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CNN Live At Daybreak
Active 24 Hours in the D.C. Metro Area for Isabel
Aired September 19, 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: It has been an active 24 hours in the D.C. metro area for Isabel. Trees down. There is flooding. Electricity is out. And the federal government shut down once again today.
Jennifer Coggiola live in Old Town, Alexandria, Virginia, which is right across the Potomac from the capital -- Jennifer, describe the conditions for us.
JENNIFER COGGIOLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, things are actually, according to residents, not as bad as they had anticipated. Those warnings early in the week definitely helping things out. But we have seen some damage from the wind. Trees, shrubbery down, a couple power lines. But most significant to this area is going to be flooding, flash flooding, the biggest concern.
Behind me, the Potomac River continues to rise even hours after high tide. The water right now stands at about six feet deep. So officials definitely concerned about people trying to get through the water, whether by foot or by car.
But overall we do have power in this area. Of course, Virginia still has about one and a half million customers without. But for here and the District, where I came from earlier this morning, we did have our lights on and electricity was running.
COSTELLO: Well, a question for you. The federal government shut down again today. That means 350,000 federal workers are going to stay home. Old Town, Alexandria is right on the Potomac where you are, but the D.C. offices of the federal government are not. Was it really necessary to close down the federal government again today?
COGGIOLA: You know, that's a good question. And I think one of the biggest issues concerning that is going to be the transit systems and whether those are up and running, because so many people commute from outside of the District in Virginia and Maryland. So yesterday that certainly was a good reason. This morning at 5:00 a.m., though, there's going to be a conference call to determine whether or not to bring the subways up. And if they are up and running, it would seem that business could go on as usual. But when you've got so many commuters coming from 30, 45 minutes away, I think it was just an additional risk that they wanted to try and avoid, especially if folks still don't have power and aren't able to quite get their morning off to a normal start.
COSTELLO: I understand.
Jennifer Coggiola live from Old Town, Alexandria in Virginia this morning.
You'll want to stay right here for our continuing coverage of the tropical storm. Coming up later on DAYBREAK, we'll take you live to Virginia Beach, as we track Isabel up the East Coast.
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 September 19, 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: It has been an active 24 hours in the D.C. metro area for Isabel. Trees down. There is flooding. Electricity is out. And the federal government shut down once again today.
Jennifer Coggiola live in Old Town, Alexandria, Virginia, which is right across the Potomac from the capital -- Jennifer, describe the conditions for us.
JENNIFER COGGIOLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, things are actually, according to residents, not as bad as they had anticipated. Those warnings early in the week definitely helping things out. But we have seen some damage from the wind. Trees, shrubbery down, a couple power lines. But most significant to this area is going to be flooding, flash flooding, the biggest concern.
Behind me, the Potomac River continues to rise even hours after high tide. The water right now stands at about six feet deep. So officials definitely concerned about people trying to get through the water, whether by foot or by car.
But overall we do have power in this area. Of course, Virginia still has about one and a half million customers without. But for here and the District, where I came from earlier this morning, we did have our lights on and electricity was running.
COSTELLO: Well, a question for you. The federal government shut down again today. That means 350,000 federal workers are going to stay home. Old Town, Alexandria is right on the Potomac where you are, but the D.C. offices of the federal government are not. Was it really necessary to close down the federal government again today?
COGGIOLA: You know, that's a good question. And I think one of the biggest issues concerning that is going to be the transit systems and whether those are up and running, because so many people commute from outside of the District in Virginia and Maryland. So yesterday that certainly was a good reason. This morning at 5:00 a.m., though, there's going to be a conference call to determine whether or not to bring the subways up. And if they are up and running, it would seem that business could go on as usual. But when you've got so many commuters coming from 30, 45 minutes away, I think it was just an additional risk that they wanted to try and avoid, especially if folks still don't have power and aren't able to quite get their morning off to a normal start.
COSTELLO: I understand.
Jennifer Coggiola live from Old Town, Alexandria in Virginia this morning.
You'll want to stay right here for our continuing coverage of the tropical storm. Coming up later on DAYBREAK, we'll take you live to Virginia Beach, as we track Isabel up the East Coast.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
