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Peter Curtis Released in Syria; 6.0 Strong Quake Hits Napa; Another Iraqi Town Under ISIS Siege; California Quake Hits Wine Country Hard; Three White House Officials to Attend Brown's Funeral

Aired August 24, 2014 - 16:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Jim Sciutto, in New York. Thanks very much for joining us today. We are following two major stories today, this hour.

First, freedom for an American abducted by Islamic militants in Syria. Peter Curtis, the times we've seen him in the past, have been chilling.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETER CURTIS, AMERICAN ABDUCTED IN SYRIA: Peter Curtis, July 18.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: After nearly two years of imprisonment, Peter Curtis is now a free man, escaping the state of another journalist, James Foley who was brutally executed by ISIS fighters. We'll have the latest on Curtis' ordeal.

Also today, a scary wake-up for people in Napa Valley, California, as a strong earthquake shakes the area. Dozens are injured, while wineries are still weighing how much damage has been done to that multibillion dollar industry.

We're going to begin, though, in California, in a state of emergency after a strong 6.0 earthquake rattled Bay area residents out of their beds early this morning. Downtown Napa took the brunt of the impact, causing structural fires and historical buildings to collapse. At least 120 people were injured, three of them critically, including a young child. But luckily, to this point no reported deaths.

Across the region, stretches of roadways split in two. The picturesque wineries that mark the Napa countryside seeing extensive damage. In a news conference, just moments ago, the fire chief laid out concerns about the damaged areas.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF MIKE RANDOLPH, NAPA FIRE DEPT.: The majority of what we've been doing for the last several hours is assessing the damage of a lot of our buildings in the downtown area, making sure that there was no imminent rescue and happy to say that there has not been.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: According to the U.S. Geological survey, 15,000 people experienced severe shaking but hundreds of thousands more felt the jolt. Even far from the epicenter. This was the strongest earthquake to hit the Bay area since 1989, 25 years. Now the question on everyone's mind, is another quake, perhaps a bigger one, on the way?

Let me bring in CNN's Kyung Lah, live in Napa, California. Kyung, I know at this point, tremendous amount of structural damage but also worry about aftershocks. We were talking earlier in the day there's more than 50 percent chance of them. Have you felt them already or more expected to come?

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: More are expected to come. The prediction is the next 24 hours, and even stretching out through the week, the aftershocks are expected to come, it could be as strong as 5.0, that's part of the reason why I'm standing this far away from this building. What you're seeing over here is something that we're seeing throughout this historic area, the bricks on the ground, gaping holes through the top of this brick building.

And then if you go all the way across, and take a look at the other corner, you can see how that corner has also collapsed. Part of those bricks fell down. Take a look below, a tree just snapped like that. That quickly. So that's why the authorities have asked us to stay a bit further back, because the concern is that aftershocks are unpredictable and if a building has been compromised the concern is if there's a 5.0, there could be a collapse.

This is just one snapshot of what we're seeing throughout the downtown Napa area. A lot of historic buildings, a lot of brick, buildings that have not been able to retrofit for these earthquakes. So a 6.0 certainly felt by many people, talking about how terrifying it is, but it's also led to a lot of structural damage. There are water issues throughout the area and a quarter of this city, the people who live here, 20,000 out of the 80,000 remain without power. So a lot of today is cleanup, but also a lot of concern about what could come should an aftershock hit. Jim.

SCIUTTO: You know, Kyung, earlier we heard the fire chief there mention reports of the smell of natural gas, earlier this morning, when the first pictures, video was coming out, we saw a lot of fires, house fires. Makes you think about gas leaks and the potential for fires following on. Is that still a concern there, as you're traveling around the area? Do you smell gas as a warning sign?

LAH: We have not personally smelled it, but what we are hearing from the authorities who are going out to these very different areas throughout the area, throughout the city, is that, yes, they are smelling it, people are continuing to call in, to say they are smelling natural gas, a huge concern, whenever there's an earthquake, an earthquake of this magnitude, the concern is this broken gas line, broken water lines, and the gas being if someone doesn't think about what they're smelling and they light a match, that's when you have these fires. So that's a big concern today, we are still hearing sirens go off, still seeing emergency vehicles, drive back and forth.

This is still very much, Jim, an active situation, an active hunt for those gas lines, as well as making sure that everyone is OK. So far, though, no reports of missing people.

SCIUTTO: Yes, no question, with a quake like this, it's always the initial damage and the damage that can follow and then, of course, the tremor that might follow. Thanks very much, Kyung Lah. She's right in the middle of it there in Napa.

This was the strongest quake to hit California's bay area in a quarter of a century. I want to bring in CNN meteorologist Chad Meyers. Chad, you know, when people hear California and they hear earthquake, of course they fear the big one, right? Could this be a sign of the big one is coming? One question I have, is there's a lot of talk about the ring of fire, right? Around the Pacific and you're connecting these plates. You've had quakes in Japan, you've had them in New Zealand, you had them in Chile, all kind of around that ring of fire. When that happens, does that increase the chance that the big one is coming there and when you see a smaller quake like this, is that a sign that the big one is more than it was?

CHAD MEYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I don't think one earthquake says that. I don't think, when you go to the doctor and see the sign that says medicine is not an exact science, geology's not an exact science either. You can't put all these pieces together and you can't say A plus B equals C. It's not the Pythagorean theorem either. This is our quake today. The shape map by USGS, maybe 30 miles back and forth, one way or the other.

Of course, some pretty significant shaking. Here's 1989. This is the big one, this is the 1906 earthquake, the 7.8 to the 8.0. Here's what happened today, Jim. I'll take two blocks, these are my shake blocks, two pieces of dirt, two plates, they're going like this. One decided to go to the north, that would be the Pacific plate because it always does and one decided to stay in the same spot that would be the North American plate, a fracture of the San Andreas fault.

When they slipped all of sudden that slip, that rupture is what the people felt. Now the reason why this was such a significant shake today is because it was very shallow. Only about eight miles deep, maybe seven miles deep. That means what really rattled the people, just rattled all the way to the surface of the earth, not 200 miles deep so that rattling has a chance to attenuate a little bit. So that's what the people felt today all of those big shakes during that one event today.

But there have been many, many events. You talked to Kyung about the aftershocks. This is what it looks like right now. There's the original shake. Look at these other dots, 2.0, 3.0, not up to four yet but certainly if you get a 7.0 quake, your aftershock can be 6. You got a 5.0, your aftershock can be 4. So why we're talking about this 6.0, you've heard it called 6.1, USGA earlier said it's a 6.05, (INAUDIBLE) if they'll run up or run down yet. So you get the idea. There could still be a 5.0 aftershock. You get a building where bricks are barely hanging off on the top, that's why all of the people need to be where Kyung is back from those buildings that are already damaged that could shake, half of a shake, a 3.0 could knock more bricks off, Jim.

SCIUTTO: Those tremors could continue for days or weeks after a quake like this. So folks have to stay on their toes. Thanks very much.

MEYERS: We think about, we think about geological time, we think about our lifetime, a week or a month or even a year of aftershocks, not out of the question. And Japan still seeing some aftershocks from their quake. You know, one year for the earth is not a long time, one year for you and me is a really long time. One year for my hamster is a third of his life. But when it comes to the life of the earth, a year of aftershock is not out of the question.

SCIUTTO: That's a great point. Thanks very much, Chad Meyers. We appreciate it. I know we'll come back to you later in the next couple of hours.

Well, the family of Peter Curtis is celebrating tonight, after nearly two years held by Islamic militants in Syria, the American journalist is finally heading home. Safely.

Also ahead, there's been no warning before an earthquake hits, but technology is catching up to the threat. Finally, it could give people a crucial few seconds to brace for the big one. We'll have that after this break.

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SCIUTTO: Welcome back. We're following developments related to this morning's strong quake in the area around Napa, California. In just a moment, a look at how an early warning system performed in the moments just before the quake.

But first, overseas the latest on a breaking story out of the Middle East. An American journalist, held by Islamist rebels in Syria for almost two years, has been freed. Peter Theo Curtis was captured in 2012, he's expected to be reunited with his family soon.

In a statement just released by the family, Theo Curtis' mother has this to say, "My heart is full at the extraordinary, dedicated incredible people, too many to name individually who have become my friends and tirelessly helped us over these many months. Please know we will be eternally grateful. We are so relieved that Theo is healthy and is safe and is finally headed home after his ordeal. But we are also deeply saddened by the terrible, unjustified killing last week of his fellow journalist, James Foley, at the hand of the Islamic state in Iraq and Syria, ISIS."

CNN international correspondent Nick Payton Walsh is on the story for us. Nick, just to make clear, great news, particularly in a week we saw the brutal, grizzly murder of another American, James Foley, but to our knowledge, Curtis was not held by ISIS, is that right? He was held by another Islamic group?

NICK PAYTON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. He was as far as we know held by a (INAUDIBLE) which is also described as a terrorist organization, also has links to Al Qaeda, but is considered less extreme (INAUDIBLE) but less extreme than ISIS. He, we understand, picked up just after he crossed into Syria, in October 2012, held in Aleppo, held with another American, Matthew Shrea, for months, they plotted to escape together. On the day they executed the escape, unfortunately it was Theo who pushed Matthew up, Matthew got out through the window but couldn't pull Theo through, faced an agonizing choice to simply run and look after himself, having hoped he could have saved them both.

But today, I spoke to Matthew, delighted to learn Peter Theo Curtis is free. Interesting details about how he got out though, Jim. The fact that he emerged through the Golan Heights, between Israel and Syria, a very complex part of Syria in the civil war to the southwest, when he was originally taken to the north near Aleppo.

A lot of details coming out there also, and the family's statement, recognition of the Qatari government and the U.S. along with a number of private individuals who are behind negotiating the release. What they say are humanitarian grounds, whether admit they're not fully aware of the full technical details on how the release came about. Jim.

SCIUTTO: You know, Nick, it raises that question. Just the contrast, you can't understate the contrast with what we saw earlier in the week with Jim Foley and now with Curtis here. But is there any concern that, for instance, money might have been paid. You know, there's a difference of opinion on this between the way the U.S. handles American hostages there, they do not pay ransoms, European nations do, a lot of criticism for that, for funding these groups. Is there any indication that a ransom was paid?

WALSH: Not at this stage, no. There's adequate assurances from the family statement, they don't think that was necessarily the case. But there will always be the suggestions when people released from kidnapped situations, it is entirely possible perhaps (INAUDIBLE) Nusra, who looking at many occasions when they clashed with ISIS, two Al Qaeda groups fighting amongst Syrian rebel ranks here, that perhaps Al Nusra looking for some positive PR points, especially in western eyes but details will still remain unclear for some time. Jim.

SCIUTTO: No question. It is incredible, you made the point earlier on that, you know, in the realm of terror groups, al Nusra used to be considered bad guys but compared to ISIS, they're relatively moderate, I hate to use that term there, but that's exactly what they're seeking, better PR. Great analysis from Nick Paton Walsh there. (INAUDIBLE) story will continue to follow.

In a disaster a few seconds can make a huge difference. Up until now people in California did not even get that much time to brace for an earthquake. Ahead, we'll tell you how a new technology could be changing that.

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SCIUTTO: At the exact moment that the earthquake struck in California this morning, something else extraordinary happened.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Earthquake, earthquake! Light shaking expected in three seconds.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Incredible. A newly developed warning systems sent out an alert over television, radio, internet and cell phone networks, gave people in San Francisco about 10 seconds advance notice that a quake was on its way.

Richard Allen is the director of the seismological laboratory that developed this system at the University of California Berkeley joining me now by telephone. Richard, I want to begin with just a basic point, 10 seconds does not sound like a lot of time, but as you build up that time, 10, 20, 30 seconds, that gives, I suppose, things, for instance, high-speed trains can slow down so they don't derail, elevators can stop, et cetera. Can you explain to our viewers how a very short warning can make a difference?

RICHARD ALLEN, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA (ON THE PHONE): Well, absolutely right. A few seconds makes all of the difference. As individuals you can take cover under a sturdy table and reduce the likelihood that you have ceiling tile, lightning fixtures falling on your head. Many injuries caused by those things this a major earthquake but also things like elevator can open at the closest floor so you don't end up with hundreds of people trapped in an elevator shaft. Trains can stop. The B.A.R.T. trains there in the San Francisco Bay area already uses our demonstration system.

Chemical facilities can isolate chemicals, thereby reducing spills and things like that. So it's about chipping away at these things that cause all of the destruction in an earthquake should reduce the overall impact.

SCIUTTO: So, Richard, can you explain to our viewers, how does it work, how does it sense what's going to happen underground before it happens?

ALLEN: Well, so what we do is we detect the very beginnings of the earthquake. So when the earthquake begins, it radiates very low altitude energy initially, we detect that and we use it to predict the strong shaking that then follows. So that's why it's only a few seconds of warning. The amount of warning you get depends how far you are from the epicenter of the earthquake, seconds, tens of seconds, best-case scenario in California is about a minute's worth of warning.

SCIUTTO: So how can you increase those seconds over time from 10 seconds, 20, 30, 40 seconds to give people more time to react, trains to stop, the elevators to open, et cetera?

ALLEN: Well, we can still squeeze out a few additional seconds. We're working very hard to absolutely minimize the delay it takes to pass the data that we need from sensors in order to push out the alert. Right now we are looking for the funding to build a full-blown public system for the U.S. West Coast and one of the things that we need that funding for is to reduce the delays in getting the data around and to put some additional sensors in. So those additional sensors close to likely epicenters as well as reducing delays for passing data around will give it those few extra seconds.

SCIUTTO: Now is this a warning that already goes out to residents in the area, for instance, were people getting text messages, were they getting alerts by e-mail before this happened?

ALLEN: So, no, it is not. This is not a public system. Right now, it is what we call demonstration system. The alerts only go out to a few test users, about 150 users get the alerts right now. The reason for that is that the system is not robust. It doesn't have the necessary infrastructure behind it so that we can provide guarantees about its performance.

What we would like to do is go ahead and develop this into a full blown public system for the West Coast of the U.S.. It would cost us about $120 million to roll this out, to Oregon, California, and Washington, and then we would be able to provide openly alerts to all of the population.

SCIUTTO: So $120 million and you could cover those three states, really at epicenter, when Americans think about the risk of earthquake, California, Oregon, and Washington, get it out so that everyone's getting messages on their cell phones, et cetera?

ALLEN: That's exactly right. And so the way we envision doing it it's a partnership with the universities and the U.S. Geologic Survey along the West Coast, Berkeley, CalTech, University of Washington and the USGS and our intent here is to develop a system so we create the kernel of an alert and have the private sector deliver these to users. There would be a plethora of apps that you could download on your mobile phone to get the warning. Sophisticated users could get additional information, value-added information provided by the private sector.

So what we need is that kernel of an alert that's across all three states and from there we can build the full-blown system.

SCIUTTO: Well, imagine that, an app that can tell you that an earthquake is coming. Certainly, in California, worries about the big one. I'm sure a lot of people would want it. Thanks very much to Richard Allen, University of California at Berkeley.

On the quake, broken gas lines are blamed for starting several fires inside a mobile home community in Napa. Firefighters couldn't do much when they arrived because the quake also took out the water lines. Here's Laura Anthony of our affiliate, KGO.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LAURA ANTHONY, KGO REPORTER: This is the scene this morning at the Napa Valley Mobile Home Park where four mobile homes were completely destroyed, burnt to the ground in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake. First, the gas mains broke, then the water lines. When firefighters got here, they had no water pressure, they were unable to put out the fires, all they could do is evacuate residents and try to contain them.

They brought in their own water tenders and finally were able to put out the flames. But, as you can see, this and three others, a total loss. Good news, no injuries, no fatalities, at this location. I'm KGO's Laura Anthony.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Incredible scenes from the earthquake aftermath.

Well, overseas, just imagine two years in captivity, held by terrorists, not knowing if you'll ever see family or friends again. That's the ordeal that just ended for Peter Curtis, the American journalist is to soon be reunited with his family.

Also ahead, authorities may finally know the identity of the masked executioner who killed James Foley, but bringing him to justice may be a much tougher task.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCIUTTO: Welcome back. I'm Jim Sciutto in New York.

We're following a breaking story this hour from the Middle East, American Peter Theo Curtis who has been held captive by Islamist militants for almost two years in Syria has been released. Curtis was handed over to U.N. peacekeepers today in the Golan Heights, an area under Israeli government control, bordering Syria.

U.S. National Security Adviser Susan Rice issued a statement that reads in part, quote, "Today the American people share in the joy and relief that Theo's family feels and we look forward to a safe return home. We will continue to work tirelessly on behalf of all Americans who are held overseas, so that they can be reunited with their families as well."

CNN's Justice Reporter Evan Perez, joins us now live from Ferguson, Missouri. Interesting details about this release that the U.N. was involved, he went across the border to Israel. What do we know about what led up to his release, particularly in a week where a few days ago, we saw the grisly death of American Jim Foley?

EVAN PEREZ, CNN JUSTICE REPORTER: Well, Jim, we know five hours ago he was handed over to U.N. peacekeepers on the border with Israel and Syria. How he's on his way to being reunited with his family in Israel. We know that the U.S. has been working with a couple of dozen countries, they said, to try to figure out if they can make some inroads and contact with whoever was holding him.

Now we know from the U.S. government that he was being held by Al Nusra, which is one of the Islamist groups fighting the Syrian government in the civil war there. We don't know exactly where he was held. We believe that at one point held in Aleppo, which is way up north.

We don't know exactly how he made his way down south. Those are details I'm sure we're going to hear in the next couple of days.

SCIUTTO: Now, Al Nusra is not ISIS, but these are both terrorist groups. They're both -- they both have al Qaeda ties, et cetera. Is there any indication why Al Nusra would give up an American whereas, of course, ISIS killed an American, for instance, any questions whether a ransom was paid?

PEREZ: Well, the -- the U.S. government says they were not directly involved in the negotiation. They're aware there were private efforts being made and a third government involved in the efforts. But the U.S. government, as you know, Jim, has a policy of not to talk to terrorist groups and not to do any negotiations with the terrorist groups. So they weren't directly involved. So that -- this had to have been done privately.

SCIUTTO: We can't understate the contrast between what we saw a few days ago with James Foley and the tremendous relief his family in this case. Thanks to Evan Perez, our justice reporter, live from Missouri.

With James Foley's execution posted for the world to see, the man who murdered the American journalist may now be the world's most famous or infamous, we should say, terrorist.

British ambassador telling CNN's Candy Crowley hours ago, British intelligence officials are close to identifying the ISIS extremist with that London accent. Foley disappeared two years ago reporting for the "Global Post," the Pentagon revealed they tried to rescue him earlier this summer.

A memorial mass held in Rochester, New Hampshire, seeing pictures there, Foley's mother and father joined dozens of supporters at the service. Foley's parents stood in front of the mourners and gave thanks to everyone. The crowd gave them a standing ovation. Those are his parents right there, painful moment for them.

In Iraq today, another desperate situation with people facing a massacre at the hands of the militant group, ISIS. You may remember the plight of the Yazidis. Now another town, another minority under siege. Anna Coren has the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The U.N. special representative for Iraq has brought it to the attention of the international community saying that they could be a massacre take place in this township of Amerli, which is north of Baghdad.

You are talking about a township of 20,000 people. It's being cut off, under siege for the last two months since ISIS made their advance. There is no water, there is no power, and they're getting very low on food and medical supplies.

But this U.N. special representative is saying, the international community must act now to stop this massacre, potential massacre, from happening. The majority of the people are Turkmen Shia, but as far as ISIS is concerned, they need to be killed, they're considered the enemy.

There is this appeal for the international community, for the Iraqi military to act. They have receive no aid whatsoever. No humanitarian aid drops and there haven't been air strikes around the area. So they're really is an appeal to act now. Otherwise there will be a massacre take place.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCIUTTO: Another looming massacre at the hands of ISIS. Thanks very much, Anna Coren, live in Northern Iraq. If you want to help the Iraqi refugees, you can find ways to help on cnn.com/impact. You can find links to groups like Save The Children, the U.N. Refugee Agency, Mercy Corps and Shelter Box. All of that at cnn.com/impact.

Back to the earthquake next. When you hear the word Napa, you probably think wine there might not be a more important region in the country for the wine industry and that area's reeling right now. We'll talk about that right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCIUTTO: If the industry that much of California is known for, that's wine. Today's strong 6.0 earthquake is rattling more than just bottles on the shelves. Unfortunately the quake couldn't have come at a worst time. Napa Valley. It's prime harvest season.

Forcing to survey the damage rather than bottling the wine. The assessment won't be known for days. Alison Kosik has been talking to winery owners. We've seen pictures, toppled bottles of wine, barrels on top of each other. How concerned are they?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: They're really concerned. I spoke with several vineyard owners. It happened right where a lot of the vineyards are in Napa Valley. You see the bottles overturned. Guess what? Barrels that have wine overturned as well, the stoppers on the barrels came out, so all of the wine is pouring out. A huge industry.

You know how huge? Ninety percent of U.S. wine exports, they come out of California. The industry, no doubt, generates a lot of money. Generates $13 billion just in Napa County, $25 billion in California. And to the broader U.S. economy, the wine produced in Napa add another $50 billion to the U.S. economy.

I talked with Jennifer Thompson of Thompson Vineyards in Napa. Her biggest concern, what structural issues did the earthquake cause? To the irrigation systems, levees, reservoirs. She does know a place where she stores a lot of her historic wines, that storage facility has been destroyed. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JENNIFER THOMSON, THOMSON VINEYARDS OWNER (via telephone): Here at Thompson Vineyards we lost approximately 100 cases of wines that are produced directly from our grapes with the winery partners that we work for and unfortunately, after the earthquake, 100 cases have been a total loss.

We've had other winemakers since the incident reach out to us and let us know that historical data has been lost, they'd like to help us replace it. We're very thankful for their offer. It would be too early I think, to make an economic guess at how much has been lost. For us, it's certainly over $10,000.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSIK: So it's interesting to say the vineyards weren't really damaged, they're flexible. But it's the historic bottles of wine, for instance, destroyed. Those are priceless. It's like losing back in the day at the library, the index card system, like the index card system wiped out.

SCIUTTO: They keep wines for decades it's like a historical record for the winery.

KOSIK: Exactly. As far as what impact this earthquake is going to have on the wine industry has a whole, that's hard to tell. Next year we may see impact because of the vineyards put out money to repair and replace, they may go ahead and raise prices on wine bottles.

SCIUTTO: It's not just broken bottles, barrels, potential damage to irrigation systems, et cetera, and during the worst time of year.

KOSIK: Exactly, couldn't have been at a worst time.

SCIUTTO: Great talking to you. You'll be back to talk more about the wine industry. I'm mouth is watering as we talk about there is story. Real damage to an important industry there.

Tomorrow, in Ferguson, Missouri, the funeral of Michael Brown. His death set off days of chaotic protests. Will his funeral set off more unrest, more violence?

But first, this week's CNN Hero, Adam Green uses a nature refuge to expand the minds and opportunities of children from the poorest congressional district in the country.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bronx River is really one of the most hidden gems of New York City. If you look in one direction, you'll see very industrial sites. If you look in another direction, you'll see tons of birds and fish and all kinds of native plant life.

I grew up in New York City, which is an island surrounded by water, but I wasn't a boater at all. I ended up volunteering at a high school in East Harlem. We built an eight-foot dingy. I benefited just as much as any of the students did from the sense of, wow, I can put my energy into something and actually see the results. That experience inspired me to create this organization, "Rocking the Boat."

Just drop this on. Our kids come from the South Bronx. One of the poorest places in the country. Their block is all they have ever known. Kids learn how to build boats. They are sailing, rowing. They are restoring the river. There you go. We open kids up to new possibilities, really to become someone they would never be able to otherwise.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The program has taught me I can take on any challenge and applied so many skills. I'm going to college. I probably wouldn't have got there if not for "Rocking the Boat."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do you guys think of high tide?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pretty awesome.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They can really go anywhere and do anything. They have already got what it takes to just put it to work.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCIUTTO: Michael Brown was supposed to be starting college this month. Instead, his parents will bury him tomorrow. Right now people seeking justice in Brown's shooting death are gathering for a rally in Ferguson, Missouri.

The funeral for the 18-year-old Brown will be at a Baptist Church in St. Louis, nearly 500 people are expected to attend. The White House as well as sending three officials to the service.

Hours ago, supporters of the officer who fatally shot Brown, supporters of the officer who fatally shot Brown marched on their known on the streets of Ferguson. Supporters say they have raised $400,000 for the officer. Wilson has gone in to hiding.

Our Stephanie Elam joins us now from Ferguson. Tomorrow this is a concern the funeral might turn in to another demonstration or rally. What's the mood? Much more peaceful than recent days?

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Very much peaceful at this point. I should point out about the church that they are expecting 5,000 people there. The sanctuary itself can hold 2,500 people and then they have overflow rooms that will accommodate another 2,500.

There's no plan for it to be broadcast outside. But they expect there to be a lot of attendance and expect police will be there for crowd control to make sure the streets are flowing through, as necessary.

Overall, people are focusing on saying good-bye to this young man. That's what the focus of tomorrow is. It is expected to be a highly attended memorial to remember this 18-year-old tomorrow.

SCIUTTO: Five thousand, a true community gathering. I know you have been there for some time. Can you explain the change in mood from recent days from the anger in the clashes with police and now more peaceful events leading up to peaceful demonstrations leading up to tomorrow? How did the mood change over time?

ELAM: It has been pretty dramatic in some ways from when I got here and the clashes were happening to what we have seen over the last few days. The last night I was here overnight there were zero arrests. The fact it went from having big numbers to having no contention happening at all is a big testament to the fact -- also they work were working on both sides.

Police working on their tactics and Captain Johnson says they have been working to evaluate what worked and what didn't and adjust it for the next night and community leaders focused on peace and making people focus on sure, march, protest, be upset but in a fashion that doesn't detract from the reason we're out here. That's what they are saying.

We have seen the calm that's come to the area. The other thing I have to point out, it is extremely hot out here as well during the day. People being a little bit more cautious about that, as well.

SCIUTTO: That's a relief to hear certainly. You mentioned the St. Louis Police Department will be doing security for the event tomorrow. We have seen the tension between the community there and the police department. Do you expect to see that tension flair up around the funeral or expect a much more peaceful mood to continue in to the funeral for Michael Brown?

ELAM: There is that concern that people are worried about that. The police aren't saying how they plan to provide for this protection around the memorial service tomorrow morning, which does start at 10:00 a.m. Central Time here tomorrow.

At the same time, a lot of people are choosing to focus on the peace and that's what they want to see happen and focus more on Mike Brown. That's what I have heard people talking about more and less on the anger that we saw this time last week.

SCIUTTO: That's great to hear. Certainly a tribute, 5,000 people expected to turn out for an 18-year-old boy shot down just as he was meant to be beginning college. Thank you very much to Stephanie Elam on the ground there in Missouri.

Well, the bay area hasn't been hit by an earthquake this strong in 25 years, a quarter century. Napa and the surrounding area is facing what could be an expensive and exhausting rebuilding. More on the earthquake in Northern California right after this break.

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SCIUTTO: Hundreds of thousands of people were awakened by this morning's 6.0 quake north of San Francisco. For the people caught in the worst of it, the experience was harrowing. Have a look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's an earthquake.

CAMILLE FREKING, NAPA VALLEY RESIDENT (via telephone): The biggest earthquake I have ever been in. I was asleep on the couch downstairs you know you wake up. I thought it was a thunderstorm and all of a sudden I see the chandelier in the ding room shaking.

Things on tables falling off, I hear glass breaking. I ran upstairs to regroup with my family. Even my little brother, he's 11 years old, he was startled and rattled as well.

EMILY MOSSINI, NAPA VALLEY RESIDENT (via telephone): I was asleep and woken from my fairly deep sleep. It felt like a ride, being on a roller coaster and felt longer than it was. Felt like occurring for 5 minutes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I do not have power or water. I'm first of all thankful I'm OK and everyone I know is OK, too.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It gives me the chills. This morning, when it was quiet down here, it is -- it's like a scene out of a movie. It's crazy and eerie.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It looks like a fairly typical kind of earthquake. The magnitude is much larger than we have seen for a long time.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The hardest part was having to deal with the lack of water for the incident and knowing you had structures immediately threatened by the ones that are burning and pretty much knew you were destine to lose additional units without the water supply.

Having to look at something and getting somebody out, if you know there wasn't a lot of hope in saving that particular unit. Very difficult. We currently have four structures to the ground, mobile homes. And six to eight with varying degrees of damage.

At this time, we have no report of injuries and none of the occupants are reported missing, associated with the units that are burned to the ground.

(END VIDEOTAPE)