Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Live At Daybreak
New Threat of Flood Along East Coast
Aired February 20, 2003 - 06:24 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.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: The big snowfall is history along the East Coast, and thank goodness for that. But now comes the new threat of flood.
Kathleen Koch shows how some cities are trying to fight back.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Mountains of white quickly turning into rivers of slush. In New York City, they're beating Mother Nature to the punch with new dump truck sized machines. They melt the snow using furnaces at a rate of 60 tons an hour.
KEITH MELLIS, NEW YORK DEPARTMENT OF SANITATION: This is a very efficient operation now. It's a 24 hour operation. We run it all night. The good thing is is that we're just sending the water back down into the sewer system where it would normally go. It just has a faster rate.
KOCH: The greatest fear, massive flooding like that that swept through entire communities from Virginia to New York following the blizzard of 1996. Already melting snow has caused numerous roof collapse like these in New Jersey and Washington, D.C. In the nation's capital, crews are working around the clock clearing catch basins so the slush has somewhere to go. Machinery dig deep, clearing drains of potential obstacles. And finally, trucks deposit the drifts at safe riverside locations.
Mike Marcotte is orchestrating the city's battle plan.
MIKE MARCOTTE, D.C. WATER & SEWER AUTHORITY: It's just scratching the tip of the iceberg. Our issue is going to be to try to move as much of that snow and get it off the street as possible between now and Friday or Saturday.
KOCH (on camera): Officials say when all this snow that fell on Washington, D.C. melts, it will equal roughly two billion gallons of water. Now, you have to add to that roughly two billion more that's expected from heavy rains this weekend.
MARCOTTE: Compare that to about 200 million gallons every day that we handle through the District's sewer system. It means that we have some challenges ahead of us.
KOCH (voice-over): And some businesses are already preparing, like this riverfront restaurant, whose in ground flood protection barrier is about to go up. ALEX BARROS, SEQUOIA RESTAURANT: They usually put a barrier around the whole complex so the restaurants can stay open and people can come to the restaurants, you know, and eat and be merry.
KOCH: So the race to move this snow continues, but the National Weather Service says the greatest risk of weekend flooding remains in areas like Kentucky and Tennessee, already reeling from torrential rain dumped earlier in the week.
Kathleen Koch, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired February 20, 2003 - 06:24 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: The big snowfall is history along the East Coast, and thank goodness for that. But now comes the new threat of flood.
Kathleen Koch shows how some cities are trying to fight back.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Mountains of white quickly turning into rivers of slush. In New York City, they're beating Mother Nature to the punch with new dump truck sized machines. They melt the snow using furnaces at a rate of 60 tons an hour.
KEITH MELLIS, NEW YORK DEPARTMENT OF SANITATION: This is a very efficient operation now. It's a 24 hour operation. We run it all night. The good thing is is that we're just sending the water back down into the sewer system where it would normally go. It just has a faster rate.
KOCH: The greatest fear, massive flooding like that that swept through entire communities from Virginia to New York following the blizzard of 1996. Already melting snow has caused numerous roof collapse like these in New Jersey and Washington, D.C. In the nation's capital, crews are working around the clock clearing catch basins so the slush has somewhere to go. Machinery dig deep, clearing drains of potential obstacles. And finally, trucks deposit the drifts at safe riverside locations.
Mike Marcotte is orchestrating the city's battle plan.
MIKE MARCOTTE, D.C. WATER & SEWER AUTHORITY: It's just scratching the tip of the iceberg. Our issue is going to be to try to move as much of that snow and get it off the street as possible between now and Friday or Saturday.
KOCH (on camera): Officials say when all this snow that fell on Washington, D.C. melts, it will equal roughly two billion gallons of water. Now, you have to add to that roughly two billion more that's expected from heavy rains this weekend.
MARCOTTE: Compare that to about 200 million gallons every day that we handle through the District's sewer system. It means that we have some challenges ahead of us.
KOCH (voice-over): And some businesses are already preparing, like this riverfront restaurant, whose in ground flood protection barrier is about to go up. ALEX BARROS, SEQUOIA RESTAURANT: They usually put a barrier around the whole complex so the restaurants can stay open and people can come to the restaurants, you know, and eat and be merry.
KOCH: So the race to move this snow continues, but the National Weather Service says the greatest risk of weekend flooding remains in areas like Kentucky and Tennessee, already reeling from torrential rain dumped earlier in the week.
Kathleen Koch, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
