♪ ♪ hello and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the united states and around the world. i am rosemary church and we are following breaking news on hurricane ida. the monster storm is slowly moving north through louisiana, leaving behind widespread damage, power outages and life threatening floods. ida made landfall sunday as one

of the strongest storms ever to hit the state. now one of the concerns is how well the state's levies will hold up. one levy has failed leading to flash flooding. and this is what it looked like when this deadly storm moveda, shore. the storm surge and winds were so strong it partially reversed the flow of the mississippi river, something experts say is extremely uncommon. right now all of orleans parish, including the city of new orleans is without power. state wide more than a million homes and businesses have no electricity and at least one person has died so far. people that evacuated are staying in shelters and many decided to ride it out at home

and the louisiana governor says rescue efforts will begin soon. >> we are better prepared now. but when you have mother nature throw at you a storm this strong with the surge, wind, rain we are talking about with hurricane ida, there will be devastating impacts. we have to do everything that we can to save lives in the immediate response. we will get to the property repairs later. but for several days we will be engaged in search and rescues. primary and secondary searches and we will be in it for the long haul. the people of louisiana are good and resilient people and we are going to get through this. >> very positive words there. let's turn to our meteorologist who joins us now for more on what to expect in the coming hours. even though hurricane ida has been downgraded to a category 1, the damage has been immense and

extensive. we have yet to see the full impact once sun comes up. >> exactly. already seeing reports where a levy has failed across southern portions of louisiana, 12 hours after the storm moved out of the region. the scope of the damage is beginning to be realized. at least a dozen fires being reported. i am seeing a video where water covered a lot of the roadways and officials are not able to get to some of the fires because of the inclement weather and the lack of water pressure. this is go to continue with the amount of damage left in place. the system crossing into the state of mississippi. notice the radar estimated

rainfall totals, near the top of the charts. pink contours, in excess of 12 inches. again, you look at the levy system here, you know the levy system expands quite a bit. but in the state of louisiana, there are 293 levy systems spanning 3,200 miles worth of levies that protect the state. you put that in new york city, stretch it to los angeles and it speaks to the amount of coverage and the protection set in place to try to protect the city against hurricane driven storm surge and floods. but the intensity is causing levy failures. one of them right here. winds were 150 miles per hour at

landfall. gusts, observed here at 153 miles per hour. the wind measuring device stopped reporting at 148 miles per hour. these are historic values on back-to-back years. hurricane laura this time last year came ashore with 150 miles per hour in the state. incredible scenario playing out. >> yeah. just extraordinary. pedram, many thanks. now to derek van dam on the phone with me from homer, louisiana, near where the storm made landfall. i know we had trouble getting your signal up. you have been in louisiana since ida hit as a category 4. how bad has it been? >> rosemary, you can imagine

communications are virtually impossible here. we took a direct hit in homa, louisiana. you are looking at southeastern louisiana. the eye wall went directly over us. i don't know how else to say it but it was a nightmare and unfolded in front of our eyes. it was a relentless never ending fury of category 4 winds. we thought we would go into the center of the storm. pedram talked about that, the eye of the storm. we did not get that. the storm moved to our north and east so it kept us in the eye wall of the hurricane for the entire duration. it was like taking winds an ef3 tornado, 136 to 160 miles per

hour over a large area for a long period of time, three, four, five hours. my producers rooms were shaking. we are in a heavily reinforced concrete building that was built post-katrina. it was about 13 years old. that is post-katrina. it can different hurricane specifications it was built to withstand and it was still shaking. at the moment we are hearing the hum of generators. we don't have electricity. helicopters are flying around the area. the only cars we have seen are emergency vehicles, and that has been very few. the emergency operations center completely down in st. charles failure. i know we have been discussing the levee failures but the

immediate evacuation needs to be heeded and taken extremely serious. situation without power in new orleans at the moment will be catastrophic. the potential for this could last for days if not weeks and it is real. let me tell you, that is hugely impactful. not only the storm but the severe weather last week that knocked out power to my home for four days. that seems like a minimal amount of time. it is hugely impactful. you start talking about where you cool yourself when the temperatures get hot. one of the more hotter, humid cities. that will be a very big consideration. we have also got reports of local affiliate for cnn that had damage to their buildings in new orleans. there is so much to report on. we are going to see the extent of the damage once we get first light in a couple of hours. >> just a few hours from

sunrise, and of course the first point of call will be search and rescue. we are hearing terrifying stories about people caught in attics and other rooms in their homes. the water is rising. i mean that is a really terrifying situation for those people. but really they can't expect any help for a few hours yet. >> yeah. rosemary, it is hard to fathom the scope of the storm. because what we experienced at our particular location in homa, louisiana was a catastrophic wind event. but what others are facing is a flood and surge event. so, you can imagine both of those rescue operations are going to have their own complexities behind them. we are certainly dealing with heavy wind damage where i am located.

>> thank you so much for your reporting. the one death that has been confirmed from ida was in the baton rouge area. more now on the danger from ida's heavy rain and powerful winds. >> reporter: hurricane ida continues to pushes it way north. it is now finding itself between baton rouge where we are and new orleans. and there are dozens of low-lying communities in these areas that are going to be spending a long night. these are low-lying communities, very susceptible to flooding. we spent the day traveling through many of the communities talking to people and trying to figure out how they were preparing for the moment. many folks said they were planning on waiting out the storm in their homes and then getting ready to pack up their belongings and escape once the floodwaters started in the next day or so. as the storm passes to the north and the rain continues to fall.

the water needs somewhere to go and it will rush back south through a lot of these low-lying communities. the residents said they have not experienced a storm of this magnitude so strong this far inland. a lot of the storms lose much of the strength by the time it moves inland but others are extremely worried about the wind damage that the storm can bring. many were saying they were worried about trees collapsing on to their homes. the storms that pass in the darkness add another terrifying level to a horrible experience.

>> for the latest on the conditions let's turn to the fleet captain for the volunteer rescue group cajun navy. thank you so much for talking with us captain. >> yes, ma'am. >> what are you able to tell us about conditions right now in baton rouge, and what are your concerns and challenges in the hour ahead? >> conditions are better than i antic anticipated. the storm moved east and kind of saved a lot of baton rouge, i think. it is much better than i anticipated. still pretty strong. but that is going to probably be the big thing i want to get out of here and start to help others that were more affected than we

have been. trying to get around the trees and the power lines and things like that. >> you are very lucky to be sitting there with your power. of course the residents were told to evacuate the area but some did not. they will need to be rescued in the morning. that is part of your task ahead. how do you decide who to go to first and what is the whole process involved with rescue operations and how you work in with other groups that are doing the same? >> i have my teams ready and on stand by and i just monitor or we monitor where the storm is coming and what is being affected. we figured out quickly on where we will be needed most just by people reaching out there and asking for our help. from there we see what areas we might be able to get to and where others are helping as well so that we can best concentrate where we are going to be going. and from there we start to

compile the list of addresses and things like that we get and requests and team up with local authorities and kind of compare notes and work with those dies to best assist them and make us an asset. just work with law enforcement and things like that and go from there. >> the nightmare story that we have been hearing, just awful, people caught in attics or part of their home where the water level is rising that is a devastating situation. then will have to wait hours and powers before someone helps them. what happens when you confront a situation like that? >> it is pretty tough getting calls from family members trapped in their homes. the first floor, second floor, attics and crawl spaces and things like that.

it is tough to tell them i will put the address down but i won't go right now. i could be a problem and need to be rescued myself. it is tough but once we get out there with the conditions, i don't know. it becomes like a second nature and first person you come to, that is who we start rescuing and send out everybody we have and get to as many people quickly and safely as possible. >> how prepared do you think people in baton rouge were for this and what do you expect to find at daybreak? >> i think people were somewhat prepared after how bad laura was. they were somewhat cautious on this one, maybe more so than other storms. i know a lot of people left. i think people took it pretty

seriously this time. at least in baton rouge. there are always going to be people that stay. some you can't fault. some don't have the resources to go anywhere and that is the situation and this is the result. >> that is an important point. thank you so much for talking with us and do take care when you start your rescue operations in just a matter of hours. appreciate talking with you. >> yes, ma'am. first thing at daylight we will be out there. >> absolutely. thank you so much. we are tracking breaking news out of kabul. one day before the u.s. is set to meet the withdrawal deadline, the latest report next. we will go inside operations at ramstein air base in germany which turned into a temporary home for thousands of afghan evacuees hoping for a new life in the united states. we are back in a moment. with barely a bobble.

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since making landfall in louisiana it has killed at least one person and left more than a million homes and businesses without power. it has flooded home, ripped off roofs. they are gathering data helping forecasters know what is going on with the storm in real time. as president biden explains the gulf region needs every resource available right now. >> the storm is a life threatening storm. governor edwards, an old friend, categorized it as one of the strongest hurricanes in louisiana history, since 1850. devastation is likely to be immense. we should not kid ourselves. >> and the white house says president joe biden has been

briefed after a rocket attack at the kabul airport. as many as five rockets were fired but no casualties were reported. video shows the vehicle used as a launcher in flames on the street in the afghan capital. this is a week after an air strike took out an imminent threat to the airport. a u.s. official says the vehicle targeted contained at least one suicide bombers and secondary explosions might have caused civilian casualties. we are following developments from hong kong. what more are you learning about the five rockets fired at the kabul airport? >> reporter: you showed pictures of the vehicle on fire which this was improvised rocket

launcher. it had the launcher in the back of the trunk of the sedan and fired the rockets around 6:45 -- a rocket defense system. these rockets did not reach their targets. one of the rockets ended up in a civilian area outside of someone's home. we are not getting reports of casualties at this stage. but obviously as you said president biden has been briefed. he has called on his commanders to double down on efforts to ensure the safety of the u.s. troops remaining at the airport and is hoping that there are no further incidents as they wrap up the draw down. there are no more afghans being evacuated. we are learning perhaps no more

americans. american citizens being evacuated as well. this is purely a military mission now. as u.s. forces on the ground wrap up what is the end of america's 20-year war in afghanistan. rosemary. >> the u.s. military says a secondary explosion after a u.s. strike against an imminent isis-k threat may have caused more civilian casualties. >> we are getting reports nine civilians were killed in that attack. obviously the pentagon said it was an imminent threat on the airport. remember too that this comes days after the horrific attack outside of the airport where an isis-k suicide bomber blew himself up killing more than 180

people including 13 u.s. service members. so the pentagon is saying this was another threat. they were warning of it for days. but with the drone strike, more than 1,000 miles away. this is also the future of american warfare in afghanistan. that by taking out their car and as you said, at least one of the people in the car had a suicide vest. there are reports it could have been as many as three with suicide vests that the explosives then hit another vehicle where nine members were killed, including six children. >> that is tragic. appreciate it. well, the first group of afghan evacuees to arrive in kosovo landed on sunday. more than 100 people, mostly women and children could be seen on the tarmac. kosovo agreed to accept 2,000 afghan evacuees awaiting

relocation to the u.s. they will be housed near a u.s. army base. tens of thousands of evacuees have passed through ramstein air base in germany over the last few weeks as they wait for the next step in their journey. hurricane ida has cut power throughout new orleans, and while the levees there are holding the same cannot be said in other parts of louisiana. we will have the latest on the storm when we come back in a moment. facts.simple there's only one true lysol. lysol. what it takes to protect.

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hurricane ida is slowly makings it way north through louisiana leaving widespread destruction behind. the storm may be weakening but flash flooding now is one of the most pressing concerns. at least two towns reported levee failures and across the state more than a million homes and businesses are without power. and there is no telling when it will be restored. >> reporter: as we headed into the overnight hours from sunday into monday, all of new orleans was plunged into darkness. we are here on bourbon street. it is very dark out here. the only reason you can see light is our photo journalist is throwing a light on that house there from an independent power source. there are lights on in a taller building behind it. the only buildings with any power in new orleans are running on generator power, presenting

another possible danger here because according to louisiana state officials last year when hurricane laura came through here of the 25 deaths recorded from hurricane laura, nine of them were due to carbon monoxide poisoning from people misusing their generators and operating them in a dangerous way and not following the manufacturer's rmrmz -- recommendations. people are being warned as we get into darkness here in new orleans. that is also, you know, putting another point of danger. because it is hard to see any water levels rising. we do know there was a flash flood emergency issued for 20 different areas of new orleans in the south shore area. people were asked to seek higher ground late on sunday night. the levees and the flood gates seem to be holding.

this wasn't an issue of storm surging causing flooding, just relentless rainfall that is causing flooding in some areas. good news according to the flood risk and management authority here in new orleans, the flood and surge gates are holding. the levees which have been heavily fortified since hurricane katrina, making them taller and extending them further out. those have been holding and they are expected to hold indefinitely and will be able to ride out the storm. but power outages throughout the storm and throughout the state of louisiana. crews will start to fan out to assess damage and to see when and where they can restore power to some of the areas including the whole city of new orleans. brian todd, cnn, new orleans joining me now on the phone is a

new orleans city councilman. thank you sir for talking with us. >> thank you. >> talk to us about the power. we understand it is completely out across new orleans. those lucky enough to have generators relying on them for power. but how long do you think that it will take to restore electricity across the city once morning comes and in the days and the weeks ahead? >> we just got off of the phone with the energy provider not too long ago. they told us essentially they don't know the answer. there are eight transmission lines that are down. they fell in events throughout the day and apparently earlier in the evening a number of them all went down at the same time. so, it became for a lack of a better term a perfect storm of events. because of the inclement

weather, the high winds and the rain, the energy company didn't feel it was in their best interest. trying not to make the situation worse. they are hoping some of the lines can be restored in shorter order, and then advising us that maybe it will be a few days but it could be a matter of weeks. we are crossing our fingers and hope things move as quickly as possible and soon as the rain and the wind abates and we have a better sense of what the damage is. >> the people that is using generators, the big fear is carbon monoxide poisoning. how are you making sure people are careful and has their been an effort to educate the public about the dangers involved? >> that is a great question. the answer is yes. i have to give the local media

outlets a great deal of credit about that. they reemphasized and almost did psas throughout the day about it. i was watching one of them and they specifically said there were more deaths in one of the recent hurricanes post-storm than pre-storm. you are 100% right. we want to make sure people are using their equipment safely. the last thing we want is having people lose it because they are trying to maintain their power. i prappreciate the fact you are asking the question. >> absolutely. councilman, what are you expecting to find across new orleans when the sun comes up in a few hours, and how extensive do you think that the damage will likely be? your first challenge will be search and rescue. >> that will be the first thing so far, knock on wood, we have

not heard too much about search and rescue. as the hours are passing, the reports are that the winds here will start dying down at 8:00 a.m. they expect those are the sustained winds and the rain throughout the night. the best case scenario is by noonish tomorrow that you start to get to a point where things should really be in much better position. what we are going to do is to throughout our district from top to bottom and substantiate live tweeting and letting the neighborhood leaders know what we are seeing and finding. we are hearing about downed tree limbs, trees, roofs and as we look in the morning, we know it has been a significant wind event but it hasn't been so bad people have lost too much property or hopefully nobody else is hurt. >> the horror and the irony of

the story is that hurricane ida comes on the 16th anniversary of hurricane katrina. how does it make you and others feel as you tackle this? >> it is extraordinarily hard. a couple of extraordinary things are rolled into this. the first is that obviously not only the anniversary but so many of us evacuated for katrina were thinking we are going to pack our bags and we will be home tomorrow and the levees broke and you were not able to return. a lot of people are watching to make sure they are able to come back. the levees are built much stronger.

hurricane season causes anxiety. you know you are going to be without power and will have to spend the extra money on the resources. it can be a challenge. we want to make sure that as we emerge from this we make the challenge as easy as possible. thank you so much for talking with us and do take care. >> thank you. >> well, the bodies of u.s. service members killed in afghanistan returned home on sunday and in kabul their camrades return to finish the mission. a live report from washington next. . gigi: pinky and rocky. simi: there was an uprising in poland. david: and then the family broke apart. michael: they scattered around in different places. gigi: they worked hard. simi: and built new lives. michael: but rocky and pinky's families didn't see each other again...

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dignified transfer in delaware sunday. this was his first time watching the return of fallen u.s. troops since becoming commander in chief. the deadline for u.s. troops to leave afghanistan is tomorrow. while mr. biden faces fierce criticism for his handling of the withdrawal. cnn white house reporter jasmine wright is joining us now live from washington. good to see you jasmine. it was a dignified but tragic transfer for the loved ones of the 13 u.s. service members, and with one day to go before the evacuation mission ends, president biden has tense hours ahead of him. what is the latest on the mood at the white house right now? >> reporter: well, it was a solemn day on sunday, rosemary. we just saw president biden reacting with sadness and annish. you could tell in his movements as he stood for the first time as commander in chief for that

dignified transfer. we saw him with has hand over his heart, sometimes closing his eyes as the service members walked down with the transferred cases. we saw him really react solemnly. you know, the solemnness and anguish that you see rosemary is something that permeated around the white house ever since thursday when we first learned of the attack that killed 13 u.s. service members along with scores of others and it is that reason president biden is so stuck to that withdrawal date. he does not want to see more u.s. service members return to the u.s. in those transfer cases. but you are right. this was a sad day. and we know, really, that this is the first time that he has presided over there or attended this as president. we know he went at least once as

vice president in the last few years. but this is really a moment of reflection for him as the country barrels towards the august 31st date that comes tomorrow when he has designated the crawl date. rosemary. thaunk you so much. joining me now is cnn political analyst and a national politics reporter for the "washington post." thank you so much for being with us. >> great to be here. >> so, the challenges facing president biden right now are immense. the pandemic. the deadly withdrawal from afghanistan, hurricane ida, resulting in biden's plunging approval ratings and perhaps putting his leadership in jeopardy. how likely is it going to be to recover? >> it has been an incredibly difficult summer for president biden. he expected it to be a victory lap over infrastructure and all

of his domestic legislation, a resurgence of covid, what is happening in afghanistan and now has a hurricane to deal with as well as a number of international crises. and his poll numbers are going down. and it is really difficult not only to get out of one crisis but multiple crises at the same time and he faces a very big uphill battle. just a few months ago seemed to be going well with his organization. >> how bad can it prove for biden in the 2022 midterms or could his fortunes could be turned around after the u.s. is out of afghanistan, the pandemic is in the rearview mirror. >> the best thing he has going for him is there is a lot of time. the american public has a short attention span and changes it mind quickly when thininin chan. he has time to get it back together but it is always

difficult for incumbent presidents when it comes to the first midterms. there is a tradition of them losing dozens of seats in the house and control of congress. but he has time on his side if he can get things better and show it is the worst of it and things will only be getting better from here and covid gets better and things like hurricanes are no longer a part of the picture. he might be able to convince americans in 2022 things are not as bad as they were before. that could be his best shot at getting a political backing going not only 2022 and his own re-election two years later. >> and we know of course that the american public, they really did want the united states out of afghanistan. nobody expected isis-k would attack in the way they have and u.s. casualties as a result. what do polls reveal in terms of

what people might be voting for by the midterms and how reliable are numbers like that this far out? >> the american people were ready to leave afghanistan. they were not ready to leave the way that we left in which there was a lot of chaos around the airport and now a terrorist attack leading to the death of several u.s. service members. that is something difficult for biden to explain away, not only leaving but leaving the way that the exit has gone. it has been a very difficult thing for him politically. americans are showing they are not happy with the embarrassment of the chaos of the exit. americans still want troops out of afghanistan. biden could say i was the successful president that ended the war and got our american troops home. i expect to be hearing a lot about the that over the next couple of years. he will talk about the president

that finally did what others were not able to do. end the war and get the u.s. out of afghanistan and move on away from the wars in the middle east that have been so soured on by the american public. >> president biden started his term well, then along came the delta variant and the anti-vaxers made his task a lot harder. do people blame biden when the problems with covid or do they understand the challenges? >> there is a small segment of the public that blames biden for what is happening with covid. the vast majority see the biden administration did their job in terms of getting the vaccine across the country and making it available and accessible to people. convincing people to take it has been a different story. the majority of americans have taken the vaccine but there are

a large portion that don't want the vaccine. for the most part americans realize it is a situation where biden and the biden administration made the vaccine accessible and have made people convinced they need to take the vaccine. a lot of americans say there is a personal responsibility. you can lead a cow to water but can't make them drink. i think biden and his administration has done the job, getting people to be convinced to take it that will make it harder for him to put covid, the virus and the pandemic in the rearview mirror as he wanted to do. >> thank you so much. always good to get your perspective. >> thank you. well, conditions remain extremely dangerous as hurricane ida tears through louisiana.

a look back at the initial impact on the united states when we return.

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you can hear the howling wind and the rushing water as hurricane ida pummels louisiana. in parts of the state roads are impassable and hospitals damaged and some parishs are without drinking water. it is early morning in louisiana right now. those affected by hurricane ida are anxiously waiting for the sun to rise so that they can see the true extent of the storm's destruction. here is the impact the hurricane made in the first hours after making landfall. >> we have breaking news on hurricane ida. the extremely dangerous storm just made landfall moments ago as a category 4 storm with 150 miles per hour winds. >> my weather vane registered

160 miles per hour winds and then it broke. >> it feels like someone with giant hands took the wind and the water behind me and pushing it towards the city of new orleans. >> this is the time to stay inside. do not venture out. >> there is flying debris all over the place. you will see my eyes dart back and forth. >> you can see the bands of wind and rain that steadily have been coming through here and it makes it very difficult to stand up. >> just wow. >> let the visuals play out. the reason i can stand here is only because of the concrete wall to my left. >> you have to be prepared to stay for the first 72 hours on your own. nobody should be expecting that tonight a first responder is going to be able to answer a call for help.

>> we are praying for the best and planning and preparing for the worse. soon as the storm passes we are going to put the country's full might behind the rescue and recovery effort. >> and for more information on how you can help those affected by hurricane ida, go to cnn.com/impact. you will find a list of verified organizations already making a difference. thank you so much for your company. i am rosemary church. our breaking news coverage of hurricane ida continues. stay with us.

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good morning everyone. welcome to our viewers in the united states and around the world. this is "early start." i'm laura jarrett. >> i'm christine romans. it's 4:00 a.m. in new york. ida a category 1 hurricane. this hour we have the first reported fatal they and more than a million without power as ida slows to a near stand still over louisiana. the storm making