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Dean Batters Jamaica's Southern Coast; Midwest Flooding; Mine Rescue Effort Blasted

Aired August 20, 2007 - 09:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
I'm Heidi Collins. Tony Harris has the day off.

Watch events come into the NEWSROOM live on Monday, August 20th.

Here's what's on the rundown.

Dean on track to hit Mexico, possibly as a Category 5 hurricane. Jamaica's southern coast scraped with brutal winds.

Thriller on the plains. Breathtaking rescue scenes. Flooding brought on by a dying tropical storm.

And a plane explodes in a fire ball on the runway. Would you believe no one was killed?

The great escape -- in the NEWSROOM.

A killer hurricane in the Caribbean. Deadly floods in the U.S. Extreme weather topping this hour in the CNN NEWSROOM.

We're going live to CNN meteorologist Rob Marciano. He is in Cancun, Mexico. And Susan Roesgen in Kingfisher, Oklahoma. Plus, the very latest from meteorologist Reynolds Wolf in the CNN severe weather center.

Let's go straight to Susan Candiotti, who, I understand, is also in Jamaica, where Hurricane Dean punched the island's southern coast. She is on the phone now for us from Montego Bay.

Susan, good morning to you.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi.

Here in Montego Bay, things do not appear at first blush to be too bad, but, of course, they do have some downed trees and the like, and teams are getting around here to assess the damage. But we are seeing a lot of car traffic already back out on the streets.

The island as a whole was spared, as you know, a direct hit. The eye of the storm passing just south, but (INAUDIBLE) a lot of concern about damage if Kingston, where they were reporting very fierce winds and rain, a lot of downed power lines, downed trees, and a lot of reports of roofs being blown off. Dangerous landslides are also being reported in rural areas, particularly the St. Andrew Parish on the southeast end of the island.

Five thousand people fled their homes for shelters. Power remains out across the country. In some areas, no water. The water pumps and electricity were both turned off on purpose to try to spare the system serious damage.

As far as the airports go, they also remain closed. They will not open until authorities get a chance to check those runways. We know that about at least 20 deaths (ph).

Tourists, visitors, getting out before the storm hit. About 14,000 tourists remain on the island. So it is a day to clean up, to mop up, and to assess damage.

Heidi, back to you.

COLLINS: All right. Susan Candiotti, giving us the very latest from Jamaica.

Susan, appreciate that.

Want to go now to Reynolds Wolf, who is standing by in the severe weather center, been watching this and tracking Dean all along.

And every time I look over there, Reynolds, it seems like that ball, the big orange ball, is bigger and rolling faster.

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Oh, it is. When you talk about sheer size, this thing is immense. And don't focus just on the brightly-lit enhanced colors, but look at the outflow, top to bottom. When you look at the entire thing, it's bigger than the state of Texas, and this is going to be like a giant sledgehammer, and it's headed right into the Yucatan Peninsula.

For the time being, it does have Jamaica in its wake. It is bringing some tropical storm-force winds to the Cayman Islands. Also, some heavy rainfall, some pounding surf, as well.

The latest we have on the storm in terms of its direction and where it's headed, well, let's show you the numbers. This is from the National Hurricane Center.

We have the storm with maximum sustained winds at 150 miles an hour. Some gusts, though, have been going up to 185 miles per hour, Heidi.

The center of the storm is about 415 miles southeast of Cancun, Mexico. The storm forecasted to become or retain its Category 4 strength, but it is moving into an area with very little shear, upper level winds and also very warm water which will allow this storm to strengthen.

Forecast to become a Category 5 storm, making its way on shore south of Cancun and Cozumel as we get to 2:00 in the morning on Tuesday, with winds of 160 miles per hour. Now, if this forecast holds together, the track takes it across the Yucatan Peninsula, emerging back into the Bay of Campeche as a Category 1 storm. And then as we get into 2:00 a.m. Wednesday, winds of 105 miles per hour. But still, a lot can change between now and tomorrow morning and into Tuesday and Wednesday, so we're going to watch that for you very carefully.

A system of an entirely different flavor, we are talking about Erin, or what is left of Erin. It has been wreaking all kinds of havoc in Oklahoma.

We've been showing you rescue footage. Right now, those scattered storms are moving into parts of Missouri. Springfield, some heavy showers this morning, some flooding there.

Certainly going to be possible along I-44. Northward we go, back up into the Twin Cities, way to the north up here. Also into the Corn Belt, we're seeing some activity. And also, in the Chicago area we had some flood warnings in effect. Heavy rain falling from the Dan Ryan Expressway, southward into Portage, over to South Bend.

That could continue along the stationary front for much of the day. A very busy day here in the weather center.

Let's send it back to you.

COLLINS: Yes. Boy, no question about that. We appreciate it, Reynolds. We'll be checking back with you regularly throughout the show, I am sure.

In fact, in the hurricane zone, stay with CNN throughout the day and night. We have correspondents positioned in the path of the storm to bring you live, comprehensive coverage. You see all of them there.

Also, extreme weather and dramatic saves to tell you about. Rooftop rescues and evacuations in the Midwest. It's all because of Tropical Storm Erin. You just heard Reynolds talking about it, or at least what's left of Erin.

Our Susan Roesgen is joining us now live from Kingfisher, Oklahoma, this morning.

Susan, emergency crews have been very busy rescuing people. We've been looking at that video. It's just incredible.

SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN GULF COAST CORRESPONDENT: It really is. This was one of the hardest-hit areas here in Oklahoma. You can see the floodwaters behind me. They have started to go down, Heidi, but they're leaving behind that red Oklahoma mud that so many of the homes now behind me have in them and have to be cleaned out.

And it's not from a tornado here in Tornado Alley. It was from a tropical storm.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROESGEN (voice over): They say no man is an island, but standing on a rooftop, surrounded by water, this man was. By Sunday afternoon, the remnants of Tropical Storm Erin were headed out of Oklahoma, but the water just seemed to keep coming. And coming. And coming.

In the small town of Kingfisher, heavy rains caused the creek to rise 25 feet. The town got nine inches of rain in just a few hours.

In Oklahoma City itself, helicopters rushed in to rescue people, often having to hover inches above the choppy waters. Not easy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh. Oh, no. That's exactly what I did not want to see.

ROESGEN: Seconds after being plucked to safety, this woman fell right back in. They got her the second time around.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were trying to give her the best -- you know, trying to get her to hold on the best that she could. You know, she was really tired at the time and she had just kind of given out on the -- let her arms go.

ROESGEN: Another man managed to pull himself on to the chopper's skid, but his pants almost didn't make it. Other people depended on boats to save them from rooftops.

Even crews going out on jet skis. Some rescue and relief workers couldn't get where they needed to because the roads were impassable.

A.J. CLEMENS, RED CROSS: Highway 66 is flooded. There's a lake about a mile wide, a mile east of 81. And I-40 is shut down. We just can't get there to help the people that are in need.

ROESGEN: And one more problem. At the peak of the storm, about 25,000 people lost power. It's still too early to estimate just how much damage has been done.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROESGEN: The fire chief told me earlier this morning, Heidi, that he wanted to get up in a helicopter as soon as daybreak came -- I think I saw the helicopter earlier -- and get a look for himself, an aerial tour of the damage saying. He said one thing he's afraid is that there might possibly be more fatalities in this area from cars that were just swept off the road and the drivers and passengers might not have had a chance to get out -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Boy, I hope that's not the case. And it is pretty amazing looking at that beautiful sunshine on your face this morning to know all of this happened.

I also know Minnesota and Wisconsin got hit very, very hard, as well, Susan.

ROESGEN: Boy, they did. All three states, there were 12 fatalities total in Minnesota. I saw reports of homes swept right off their foundations, Heidi. Massive evacuations in southwestern Wisconsin.

This was a terrible storm, which, when it came ashore in Corpus Christi last week, I was there, and it was a really balmy day. It was not so bad. But it has rejuvenated itself, regrouped, and given a wallop to the midsection of the country.

COLLINS: Yes. Boy, a wallop that's for sure.

All right. We appreciate you being there for us, Kingfisher, Oklahoma.

CNN's Susan Roesgen.

Also want to let you know about a press conference that's coming our way. We'll have the very latest on the rescue efforts and the situation across the Midwest, 11:00. Again, we'll bring that to you here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

When weather does becomes the news, count on CNN to bring it to you first. And if you see severe weather happening in your area, send us an I-Report. Go to CNN.com and click on "I-Report," or type ireport@cnn.com into your cell phone and share your photos or videos, as long as you're safe when you do that.

Shuttle Endeavour astronauts checking reentry and landing systems today. A live shot for you there.

They are coming home early, tomorrow, instead of Wednesday. NASA wants to avoid any potential problems with Hurricane Dean.

The Endeavour crew took four spacewalks. They added pieces to the International Space Station and transferred tons of cargo. Teacher Barbara Morgan joins two other astronauts for a chat with students in Canada later today.

Landing time tomorrow, 12:32 p.m. Eastern, Kennedy Space Center, in Florida.

We'll be watching that for you, of course.

Return to Virginia Tech. First day of fall classes. Students back on the campus where a gunman killed 32 people in April.

Already, another tragedy. Twenty-three people sickened by a carbon monoxide leak at an off-campus apartment complex. Five Tech students who lived in one unit remain hospitalized this morning. Two of them in critical condition.

Thousands of people attended a memorial ceremony on campus yesterday. The university dedicated 32 memorial stones each etched with the name of a student or faculty member killed in the April shooting.

Ahead this hour in the CNN NEWSROOM, a professor tells us how the university is moving forward after the April massacre.

Meanwhile, plane on fire. All on board off safely. Unbelievable. Watch what happened here.

There were just minutes to evacuate the plane. One hundred sixty-five people on board. They survived with no major injuries reported.

The pilot jumped from the cockpit at the very last second. The incident happened today on the Japanese island of Okinawa. It's the latest in a series of accidents involving China Airlines.

All of the carrier's 737 planes have been grounded pending an investigation.

KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The tone of optimism at the Crandall Canyon Mine ends and families of trapped miners respond with anger.

I'm Keith Oppenheim in Huntington, Utah. Stick around. That story is coming up.

COLLINS: Also, talk about a special delivery. Parents think every new baby is a treasure, but there's something really different about these little girls.

And living in Baghdad's most secure area, living in fear.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you have nightmares at all?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All day. Every time I sleep I just -- at 6:00, maybe 5:00, I just go, oh! You know, waking up from a nightmare. All days, you know?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Life in the Green Zone through the eyes of a 14-year- old.

You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Miners' families blasting rescue efforts in Utah. They accuse searchers of giving up on the six trapped miners.

Keith Oppenheim in Huntington, Utah, now this morning.

Keith, families understandably not happy.

OPPENHEIM: They're not happy, because there was a dramatic change in tone over the weekend from mine officials, Heidi. A tone that changed from optimism to despair. So the families of the trapped miners have responded with anger.

First of all, on Sunday, there was a meeting here with federal officials and experts which determined that underground tunneling inside the mine is no longer safe. And there were results from a fourth bore hole which found that oxygen levels in that part of the mine were not high enough to sustain life. So, on Sunday, Rob Moore, an executive from the mine, said that it's likely that these miners may not be found.

Later in the day, a spokesman for the families said -- he sharply criticized the mine for not drilling a hole large enough to put a capsule down in the mine, a rescue capsule, and he also criticized the mine and the federal government for essentially giving up on the missing men.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SONNY OLSEN, SPOKESMAN FOR MINERS' FAMILIES: We feel that MSHA, Utah American Energy, Murray Energy and the IPA have failed the six trapped miners. They failed us and our community.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

OPPENHEIM: Now, keep in mind, there are still attempts, Heidi, to drill a fifth bore hole, but with all these attempts to drill a bore hole from above, they have not yet in two weeks now found any signs of life in this mine.

Back to you.

COLLINS: Oh, that's so devastating.

When will the drilling of that fifth hole be done, though, Keith? That was supposed to go relatively quickly, wasn't it?

OPPENHEIM: Yes. Well, it depends on what you see as quickly, because yesterday they said it would take 58 hours.

So, presumably, sometime tomorrow we would hear whether they are finding anything from that mine. And keep in mind, once they are done drilling, it takes a while to get microphones down and video cameras down. So we may still be in a waiting game tomorrow to find out if that fifth bore hole gets anything at all.

COLLINS: All right.

Keith Oppenheim for us in Huntington, Utah, this morning.

Keith, thank you.

Four little bundles of joy, and they're identical. The odds of that happening, one in 13 million. Quadruplets conceived without the help from fertility drugs.

Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is here now with us this morning.

All right. So, first of all, how are the quads doing?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: They're doing great. Doctors said they're still in the neo natal intensive care unit, but they expect them to recover quite nicely, and they expect no long-term consequences. That's pretty incredible when you consider -- aren't they adorable?

COLLINS: Little bows.

COHEN: Right, so that you know that they're girls.

They were born nine weeks early. They weigh between two pounds, once ounce, and two pounds, 15 ounces.

Really incredible, they were never on a ventilator, which is pretty amazing considering their size. Their names are Autumn, Brook, Calissa and Dahlia. Now, if you're awake enough this morning to really that's A, B, C, D, yes, they were named in alphabetical order in the order in which they were delivered by C-section.

COLLINS: Wow. That's serious organization already.

OK. So they weigh roughly between 2 and 3 pounds each. We know that, you know, multiple births are usually a little bit lower weight. Were the doctors happy with that?

COHEN: Right. They are usually, and they are smaller than you would expect.

A baby born nine weeks early who's just one baby, you would expect to be around three pounds, five ounces. However, to be -- to have four babies and have them between two and three pounds is really pretty amazing.

Doctors must have been very pleased with this. You know, sometimes you hear, you know, more like one pound or something along those lines. So, that's really pretty good considering that they were quads. And they shared one placenta, which means they weren't getting as much nutrition as if they each had their own, or even if two had one.

COLLINS: Yes. I keep looking at the mom. I think her name is Karen (ph). She's looking -- she's going to get a crick in her neck because she keeps staring at them.

COHEN: Right. She needs to come up with a better posture.

COLLINS: Yes, yes, yes.

OK. So, also what's amazing about this is no fertility drugs. I think people -- usually with multiples, you know, it's the first thing they ask or assume.

COHEN: Right. You would assume, right. Right.

COLLINS: But no. Not in this case.

COHEN: No. It's amazing. What happened is just a fluke of nature. You have a zygote, which is a fertilized egg, and it splits once. And then you get identical twins.

And then each of those split and that's how you get identical quads. And again, one in 13 million births are like that. So this hardly ever happens.

COLLINS: Yes. And they already have a 2-year-old, right?

COHEN: Right. So these are babies number two, three, four and five.

COLLINS: There you go. Instant family, right?

COHEN: Instant family.

COLLINS: All right. Elizabeth Cohen, thanks so much for the update. Appreciate it.

COHEN: Thanks.

COLLINS: Still ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM, super screen. The picture 100 times sharper than anything you have ever seen. Hopefully I'll never have to be seen on that.

And it's much -- it's used for much more than watching the big game. We'll tell you all about that in just a minute.

ALI VELSHI, CNN SR. BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: I'm Ali Velshi in New York, "Minding Your Business".

Futures are pointing to a positive open on the Dow in about 10 minutes. Get used to that. I'll be with you with more on that in a moment in the NEWSROOM.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Investors are still catching their breath from last week's wild ride. So what can we expect today? Dare we ask?

Ali Velshi is here "Minding Your Business" this morning.

Good morning to you, Ali.

VELSHI: Good morning, Heidi.

I'm hoping I can expect a nap, perhaps, or, you know, to not work the entire day.

COLLINS: Yes. But I think everybody's going to be looking like with one eye. I don't know.

VELSHI: Right, that is -- and that's exactly right.

The futures around -- the markets around the world are up. In fact, some Asian markets had their best day in almost two years. European markets are doing well. And futures for the Dow and the North American markets, which are expected to open in about seven minutes, are also doing quite well.

But the question now remains: did the Fed do enough? Is this over? Is the market going to go up or down? Which is what people are concerned about, Heidi.

If you look at last week's numbers, the Dow, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 were all down for the year. But take a look at this. This is from January until now.

The Dow is up almost five percent. Nasdaq almost four. S&P up almost two.

Those aren't fantastic numbers, but they're positive. And if you look at the way most Americans invest, Heidi, they invest in mutual funds.

I looked at the top 10 most popular mutual funds. Over the course of a year, 52 weeks from back from now. They're all up. In fact, better than 10 percent.

So the average investor could breathe a sigh of relief and understand that the sky isn't falling despite the fact that we have seen 100-point and multiple drops in the Dow in the last month.

COLLINS: Yes, but I think that you're absolutely right. I mean, people are not going to be staying calm for very long. I mean, aren't we still going to see some pretty wild volatility?

VELSHI: Volatility is what -- I mean, this is August. This is not supposed to be a busy month, first of all.

COLLINS: Yes.

VELSHI: We have seen the top 10 all-time volume records on the -- on the New York Stock Exchange set this month alone, so that is going to be something you're used to. But, Heidi, that's a great message for investors to remember, that, you know, you have to decide whether you like roller--coasters or you like mini golf, and you have to invest in that way so that when the market is up 200 or 300 points or down that way, you can enjoy watching it. You don't have to worry about the fact that your retirement is going down the tubes with it.

So, it's a good wake-up call to Americans. Please take a good, hard look at how you invest for your retirement and make sure that you can tolerate that.

COLLINS: Yes, because otherwise you are going to be receiving personal phone calls from my father.

VELSHI: Absolutely. It would be my pleasure, but I still want him to be able to sleep at night.

COLLINS: Yes, absolutely. Me, too. Along with many other people. Hey, let's talk about Hurricane Dean, obviously the big story this morning. Really watching it closely here. Have a lot of correspondents out in the area.

What about oil production and then ultimately oil prices?

VELSHI: Well, see the way it is going? It's heading sort of toward Mexico and west of there, which is outside of the area of most of the oil production. Most of the oil production is north of there, inside of the Gulf of Mexico.

As a result of the trajectory of the storm, we have actually seen oil and natural gas prices, both of which are found in the Gulf of Mexico, dropping a little bit. Look at that. Those are the number of manned platforms and rigs in the Gulf of Mexico. That translates to thousands and thousands of people.

And Heidi, you know, when you're on a platform in the Gulf of Mexico, the only way out of it is by helicopter. So they can't wait sort of on a day-to-day basis to see whether these storms are headed there.

When it looks like they're headed there, they have to evacuate. When they evacuate, that stops production.

So, for now, we are OK from Dean for the time being. At the moment, oil and natural gas are trading lower. But again, as there are other storms out there and as some of them look like they could head to the Gulf of Mexico in the weeks that come, you may see that change, because with each evacuation of a rig or a platform -- and some were evacuated prior to Dean -- you're going to see more of that sort of thing happen.

COLLINS: All right. Ali Velshi, there watching all of it, all aspects.

Thanks so much, "Minding Your Business" this morning, Ali. Thanks.

VELSHI: OK.

WOLF: And Hurricane Dean continues to roar through the Caribbean, leaving Jamaica in its wake. And next up, the Yucatan Peninsula.

I'll bring you the latest in a few minutes.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: And I'm Rob Marciano on the Yucatan Peninsula here in Cancun. They have seen a Cat 5 storm make landfall here in recent years. Will another come this way? Right now it's sunny, but the storm's rolling in tonight.

A live report is coming up.

COLLINS: Drama on the high plains. Two rescue attempts lead to heart-pounding moments. You'll see it all caught on tape. And Virginia Tech students moved in and ready for classes today. A professor tells us how the university is moving forward after the April massacre.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Good morning once again, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins. Tony Harris has the day off. A deadly sweep through the Caribbean. Hurricane Dean blamed for death and destruction. As it keeps up a march toward Mexico. Just hours ago, the storm left parts of Jamaica bruised and battered.

A tourism official in the capital called the situation there absolutely scary. A state of emergency now in place across the island. Haiti, also, in the line of fire. At least two deaths reported there as the hurricane skirted that country's southern coast. But officials say the storm stayed far enough south to spare Haiti from the major mudslides or floods.

Right now, on Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, an uneasy calm. Cancun's popular resorts could be next on Dean's path. Tourists are already fleeing. Locals are stocking up on necessities, as well, as you might imagine. Right now, Hurricane Dean making a beeline for resorts on Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula.

CNN's Meteorologist, Rob Marciano is in Cancun. Rob, Dean could become a category five hurricane within the next 24 hours.

ROB MARICANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Scary proposition, no doubt about that, if not a cat four at this stage of the game is not scary enough. But strangely enough, this is an area one of the few spots in the world that has seen a land falling hurricane of cat five status that was back in 1988 when Hurricane Gilbert came through.

And then, a similar storm was Wilma in 2005. And that was the one that did a lot of damage because it just sat out there in the Caribbean and spun for over a day and battered this coastline. Cancun is a stretch of beach just lined, packed with hotels. And a lot of the beach is gone.

I mean, we are talking about right now about ten feet of beach and you can see it's already starting to erode. Some of the water comes right up not only to parking lots and balconies but I mean, right up to hotels here so we are going to see a big problem as this thing rolls in later on today and you can already see the swells rolling in.

There are a couple of islands that kind of protect this area a little bit but in between the islands are some bare spots that will allow big swells to come in, as well. So, we'll look for the surge to be an issue, also. Looks like the track of this thing will come in to the south of us.

That's good in that Cancun wont get a direct hit, but we're gong to be on the right side -- dirty side the north side of this system. And when it comes in over 20 miles per hour, winds are going to be severe here. And with these hotels and their plate glass windows, there's going to be a tremendous amount of damage, no doubt about that.

As far as what folks are doing around here to prepare, much like what you would see in the United States. They're boarding up the windows. They're moving inland in some cases and they're clearing the stores of the shelves in order to get the supplies that they need when the power goes out.

Because with this sort of storm rolling in, the power will go out that's for sure. At the core of this storm when it comes in, it looks like it will comes in a little bit farther inland. Heidi, it could very well be like a Charley where five, ten-mile wide swatch of destruction would be similar to that of a tornado.

So, there's going to be a tremendous amount of wind damage with this system certainly down the coast and we'll watch out for that, also. Heidi?

Rob, I'm not sure if you've been able to get this information or not but very curious about the airports and the situation there. Are people just -- been trying their best to get out as fast as possible?

MARCIANO: Word from the airports is that people are trying to get out. Some have been having a hard time doing that. I talked to an airline official last night off the record. They said that there were some planes coming in, extra planes in some cases to try to get some of those passengers off. So that is an ongoing problem.

From what I understand right now, the airport is still open. It's still sunny. Winds blowing 20 miles an hour maybe so the weather is far from bad and looks like it doesn't deteriorate in a hurry. So we have the late morning and the early afternoon to get people to where they need to be.

Interestingly enough, although one plane was relatively empty, the people that were on the plane last night were tourists, but mostly from Europe. They had been traveling all night, they had no idea that there was a hurricane until they actually landed and got here.

And the look on their eyes was a state of shock. So they had to make plans to maybe not check into their hotels here on the beach, but check into a hotel a little bit further inland, and then continue their vacation or honeymoon or whatever it may be after the storm goes through.

And we can only hope for those folks and the people that live here, the damage won't be quite as bad as we're thinking it's going to be. But right now, this is a strong one it may get to cat five status. Near the core of those winds, it is going to be ugly.

COLLINS: Yes. Wow. All right, Rob Marciano for us in Cancun watching all of the action there. We we'll talk to you again at the top of the hour, Rob. Thanks so much. In the meantime, I want to throw it over to Reynolds Wolf now, to talk a little bit more about the track of this thing. I mean, we keep talking about how big it is. You even mentioned the size of Texas.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: I know you are Reynolds. Glad you are there. Thanks so much. We are following another extreme weather situation this morning brought on by leftovers from Tropical Storm Erin. This dramatic rescue near Oklahoma City. A chopper crew gets a grip on a stranded woman and then, loses it. They rescued her the second time around. Hate to see that.

At least six people reported dead. Five of them when their vehicles were swept away by flood waters. And in southeastern Minnesota, hundreds of people had to be evacuated from their homes. At least six people died in massive flooding there. The National Weather Service says some areas got up to a foot of rain.

And in Wisconsin, roads and bridges were no match for the storms. This video from one of our i-reporters. Forecasters expect more rain today. No reports of injuries or deaths in Wisconsin. When weather becomes the news, count on CNN to bring it to you first and if you see severe weather happening in your area, send us an i-report.

Just go to CNN.com and click on i-report or, type i- report@CNN.com into your cell phone and you can share your photos or video with us. Just make sure you stay safe when you do that.

I want to get straight to the New York Stock Exchange. The opening bell, ringing. I don't know. Dare we look? We are on the positive side of things. A live look at the Dow Jones industrial average's big board up 22, resting at 13100 but resting -- is not going to be a word I think we'll be using over the next few days, possibly weeks.

We will continue to watch the story for you and bring up Susan Lisovicz in a bit to talk about the business stories today.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Virginia Tech students beginning fall classes today, four months after the April massacre. CNN's Brianna Keilar is on the Blacksburg campus for us this morning. Brianna, how about the mood this morning? The last time that you and I were there certainly a very, very different story.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It was a very different story. It was very somber but I also know, Heidi, as when you were here, you were probably very impressed by the Hokie spirit, by the school spirit of the people here at Virginia Tech. And today, even as it was in April, just a couple of days after the shootings, this sense of looking forward into this new year, that's really taking over the campus here.

Now, no doubt there are people especially those who were very close in proximity to these shootings who are really suffering the affects still of them. CNN spoke with one girl who was one of the few people in her German class who was not shot by senior gunman Seung-Hui Cho.

She said every day she suffers the affects of post traumatic stress disorder, but even when you speak with her, she is very optimistic about the future and that optimism is also being reflected in the numbers here at Virginia Tech. School officials telling us they are expecting a record number of freshman coming in this year.

Also, I want to tell you about a permanent memorial that was unveiled here on campus yesterday. This was a memorial on the drill field which is really the heart of the campus, and it was unveiled really just a short distance from Norris Hall, which is the site of the second and most bloody shooting here at Virginia Tech.

32 Hokie stones in a semi circle to commemorate those 32 students and faculty members who were killed here on April 16. And the thousands of people coming out for this memorial showing their school spirit, a sea of Virginia Tech colors, maroon and orange. And it really was Virginia Tech President, Charles Steiger who really summed this up.

He said this broke our hearts, but it is not going to break our spirit, Heidi.

COLLINS: We really did hear a lot of that even in the face of all of this as it was happening, the student body, government president, I remember him talking very, very positively about how the entire student body would stick together and get through this. So, hopefully it's a very, very good week for them.

Unfortunately it didn't seem like it was going to start out very well because of this emergency that several of the students went through over the weekend.

KEILAR: That's right. And this emergency that you are referring to was an incident at an off-campus apartment here in Blacksburg. This all sort of went down at about the same time the memorial was underway. 23 people were transported to the hospital suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning.

And at this point, it's definitely a serious situation for a handful of Virginia Tech students. All of them 19-year-old female students, two of them are in critical condition at the University of Virginia Medical Center. Three of them are in stable condition at Duke Medical Center.

Terrible situation for them, Heidi. And just a terrible situation that really affects this community as they were hoping to start this year very fresh, getting back with just being very united. And this definitely hurts them in that regard, Heidi.

COLLINS: Yes. Well, we certainly wish them the best. We know that you will stay on top of it for us, too. Brianna Keilar for us, from Virginia Tech this morning. Thanks so much.

In the day after the Virginia Tech shootings, English Professor Lucinda Roy wrote this in a New York Times Op-Ed piece. Take a look. "Blacksburg isn't a place of massacres - Blacksburg is my home in southwest Virginia. It's boring - that's why I like. We are Virginia Tech, the fighting gobblers, the ones who wear the funny turkey hats and plant tasteless turkey sculptures all over tow. We are not the stuff of massacres.

Lucinda Roy is joining us now live from Blacksburg this morning. It's so nice to see you again on such a different day. I just want to share with the viewers some of the things that we learned. You have got 5,215 in your freshman class, I believe, it is the largest freshman class in Virginia Tech's history.

And according to the admissions department, fewer than ten of the nearly 13,000 students offered admission, again this year, said the shootings really influenced their decision whether or not to go somewhere else. How do you feel about starting a new year now?

PROFESSOR LUCINDA ROY, VIRGINIA TECH: Oh, I think all of us are really excited, Heidi, that we are about to start a new semester. I think, it was so catastrophic what happened to us in April that coming back and feeling the energy of the students is just the most wonderful thing. And you've been to this campus. You know what it's like.

There's a kind of spirit and an energy here that is unlike any other campus I have ever seen and I think that you can feel it right now.

COLLINS: You know, I think that people, though, were prepared for some of these kids to say, you know what I just can't go to school here anymore. This was just too much for me. Are you at all surprised that very few of them were affected in that way?

ROY: You know, I'm not really surprised and the reason why I'm not is that the sense of community that's here, I think, was really demonstrated on the TV and in the newspapers. People absolutely love each other. They care for each other here, and the students particularly were just outstanding.

And so, I think the people watched that and said God forbid that that should happen anywhere, but if it happens in a place where there is a sense of community, maybe we can get through it. And I think that young people have so much energy and so much excitement and hope for the future anyway, that they realize that this was a place where they could come and maybe live some of those dreams. I hope so.

COLLINS: Yes. I hope so, too. You tutored Seung-Hui Cho, though, one on one when other people were sort of afraid to interact with him. You, in fact, tried to get him counselling. Listen with me to something that you said to us last April, if you would.

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ROY: I don't know if it could have been prevented and nobody will ever know that. I know I'll think about myself and wonder could I have done more, and I'm sure that everyone on this campus is thinking about that right now.

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COLLINS: I just wonder, are you still thinking about that?

ROY: I actually think that everyone in the United States should be thinking about that issue right now. I think that we all need to think about how the culture has changed, how we need to be prepared for the future, how we have open systems in campuses where anyone can walk in.

It could be a student, it could be someone else. It's very easy to get guns. There are a lot of very disturbed people. We have many more students on medication. What happens when they're off their medication? So we have got to ask the hard questions, and I'm hoping that will happen this year across the United States is that people will start to ask these questions of themselves and not settle for easy answers, because we can't afford to because we lost things that were so precious to us and we'll never get over that loss.

So the best way to pay tribute to them is to have really open communication and try to find out how we can do better.

COLLINS: Well, that being said, Lucinda, was there any type of training or improvements or different discussions that went on during the summer recess between faculty, about ways to possibly improve -- I don't know. I mean, there's a security issue and then there's also dealing with problem students, if you will.

ROY: Yes. There are different issues you have got to think about and everybody was very busy here, I think, over the summer in the departments and in the administration trying to think of ways to respond more effectively to students. There are some reports coming out, there will be the panel review that will be out on Friday.

And then we also have some internal reports that I think should be very helpful, because we've got some great people working on those. And hopefully, they'll come up with some very good suggestions that we can follow.

COLLINS: What are you going to tell your kids on the first day of classes today? I imagine it's going to be a pretty emotional day.

ROY: You know, I have to be honest and I have to say that I'm always emotional at the beginning of class. This is -- this makes everything else pale in comparison. I have an advanced friction creative writing class, marvelous students in the MFA program really gifted. And one of the things that we'll be talking about I hope is their reaction to the situation and how we can move forward together.

There's a kind of sense of authenticity on this campus now. You can't really be dishonest because what happened, Heidi, as you know, was so raw and so terrible that you have to move forward with a kind of honesty that is kind of bold. And I think that for writers, actually, that can be very important, and there are thing that is we know about each other and about the world that have changed us forever.

And I think we'll bear those in mind I hope as we work with each other and try to embrace each other if we can.

COLLINS: Spoken so well like a true English professor. It's a pleasure talking to you, and we certainly wish you a very, very good week and a good year, as well. Lucinda Roy from Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia today. Thanks again.

Still ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM now, living in Baghdad's most secure area, but living in fear.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you have nightmares at all?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All day. Every time I sleep, I just -- at 6:00 maybe, 5:00, I just go -- Oh. You know? Waking up from nightmare. All day. You know?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Life in the green zone through the eyes of a 14-year- old.

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COLLINS: Want to get straight over to Reynolds Wolf with the very latest now on Hurricane Dean, which right now is a category 4 but that could all change, Reynolds.

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COLLINS: Yes. All right, Reynolds we'll be checking back with you shortly. Meanwhile, is it a river or a road? In Minnesota this morning, the answer is, a little of both. The clean up after the storm in the Midwest. A slight break from the heat, Memphis, Tennessee cools down a bit after days of deadly hot temperatures.

And he battled a rare form of cancer. His writings inspired thousands of others. Join us as we remember Miles Levin.

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