Youll be all over it for us as always, thank you so much. Monu raju in washington. Thank you for being with us on this tuesday afternoon. Getting word from the police chief there in houston, texas, the first Police Officer fatality in the storm, sergeant perez, 34 years with houston pd. Im brooke baldwin. The lead starts now. Welcome to the lead. Im Brianna Keeler in for jake tapper. Were going to begin with Breaking News in the national lead. President trump arriving in texas. He is about to get a tour of the Operations Center there after stopping in Corpus Christi today. Today there are new warnings to residents. Get out now as a levee is pushed to its limit in houston and harvey continues to relentlessly pour down on the gulf coast. Just moments ago we learned that a houston Police Officer,
sergeant steve perez, was killed in this storm drowning on his way to work on sunday. His police chief overcome with emotion as he was explaining the decision to not go in after him. It was too treacherous to go under and look for him, so we made a decision to leave officers there waiting until the morning, because as much as we wanted to recover him last night, we could not put more officers at risk. In our hearts it was going to be a recovery mission. Harvey has set a Rainfall Record in the continental u. S. And another foot and a half of rain could fall. Now the storm is over water again. Its maintaining its strength. Its about to make landfall again. Parts of louisiana, including new orleans. Today we witnessed more dramatic rescues. Everyone from the entire Texas National guard to police and First Responders to just regular
people with boats taking part in lifesaving efforts. The Texas Governor estimating that 1,000 people are still trapped, and there are people on roofs who have no food or water. There was even a 73yearold woman who was found upside down and trapped in a current grabbed at the very last second. The red cross said 17,000 people are in shelters across texas. Some could be there for weeks or for months. Our correspondents are across this region. They are covering the president s visit and theyre deep inside the Disaster Zone as well. Cnn senior White House Correspondent jeff zeleny is live for us in austin, texas where the president has arrived to tour the Operations Center. Many said responding to this storm would be a test for President Trump. How does he think this response has gone so far . Reporter brianna, there is no question this is the biggest test yet for President Trump, certainly of a Natural Disaster of this making. He used a variety of adjectives
today when he was in south texas earlier this afternoon. He called it epic, he called it historic, he called the response terrific. So he is praising the local response here. This is what he had to say earlier this afternoon in Corpus Christi. You are special. Were here to take care. Its going well and i want to thank you for coming out. Were going to get you back and operating immediately. Thank you, everybody. What a crowd, what a turnout. Reporter so brianna, at least that clip there in early remarks that he made almost sounds as though he was coming to a Small Campaign rally of sorts. And that, of course, is not what he is here in texas for. He has had a variety of serious meetings with the governor of texas. Hell be arriving here at the state Emergency Command Center behind me within the next several minutes or so. Hes also traveling with the two republican senators, a few members of his cabinet also on board. But brianna, one thing i am
struck by here, seeing all the stories of emotion, all the stories of loss, of devastation still unfolding. We do not know the extent of the damage here. Very little in terms of empathy from this president. Very little in terms of emotion or talking directly to the people of texas. Hes been talking about the businesses, talking about the response and his crowd. Certainly this is a test, a new moment for this president. How hell ultimately be judged, brianna, as every president is in a disaster like this, is not on today, its on the response and the recovery and how Texas Rebuilds if they get federal funds, et cetera, months, perhaps even years, from now. Brianna . That is right, and so many people in need as we look at these pictures. Jeff zeleny is going to stand by for us as we await President Trump going to this emergency center. We hope to get more information about how things are going in texas. I want to go now to houston which is where more than 3500
people have been rescued and more still need help as the water continues to rise, flooding roadways, swallowing homes. And cnns brian todd is in houston for us. Brian, i know you rode along with a customs and Border ProtectionHelicopter Team today. What have they been doing and what did you see . Reporter well, brianna, we just landed a short time ago after flying much of the day with that customs and Border Protection unit called the marine and air operations unit. Their rescues have gone at a furious pace. This unit alone has rescued hundreds of people from floolde homes, often in very dramatic fashion. From the air, this is what houston looks like to responders urgently trying to rescue flood victims. Inundated houtses, roadways and businesses stretching in all directions. Cnn rode with the Border Protection agents in the marine and air response units as they set out to help people in every
area. A hoist was lowered. Six people and a dog were lifted out in that one operation. Other victims have been rescued by hoist, like this Rooftop Rescue on monday of four people. In one of those neighborhoods, we touch down in a sliver of a parking lot thats not flooded. And our first wave of evacuees is hurried onto the chopper. We just landed in a very heavily flooded neighborhood north of houston and picked up nine people, cramming everyone they can into this chopper. Reporter one victim told us there was waisthigh water in her house and they lost everything. She was evacuated by boat to a collection point, then by helicopter from there. What would you have done if these guys hadnt shown up . We would have had to go to the attic. I dont know what would have happened. Theyre lifesavers. Reporter in these conditions, with each flight these agents have to deal with significant danger. You have multiple aircraft doing the same thing in each vicinity, right . Low visibility and going in will and pulling the people out of,
you know, the water thats 40 feet high. Reporter crews have rescued more than 3500 people in houston alone. As they race to save as many victims as they can, authorities are telling victims, hang in there. Dont give up on us. Seek higher ground. We will get to you. We have assets that every passing hour more boats are getting in the water. Reporter in baytown east of houston, Hunter Lumberg thanked his neighbors for rescuing his mother in a dump truck. More than half have gone to shelters in the houston area and more are coming. In brazoria county, a levee was breached which could worsen the flooding there. And Addicks Reservoir in houston began flooding today. It will continue to flood many homes and keep rising. Streets will continue to flood, new homes will continue
to flood. Reporter flooding along the gulf coast now stretches from galveston, texas to lake charles, louisiana and beyond. And, of course, Rescue Efforts are complicated by the fact that authorities dont seem to have an accurate count of how many people are still stranded. Cnn has pressed officials in several jurisdictions about that. They have not been able to give us estimates, brianna, because, of course, calls keep coming in. The situation keeps changing and the Rescue Efforts keep evolving. It is a very rapidmoving situation. Hard to get those estimates of those still stranded, brianna. Brian todd in houston. Thank you for that report. I want to go to ed lavendera in Southeast Texas which is southeast of downtown houston. Tell us what the situation is where you are. Reporter this tells the magnitude of how high the flooding is. Its not only inside houston but in the outlying areas as well. Were in the small town of Friendswood Southeast of houston. Here in the last 24 hours, more than 2,000 people have been evacuated and rescued from neighborhoods just like this. This is just talking to a neighbor here seconds before we came on air. I had asked him if he had seen anything like this and he said no one in this neighborhood had ever seen anything like this and described the entire flooding situation as simply ridiculous. You look back here at the streets, and again throughout the day, weve seen a stream of volunteer of people showing up with their boats, making their way out and navigating these floodwaters to get as many people out of here as possible. Weve seen the rainfall continue for a better part of the day, of course, over the last couple of hours, weve had a little respite from that, but many not sure when exactly these floodwaters will start receding, and it can happen soon enough. That threat of rain making people nervous and they cant wait for the rainfall to end
here as well. As we show you here, someone kind of showing up with their boat to try to make their way here to their home in this neighborhood here in friendswood, brianna, as they try to come to terms with everything theyre seeing here around us this afternoon. Brianna . Just incredible pictures youre showing us of the devastation in friendswood, texas. Ed, thank you for that report. Shelters are filling beyond capacity. The red cross says no one, though, is going to be turned away. I want to go live now to the Houston Convention center where we have our rosa flores. Rosa . Reporter well, brianna, we are learning about the intense neardeath experiences of the people who have been rescued. Thousands are already here. But City Officials know that the need is growing. What theyre doing to accommodate when i see you next. For under 28 a month. Less than 1 a day his secret . Selectquote. In just minutes a selectquote agent will comparison shop nearly a dozen highly rated Life Insurance companies, and give you a choice of your five best rates. Duncans Wife Cassie Got A 750,000 policy for under 21 per month. Give your family the security it needs, at a price you can afford. Since 1985, selectquote has saved over a million families millions of dollars on Life Insurance. At holiday inn express, we cant guarantee that youll be able to contain yourself at our breakfast bar. Morning, egg white omelet. Sup lady bacon fruit, there it is but we can guarantee that youll get the best price when you book with us. Holiday inn express. Be the readiest. W. I was always searching for ways to manage my symptoms. I thought i had it covered. Then i realized managing was all i was doing. When i finally told my doctor, he said humira was for people like me who have tried other medications,. But still experience the symptoms of moderate to severe crohns disease. In clinical studies, the majority of patients on humira saw significant Symptom Relief. And many achieved remission. Humira can lower your ability to fight infections. Including tuberculosis. Serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers,. Including lymphoma, have happened; as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions,. And new or worsening heart failure. Before treatment, get tested for tb. Tell your doctor if youve been to areas where certain fungal infections are common, and if youve had tb,. Hepatitis b, are prone to infections,. Or have flulike symptoms or sores. Dont start humira if you have an infection. If youre still just managing your symptoms, ask your gastroenterologist about humira. With humira, remission is possible. Trying to tally what that new number is, but as the need continues to grow, City Officials tell us they are opening a second shelter. The location has not been announced yet, though. Brianna. The city opening a second shelter. Rosa flores there. Thank you so much for that report. Harveys devastation is really part from over at this point. Its a Tropical Storm and its taking aim at louisiana. So what can that state expect since it marks 12 years to the day of katrina. Plus, north koreas missile test this time right over japan. What option s are on the table for the Trump Administration to respond . Well find them in our subaru outback. avo love. Its what makes a subaru, a subaru. Get 0 Apr Financing for 63 months on all new 2017 outbacks. Ends august 31. Landfall yet again. That state is setting up its emergency plans exactly 12 years to the day that Hurricane Katrina made landfall. Lets go to tom in the Severe Weather center. Tom, what should louisiana, and specifically new orleans, expect . The job for the state and local services is to start to get ready for areas north of houston and east of houston, including a good portion of southwest louisiana. The color purple or any city in the u. S. , if they get 10 inches, theyre going to flood. Weve seen that in southwestern louisiana. This is the size of the state of kentucky, so when you look at the numbers, were most likely on the verge of breaking a u. S. Record. That was 56 inches. The record was in 1978 tropical
storm amelia that dropped in texas and hit 48. So were looking at 48 as the alltime record. But when we talk about Emergency Services for possible rescue events, the rain is going to start to ease up in houston. Sure, they could get a couple more inches, but because its spinning offshore, brianna, its a siphon. Its this vacuum, if you will, and that motion is going to bring more rain in beaumont, lake charles, southwest louisiana. They canceled schools in new orleans and didnt get as much as they expected, but heres the problem spot. We expect landfall in the predawn Hours Wednesday morning. This will be the second landfall. But since its moving so slowly, the amount of rain could be 10 to 20 inches in that area thats already had 10 to 20 inches. The spacing is nice to have. See that separation . That is a surge of movement. That is a faster pace which is what we want to see, but well still be in this for several hours for southeast areas of texas, eastern texas, those counties there and southwest louisiana. So again, brianna, theyre looking at a magnificent area of coverage that we have the warnings now extended east and north. Tom sader, thank you so much for updating us on that. Joining me now is louisianas former governor carrie blanco. Thanks for joining us and bringing us your experience while youg governed Hurricane Katrina. What is your biggest concern for harvey . Its a little too much d de javu. I see too many people needing to be removed from the waters, to be rescued, to be given a place where they can dry out, get food, be warm, change from their clothing. I know they probably left with
just what they were wearing. So its just its a lot. Its a very, very trying time for those who are victimized by this flooding and this extensive rain thats been generated from this massive hurricane. As you are looking now at texas still very much in the middle of this and dealing with the aftermath of harvey and youre looking towards louisiana, are there enough local and state and federal resources . Well, that remains to be seen. You know, when you have such a very large area impacted, it takes a lot more than anyone would ever imagine. So i think well be seeing more and more assistance coming from all around the country. There are many, many willing and able people who are finding their way into the Disaster Area to try to make sense out of something that feels senseless to the victims. As we look towards louisiana, what advice would you give the current governor, governor edwards, as hes trying to help
get louisiana through this storm, considering you certainly have some experience from what happened during katrina . Are the warnings of Katrina Being heeded here . Well, absolutely. I think louisianas paying a very large amount of attention to everything thats going on, because some of our state is in harms way as well. Our current governor, john bell edwards, is really doing an excellent job. We, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, of course rewrote the disaster plan, so governors since that time have had a good master plan to follow that came about as a Learning Experience through our katrina disaster, and i think its stronger than it ever was. When you look at whats happening in texas, do you think Governor Abbott is heeding the Lessons Learned from katrina . Well, Governor Abbott did have well, governors of the
past did have hurricanes to deal with on the texas coast. You know, galveston has been impa