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American Morning
A Talk with FEMA Director Michael Brown
Aired September 17, 2004 - 09:32 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.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Unfortunately, you're going to see a lot more of these photos throughout the day and out the weekend, too, as we continue to assess the damage here in Alabama, and also in Florida. There are some parts of the Panhandle, we're told, where upwards of 100 yards of the beach simply taken away by the force of this storm, Ivan.
We're literally in the middle of the road today here in Gulf shores, Alabama, trying to get access to Pleasure Island behind us. But to date no one is allowed back, including the people who live there.
All throughout this area, though, it is quite striking to know the water was well past this area late last night. It's receded, that's good news. But what's left behind, as you can see, is just garbage just about everywhere. And just about everything you can imagine, whether it's a boogie board, or a piece of beach furniture or even a couch has floated by here yesterday. And there is a stack of wooden steps that has come up of somebody's beach home that lies literally in the middle of Highway 59 behind us.
The police chief and the mayor, they went into the island about two hours ago. They have not come out yet. But possibly, we're told, in the next couple of minutes, maybe the next 30 minutes before we go off the air here, we'll be able to talk to them and find out what they have found on that twelve-mile stretch of island known as Pleasure Island behind me here.
As our coverage continues back to Heidi again in New York now.
Heidi, hello again there.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Hello again. Boy, there's something about those still pictures, too, as you come in to the segment; it's just devastating.
Also this half hour, we're going to hear from the director of FEMA, find out if America's emergency teams have been pushed beyond their limits.
But for now, we're going to talk about the stories now in the news this morning. Cleanup operations under way this hour in Nigeria after a major blast from a sabotaged pipeline. Within the past hour, Nigerian police announced fuel thieves set off an explosion while trying to steal petroleum. At least twelve people were killed in that explosion. New details about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. According to the Associated Press, a new report suggests weapons were not being stockpiled in Iraq, but there were signs Saddam Hussein had intentions to restart his weapons program in the future. It is not clear when the full 1,500-page report will be released.
Secretary of State Colin Powell is going back to school. In about half an hour, Powell will speak to hundreds of students at the Teach Africa Youth Forum in Washington. The forum aims to increase understanding of Africa and explore the effects of U.S. relations with that continent.
Fliers will see tighter security procedures starting next week. Government screeners will use pat-downs to check for explosives on passengers bodies or in their carry-on luggage. Passengers must also take off jackets before passing through metal detectors. The government says the changes will cause some inconvenience, but are designed to prevent terrorism.
President Bush expected to visit parts of the Gulf coast this weekend. He's already ordered the release of federal disaster funds for Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. I spoke with Michael Brown, the director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, about recovery plans in the wake of Ivan.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: How do you actually get the money to these folks? How long will they have to wait?
MICHAEL BROWN, FEMA DIRECTOR: Well, actually, that's the easiest thing that we do, is get the money to them. All these disaster victims have to do is dial the toll-free number, the 1-800-621-FEMA number, and talk to our operators that are in Texas, Puerto Rico, and Maryland and Virginia. When they start making those phone calls, as we saw during Hurricane Charley and Frances, we can start getting money out them through direct deposits literally the next day. Sometimes it might take a couple of days.
We've already distributed upwards of $400 million to people in Florida that were victims. We can start doing that now in Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi. So they just need to call that number as soon as they can.
COLLINS: We talk a lot about the recovery after one of these disasters. Oftentimes much, much harder than the event itself. How do people stay safe at this point?
BROWN: Well, you know, that's a great question, because I'm really concerned about -- I know how it feels when they've been out of their homes for a long time and these residents want to get back, see how things look, get back in there. What they need to remember is there's still floodwaters that are in some of those homes. We still have downed power lines. We still have roads that are blocked. It's still a very dangerous situation. The power rescue workers were having a difficult time at times getting in certain places. Imagine what a resident would have trying to get in there. So they need to be very cautious as they're allowed to move back into these areas.
COLLINS: Michael, let me ask you on a personal note, though -- we haven't done that before -- what's it been like for you? I mean, you have worked this thing since the beginning, all three of these hurricanes. We're now talking about tropical storm Jeanne, who may be lingering we're on the Dominican Republic right now. What has it been like inside for you?
BROWN: Well, you know, it's amazing. I don't really feel tired until I get back to my hotel room or get back in a car, and I realize how tired I am.
But what's the most uplifting to me is when you see these victims and you talk to them. You know, they're just wanting some help, they just want to know that somebody cares. And when I talk to them, I mean, it just gives me chills, because I know that it's me and it's my team, the whole FEMA team out there that are really the face of the government, the face of the entire nation, trying to help these people. And so it really spurs me to tell myself, and to tell all my team members, let's do the best we can for these folks.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Working very hard, indeed. Michael Brown, the director of FEMA this morning.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HEMMER: Back here in Gulf Shores, good news for the folks coming back to their homes. The power just about 10 minutes came back. So the electricity is coming back slowly in this part of Alabama. Throughout the region, though, we're told, upwards of 1.7 million without power, which is going to cause life to be very miserable here, at least until they get that back on, which could take days, and maybe as long as a week before power is fully restored.
Gary Tuchman also here in Alabama, talking to people about how they feel in the aftermath of the storm, and also this nagging question here in Gulf Shores -- Where's Chuckie?
Here's Gary.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The husband of the zoo director in Gulf Shores, Alabama is now doubling as an alligator hunter. The zoo is underwater from Hurricane Ivan, and several alligators got away. Unfortunately, for safety reasons, some will have to be killed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's over our heads right here.
TUCHMAN (on camera): Almost all of the other animals were evacuated before the hurricane, but also on the loose, 13 deer who could not be moved before the storm. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We opened the doors. We knew they could swim. They're in full antlers right now. They do not sedate, nor do they move real well.
TUCHMAN: Patty Hall has been director of the zoo for five years.
This is how the barrier island main street near the zoo looked as the storm rolled in. And hours later, the same street, under nine feet of water in spots. One of the deer was spotted frantically swimming in the waters. Another was found and will be OK after being shot with a tranquilizer dart.
Alligators were seen under that water, including this particular one, spotted by a CNN photographer, which the zoo desperately wants to catch alive.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were real interested in our big boy who is Chuckie, and he is about 12 feet, and weighs anywhere from 1,000 to 1,200 pounds. He could pull you down, drown you and swallow you.
TUCHMAN: Another alligator was found and killed.
Chuckie, though, is still on the loose. Gary Tuchman, CNN, Gulf Shores, Alabama.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER: Somewhere around here, and there's a lot of water too, a lot more today than there was about two days ago.
The police chief and the fire chief back from their surveillance earlier today. We'll talk to the fire chief in a moment about what's happening now on this island behind us.
Back to Heidi now, though, in New York again -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Yes, I was thinking there would probably be more than one animal like Chuckie running around in those parts, Alabama, Florida.
All right, Bill, thanks so much.
Still to come, why are some Christian groups boycotting Procter & Gamble? We'll talk about that in a moment. And will the mob rule again at the primetime Emmys? A preview of that, coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: In this part of Alabama, debris just about everywhere, but this is probably only a shade of things to come for the area behind us, known as Pleasure Island.
The police chief just off the island for the first time today.
Arthur Bourne is my guest. And, chief, good morning.
ARTHUR BOURNE, GULF SHORES POLICE CHIEF: Good morning.
HEMMER: How bad is it?
BOURNE: We've got severe damage down there, a lot of beach erosion. There's probably four to five feet of stand sand on the beach road, a lot of structural damage to the condos and the houses.
HEMMER: When you say structural damage, have some homes been taken away by this storm?
BOURNE: There are several spots where there were homes that the pilings are standing, and that's it. But the majority of the buildings are still standing, but I'm sure there's going to be some extensive damage in those areas.
HEMMER: Overall, how do you think this area fared with the strength of Ivan?
BOURNE: I think overall we came out as best as we can expect. We were expecting the worst, obviously. The worst-case scenario would be to go back down there and nothing's left. But we do have something to work with, but it's going to take several months to put it back to the.
HEMMER: This road, when will it open up again for folks to go home and check out there?
BOURNE: This area where we're standing south of here, it's going to be several days to weeks before we can get people back in to check their homes. What we're trying to do now is to open up everything north of here and get the residents back to the area, and we're doing everything humanly possible to do that, and a lot of it depends on water and sewer and getting power hooked back up to the area.
HEMMER: You were here 25 years ago. Can you compare this storm to Frederic?
BOURNE: It's, in my opinion, it was probably a little bit worse than Frederic was, just the severity of the storm, and the hours of hurricane force winds that we experienced here.
HEMMER: Good luck to you, chief.
BOURNE: Thank you.
HEMMER: Thanks for talking with us.
I don't know if you know enough about the zoo or not, but a tiger apparently is on the scene now. We were told that a lot of animals had gotten out, but this one actually has...
BOURNE: I think that's been brought back in.
HEMMER: ... is back in custody.
Where's Chuckie, by the way? Where's this gator that's 1,000 pounds?
BOURNE: We're looking for him.
HEMMER: I think that's a mild understatement.
Thank you, chief.
BOURNE: You're welcome.
HEMMER: Good luck to you, all right.
BOURNE: Thank you.
HEMMER: Chief Bourne here in Gulf Shores.
Back to you, Heidi, again in New York now.
COLLINS: Looks like a baby bengal there. All right, Bill, thanks a lot.
Some stiff competition this weekend at the Emmy Awards. The HBO network could walk away with lots of statues. But there are also a number of shows that said farewell last season that are hoping for one last nod.
Entertainment correspondent Sibila Vargas has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SIBILA VARGAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: When it comes to this year's Emmys, angels and mobsters are a force to contend with.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: I'm going (EXPLETIVE DELETED).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VARGAS: With its star-studded cast, HBO's miniseries "Angels in America" is flying high with 21 nominations, helping to bring the cable network's total nominations to an astounding 124.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMES GANDOLFINI, ACTOR: Excuse me, it wasn't my idea.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VARGAS: Of course with 20 nominations, the Jersey boys of the Sopranos had a little hand in it. And with what many call an amazing season, some say it will take off a miracle to knock off the reigning king and queen of Emmys, James Gandolfini and Edie Falco.
EDIE FALCO, ACTRESS: You know, I've been surprised at every turn with these awards.
VARGAS: Speaking of surprises newcomer Amber Tamblin and her freshman drama "Joan of Arcadia" broke the mold with their three nods.
If you're placing bets in the comedy category, this year's dark horse could be the low-rated, yet critically acclaimed, "Arrested Development."
JASON BATEMAN, ACTOR: The fact that we get the nomination perhaps means we'll be around a little bit longer, and we can continue living the dream.
VARGAS: Emmy night is bound to be bittersweet, with the recent departure of shows like "Sex and the City," "Frasier" and "Friends."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JENNIFER ANISTON, ACTRESS: I love you all so much.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VARGAS: Jennifer Aniston is in the running in the comedy actress category. But insiders say this will be the year that Sarah Jessica Parker finally wraps her fingers around the gold statuette for her work in the sexy foursome, who were all nominated this year.
CYNTHIA NIXON, ACTRESS: It's a sort of a last kind of, you know, nod to our show, you know. Whether we win or not, like, we'll be there, and it's nice.
VARGAS: Two of the best comedy actor nominees were on shows that ended last season. But it's John Ritter's posthumous nomination that may turn out to be the sentimental highlight of the evening.
JASON RITTER, JOHN RITTER'S SON: It's nice when he's recognized for what an amazing talented guy he was.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN RITTER, ACTOR: Get your groove on!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, OK, we'll go to the movie. Just stop doing that.
RITTER: Works every time.
VARGAS: The Emmys will air on ABC.
Sibila Vargas, CNN, Hollywood.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Again, that will happen on Sunday night in Los Angeles, beginning at 8:00 Eastern.
Still to come this morning, helping a young girl walk from a world away. It's our "Extra Effort" segment today, just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Want to quickly get a check of the market now. Andy Serwer "Minding Your Business" for that -- Andy.
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Good morning.
Let's take a look at the Big Board. Futures earlier were so bright I needed shades. Oh, that's a good one.
All right, 29 points up on the Dow. What's moving this morning? Ford is, and that's because it's going to be pretty good. It's going to be cutting jobs at its money-losing Jaguar division, but that's going to be in the UK. Also Texas Instruments, chip stocks should be very active today. It's upping its dividend, and what else it's doing. Oh yes, it says it may be buying back a billion dollars of stock. A lot of times they don't always do that. They say they might buy up to. So got to watch out for that. And that's our business news.
COLLINS: My gosh you were quick and to the point.
SERWER: That's right.
COLLINS: We appreciate it.
All right, AMERICAN MORNING will be back in just a moment, right here on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Flory Tacle was born and raised in the Philippines 19 years ago, but it wasn't until this year, in Minnesota, that she took her first steps. Mike Peck had already dedicated part of his life to helping other people, but helping Flory walk took an extra effort.
Mike Peck and Flory Tacle joining us now from Minneapolis.
You actually helped in getting the prosthetics for Flory. How'd you do that?
MICK PECK, FOUNDER, OUTREACH INC.: Well, we traveled to the Philippines in November, and Flory came over to my wife's family's house, and we asked her if she'd be interested in getting leg prosthetics. We didn't know anything about it. But I said, if you're interested in doing that, we would look into it and see how this could be done, and so then the process started.
COLLINS: Flory, tell me how it made you feel when you met Mike, and he said, you know what, we're going to help you out, we're going to help you stand on your feet and learn how to walk.
FLORY TACLE, RECEIVED PROSTHETIC LEGS: I feel happy, and I can't believe that somebody ask about that.
COLLINS: I know that you actually had a chance to go shopping. And you were walking around the mall with your new legs. Can you tell me about it?
TACLE: Yes. It was so nice, that I was able to walk at the mall and go shopping, and with my leg prosthetics. And so, so excited about that.
COLLINS: I'm sure you are, Flory. It's an incredible story.
And, Mike, you have watched her go through all of this, the complete and total transformation. How's it feel when you see her walking now?
PECK: It feels good. We took Flory to the Ribfest in downtown Minneapolis, and then she told my wife that that was the first time that she was ever in a large group of people like that where she didn't have to look up to them, and so she was so excited to be on eye-level with everyone.
TACLE: Yes.
PECK: And so when I hear feedback like that from my wife, or sometimes from Flory, I just say, boy, this is really neat.
COLLINS: Well, Flory, we of course wish you the absolute best in your travels and in your new life. To the both of you, thanks so much for sharing your story, really an incredible one as we look at the pictures, before and after pictures if you will.
Mike Peck and Flory Tacle, thanks again for sharing your story.
TACLE: Thank you.
PECK: Thank you very much, Heidi.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Mike Peck started Outreach Asia while working as a pilot for Northwest Airlines. He says he wanted to improve the lives of the less fortunate in Southeast Asia. He's still working to help others like Flory, who will now be able to fulfill her dream to become a teacher. Good stuff there.
Meanwhile, that's all we have today on AMERICAN MORNING. Thanks so much for watching us. Jack Cafferty, Andy Serwer.
Bill Hemmer, standing by, though, in Alabama to wrap things up for us -- Bill.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, I've got some friends, Heidi. This is Patty Hall, Kate Raymond and Cindy Johnson. And this is...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Trey.
HEMMER: And Trey is a...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Capuchin monkey.
HEMMER: OK, I like that.
And this is?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is Raja, and he's a white tiger, and there are less than 250 of them in the world.
HEMMER: OK, and now they're OK?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're OK, but their homes are gone.
HEMMER: So you're animals, though, you evacuated how many before the storm.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Two-hundred and sixty-five animals.
HEMMER: And what day this week did you do that, Cindy?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We started on Monday, and we evacuated our yaks. The male is 1,400 pounds, and we knew that was going to be a challenge. So we moved him and his mate on Monday. Tuesday, we started at 6:00 in the morning and evacuated 265 animals -- lions, tigers, bears, cougars, leopards, primates.
HEMMER: Wow. Where'd you put them?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: On 18-wheel moving vans, and we headed north.
HEMMER: The zoo is devastated, you say.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's devastated. And we can only get halfway into the park, so we don't even know what the back half looks like.
HEMMER: The animals, where would they be housed and how long are you going to need that housing?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have no idea. We have to wait until the water goes down, assess the damages, what pens we can put animals back into and what pens we can't and that we're going to have to rebuild. It could take months for us to get back on site.
HEMMER: These are beautiful animals, and I wish you the best of luck OK.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you. Because we're a nonprofit zoo, and it's been real hard for us.
HEMMER: Yes, I can only imagine.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But our animals are safe, and our keepers are safe. HEMMER: And go find that gator.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're working on it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's right, yes, we're working on that, too.
HEMMER: Chuckie apparently was swimming in the parking lot last night around 10:00 here, so.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's right.
HEMMER: Good luck. Thanks to all of you, and thanks for sharing your story.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.
HEMMER: I want to close out this edition of AMERICAN MORNING. I want to get to Daryn Kagan now for the next hour, "CNN LIVE TODAY" in Atlanta.
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 17, 2004 - 09:32 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Unfortunately, you're going to see a lot more of these photos throughout the day and out the weekend, too, as we continue to assess the damage here in Alabama, and also in Florida. There are some parts of the Panhandle, we're told, where upwards of 100 yards of the beach simply taken away by the force of this storm, Ivan.
We're literally in the middle of the road today here in Gulf shores, Alabama, trying to get access to Pleasure Island behind us. But to date no one is allowed back, including the people who live there.
All throughout this area, though, it is quite striking to know the water was well past this area late last night. It's receded, that's good news. But what's left behind, as you can see, is just garbage just about everywhere. And just about everything you can imagine, whether it's a boogie board, or a piece of beach furniture or even a couch has floated by here yesterday. And there is a stack of wooden steps that has come up of somebody's beach home that lies literally in the middle of Highway 59 behind us.
The police chief and the mayor, they went into the island about two hours ago. They have not come out yet. But possibly, we're told, in the next couple of minutes, maybe the next 30 minutes before we go off the air here, we'll be able to talk to them and find out what they have found on that twelve-mile stretch of island known as Pleasure Island behind me here.
As our coverage continues back to Heidi again in New York now.
Heidi, hello again there.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Hello again. Boy, there's something about those still pictures, too, as you come in to the segment; it's just devastating.
Also this half hour, we're going to hear from the director of FEMA, find out if America's emergency teams have been pushed beyond their limits.
But for now, we're going to talk about the stories now in the news this morning. Cleanup operations under way this hour in Nigeria after a major blast from a sabotaged pipeline. Within the past hour, Nigerian police announced fuel thieves set off an explosion while trying to steal petroleum. At least twelve people were killed in that explosion. New details about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. According to the Associated Press, a new report suggests weapons were not being stockpiled in Iraq, but there were signs Saddam Hussein had intentions to restart his weapons program in the future. It is not clear when the full 1,500-page report will be released.
Secretary of State Colin Powell is going back to school. In about half an hour, Powell will speak to hundreds of students at the Teach Africa Youth Forum in Washington. The forum aims to increase understanding of Africa and explore the effects of U.S. relations with that continent.
Fliers will see tighter security procedures starting next week. Government screeners will use pat-downs to check for explosives on passengers bodies or in their carry-on luggage. Passengers must also take off jackets before passing through metal detectors. The government says the changes will cause some inconvenience, but are designed to prevent terrorism.
President Bush expected to visit parts of the Gulf coast this weekend. He's already ordered the release of federal disaster funds for Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. I spoke with Michael Brown, the director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, about recovery plans in the wake of Ivan.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: How do you actually get the money to these folks? How long will they have to wait?
MICHAEL BROWN, FEMA DIRECTOR: Well, actually, that's the easiest thing that we do, is get the money to them. All these disaster victims have to do is dial the toll-free number, the 1-800-621-FEMA number, and talk to our operators that are in Texas, Puerto Rico, and Maryland and Virginia. When they start making those phone calls, as we saw during Hurricane Charley and Frances, we can start getting money out them through direct deposits literally the next day. Sometimes it might take a couple of days.
We've already distributed upwards of $400 million to people in Florida that were victims. We can start doing that now in Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi. So they just need to call that number as soon as they can.
COLLINS: We talk a lot about the recovery after one of these disasters. Oftentimes much, much harder than the event itself. How do people stay safe at this point?
BROWN: Well, you know, that's a great question, because I'm really concerned about -- I know how it feels when they've been out of their homes for a long time and these residents want to get back, see how things look, get back in there. What they need to remember is there's still floodwaters that are in some of those homes. We still have downed power lines. We still have roads that are blocked. It's still a very dangerous situation. The power rescue workers were having a difficult time at times getting in certain places. Imagine what a resident would have trying to get in there. So they need to be very cautious as they're allowed to move back into these areas.
COLLINS: Michael, let me ask you on a personal note, though -- we haven't done that before -- what's it been like for you? I mean, you have worked this thing since the beginning, all three of these hurricanes. We're now talking about tropical storm Jeanne, who may be lingering we're on the Dominican Republic right now. What has it been like inside for you?
BROWN: Well, you know, it's amazing. I don't really feel tired until I get back to my hotel room or get back in a car, and I realize how tired I am.
But what's the most uplifting to me is when you see these victims and you talk to them. You know, they're just wanting some help, they just want to know that somebody cares. And when I talk to them, I mean, it just gives me chills, because I know that it's me and it's my team, the whole FEMA team out there that are really the face of the government, the face of the entire nation, trying to help these people. And so it really spurs me to tell myself, and to tell all my team members, let's do the best we can for these folks.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Working very hard, indeed. Michael Brown, the director of FEMA this morning.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HEMMER: Back here in Gulf Shores, good news for the folks coming back to their homes. The power just about 10 minutes came back. So the electricity is coming back slowly in this part of Alabama. Throughout the region, though, we're told, upwards of 1.7 million without power, which is going to cause life to be very miserable here, at least until they get that back on, which could take days, and maybe as long as a week before power is fully restored.
Gary Tuchman also here in Alabama, talking to people about how they feel in the aftermath of the storm, and also this nagging question here in Gulf Shores -- Where's Chuckie?
Here's Gary.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The husband of the zoo director in Gulf Shores, Alabama is now doubling as an alligator hunter. The zoo is underwater from Hurricane Ivan, and several alligators got away. Unfortunately, for safety reasons, some will have to be killed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's over our heads right here.
TUCHMAN (on camera): Almost all of the other animals were evacuated before the hurricane, but also on the loose, 13 deer who could not be moved before the storm. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We opened the doors. We knew they could swim. They're in full antlers right now. They do not sedate, nor do they move real well.
TUCHMAN: Patty Hall has been director of the zoo for five years.
This is how the barrier island main street near the zoo looked as the storm rolled in. And hours later, the same street, under nine feet of water in spots. One of the deer was spotted frantically swimming in the waters. Another was found and will be OK after being shot with a tranquilizer dart.
Alligators were seen under that water, including this particular one, spotted by a CNN photographer, which the zoo desperately wants to catch alive.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were real interested in our big boy who is Chuckie, and he is about 12 feet, and weighs anywhere from 1,000 to 1,200 pounds. He could pull you down, drown you and swallow you.
TUCHMAN: Another alligator was found and killed.
Chuckie, though, is still on the loose. Gary Tuchman, CNN, Gulf Shores, Alabama.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER: Somewhere around here, and there's a lot of water too, a lot more today than there was about two days ago.
The police chief and the fire chief back from their surveillance earlier today. We'll talk to the fire chief in a moment about what's happening now on this island behind us.
Back to Heidi now, though, in New York again -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Yes, I was thinking there would probably be more than one animal like Chuckie running around in those parts, Alabama, Florida.
All right, Bill, thanks so much.
Still to come, why are some Christian groups boycotting Procter & Gamble? We'll talk about that in a moment. And will the mob rule again at the primetime Emmys? A preview of that, coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: In this part of Alabama, debris just about everywhere, but this is probably only a shade of things to come for the area behind us, known as Pleasure Island.
The police chief just off the island for the first time today.
Arthur Bourne is my guest. And, chief, good morning.
ARTHUR BOURNE, GULF SHORES POLICE CHIEF: Good morning.
HEMMER: How bad is it?
BOURNE: We've got severe damage down there, a lot of beach erosion. There's probably four to five feet of stand sand on the beach road, a lot of structural damage to the condos and the houses.
HEMMER: When you say structural damage, have some homes been taken away by this storm?
BOURNE: There are several spots where there were homes that the pilings are standing, and that's it. But the majority of the buildings are still standing, but I'm sure there's going to be some extensive damage in those areas.
HEMMER: Overall, how do you think this area fared with the strength of Ivan?
BOURNE: I think overall we came out as best as we can expect. We were expecting the worst, obviously. The worst-case scenario would be to go back down there and nothing's left. But we do have something to work with, but it's going to take several months to put it back to the.
HEMMER: This road, when will it open up again for folks to go home and check out there?
BOURNE: This area where we're standing south of here, it's going to be several days to weeks before we can get people back in to check their homes. What we're trying to do now is to open up everything north of here and get the residents back to the area, and we're doing everything humanly possible to do that, and a lot of it depends on water and sewer and getting power hooked back up to the area.
HEMMER: You were here 25 years ago. Can you compare this storm to Frederic?
BOURNE: It's, in my opinion, it was probably a little bit worse than Frederic was, just the severity of the storm, and the hours of hurricane force winds that we experienced here.
HEMMER: Good luck to you, chief.
BOURNE: Thank you.
HEMMER: Thanks for talking with us.
I don't know if you know enough about the zoo or not, but a tiger apparently is on the scene now. We were told that a lot of animals had gotten out, but this one actually has...
BOURNE: I think that's been brought back in.
HEMMER: ... is back in custody.
Where's Chuckie, by the way? Where's this gator that's 1,000 pounds?
BOURNE: We're looking for him.
HEMMER: I think that's a mild understatement.
Thank you, chief.
BOURNE: You're welcome.
HEMMER: Good luck to you, all right.
BOURNE: Thank you.
HEMMER: Chief Bourne here in Gulf Shores.
Back to you, Heidi, again in New York now.
COLLINS: Looks like a baby bengal there. All right, Bill, thanks a lot.
Some stiff competition this weekend at the Emmy Awards. The HBO network could walk away with lots of statues. But there are also a number of shows that said farewell last season that are hoping for one last nod.
Entertainment correspondent Sibila Vargas has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SIBILA VARGAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: When it comes to this year's Emmys, angels and mobsters are a force to contend with.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: I'm going (EXPLETIVE DELETED).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VARGAS: With its star-studded cast, HBO's miniseries "Angels in America" is flying high with 21 nominations, helping to bring the cable network's total nominations to an astounding 124.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMES GANDOLFINI, ACTOR: Excuse me, it wasn't my idea.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VARGAS: Of course with 20 nominations, the Jersey boys of the Sopranos had a little hand in it. And with what many call an amazing season, some say it will take off a miracle to knock off the reigning king and queen of Emmys, James Gandolfini and Edie Falco.
EDIE FALCO, ACTRESS: You know, I've been surprised at every turn with these awards.
VARGAS: Speaking of surprises newcomer Amber Tamblin and her freshman drama "Joan of Arcadia" broke the mold with their three nods.
If you're placing bets in the comedy category, this year's dark horse could be the low-rated, yet critically acclaimed, "Arrested Development."
JASON BATEMAN, ACTOR: The fact that we get the nomination perhaps means we'll be around a little bit longer, and we can continue living the dream.
VARGAS: Emmy night is bound to be bittersweet, with the recent departure of shows like "Sex and the City," "Frasier" and "Friends."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JENNIFER ANISTON, ACTRESS: I love you all so much.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VARGAS: Jennifer Aniston is in the running in the comedy actress category. But insiders say this will be the year that Sarah Jessica Parker finally wraps her fingers around the gold statuette for her work in the sexy foursome, who were all nominated this year.
CYNTHIA NIXON, ACTRESS: It's a sort of a last kind of, you know, nod to our show, you know. Whether we win or not, like, we'll be there, and it's nice.
VARGAS: Two of the best comedy actor nominees were on shows that ended last season. But it's John Ritter's posthumous nomination that may turn out to be the sentimental highlight of the evening.
JASON RITTER, JOHN RITTER'S SON: It's nice when he's recognized for what an amazing talented guy he was.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN RITTER, ACTOR: Get your groove on!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, OK, we'll go to the movie. Just stop doing that.
RITTER: Works every time.
VARGAS: The Emmys will air on ABC.
Sibila Vargas, CNN, Hollywood.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Again, that will happen on Sunday night in Los Angeles, beginning at 8:00 Eastern.
Still to come this morning, helping a young girl walk from a world away. It's our "Extra Effort" segment today, just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Want to quickly get a check of the market now. Andy Serwer "Minding Your Business" for that -- Andy.
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Good morning.
Let's take a look at the Big Board. Futures earlier were so bright I needed shades. Oh, that's a good one.
All right, 29 points up on the Dow. What's moving this morning? Ford is, and that's because it's going to be pretty good. It's going to be cutting jobs at its money-losing Jaguar division, but that's going to be in the UK. Also Texas Instruments, chip stocks should be very active today. It's upping its dividend, and what else it's doing. Oh yes, it says it may be buying back a billion dollars of stock. A lot of times they don't always do that. They say they might buy up to. So got to watch out for that. And that's our business news.
COLLINS: My gosh you were quick and to the point.
SERWER: That's right.
COLLINS: We appreciate it.
All right, AMERICAN MORNING will be back in just a moment, right here on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Flory Tacle was born and raised in the Philippines 19 years ago, but it wasn't until this year, in Minnesota, that she took her first steps. Mike Peck had already dedicated part of his life to helping other people, but helping Flory walk took an extra effort.
Mike Peck and Flory Tacle joining us now from Minneapolis.
You actually helped in getting the prosthetics for Flory. How'd you do that?
MICK PECK, FOUNDER, OUTREACH INC.: Well, we traveled to the Philippines in November, and Flory came over to my wife's family's house, and we asked her if she'd be interested in getting leg prosthetics. We didn't know anything about it. But I said, if you're interested in doing that, we would look into it and see how this could be done, and so then the process started.
COLLINS: Flory, tell me how it made you feel when you met Mike, and he said, you know what, we're going to help you out, we're going to help you stand on your feet and learn how to walk.
FLORY TACLE, RECEIVED PROSTHETIC LEGS: I feel happy, and I can't believe that somebody ask about that.
COLLINS: I know that you actually had a chance to go shopping. And you were walking around the mall with your new legs. Can you tell me about it?
TACLE: Yes. It was so nice, that I was able to walk at the mall and go shopping, and with my leg prosthetics. And so, so excited about that.
COLLINS: I'm sure you are, Flory. It's an incredible story.
And, Mike, you have watched her go through all of this, the complete and total transformation. How's it feel when you see her walking now?
PECK: It feels good. We took Flory to the Ribfest in downtown Minneapolis, and then she told my wife that that was the first time that she was ever in a large group of people like that where she didn't have to look up to them, and so she was so excited to be on eye-level with everyone.
TACLE: Yes.
PECK: And so when I hear feedback like that from my wife, or sometimes from Flory, I just say, boy, this is really neat.
COLLINS: Well, Flory, we of course wish you the absolute best in your travels and in your new life. To the both of you, thanks so much for sharing your story, really an incredible one as we look at the pictures, before and after pictures if you will.
Mike Peck and Flory Tacle, thanks again for sharing your story.
TACLE: Thank you.
PECK: Thank you very much, Heidi.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Mike Peck started Outreach Asia while working as a pilot for Northwest Airlines. He says he wanted to improve the lives of the less fortunate in Southeast Asia. He's still working to help others like Flory, who will now be able to fulfill her dream to become a teacher. Good stuff there.
Meanwhile, that's all we have today on AMERICAN MORNING. Thanks so much for watching us. Jack Cafferty, Andy Serwer.
Bill Hemmer, standing by, though, in Alabama to wrap things up for us -- Bill.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, I've got some friends, Heidi. This is Patty Hall, Kate Raymond and Cindy Johnson. And this is...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Trey.
HEMMER: And Trey is a...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Capuchin monkey.
HEMMER: OK, I like that.
And this is?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is Raja, and he's a white tiger, and there are less than 250 of them in the world.
HEMMER: OK, and now they're OK?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're OK, but their homes are gone.
HEMMER: So you're animals, though, you evacuated how many before the storm.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Two-hundred and sixty-five animals.
HEMMER: And what day this week did you do that, Cindy?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We started on Monday, and we evacuated our yaks. The male is 1,400 pounds, and we knew that was going to be a challenge. So we moved him and his mate on Monday. Tuesday, we started at 6:00 in the morning and evacuated 265 animals -- lions, tigers, bears, cougars, leopards, primates.
HEMMER: Wow. Where'd you put them?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: On 18-wheel moving vans, and we headed north.
HEMMER: The zoo is devastated, you say.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's devastated. And we can only get halfway into the park, so we don't even know what the back half looks like.
HEMMER: The animals, where would they be housed and how long are you going to need that housing?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have no idea. We have to wait until the water goes down, assess the damages, what pens we can put animals back into and what pens we can't and that we're going to have to rebuild. It could take months for us to get back on site.
HEMMER: These are beautiful animals, and I wish you the best of luck OK.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you. Because we're a nonprofit zoo, and it's been real hard for us.
HEMMER: Yes, I can only imagine.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But our animals are safe, and our keepers are safe. HEMMER: And go find that gator.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're working on it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's right, yes, we're working on that, too.
HEMMER: Chuckie apparently was swimming in the parking lot last night around 10:00 here, so.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's right.
HEMMER: Good luck. Thanks to all of you, and thanks for sharing your story.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.
HEMMER: I want to close out this edition of AMERICAN MORNING. I want to get to Daryn Kagan now for the next hour, "CNN LIVE TODAY" in Atlanta.
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