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Hurricane Dean Slams Mexico's Yucatan; 'God's Warriors'
Aired August 21, 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 Tuesday morning. It's August 21st.
Here's what's on the rundown.
Dean, now the first Category 5 hurricane to make landfall in North America in 15 years. The storm slices Mexico's Yucatan with catastrophic winds, 165 miles an hour.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are downed power lines, there's a lot of trees down. A lot of sheets (INAUDIBLE) laying around that have been blown off of houses, cars shaking.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Tracking Dean. Live reports, new video all morning and throughout the day in the NEWSROOM.
Under attack this hour from a massive storm. Hurricane Dean roaring ashore this morning on Mexico's Yucatan coast. A rare Category 5 storm, the most powerful on the scale, capable of catastrophic damage, Dean downgraded just last hour to Category 3, but with maximum sustained winds of 125 miles an hour.
We are still talking about a major storm. The tropical system about the size of Texas. Though Dean has been downgraded, its damage classification is still officially extensive. That means flooding, possible mudslides, heavy winds, and rain.
Dean is on the move. And we are tracking it all the way with our reporters everywhere along the storm's path.
Let's go ahead and begin straight away with Reynolds Wolf. He is in the weather center this morning to give us an update.
Reynolds, good morning.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning.
The latest we have from the storm is, I guess, a bit of good news, that it has weakened considerably. As you mentioned, Heidi, when it came onshore earlier this morning, it was a Category 5 storm. The strongest that we have on the Saffir-Simpson scale.
The eye very well defined when it came onshore, but since, the eye has virtually disappeared because it's away from its main power source. That being the warm water. And it had plenty of it in the western Caribbean. The storm is now a Category 3, but keep in mind, just because it has been downgraded to a Category 3 doesn't mean by any stretch of the imagination it is something you take lightly.
Katrina, when it made landfall and caused the widespread damage along the Gulf Coast, that was a Category 3 when it made landfall. So, again, this is a Category 3, too.
A lot of wind, a lot of heavy surf, heavy rainfall. That's going to continue over the next couple of hours. And I would anticipate places like Campeche, as soon as the storm crosses over into the Bay of Campeche, we're going to see this storm strengthen a bit.
However, because it's away from that water, it should begin to deteriorate. It has, from a Category 5 to a 3. However, by the time it makes its way to the other side of the peninsula, it should either be a very, very strong Category 1 or a very weak Category 2.
It should be at least making its way into the western half of the peninsula by 2:00 p.m. today, with winds around 100 miles per hour, maximum sustained winds with some stronger gusts. But then it pops over into the Bay of Campeche, right back into warm water. Warm water being the big power surge for the storm.
It should gain more strength, back up to 110 miles per hour, by 2:00 a.m. Wednesday. Then, as we get 12 hours beyond that, look, a Category 3. It's going to gain more strength.
It's going to pop up again in intensity, making landfall just north of Veracruz, south of Tampico. And then by the time we get to 2:00 a.m. on Thursday, it will be just a depression with winds at 30 miles per hour.
But still, even when it becomes a depression we are not out of the woods in terms of central Mexico, because we're going to see a lot of tropical moisture with this. So, flooding is going to be imminent. Not just a possibility. It's going to happen in many places, so it's something we have to watch from now, all the way through Thursday, possibly beyond.
Heidi, back to you.
COLLINS: Boy, as if they need that.
All right, Reynolds. We'll check in with you a little bit later on.
We want to go live now to our Gary Tuchman. He is in Tulum, Mexico, with the very latest from there.
Gary, what are you seeing? GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Heidi, a lot of people here are in much better moods right now because, frankly, it's not nighttime anymore. It's daylight. Some people are actually stepping out despite the fact that it is still raining and the winds are still rather heavy. But it's not as bad as it was a couple of hours ago.
And what's very good to see here in Tulum, about 80 miles north of where the eye crossed, it that there does not seem to be catastrophic damage. And there doesn't seem to be extensive damage at this point.
There are windows that are broken, there are parts of roofs that have blown away. But what's really interesting, the power lines that are on the street, for example, this is what we see street after street here in this relatively poor community of Tulum, they are still up. And that's one of the first things we see going down during hurricanes.
And they seem to be relatively lucky because they are so far north of the eye. But the fact is, because the storm is so powerful, because it came over with 165-mile-per-hour winds, they expected anything to possibly happen here.
We're going to tour the neighborhoods later to see, but so far, it seems relatively lucky. Tulum, where we are right now, and the reason we came here, not only because it's a quaint and nice town with nice people, but it's a place where tourists come, too, because this is where ancient Mayans ruins stand, right on the Gulf of Mexico, buildings that have been there for over a thousand years.
We are assuming they did pretty well. We haven't been there yet because it's been kept closed for security reasons. But we were there yesterday before the storm. We are assuming it did well because these houses here have seemed to do pretty well, too -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Well, that's very encouraging.
Gary, talk a little bit about the people there. Is this an area that is totally evacuated where you are?
TUCHMAN: About 10,000 people live here in Tulum. We're 80 miles south of Cancun. And many people evacuated to shelters, but I will tell you that many people did not.
Up until the storm hit last night, there were little children playing in the streets here with their parents. Then the rain started to come, the winds started to pick up, and they all went into their homes.
Police and military officials have been coming down the streets in their trucks, last night and today, warning people at this point, stay in your homes. And they are still telling them, please, do not leave your homes. Windows can break. These power lines can come down. We want you to be safe. So, there are a lot of people still here, but there were -- if you are asking me this way, Heidi, at 3:00 in the morning, 4:00 in the morning, people weren't traipsing in the streets. They were in their houses, being as safe and secure as they could be.
COLLINS: Well, that's some good news, too, Gary.
I know that you have covered many a hurricane. Can you tell me a little bit more about how you would compare it to other storms that you have actually had to ride out yourself.
TUCHMAN: I think the big thing and the big story about this hurricane when it's written in the history books, is that the eye of the hurricane passed through a relatively unpopulated area. If you had to pick a place in North America, Central America, for a hurricane to cross, this would be the ideal place.
And forgive me for anyone who might have been hurt or killed that we eventually find out. But it's the most unpopulated part of the Yucatan Peninsula where the eye passed. And that by itself is very good news, because this was an extremely powerful hurricane. If that hurricane -- if the eye came through here, it would be, as they say, when they talk about Category 5 storms, catastrophic damage.
COLLINS: No doubt about that. All right.
Gary Tuchman, thanks so much, live from Tulum, Mexico, for us this morning.
We will talk with Gary again later.
Meanwhile, we want to get live to our Rob Marciano. He is riding out Dean in Puerto Aventuras, Mexico.
Tell us a little bit more. I've been watching you all morning, Rob. Obviously, this is an area we can really see behind you some serious, serious wind.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. The winds have been pretty -- pretty sustained all day. There hasn't much in the way of fluctuation.
There has been fluctuation in the rainfall and the amount thereof. Right now, we are kind of in between squalls.
As a matter of fact, as I look down to the south, I'm seeing a bit of a brightening of the skies. It's probably the first time this whole morning, during the whole storm, where we have seen what seems to be some encouragement as to potential of at least where I stand of the storm winding down. But behind me is really what tells the entire story from my angle, from the angle of the Mayan Riviera, Puerto Aventuras, and probably everywhere north of where this storm hit, and that is a tremendous storm surge on an angry sea.
A Caribbean that typically would be crystal clear, aqua blue, tranquil, not a wave to be found. And here we are today, I'll tell you what, it looks like the north shore of Hawaii.
I mean, we've got big-wind surfers out there licking their chops to come to the Yucatan. Who would think? I mean, you wouldn't want to be out there in all that turbulent wave action and all that White water and foam, but nonetheless, it tells the story very individually on how strong this storm is. Even though we don't have a camera right in that unpopulated area that Gary Tuchman was telling you about, the ocean tells the story of how strong this storm is and how ferocious these winds are.
We have seen some damage up and down this piece of property, this hotel property. Stone walls like you see behind me, we have several tiers that lead down to the ocean or to the sea. They have been blown apart.
And on either side of me, a similar situations, where not only the lower tiers have been blown apart, but the tier, the top tier which I'm standing in front of, blown apart either to my left or right side. So, this area has sustained damage.
No doubt that this will not be the only hotel property to sustain damage. And this is not the only hotel property that has tourists who are battening down the hatches.
A lot of people tried to get out, Heidi, as you know, and couldn't. A lot of them just chose to hang out and wait for the storm to pass. But it is moving quickly, and maybe they can get back to their vacations tomorrow.
But there are tourists here and locals alike who are just riding out this storm like we would in the states across the Gulf Coast of Florida, or the Atlantic Seaboard.
Heidi, back up to you.
COLLINS: All right. Rob Marciano, thanks so much for that. We know you're going to be sticking with us throughout the morning from Puerto Aventuras, Mexico. We'll check back a little bit later.
Thanks, Rob.
Want to get the very latest now from Chetumal, Mexico. Our Harris Whitbeck is standing by in that location to give us the bird's eye view from there.
Harris, good morning.
HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi.
As day broke here, the winds continued to be very intense at first. They've now diminished a bit. The storm now a Category 3, of course. And as they broke, people started venturing out to see what had happened.
Behind us, there is a small hotel. Either the workers of the hotel or some of the owners came out and are using basically small garden equipment to try to unclog a drain in the street to prevent the flooding from the street to enter their house. They have been out there now, oh, a good 30, 40 minutes, and basically using just very, very limited tools to try to deal with just one of the effects of Hurricane Dean.
The authorities will soon be out in force. The Mexican military has 4,000 soldiers in the region ready to respond to any contingency, to any medical emergency, and to run any shelters, continue running shelters if that were necessary.
We were told by somebody in the weather department at CNN International that these strong winds and rain will continue for at least another couple of hours. So it might be a while, however, before help gets out to those who might be needing it this morning -- Heidi.
COLLINS: I bet it will be. And we have been hearing that, too, as well, Harris.
Harris Whitbeck standing by in Chetumal, Mexico, where there are several more hours of some really, really nasty weather coming their way.
We will check back in with Harris to make sure that everything is OK there.
Right now we want to bring in Patrick Jones. He is on the telephone with us from Corozal, Belize. He's the manager of a television station there, FM Love Television, in Belize City. He is about 85 miles away in the city of Corozal, and he's joining us now, as I said, on the phone.
Patrick, if you can hear me OK, tell us just a little bit about what you are seeing, what you are hearing around you.
PATRICK JONES, MANAGER, FM LOVE TELEVISION: Good morning, Heidi.
What I'm hearing right now is the wind absolutely howling on the outside. We are -- we have been experiencing for the last hour to 90 minutes sustained winds, I would say, in the vicinity of 80 to 90 miles per hour. And it has just been falling on here in Corozal.
Folks though came out to the hurricane shelters, are still within those shelters, as the all clear has not been issued yet. So everybody is still remaining put in the shelters where they are.
Preliminarily, we can tell you that there are damages that have been reported by people who have had access to telephone lines. They're calling and saying, "We need help. Our roof is gone."
We know that electricity poles are down, telephone wires are down. We have been without electricity for the last three hours. And so we know that Corozal, there's been heavy damage in Hurricane Dean.
COLLINS: Have you had an opportunity -- and it might be just a ridiculous question because of what you are going through right now, but have you had an opportunity, Patrick, to get outside at all? Is that -- is everyone just staying inside with their doors and windows closed? Or what's the situation on that?
JONES: We have not had an opportunity to venture outside because the wind is -- it's still pretty stiff (ph), and it is not safe for anyone to venture outside quite yet. But spirits are remaining high for those who are within the shelters. They're keeping themselves occupied, whether it be with board games or just sitting around telling stories, or watching television or listening to the radio. And everyone is just keeping in good spirits.
COLLINS: So, how do you feel? I mean, do you feel safe, Patrick?
JONES: Yes, we are. We are pretty much confident that we are safe where we are.
Right now, we are at a community college. And it's all concrete structures. And we have sustained no damage through the (INAUDIBLE) of Hurricane Dean.
We have noticed that right around us, a number of trees are over. There are -- like I said, there are poles that are down around the area that we are. But the buildings that are housing hundreds of people, residents of Corozal, they are in various buildings. And we feel confident that we are safe where we are.
COLLINS: All right. Well, we certainly appreciate you getting on the phone and telling us a little bit about what you are going through.
Patrick Jones coming to us from Corozal, Mexico -- or Belize, I should say.
Thanks so much for that, Patrick.
Hurricane Dean was a Category 5 storm when it roared ashore on Mexico's Yucatan coast. That is the strongest hurricane there is, with winds faster than 155 miles an hour. And it's rare for storms to reach a Category 5. In fact, only three hurricanes that strong have made landfall in the U.S. since records have been kept.
Those were the Labor Day hurricane of 1935. It hit the Florida keys.
Hurricane Camille devastated Mississippi in 1969. And Hurricane Andrew hit Florida in 1992. It ranks as one of the most destructive storms ever.
Well, when weather does become the news, you can count on CNN to bring it to you first. And if you see severe weather happening in your area, send us an I-Report. It now is a very, very good day to remind to you, of course, to stay safe, first and foremost, if and when you choose do that.
Go to CNN.com and click on "I-Report" or type ireport@CNN.com into your cell phone. You can share your photos or video with us.
A monster storm on the move. Tracking Hurricane Dean. We are live along the storm's path.
And also ahead, miners trapped. Experts say it is too risky to resume the underground rescue in Utah. The miners' families argue the company is giving up.
There's no recall, but Wal-Mart has quietly stopped selling two kinds of doggy treats. We'll tell you why.
And the Reverend Jerry Falwell in his last interview before his death. He talked with our Christiane Amanpour, part of her in-depth look at religious, extremes, "God's Warriors".
You are watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: All right. We are watching Hurricane Dean this morning. You see it there on our satellite imagery.
At least a little bit of good news to tell you about. It's been downgraded.
It was a Category 5 storm, which is absolutely massive. The worst it could be. Now downgraded to Category 3. So, again, some good news there.
We have correspondents up and down the Yucatan Peninsula. We will be going to all of them throughout the morning here.
Right now, this thing is over the eastern coast of the Yucatan. So, again, we will continue to follow as it moves west-northwest, about 20 miles per hour or so, we are told.
We are tracking it for you.
Meanwhile, tonight, CNN's Christiane Amanpour begins an in-depth look at extremes within three major religions -- "God's Warriors" and the Jewish faith, the Muslim faith, and the Christian faith.
In his last interview before his death, the Reverend Jerry Falwell talked to Christiane.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): To the end, Reverend Jerry Falwell continued to connect liberal beliefs to Islamic terrorism, such as blaming the attacks of September 11th on the prevalence of abortion in America.
(on camera): You know, you caused a huge amount of controversy after 9/11 when you basically said that the lord was removing his protection from America.
REV. JERRY FALWELL: I still believe that. I believe that a country that is...
AMANPOUR: And that probably deserved it.
FALWELL: Here's what I said. No, I said that the people are responsible -- must take the blame for it.
AMANPOUR: You did but you...
FALWELL: ... that we were killing...
AMANPOUR: ... but you went on to say what I've just said.
FALWELL: We're killing a million babies in this country a year by abortion. And I was saying then and I'm saying now that if we, in fact, change all the rules on which this Judeo-Christian nation was built, we cannot expect the lord to put his shield of protection around us as he has in the past.
AMANPOUR: So you still stand by that?
FALWELL: I stand right by it.
AMANPOUR (voice over): Radical opponents had long waged their holy war against abortion clinics.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What the hell was that?
AMANPOUR: Bombings, arson, assassinations that terrified many women.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We do have one confirmed fatality.
AMANPOUR: This bombing at a Birmingham clinic killed a police guard. In the mid-'90s, from Boston to Florida, angry zealots murdered seven people. Three of them doctors.
The violence not only frightened a number of abortion clinics into closing, it also caused a public backlash.
FALWELL: It can't be the yelling and screaming and the bombing abortion clinics, and the marching outside and waving. It has to be the soft but intelligent cell of the facts.
AMANPOUR: As we talked that last week of his life, Falwell seemed to recognize that his battle to end all abortions would have to be won by the next generation of God's warriors.
FALWELL: My children are more likely to see this victory won than I am. I think we are 50 years away. We have got to stay with it and stay with it and stay with it and never give up.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Again, "God's Warriors" begins tonight at 9:00 Eastern.
A quarterback runs out of room. Michael Vick makes a move that will likely send him to prison -- copping a plea.
And all systems are go. Space shuttle Endeavour returns to Earth one day early. The impact of Hurricane Dean on the shuttle mission, we'll tell you about that after a quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Rescue effort too risky. That's the finding of a panel of mining experts. They say a Utah mine is just too unstable to resume underground digging for six trapped miners. The search operation was suspended after three rescuers were killed in a cave-in on Thursday.
Families of the missing men want a hole drilled to send down a rescue capsule, but mine operators aren't ready to take that step.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOB MURRAY, PRESIDENT & CEO, MURRAY ENERGY CORP.: If there is not a live person down there, the risks of sending someone down a 30- inch hole 2,000 feet deep would not justify any rescue effort unless we find someone alive.
STEVE ALLRED, BROTHER OF TRAPPED MINER: They are basically giving up. And that's unacceptable. Absolutely unacceptable.
I can't live with that. His family can't live with that. We have got -- one way or the other, we have got to have closure.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: As you know, the miners have been missing for two weeks now.
In Minnesota, the last body is found. Remains of the one person still missing in the bridge collapse have been recovered. Officials identify him as Gregory Jolsted (ph), a member of the construction crew working on the bridge when it fell.
Thirteen people died in the collapse three weeks ago.
Wal-Mart has quietly stopped selling two brands of dog treats -- Chicken Jerky and Chicken Jerky Strips. The Associated Press reports the treats were pulled from store shelves in July.
There has been no recall, but Wal-Mart tells the AP it is testing the products. They were imported from China. Some customers complained the treats made their dogs sick.
You may recall there was a massive pet food recall in March, retailers yanking products made in China that included the chemical melamine.
WOLF: Hurricane Dean continues its devastating march through the Yucatan Peninsula.
Coming up, I will let you know where it's headed and how long it will last.
COLLINS: And Hurricane Dean, the wind and rain may only be the beginning. CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta will tell us more about health issues survivors could face.
Heartache in the heartland. Picking up the pieces of life after devastating floods.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
I'm Heidi Collins.
Tony Harris has the day off.
We want to get to the very latest on our big story today.
Hurricane Dean, weaker but still a major storm. Right now Dean is barreling across Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula.
It is now a category three hurricane, downgraded from a powerful category five when it made landfall. Not a surprise. This is what we talked about for a while. It is still very strong, though, and potentially very dangerous, too.
Dean arrived in Mexico before dawn, after a destructive march through the Caribbean. It is blamed for at least seven deaths.
CNN has crews all along Dean's path. They are bringing you the very latest on this deadly storm. We'll be getting to many of them as we go along here.
But first, we want to begin here with Reynolds Wolf today in the Weather Center now.
We've been talking about that. The good news -- no longer a category five, a category three. But as you've been saying all along, once it gets away from that warm weather of the Caribbean, makes landfall, it is going to be downgraded. It still hit land, though, a category five.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Oh, yes, a category five and it roared its way onshore. And the moment it got away from that warm water that we were talking about, it began to -- it actually began to weaken. It's kind of a deteriorating process and every second this storm is away it will get weaker and weaker and weaker.
But it still packs a punch. I mean we're talking about a category three storm. This is still a major, major storm.
Right now you can still see we've got a lot of rainfall to the north of Cancun back to Cozumel. A little bit of dry air abducting in now.
But the bulk of the storm, the center of circulation right in the middle of the peninsula.
So, again, we're not seeing that well-defined eye.
Still a big rain maker. It's going to cause all kinds of issues for many people on the coast -- that heavy surf, saltwater flooding certainly going to be an issue today.
But take a look at the path. This is what's disturbing. We see this thing moving very quickly, which is good. It will limit that possibility of extreme flooding in the Yucatan.
However, when the storm roars its way back out into the Bay of Campeche, it should be as a very strong category one or either a very weak category two.
But, still, it's going to regain a little bit of strength as we get into Tulum (ph) on Wednesday, winds of 110 miles per hour. Then as we go just to 12 hours later, it's going to increase in strength once again, building right back up to major hurricane status, category three,, with winds of 120 miles per hour sustained and stronger gusts. Some gusts may be as high as 150 miles per hour. And this should be just the north of Veracruz, south of Tampico.
And you still have to look at that big cone of probability. The storm could move farther to the north, possibly farther to the south. But this current path brings it right to, as I mentioned, north of Veracruz and then inland into Central Mexico, as we get to Thursday,, with winds of 30 miles per hour.
But even then, as a depression, it could still cause all kinds of problems -- massive flooding. In fact, Heidi, we've been seeing, in Northern Plains, remnants of Erin for heaven's sake.
COLLINS: Yes.
WOLF: No longer a tropical storm. No longer a depression. But still causing widespread flooding. That may be the situation in Mexico later this week.
COLLINS: Boy, I hope not. A lot of limestone there that's apparently supposed to absorb the water. WOLF: Absolutely.
COLLINS: But probably not that much water.
WOLF: Way too much, too quickly.
COLLINS: Yes.
WOLF: But you're absolutely right. Most of the rivers really are underground. They have a lot of limestone and the soil is very porous. They have a lot of what they refer to as sinotes, or, say, sinkholes.
But even with all that water, at that rate of time, there are going to be some issues.
COLLINS: Yes, there's just no way. All right, Reynolds, we'll check back with you a little bit later on.
WOLF: Sure.
COLLINS: Thanks so much for that.
Meanwhile, we want to get the very latest now from Chetumal, Mexico.
Our Harris Whitbeck is standing back -- standing by, I should say -- and probably standing back a bit, too, with the very latest from Chetumal, Mexico -- Harris, what are you seeing now?
HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Heidi, people have started venturing out. I spoke to some people across the street who have spent the night there. And they said that they had a small radio with them and they were listening to local -- the local government radio reports as the evening progressed.
They said this morning they had to come out to help to drain -- basically help drain the street in front of their house to prevent floodwaters from entering it. But they said they resolved that problem. They said that that is pretty common around here.
I asked them how they felt about having to endure such a strong hurricane. And they said, you know what?
It's part of our culture. We live near the sea. We live in an area that's prone to hurricanes. That's just the way life is.
They also said that, according to the radio reports they heard, there were apparently no major losses to be reported at this time. Again, it's very early daybreak. It's only been morning for about an hour, an hour-and-a-half now. And as the conditions permit it, the authorities will be going out to make sure that everybody is OK, that there's nobody in trouble.
Most of the residents of this city of about 140,000 people did find a safe place to spend the night, to enjoy the storm, either in shelters that were set up by the government or in their homes or hotels.
Again, at this point, first, very preliminary and very casual and informal reports, if you will, indicate that there is no major loss of life to report at this time.
COLLINS: Wow! That's terrific news, especially from the shot we're getting from you, Harris, which, in comparison to the other correspondents that we've been looking at today, it really looks like it's still bearing down. We know it will be hitting your area for a few more hours, at least this morning. So we will certainly continue to stay in touch with you.
CNN's Harris Whitbeck in Chetumal, Mexico.
Thanks, Harris.
We want to move on and talk a little bit about the tourist situation in Cancun.
What are they doing?
Most of them probably are hunkering down at this point.
CNN's national correspondent, Jason Carroll, is there for us this morning -- Jason, what's the situation where you are?
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Heidi, If you can believe it, we can actually see the sun starting to come out. Certainly a good sign for us who spent the night here in Cancun.
We're standing here right at the shoreline, watching the surf continue to pounding the beach. And that's what, basically, a lot of folks in these resorts are going to be looking at. They're going to be coming down and watching the beach, which continues to be eroded by Hurricane Dean.
In terms of damage, earlier today, Heidi, we were able to drive around the area, just to get a basic assessment of what kind of damage was sustained here. We didn't see much -- a few downed trees, some minor flooding.
That is basically, at least at this point, so far, the extent of the damage that we have seen.
Some 20,000 tourists rode out the storm last night, most of them in hotels. Those hotels became shelters for those people.
On Friday, last Friday, the governor suggested that most people, if they can, by any means, get out of Cancun, because at that point, Heidi, it appeared as if the storm was really going track closer to where we are. But, fortunately, the real -- the worst part of the storm tracked at least 100 miles to the south. So we didn't get the full brunt of the storm.
However, we still got the pounding surf. We still got those bands of high wind and heavy rain. And basically those who held out the storm and waited out or are basically still waiting now to see what their next move is going to be, whether they're going to try to get out or try to continue with their vacations -- Heidi.
COLLINS: All right.
CNN's Jason Carroll there for us in Cancun.
Thanks so much for that, Jason.
We'll check back later on, as well.
Well, when weather does become the news, you can 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. You can share your photos or video with us that way, too.
From a working vacation to a wild ride -- we'll talk with a professor from Washington, getting a firsthand look at the storm.
And Michael Vick makes a plea deal.
A wise move for the star quarterback?
We'll talk with an attorney who counseled other NFL players in trouble with the law.
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: A star quarterback's fall from grace -- Michael Vick's attorney says Vick will plead guilty to federal dogfighting charges. Details of the deal will come out when he appears in court. That will be next Monday.
Vick is almost certain to face prison time.
The Atlanta Falcons owner, Arthur Blank, would not comment on Vick's future with the team. But he told the NFL Network he wasn't surprised by Vick's decision.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ARTHUR BLANK, ATLANTA FALCONS OWNER: From a personal standpoint, I think he's doing the right thing and I'm -- in my counsel to him quite some while ago and publicly, as well, to, you know, get this behind him as quickly as he can and take responsibility for whatever he did. And whatever he did leads to the professional side. And we have not seen a statement of facts.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Michael Vick's plea deal -- is it a good move for the man and the quarterback?
Attorney Ed Garland is joining us.
He has helped save the careers of two other NFL stars. He's also joined us many times to help take us through everything that's going on with Michael Vick.
So we appreciate your being here, again, Ed. All right, so is this a good plea deal for Michael Vick?
ED GARLAND, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: We don't know yet because we don't know the details. We don't know what facts that he has to say, this is what I did. It is good that he's concluding it, because it looked like a loser. And now he faces the question of admitting his conduct, accepting his punishment, seeking forgiveness and then possibly redemption by getting back into sports.
COLLINS: Yes.
I mean did he really have any other choice here?
GARLAND: It looked to me like he had been cornered. The other defendants had turned on him. The facts were very detailed and the lawyers now are confronted with multiple problems for him to -- for them to try to solve -- how to present himself to the judge, what they say about the facts and their plea for mercy.
COLLINS: It is a little bit interesting, though. I mean if the federal case against Vick was so overwhelming, then why would the federal prosecutors even accept a plea deal?
I mean they don't always except plea deals.
GARLAND: Well, they are accepting the fact he is pleading. They're probably giving very few concessions. He is exposed to, potentially, a five year sentence, depending on what the judge wants to do. I kind of predict he will serve about 20 months, be suspended from the Braves and be removed from football for at least...
COLLINS: The Falcons.
GARLAND: I mean the Falcons...
COLLINS: OK.
GARLAND: ...for at least the time he's in jail.
COLLINS: Interesting. And we should talk again, probably, remind everyone, Judge Hudson is not bound by the plea agreement. Explain to us one more time, now that we know that he has taken this plea deal, what that means.
GARLAND: That means that the prosecution and the defense reach an agreement as to what they think the way the sentence should go down. The judge can then sentence from probation to five years.
COLLINS: All right. So the big question for you, someone who has had experience with something similar to this before -- Ray Lewis, Jamal Lewis -- how do you get a player's career back online?
It might be too early to say right now, of course, but how did you go about taking those steps?
GARLAND: It all has do with what comes out of his mouth and it has to come from his heart. The American people will forgive someone who admits their conduct, takes their punishment and then conducts himself as a person who is truly seeking forgiveness.
He will have to do public works, public good deeds. And he will have to mean it -- the American people believe he is a new man.
And if he can bring himself to that, there is hope for him.
COLLINS: What if he can't? GARLAND: If he can't, I think he's toast. He's history, as far as his sports career goes.
COLLINS: All right.
Well, we appreciate your insight on all of this very much.
We will continue to follow it, of course, and bring you back, if that's all right with you.
GARLAND: Certainly.
Thank you.
COLLINS: Ed Garland, thanks so much, defense attorney, for us here today.
WOLF: And Hurricane Dean continues its strike across the Yucatan Peninsula as a category three storm. It is expected to weaken a little bit as we get to the afternoon, with winds around 100 miles per hour. And the forecast path continues to bring it back out to the Bay of Campeche by 2:00 a.m. Wednesday as a category two storm, strengthening to a category three, with winds of 120 miles per hour by the time we get to Tuesday -- or by Wednesday afternoon at 2:00 ppmm (ph). And then on Thursday, moving into Central Mexico as a tropical depression.
That is the very latest.
We're going to have more updates coming up throughout the day right here at CNN, your hurricane headquarters.
COLLINS: All right, Reynolds, I bet you will.
And all systems are go for now. Space Shuttle Endeavour returns to Earth one day early. The impact of Hurricane Dean on the shuttle mission.
Plus, she left her sanctuary and left herself open to arrest. An immigration activist deported.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: One Washington, D.C. (ph) (ph) resident got more than he expected in Mexico.
Jeffrey Ian Ross is a professor vacationing and doing some research in Playa del Carmen.
He's joining us now by telephone.
Professor Ross, I hope you can hear me OK.
Tell us a little bit about what you have experienced. I know that you're staying about 500 feet from the ocean. It must have been pretty violent from what you saw. JEFFREY IAN ROSS, WORKING/VACATIONING IN MEXICO: Well, it was pretty exciting, that's for sure. The winds -- well, it got dark. It got dark around 7:00. And then the winds started blowing up. And then it really became violent at about, say, 2:00 in the morning. And around that time, the power shut off and the palm trees started rustling very hard and rain started coming down very hard. And we were just kind of staying tuned to what was going to happen next.
COLLINS: You know, I just want to let the viewers know what we're looking at here. This is actually an I-Report that has come in from your 12-year-old daughter, Dakota.
Any idea what time of day -- I'm not sure if you can see what we're looking at. I imagine you've been taking a lot of video. You mentioned 2:00 aamm, that it was really bad.
Is that -- is that what we're looking at here?
ROSS: Well, the video you see was just before the sky darkened. And within about 15 minutes, visibility became worse. It was very, very dark in the sky. And that was really the last calm before the storm. And now, you know, the waves, the ocean, where she took the video, I probably (INAUDIBLE) I wouldn't want to go out there right now.
COLLINS: Yes.
Were you scared?
ROSS: Not really. No. I think it was more exciting than anything else. And at the last minute, we heard that the eye of the storm was going to be heading about four hours south of us, toward Chetumal. So I think we all breathed a sigh of relief when we heard that information. So, but, you know, we -- everybody here in Playa, you know, made adequate preparations here. It appeared that way. Almost all the buildings here were boarded up, or ones that could be boarded up with plywood or available materials. Also, too, a lot of people have these storm shutters, these hurricane shutters. And those were being closed. Everybody was -- a lot of people were working right to the last minute.
COLLINS: Sure.
ROSS: So -- and then a lot of individuals who could leave did leave, Took a flight out or drove, you know, southbound or northbound further inland. So that was kind of the situation here.
And the town is pretty much today -- we've been driving around the last 30 minutes.
COLLINS: OK.
ROSS: There's a bit of a ghost town here.
COLLINS: Yes. I would imagine people are just trying to stay safe, if, in fact, it kicks up again. We certainly appreciate your pictures.
Please tell your daughter we appreciate it, as well, and all of your stories.
I'm sure that it wasn't quite what you expected coming from Washington, D.C. (ph).
Jeff Ian Ross, thanks so much for your time here today.
ROSS: My pleasure.
COLLINS: The Space Shuttle Endeavour returns to Earth today, one day ahead of schedule. NASA made that call, concerned Dean could impact mission control in Houston.
That's not a worry anymore. Endeavour is due to touch down at 12:32 Eastern in Florida.
The main weather concern now -- the possibility of cross winds at the landing strip.
CNN, of course, is going to be carrying the Shuttle Endeavour's landing live.
Our space correspondent, Miles O'Brien, is going to be joining us next hour from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
And then, be sure to tune in for the landing, live, again, 12:32 Eastern -- 9:32 Pacific, right here on CNN.
In the Midwest now, a day to clean up after days of devastating rains and deadly floods. Many roads are still closed and sidewalks now blanketed with mud. The flooding is blamed for at least 20 deaths in Oklahoma, Texas and Minnesota.
A Minnesota man is still missing. His car was found in a creek.
Floodwaters are receding in Southwestern Wisconsin. The region got several inches of rain over the weekend, turning quiet countryside into lakes. Crops and houses now under water. And people who left their homes in a hurry, some through the roofs, in fact, could actually go back home today. Some say they lost everything in the flood and more rain could be on the way.
Dean loses some of its oomph as it cuts across the Mexico's Yucatan. But the big hurricane made landfall as a category five -- 165 mile an hour winds.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are downed power lines. There's a lot of trees down, a lot of sheets of -- sheets of big roofing laying around that had been blown off of houses. Cars shaking.
(END VIDEO CLIP) COLLINS: And Dean's not done yet. Second landfall ahead. We're tracking the storm.
CNN is your hurricane headquarters.
Mine families get the news they never wanted to hear -- the collapsed chamber will likely be the burial place for the six trapped men.
Also, help wanted spying. Apply to the U.S. intelligence community.
Why contractors are paying -- playing, that is -- a bigger role in sensitive security work.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
MICHAEL SABOURIN, CNN I-REPORTER: It has been a fantastic experience, I suppose. We've been working very hard around the clock. We finally were able to get -- to get some sleep today. But very strong winds. Lots of rain.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): That's I-Reporter Michael Sabourin describing the scene in St. Lucia as Hurricane Dean pounded the island as it continued toward Jamaica and the Gulf of Mexico. The storm also caused high tides and waves crashing over the streets of the Dominican Republic. This video shot by I-Reporter Marin del Sid (ph).
In the U.S., flooding in the Midwest. Michael Kouvaris (ph) captured this in Wisconsin with his camera.
MICHAEL KOUVARIS: I was just taking a video of the big hole and the water rushing through and the wave was deteriorating the ground around it. I didn't know water could so much damage in so little time.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You can catch more I-Reports and even send in your own. But stay safe.
Send those to our Web site at cnn.com. Just click on the I-Report logo.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Improving border security during emergencies -- President Bush discuss that with Canada's prime minister and Mexico's president. Also on the table, energy, trade and immigration. The leaders meeting for two days in Canada. They plan a news conference at 12:30 Eastern.
We will bring that to you live when it happens right here in THE NEWSROOM.
Good morning once again, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins.
Tony Harris is off today.
Stay informed in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Here's what's on the rundown.
Hurricane Dean rolling over Mexico's Yucatan. A powerful and dangerous category five storm when it hit. Winds howling at 165 miles an hour. This hour, new information, new pictures.
Dean spurring NASA to bring Shuttle Endeavour home one day early, just in case.
We cover the landing live on Tuesday, August 21st.
You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
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