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EARLY START

More Rain, Flooding As Harvey Returns; Harvey Evacuee Talks About Harrowing Ordeal; Harvey Victims Get Aid From Celebrities; U.N. Ratchets Up Pressure On North Korea; Stock Rebound From North Korea Sell Off; Harvey Set to Hit Back Texas; Death Tolls Continues to Rise; Oil Industries Forced to Close Plants; Airlines Feel the Brunt of Harvey's Impact; Trump Visits Texas. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired August 30, 2017 - 03:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:00:00] RENE MARSH, HOST, CNN: The gulf is about to take another hit from Harvey. New shelters opening their doors to already desperate Texans. How much longer will Harvey linger.

Good morning. And welcome to Early Start. I'm Rene Marsh, in for Christine Romans.

DAVE BRIGGS, HOST, CNN: Good to have you, my friend. I'm Dave Briggs. It's Wednesday, August 30th. It is 3 a.m. in the east, 2:00 a.m. in Houston, Texas. Thanks for being with us an extra hour early.

Harvey set to make landfall one more time bringing death and destruction in its wake. More bands of rain coming in a few hours to add to the already record breaking totals. The highest rainfall total from Harvey thus far, almost 52 inches in Cedar Bayou, that's southwest of Houston. And that's already a record in the continent of United States for any tropical system.

MARSH: Right now Houston is under curfew until 5 a.m. Central Time, 6:00 Eastern. Part of an effort to stem looting of business and homes. The Harris County D.A. says 14 people have been arrested for looting in the past 48 hours. He says anyone caught looting in the disaster area faces extra punishment.

BRIGGS: Northwest of Houston officials say the water keeps rising in the Addicks and Barker reservoirs even as it flows over the dams spillways. Thousands of homes have seen between three and five feet of flood water. Water is not expected to stop full from the Addicks dam until mid-September.

MARSH: And this morning there are nine confirmed deaths from Harvey including a Houston police officer who you see there. He drowned trying to get to work during the flood.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ART ACEVEDO, POLICE CHIEF, HOUSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT: We can't find him and we'll once we got out there it was too treacherous to go under and look for him. As much as we wanted to recover him last night we could not put

another -- more officers at risk. For what we knew in our hearts was going to be a recovery mission.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARSH: Well, more deaths are expected to be linked to the storm. Among those now missing a family of six, four kids, and their grandparents.

BRIGGS: That is a tough story we've been hearing about for a couple of days now. Countless others still awaiting rescue. Officials say at least nine to 10,000 people have been rescued in the Houston area alone between police fire and the Coast Guard.

Now that includes this rescue of a mother and her baby, of course that's on top of the huge number of private rescues we've been reporting on for a couple of days now.

MARSH: And those working to save lives they need rest to recharge as well. Here you see exhausted Texas National Guard Troops sacking out on brand new mattresses in a sleep store showroom between rescues.

Well, that was in Richmond, Texas which is where we find CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam. Derek, what are the conditions now, it looks like at least no rain for now.

DEREK VAN DAM, METEOROLOGIST, CNN: Yes, the rain stopped, Rene, but that is deceiving for the communities and the members around this area because just that the rain has come to an end doesn't mean the threat has come to an end. Keep that in mind, we're at the Brazos River in Richmond just west of the city of Houston.

And if you remember, water from flooding is still traveling downstream into some of these larger river beds and they're going to crest, not today, not tomorrow, maybe 48 to 72 hours from now. We have had this river rise 40 feet since Saturday morning. That still has another five feet to go which is not good news for the communities and the houses that you see behind me.

Now we have had enough water from the system tropical storm Harvey to actually raise the Great Lakes by an entire foot. If you would take this water and transport it into the Great Lakes region unbelievable, staggering and mindboggling simply.

Now setting up here in Harris County or this is Fort Bend County but in Harris County where Houston is located they have had 10,000 people seek refuge in shelters.

In fact, the Toyota center has been opened up to allow for more capacity of centers. The EPA is actually testing the water within the floodwaters to see if there is any contaminants, any chemical, e-coli, salmonella. That is a common threat as the rain ends and the floodwaters continue to rise.

Health hazards are the new concerns going forward as water remains within these communities and households.

Looking at the grocery stores, the gas stations in and around the greater Houston area there have been long lines, there have been experiences just by myself and the crew that I've been with that owners of shops had to close doors because they find out that this shop is actually the last shop that has, let's say, a sandwich or even just some simple food items.

[03:05:01] They're running out of it, drinking water, shelves, on the shelves is just not there any longer. An incredible sight here to say the least.

Lots of heroic stories to talk about. But we'll send it back to you, Dave and Rene, back in the studio. I'm sure you've got plenty more.

BRIGGS: Now Derek, just to follow up we've heard about nine, 10,000 rescues, as we mentioned, some report as many as 13,000. Are you seeing people where you are there still calling out asking for rescue?

DAM: Within this immediate vicinity we haven't seen any swift water rescues. But believe me, they are still taking place, particularly across the Barker and Addicks reservoir region, the Buffalo Bayou region than is over western portions of Harris County just west of Houston.

That is where the reservoirs have actually overtopped their banks. That water is spilling into the communities there. You talked about three to five feet of water actually impacting some of the houses there.

I have a personal connection to this. I found out my cousin sees me on CNN, calls me up and says we just moved to this region. We had to be evacuated we were forced out of the homes. He got his family to safety and then he decided because they are dry and safe, I'm going to volunteer my time and help in the Buffalo Bayou region in between the two reservoirs.

He went door to door with several other members of the community. Forty boats he was describing to us going door to door to actually rescue people today. So they are still ongoing.

MARSH: And do you have any sense for the people who do need help? I mean, are they able to get through to 911 to communicate that? Or is it one of those things where someone just has to be the right place right time they see a boat and they call for help? How is that being coordinated?

DAM: Rene, we were on a swift water rescue just 36 hours ago. And the way that we were coordinating the rescues that we were part of was incredible. Central dispatch would call in an address that was either tweeted to them, Facebook messaged to them, perhaps called in with a 911 dispatch center.

They are having and taking these pleas for victims and people that are stranded by any means possible. Any avenue that they can reach out to them. When we got that information we would get their addresses we would type it into our GPS and we would guide the police on boats to these people's houses. It was just astounded. And I'm sure those types of stories are ongoing here in Harris County and Fort Bend as well.

BRIGGS: Yes. We'll hear a lot of stories like that in the days and weeks ahead. Derek Van Dam doing a great job covering the storm for us live this morning bright and early. We'll check in with you back in a bit.

So what does Harvey have left as it sets to make another round at Houston, let's bring in meteorologist Karen Maginnis live this morning in the CNN weather center. Karen, good morning to you. Set to hit Houston again, how much does Harvey have left.

KAREN MAGINNIS, METEOROLOGIST, CNN: Well, believe it or not there is still quite a punch but this time it is aimed towards Beaumont and Port Arthur. And as it turns out it still has quite a bit of tropical moisture associated with it.

Technically speaking, tropical storm Harvey is still about 40 miles, maybe a little bit less than that off shore. It is expected to make landfall, its second landfall maybe in the next couple of hours.

But look at the blowup of convection right around this Lake Charles, Beaumont, Port Arthur. For Houston it may be a little bit more of precipitation but for the most part over the next 72 hours, 96 hours there should be a drying out period. So people can assess things and perhaps gather what is left of their property, if there is anything to gather.

But now Beaumont, Port Arthur, I will tell you that for Beaumont they set a one-day record rainfall total of nearly 18 inches. And unofficially, Beaumont has seen for three days about 40 inches of rainfall. So this is really kind of the secondary huge hit.

And this is a very fragile ecosystem. Lots of people living along this beautiful coastline. But it should make landfall somewhere probably along the Louisiana coast, make its way up in the vicinity of Alexandria and then head towards northern Mississippi and ring out even more across the Tennessee Valley and then into the southern Ohio river valley as we go into the Friday forecast.

So as it turns out Harvey has had quite the longevity, an amazing hurricane, category 4 when it made landfall late last Friday. And here we are, the middle of the work week, still talking about Harvey. All right what are the worst hit areas now?

[03:09:58] Just to the south of the interstate 10 corridor right around Sabine Pass just to the west of Cameron and we're looking at the potential for two to four-foot storm surge. Meaning that water that gets push on shore the flood potential across this region is great.

They're going to wake up with areas and neighborhoods in that Beaumont, Port Arthur area that are going to be flooded.

Now we saw what happened in Houston. Beaumont, Port Arthur is also a low-lying area. We'll shift some of that heavier precipitation going in towards Shreveport as we look into the Wednesday afternoon forecast.

This is what we called the hur. This kind of projects out where we anticipate that precipitation is going to be. A lot of people have been asking about New Orleans. Because we have heard about the turbines, we've heard about the pumps over the last few months.

Well, it looks like for New Orleans except for some garden variety precipitation across this region maybe an additional inch of rainfall is possible. But clearly you can see right along that border with Texas and Louisiana that's still kind of the bull's-eye. What can we expect?

Well, computer models is still suggesting four to six inches of rainfall but I think we're going to see substantially heavier amounts maybe 8 to 12 additional inches possible. Rene, Dave?

BRIGGS: Terrible news for the people in Houston. Hopefully the storm gets moving. Karen, thanks so much.

Harvey dealing airlines a $300 million financial hit right before one of the busiest travel weekends of the year. Two of the Houston's biggest airports have been closed since Sunday. Hobby Airport and George Bush Intercontinental Airport, a major hub for United Airlines.

United one of the largest carriers in the U.S., so Houston's closure is causing delays around the country likely costing the company at least $265 million, that according to an airline analyst. And United says it's adding flights elsewhere to help ease the congestion.

But United not the only airline losing money in the storm. Southwest has a major presence at Hobby airport and will likely lose $77 million. So, including the projected losses for Spirit Airlines. The storm will cost carriers $353 million overall.

Of course that assumes Houston airports reopen this week. The FAA predicts both will remain closed through tomorrow morning.

Rene, this economic impact for the storm we will not be able to gauge for days, weeks, months and maybe even years. You're looking at the fourth biggest economy in the United States larger than the GDP of a country like Iran for context.

MARSH: Right. And I mean, besides the airline industry you also have the oil industry, as well.

BRIGGS: That will shut down.

MARSH: So, as the president said it will be a very expensive storm.

And coming up, President Trump was in Texas. He surveyed the heavy damage there from Harvey.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're going to get you back and operating immediately. It happened in Texas. And Texas can handle anything.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARSH: But did the president put enough emphasis on the victims? More next.

[03:15:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: This was of epic proportion. Nobody has ever seen anything like this. Governor, again thank you very much. And we won't say congratulations. We don't want to do that. We don't want to congratulate. We'll congratulate each other when it's all finished.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARSH: Well, President Trump said during his visit to Texas that recovery from the hurricane will take a long time. In Austin and Corpus Christi he voiced confidence that Congress will find the money to help rebuild.

He met with officials but did not make prominent mention of the victims. But he will get a second chance to do that. The president is set to return to the Gulf region very soon.

Our Sara Murray has more from the White House.

SARA MURRAY, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, CNN: Good morning, Rene and Dave. President Trump is back here in Washington after spending the day yesterday visiting storm ravaged Texas. He visited an emergency operations center, met with local officials and acknowledged this is going to be a long and expensive recovery effort. And he insisted he would work with Congress to make sure that residents and local officials have the resources they need from Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Probably there's never been anything so expensive in our country's history. There's never been anything so historic in terms of damage and in terms of ferocity as what we've witnessed with Harvey.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MURRAY: Now we don't expect this to be the president's last visit to this area. The White House says he will be returning to Texas this weekend as well as to Louisiana. Back to you, guys.

BRIGGS: Sara Murray, thanks. But the president will today shift to tax reform as he heads to Missouri to start and sell a plan that hasn't been unveiled yet but the reasons for it. The criticism yesterday is that, Rene, we didn't see empathy. He is not the empathizer in chief that some want. Is it fair to ask from a guy that was not ever sold as the empathizer?

This is not President Obama. This is not President W. Bush. This is a different sort of leader.

MARSH: It is very different. I mean, many people commented on the fact that one Houston police officer who died on his way to work there was no mention of his name. And many people who unfortunately have basically lost everything. And so they felt that that was missing.

The president was very focused on the task at hand. And his team and that his team was doing a good job. But people noticed that no mention of the victims. We'll see if the tone changes now.

BRIGGS: Yes. The mention that did get a lot of -- raised a lot of eyebrows as we mentioned his FEMA director getting so famous all the television exposure.

MARSH: Right.

BRIGGS: That will rub people the wrong way. Empathy you cannot teach, as a parent I can tell you that is a quality you either have or do not perhaps his supporters elected him to simply get the job done by that measure they are.

The debate will continue. Mr. Trump Junior has agreed to sit down with the Senate judiciary committee for a transcribed interview. Investigators want to know more about his presence at that 2016 meeting where he was promised Russian dirt on the Clinton campaign.

The interview will be conducted by committee staff behind closed doors with senators invited to attend. Officials have said the interview would happen as soon as September.

[03:20:01] MARSH: Meantime, special counsel Robert Mueller has issued subpoenas to two associates of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, his former lawyer and current spokesperson. It's unclear what specific information Mueller's investigators believe the two may have but issuing a subpoena to the lawyer for an investigation -- this is very, very unusual in part because it raises possible attorney/client privilege issues.

BRIGGS: All right. Ahead, the U.N. Security Council now demanding of North Korea that they stop any further missile launches. Does Pyongyang have any reason to listen? We're live in Seoul next on Early Start.

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NIKKI HALEY, UNITED STATES AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS: What happened yesterday is absolutely unacceptable and irresponsible. They have violated every single U.N. Security Council resolution that we've had. And so I think something serious has to happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BRIGGS: Some tough talk on North Korea from U.S. Ambassador to the

U.N., Nikki Haley, ahead of an ultimatum from the U.N. Security Council. Member nations say they're furious over Pyongyang's latest missile launch which flew over the Japanese border condemning it as outrageous.

[03:25:06] President Trump reiterates all options remain on the table.

CNN's Paula Hancocks live in Seoul, South Korea. Good morning to you, Paula. Ten million people there, 35 miles from the North Korean border very nervous with every missile launch. Can they take comfort in the words from the U.N.?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CORRESPONDENT, CNN: Well, Dave the U.N. has said similar things before. And North Korea has shown with Kim Jong-un that he is -- he is able to completely ignore international condemnation just like his father was, just like his grandfather, the founder of North Korea was able to.

We heard from state run media today North Korea saying that this was just the first step in a military operation in the Pacific saying it's a prelude to something -- an operation on Guam. So certainly though, there is no sense that North Korea is going to be curtailed by words from the United Nations.

We did hear though that statement from the U.N. Security Council saying that they are outrageous actions from North Korea. No mention of further sanctions though, bear in mind, there is still sanctions that were passed at the beginning of the month that haven't been fully implemented at this point.

These things take time, it could be months before we see if they are going to have any kind of impact. Now the leaders of Japan and South Korea spoke. The South Korean president saying that this wasn't just a provocation. It was violence against a neighbor both of the leaders agreeing that they have to do the absolute ultimate that they can do to try and stop North Korea and bring North Korea back to the negotiating table.

But as I say up until this point North Korea is completely unrepentant as they have been before saying there will be more missile launches in the future. Dave?

BRIGGS: Paula Hancocks live for us in Seoul, South Korea. Thanks very much.

MARSH: And Harvey is set to make landfall one more time in southeast Texas. Another agonizing day for residents trying to outlast the brutal storm. We are live in Texas with more.

[03:30:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVE BRIGGS, CNN ANCHOR: Right now in Texas, residents preparing for one more hit from Harvey, the storm set to make landfall again before finally churning north. We're live in Texas with more on how residents are helping one another out to ride out this deadly storm.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RENE MARSH, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to Early Start. I'm Rene Marsh.

BRIGGS: I'm Dave Briggs. It is 31 minutes past the hour, 2:31 in Houston Texas, all our focus there as Harvey set to make landfall one more time bringing death and destruction in its wake.

MARSH: Well more bands of rain coming in a few hours and to add to an already record-breaking total. The highest rainfall total from Harvey so far, almost 52 inches in Cedar Bayou southwest of Houston. That's already a record in the continental U.S. for any tropical system.

BRIGGS: Right now Houston under curfew until 5:00 A.M. central time, that's 6:00 A.m. eastern part of an effort to stem looting of businesses and homes.

Sadly, the Harris County D.A. says 14 people have been arrested for looting in the past 48 hours. It says anyone caught looting in the disaster area faces extra punishment.

MARSH: And northwest of Houston officials say water keeps rising in the Addicks And Barker reservoirs even as it flows over the dams both ways.

Thousands of homes in the area now have between three and five feet of flood water in them. Water isn't expected to stop flowing from the Addicks dam until mid-September.

BRIGGS: Wow. This morning there are nine confirmed deaths from Harvey including a Houston police officer. He is 60-year-old Sergeant Steve Perez. He drowned trying to get to work during the flood.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ART ACEVEDO, CHIEF, HOUSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT: We couldn't find him. And once our dive team got there, it was too treacherous to go under and look for him. As much as we wanted to recover him last night, we could not put more officers at risk for what we knew in our hearts was going to be a recovery mission.

BRIGGS: Heart breaking. More deaths are expected to be linked to this storm, among those, now missing a family of six, four kids and their great grandparents washed away in a van reportedly.

MARSH: And countless others still awaiting rescue. Officials say at least nine to ten thousand people have been rescued in the Houston area alone between the police fire and coast guard.

That includes this rescue of a mother and her baby. Of course all that is on the top of the huge number of private rescues we've been reporting.

BRIGGS: Those working to save lives need to rest and recharge. Here are exhausted Texas National Guard troops sacked out on some brand new mattresses in a sleep store showroom.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: That is between rescues, that was in Richmond, Texas which is where we find CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam live for us at 2:33 Houston time. How much rain has fallen there, Derek?

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well in Harris County alone we've topped the 50 inch mark. So we're talking about unprecedented amounts of rain. It's incredible.

I'm standing at the outer edges of the swollen Brazos River in Richmond, Texas. Again, this is one of the suburbs just outside of Houston. And I want to step out of the shot so you can see just what people are dealing with here.

And try to set the scene. The skies are completely clear right now. We can see the moon and the stars and we even saw a hint of sunshine earlier this evening.

But that is awfully deceiving because the worst of the flooding could potentially still impact this region. You can see some of the houses behind me there have water coming up to just underneath their balconies and their front doors.

But it's still expected to rise because the rivers and the streams that lead into the Brazos River are still funneling all that excess water and that's got to go somewhere, right?

[03:35:00] And it's going to come into the larger rivers and streams that surround the greater Houston area. So we do expect a cresting Brazos River within the next 24 to 48 hours.

In fact it rose 40 feet since Saturday morning, staggering amounts of water pumping in to this area. Now, the EPA has a long task ahead of them.

They're already on the ground testing the water because this is the hazard going forward as flood waters slowly start to recede over the days and weeks to come.

Then salmonella, E.coli, all these chemicals that run off into the water, that obviously is a concern. Can you imagine if you have just a small cut on your leg, what that would mean if you were in the water.

We have seen some -- amazing scenes of volunteers coming together, this tight knit community just volunteering to do the search and rescue efforts, including my own family members.

They've called me today said they saw me on CNN, didn't know that I was on the ground here. And they actually had to evacuate the Buffalo Bayou area just between the two reservoirs that are just west of Houston.

And it's incredible to hear the stories that they said. They brought their family to high ground, got them safe, got them dry, and then my cousin's husband decided his time was best spent by volunteering and knocking on doors, and saving people himself.

So you can just see that's just one of the thousands of people who are coming together to really help out this community.

BRIGGS: All right where Derek Van Dam live for us in Richmond, Texas. We should mention some good news.

The NRG Center has opened up as a shelter with many already closing their doors, reaching capacity. They say 10,000 Texas residents could fit in this new the shelter. So that's some good news amidst a lot of bad.

MARSH: Yes, they need all the space they can get. And as Harvey makes landfall again, it is set to pick up some speed and move out of the area a bit faster. Let's bring in Meteorologist Karen Maginnis, live this morning in the CNN Weather Center. Karen.

KAREN MAGINNIS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, Rene and Dave. Yes, we've got the basin, the big water shed that is Harris County and the surrounding county, so here is the Houston area.

I point this out because in was the target for the last four or five days. But now we're shifting some of that a little bit further towards the east and to the north, in the Beaumont-Port Arthur area.

But just to refresh everybody's idea of just how much rainfall occurred, they can see all the way back towards College Station and indeed towards San Antonio, we saw significant rainfall amounts not just in Harris County.

But these are some of the rainfall totals since August 25th. You can see, Cedar Bayou at just under 51 inches of rainfall just about four and a half inches of rain.

But right around the Beaumont-Port Arthur area, we're going to be amazed at how much rainfall accumulates here over the next 24 hours.

In some instances it's estimated an additional 8 to 12 inches in addition to some of the already estimates that there was as much as 40 inches over the last three days in Beaumont-Port Arthur.

But this is going to ring itself out over the Tennessee Valley and Ohio Valley over the next several days. Back to you guys.

BRIGGS: Karen Maginnis, thanks so much for the forecast. All right.

MARSH: Well the next guest, he was one of the first evacuees to arrive at the mega-shelter in Houston's George Brown Convention Center but not before surviving a harrowing hours long ordeal. Larry Gase joins us now by phone. Larry good morning, hoping you and family are doing well.

LARRY GASE, TEXAS FLOOD VICTIM (via phone): Good morning. We are. We are safe and dry, and have been found for the past five days. MARSH: So -- so tell me about the thought pattern here. You're one

of the first to evacuate. It appears it didn't take much time for you to think that you needed to get out of there. Why did you go so fast? And what is the experience has been like for you.

GASE: Well, what really scared us the most is at midnight when water started coming and the power never went out. And so the water was just rising and rising, and our biggest fear was that one of us or our cats would get electrocuted.

So about 4:00 A.M., we decided to call 911, and we couldn't get through. So we called 311 and finally got to the fire department and asked to be rescued.

BRIGGS: OK, tell us your story of the evacuation.

GASE: At 12:00 P.M. there was a knock at the door and it was the rescue boat, so we had the cats in a carrier, and gathered what we could carry, and got on the boat in the pouring rain.

[03:40:00] We went for about three miles in the water before we found shallow enough water to walk about half a mile to the collection point for transport to a shelter.

MARSH: And how was this process? I mean was it chaotic as you were trying to figure out where you need to go to get shelter?

GASE: It was -- well when we get to the collection point, there was one transport that left and they told us that no pets or bags would go on that truck.

So after it left, we waited 4 hours for another truck to show up. And then we were told that the trucks were being used for high water rescue.

And that they didn't know when another truck would come. So we decided we would walk and try to find shelter ourselves. And thankfully we ran into a National Guard truck that picked us up.

MARSH: So was it that, you know where people are -- and the people you've spoken to there at the shelter, are they more or less on their own to kind of at least in the early stages find shelter.

GASE: Oh.

MARSH: Were they on their own?

GASE: You know -- I'm sorry. When we were brought in, we were told we couldn't bring our pets into the convention center and that we had to go down to another hall that wasn't even open yet. And so it was -- it was just chaos here -- sheer chaos.

And it was -- they have quarantined a small section for the cats. And we found our friends Amy, Ernesto, and 84-year-old Mary there, that needed help, and we just became a little community right there and we've been for the past five days taking care of each other. BRIGGS: Yes, you know, pets are often a reason a lot of people don't

evacuate in these types of storm. We saw that on the wake of Katrina.

I got to tell you on a personal level, my children have seen stories like yours and that has what -- has been the call to action to them, to actually donate to victims seeing that pets are caught up in all of this. If you could share with us what the conditions are like in the shelter now.

GASE: Now, I'm telling you it's a well-oiled machine. A city of ten thousand people with an army of volunteers more donations and that anyone could ever use, and all the help anyone could need. It's -- it's just running smoothly here from the 48 hours of chaos to this is an amazing sight.

MARSH: I know a lot of the shelters there are at capacity and they're holding more people than any intended.

GASE: Yes.

MARSH: Tell me how the comfort level is and is everyone safe in there, and just give me a little bit more color about what's going on inside.

GASE: Yes, everyone is safe. There is the main hall is kind of a dining gathering area during lunch and every other hall is there is three more that are cots.

And the last hall is where all the pets are but everybody seems to be kind of getting into a little community with each other, small -- just small groups of people in this entire huge building.

And everyone walks by and sees the cats, and they kind of comforts people to see animals and everyone's -- everyone's pretty calm. And it's -- I'm ready to go home though but it's not -- it's not bad.

BRIGGS: Yes.

GASE: Not bad all.

BRIGGS: I can imagine that unintended benefit is comforting people having your pets there we appreciate you sharing those photos as well. As we turn your attention to your home, have you thought about what might be left once you go home and when you'll go home?

GASE: Yes, and thankfully I rent and my landlord is kind of working that end of it. But I have friends that are ready to take us in once we get out of here. But, yes, just ready to get back once the water drains and get to work repairing.

BRIGGS: All right, well Larry Gase, thanks for sharing your story and your photos of your ordeal. Great to hear the Texas spirit...

MARSH: Yes.

BRIGGS: ... in people like Larry, optimistic and hopeful throughout all the despair, it's really incredible.

MARSH: And to hear there is a sense of community...

BRIGGS: Yes.

MARSH: ... that's foresting inside this.

BRIGGS: You're hearing a lot of people say we've got to know neighbors for the first time ever.

MARSH: Yes.

BRIGGS: Look, I mean, this is a terrible ordeal but there is some positive coming from it.

MARSH: And also celebrities are now jumping in on this. They are coming together to help people in Texas hit hard by Harvey. Actress Sandra Bullock, she donated $1 million to the relief effort.

Bullock is a long-time supporter of the American Red Cross and owns a home in Austin, Texas. Kim Kardashian and her family donated some $500,000 to the Red Cross and Salvation Army, and Beyonce who is from Houston, she's pledging to aid storm victims through her charity initiative BeyGOOD.

BRIGGS: The storm may have forced Coldplay to cancel its concert in Houston last week but at its concert on Monday night in Miami, the band performed a song it wrote for the flood of ravage city. Houston Texans J.J. Watt also keeps raising money.

[03:45:00] His goal in a single day went from $1.5 million to $5 million in donations as they just kept pouring in, Watt's effort getting big help from the Tennessee Titans, the team's owner donating $1 million in the fund raising effort.

The owner of the Houston Rockets upping his donation from $4 million to $10 million, outstanding to see the sports community rally around Houston, if want to help one simple way is to start by visiting CNN.com/impact, many different ways to help out the victims of this terrible flooding.

MARSH: Yes. Do something good. Now President Trump surveys the damage from Harvey for himself.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're going to get you back and operating immediately. It happened in Texas and Texas can handle anything.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARSH: Kind words but did the president show empathy for the victims. We have more coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: This was of epic proportion. Nobody has ever seen anything like this. Governor, again thank you very much. And we won't say congratulations. We don't want to do that. We don't want to congratulate. We'll congratulate each other when it's all finished.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[03:50:00] BRIGGS: President Trump said during his visit to Texas that recovery from the hurricane will take a long time in Austin and Corpus Christi.

He voiced confidence that Congress will find the money to help rebuild. He met with officials but did not make prominent mentions of the victims of the horrible flooding.

He will get another chance to do so. President is set to return to the gulf region very soon, perhaps as early as Saturday. Our Sara Murray has more from the White House.

SARA MURRAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning Rene and Dave. President Trump is back here in Washington after spending the day yesterday visiting storm ravaged Texas.

He visited an emergency operations center, met with local officials and acknowledged this is going to be a long and expensive recovery effort.

And he insisted he would work with Congress to make sure that residents and local officials have the resources they need from Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Probably there's never been anything so expensive in our country's history. There's never been anything, so historic in terms of damage and in terms ferocity as what we have witnessed with Harvey.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MURRAY: Now, we don't expect this to be the president's last visit to this area. The White House says he will be returning to Texas this weekend as well as to Louisiana, back to you guys.

BRIGGS: It has been interesting right. I mean the government response, federally, locally has been terrific. Should we expect this president to show empathy?

That is up to the people of Texas. It is missing. It was no mention of Sergeant Steve Perez who lost his life, no mention of the victims of the suffering...

MARSH: Right.

BRIGGS: ... of the pain of those who have lost all of their possessions. But maybe we elected him to just simply get the job done.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARSH: And he may change the tone he is back at the gulf coast again. So perhaps we may hear that which we didn't hear this time.

BRIGGS: Yes, and some criticism of that hat you see there, the president actually selling those hats for $40 on his website. So, look, is it fair criticism that's up to the people of Texas to decide but he will have another chance to your point.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARSH: Well North Korea's latest missile launch could spell more sanctions. But what industries are left to target? We'll tell you what on CNN Money stream, coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MARSH: An ultimatum from the U.N. Security council. Member nations say they are furious over North Korea's latest missile launch condemning it as outrageous.

President Trump now warns all options are on the table. CNN's Paula Hancocks live in Seoul South Korea with more. Paula.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Rene. Well there was condemnation from the United Nations calling the missile launch across Japan on Tuesday outrageous actions.

But the fact is words don't really harm North Korea. The leader Kim Jong-un has shown that he is remarkably adept at ignoring international condemnation just as his father was and just as his grandfather was.

And we've heard from North Korea's State-run media today that this is just the first step of a military operation in the Pacific, this according North Korea saying that this was a meaningful prelude to an operation on Guam.

They've made many threats against the U.S. territory, Guam over the years simply in recent months. It has become a real focus for North Korea. Now we know the leaders of Japan and South Korea have spoken by phone, they've discussed this.

The leader of Japan, Shinzo Abe -- Prime Minister Shinzo Abe saying that he believes North Korea has made it clear this is not the time for dialogue, not something that the South Korean president would like to hear.

He favors dialogue but certainly he said that this was more than just a provocation. This was violence against a neighbor. Now we have heard condemnation from across the world.

But the fact is, this will make very little difference to North Korea. It has said that it will continue to keep going with the missile launches, and of course that information earlier in the week. The NIS here in South Korea saying preparations are still ongoing for another nuclear test. Rene.

MARSH: North Korea remains defiant. Paula Hancocks, thank you so much.

BRIGGS: I was going to check on CNN Money Stream, North Korea's latest missile launch could spell more sanctions for the country.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: The U.N. already hit North Korea's major exports earlier this month, slapping sanctions on $1 billion worth of coal, iron ore and sea food. So, what's left? Well, there is still textiles apparel and of course, oil.

And China is the main customer for all three, so no sanction will be truly effective without its support. China says it upholds all U.N. sanctions but some experts are skeptical, claiming Chinese leaders want to preserve Pyongyang's regime as a buffer against U.S. influence in the region.

Global stocks are rebounding from a North Korea driven sell op-ed follows Wall Street's lead, all three major existing closed tiers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: The stocks initially fell as after news broke that a North Korean missile launch over Japan but the markets have largely ignore geopolitical events this year, one exception rising tension with North Korea.

And despite the rebound investors are cautious, money flowing into so- called safe havens like gold and the Japanese yen. Early Start continues right now with the latest projections for tropical Storm Harvey.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: The gulf is about to take another hit from Harvey. New shelters opening their doors to already desperate Texans, how much longer will Harvey linger and will it finally pick up some speed and make its way out of the region?

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BRIGGS: You can see the forecast there, the radar showing more bands of ran coming to Houston. Good morning, everyone. Welcome to Early Start. I'm Dave Briggs.

MARSH: And I'm Rene Marsh. It's Wednesday, August 30th. It's 4:00 A.M. in the east, 3:00 A.M. in Houston and Harvey is set to make landfall one more time bringing death and destruction in its wake, more bands of rain coming in a few hours to add to an already record- breaking total.