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CNN Live Saturday

Drivers Stranded on Flooded Highways in Texas

Aired June 09, 2001 - 16:09   ET

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

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DONNA KELLEY, CNN ANCHOR: The remnants of tropical storm Allison have left much of southeastern Texas under water this weekend. An estimated 17,000 families are seeking shelter from the floods, and President Bush today declared a federal disaster area in 28 Texas counties.

Motorists on highways around Houston were hit especially hard by the floods, as we see in this report by reporter Phil Archer of CNN affiliate KPRC.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PHIL ARCHER, KPRC CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At 2:00 a.m., the Katy freeway looked like a river. Dozens of trucks caught in the torrent, water running over the tops of their cabs. On one, two driver stranded; one unable to swim. Rescuers on the banks, strangers stranded themselves, pitched in to help.

They tossed a rope from shore. One of the drivers helped the other tie it on, then headed for the banks himself.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lower down that rope. Lower it down.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lower it down to where they can latch on to it.

ARCHER: After a little adjusting and a few minutes of coaxing, the second trucker, rope securely around his waist, finally hit the water too.

For a few frightening seconds he disappeared. But at the other end of the rope, rescuers had already hauled him in.

Joe Wilson (ph) was the man pulling the rope.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mother nature. We're just trying to help everybody. I just decided to help people out, you know what I mean. Why let people drown?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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