down in new orleans, and anderson cooper is live there with hurricane isaac. anderson, back to you. >> piers, thank you very much. i'm here with meteorologist rob marciano and for folks who are not tuned into this carefully what we are looking at for the next couple of hours. >> we are looking at a hurricane that made one looking at a hur one of the southern most spots and it's over water and it's about to make second landfall. new orleans on the north side of this, that's the worst side. that's why we've been hit with these sheets of heavy, heavy rainfall and gusts up to 60 miles per hour. with that, over 2,000 people without power. >> chad, in terms of the big picture, over the next eight hours here in new orleans, until 8:00 a.m., i think you were saying before, what are we looking for? >> on and off, exactly what you

are feeling right now. when a rain band comes over your area, whether it's over biloxi or mobile, when the rain stops, the wind literally stops as well. the eye will travel to the north and to the west, probably right over baton rouge, to the west of new orleans. that's a bad thing for new orleans because that puts new orleans on the forward side of the eye. you get the movement of the storm, although it's slow, but you get the rain bands filling up new orleans. i just checked, new orleans proper has had 3 inches of rainfall since it started and that was maybe three hours ago. so about an inch an hour or so. there's new orleans, the port of new orleans right there where you are. the heavy band will probably end in the next 15 minutes but there are more -- many, many more bands rotating around the center

with their eye on you, anderson. >> chad is saying many more bands of rain expected. this one is going to end in about 15 minutes or so. chad, are you still expecting 15, 20 inches of rain here? >> i absolutely do. i even have a scarier number for you. this is a map that is kind of difficult to look at. a lot of colors here. let me draw it out for you. here is new orleans proper and as it moves ahead, we have all of this rain down here across parts of the delta. shawn, go ahead and move that. nope. i guess that's not going to happen. we will absolutely get at least 20 to 25 inches now of rain in the mississippi delta. >> wow. >> yeah, it's just incredible because the storm simply is not moving. i knew it would move. just have to kick it. new orleans to slidell all the way up to alexandria, that's ten inches plus in that entire area right there. ten inches covering almost the

entire state of louisiana and all of that water has to go somewhere. it will clearly cause flooding. >> i want to go to ed lavandera in grand island in a moment but, chad, when are you anticipating it to hit grand isle? >> the center of the eye has not made landfall yet so we're not quite there with the eddie lavandera live shot. it's a very, very large eye. you can talk to rob about what that means. the eye, probably 60 miles around which means there's not anything going on in the middle here. there's no rain, there's no wind, and maybe you can even see the sky. you might be able to see the stars and the moves. but as this eye gets smaller and smaller and smaller, the winds will pick up as well. this storm, just now an 80-mile-per hour storm, we call this land but there's not much land there. there's more bayou.

it's not going to slow down at all. >> ed lavandera now. you just lost anderson with some of the rain bands. eddie, you are in the eye. how many eyes have you been in in your lifetime? >> reporter: a handful. and i tell you what, after the long evening that we've had here today, chad, seeing the stars and the moon perhaps would be a very welcome sight. you know, the home that we're inside and have been hunkered down in, the watat doesn't mean the water hasn't been swirling all around us. it's starting to come up. if you look there at the house, you'll see a couple of lines of

bricks and then where the siding of the home starts. water right where we're standing over is the garage to the house which is already taking in water. if that water reaches up to that siding, then the house on the ground level starts taking in water. when we were at the peak of this storm just a short while ago, that water was starting to creep up very close to that siding, which was a little bit disconcerting at this point. we're on the second story so we'll be fine. but that's what we're watching. and now things have sort of settled down. it was amazing to see just how quickly the water was going up. and i'm talking in the matter of about 30 minute the water had gone up about a footwear we are. so we will continue to monitor that as we get closer to this eye, i'm hoping that gives some time for the water to recede or at least stop rising for a little while and then we'll see what the back half of this storm has to bring to the area where we are at. you know, chad, it's just impossible to kind of tell and get a real sense of how much

damage the hurricane here has caused. we know that there's some city officials, we've seen trucks with lights on making passes now that things have settled down a little bit. we have heard reports of roof damage and that sort of thing. it doesn't sound terribly extensive at this point. the storm surge and level around the island is an issue as we wake up tomorrow morning. >> so it came from the bayou? it was actually coming out of the swamp because that's the wind direction you had. now that the wind surge hhas ch you're going to get another surge. >> reporter: yes. you were talking about this a while ago. the angle that the storm was coming across and cutting across the coastline here, the wind came from the north the entire time blowing in everything from the bay.

>> yeah. >> reporter: and that caught a lot of people by surprise here. >> it sure did, eddie. i'm going to let you go. i'm going to let anderson -- i see you standing there getting wet, anderson. it's really blowing where you are. >> reporter: yeah. it sure is. and chad was talking about the eye of this thing being really big. what's the significance of that? >> well, pretty much the m.o. of the storm has been the big circulation and it's downfall, if you were looking for this thing to explode in intensity, the circulation was so broad and once it got closer to land, a little bit of friction helped bring its arms in kind of like a figure cater. i don't know what it looks like on the satellite. it looks like the classic eye because it's not that strong of a thunderstorm but we're just at the fringe of where the hurricane force winds extend, about 60 miles out from the

center. so new or len might not get sustained winds like that but we're getting gusts for sure. >> i think the lights on the bridge just went off. all night -- let's walk over there a little bit if we can. whoa. did you see that? that was a transformer that just blew. but the lights on the bridge over the mississippi here just went off. they have been on. and you could -- i don't even know if you can see that bridge anymore from your vantage point on the tv but i guess half of the bridge lights went off. >> that's a huge span that connects a greater downtown new orleans with the southeastern extent of the city and parishes. sure enough, the lights went

out. >> i talked to some folks about 45 minutes ago, they still had power. so it will be interesting to see how much of new orleans and downtown new orleans has power. last we heard, about 200,000 people without power. >> yes. and we're near the mississippi river which is not going to everytop the levees here. the river itself has been low because we've had this terrible drought. so that's created its own sort of problems. the outflow from the mississippi has been much less and we've seen the river back up much less than it normally would. it's flowing against or upstream. a number of rivers that flow into the gulf of mexico are acting the same way tonight. we have a storm surge pushing into those rivers that is making for the flow that is not allowing them to drain like they should in the gulf of mexico.

>> reporter: the storm is still yet to come. we're going to take a quick break. our coverage continues on the other side of the break. we also want to talk about what this storm means for baton rouge and elsewhere. we'll be right back. [ male announcer ] does your prescription medication give you the burden of constipation?

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hey, welcome back to our continuing coverage of hurricane isaac. i'm anderson cooper in the port area of new orleans. you may remember from the bp oil spill, billy, his house, the roof or at least part of the roof has blown off. he joins us now on the phone. billy, what's going on with your house? >> well, i stopped to change clothes. we were wet from going down river and the couple that was staying there with my fiancee, we have about a two-foot hole into the roof. the back wall of the house actually buckled and the water is coming through the light sockets. i'm gloen away that that sort of

damage from this supposedly category 1 storm, i was just shocked when i stopped there to change clothes and saw the damage that the siding's all off the house and i've got a brick home and to see the water -- to see the wind pushing the water through the wall is just incredible. >> how much water do you think you have in your house now? >> well, it's pouring in through the ceiling. i didn't get up in the attic. there's somebody there trying to patch up the area where it's coming in. but i just stopped to change clothes and had to head up the highway. but the whole front yard is covered with debris and it's very hard to see because the wind and rain is blowing so hard. we've got power poles all over the highway all the way down south. i couldn't make it any further south because we had had reports that the mississippi river was coming over the banks. and it was starting to come over

but it peaked at 7:00, 8:00 and the river will stop dropping. you know, anderson, we had had an historical low river right before this storm arrived. we never dreamed it would push it up the mississippi river and be a foot or two from coming over the banks. >> reporter: even before the storm you had a problem with salt water coming over the n mississippi, right? >> absolutely. to see the water -- this storm pushed that much water up the mississippi river to bring it to the top of the levees, we were worried about our back levees, never dreaming that we would look at the mississippi river, waves washing over this river levee for this type of storm. >> reporter: billy, you've seen a lot of storms. you've been through a lot of

storms. how does this storm compare so far to other storms you've seen? i think we lost billy nungesser. we will try to re-establish contact with him. we have chad myers with us. you heard billy nungesser saying water pouring through his walls like it was a spigot. not clear how much water is actually in his house but he seemed very surprised, given the strength of this storm, to see that much water in his house. >> let me tell you exactly what happened to our friend mr. billy there. there was a squall that came off of an eye that was trying to form south here of the river, the mississippi delta. this is the end of the mississippi. that squall was right there and put down ap a wind gust at an

oil platform of 106.9 miles per hour. that was the wind gust there. and then that cell rotated right in to plaquemines parish. he got hit by cat 2 winds for sure. >> piers morgan is also joining us from tampa. piers? >> anderson, this has really taken over from events here. what is it like -- where you are now, i think i heard you say three inches of rain so far. i think you're expecting 20. how have you seen in the last hour the atmosphere changing around you? >> reporter: and let me bring in rob mars yan know for that. piers morgan is asking how we see the atmosphere changing in

the location that we are in. let's give you a little tour, piers. right now we are under an outdoor patio that's been protecting us from the rain. let's just step outside here for a little bit. and you get a sense of the kind of wind we're seeing. the mississippi river is off to our left. new orleans itself is more -- downtown new orleans, the french quarter is in that direction. in looking at the light, you get a sense of how much water is pouring through here. it's kind of -- because of the buildings, it's kind of a whirlwind created by the various buildings. >> yeah, it does redirect the wind. it ak sell rates it in spots and knocks it down in others. but i can tell you just when you were talking to billy nungesser, the wind was shifting a little bit. the rain that was pouring off the one piece of shelter that our equipment was able to be under, now it feels like it's

coming from this direction as opposed to this direction. to be basic, whether you stand with your back to the wind, you point left, that's where the center of the storm is. we know the storm is moving in that direction towards the south central coastline. >> it's that easy? i didn't know that. >> sometimes it can be that easy. that wind shift tells us that the center of the storm is passing us to our south. we knew this hours ago that we wouldn't get the core, center of the storm. grand isle is getting that. it's good in that we don't think the hurricane-force winds which he can tend 60 miles out or 80, 90 miles from the center, we won't get those sustained hurricane-force winds. the rainfall, my goodness, we're getting that. >> and piers, we've been seeing the transformers blowing in the last 40 minutes or so. more than likely, you know, every time you see that, there's probably more people losing power. the last count we had was more than 200,000 people without power. who knows how many people will be without power by the morning.

>> we're going to take a break. i think the key thing when i come back, anderson, is talk to you, robert, and talk about what the people in new orleans could face over the next few hours and also how the new reinforcements are holding up to what is going to be a bigger and bigger barrage. we're back after this break. 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... ... and protect land - by reducing our footprint and respecting wildlife. america's natural gas... domestic, abundant, clean energy to power our lives... that's smarter power today.

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welcome back to our breaking news coverage of hurricane isaac. you're looking at gulfport mississippi where the rain is beginning to lash very ferociously. the heart of the impact is being felt all over. let's go to rob mars yan know. what can people expect over the

next few hours? how bad is this going to get for the people and i suppose how do you think these reinforcements, which are multibillion reinforcements, are going to hold up to what is now going on? >> reporter: there's no doubt the system that is in place now is better than it's ever been. the levees that were here before were not constructed in some places and we saw failure. it wasn't a matter of the water pouring over the top. it was a matter of the levee actually failing and breaking and the water going through and that's what flooded much of the city. so they poured $10 billion into this system. you know, it hasn't truly been tested with the same power of the storm as a hurricane katrina. this will be a test. there's no doubt about it. but i think it's going to be a long night for people here. there's going to be a lot of people without power. it's going to get very uncomfortable for people. folks here have been through storms before. they know what to expect. they've hunkered down and they

have done what they can to prepare for this. generators, if they have them, have extra gas for the generators. you don't know what is out there in the dark swirling around in the air. the question is, how much water -- where is the flooding going to be from this rain? even if levees -- you know, the levees will likely hold, given the power of the storm but how much water is going to be pouring on the ground? chad myers said 20 to 25 inches in this short amount of time, as rob marciano points out. >> anderson, no one knows better than you do from katrina the total breakdown in authority and inability for people on the ground to know who was in charge and the ability of those in charge to make decisions which are going to help. from what you've seen since you've been back there, do you believe that the authorities have got their act together?

do you get a sense of a proper line of command, people taking the right decisions? what do you feel? >> reporter: well, you know, every disaster is different and, you know, until people are tested with the kind of level of storm they had with katrina, it's hard to compare. certainly the level of leadership that we've seen at all levels, at the local level here, there's a new mayor at the state level, bobby jindal, it's a different story than it was seven years ago. it's a very different city that it was seven years ago and different leadership of the state and government. we're seeing much more organization, a much better flow of information. joint press conferences with the governor and with the mayor. there seems to be, without a doubt, more coordination and perhaps nobody could talk to that than the president of plaquemines parish. i don't know if you can get him

back on the phone but -- >> i've actually got him right now. i'm going to go to him straight away. billy nungesser, you actually lived through katrina. tell me what is happening in your home right now. >> well, my home is seeing the same damage. i actually rode out katrina. i ran for plaquemines president because nobody knew that we were even alive. my home being the same damage, the roof being blown, there's a three-foot hole in my roof. i'm seeing the same type of damage for a category 1 than i saw for that. that's not an indication on the bill spent on levees. for instance, we have over $1 billion that i signed with the colonel of the court last month to stock the levees in our parish. it took that long to get them engineered, designed, and get

right of ways. that work will be done in the next three to five years. we needed time without storms to get them in place, much like what was done in new orleans. >> billy, explain to me what exact legal is happening in terms of the water coming into your house. explain the power and describe actually what is going on with your brick work. you were telling me on the break quite dramatic details about that. >> yeah. the wind -- the gust of wind blowing against the back of my home which sets right above the mississippi river, you can hear the boards cracking and the water -- the wind is blowing the water through the bricks, through the wall, and the light sockets in the wall are spraying you like you had a hose there. and that's what we saw from katrina, that that water -- that wind was pushing that water so hard t. was going through the cracks in the bricks and coming into the home and that's exactly what we're seeing and with every gust of wind, that back wall

moves a foot or so like it was breathing in and out. and we had to completely rebuild after katrina and we're seeing the exact same thing happen for a category one storm. so the winds obviously are a lot higher. >> and tell me, is this the worst storm that you have seen in new orleans since katrina? >> yes, it absolutely is. all of the power lines are down all the way south and we couldn't even make it down to south plaquemines. katrina crossed plaquemin plaquemines parish before it hit new orleans so we're taking the brunt of this storm like we did on that one. >> how do you think the local people are fairing? obviously more warning than last time. do they feel confident in the local, state, and federal authorities that everything has been done that can could be done to protect them?

>> anderson saw after the bp pill, the cooperative effort that we all got together as a team. under all of the hurricanes and this one as well, we have met several times leading up to this storm. we helped each other out parish to parish. we've got a great team effort and that's how we attacked the bp spill and that's how we're attacking these storms. so anderson is exactly right. it is a lot better cooperated spirit among the government officials. >> billy, stay on the line. we have chad myers in our severe weather center. he's going to tell you exactly what is happening in your area. chad, tell billy directly. he's there. he's experiencing this power now, this surging power. what is going on? >> billy b. three hours ago there was a wind gust at a little oil platform just south of plaquemines parish.

the wind gust was 106 miles per hour. you can't believe that what you're seeing is category 1 because what you're seeing is category 2. if that wind gust went over your house in plaquemines parish, that was the direction it was going, not a 75 mile-per-hour wind. this was a big gust from a very large cell right in the center at the time. the storm has now since jogged to the west a little bit and is now going to turn up towards the northwest moving away from plaquemines parish with the north side of the eye wall. piers? >> very dramatic stuff. we're going to take a short break. when we come back, we're going to talk to generous sell.

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you're looking at live pictures from gulfport, mississippi, where hurricane isaac is beginning to lash on land. anderson cooper is live in new orleans. anderson, we just talked to billy nungesser. he's in a home not far from you, clearly feeling the effect. he said it's by far the worst storm they've had their since katrina and he was feeling the same effects on his home from the wind and rain when he was there with katrina. >> yeah. you know, every storm is different. i think chad myers pointed out something important which was that there was a wind gust more than 100 miles an hour recorded out on an oil platform not far from plaquemines parish.

that's a cat 2 windstorm. even though it's not a cat 1 storm, that cat 2 wind is what likely -- >> we just lost anderson there. it's getting increasingly windy and rain-driven, as you can imagine. for now we'll go to lieutenant russell honore. he was in charge in response to katrina. from what you're seeing tonight, how does this compare with what you had to deal with in katrina? >> well, anderson, the effects is what we dealt with after the storm. this pre -- this is the first half of this big event. observing at that time, it's almost a replay of the drama associated with katrina. the difference is that we did not evacuate new orleans in a

deliberate mandatory evacuation. so this is a lot more people in the city than we have in katrina. >> are you confident that with all of the reinforcements, the billions and billions of dollars that was spent, are you confident we're not going to see any scenes even remotely like the appalling scenes that we saw in katrina? >> i would say that the levee is a lot better shape. i will not speculate until this incident is over. i'm convinced now anything built by man can be destroyed by mother nature. i think we're in a wait and see mode. i think we could see tidal surge damage. i think we could have a lot more water in the city from raining, 12 to 20 inches is predicted and that could still be a problem for the city of new orleans.

>> what is the key thing for the people there to do now as the next few hours unfold and as the rain lashes hard and the wind lashes harder, expecting up to 20, 25 inches of rain to fall in a very short period of time. what is the best advice that you would give them based on all of your experience from katrina? >> this storm and the way it's coming through the city, it's spin out the wind girth as well as tornadoes. so people need to be aware now that inside this storm can be some very strong wind damage and tornado warnings have been given for the area. so they need to stay aware and move to the safest place in the house when they get that warning coming. >> if people are hit quite hard in their homes and they want to get out, they fear for their

lives, what is the advice? should they get in their cars? run? what do you do if your home is beginning to fall apart? >> go to the safest place in the home, gather everybody and put some type of a mattress or something over you and your family and then call 911 and get ahold of emergency services. a power line most likely will be down outside and it's in the dark. it's best to hunker down in the safest place that you can in a home or go your neighbor's home. >> general russel honore, thank you very much, indeed. we're going to go to john who is live. you're right in the middle of it. it's going to get worse. can you describe for me what is going on now? >> reporter: you can see we really are in the midst of what is the most powerful rain band

that we've had here all day. take a look out there, piers, as i walk out a little bit, you probably won't be able to see me. but that is the horizontal rain being whipped by the tropical storm-force winds. we're seeing a lot of debris falling, small pieces of branches and tree limbs that we're seeing fly around here now. we haven't seen anything this intense at all throughout the course. and as i step out, piers, you can probably see i'm moving away from the hotel, that it does get much more intense as i move this way. in the distance, piers, that's highway 90 which runs all across the gulf coast here in mississippi. beyond that, the gulf of mexico and as the wind shifts direction and begins to move more inland, that's when they expect to see a little bit more storm surge here. that was one of the biggest concerns they had here, was for water. and as you know, talking to

anderson and billy nungesser and chad, that you've got storm surge flooding and you've got inland fresh water flooding. those are always the two biggest killers in any hurricane and those are the two issues that, of course, we are dealing with. but, again, you can take a look and peter, give them another shot. give piers another shot of that wind whipping through the trees and through the lights there. >> yeah, you can see it. >> reporter: people walking through the distance there. you can see that. it's really blowing now here. again, definitely the strongest of the winds that we have seen here. and part of the reason for that, of course, piers, is that the storm is moving away from us. you know, it's moving to the northwest and we're east of it. so it's pulling away from us as it moves steadily inland in louisiana towards the new orleans area. but, again, as i move out here, piers, you can see that it's not letting up at all. if anything, it's just as intense as it has been. so a real steady squaw line that

we are in right now. piers? >> okay. i want to bring back in chad myers at the cnn weather center. chad, you've been following this now for a few days. is it now unfolding how you expected and what can we really expect over the next few hours? i think what people need locally is some sense of perspective here. >> this is going to be a very long-term event, piers. this isn't going to stop. if you're seeing something bad right now, that bad could continue for four to six hours, no kidding. john zarrella is right here. that's probably, i don't know, a good -- right here. gulfport, biloxi. that's just the one band coming on shore now and i'm not kidding you when i tell you, that's more than 100 miles from the center. so if it's progressively worse every couple of miles you get towards the center, you can imagine what's happening in plaquemines parish right now. that's why there was a mandatory

evacuation for all 23,000 people. there's no way to safely get these people out of there. they didn't want to put the emergency services men and women in danger trying to save these people. if you're going to take this storm or drive up here towards baton rouge, it's going to take 24 hours to go from here to here. it's a slow-moving storm. you're going to get pounding wind, pound, pound and then the rain in with the surge. i've already seen surges at 11 feet out by shell beach. that's east of lake pontchartrain. the water is coming up. the difference between this and what was katrina, for the people of mississippi, alabama, and florida, as this is a completely live throughable storm. you don't do something stupid, you will live through it. this is completely okay.

it's a blow. it's 40 to 60 miles per hour but it's just a blow. stay inside and stay safe. the people in south plaquemines parish, you are in danger if you are not in the right place. that's why nine parishes down here said get out, mandatory evacuation. when they say mandatory, they are not kidding. piers? >> it's a serious situation. we're going to take a break again. when we come back, we're going to get to the real crux of new orleans and the levees, are they holding up? a very expensive refurbished levees. are they doing their job? we're going to find out after the break. you see us, at the start of the day. on the company phone list that's a few names longer. you see us bank on busier highways. on once empty fields. everyday you see all the ways all of us at us bank are helping grow our economy. lending more so companies and communities can expand, grow stronger and get back to work.

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geico, see how much you could save. pictures here from gulfport, mississippi, with hurricane isaac wreaking havoc over that whole region. we're going live to rob

marciano, up to 25 inches of rain. we've lost the shot, actually. it's getting very rough down there. we're going to go to the army corps of engineers in new orleans. mr. holder, can you hear me? >> i can hear you. thank you. >> the key question for people is, how are the levees holding up? these are reinforced levees put in seven years to the day from hurricane katrina, how do you believe they are holding up? >> they are holding up like we anticipated that they would. they were designed by the army corps team here and they are holding up like we anticipated that they would, which is, we are seeing nothing that indicates any sort of danger. you know, you brought up a really good point and you talked about how most of the system wasn't here during katrina and now that it is in place and is working. >> they are saying -- the local

people we've talked to say it's the worst storm, quite comfortably, since katrina, but no one senses, from an expert point of view, that this is as big as katrina. is that the way you're reading it? >> absolutely. we've taken a good, hard look at it and said, this system is designed to stand up against a 100-year storm and this is no way, shape, or form a 100-year storm. piers, i don't know if you're familiar with some of the work that was done. one of the most important key features is during katrina, of course, a lot of the flood fighting had to be done within the city and that's just not the case anymore. we have the surge barrier out at lake born, 13 miles from the heart of the city. so -- and then there's a 32-foot levee that's out there as well that ties in and that keeps the storm out of the city of new orleans out of the ninth ward and then, of course, we put in three gates and pumping stations

where we can now take the water from the city and pump it out and it also keeps storm surge from lake pontchartrain from coming into the city and everything is working great here. >> are you getting any reports from local people yet of injuries or any extensive serious flooding? >> we haven't heard any yet. what we have is also a sear rus -- one of the things we learned after hurricane katrina was to make sure we had our folks out and embedded where they should have been embedded. so we have corps of engineer people in every area that is affected. so we have them out, we have them working. we hear what is going on right away and we're able to help and adjust and simply we haven't heard that yet. certainly billy nungesser is facing a challenge and his team is meeting that challenge. he had the foresight to close highway 23 yesterday and started working on it and finished up today. had he a foresight of building a

ramp. that allowed people to stay as long as they possibly could to see and assess the situation for themselves and then they were able to come over the ramp today. so we were able to put flood protection in place and they were able to use ramps. so it's working together as a seem that has paid off. >> and your advice to local people who perhaps a little bit terrified tonight and wondering what is going to happen, stay inside. but if they start to suffer serious structural damage to their homes, what is the best thing to do then if they can't stay in their homes? >> well, certainly the parishes in which they live all have emergency places where you can go and you can evacuate. i would assume -- and most people have made those -- know where those are within their parishes and now how to get there. i have to tell you, as a communicator, which is what i do for a living, i have never seen such an amazing effort by the parishes, all of them in this area to make just a tremendous effort to make sure their people

knew where to go in case of an emergency. >> well, it's fantastic that the community is responding so well. obviously you all are in our thoughts and prayers for people new orleans and that whole region coming under this prolonged attack now from hurricane isaac. it's good to see that everything so far is working as you guyed planned it and i congratulate you and your team. so thank you very much. >> thank you very much and i can't say enough about the role that the media has played, especially cnn. your crew has been there to let people know what to look out for. you had crews on 17th street last night running in all different -- >> we appreciate that. we're going to have to go now. mr. holder, thank you indeed for your time. we're going to take a short break and continue with coverage from cnn. for now, that's the end of our special coverage on "piers morgan tonight." companies have to invest in making things. infrastructure, construction, production.

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