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CNN Live At Daybreak

Claudette Headed for Texas

Aired July 15, 2003 - 06:15   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: What a difference a day makes, especially along the Texas coast. Yesterday, clear, bright blue skies and right now a hurricane is lumbering toward the long curving coast.
Our Keith Oppenheim is in the path of the storm. He joins us live from Port Lavaca, Texas.

Good morning.

KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Carol.

It started to rain here just about a few minutes ago and the wind has certainly been kicking up. And while Hurricane Claudette is just barely a hurricane, it is strengthening off shore and has thousands of Texans along the coastline preparing for the storm's arrival and aftermath.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The hurricane flags give fair warning, so the skippers stow their sales, tie down their boats and brace for high winds.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We put extra heavy lines on than what the boat actually calls for and then we've doubled them up.

OPPENHEIM: And while many here are not expecting heavy damage, some are unsettled by the unpredictability of Claudette.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just waiting it out and see what happens. We're all tied down, battened down, ready for it to come.

OPPENHEIM: Homeowners are waiting, too. Some who live near the water's edge get a jump on boarding up windows.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't want to think that I'm freaking out too soon, but I wanted to go ahead and get this done.

OPPENHEIM: As the surf kicks up, so do the preparations. All along the Texas coast there are people packing, sandbagging. But until the storm arrives, some tourists are trying to enjoy the moment and trying not to lament that their planned vacation is about to get hit by high winds.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My mother is about to have a cow. She's telling me to turn around and come home, but we're still here.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

OPPENHEIM: Carol, I'm right on the edge of Lavaca Bay in Port Lavaca, and it's in places like this where you could have a storm surge of at least three feet, maybe up to five. And along with that there could be rainfall between five and eight inches in this area. So one of the real problems in the aftermath of Hurricane Claudette could be flooding. There could be quite a bit of it.

Back to you.

COSTELLO: Keith, not to make you nervous, but Chad just told me where you are standing is where the worst damage is expected.

OPPENHEIM: Yes, that's probably a good estimate from what we understand as well. It's a category one hurricane, so the damage is relative. As you start to go up the category chain, the damage is far more severe and that's where you really have to get out of the way. Something like this, if we take pretty good shelter, we should be all right.

COSTELLO: Yes, you take cover if need be.

Keith Oppenheim live from Lavaca, Texas this morning.

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 July 15, 2003 - 06:15   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: What a difference a day makes, especially along the Texas coast. Yesterday, clear, bright blue skies and right now a hurricane is lumbering toward the long curving coast.
Our Keith Oppenheim is in the path of the storm. He joins us live from Port Lavaca, Texas.

Good morning.

KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Carol.

It started to rain here just about a few minutes ago and the wind has certainly been kicking up. And while Hurricane Claudette is just barely a hurricane, it is strengthening off shore and has thousands of Texans along the coastline preparing for the storm's arrival and aftermath.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The hurricane flags give fair warning, so the skippers stow their sales, tie down their boats and brace for high winds.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We put extra heavy lines on than what the boat actually calls for and then we've doubled them up.

OPPENHEIM: And while many here are not expecting heavy damage, some are unsettled by the unpredictability of Claudette.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just waiting it out and see what happens. We're all tied down, battened down, ready for it to come.

OPPENHEIM: Homeowners are waiting, too. Some who live near the water's edge get a jump on boarding up windows.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't want to think that I'm freaking out too soon, but I wanted to go ahead and get this done.

OPPENHEIM: As the surf kicks up, so do the preparations. All along the Texas coast there are people packing, sandbagging. But until the storm arrives, some tourists are trying to enjoy the moment and trying not to lament that their planned vacation is about to get hit by high winds.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My mother is about to have a cow. She's telling me to turn around and come home, but we're still here.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

OPPENHEIM: Carol, I'm right on the edge of Lavaca Bay in Port Lavaca, and it's in places like this where you could have a storm surge of at least three feet, maybe up to five. And along with that there could be rainfall between five and eight inches in this area. So one of the real problems in the aftermath of Hurricane Claudette could be flooding. There could be quite a bit of it.

Back to you.

COSTELLO: Keith, not to make you nervous, but Chad just told me where you are standing is where the worst damage is expected.

OPPENHEIM: Yes, that's probably a good estimate from what we understand as well. It's a category one hurricane, so the damage is relative. As you start to go up the category chain, the damage is far more severe and that's where you really have to get out of the way. Something like this, if we take pretty good shelter, we should be all right.

COSTELLO: Yes, you take cover if need be.

Keith Oppenheim live from Lavaca, Texas this morning.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com