Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Oklahoma Tornadoes' Aftermath; Interview with Rep. Mark McBride; National Guard at Work; Storm Trackers Report Witnessing the Massive Twister

Aired May 21, 2013 - 10:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We locked the cellar door when we saw it coming and it got louder and next thing you know is you see the latch coming undone and we couldn't reach for it and it ripped open the door and it's just glass and debris started slamming on us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Emotions are raw here in Moore, Oklahoma -- people describing this tornado as if it were a monster that came through here. In Joplin they described it as a fist coming flying out of the sky and crushing everything below it.

And now what you see around us, the medical center over my shoulder destroyed; one of the places that was supposed to be more secure. The devastation is obvious here. How they will recover is not. The community is coming together. They are doing all they can. Search and rescue is ongoing.

Now throughout the morning, throughout our reporting on this, we've been trying to stay away from the numbers of casualties. We've been giving you what the government is putting out because that's often how we measure the impact.

But I will tell you this. Much of what they're hearing on the government side as well is piecemeal. It's unproven. It's not fact at this time. And there is a chance -- the likelihood is that numbers get worse as you go through a situation like this. That's common sense. And we've seen it too many times. But it could also go the other way. The reports could be wrong.

And I want to bring in Congressman Mark McBride right now. Congressman can you hear me?

REP. MARK MCBRIDE (R), OKLAHOMA (via telephone): Yes. Yes, I can hear you.

CUOMO: Thank you for joining us on the phone. Yes can you hear me Congressman?

MCBRIDE: Yes, yes I can hear you. CUOMO: All right. Moore is part of your district. You know the pain here. I don't know if you can hear but I'm discussing right now that what we're hearing about lives lost here is a very uncertain number, is that right? It could go up, it could maybe go down.

MCBRIDE: Yes the last I heard was at 6:00 this morning and it was you know somewhere around 90 to 100. But you know, with the devastation that I've seen with the school and the -- the housing and the subdivisions and stuff, there's you know I don't know that anybody is ready to stick a number on it yet.

I know that I was just in front of the church (ph) at Moore and they've just came in and told a lady that her -- they've found her husband and she was in there crying. So it's you know a really sad time.

CUOMO: And obviously, look, I mean the numbers are meaningless because it's all about the specific loss, every life is precious.

MCBRIDE: Correct.

CUOMO: And not to be foolhardy in hopefulness but just the idea that this is a very fluid situation and what is known should be in quotes because the reality is just -- it's difficult to know anything for sure, isn't that true at this point?

MCBRIDE: Oh yes. It's -- you know, yesterday I was at one place where they were pulling out a body, I guess. I mean the sad thing is there was a little pink -- a little jeep looking girl's toy sitting there in the driveway. I didn't stay there. I didn't know if it was a child or an adult.

But I mean, I was just choking back tears and trying to be strong, you know, and -- and just to see that and think that may have been a child in that debris just you know broke my heart. And then going over to Plaza Towers when I was over there, they were pulling children out of the school there. You know it's just a gut wrenching experience. And my family has lived in Moore since the 1940s and, you know, we've been through several tornadoes here but this is the worst thing I've ever seen.

CUOMO: Why do you say that? What makes this one worse?

MCBRIDE: It's just -- well, you take like the Moore Hospital. I mean it just looks like somebody bombed it. I've never seen a building destroyed. That kind of building destroyed to that magnitude and you know that 7-Eleven in the corner of Fourth and Telephone Road (ph) is not there anymore. And just acres of houses just swept off the slab. I mean there's you know -- if you didn't have a storm shelter, you -- you didn't ride it through because there was no safe place in these homes. There was no closet to get into because there were no closets left.

My mother rode the storm out underneath the stairway in their home and fortunately she survived but it devastated most of the house. CUOMO: Congressman, what is the deal with shelters, who has them, who doesn't and why? I mean obviously they -- they're not mandated by the state. But help give us some understanding of how it works here.

MCBRIDE: Well, I think we all kind of think we're brave and we stand out in our driveways and watch the storms go by. I will own a shelter after this when I don't have a shelter myself. I -- one of the other -- one of the other Representatives and myself were visiting last night as we walked through the neighborhood of these schools.

You know that's something that we want to see next year you know some legislation so these schools have some place for these children to get to. Because you know these -- these -- the children are -- they're sacred. You know, we need to protect these kids. And I don't know. You can say it's more government interference but, you know, to not have a storm shelter in these schools, it's just we've got to change.

CUOMO: Well that's my -- that's the question. I mean look we are not at a point -- this is not meant as a finger pointing in any way, it's just more of a curiosity, of a confusion. Why wouldn't schools have storm shelters when this is part of tornado alley, when this can happen, not to this degree thank God but bad things happen weather- wise here? Why isn't it part of just the makeup of communities?

MCBRIDE: Oh I just think you know people think they can dodge the bullet. You know, you know, they hit and miss. You know we haven't had a major one like this since '99. We had a little one that came through Moore in 2003. But I think we're just you know we get that, we get lax after one goes through and it's not a big deal.

And you know and there's an expense factor. You know our budget is stretched. You know the education takes a lot of the money for our state. You know 50 plus percent. So it's just -- I don't think it's been a priority but I think after this it will become a priority as we build schools.

CUOMO: I -- I hear you. Just you know when we think about you guys in Washington and what you're fighting over and what money -- where money goes and what it's for and then you're standing down here and seeing the need as so great, I hope that it moves up the list, Congressman, because certainly it would make a difference in so many people's lives in your own community.

MCBRIDE: Right and just to clarify, I am a State Representative. I'm not -- I don't --

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: Right.

MCBRIDE: Congressman Cole is the Congressman for this area. But -- but this is my -- my district as State Rep so.

CUOMO: Right, right. Thank you for that. Thank you for that clarification. But -- but hopefully -- but hopefully Representative that, you know, it's able to be better the next time but obviously the urgency right now is getting through this time.

MCBRIDE: Right.

CUOMO: The need is obvious everywhere that we look. What do you hear about how it is going in terms of search and rescue and in terms of having the resources? What are you hearing from your people on the state level?

MCBRIDE: We have all of the resources at our fingertips. We've brought in people from 77 counties here in Oklahoma, search and rescue, you know, police officers, sheriff's department, counties, different counties have sent in equipment. We have a staging area at south Moore where all of, you know, the Silver Star, Cleveland County, District 1, 2 and 3 have their equipment set up.

The streets are getting cleared as we -- as we speak so we can get in and see more and I know that the fire departments from the state are here and they're out you know going through the debris and the houses. I've seen a lot of rescue dogs, search and rescue dogs.

So -- so there's a -- we have -- we have a lot of people -- it's amazing. You know Oklahoma is one of those states that when something happens to somebody, they all turn out to help. So it's just kind of a good feeling to know that just in a matter of hours -- I mean, I'm talking convoys of vehicles with lights flashing coming in here from you know cities from far away. So --

CUOMO: Well that's all good news. You know and I'm sorry, Representative, I got ahead of myself talking to you as an official instead of just another man. How is your family? How are your loved ones? Did everybody make it through?

MCBRIDE: My family is fine. My house took just minor damage. I was about a quarter mile south of the tornado. My parents it went right through the middle -- I haven't been there. I just got off the phone with my sister and said it went through the middle of her house. My mother was hiding under the stairway and rode it out. And -- but they are -- they are all fine. So luckily you know we weathered -- you know my family weathered the storm.

CUOMO: Well, you know, as terrible as it is to hear about your mother hiding under the stairs in this scenario as we've been saying this morning, it still puts you on the side of being one of the lucky ones. So God bless.

MCBRIDE: Right.

CUOMO: I'm happy that your family is ok. And thank you for taking the time to talk to us.

MCBRIDE: Oh you bet. You know I'd like to --

CUOMO: And as the need continues --

MCBRIDE: I'd like to be with my family but I've got about 40,000 people here in my district that I got to take care of too. So they're safe. So I'll take care of these people that aren't right now.

CUOMO: Well they are all your family now. They're all your family when they're in need and so -- so get to it, Mark. All of the best to you. Let us know if we can help ok.

MCBRIDE: All right. Thank you.

CUOMO: All right now one of the things that's going on the ground here, the National Guard. You'll hear their helicopters going above. They're doing a lot of oversight survey to figure out where they need to direct assets. They are on the ground. They are helping with search and rescue. They are saving lives. We've seen video of it.

I want to go to Barbara Starr right now. Barbara nobody knows what's going on with the National Guard better than you. Please fill us in.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well hi, Chris. Well about 240 and 250 Oklahoma National Guard on the ground now. We are told that they started moving in last night. This really extraordinary video as they very quickly moved to the devastated Plaza Towers Elementary School to set up some security perimeter so other first responders could get in.

Look at the pictures. These guys are equipped with the same kind of gear they have in the war zone -- night vision goggles, thermal imaging equipment so they can see that differential between the hot and cold in the debris, trying to see if they can locate anyone still alive in the debris. And some of the National Guards spoke about moving in, in those initial minutes. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

2ND LT. GABRIEL BIRD, 148TH AIR SUPPORT OPERATIONS SQUADRON: We've got a team of eight individuals, tactical vehicles and a lot of our equipment that we would use in combat operations such as thermal imagers, night vision equipment, communications equipment. We're here at Ground Zero basically looking to get put into the search and rescue portion so we can go out with the thermal imagers and night vision and see in the dark and hopefully you know help find survivors or at least keep us busy and do some good work.

SPECIALIST JOSH GRAGERT, 45TH INFANTRY BRIGADE COMBAT TEAM: Everybody wants to get out here and help. That's just part of being a soldier. It's crazy, you know, you don't ever really think about it as much whenever you are home but when you get out here and actually see all of the devastation and all of the people that are affected by it, it really -- it really hits hard.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: You know, Chris, this is what we have seen in so many communities when they are struck by these massive tragedies. The National Guard, of course, lives and works in these areas. This is their family.

I can tell you I spoke to a young officer who spent most of last night looking to make contact with her children. They are ok. She was able to locate them.

We've just spoken to a very senior National Guard commander from Oklahoma, spent hours tracking his family down. They are ok. But these folks are on station helping the local police and fire department in the very community where they all live and work. They are as you keep saying, Chris, out in Oklahoma everyone is family -- Chris.

CUOMO: All right. Barbara, thank you so much for the reporting on that and the perspective on the National Guard. They are invaluable here right now because they need that oversight so much -- literally. Coming from the birds they have in the air for their ability to see where the need is because on the ground many of the roads are impassable.

Our thanks to Barbara Starr -- big challenges.

We're getting reporting in. Pam Brown has been helping me out here this morning with it.

50,000 people have no power. And that's going to be difficult to restore in part because of the weather. You have open gas lines. You have live downed power wires which make it difficult for search and rescue.

And as the storm front continues to move through this area and the lightning touches down, they have to slow their efforts because safety has to be the priority and that's very frustrating for them. It's very frustrating for those in the community and that's the situation here right now.

The efforts continue. The manpower is great. But so is the need and the elements are not helping. So this is going to be slow.

CNN.com/impact. We're going to break and when we do, it's a great chance to go check out that page and see what you can do to help the people here in Oklahoma. As we keep saying, the need is very great. We'll be back on the other side of the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I could hear the roof going and then I could start seeing small holes and insulation falling on me and I could see the swirl of the tornado as it goes by.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: That man describing the monster that came through Moore, Oklahoma, yesterday. I'm Chris Cuomo here on the scene. I want to direct your attention to what's going on right now. Men getting out of a bus, they're wearing orange hazmat vests. That is search and rescue.

They are organizing here. You're looking at a man up on a crane. They're trying to fix a movie theater that's there. If you were to go down, you will see what they just put up on it. They're going to be the men who are getting ready. Search and rescue is ongoing even though there are lightning storms here right now. It has slowed them but it has not stopped. Their have been nonstop since this happened.

If you go up, show what they wrote on the marquee -- just to show you where this community is even though it's in devastation. On the marquee sign they have written "God bless Moore". This community is coming together. They are a prayerful community as we've been told. They are leaning on their faith and they're leaning on each other heavily as this day goes on and the rain continues here.

Acres of homes have been taken out. What were houses are now haystacks of sticks -- literally that's what they are. As you drive into the area it starts with debris then this spray of mud that's all over everything and then trees are gone and then power lights are gone and then everything is gone.

And that takes you to where we are right now over my shoulder is the medical center. This was a safe zone for people. This is where they were supposed to come in times of need and now if you look at it, it's gone. They tracked down the entire staff. They got all of their patients out, thank God. But it was not able to be that safe place.

Many people here don't have shelters. Many don't have basements. So they had to ride it out as best they could and it wound up being devastating for so many. The numbers are continuing to come in. They're soft but, of course, there is human loss of life here. There were many kids lost.

This was during the school day, 3:00 p.m. in the afternoon, so kids were just getting out of school. It magnified the intensity of the concern and fear especially of those parents, many of them put themselves in harm's way to find their kids.

Many of these teachers became heroes. We're hearing stories of them covering kids, saving kids' lives. When this was going on, we believe that the storm at its widest was two miles wide. The devastation stretches 20 miles, winds of 200 miles an hour.

I learned all this from talking to a couple storm trackers, Colt and Lauren, earlier this morning. Listen to their experience of watching this massive twister.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COLT FORNEY, STORMCHASER: Complete devastation. I mean it was incredible. I still don't know what to think about it. I mean early in the day looked like to be a pretty decent day for tornadoes. The parameters were there, plenty of shear. Just never expected something this violent.

CUOMO: You have seen a lot of this stuff, right? You come around and you see natural disasters. You see tornadoes. How did this one stand out for you? LAUREN HILL, STORMCHASER: This one from the very beginning you could just tell where the hook was on radar and as soon as the tornado dropped down southwest of town you could tell and look where it was going and you just knew it was going to be the worst possible spot to hit.

CUOMO: Because why? Why was it so bad? So much built up there?

HILL: The energy was huge. You had a lot of inflow coming with the storm like the updraft was really cranking and right through Moore, right across highway -- I-35. When we crossed 35 there were people already stopped on the interstate ahead of us to the north. And it was horrifying.

CUOMO: We have a clip of what was there. Let's play what the storm chasers were facing yesterday. Take a look and listen at this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Houses are completely leveled.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Leveled. It's unrecognizable.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Houses are leveled.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This doesn't even look like it was ever development.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, it's not.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh no. This -- my god, guys.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: Now, we've been hearing the word it looks like the tsunami for those of us, you know, who had to cover that. What is it that happens as this passes over a home, cars, what is its ability to do to things?

HILL: It's like a bomb went off. The field that we came up to we realized was a subdivision, it used to be, and there were people crawling out of the mud. We actually -- when we first came up on it -- we were one of the first on the scene and to the west there was a day care center and first they thought three children were missing but thankfully they were reported found.

They were crawling out of boards. The day care did not exist anymore. There was a horse from a nearby pasture actually in the day care, still alive, bleeding. And just trying to get people out of there as quickly as possible because shortly after we noticed a huge rushing sound, at first we thought it was water or something and we could smell natural gas.

Just to our north and so everyone was trying to get as many people as possible to any vehicles there just to get them south.

CUOMO: One of the things we're dealing with here is how difficult it is to get search and rescue in and to get big equipment in. What did you see that substantiates that kind of claim it's going to take a while to clear these areas.

FORNEY: The power lines and power poles are just debris strewn across the roads. Some of them were completely impassable. You would have to bring in some heavy equipment just to plow the road to get through and, you know, with all the boards and nail, you will get flat tires. They're impassable.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CUOMO: And you know, those storm trackers were talking to us about the weather today. It's thundering here and lightning starting to come down. There's on and off rain. It's making everything more difficult especially for search and rescue. Even more importantly for these families who now have nowhere to call home.

Luckily this is Oklahoma. Luckily in the community of Moore, they take each other in and treat them like family in times of need and right now the need is great. Look on your screen. CNN.com/impact, please go there and see how you can help these people. They could be your family and in a way as Americans they are.

Our coverage here is going to continue. We're trying to get the latest information on casualties, the latest information on search and rescue. Less than 50 percent of the 20 mile area by two mile has been searched so there's still hope here.

We're going to take a break. When we come back, John Berman will pick up the coverage. Please stay with us as CNN takes you through what's going on in Moore, Oklahoma. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)