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American Morning
Catastrophic Tornado in Greensburg, Kansas; Back-to-Back Suicide Bombings in Iraq
Aired May 07, 2007 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, everyone. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
I'm Tony Harris.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins.
Watch events come in to the NEWSROOM live on this Monday morning, the 7th of May.
Here is what's on the rundown.
Going home this hour to this. Greensburg, Kansas, residents get time to collect what's left of their belongings. Extensive coverage of the catastrophic tornado.
HARRIS: Guess who's coming for dinner? Queen Elizabeth calls on the White House this morning. She is guest of honor at a grand banquet tonight.
A day of pageantry, live in the NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: Loaded with caffeine and hype. Energy drinks are making some children sick.
The buzz on a boost in the CNN NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: At the top this morning for you, destruction as far as the eye can see. A heartbreaking sight for the people of Greensburg, Kansas.
This hour they are getting a first-hand look at the damage from a monster tornado, but there is not much left. An estimated 95 percent of the town -- 95 percent -- destroyed. At least nine people in the area killed. On Main Street, not a business left standing, every church blown away.
The tornado was one of dozens to roar across the southern plains over the weekend. The Greensburg twister an EF5. That is the highest on the National Weather Service scale. Its winds estimated at 205 miles an hour.
COLLINS: We do have extensive coverage planned for you throughout the morning.
We begin with CNN's Rob Marciano. He is on the ground in Greensburg.
Rob, being that you are also a meteorologist, we're thrilled to have you there to sort of set the scene for us, if you would.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST, CORRESPONDENT: Well, Heidi, the last time I saw destruction like this is back in 1999, the May 3rd tornadoes that rolled through Moore, Oklahoma. A similar scale of winds. It was an F5 tornado, and neighborhoods there completely destroyed as well.
But what makes this unique is that this town, you know, less than a mile wide. And then the storm itself, the tornado itself, more than that. So, the entire town, for the most part, completely wiped out.
What you see behind me are neighborhoods, and trees -- mature trees completely stripped at their bark and foliage. And then houses either leveled or crumbled with this -- with this sort of wind.
Now, for the first time since this storm came through Friday night, residents will be allowed to come back into their homes today. They'll be driving in. They'll be having their addresses written on their windshields so that the police here know that that's the only place they can go to start to sift through their belongings and maybe pick up some of their valuables and personal items.
The National Weather Service put out a phenomenal warning with this storm. They had a warning out 30 minutes in advance. Sirens here started going out 20 minutes in advance. That is likely the main reason that more lives weren't lost.
Not only is it the National Weather Service's job to warn folks, but after the storm comes through, it's their job to survey the damage and determine how strong this storm was. And I went out with one of those storm surveyors yesterday afternoon, and this is what he told me.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARCIANO: Larry, what was your first thought when you came on site here?
LARRY RUTHI, NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE: I was kind of surprised at the magnitude of the damage that came into town. There's just not much left.
MARCIANO: You look around, and seemingly things are indiscernible. I mean, you have to have lived in this town to even pick out what something might be.
When you look at structures like this over here built with not just brick veneer, but actual brick and mortar...
RUTHI: Yes, absolutely.
MARCIANO: ... what is this kind of damage telling you about how strong this storm was? RUTHI: With the damage that we're getting to these very old buildings that have been here for, in many cases, 100 years, or close to it, probably what I'm seeing is high end EF3 or low-end EF4 damage, probably close to EF4 damage in these buildings.
MARCIANO: So, EF4, we're talking 170, 180-mile-an-hour winds?
RUTHI: Yes.
MARCIANO: What have you rated this storm? This damage you think is an EF4.
RUTHI: EF4, I would say.
MARCIANO: But the storm as a whole, you'd rate it at a what?
RUTHI: An EF5.
MARCIANO: An EF5.
RUTHI: Yes. And we used the high school. If you've been town to the high school, that was one of the indicators we used to push us over the edge for an EF5 rating.
The whole south half or more of the high school is just completely gone, folded in on itself. A two-story brick structure, extremely sturdy. That really impressed me, with the magnitude of damage we had there.
MARCIANO: How wide was this tornado?
RUTHI: About 1.7 miles.
MARCIANO: That is huge.
RUTHI: It's extremely huge. And we had another tornado that developed after this one had concluded. Friday night was a night of extremely wide and devastating tornadoes. Everything just came together perfectly for that to occur.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MARCIANO: And that happens quite a bit here in Tornado Alley, and it's easy for folks at home to say, hey, you know, it's Kansas, tornadoes happen. But an F5 tornado to make a direct hit on a town this size, that is truly remarkable.
EF5 tornadoes, Heidi, only make up about one percent -- or less than one percent of all the tornadoes that we see. And the last time we had an EF5 tornado was, as we said, back in 1999. This is a rare event for sure.
Back to you.
COLLINS: Yes, absolutely unbelievable. And even though as you stand there now, Rob, I was actually hearing before we went to your piece birds singing in the background. I mean, it's unbelievable of how, you know, a couple of days of just unbelievable devastation and tornado activity, and then the calm.
Talk a little bit if you could, Rob -- I know you're not at your computers -- about what may be coming next for this area.
MARCIANO: Well, for this particular town, this part of Kansas, the western half of Kansas, cooler air has moved in. So the atmosphere much more stable.
You know, to add insult to injury, the entire weekend was turbulent here. They had storm after storm roll in, with even a few more tornadoes roll through this part of Kansas. But now that boundary has shifted a little bit farther to the east and the south, so today does look to be, at least in this part of Kansas, to be a little bit less turbulent. And that will certainly help folks who are finally being allowed back into the neighborhoods, back to sift through the rubble, or what's left of their homes today.
COLLINS: Yes. I guess I had heard something like 135 tornadoes throughout the weekend there. Just unbelievable.
All right. Rob Marciano reporting for us live from Greensburg today.
Rob, we'll check back with you later. Thanks.
HARRIS: Boy, and we just have to show you this. It is some of the most dramatic video we have ever aired. Storm chasers at tornadovideo.net shot this footage in Ellis County. Wow. Ellis County, Oklahoma.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jesus Christ!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get in. Shut your door. Shut your door. Shut your door.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. Go. Back up. Back up.
We're OK. We're OK.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: You're not OK. Man.
Storm chaser Reed Timmer (ph) put himself in harm's way for some of the most compelling tornado pictures we've ever seen. And look, while this is great video, we advise you, don't you go near a storm like this. Go the other way and find some safe shelter.
Look at that. Boy.
Reynolds Wolf standing by in the severe weather center for us.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: We've got a view from the ground now from Mark Opegrande. He is with our affiliate in Oklahoma City, KOCO.
Let's take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK OPEGRANDE, REPORTER, KOCO: Well, I tell you right now, it looks like they've closed off the bridge over there just to the east of Harvey (ph) and southwest 59th. There is an officer down there turning people around.
The crews from the construction company -- you guys were talking to one of the construction managers just a little while ago -- they have been working with the big crane over there trying to dig stuff out of the culvert. In fact, they have a -- it looked like a pump that they moved out of the way because it's probably going to float away after a little while. But they've been over there checking out that area, trying to see what they can do.
Now, the interesting thing, you look down here, there's an apartment complex just down to our south right down over there. You can see how deep it is off -- I don't know if you can see that guy off -- off in the distance there, wading through the water. It looks like it's up past his knees, up to his thighs as he's walking through.
That is a lot of water down in that area. We saw that gate locked, or it was blocked off about two hours ago from some of the debris. Some guys had to come out and try to get the debris out of the way so they can even open the gate. But there's been a number of people walking around this area just trying to get to their apartment complexes.
But again, this water has not receded at all. And at least a half an hour, 45 minutes, it's still been flowing. Now, the rain has almost stopped. It's almost just a little bit of a sprinkle. But again, this water has not receded one bit, guys.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Just a sprinkle now, but the damage clearly has been done. Heavy rains and floodwaters the story today in Oklahoma City.
We will keep an eye on it for you.
COLLINS: When disaster strikes, the American Red Cross goes into action. The relief agency is fanning across the region now to help those who lost everything.
Karyn Yaussy is a national spokeswoman for the American Red Cross. She is joining us from Greensburg this morning.
Karyn, thanks for being with us. I know how busy you guys must be.
Could you take a moment to update us on the survivors? How many are we talking about that are in your shelters now?
KARYN YAUSSY, SPOKESWOMAN, AMERICAN RED CROSS: At this point in time, Heidi, we have approximately 100 people staying in two shelters here in the Greensburg area. Of course, with the other weather situations that are happening around Kansas, and even into Oklahoma, the possibility of other shelters opening with other survivors from those particular tornadoes and flooding events is happening at the same time. So, here in the Greensburg area, we have about 100 people in the shelters.
COLLINS: What is the Red Cross able to provide at this point?
YAUSSY: At this point in time, we're really trying to meet just the basic emergency needs of the people.
COLLINS: Sure.
YAUSSY: A safe, warm place to sleep at night, food to eat. Emotional support is really one of the bigger things that we're doing. And then of course we're working with trying to connect family from other parts of the country with their loved ones here so that everybody knows everybody else is OK. And through that, we use the Safe and Well program that's available through the redcross.org Web site from the American Red Cross.
COLLINS: OK, great, because at a time like this, certainly one of the things that people I imagine would need would be their family.
Karyn, talk for a minute if you could about that emotional support. How did people seem on the whole to you?
YAUSSY: Well, I visited with some of the people this morning on my way in here. They're really devastated. They're very anxious.
Obviously, today they get to come back to the city for the first time to see things in the daylight. A lot of anxiety, a lot of sadness. They're awfully kind of numb, also, about -- about what's going on. So, the anxiety level is pretty high today.
COLLINS: I'm not sure where you are from originally, Karyn, but have you seen devastation like this before? I mean, we are talking about the strongest tornado measured on the Fujita Scale. It's unbelievable when we look at these pictures.
YAUSSY: This is amazing, and I have been to a number of tornado scenes before and some other kinds of disasters across the United States, and this really is quite different looking. I think all you have to do is look at the trees and you'll see something that you just don't see in most disaster situations. It really is a devastating scene here.
COLLINS: Well, I'm sure the people there are very happy to see you, and with the Red Cross badge on your vest there.
Tell us quickly before we let you go, what do you need most? How can people help? YAUSSY: Probably most we need people's thoughts and prayers for the families here in the disaster situation. But people can help probably the quickest by contributing financially to the disaster fund of the American Red Cross. And that gets the supplies and the people here that are going to help these people the most.
COLLINS: Right. And they're going to need a lot of help for several days to come, I'm sure.
Karyn Yaussy, national spokeswoman for the American Red Cross.
Karyn, thank you.
YAUSSY: Thank you, Heidi.
COLLINS: And if you do want to help, here's a little bit more information on exactly how to do that. The American Red Cross is accepting donations at 1-800-RED-CROSS, or you can pledge online at redcross.org.
HARRIS: Back-to-back suicide bombings in Iraq today coming after a weekend of more American deaths. Police say at least 20 people were killed and 40 others wounded in two car bombings in Ramadi, west of Baghdad. The attacks just one day after nine American soldiers were killed. Six of them died in a single blast in Diyala province.
Live now to CNN's Nic Robertson in Baghdad.
And Nic, we will talk about the violence in Diyala in a moment, but the violence in Ramadi, that's Anbar province, if I'm correct. Is Anbar province starting to heat up again?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It appears to be, Tony. What we've heard over recent weeks and months is that the tribes there have been able to tackle al Qaeda and reduce some of the violence, but today it was a double suicide bombing in the center of Ramadi. About noon, a car bomb, a suicide car bomb went off in a market. A little bit later, another car bomb, suicide car bomb went off in the north of the city. Twenty people killed there, 40 wounded.
A roadside bomb exploded in the center of Baghdad today. Three people killed in that explosion, two people wounded.
And in the south of Baghdad, a mortar round went off in the southwest of the city. Five people killed, two wounded there.
And another five Iraqi soldiers killed north of Baghdad in the town of Samarra, where there was significant violence yesterday when 12 policemen were killed. Those soldiers killed by a single roadside bomb destroying their vehicle -- Tony.
HARRIS: And Nic, if you would, give us an update on the security situation in Baghdad. Are we hearing from high-ranking Iraqi officials about how security is going in Baghdad?
ROBERTSON: There's certainly concern being expressed from high- ranking Sunni officials. Indeed, the political process here, according to the vice president of Iraq, a Sunni, one of the vice presidents here, Tariq Hashemi, the political process is under threat.
He told me that not enough is happening to help the Sunnis out in the country at the moment, that changes he's demanding and expecting to see an Iraq's constitution by next week haven't been made. And if they're not made by next week, he says he's going to pull out of the political process.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TARIQ HASHEMI, IRAQI VICE PRESIDENT: If the constitution has not been subject to major changes, definitely I will tell my constituency frankly that I have made the mistake of the life when I put my endorsement to that national accord.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTSON: Now, what he says, he wants to see changes on federalism. That means making sure for the Sunnis that Iraq doesn't break down into a Sunni element, a Shia element, a Kurdish element.
He wants to see improvements for the Sunni people. He said that they're poor right now, that they don't stand currently to benefit from the country's national resources, from gas and oil.
His threat's very real. And he says at the moment the Sunni community is disaffected because the ramping up of security in Baghdad is not paying off for them. And he says they're still seeing the Shia death squads still killing people, and this is a great concern for the Sunni community, he says -- Tony.
HARRIS: CNN's Nic Robertson for us in Baghdad.
Nic, appreciate it. Thank you.
COLLINS: A town torn apart, devastated by a tornado. Residents of Greensburg, Kansas, now wonder what's left and what's next.
That's ahead, coming up in the NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: Pomp and circumstance at the White House today. The White House welcomes her majesty, the queen -- live, here in the NEWSROOM.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Alina Cho in New York.
New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine is heading back to work today just three and a half weeks after the accident that nearly killed him.
I'll have that story in the NEWSROOM just ahead.
COLLINS: Filling up or just plain fed up? Gas prices on the rise like crazy.
You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Quickly wanted to take a moment to show you some of these pictures. Look at that.
HARRIS: Yes.
COLLINS: This is coming in from our affiliate there, KOCO, Oklahoma City. And, you know, I lived there for a little while, and I've never seen that, quite that much and moving that fast.
Certainly something that, as these terrible storms over the weekend occurred, now Oklahomans are seeing the aftermath and the flooding. And certainly trying to deal with that today. So, we are going to continue to watch some of these live pictures as they come in and bring them to you.
But boy, what a mess.
HARRIS: Heartbreaking, gut-wrenching. Few words can truly describe the unbelievable scenes in Greensburg, Kansas. The tiny town ripped to shreds by one of the strongest tornadoes to hit the U.S. in years.
Greensburg residents are being allowed back in this hour to survey the damage, but only for a short time.
CNN's Tara Mergener is there.
And Tara, give me a sense. You know, you can see the pictures on television, but it's another thing to be on the ground there. Describe the scene for us and what people who come back to their homes are likely to see, if anything.
TARA MERGENER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, Tony.
Well, simply put, there's absolutely nothing left. In fact, the governor here is going to be meeting with FEMA later on today to start to assess all of this massive damage.
Now, we are standing on Main Street, as is the rest of the town, absolutely destroyed. And the residents who come back today face a very grim reality.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHARLES HERD, TORNADO SURVIVOR: The siren was blowing and the electricity went off. The sirens stopped. So, that was a bad sign.
MERGENER (voice over): The National Weather Service says an EF5 tornado, its strongest category for a twister, hit Greensburg, Kansas, Friday night. The Red Cross says nine out of 10 buildings were destroyed or heavily damaged.
At its peak, the monstrous twister was nearly two miles wide. It churned along the ground for more than 20 miles, with winds estimated at 205 miles per hour.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our life is destroyed here. I guarantee you everything we had was at that hotel, and it's leveled. That whole side of town is leveled. Our families' houses, everything, pretty well.
MERGENER: Rescue crews and neighbors spent the weekend dodging more tornadoes, looking for people trapped under rubble piled as high as 30 feet.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We all have lanterns. I had a crank-up lantern that I was using. And we just kept yelling "Hello?" And we'd listen, you know, and we heard people screaming. We kicked in a couple doors for some people.
MERGENER: President Bush declared the county surrounding Greensburg a federal disaster area. He said FEMA will help rebuild this town.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are a very resilient people. You know, when you come to Kansas, you know the conditions. With the right spirit and the right attitude, anything is possible, and these people will rebuild.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MERGENER: And back here live in Greensburg, Kansas, where residents are now starting to return to check out the damage. But they will not be allowed to stay because this area is just too unsafe.
Live in Greensburg, Kansas, I'm Tara Mergener.
Tony, back to you.
HARRIS: So, explain this to me, Tara. So, folks are being allowed in, but not for long. What are they being allowed to do? Do we know how long they will be allowed to sort of survey the damage? And time enough to do what, grab a couple things and leave again?
MERGENER: Pretty much. I don't believe there's any time limit on how long they can stay here. I do know they have to be out tonight by 6:00.
And simply put, that's because the area is just not safe to be in. There's a lot of nails all over the place, hazardous material. Who knows what can happen if people are walking around here for too long? So, it's really time for them to see what's happened to their homes, maybe pick up a few things, but then go back to the shelter, go back to their families, go back to the hotel, wherever they've been able to find to stay in the meantime.
HARRIS: CNN's Tara Mergener.
Boy, Tara, what a scene. Thank you.
COLLINS: New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine back at work this morning, but still hobbled by injuries he got in a serious car accident.
CNN's Alina Cho live now in New York.
Boy, Alina, this is certainly the type of accident that still gives you the chills if you, of course, are the victim.
CHO: Oh, yes, but thankfully he's had a remarkable recovery, especially when you consider, Heidi, that the accident was just three and a half weeks ago. You know, we should mention that the governor officially took the reins of power at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time, just a couple of minutes ago, from Senate president Richard Codey, who was acting governor at the time.
You know, Governor Corzine is not quite walking on his own yet, but he is heading back to work. He won't be at the state house, though. He'll be working from the governor's mansion in Princeton, just a couple of miles away. It will effectively be a satellite office, and it allows him to work and recover at the same time, which, of course, is very important.
Corzine is getting physical therapy three times a day. He had three operations on his leg, and was just released from the hospital a week ago today.
Now, he doesn't remember much about the accident, but he is starting to recall some bits and pieces. He told The Associated Press over the weekend that he remembers working on some papers in the car when the crash happened and waking up to a lot of pain, obviously. He also said he remembers that helicopter ride to the hospital and fearing that he might not make it out alive.
Now, Corzine says he knows he set a bad example by not wearing his seat belt, and he says he'll try very hard to set the right kind of example as he moves forward. And to that end, he has already paid that $46 fine to the state for not wearing his seat belt, because, of course, it's against the law.
Another important point that we should make, Corzine's spokesman told us that the governor will be paying all of his medical bills, which will easily run in the six figures, out of his own pocket. Now, that includes everything from that helicopter ride, to the strawberry milkshakes and the cheeseburgers.
It is one way that the governor is showing the people of New Jersey that he is sorry for what happened. This is something clearly, Heidi, that has changed his life. He said so today, and he is trying to move forward. And the first step is getting back to work.
COLLINS: Yes. And you've got to have the strawberry milkshake and cheeseburgers when you're not feeling so hot.
CHO: That's right.
COLLINS: That's for sure.
Hey -- quickly, Alina, what is the first thing business-wise on the governor's agenda today?
CHO: Well, he'll be working on the state budget. This is a $33 billion budget with a $2 billion shortfall, and they only have six weeks to hammer out the details, Heidi. So, you know, a lot of work to do, a lot of work ahead.
You know, a lot of people have been asking, how is he going to do this important business out of the governor's mansion in Princeton, which is 11 miles from Trenton and the state house? Well, the mansion has -- as I mentioned, is effectively a satellite office.
COLLINS: Right.
CHO: It's equipped with video conferencing technology, and his spokesman says you can bet a lot of people will be coming to him. Last Friday he had a senior staff meeting at the mansion, and he'll be meeting with a lot of people in the coming days and weeks as they try to hammer out a budget -- Heidi.
COLLINS: All right. Thanks so much, Alina Cho, for the update on Governor Corzine.
Thanks, Alina.
HARRIS: Iraq diplomacy and a woman in a red dress. Just what was it that got in the way of an anticipated meeting between Iran's foreign minister and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice?
We will explain ahead in the NEWSROOM.
RICHARD QUEST, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The queen will be on the south lawn. Tonight, she will be in the state dining room.
You will be there because you're in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, everyone.
Welcome back at the bottom of the hour to the CNN NEWSROOM.
I'm Tony Harris.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Heidi Collins.
Returning home and finding heartbreak -- that's the day ahead for residents of Greensburg, Kansas -- or, maybe more accurately, what used to be Greensburg. It is unbelievable. The town virtually disintegrated by winds that topped 200 miles an hour.
Today, residents can return home for a quick assessment of what, if anything, they have left. Emergency crews are also going through the piles of debris and searching for the missing.
HARRIS: The Kansas town of Greensburg not the only area hard hit by the weekend tornadoes. Within hours, more than 75 tornadoes touched down in Kansas and Oklahoma. This is video of one twister ripping into Sweetwater, Oklahoma. And this is the reaction after.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Indescribable. You can prepare yourself all you want, but until you come home and see your house gone -- it's hard.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Boy, it is hard.
Several homes were destroyed in Sweetwater and the local high school had an estimate $2 million in damage. In fact, Eric Sweetwater High was badly damaged by another tornado four years ago. Similar losses.
In north-central Kansas, one person inside a camper was killed north of Bennington. A number of homes destroyed or heavily damaged.
COLLINS: It has been a -- a crazy, crazy weekend weather-wise.
HARRIS: Yes.
COLLINS: Reynolds Wolf is watching it for us now, today -- and, Reynolds, we've got not only the tornadoes and then, of course, the aftermath, but now all of this flooding to talk about, too.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You know, if it's not one thing it's something else.
HARRIS: Yes.
COLLINS: Yes.
WOLF: You know, that's how it has been. It's been a very unlucky time for the Central Plains. But I'll tell you again, one thing we have to keep remembering is that it could have been far worse. Thank heavens they did have some adequate warnings and were able to take shelter, many of them.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: Still to come this morning, take a look at this. Your screen isn't blank. This is the 200 mile an hour tornado that wiped out Greensburg, Kansas. The sound and the fury coming up from -- man -- you're in the NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: And pomp and protocol on the menu when the queen calls on the White House. She arrives shortly. You'll see the ceremony live right here in THE NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
HARRIS: Let's get the latest now from Greensburg, Kansas. CNN's Don Lemon is there -- and, Don, good morning to you.
Could you believe your eyes when you drove into what used to be -- and will be again -- Greensburg, Kansas?
DON LEMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tony, absolutely not.
And you -- we both saw the devastation from Hurricane Katrina down on the Gulf Coast in New Orleans, Pass Christian and all of those areas.
This was even more surprising to me, because it sort of happened so quickly and -- and the residents here said it came about so quickly that they didn't expect it.
Most people say -- and the people who I have spoken to this morning look at these trees. They've never seen a tornado that came through and sort of sheared these trees. It looks like someone took sandpaper and just sort of -- and just sort of sanded the trees there.
They're sort of keeping us back. We were able to go out this way further. But this is -- look at the devastation all the way -- all the way through this entire town...
HARRIS: Yes.
LEMON: Basically all of it is gone.
We got here this morning and some of the residents were just getting back here. What they have to do is go to a certain area in town, get the fronts of their cars marked on their windshield with their address. And that's how they are identified. That's how they're let into the town.
And then they -- then they can come into the town and see what's left at their homes. Some of the people who -- who are coming in this morning is the reverend in the town here, Reverend Gene McIntosh, his entire family.
You guys were at home, right?
We're glad you're alive.
REV. GENE MCINTOSH, FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH: Thank you.
LEMON: We're glad you're OK.
G. MCINTOSH: Thank you.
LEMON: The Reverend Gene McIntosh and his entire family. Two of his sons came in from out of town, blew in right away. The other two of his children were with him down in the basement.
Tell us your story when the tornado came through.
G. MCINTOSH: We heard the sirens going off and it lasted about 20 or 30 minutes, I think, the warning. It was plenty of warning. We were in our house. The -- well, Tyler (ph) had a friend and we went downstairs immediately when we heard the warning.
LEMON: As you do when there's a tornado.
So you were in the -- you were in the basement. You said you were watching a movie just like normal whenever the sirens go off.
But there was something about this one that you knew was different, right?
JUDY MCINTOSH: When the electricity went off and we had candles lit, but then our ears began to pop, and that never happened before. So that was unusual.
G. MCINTOSH: Yes.
J. MCINTOSH: And very, very quiet and then you begin to hear the sound of a train, you know?
G. MCINTOSH: Yes.
J. MCINTOSH: And that's what I -- I had heard it described as you will hear a train or...
LEMON: Yes.
And you said it felt like an hour, but it only lasted for about five minutes?
J. MCINTOSH: We don't know for sure how long it lasted, but it was so severe hitting our house. And you just knew that if it didn't stop soon, that our house was going to be gone. And, you know, we didn't know the severity of it while we were in the basement.
LEMON: Yes.
And once it was over and you got out, what did you see?
J. MCINTOSH: I still didn't know the severity of it, but I knew we had been hit bad. But I knew my windows were gone. But it was dark. We just had one flashlight when we came out the hole in our door, I saw my neighbor Leslie Cleaner's (ph) house was gone.
LEMON: Yes.
J. MCINTOSH: And my son's schoolteacher's house was gone.
LEMON: Now what -- was Lesley the person that came out of the house that you saw?
J. MCINTOSH: No.
LEMON: There was a person standing...
G. MCINTOSH: Our neighbors just to the west of us, Mark, was standing there. He had been trapped under a refrigerator and a wall that had fallen on him. And his wife and maybe some others had -- had to free him from that.
So he was -- he was standing there. We had heard some hollering when we were -- when we were trying to get out. And he was trapped. And he's standing there bare-footed in all the debris and, you know, we were just standing out there.
And -- and the first responders -- EMS, Christie (ph), one of the parishioners in our church, she came by, "Oh, I'm so glad to see you folks. You -- you're all OK."
And...
(CRYING)
And they were, you know, telling us where to -- to move on to, to meet with the rest of the folks in the shelter area. So we're thankful for all of the first responders that were there to help out.
LEMON: Yes.
How are you doing?
G. MCINTOSH: I think we're doing OK. But the emotions are real close to the surface. You know, and when we see somebody it's -- it's just tears that say oh, you know, I saw one of our parishioners just a while ago that, you know, I knew he was OK, but I hadn't seen him. And it was just like, you know, brother, you're alive. You're OK. Good to see you. It's -- we've lost, you know, everything. People here have lost their homes and their businesses and they've been here for, you know, how long?
And -- and yet, you know, they come out and they say you're alive. We're here. And I believe it'll be rebuilt.
LEMON: You're going to rebuild?
G. MCINTOSH: I think the town will. I think it'll -- they'll rebuild. I -- we have lived in a church property, a church house that was provided for us, so it -- it'll be rebuilt, yes.
LEMON: Yes.
Thank you, Pastor.
The pastor and his entire family. And these two sons got in just as -- as quickly as they can.
Gene McIntosh and their family.
We're glad you're alive.
And we spoke to some of the people who said they lived here 80 years and they plan to rebuild, as well.
So we wish you the best of luck. We're going to be...
G. MCINTOSH: Praise the lord.
LEMON: Yes.
We're going to be with you throughout the day here.
G. MCINTOSH: Thank you.
LEMON: So, Tony, that explains it.
That answers your question.
HARRIS: Hey...
LEMON: When I first saw it, I couldn't believe it. And I know, you know, these people lived through it and they -- they're just happy that they're here.
HARRIS: Hey, Don, don't let the Reverend get away.
I've got a quick question, if you would, for him.
LEMON: Yes.
Go ahead.
HARRIS: He is a reverend...
LEMON: Come here, Reverend.
HARRIS: Part of...
LEMON: Come here, Reverend.
HARRIS: Part of what he does for a community in distress is to offer words of encouragement, healing words.
LEMON: Yes, and Tony...
HARRIS: What scriptures will he rely on to -- to help the people of his community work through this?
LEMON: You know what?
I anticipated that and I asked him that earlier.
HARRIS: Yes.
LEMON: You're usually the one who's comforting people, so what are you going to rely on in your faith and in your scriptures to -- to get you through this?
G. MCINTOSH: "When you pass through the waters, they will not overcome you, for I am with you." And we experienced god's presence. Like I say, just seeing each other and being able to -- to hug, just to say hi, you know, we rely on each other for god to -- to help bring that healing, I believe. That's -- that's so important.
LEMON: Yes.
G. MCINTOSH: And to know that -- that god is here with us through all of this.
LEMON: Thank you.
G. MCINTOSH: Yes.
LEMON: We wish you the best.
G. MCINTOSH: Thank you.
LEMON: Tony, I'm going to throw it back to you guys.
HARRIS: OK.
Wow!
Don, appreciate it.
Thank you.
G. MCINTOSH: Thank you.
COLLINS: Rush job for the rush hour -- San Francisco Bay Area residents get a portion of their McArthur maze back, coming up in THE NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: No big breakthrough at last week's Iraq conference and still a lot of speculation this morning about the moment that never really happened. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice did not meet with her Iranian counterpart.
Here to talk about it, Ambassador David Satterfield.
He is a senior adviser to Secretary Rice and was at the Sharm-El- Sheikh conference.
Ambassador, great to see you again.
Thanks for your time this morning.
AMB. DAVID SATTERFIELD, SENIOR ADVISER TO SECRETARY OF STATE: Good to be here.
HARRIS: So, the Secretary didn't meet with her Iranian counterpart.
Opportunity lost?
SATTERFIELD: I don't think so, Tony.
We had discussions on the margins of the meeting with the Iranian deputy foreign minister. This was never intended, this session, to be a full blown substantive discussion. It was intended, though, to explore whether or not it was possible with all of the neighbors -- and that includes Iran and Syria -- to work toward that goal of a more peaceful, more stable Iraq, to bring down the violence.
Now, that's a goal we are intent on pursuing, including with the Syrians and the Iranians.
HARRIS: OK.
Great.
Ambassador, an opportunity not taken, then?
SATTERFIELD: You would have to refer to the Iranians on why they made the decision not to have a more substantive discussion on their side.
from our perspective, though, we stand ready to talk with all of Iraq's neighbors. We have had discussions with Iranians at a credible level during the course of the meeting. Where those discussions goes depends very much on actions taken on the ground.
HARRIS: Where would you like to see those discussions -- where would you like to see the discussions go?
I guess I'm asking you the -- OK, you had the -- the three minute discussion.
What do you think came of it? How would you describe the discussion and where do we go from here?
SATTERFIELD: Well, this was a start and it was a start on a process of engaging on one issue -- Iraq and the security and stability of that country. The Iranian formal position, like the Syrian position -- is they want to see a peaceful, stable, prosperous Iraq. That's our goal, as well.
But all of the neighbors of Iraq, including those parties that have not been constructively engaged to date, need to have their rhetoric match their actions. And that's where we want this process to take us.
It's not a question of words.
HARRIS: Yes.
SATTERFIELD: It's a question of actions on the ground. It means an end to Iranian efforts to foment violence, an end to the supply of training and arms to Iraqi factions that are killing our soldiers, coalition soldiers and innocent Iraqis. That's the measure of success.
HARRIS: Those -- those points have been well stated. I can't imagine that anybody on the Iranian side is not well aware of your position.
So I'm just curious. Help me here. Put me on the sidelines as you're meeting the Iranian deputy foreign minister.
What do you say beyond pleasantries?
What do you say?
SATTERFIELD: This has got to be a serious discussion. It's a discussion that has to produce action. We see those actions as in the long-term interests of both Iraq, Iran and the region as a whole. We do not understand what equities Iran could have over the long-term in seeing an unstable, violent and radicalized Iraq.
HARRIS: OK.
Last Thursday, the Secretary and her Syrian counterpart made contact. You were there.
How -- how would you describe that contact?
SATTERFIELD: Professional and businesslike. It was a very efficient use of time. We made clear, as did the Syrian side, our mutual desire to see a serious, substantive discussion focused upon Iraq, particularly the issue of border security.
This was, after all, Tony, the context for all of these discussions.
HARRIS: Yes.
SATTERFIELD: A meeting of the neighbors of Iraq on the issue of how best to move that country forward, from the standpoint of security, political reconciliation process and economic development. And that is where -- and quite squarely where -- you should put, certainly we put -- those meetings with the Iranian and Syrian representatives.
HARRIS: Got you.
You mentioned Iraq, of course.
Lebanon -- was Lebanon mentioned in that brief...
SATTERFIELD: Not at all.
HARRIS: Not at all?
SATTERFIELD: No discussion.
HARRIS: OK. Over the -- the next 600 days of this administration, I'm wondering what can get done here?
And I guess I'm also wondering if there is a feeling in the State Department that Iran, for example, is simply waiting out this administration and that nothing substantive will get done in the 600 or so days remaining in this administration.
SATTERFIELD: Well, it is certainly not our view in the administration that the next 600 days will -- will represent a stasis or a status quo. The situation on the ground in Iraq is quite dynamic and many of those dynamics have been moving in a negative direction.
So the clock is not waiting for us. The enemy is not waiting for us.
HARRIS: Yes.
SATTERFIELD: We need to be engaged. The neighbors of Iraq need to be engaged. And that was the whole purpose of the two ministerials at Sharm-El-Sheikh...
HARRIS: Sure.
SATTERFIELD: ... to more constructively focus that engagement so that we did not face a negative process building over these next 18 months or so.
HARRIS: Yes.
SATTERFIELD: I certainly don't believe either the Syrians or the Iranians are prepared to let stasis be the guide for this next year- and-a-half. But what we want to see is their efforts channeled in a positive direction, and that's where our diplomacy is focused.
HARRIS: Ambassador David Satterfield.
Thanks for your time this morning.
SATTERFIELD: Thank you.
HARRIS: Good to see you.
COLLINS: Pomp and circumstance at the White House today. The White House welcomes the queen. We'll have it for you live coming up right here in THE NEWSROOM.
And "Spider-Man 3" is super man at the box office. A record take for the webbed one. Superhero numbers, in THE NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: The killer tornado that flattened Greensburg struck in the dark of night. You are about to see scenes of the actual storm, video compelling and terrifying, too.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM TORNADOLIVE.COM)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh my god.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh my god. (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Power flash. Power flash.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh my god. Get that on there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've got to get out of these guys' way so they don't hit me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look at that one. It's -- oh my god. Oh my...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do not just -- just...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh my god. Just stick your...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just stick it right there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just do not stick your (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh my god, this is horrible. This is horrible. This is horrible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Some raw emotion here, as you can hear these gentlemen at Tornadolive.com filming some of this stuff that we have seen just some incredible pictures of.
HARRIS: Yes.
COLLINS: Greensburg, Kansas happening here on Friday.
And those winds they're talking about -- some reports we've seen, 205 miles an hour, 225 miles an hour I think I have also seen -- just absolutely chilling.
All caught, though -- to be very, very clear -- by professional storm chaser. So pretty crazy stuff.
HARRIS: Yes.
Back to work -- New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine well enough to take the job back. But he'll have to do things a little differently, that's for sure.
The story coming up for you in THE NEWSROOM.
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