talking to you on the phone. but if you remember, when we were talking last hour, i felt like i was standing in next to a beehive and being stung. that's how the rain felt hitting my skin, but a it was blowing in so hard. that has not changed. there has been absolutely no letoff since i talked to you an hour ago, and there's been very little let-up over the, since midnight of last night when the tropical storm conditions finally rolled into mississippi. they have not gone away. suzanne. >> all right. david, be safe. i want to go to mississippi, because the storm has essentially washed out the

coastal highway, and we are talking about highway 90 in both directions now. we understand that there and see road, and i want to go to john zarrella who is on the phone, and tell us the significance of this and what it looks like. >> yes, suzanne, i am not and was not that far from where david is the at the hotel. you didn't have to go far, and probably about two miles down the road from the hotel here, and we had expected that the westbound lane would be okay, because it was a higher elevation than the eastbound lane which is right down at the water level. david mentioned how you had the wind shift now coming more out of the south which is driving this water right up to the highway. the gulf is essentially gone, and i am sure that the beach will reemerge when the tide

subsides, but from a mile or two from here in highway 90, both directions the lower portion of the road and the upper portion which is a little bit higher elevation that moves to the west side, and we were out and shoot shooting pictures in it. there are timbers covering the road, and sand covering the road and the water is now racing, because of the way that the wind is driving it, racing down highway 90, on both sides of the road from east to west. it is rising in a lot of places along that. so, you have this enormous water, and the gulf of mexico literally when you stand there and look, you are standing there looking at waves crashing, rolling surf right on the highway and coming over the top of the seawalls there to protect it, and on to the highway. we did see some national guard humvees who have made it through, but we got to one spot where it was so totally impassable we had to turn around and drive back the way we had

come from quite a distance and make our way inland, and then down and around to get back to the spot in order to get to video that, and we are hoping later today to get the pictures in of what we witnessed there which is still taking place and in many, many sections of highway 90, you know, are becoming impassable. what we are seeing, suzanne, it is becoming worse and more impassable in places. it is not reseegd, but still coming up. >> and it is expected to only be worse. john zarrella, we appreciate it, and we will have more on hurricane issac right after the quick break. gy, while protecting our environment. across america, these technologies protect air - by monitoring air quality and reducing emissions... ...protect water - through conservation and self-contained recycling systems... ... and protect land - by reducing our footprint and respecting wildlife. america's natural gas... domestic, abundant, clean energy to power our lives...

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we are following a number of rescues taking place across the state of louisiana and one place in particular is braithwaite and that is where a lot of people are stuck in their homes. these are new pictures from our affiliate where they are taking people and pluck iing them out their mes, and pets as well. let's watch. >> and we got the dogs. quite incredible especially since that did not happen in katrina. >> that is a good thin to pot out d a lot of folks, we learned so muan their ve for pets that they

than -- y with their pets ther that is the numbee reason. the number o reasothat people stayed and this is a survey and not happenstance, kaina was stay with the pets, and of course w all of the parishes are doing a yeoman's job to allow the to g forward and ain, itas an individual's choice to stay. >> i will say that the pet certainly ing on the boat and trying to help him and the rescuers, it does complicate efforts. this is a large scale effort, i could see certainly the rescuers saying, you know what, we cannot take a lot of to pets with us. the dog jumped in the water -- and another reason why folks, hurricane katrina would not leave their pets is because they knew that the shelters would not take pets, and so they stayed back in their homes. that is also something else that they have learned from seven years ago. hurricane issac is testing the levee system as you can imagine in new orleans which has been rebuilt, and so far, it seems to be working. but to the south. we are talking about

plaqueminess pplaquemines s parish where water went over the levee and not part of the billions and billions of dollars of upgrade here, and we are getting reports of dozens of folks rescued after they have been trapped by the floodwaters. i want to bring in martin savidge who is in new orleans, and tell us about the rescues. we have seen the pictures coming in, and very moving and touching here. we just saw somebody with their pets. marty, i want to ask you to hang out there for a moment and just wait for us, because the governor of louisiana bobby jindal is speaking and we want to listen in. >> some facts from the national weather center, the storm was almost stationary overnight and making landfall twice along the coast in plaqueminess and terrebone, and we will continue to be affected in the southern part of the state throughout much of the day. the national weather service is showing 5 to 7 inches of rain and much more in some cases

across a large% of the south shore already with reports of street flooding already starting to come in. we are likely to see accumulated total of 12 to 16 inches of rain in south louisiana, but again in certain areas maybe as high as 20 inches. tides will remain elevated throughout tonight and start to gradually fall tomorrow. in south louisiana high winds for most of the day with the winds gradually decreasing from east to west starting late this evening. we will see the tropical storm force winds for 24-36 hours and to give you an idea of how slow the storm is, as originally project projected the eye might be in baton rouge at 1:00 p.m. today, but now they are projecting that the eye won't come to baton rouge until much later, but despite, baton rouge is seeing the wind gusting up to 40 miles per hour, so there is much more coming not only to baton rouge, but other parts of the state as well. wind gusts in gallianna and i

would differentiate that from gusts and those are strong winds, but it is not that the winds are that high over a sustained period of time. we have seen the storm surges up the mississippi river which is noteworthy and showing you the strength of the storm. we expect to see the tide flood of 6 to 8 feet, and 5 feet on the canals and the bayous along the west, and that is higher by the way in lake pontchartrain and the tidal surges there are higher than what they saw yesterday, tuesday. so that the tidal surges in pontchartrain will be higher today than yesterday. the bottom line is that this storm is a slow moving storm. it is going to be moving through our state, and we will be dealing with the storm through friday morning. this is a storm we will be dealing with not only today and tomorrow, but we will continue to see the weather effects of the storm as it moves from the northern part of the state. in terms of different parishes, 56 parishes have now declared a

state of emergency. let me focus on the plaquemines parish on the east bank of plaquemines parish there is overtopping at braithwaite at a non-federal levee, and this is an area of mandatory evacuation by noon monday. and working with the local officials they may have, but there is not a breach iing at ts point in time, but they are actually considering doing a breach intentionally to release the water. they have not decided or made that decision, but the winds have shifted, and so they may actually cause an intentional breach to release some of the water and the pressure on that area. to give you an idea of the levee, federal dollars appropriated for that levee since 2006, and those dollars have not been used yet, but there are a combination of state and local dollars that are used there and we have talked about some of the protective measures taking place there.

the winds have shifted and coming from the west to blow it out of the water. some folks are wondering if it is making sense to intentionally breach that levee. and we are taking some of the flooded area intohe mississippi river. the louisiana national guard is on site with 14 high water vehicles and ten boats to help with the search and rescue operations. and the national wildlife brava teams are out there as well. unconfirmed reports of 9 to 15 people who need rescues and take even care of. that is along the east bank. on the west bank of plaquemines parish, there is an eight-foot levee and the waters are showing that it will reach eight feet and it is expected and the parish president may be doing so as we speak. the parish president is expected to do a mandatory evacuation below bell chase along the jesuit bend area south, but we expect it could be happening as

we speak rightow. the pa estimes apoximately 3,000 peop still there in that area. the national guard is working with the parish topel wh th evacuation, and f example a river bend nursing home on the west bank th will evacuate and approximately 112 residents there including 80 be evacted with wheelch and 11 . 11 straight via ambulance to a sisterurng home, and the other residents will be moved to a ymca, and they are opening up a shelter tre at the ymca and expect capacity of 400 slots there and that is how many people they expect to use that shelter, and we have additional state resources if more people need sheltering, and for the nursing home residents, they are going to use the high water vehicles to move the patients to the ymca and nursing staff will accompany them and then move to a sister nursing home in kenner. 11 of the patients will go

straig bymbulan to the sister nursing home. thembulans can't get in there. that is why it is in stages, because they aresing theig water vehicles because it is no advisable to transrt them for extended distance and that is why first to t ymca and if they need to be relocated, they will be using ambulances to do threlote them toing home. and so the nmbers are changing in the plaquemines parish, and we have the search and rescue tes there helping the local law enforcement and first responders. i will be going to plaquemines parish when we are done to make sure they have the resources they need for the rescue and the evacuation adds possible. other people reporting challenges are st. john parish because they have shutdown part of the water system to ensure drinking water. they have requested for example

water resources from the national guard, and we are providing that today. in terrebone parish they have 5,000 tarps requested and in another parish a tugboat to be used in the manshack area, and three barges held together by rope, and one barge has the potential to break away and take out the rail road crossing and potentially impact iing the i-9 bridge. they are addressing that. in st. bernard, the eoc has reported that land lines are down and using cell phone to maintain contact. we have 13 national guard comms teams to ensure communication. and in gretna there was a private apartment on top of a building and at this point, we have one fatality due to that fire.

the only person in that apartment was a family member in there three hours before the fire took place and again a this is unconfirmed at this point. and 19 parishes were added to the federal disaster declaration for federal direct assistance and we have requested that the federal government add other 30 parishes to cover all 64 parishes in the state which is the original request. we are pushing and i did ask the president to declare a full declaration to provide additional support for the state and the local governments and governor bryan made that request before i did on the phone call so i seconded it and reiterated the request to the president. in terms of the execive or vehicles with oversized loads can travel through the state more quickly to get light poles and electrical workers to areas affected by the storm. and also, state and federal regulations be waved ived so th

people can ride in those government employees. and critical services needed to respond to the storm as quickly as possible. and fourth, emergency rules suspending certain regulations and strict compliance to the rules be suspended to -- and bobby jindal confirming one fatality of a house fire or apartment that occurred. he is literally talking about ground zero, the east bank of braithwai braithwaite, louisiana, and talking about up to 40 people in need of rescuing. also oth banof that area, 3,000 people who need to be evacuated it is now a mandatevacuation specifically talking about a nursing home where people will gond tryoet them out as quickly as possible. we will have more developments on this hurrane afr this quick break. ommunities across the country. whether it's supporting a delaware nonprofit that's providing training and employment opportunities,

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here to talk a little bit about the hurricane. obviously, ground zero is braithwaite in louisiana there, and we heard the governor talk about two places. first the east bank, and he said that there is overtopping of the levee and a mandatory evacuation there. there is still up to 40 people however that need assistance and now they are talking about intentionally breaching the levee and why would they do that? explain this. >> two levees. one is the back levee hold ought the bayou and one is the mississippi levee holding out the mississippi river. so you have a swimming pool, basically the east bank of plaquemines parish and big levee here and big levee here and peopleley here. and the water has come over the tall levee, which is the east levee or the back levee that is coming out here and i will draw it in a second. but now the water is in here and the only way to get the water out is to blast this one so that the water can drain into the mississippi river. let me draw it to show you. and didn't we say that there

would be a weak link? >> yes, you warned us. >> and what will the weak link, well, here is what has happened the army corps has built the fantastic walls around the city e walls, you an trouble, anthat is the breach, outside of the levee wall. all of this is pilinrleans or the lower ninth ward, and so all of the suddethat water is coo place else to go and it breaches the levee th inot fortified. going right in to show you the two levees and what i mean if you don't understand what i am talking about. there ae water from the bayoure the the gulf of mexico that is pushing inight here, that levee, big was.all and strong ort at le ae and now another levee her that stophe mississippi river from coming in when it floods. the riveris flooding. it is low. river has not flooded in a long time, but the water has come ove levee into

braithwaite, and there is bell ase, a nd no issue here whatsoever, and the water is coming down here. e, aou blow up low thr to gback into the mississippi, you ll relieve all of theressure and the deep, deep water up th and that is at has hpened and wheret will go. here are the people rescu her and the highy th and taki them out and putting on thother side. and the other thing is the tornado warnings. one for gulfport, mississippi right now. all of the systems coming of of the gf rotating and all coming to biloxi, and wayland and eventually st. louis. we have had one tornado on the ground. suzanne. >> thank you, chad. we have coverage of issac throughout the hour. first, you might call it an attempt to show mitt romney's softer side. the candidate's wife, ann, moved the crowd last night at the republican national convention when talking about the early years together.

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then, they came on the tv and said that the house isulup and there is a breach in the levee, a levee, and we were trying to leave, but trying to drive in the car, you couldn't see your hand in front of your face. and with me being a diabetic, and i have had a stroke. we were in the house. we stay in a trailer, but -- >> what's it like back there now? >> bad. water is over the top of the roof. we had to break through the ceiling and come through the attic. there are some folks who are having a really, really tough time, and she is not alone. our affiliate wwl says that 75 people have been rescued from the flooded homesnd rooftops in braithwaite, louisiana, in plaquemines parishh despread flooding aerater went over avee shortly after

. cering everything about rmatand all of this.he th cnn ireporters have the cameras aney are out the help us. the new weekend anchor victor blackwell, and welcom. you have come to the right time and tracking all of the ireports, and it is a huge story, andou havhe pictur share them with us. >> well, suzanne,have received hundreds of the ireports frope gulf coast and all of the states morehan 300 of them.e issac and we have three of the best from new orleans and we will start with the photograph that came in from ireporter of eileen romero of this house on south cortez street in new orleans. the mid city neighborhood, and she said that at 8:00 a.m. this morning she was out driving to find gas for a generator, and she found that this house had collapsed. you can see in the photograph that there is a tree that collapsed on the house, and the gable of the roof is leaning on

the house next to it, but although, those two houses are still standing. we have two videos from the storm chaser alex, and let's look at the first video. of course, you can hear the wind there, and this is along lake pontchartrain, and he says that the caption of the ireport that this is good news. he says that the levees are working, and here is why. you look at the video and you say, how can this be a good thing? well, here is a layout of what is there. lake pontchartrain and the building at orleans arena, and public a facility so nobody lives there and then the levees and the neighborhoods and because all of the water is coming in from the lake, the levee is stopping the water to go into the neighborhoods where people live. that is how it is a good thing. one more thing from alex, and you can see here, also, at the orleans marina.

again, you have got all of the wind and the water there from the lake slapping up against the seawall, and these are also public buildings so no one lives there. of course, we want to see more videos and photographs from what is happening alongside via the gulf coast because of issac, but we know that there is rain and flooding on the east coast up to the carolinas, so if you can safely shoot a video or take a picture go to cnn.com and upload them to the ireport section. suzanne. >> thank you, victor. appreciate it. the pictures are dramatic, but just listening to the force of the wind there and to see just the dramatic impact that this is making on a community, we appreciate all of the photos and the videos that you are sending to us. please send more, and again, only if you are in a safe place to do so. up next, we will be talking to general russel honore, and he is the man who brought order to new orleans after hurricane katrina and fast forward today, and we

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isaac made landfall more than 17 hours ago, but the storm is posing a serious threat to louisiana and also north. retired lieutenant russel honore led the effort after hurricane katrina, and he is in baton rouge, and of course, general, it is good to speak with you again, and let's talk about the specifics, because what i am not clear about.

you have a wall built around new orleans and then this place, plaquemines parish and braithwaite in particular where you have the overtopping of the levee here and that is the weak point, and could that have been anticipated? >> well, suzanne, it is a case where they are building the subdivision before they built the levee. that levee that has been protecting that subdivision for many years is a private levee and mr. billy nungesser working with the government have decided to go in to build a proper levee there, but it is not done yet. this is a case where the subdivision was built before the levees were put to standard. all of the right things are being done to rescue the people, and remember all of the early rescues were done by neighbors. the cajun navy as we call them in louisiana, the neighbors helping neighbors, and now that the national guard is in there, they will do the organized res u

coos and the movement of the people from nursing homes as erected by the parish president, and the plan is working right now. >> and the governor had talked about the fact that up to 40 people need rescuing in that area, and we are talking about the east bank here and they were intentionally going to breech a levee. can you explain why they are doing that now and could that have been anticipated? could they have handled that better so we don't have this happening now? >> they have to do that on that same levee. the quickest way to get it out is to breech the levee or bring pumps in to take it out. the most efficient way is when the tides go down you breech the levee and replug it. they know what they're going the that's the procedure they have done before. >> west bank of the parish is what they have done before.

is that something that should have happened earlier a mandatory evacuation in that area? >> i've been an advocate of that and remains one today. i'm glad the national guard is there and one of the best national guards in the nation. you'll get them out. i'm still an advocate we should not have a nursing home inside floodplains. i hope that evacuation happens properly. nursing homes and floods near katrina was a nightmare. it was a disaster. >> we hope that the folks get out there. we appreciate your time and attention to all of this and your expertise. general russel honore. we'll hear what kocandidate

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speaking tonight is condoleezza rice. she's going to share the stage in tampa with another woman also rumored to have been on mitt romney's short list of possible running mates. a few minutes ago rice spoke with hala about her possible political future. >> i wrote "no higher honor" because i consider it the highest honor to serve in my government. i loved it. i'm not doing it again. one has to know to move on in life. i'm very fortunate to have been the secretary of state and that's enough. >> hala asked about syria and whether the united states has done enough. >> i think we wasted a lot of

time in the security counsel. russia was never going to go along with the international response. the united states needs to help rally the powers to put together political frame work. >> for military intervention. >> political framework and to help vet and arm so somebody can stop the slaughter of syrian people. people say if you arm the opposition it might get worse. look at what assad is doing. if we've been doing this for the last year maybe it would be done by now. we wasted a lot of time in the security council. >> what do you do from now on? >> i would hope some of that vetting has been doing.

arm the opposition so they can resist the terror of the assad regime and resist the iranian interference of the syrian people so we can do something about the spillover. >> would you say the u.s. should be arming? >> i think the united states should be participating in the arming of those rebels because we have to remember, and you know this region as well as anyone there are regional agendas but the outside powers that are essentially confessional agendas. the united states and europe bring a more balanced approach to the region and so we should be participating in it. "cnn newsroom" continues with brooke baldwin who is in tampa for the convention. as is already saving us money,

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here we go. welcome back to the cnn grill here in tampa, florida. we're hours away from a huge, huge night for republicans here in florida as mitt romney's running mate paul ryan officially introduces himself to america. we're going to get to that in a moment including an interview with somebody who is speaking tonight. that being former secretary of state condoleezza rice. we have to leave the show with the urgent situation along the gulf coast especially the areas

in and around new orleans. here we go. hurricane isaac turning out to be huge. this really relentless emergency officials warned about. take a look. now some of its victims who did not evacuate are calling 911, running for their lives upstairs in they're home being carried away to safety. this is one woman's story of so many today after she was rescued by boat from her roof near new orleans. >> are you okay? >> no. >> what's the matter? >> i tried to leave and then we didn't because we had nowhere to go. then they come on tv and said a

breech in the levee. we were trying to leave but tryitry ing to drive in the car you couldn't see in front of your face. with me being a diabetic and i had a stroke we were in the house. we stay in a trailer. >> what's it like back there now? >> bad. water is over the top of the roof. we had a breakthrou through the ceiling and come through the attic. they took us out the attic and into the boat. it's very bad down there. very bad. they going back to get my son and daughter-in-law. please make sure. his name is eric sylvia and mindy davis. please make sure he gets back up with me again. >> that emotional plea coming

from a woman in plaquemines parish. it's not just officers who are the ones out saving others lives. on the phone with me now is jesse shafer jr. he and his dad have been out saving people with their boat. welcome. i understand the plaquemines parish recognized you and your father for saving so many lives. can you hear me? >> i'm hear. >> tell me how many people you've rescued by this point. >> personally, i've been through 60 people. maybe 30 animals. >> 50, 5-0? >> 60, 6-0. >> describe the conditions you

have been fighting. i've seen pictures with up to the roof. how high is the water where you are? >> it varies in spots. high as low as 12. low as six depending on the elevation. >> i read an article this morning in the times that describes one of these many rescues. you and your dad rescued a woman with a 5-month-old baby from a roof. is that true? if so, tell me about that. >> we started on the north end of the parish and worked our way down. as we finished the first subdivision we were headed down south and there was a family of five. two adults and three children i'd say three to six. they had about half a foot left before they go under on the roof. they were excited to get rescued. >> how did you rescue them?

>> we pulled the boat as good as we could and held on to the roof. >> jesse, of these 60 plus people, including these children, what's the one rescue that's playing over? >> the one rescue would be the one where there was ten individuals in a two-story building, an old, old building. we already had two individuals on the boat and three dogs. we were kind of overloaded. i had to stay on the roof for an hour because i gave up my spot to someone. i think we had eight elderly from that building. they had diabetes and other different diseases. we got them on the boat. i stayed and waited for the boat to come back.

i stayed about an hour. i went from rescuer to rescuee. >> you sound so calm which makes you so perfect for doing something in so duress. were you ever worried about yourself or your father? >> the only thing that concerned me about this is the electrical lines that are very low right now because of the high surge. other than,heind an the surge athe current doesn't reallyother me. >> jesse shaffer, jr you and your dad doing work. we'll talk to bil about your work later in the show. right w the brunt othlood is happening in plaquemines pari where w hasgo oer the p of levee. it's not part of that $10

billsyem that warebuilt in new orleans after hurricane katr th hurricane hit as category 3 seven yea ago. aquemines parish president said isaac is proving to be >>esse shaffer is outere rescuing those people. 's his backyard. he knows the water. vel other peopleave lost their boats. i applaud them for doing it. they're tingheir o fe into their hands. we will continue. our only effort is thefe sa the people tha did not evacuate. no one thought this storm was going to do what it did to plaquemines parish. it doesn't matter abo damage to a me. i have more dage from this storm an katna and i rd t katrina at my ho. the water piled up in areas on the east bank of plaquemines parish that we used to brag about because they never got water before.

those areas that didn't flood for katrina were flooded for this event. we're going to make every effort to rescue the people and we'll begin the rebuilding process. we're not out of the woods yet. we're looking at the new models because the storm is going back and forth and hung around longer than anyone expected. i can tell you this, if that's a category 1 storm, i don't want to go through anything stronger. >> we'll be talking with billy next hour about the status in all these rescues in the area. what is more though isaac is not going anywhere. there could be two more days of this that's impacting four more states. isaac is supposed to weaken back to a tropical storm. i want to talk to chad meyers about this. if we can reflect for a moment with the conversation i had with jesse. were you listening?

60 rescues. >> let's get right to it. we have the red areas here across the area. this is the east bank of plaquemines parish. not yet protected. the money has been there just not spent yet. that's expected in two to four years to be done. let's zoom in and tell you what's happening. there's been water pouring in from these east winds all night long and the water banked up against this levee which is the back levee. this stops the water from coming in from the gulf of mexico. there's another levee right here along the river. that river levee stops the water from coming in from the river. this breeched somewhere. the water poured over and all the way into this subdivision here, this is all not protected. all this water is running all the way down here. it's like a pool now.

we have a bump here. a lee vee here. we have a levee that's mostly good. the east bank is phfilling up wh water just like the lower nineth ward did seven years ago in katrina. water all the way up to the eves of the houses and some spots higher. >> where is isaac right now? is it still spinning, spinning? >> isaac right there is as close as it's going to get to new orleans on its way to baton rouge. you are going to get the north eastern. there's not a worst place to be than the north eastern eye wall. the winds will begin to turn a bit and eventually from the southwest. baton rouge you're from the east, you're getting battered here. one more thing we haven't talked

a lot about. there's mississippi. a line, a squall line in every single one of these cells has been rotating as its come on shore. we've had more than one tornado on the ground. this could go anywhere from biloxi to bay st. louis. a big deal with tornadoes, could be dozens today. >> dozens of tornadoes on top of this rain. don't go too far. we'll keep this conversation going. we've just gotten word some of the rescue boats have turned back because of the rising water. we'll talk with solidad, next. [ male announcer ] this is sheldon, whose long dy setting up the news

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i want to take you back to louisiana here as this story continues to move, change. we're now hearing some of the rescue efforts. we're talking about rescue boats in the top levels of their homes because of the storm from isaac. they are now on old because the flood waters are so high.

solidad o brien joins me. are you telling me some of the official rescue operations have stopped because of the high water? >> can you hear me? >> yes. i've got you. go ahead. >> the reason you're having a hard time hearing me is because we're right on the flood wall. right now the flood wall marks the breaks of the st. bernard parish and plaquemines parish. the winds are very high. it's going to hold off with a break in the weather a bit. we've had a chance to see really is strength and power of a really good flood wall. plaquemines parish doesn't have

one. i'm looking at a subdivision which is submerged. i can only see trees around it. there's probably 15 or 20 feet of water and i can't even make out the homes behind the trees. they've been sending boats in to try to rescue people but the winds and the rain is very problematic. right now they put a hold on it. on the st. bernard side, you might remember from katrina seven years ago that needed a lot of the help. that flood wall. it's really an indication of how a good flood wall can protect a storm surge coming off the gulf. that's been a big problem. >> i'm going to ask you live here on air, if you say you're about 100 feet away, i'd love

for you to snap a picture or two and shoot it to twitter. >> our pictures were just posted. take a look and i show the flood wall. on the right hand side it's the flooding water. you can retweet those for your viewers. >> okay. we will do that. i know your twitter handle. we'll take a look. quickly, do you know how many rescues the folks who you're with, how many rescues they have accomplished so far today? >> they had about 150 calls. on the st. bernard side they said they had two dozen people held at the jail. they had rescued them and plucked out of plaquemines parish. unclear how many more they had

to pull out. she left her husband and the other pets behind on the second floor. she said there was no way to get them all out. she said at 2:00 in the morning thai g they got a call saying there was a breech in the levee and the flooding starting two hours after they. they had five feet of water in the house. they gathered up their stuff and took a boat ride by climbing out of their second floor window. she started to tear up when talking about leaving their husband behind. they had all these pets. she will spend a little time at the jail where it's dry and they get food. they will have her friends pick her up and take her to her home. >> so many stories out there. we thank you for hopping on the phone with us.

keep us posted. it's incredible the people we've talked to over the last 24 hours are saying this is only a category 1 and looking at these pictures and hearing these stories there is nothing only about this particular storm. we'll take you back to new orleans in just a moment. back here in tampa all eyes on tonight's speaker. steps away from where i'm sitting here at the cnn grill including this woman, former secretary of state condoleezza rice. she spoke with cnn a short time ago. you'll hear what she said about politics and golf. all energy development comes with some risk, but proven technologies allow natural gas producers to supply affordable, cleaner energy, while protecting our environment. across america, these technologies protect air - by monitoring air quality and reducing emissions... ...protect water - through conservation and self-contained recycling systems...

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back here live. we're at the cnn grill in tampa, florida. steps away from the forum. the nucleus of all things republican national convention. good to be here talking politics and specifically all eyes tonight as we're awaiting the big pitch, the big political pitch of paul ryan's life. before the congress of wisconsin

spea speaks, we'll hear from condoleezza rice. the former secretary of state from the bush administration. bush two. hers is a voice on foreign affairs the republicans very much so still listen to. big, big get here. my colleague hala spoke to secretary rice ahead of her big speech. i'll bring hala in directly. i want to play this first bit of sound. this is secretary rice talking specifically on the war in syria. >> what would you do differently with the obama administration is doing now? >> i think we wasted a lot of time in the security council. russia and china were never going to go along with an international response. i'm sorry that the mission of kofi anan died. the united states needs to help rally the regional powers to put

together a political framework. >> military intervention? >> for a political framework. for a post-assad regime and help vet and arm the opposition so somebody can stop the slaughter of the syrian people. people say if you arm the opposition it might get worse. look at what assad is doing. >> what's the timeframe for that? >> if we've been doing this for the last year maybe we'd be done by now. >> hala gorani. good to see you. she said the u.s. wasted too much time in the security council. does that then assume that the current administration is perhaps not working on other options, other venues? >> she's going to be critical of the obama's administration saying too much time has been wasted. what she said was if last year we started identifying

opposition groups at the united states and other western countries -- >> this has been going on 18, 19 months. >> this is her approach to the situation. i said look, that's hindsight. what do you suggest be done? >> look at opposition groups, rebel groups, vet them and arm them. when i said should the united states arm rebels, this is a big step in the u.s. decides to do this. >> what did she say? >> she said the united states should participate. >> define participate? >> i don't know what it means exactly. it would mean work with allies. it would mean arming rebels with perhaps nonlethal capability which we understand is happening now. it could mean working in coordination with turkish authority. it could mean many things. it approach is to be more

hawkish than she says the obama administration is. >> let's move on. >> as president obama said, i have a military option and i am not afraid to use it. the iranians need to hear that loud and clear and not with all the chatter that then sometimes one hears. it would be so difficult and this and that. the iranians need to hear there is a military option and the united states will use it. >> will a president of mitt romney be more action? >> i'm not going to speculate on that. i just know that the united states of america is ultimately the guarantor here for security in the middle east and that means that iran cannot be allowed to get a nuclear weapon. >> do you think america is losing some of its credibility, some of its superpower status in regions in the middle east?

if so, wh >> i think this is a time people are questioning leadership. where does america se been pretr voice there is a hope if we werf quter people would join us. that doesn't seeto be the case. ing to china as his first gy stop. when has that been the case? we need to deal with our problems here at home if we're going to be strong enough to lead abroad. >> now. hala, some may argue a more muted approach would have been favorable under the administration you worked. >> i think many things have chan since the time of second bush administration in the middle east. this is really the region i was

discussing with condoleezza rice. there's been the arab spring. condoleezza rice told me as you heard there that president morsi of egypt, his first big trip is to china. not the united states. this is something she is saying is a shame. the united states should be more out front, more out there in the region and shouldn't be as muted as it is under the obama administration. one of the things i did hear them say is a more muted american foreign policy is not a bad thing. >> interesting. can we talk golf? >> sure. you're a working on. it are you working on it? >> no. >>inly breaking this barrier. you asked her about at. roll this.

>> you made history as the first wo alongside anoer very accomplished woman to join an al club. this is a historic thing. what did you make of that? >> the augusta membership does things on its own time and that's the way private clubs operate. i'm honored that the members would like me to be one among their number. i'm looking forward to playing golf there. it's one of the most beautiful places in the world >> y hed peopleay it's a bit condescendsing and some have said this will benize women. they're not going open their doors wide. >> august is privateclubnd chooses its members. i think we're very pleased to be there. >> who will be your first guest >> i haven't decided that but i

have a longli >> a womanhopeful. >> i hope so. >> i love that you asked if a woman would be her first g and you gave her my phone number. >> of co did. >> naturally. >> others are sg it's a bit con condoscending. condoleezza rice said she's proud alongside the other very accomplished woman and she's going to work on her game. >> that will be the day when we see them in those green jackets. thank you so much. back to the huge story. high moving water. the rescue crews doing their

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call... to switch, and you could save hundreds. liberty mutual insurance -- responsibility. what's your policy? i want to get a quick update for you at the bottom of the hour as hurricane isaac is sitting there barely moving. ten inches of rain has fallen in new orleans. talk to me about where the center of the storm is. isn't baton rouge getting slammed next? >> absolutely. everybody is focusing on new orleans, new orleans but baton rouge is going toet slammed. there's giant trees that will ese

winds. even though you think the eye of the center is on land, there's not that much land. this is going to get right into baton rouge. this is as clos as it's going to get from new orleans. as the storm moves to the north, re goi to get less and less wind. od news. is a big, big outerbd.here. these cells are spinning. we talk about the potential for tornadoes in hurricanes. that's what the potential is today. you'll hear tornado sirens in that area for sure. could be a dozen or more tornadoes in mississippi today because of these cells as they come on shore. kind of like water spouts. they're not kansas, texas size tornadoes but they can still do damage. brooke. >> still not something you want to deal with when dealing with all this water. just heads up for all of you

watching. we will be talking to a reporter there on the ground next hour. stay tuned for that. we have the whole gulf coast covered for you. now this. talking politics here in tampa is a huge, huge night. i don't thk i can underscore that anymore for congressman paul ryan. the biggest night of his political career thus far. he takes center stage at the forum not to far from me here to accept the nomination as mitt romney's running mate and no pressure. the congressman from wisconsin needs to make this speech his rock star moment. john ablon and his wife. let's talk about this. daily beast article. paul ryan introduces himself to america. tonight's speech is the

equivalent of his major label debut after a series of independent albums. >> i'm glad you lik this. this is the big thing. this really isan introduction. paul ryan is ved an conservative circles. he's never run outside his wisconsin congressional district. he's a great communicator. he knows,0 how to take a conservative message and make it echo at home. one other secret weapon. he's writing the speech himself and he's a former speech writer. former speech writer for jack kemp. >> i hear he's pretty hands on. can you tell me a bit about the two people who will are helping him. one of whom very instrumental,

sarah palin. >> matt was the writer of the palin speech. >> there's a couple of people i know who is helping him. he's a speech writer himself. what i love about paul ryan and one of the things you should look for is he has an ability to anticipate what the criticisms will be and address them in the speech. he knowsu he's goin accused of tactics of ds security akingndac away at programs. >> he's got some tough questions nswerp. >> as he makes his case, he save theroem the people who need government the most are going to be hurt the worst. he has awaof making case and really channels what conservatisay ranking conservasm. chng articulating it and ng the still being connectible. >> as you point out, this is

really the first time we've seen a president hopeful out source his plans to a vice president. is that really a good thing for mitt romney? >> it's a fascinating dynamic. you pick paul ryan. you own the ryan plan. he's opinion rewarding his. it is the first time. this was a policy free presidential campaign until paul ryan came around. >> i'm shaking my head because i do disagree. the romney plan is not the ryan plan. paul ryan said i did any budget. now i'm running on the romney plan. this is not about the romney-ryan plan. >> it just lacks numbers. that's the only number. >> i fully appreciate that but paul ryan has gone on campaign they have changed the context and tone of the debate on medicare. the polling numbers on medicare come out and they are very

different. you don't have seniors scared they would take away their medicare like a year ago. >> i know there are a lot of big questions. we'll pose game tomorrow. >> absolutely. waiting in the wings is the man who officially nominated paul ryan. his friend of more than 20 years. we'll take you live to the convention floor. we'll meet this man and see what he has to say with our dana bash, next. [ owner ] i need to expand

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congressman's paul ryan steve king put ryan's name in for nomination. ryan has known king for more than 20 years. in fact, ryan was an envepe stuffer on king's senate campaign in wisconsin. this was back in 1988. dana bash joins me live here in tampa with republican delegate steve king. introduce us to mr. king, the man who paul ryan, i'm quoting, first leader of his generation. can you have him explain that for us. >> they decided this is a good time to test the drums at the convention. thank you very much for joining us. the fact you have said that you believe he is one of the greatest leaders of his generation. why is that? >> well, by virtue of the fact that mitt romney chose him to be

so. he is 42 years old. he's a lot younger than the incumbent president. heist of another generation. he's running for vice president. he's become the political leader of his generation. >> you have a special knowledge or insight. you knew him way, way before mitt romney chose him. tell us something about paul ryan that we might not know in all the information we've gotten in this few weeks since he's been on the national trail. >> when i first began to talk to paul in 1997, he was 27 years old about running for the united states congress for the first time. it struck me what a man of big ideas he was even at that young age. in talking about those ideas it was also clear to me he had the courage of his convictions. he's a man that's mature well beyond his years. he gets it. i think he's prepared to not only, the biggest thing that happened to me in this whole

thing is that mitt romney chose him. i did not think he would choose him. >> why not? >> because i thought he maybe thought he was too young and he had been out front with his bold ideas. here is man not afraid to tell the truth even when others choose to ignore it. >> one last question before i let you go. can you give us a little preview of what we expect to hear from paul ryan in his big speech? >> it will be a bit of personal background but not a lot. he'll talk about what he seeings as the issue of this campaign. >> thank you so much. thanks for joining us. a little bit of insight into the man we're going to be hearing from tonight. that was good homework that you did knowing about the stepping. good stuff. >> well, you know. we do what we can. i really commend both of you for doing that through the drum

beat. thank you. an extra thank you. make sure you tune in tonight for cnn primetime coverage hopefully sans drumming. wolf blitzer will be setting the stage and during the 10:00 p.m. hour paul ryan will address the delegates there on the floor and all around inside the forum. at midnight piers morgan will wrap up the night's events. we hope you join us. four feet deep and still rising. this is the scene from gulf port, mississippi as hurricane isaac stalls. we're now getting word highway 90, this huge coastal road has washed out. we will take you there, next.

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states. you have out of power in louisiana, arkansas, mississippi and alabama. we are just getting word this major coastal highway for this region is washed out. john is there. he joins me by phone from gulf port, mississippi with the latest on highway 90. what part of it is closed? >> it's hard to tell how much is closed. you can just drive a short distance about a mile from the hotel where we were at. it was completely under water. the westbound lane is a bit elevated and at the water. it's an incredible sight to watch. the entire gulf of mexico rose up with the high tide and with the on shore flow. it's consumed all of the beach.

it's right up to the seawall and flashing over on the highway 90. there were timbers that looked like railroads timbers on the roadway. the sand was covering the entire roadway. the water coming up and at one point as we stepped up on the higher ground which is the westbound lanes of 90, the water was covering that as well and continuing to rise on both sides of the highway. we had to go around back inland to get over to the hotel area which is a bit of higher ground. the wave action just coming over the top of the seawall and inendating portions of the road. we know westbound furt west we've been told it's even worse there when you get into past wave land, bay st. louis and more of highway 90 enindated

there. i'm looking now at an oak tree that has snapped off. we had winds in all directions. chad was mentioning about the t t tornadic activity. we were getting hit in every direction. brooke. >> he was mentioning several pop up tornadoes. please, stay safe. we can tell the water was up to your calves and much higher. we showed a bunch of pictures. they are sent to us from you. if you are feeli ining the effe of isaac please share and do so in a safe location. your photo, video experiences

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what it must be like when running up stair s a form of rescue. >> it's horrible. everybody house is gone.

nobody got a house. nobody. >> how high is the water? >> the water is almost over my head. >> look at this. our affiliate wwl reports that the people you just heard either got help or able to let rescue teams know of their location. much more of our coverage after this. our abundant natural gas is already saving us money, producing cleaner electricity, putting us to work here in america and supporting wind and solar. though all energy development comes with some risk, we're committed to safely and responsibly producing natural gas. it's not a dream. america's natural gas... putting us in control of our energy future, now. ♪ i can do anything ♪ i can do anything today ♪ i can go anywhere

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