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CNN Live At Daybreak
Picking up Pieces in Pierce City, Missouri
Aired May 07, 2003 - 06:09 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.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Perhaps the most devastating effects of that powerful storm system are in Pierce City, Missouri. History has been destroyed. There will be no return to normal.
We take you there now.
Good morning -- David Mattingly.
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
Some tense moments here yesterday also from the weather. Some severe thunderstorms rolled through the area, bringing high winds, heavy rains and some lightening, but nothing at all like what this town saw from the tornado on Sunday night.
When the sun comes up today, there will be some new federal disaster money paying for the cleanup operations that are going on here. There are just some tremendous piles of debris all over this town. Yesterday, bulldozers were working to clear the streets, and we expect to see more of that going on today.
Much of this town and all of the business district remain roped off and under guard. There is a curfew in effect right now and will remain in effect for at least the next couple of hours.
We still have no exact word on exactly how many people are homeless in this town, but as you look around, it's clear that there are dozens of homes that are no longer fit to live in. And the same can be said for many of the businesses here, the old-time buildings of the old town section.
Yesterday, people were allowed to go back into these buildings to collect their belongings. They were able to do so only after engineers went into the buildings to make sure they were at least marginally safe for people to go back inside. And people were allowed to go in, and they were escorted by rescue personnel just in case there was any sort of trouble.
We expect to see more of that going on today as well, as people try to get back on with their lives and make decisions about where do they go from here -- Carol.
COSTELLO: You know, I'm from the Midwest, and I know how resilient and strong people are there. So, they are going to rebuild, and Pierce City will live on, right?
MATTINGLY: We hear that almost from everyone here. They're just not exactly sure how they're going to go about doing it and when it's going to happen.
They also have some very tough decisions ahead of them. Those old-time buildings -- you see some of them behind me here -- they're worried that they may not be able to be saved. Some city officials say they may have to make some tough decisions about tearing some of them down.
Early on, they were talking about demolishing some of the buildings that were clearly a danger to public safety, because they are in such bad shape. They are holding off on that decision until the very last moment. They're hoping to see what they can possibly do to save these buildings. And, of course, they mean so much to the local economy here, being such a draw for tourists -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Yes, they go back to the Civil War, don't they?
MATTINGLY: That's right.
COSTELLO: David Mattingly, many thanks.
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 May 7, 2003 - 06:09 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Perhaps the most devastating effects of that powerful storm system are in Pierce City, Missouri. History has been destroyed. There will be no return to normal.
We take you there now.
Good morning -- David Mattingly.
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
Some tense moments here yesterday also from the weather. Some severe thunderstorms rolled through the area, bringing high winds, heavy rains and some lightening, but nothing at all like what this town saw from the tornado on Sunday night.
When the sun comes up today, there will be some new federal disaster money paying for the cleanup operations that are going on here. There are just some tremendous piles of debris all over this town. Yesterday, bulldozers were working to clear the streets, and we expect to see more of that going on today.
Much of this town and all of the business district remain roped off and under guard. There is a curfew in effect right now and will remain in effect for at least the next couple of hours.
We still have no exact word on exactly how many people are homeless in this town, but as you look around, it's clear that there are dozens of homes that are no longer fit to live in. And the same can be said for many of the businesses here, the old-time buildings of the old town section.
Yesterday, people were allowed to go back into these buildings to collect their belongings. They were able to do so only after engineers went into the buildings to make sure they were at least marginally safe for people to go back inside. And people were allowed to go in, and they were escorted by rescue personnel just in case there was any sort of trouble.
We expect to see more of that going on today as well, as people try to get back on with their lives and make decisions about where do they go from here -- Carol.
COSTELLO: You know, I'm from the Midwest, and I know how resilient and strong people are there. So, they are going to rebuild, and Pierce City will live on, right?
MATTINGLY: We hear that almost from everyone here. They're just not exactly sure how they're going to go about doing it and when it's going to happen.
They also have some very tough decisions ahead of them. Those old-time buildings -- you see some of them behind me here -- they're worried that they may not be able to be saved. Some city officials say they may have to make some tough decisions about tearing some of them down.
Early on, they were talking about demolishing some of the buildings that were clearly a danger to public safety, because they are in such bad shape. They are holding off on that decision until the very last moment. They're hoping to see what they can possibly do to save these buildings. And, of course, they mean so much to the local economy here, being such a draw for tourists -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Yes, they go back to the Civil War, don't they?
MATTINGLY: That's right.
COSTELLO: David Mattingly, many thanks.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
