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Survivors Share Stories in Moore, Oklahoma; Joplin Offers Condolences, Advice; Storm Shelter Can Be A Lifesaver; In Their Own Words

Aired May 22, 2013 - 12:30   ET

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

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Of the 24 people who died, we now know that 10 of them were children, so that percentage has raised. And seven of those kids were killed at their school in a classroom not in the basement as officials were earlier saying.

I want to get CNN's Pamela Brown in here. Pamela, you actually spoke to some men who responded to that school.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. I interviewed a man earlier today. His name is Adam Baker. He's a resident here in Moore, Oklahoma, and right after the tornado, he wanted to help, so he rushed over to Plaza Towers Elementary School -- that's where his nephew went to school -- hoping to get there and pull out survivors.

But instead, Anderson, when he got there, he saw four deceased kids. He said that there was debris on top of them, desks, metal, wood, concrete, you name it, and instead he pulled them out. He said he laid them on the ground one-by-one and it's something that still haunts him today. He says he just can't get over it.

Let's take a listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADAM BAKER, MOORE, OKLAHOMA, RESIDENT: The ones that were deceased had bumps and scrapes and they probably would have made it if they weren't pinned.

BROWN: How were they pinned?

BAKER: Pinned by different debris, desks, two-by-fours, pieces of metal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: It's -- I mean, you can never get over something like that, those images.

BROWN: No. And he said that what's interesting here as we talked about, Anderson, they weren't found in a basement. He said it was a structure that was a little bit lower to the ground like a shallow structure. He said it could have been a classroom.

And I asked him, had those kids been in an underground shelter, a bunker of some sort, do you believe they would have survived that? And he said, absolutely without a doubt in his mind. And he hopes that with what happened that there will be change, that more schools here, especially schools here in Tornado Valley -- Tornado Alley, rather -- will create underground bunkers.

COOPER: Yeah. New schools, I guess, have to do that, but some of the old schools are not retrofitted for that and it's not mandatory that they do that. Whether that's going to change, I talked to the governor and the mayor about that last night and it didn't sound like -- the mayor was talking about trying to put an ordinance for any new homes that they'll have to have underground shelters. But it doesn't sound like there's going to be a push for schools. Whether or not that changes in the days ahead, we'll certainly see. It's still so hard to imagine.

And when you look, I mean, the medical center behind us, a lot of the people who got injured, they weren't able to be brought here. There was triage areas set up and they had to be brought to other locations. So it is really that the death toll is not higher.

BROWN: I know. That's what everyone's talking about today. And, also, Anderson, I was with someone earlier who went back to their home for the first time. Their home was destroyed. And he talked about being in the bathtub with his mom, clinging to his mom when the tornado went right above them. And he said all he had covering him, all that was between him and the tornado was pillows over his head.

COOPER: Yeah.

BROWN: And let's take a listen to what he had to say. His name is Matt Hill.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATT HILL, LOST HOME IN TORNADO: I've lost everything before, and I can recover from that easy. But I mean, when you're sitting in a bathtub, holding your mom and she screams to hold her tighter because she thinks she's going to fly away, and then you feel the housebreak and you can taste the dirt in your mouth. You see the debris in the sky.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: It's so incredible. You know, I talked to a family of a little girl named Janae who got killed in the elementary school as well.

And, you know, I -- they -- we met at their church yesterday, and we don't approach families at a time like this, obviously. We want them to have privacy. They wanted to talk about her. A lot of parents, family members want you to know about their child and what she or he was like. And we're going to play a little bit of that interview later on because Janae was just this vivacious little girl and they said there was no one else like her, so we're going to -- we'll hear from them a little bit later on.

Pam, I appreciate the reporting. Thank you very much.

Coming up, you're going to hear from the one woman who survived after being buried alive in her home, just an incredible story. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Oklahoma's barely begun the recovery effort after the devastating deadly tornado. Perhaps no one knows better the suffering here than the people of Joplin, Missouri. Today marks exactly two years since a tornado killed 161 people in Joplin.

Earlier, the mayor of Joplin offered advice to those affected by the storm here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MELODEE COLBERT KEAN, MAYOR, JOPLIN, MISSOURI: If we can share anything with them, we would like to share that there is hope. As they can see with our two years that where we are now, we have come a long way, a very long way.

And it's a long struggle. It's a road that you don't want to tread, but now that you have to be on it, make sure, make sure that you involve your citizens in every line of communication that you do because they are going to be wondering what's going on, how's the development going.

So we can stress to definitely make sure of that. Document everything. Anything and everything that you sign, document because that will come back on you later if you don't have that.

And one thing that we would really like to share is hope. There is going to be hope. There is hope because devastation doesn't last, but determination does.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Determination lasts. As well as offering hope, the mayor has also offered help to the city of Moore. Joplin sent emergency responders to assist in the recovery.

I want to show you some pictures that were taken right after the tornado here in Moore, Oklahoma. They were taken by a woman named Barbara Jarrell after she was rescued from beneath the rubble in her house.

Nothing is left in this neighborhood. Last night, standing in front of what's left of the home, Barbara told me about the terrifying moment that it crumbled around her.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Where in the house did you go?

BARBARA JARRELL, WAS BURIED BY TORNADO DEBRIS: I went in my living room hallway area. I had a hall closet, coat closet.

COOPER: Right.

JARRELL: So I went in there, sat on the floor, grabbed a pillow and put it over my head.

And it got so loud. I knew it was hitting. And then the glasses all started breaking and popping out. My ears started popping. I felt the suction.

And about that time, I heard my house just flying apart, but the rafters came down and pinned me. But it was a good thing then the tornado couldn't suck me away.

COOPER: So the rafters kind of kept you down.

JARRELL: Yeah.

COOPER: That's incredible. How do you get through it?

JARRELL: I almost didn't. I got through the tornado, but then I didn't think anybody was ever going to find me because I was screaming at the top of my lungs, but nobody could hear me.

They kept going to other people I guess because I was buried so deep.

COOPER: Sure. So your house is really buried? You were buried under your house.

JARRELL: Just that one area's all that was left. Everything else was gone, but Got made me a little ...

COOPER: How did you get rescued?

JARRELL: Well, some guy, it wasn't first-responders. It was just people out walking, helping.

He said something just made him stop. And he says he could hear. Then after he stopped, he listened and he thought he heard something. And that's when he found me.

And he took -- he went and found a big rafter to take some of the pressure off my side and ...

COOPER: How long were you in there for?

JARRELL: It seemed like 40 minutes, 45 minutes.

COOPER: And, Tiffany, how about you?

TIFFANY THRONESBERRY, MOTHER WAS TRAPPED INSIDE HOME: I wasn't with her.

COOPER: Yeah.

THRONESBERRY: She was somehow able to get a call through to me while I was at work. And I just heard her say, help me, I'm buried, I can't breathe.

COOPER: So you actually were able to call from beneath the wreckage?

JARRELL: It was a hit and miss thing. Sometimes -- everyone was trying to call me and every now and then a call would come through.

My brother got through, and so he beat the first-responders out there, basically. But I'd already gotten pulled out. It took six people.

COOPER: Six people.

JARRELL: Six people. One of them prying it up with a rafter and five others trying to lift just so they could get it up enough for one of them to grab my legs and slide me out.

So that man that finally that just stopped because he didn't really hear me and I was screaming at the top of my lungs.

And I have the -- I know how you are about the apps on your phone.

COOPER: I'm not good with apps.

JARRELL: Yeah, I had the bullhorn app on my phone and I was using it. Couldn't even hear that.

COOPER: Is that right? Really?

Tiffany, what was it like to get that call from your mom?

THRONESBERRY: It was the most helpless feeling. And my heart stopped. And I don't ever want to get another call like that again.

COOPER: She's right here next to you, so that's good.

THRONESBERRY: Yes, she is.

COOPER: How long before you were able to be reunited?

THRONESBERRY: It took me about an hour to get to her after the call, yeah. I had to walk quite -- I had to park my car about four miles from her.

I finally gave up and parked and just started walking.

COOPER: That must have been a nightmare walk.

THRONESBERRY: Yeah. Done it before, though.

COOPER: Well, I'm so glad you're doing OK. And how do you feel now?

JARRELL: I feel like I got beat up with a baseball bat, but I don't care.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Doesn't care because she's alive and she has her daughter. If you want to help those affected by the tornado, you can visit Impact Your World on CNN.com.

Now, as we have mentioned, 24 people, as you know, died as a result of the tornado that slammed through this small town. Seven of the victims were kids at that elementary school. Ten victims were children, in all.

One of them was Janae Hornsby. I mentioned her a little bit -- a while ago. You're going to hear from her parents, from her dad and her aunt, next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She was the best kid anybody could have. She was Janae.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Well, as you know, 10 of the 24 people killed here in Oklahoma were children. And at a time like this, we work hard not to approach parents, obviously, who are grieving, who are experiencing the worst possible thing in their lives. But sometimes parents want to talk about their child and want to let people know about what their child was like, about the life he or she led. Jenae Hornsby was a third grader at Plaza Towers Elementary School. She was nine years old and she didn't survive the storm. I want to show you how energetic Jenae was. How full of life. This is a home video. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) What? I'm trying to do something. I'm trying to do something. Wait.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: This is home video that her dad, Joshua, gave to us yesterday. He's a veteran of the Iraq War. And I had a chance to speak with him at the Mt. Trinity (ph) Baptist Church, along with Jenae's aunt, Angela.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: When you first saw it, what did you think?

JOSHUA HORNSBY, JENAE'S FATHER: My heart just sank and I started worrying and panicking. I just needed to find my baby. I just kept waiting and hoping that I'd find her. I was looking through the other kids that were already -- had gotten out and just waiting.

COOPER: When did you get word about her?

J. HORNSBY: This morning.

COOPER: Where were you? What happened?

J. HORNSBY: I was at First Baptist Church. They had opened the shelter for parents that still hadn't found their kids.

COOPER: What do you want people to know about your daughter?

J. HORNSBY: Just she was the best kid anybody could have. She was Jenae. She was, you know, a ball of energy, a ball of love.

COOPER: Your face lights up when you were saying her name.

J. HORNSBY: Yes. That's my baby.

COOPER: You're nodding your head at that.

ANGELA HORNSBY, JENAE'S AUNT: Because there - I mean there is no other kid like her. We're a very unique bunch and she is all of our uniqueness balled up into one. And I mean she's the sweetest thing, the bossiest thing, the most fun, always trying to make us laugh and just a sweet baby. A sweet baby.

COOPER: Does it seem real yet?

J. HORNSBY: No. It still ain't sunk in. I'm still hoping, you know, for that call to say, we made a mistake.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Well, we wish them and all the parents who are suffering right now, we wish them peace in the difficult days ahead.

A lot of people in Moore braved the storm by taking shelter in safe houses. Coming up, we're going to show you what a storm shelter looks like, an underground shelter. This is our special coverage live from Moore, Oklahoma.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHARLES GAFFORD, TORNADO SURVIVOR (voice-over): It's like a war zone. It's ridiculous. I mean, it's just hard to believe that something like that could just happen. I mean, that was the first tornado I'd ever seen in person and I've been in Oklahoma for over 10 years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: As often happens, a day or two after a storm like this, we're starting to see more and more images of the storm from different vantage points. Charles was one of the many who took cover in a storm shelter. This is our special coverage from Moore, Oklahoma.

A storm shelter or basement, it obviously can be a lifesaver from a tornado like this, but not a lot of homes in this area actually have basements. Authorities complain about red tape and a federal program that helps homeowners build shelters. The cost for individuals to build a shelter in their home can be several thousand dollars. FEMA released this map of the green dot showing homes that have safe rooms funded by government grants. The red line shows the path of the tornado. Now the mayor here on Moore says he wants an ordinance requiring shelters or safe rooms in all new housing projects. Gary Tuchman shows us how personal shelters, how they work, how they can save lives.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The people who lived in this house that was destroyed, survived. They survived because they left well in advance. But if they did not leave well in advance, they would have survived also because they had this heavy metal storm shelter. I want to show you how it works.

You open the door and you take a look inside and you see it's very cramped inside. There's not much room, but plenty of room to survive. Walk down the steps with your family. You can probably fit seven or eight people and fit important things in here, clothing, pictures, valuables. You come in and then you just shut the door and you are safe and sound as a tornado goes above you. There's no doubt the people would have survived if they went inside this shelter.

When the storm's over, you open it up and you all come out. One thing to keep in mind, you may say, wow, if the rubble falls on us, how do you get out? Well, you don't lift up, you slide it and you slide it under here. Now, if the rubble does fall on top of here, lots of rubble, you may not be able to slide it, but then you're alive and presumably you've told your relatives that you're in here and they tell rescuers and they come and they rescue you.

And one thing you might wonder, why don't schools in the tornado belt in Oklahoma and Texas and Kansas all have storm shelters, all have basements? Well, we should point out, it's not a law. And the fact is, many school districts say it's just not economically feasible to have these. They cost several thousand dollars, these personal shelters.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, a local home builder says adding a whole basement to a home can cost $15,000 to $20,000, but he says a concrete cellar built during home construction can cost as little as $2,200.

At times it can be hard for us as reporter to convey the magnitude of, you know, the scope of something like this. There is the overwhelming sadness, of course, the loss. There's also, though, the determination and the hope people have to move forward and the determination they have to move forward. We're seeing that today all around us. We want you to hear it for yourself firsthand from the people who are experiencing it, in their words. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When we got here, what we saw was unbelievable. The debris field was so high and so far and so wide, wounded people walking around the streets. You know, they were walking wounded. I mean they were bloody. They were people that had stuff sticking out of them from things that were flying around in the air. There were cars crumpled up like little toys and thrown on top of buildings. Buildings that were two and three stories tall that were leveled. I mean it was devastating.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There are empty spaces where there used to be living rooms and bedrooms and classrooms. And in time, we're going to need to refill those spaces with love and laughter and community.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Our people can pull together. They'll find the inner courage, their strength through prayer. And neighbors are out helping fellow neighbors. And we'll take care of our people. And we certainly have the best first responders and emergency personnel I think in the nation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's like a battle zone. It's -- there's nothing standing. No trees, no houses for anywhere around. No landmarks. You don't even know where you are, where you're standing over there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think we've really processed what's truly happened. We're just trying to salvage everything we can. Basically what we can carry out, you know. We can't get a vehicle in here. We're just trying to get everything we can carry out, you know, pictures, keepsakes, mementoes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's terrible. Little kids. Families with their homes gone. A lot of people around here don't have insurance in this neighborhood. A lot of people do, but there's a lot of people that don't. You know, where do they go from here? Just got to get up and figure out a way.

OBAMA: The people of Moore should know that their country will remain on the ground there for them.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is Oklahoma. When a neighbor is hurt, you don't ask what they need, you invite them in and help them. That is what we do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: And we're seeing that all around us. All around us.

I'll be back at 8:00, also 10:00 tonight with "AC 360." Our special coverage from Moore, Oklahoma, continues with Wolf Blitzer right after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)