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Nancy Grace
Hurricane Sandy Aftermath; Death Toll at Least 30, Could be More
Aired October 30, 2012 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... without power...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: People are living without power today. Flood waters overwhelmed towns.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Twenty feet of water there.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my goodness. It is an infant.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In the moments that the crane buckled in the violent wind.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Eighty homes -- they have burned to the ground.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They have lost absolutely everything.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Massive tree.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The tree saved our lives.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I never thought it would be this bad.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) the sign simply blew off, collapsed.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Heavy destruction of the shoreline.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think we have a little boy in that raft.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The water is chest high.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Knocking on the doors and got those people out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I refuse to evacuate!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NANCY GRACE, HOST: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us.
Breaking news tonight. At this hour, the Northeast corridor braced, millions on high alert after Frankenstorm Sandy slamming the mainland. Hundreds of thousands evacuated, massive destruction, flooding, casualties, hundreds trapped, homes burning to the ground. As we go to air, nearly eight million without power, and now reports of looting.
Joining me right now, Atlantic City, Mike Galanos, HLN anchor. Mike, what do you see around you?
MIKE GALANOS, HLN ANCHOR: Destruction, Nancy. Bottom line, destruction. What you see behind me, that was a huge portion of the boardwalk here, northern part of Atlantic City. Nancy, it`s been reduced to scrap wood because, basically, Sandy came ashore just over that wood. That`s the Atlantic Ocean. You can`t see it in the dark here. Came like sledgehammers, one wave after another after another! And that`s what`s left.
Folks around here, you know, they can rebuild. And we`re not talking about a tragic loss of life, so let`s put our priorities in order. But is there loss? Were there tears shed? Absolutely.
There`s a gentleman -- he and his wife and his daughter lived in that middle building there, Nancy. They tried to ride out the storm. It was Sandy was knocking on his door yesterday about 7:30 in the morning, and that ocean wave plowed right through his front door. He`s panicking, trying to plywood up the door. Didn`t work.
They finally had to get out of there, you know, and I`d love to be talking to him now, but the emotions got the best of them. They`ve been there for years. Thankfully, they`re OK. He and his wife now just trying to pick up the pieces, literally.
GRACE: Mike Galanos joining us there in Atlantic City. Ellie, in fact, there are casualties. Give me the rundown.
ELLIE JOSTAD, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER (via telephone): That`s right, Nancy. And this death toll is fluctuating right now. We had heard as many as 33 deaths. Now they`re saying it may be just 30. But this death toll is expected to rise, regardless, Nancy.
We`re hearing reports people killed in -- being storm-related, like being trapped in flooded basements, struck by downed trees or limbs. There`s also a report that a woman was killed in Queens when she stepped on a live power line.
So we`re expecting to hear more of these reports as we get a better idea of what kind of damages occurred widespread throughout the Tri-State area of the Eastern Seaboard.
GRACE: Also with us tonight in Hoboken, Bob Van Dillen, HLN meteorologist. Bob, thank you for braving the elements and being with us. Bob, what`s happening there?
I think Bob can hear me. Bob`s joining me in Hoboken.
I`m going to go back to Mike Galanos while we try to make contact with Bob Van Dillen. Mike, you were mentioning what was behind you. What else do you see in the area surrounding you?
GALANOS: Well, right now, Nancy, again, behind me this way is the ocean, and those are the pier or part of the boardwalk there, just like a skeleton is what`s left, basically, here. You see all this scrap wood behind me, buildings, as I mentioned, people now picking up the pieces.
Then I look to -- you can`t see it, but straight to my right here is a couple of sweet little homes here. And that`s where that family went, people taking care of each other, Nancy.
Six blocks away, I talked to another couple, life-long Atlantic City residents and -- it was a husband and wife. And the wife told me, What do you do in a situation like that? You pray. As the water kept rising one step after another after another, she prayed it would stop. It did. They were thankful to make it out of here. And now they`re hoping for renewal and rebuilding in this boardwalk area.
But right now, it`s just desolate. We`re out here. And you just look at this, again, destruction all around us.
GRACE: Joining me right now, living two blocks away from the ocean, currently without power, Jon Daniel. He`s joining me from Deal (ph), New Jersey. Jon, can you hear me?
JON DANIEL, HAS NO POWER (via telephone): Yes, I can hear you. How are you?
GRACE: I`m much better than you are tonight. Tell me, what do you see around you? And what have you and your family endured?
DANIEL: Well, you know, you can`t even imagine what`s been going on over here. We had just people walking around today just absolutely astonished and heartbroken. I mean, everyone is just -- I was walking down the beach today, just seeing people`s homes just shattered, just blocks of cement thrown across their homes, windows shattered.
You can`t even get down the streets. There`s just piles and piles and streets of water coming through. We can`t even get down the block. And we`re about two blocks from the evacuation zone. We were trying to walk over there last night. And you would not believe the amount of ocean water that has pushed through onto the shore, down blocks. It has downed trees, power poles.
People are just heart-broken here. I mean, this is our city. This is where we`re from. This is our home town. We know the beaches here. And there -- everything is different now. And we doubt anything will ever be the same again here, just looking at even the erosion coming up on shore. Homes are halfway sunken in.
I mean, this is truly an incredible event that took place. And I hope we never have to see something like this again.
GRACE: Jon Daniel is joining me from Deal. He lives two blocks from the ocean, currently without power. Jon, did you stay in your home during the storm?
DANIEL: Yes, we were in our house during the storm, and it -- I mean, it was scary. We had trees hitting our home, glass shattering. I had to bring my three daughters downstairs to the basement where, hopefully, we were -- you know, we were praying that we would be safe down there.
After a few hours, it must have been about 2:00 or 3:00 A.M., we took a walk outside. You can barely stand out there, the wind just blowing and gusting against us. It was just incredible being part of this -- of just feeling this hurricane hitting us. It really hit our hearts this time.
You know, we`ve seen Irene in the past (INAUDIBLE) my family and I, we were through Irene. And you know, coming into this storm, we did not expect to see such -- you know, such events as -- that took place. But you know, we will not underestimate the next storm, that`s for sure.
GRACE: Let me ask you, Jon, before I go back out to Hoboken, Jon, why did you decide to stay there in light of all the warnings about Superstorm Sandy?
DANIEL: Well, I`ll tell you one thing. I`m a hard-core surfer and I was just hoping for some waves, to be honest. But my family felt pretty safe here. We`ve been here for many years. And we just really felt that, you know, it`s just a Category 1 heading towards us. We didn`t honestly think that there (INAUDIBLE) you know, that such an event could take place, but...
GRACE: Well, all that changed about, I would say, what, 8:00 or 9:00 last night.
Right now, back to Hoboken. Bob Van Dillen is joining us, HLN meteorologist. Bob, how much flooding is there at this point?
BOB VAN DILLEN, HLN METEOROLOGIST: Well, there`s a lot in Hoboken. I was just talking to a guy that`s lived here for 32 years, and he said he`s never seen it like this. And if you look behind me, you can see what he`s talking about.
Right now, we`re on the corner of Newark and Garden Street. Now, this is actually the Hudson River, but it`s not from the Hudson River itself, which is four blocks over towards our east. It`s actually from the storm drains that get backed on up. And you can see just how far up it is.
Look at that water. I mean, that`s disgusting. That is the worst stuff, and it has that oily smell to it. It smells like fuel. And the worst part about it is, Nancy, I`m watching people walking in it behind us. Every once in a while, I see someone in there with shorts and tennis shoes just walking on through.
And it`s not just the dirty water that`s probably just -- has all kinds of bacteria in it. You have open manhole covers in there, as well. If you fall into one of those, you`re going down and you`re not coming back up, Nancy.
GRACE: You know what? You`re right. You`re right, Bob Van Dillen.
Out to the lines. Everyone, we are all taking your calls. Elaine in Illinois. Hi, Elaine. What`s your question?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Nancy. Well, I`ve got two, if that`s OK.
GRACE: Sure.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: One of them is about that crane that was just dangling up there. I mean, we had enough warning about the storm, I don`t know why they wouldn`t have went and taken that down prior to the storm and prior to risking so many before they got everyone evacuated.
GRACE: And what`s your second question, Elaine?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, the second one`s just a little personal one, if that`s going to be OK. I was just still wondering, because I don`t have the money for Internet or anything, so I can`t talk to you through that, so I can only talk to you when I get through. And that was just about if you ever received the letter about the little girl and the little poem I wrote for you.
GRACE: You know what? I think we did. And let me get my producers to stay on the line with you to talk to you about that.
We are taking your calls. Elaine in Illinois, your first question was about the crane. Are we in touch with Rita Cosby yet, Dana? OK, Rita`s satellite is going in and out. She`s going to tell us about that crane.
Tom Sater, while I wait to get to Rita Cosby, weigh in.
TOM SATER, METEOROLOGIST: Weigh in. I tell you what, it`s hard to wrap our heads around this, isn`t it, Nancy? I mean, we`ve never seen anything like this.
Let me blow this radar picture up for you and let you know the scope of what`s happening. Thunderstorms are now occurring. We`ve got flash flooding that`s just been occurring now up in areas of Massachusetts outside Boston, Rhode Island. This is all new. The snow continues to fall down.
Nancy, I got to tell you something. After your show last night, I drove home about 1:00 in the morning, and I was detoured twice from large, massive trees that were uprooted in Atlanta, Georgia! That`s like, for your West Coast viewers, if you had a massive storm move into Napa Valley in northern California, and trees were uprooted down in San Diego.
GRACE: Wow.
SATER: This is amazing the amount of snow, Nancy, that continues to fall, with another foot on top of the two to two-and-a-half they have.
GRACE: Everyone, taking your calls. Out to Monica in Mississippi. Hi, Monica. What`s your question?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Nancy. I`m one of your biggest fans from Mississippi. And I just want to thank you for coming to Biloxi and helping (INAUDIBLE) that you care because we...
GRACE: You know what? I really...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... really almost drowned in Katrina, and I know how those people feel and I just feel everybody should make a donation to help.
GRACE: You know, Monica in Mississippi, I will never forget the people that I met...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, ma`am.
GRACE: ... and that helped me help Biloxi.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, ma`am.
GRACE: I learned more about building a house than I ever knew. And I want to thank you for that. Thank you very much. I`ve just been wondering if we`re ready to rebuild after Sandy, to make a comeback, because we certainly were not after Katrina. We certainly were not.
And there I was with my little church and 25 of us showed up. We had -- there were blocks and blocks and blocks of homes to be worked on. We`re all sleeping on the floor of a little Methodist church there out of Biloxi. And there was so much to be done.
But Monica, what was your question, dear?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I didn`t have a question. I just wanted to tell everybody to make donations and help.
GRACE: Oh, sweet. Absolutely, Monica. Absolutely.
I hear I`ve got Rita Cosby now. Rita, our earlier caller, Elaine in Illinois, is still trying to find out about that crane. And also, a lot of people are calling in trying to find out about the prisons in New York City. Did they have to evacuate?
RITA COSBY, INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER: You know, that`s a great question. We know that there was some trouble with the prisons, and apparently there were some partial evacuations, is what we were told.
As far as the crane goes, we know that that crane they believe is now fairly stable. It`s still dangling, but they don`t believe it poses as much of a threat.
It`s still a bit of an issue, but what they`re saying is as soon as things start calming down, which they`re hoping -- I mean, we`re had some gusts today, but it seems like it is calming down quite a bit -- then they`re expecting the construction team to come back in or the New York Fire Department and then fully secure it.
But they don`t believe it poses as much of a threat. I mean, it could have been catastrophic yesterday, as we know firsthand.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m not exactly sure where to go from here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The trail of destruction stretching across hundreds of miles. It`s the aftermath of Sandy`s hit (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But it looks like a war zone down here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And problems kept multiplying.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two to three feet of snow in West Virginia, sewage spilling into flood waters in Howard County, Maryland, waves rising along Lake Michigan.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is not over. We still have more weather to deal with. Hopefully, people will be able to stay safe until we can get to the other side of this storm.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: The body count is rising, millions out of power at this hour, houses burned to the ground all in the wake of storm Sandy.
We are taking your calls. Joining me right now, a special guest. The mayor of Hoboken joining us, Dawn Zimmer. Thank you for being with us, Mayor.
VAN DILLEN: Yes, she`s here with me right now, Nancy. Dawn Zimmer is here. And we`re standing right here, one of the worst parts of flooding in Hoboken. And I asked her, what is your major concern -- besides the immediate flooding, are there any other things that are issues right now?
MAYOR DAWN ZIMMER, (D) HOBOKEN, NEW JERSEY: Well, my major concern is all of the people that are still in their apartments without -- you know, perhaps without enough water, without enough food, with medical issues. We can`t communicate with all of them. We send, you know, payloaders in to do rescue efforts, got a baby out who had a really high fever. We took a senior out on a payloader. It`s really difficult circumstances.
But there are some streets we just can`t get to, we just cannot get to with a payloader. It cannot -- we got small streets in Hoboken and we got live wires down throughout the city, in the flood waters.
Really concerned about the waters being -- you know, the wires being energized and being very dangerous. So you know, it`s kind of -- and also concerned about the health issues with the water. It`s contaminated water. It`s rain water and raw sewage mixed together with oil all over the place. So it`s really a health hazard. We do not want people walking out into the waters...
GRACE: Hey, Bob...
ZIMMER: ... out in front of their homes, so we want to try and start an evacuation tomorrow.
GRACE: Bob?
VAN DILLEN: Yes, Nancy.
GRACE: Question, if you could throw this to the mayor, please. How are they trying to reach the people to tell them that they need to evacuate or to warn them about the water?
VAN DILLEN: How are you contacting the people to warn them about the actual water and all the problems that are inside the water itself?
ZIMMER: Well, we reach out to Hobokenites through many different ways. We have reverse 911, we`re tweeting, we`re sending out press releases, we`re doing press conferences, we`re going out with public -- with PA systems, our fire department, our police department, any way that we can.
I mean, at this point, that`s what we`re really focused on right now because they`re losing power and they`re -- you know, they don`t -- most of them don`t have -- they don`t have any power right now. So they can`t really watch TV or anything and their cell phones are dying. And so we`re going out with a PA system and just trying to communicate with them that way.
VAN DILLEN: My question is, if you look down the street, you can see Jersey City. Now, their power looks like it`s on. What is the timeframe? Do you have one, real quickly?
ZIMMER: Yes, I mean, it`s going to be at least 24 to 48 hours. Both of our substations are flooded, North Hudson Sewage Authority is completely flooded. And we`ve got to get the substations out of the water.
And so basically -- I mean, this is, like, at least 500,000 gallons of water that have come into the city of Hoboken, flooded by the Hudson River. Our pumping station can pump about 75 gallons -- 75 million gallons of water a day. So we got -- we got some -- some work to do to get there. So when low tide comes in, that`s when they can really pump it out. And we`re anticipating...
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: Rita Cosby, investigative journalist, we`ve been having so many questions about that crane. But another issue is about the water that is really toxic that is now in the street, several feet of it.
COSBY: Yes. Indeed, Nancy. There is a lot of water and a lot of downed power lines. That`s the other concern. There have been 18 deaths in New York City alone, and a few of them from downed power lines that were in the water and people just didn`t see it.
The other thing is power outage. I mean, people, elderly people -- it`s getting extremely difficult. Even some of the stores -- I mean, this right now, you`re seeing some light because you`re seeing cars behind me and you`re seeing the lights from our camera. But basically, we`re in sheer darkness here in New York.
People don`t realize -- 40th Street down, which is a huge tourist area -- anyone who`s been to New York -- you know, we`re talking all the way down to ground zero. We`re talking all the way down -- if you`re going to the ferry area, a lot of very popular tourist sites, it is pitch dark and it`s getting very difficult for people here as the days go on.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... without power...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: People are living without power today. Flood waters overwhelmed towns.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Twenty feet of water there.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my goodness. It is an infant.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In the moments that the crane buckled in the violent wind.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Eighty homes -- they have burned to the ground.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They have lost absolutely everything.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Massive tree.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The tree saved our lives.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I never thought it would be this bad.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) the sign simply blew off, collapsed.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Heavy destruction of the shoreline.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think we have a little boy in that raft.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The water is chest high.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Knocking on the doors and got those people out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I refuse to evacuate!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: We are live and taking your calls. The wake left behind Frankenstorm Sandy is incredible.
Joining me right now there on the scene, Bob Mendel and Mike Galanos, Rita Cosby.
For a recap, Ellie Jostad, so many people without power. We`ve got a body count climbing and nearly 40 homes burned to the ground. How did that happen?
JOSTAD: Right, Nancy. That was actually out on Breezy Point in Queens. What happened is, you know, these houses are surrounded by flood areas, floodwaters, this was an evacuation area not quite sure yet what caused that fire but it could have been a number of things, electrical problems. You name it. And once that fire got going, those strong winds were blowing the fire from home to home before it was all over.
We`re hearing as many as 60 homes burned to the ground in that area. Two hundred firefighters out there, trying to fight this fire in the middle of the night, in the middle of a superstorm.
GRACE: Joining me right now is Dr. Joseph Feldman, the chairman of the Emergency Medicine in Hackensack University Medical Center.
Dr. Feldman, I understand that you set up under your supervision trucks, hospital trucks. And what was their purpose and what happened with the lady who was in labor, I was hearing about?
DR. JOSEPH FELDMAN, CHAIRMAN, EMERGENCY MEDICINE, HACKENSACK UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER: Yes. We -- this is a community that really did preplan. It was down in Hillsboro, New Jersey, that in Hurricane Irene they were surrounded by flood waters and the only way out was to get air evac`ed out. And during a hurricane, obviously you can`t get air evac`ed out.
So there was a real delay in medical care so learning with lessons learned, people should really preplan, as this community did do. Hurricanes are something that you know are coming. They`re not like earthquakes. They`re not like other manmade disasters. So you could preplan for them. And this community reached out to our satellite -- mobile satellite emergency department which is part of the New Jersey EMS Task Force.
GRACE: Hey, Doctor, I`m just wondering if you can see your monitor because there is a lady cradling a newborn infant.
FELDMAN: Yes, right.
GRACE: And she`s outside and she`s being wheeled from truck to truck. What happened?
FELDMAN: Well, what happened there was this woman was -- not that particular -- maybe it is that particular woman was 35 weeks pregnant. She called 911. Her local ambulance, true to form, could not get to the Princeton Hospital. But EMS was aware of our being set up in the Hillsboro area. They came to our facility. And we had an ER attending her, Michelle. And nurses and pediatric nurses that were able to deliver that baby, resuscitate that baby and that baby is doing very well today.
GRACE: Now was this all in a truck?
FELDMAN: Well, it`s a mobile satellite emergency department. It`s an emergency department on a 43-foot box truck with hydraulic slide-down.
GRACE: That`s a truck?
FELDMAN: Yes. It`s --
GRACE: It may be 43 feet, but that`s still a truck, Doctor.
FELDMAN: Well, if you`re on it, you wouldn`t know you were in a truck.
GRACE: Hey, you know what, having given birth to twins, I would just be happy to have doctors and nurses and help around me.
FELDMAN: Sure.
GRACE: I cannot even imagine what this lady went through. But thank god in heaven you thought and you had these trucks set up.
Was she able to get any pain medication? Was it a normal birth?
FELDMAN: She had a natural, normal delivery. We have a pharmaceutical cache on bored. She didn`t require an epidural. So she did just well.
GRACE: Whoa, OK. I`m in a little shock when I heard that.
OK, Doctor, let me ask you a question. I assume your hospital has a generator. Do hospitals keep backup generators? What happens when the generator goes down?
FELDMAN: Well, ours, Hackensack University Medical Center, like a lot of other hospitals in the area, we lost our power. And our backup generator went -- went on and it stayed on. But we really take a lot of precautions because we have backup generators to our backup generators. And we make sure that they`re topped off with fuel and can run for many days.
GRACE: Dr. Joseph Feldman, in my book, you`re a modern-day hero. Setting up these trucks, literally saving lives. That`s two lives right there you probably saved. Thank you for being with us.
Everybody, taking your calls. Out to Lucy in Ohio. Hi, Lucy. What`s your question, dear?
LUCY, CALLER FROM OHIO: Yes, my question is, I`m curious as to the factors that played to say that this was the worst storm in history.
GRACE: Uh-huh. I am, too. To Bernie Rayno, senior meteorologist with Accuweather.com, hi, Bernie. Why are they saying this is the worst?
BERNIE RAYNO, SENIOR METEOROLOGIST, ACCUWEATHER.COM: Hi, Nancy. Because number one, the strength of the storm, it was such a ferocious storm from the size of it and also the strength. But as we talked about last night for the people in New Jersey and New York City, it wasn`t just the fact that it was strong, but it was the angle of attack that the storm came in right from the east.
That is an historical track for New York City and New Jersey. And while we had the wind and the rain -- that was important factors, but it`s the storm surge, the devastating storm surge that came in with and north of the storm. That`s where we`re seeing all the damage. And I have to tell you, Nancy, listening to some of these people, my heart goes out to them for the damage. But I`m frustrated with some of them that they did not take the warning, even though the whole meteorological community warned everybody about this storm five to six days in advance and, as we talked about, the storm surge, unfortunately, was devastating.
GRACE: You know, when Lucy calls in, wanting to know why this storm is called the worst, I`m trying to get my head around this, Bernie, and Tom Sater.
Tom, how can this be? Is it because you meteorologists, all of you weather nerds -- I say that in a positive and a loving and caring way.
SATER: Yes.
GRACE: You look at it in a different way. I think this storm fascinated you, because you had a nor`easter, you had a hurricane coming in. It turned into a typhoon.
SATER: Right.
GRACE: You`ve got snow, you`ve got flooding. You`ve got a meteorologist`s, you know, dreams/nightmare.
SATER: Nancy --
GRACE: But I mean, look at this compared to Katrina. How is this worse than Katrina?
SATER: Yes. All right. Let me explain it this way. Since 1938 in Battery Park, for generations people who live there took their children and grandchildren downtown to show them the buildings and they said son, see that marking up on that building? The ocean was really angry one day. Never again will the water level ever reach that mark. Isn`t that something? Yes, it reached it yesterday. It was 10.5. That marking is now surpassed. That`s why this is the strongest.
You know the pressure was the lowest ever in history. Can you imagine now the new generations that are going to go down and say, you know, I wish we could show you another mark, but that building, you know, was there and now the facade is gone. But we`re going to try to find other markings, but almost 14 feet, Nancy. I mean even if it was by an inch or two had broken, that`s quite a statement. But not by, you know, three, almost four feet.
The storm continues to brew. It`s loosing some strength but it`s gaining size, actually. More states are feeling the effects of this, and will continue with heavy rain, snow and --
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: Wait, wait, wait. Hold on. Hold on, Tom. I get it. I get the grandfather walking on, showing the line. I get it. But the body count here is in the 30s. The body count in Katrina was much, much higher. I believe -- let me think. Over 1,000? SATER: Yes. Well, I mean, I don`t think I could give you an answer that will satisfy you. But scientifically, Nancy, when we talk about low pressure, we`ve never had low pressure at such a low level.
GRACE: I mean, in Galveston --
SATER: More to the upper banks.
GRACE: -- there were over 8,000, over 8.000 deaths.
SATER: Yes.
GRACE: In the hurricane that hit back in the 1900s in Galveston.
SATER: Well, there are strong storms that are south of the outer banks that have been strong. But we`ve never had one north of the outer banks like this that took the angle it did and moved right into, you know, of course, the Jersey coast.
GRACE: Yes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I wish we had taken the warning seriously.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The water just came in like a river.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We tried to stop it. We just -- we put towels down, we put the sandbags down. It just -- it was rushing in.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They saved our lives. They truly saved our lives.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Couldn`t tell if it was 100 yards or if it was a mile away. It was just so bright. We thought we were going to have to go jump in the water. It was terrible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Welcome back, everyone. Trying to determine the devastation left behind. Superstorm Sandy.
To Assemblyman Philip Goldfeder, from the 23rd District in Queens, more than 80 homes burned in his district.
Sir, thank you for being with us. I believe I`ve got you there. Are you there, Philip?
OK. Let me -- Dana, let me know when we get Assemblyman Goldfeder up, OK?
In the meantime to Steve Baer, national spokesperson for the Red Cross.
Steve, what is your biggest challenge tonight?
You know what? Mr. Baer, I can`t hear you. In the meantime I`m going to Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
As you all know, Sanjay is the CNN chief medical correspondent, joining us tonight.
Sanjay, thank you for being with us.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Thank you, Nancy. Thanks for having me.
GRACE: You know, Sanjay, a story that has really gripped everyone is the story of tiny infants being evacuated. What happened?
GUPTA: Well, you know, it`s a remarkable thing, Nancy. One of the hospitals here that`s close to the East River around 10:30 last night -- the best that we could piece this together, I`m sorry, I`m hearing myself back in my ear, Nancy. I apologize.
About 10:30 last night, they had to evacuate. They -- generators started to fail. The power was already starting to go out and inside they had to move little babies across town. Little babies, Nancy. You`re familiar with little babies. Two pounds in one case, this little baby, Emma, transporting a baby within a hospital can be challenging. This was between two different hospitals in the middle of the sandy. So it`s just an extraordinary circumstance.
I`m outside Sinai Hospital, which is a hospital that took a lot of these babies. They had a plan. The babies, I`m glad to report, that they`re all doing well. And I just met little baby Emma just a few minutes ago. She weighs just two pounds, in the neonatal ICU. But it was a harrowing, as you might imagine, night last night, Nancy.
GRACE: You know, Sanjay, when you were talking about Emma weighing two pounds, that`s what Lucy weighed when she was born, and she was hooked up to all sorts of machines. She was in a clear plastic box, an incubator.
It`s my understanding that one nurse was carrying the baby while the other was trailing, manually operating the breathing apparatus to make baby Emma live.
GUPTA: It`s extraordinary. I`m -- these are powerful images. I don`t know if you`re watching them now but she literally is holding the baby`s life in her hands. And I don`t mean to sound too hyperbolic here. But, you know, she had to keep pumping the baby`s lungs full of air and ventilating the baby and babies breathe fast. But you know this has to be done quickly and it has to be done continuously.
The entire time, there was no power, Nancy. So they literally had to do this. And if they stopped, if they got tired, if they fell asleep or if they became distracted that, you know, the baby would suffer as a result. So it was really a remarkable thing. And the nurses and the transporters, the doctors, everyone, they really rose to the task, Nancy. So it was an incredible thing. And again here at Sinai is where these babies are being cared for.
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GRACE: Joining me right now CNN`s chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
Sanjay, question. Regarding the generators these hospitals are using, how does that work? And also, I want to understand the protocol. Do hospitals have a protocol for natural disasters like this?
GUPTA: They should have a protocol. And this is something that we`re trying to dig into a little bit as well, Nancy. The answers are still a little bit unclear, but the way it typically works is if your main power supply, you have a backup generator and then typically have a secondary backup generators as well.
One of the situations that they`re concerned about is flooding. So you want to have one of those backup generators not at or below sea level so it doesn`t become flooded. A lot of institutions, for example, put those generators up on the roof. Remember the blackout in 2003, Nancy?
GRACE: Yes.
GUPTA: There was a lot of protocol established after that for these hospitals. And what`s going to be interesting and I think a lot of people are investigating this including tomorrow. We`re going to talk to people at NYU from where these patients came and ask them what -- did the protocols that were put in place nine years ago after 2003, are they fully implemented and did they work? What exactly happened over the last couple of days? So we`re going to hopefully get some answers.
GRACE: Thank you, Sanjay. Sanjay, if you can stay with us.
To Assemblyman Golfedder. Sir, thank you for being with us. Eighty homes burned?
Assemblyman Phillip Goldfeder Yes. I mean we`ve actually seen that number increase to about 110 homes completely wiped out to the ground.
GRACE: What happened?
GOLDFEDER: They`re saying now that it`s electrical. I mean in Breezy Point last night, you had spicy water in your, your house is on fire. I mean it was one of those situations where there was just nothing to do. The homes caught fire and it`s very -- it`s a very working class community, you know, mixed with firemen and policemen and many people are actually watching it burn and could not get there. Apparatus that they needed to put the fire out could not get there. And it actually took, you know, many hours before they got it under control. And the winds did not help matters. And in this beach front community, the homes are literally right next to each other all with wood frames. So this is the perfect storm for this kind of disaster. Just -- you know, people are just suffering and we really need to do everything we can as a community to stick together.
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GRACE: To Jeffrey Tomlin, the key to many of these problems is transportation. When will it be back in effect?
JEFFREY TOMLIN, TRANSPORTATION EXPERT: It remains to be seen, Nancy. Right now we know that we have about seven subway tunnels that are flooded. We`re relying a lot on a 2011 Columbia University study that seemed to predict the severity of the impact of the hurricane on New York. That study says but it will take up to a week to pump the water out those tunnels. About 21 days to get service up to 90 percent. And up to two years to restore service in the full and complete level that it was.
GRACE: When will the airports be working?
TOMLIN: Well, we heard from Governor Cuomo today that hopefully JFK will be open tomorrow. No on e if far giving word about LaGuardia or JFK today. As of today, about 20 percent of the flights today across the United States remain canceled. We`re hoping that service will begin to be restored to normal starting tomorrow. But still a question about JFK and LaGuardia.
GRACE: Marc Harrold, former cop, until power gets restored, how soon do you anticipate criminals to try to take advantage of this?
MARC HARROLD, FORMER OFFICER, ATLANTA PD, ATTORNEY, AUTHOR OF "OBSERVATIONS OF WHITE NOISE": The criminals will be coming right after the storm. Criminals are opportunists. And we`re going to see the looters taking property while law enforcement is thin. We`re going to see the scammers, were going to see charity scams, we`re going to see construction scams, and we`re going to see all sorts of other scams trying to take advantage of people while they`re seemingly vulnerable.
GRACE: Bethany Marshall, psychoanalyst and author, weigh in.
BETHANY MARSHALL, PSYCHOANALYST, AUTHOR OF "DEALBREAKERS": Well, watching your house burn to the ground, the flood waters rise, the fact that this is an anticipated natural disaster, that could be so disorienting, panicking. Don`t give in to the tendency to be shocked, in denial or in confused. Be in the moment. Don`t look backwards or forward. Stay in reality about what`s happening to you.
That means problem solve, reach out to your neighbors for help, access community resources, do not step out your front door if there is water and downed power lines. Reality is curative and when you know it`s happening to you, you can fix it.
GRACE: I want to go out to you, Dana, if you could put up our 800 numbers. For those of you that want to help, the Red Cross, UMCorp, United Methodist Corps of Relief, all there on the ground right now.
Next, Superstorm Sandy coverage with Dr. Drew. I`ll see you tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp Eastern. And until then, good night, friend.
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