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Storm to Hit Northeast; Millions of Americans in Path of Storm; Thousands of Canceled Flights; ISIS Demands Release of Suicide Bomber for Japanese Hostage; The Economic Cost of Blizzards

Aired January 26, 2015 - 09:30   ET

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

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: So if that much snow falls, where do you put it in New York City?

JOSEPH ESPOSITO, NYC EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT COMMISSIONER (via telephone): It's a big city. We'll find spots. But you'll see the piles on some of these big streets, we'll make piles. We have melters that we can bring in and they'll pile this snow into these melters and we melt it.

COSTELLO: Really?

ESPOSITO: Yes, yes, so you'll see them on -- you'll see them on the main streets.

COSTELLO: Can you describe that further because that's different?

ESPOSITO: We'll have them at all five boroughs. We'll close big streets and the snow will be delivered there and the snow will be put in these melters and we'll melt it.

COSTELLO: Wow. So what advice do you have for the people of New York City?

ESPOSITO: Well, don't get a false sense of security by looking out the window now. Right now you've got -- it's moderate snow, it's flurries. But this is going to intensify. Today's fine. Getting into evening -- this evening is going to get much more treacherous and the overnight and tomorrow it's going to be blizzard conditions. I can't stress that enough. We have a blizzard warning in effect. You're going to have 65 miles an hour gust winds. This will be like standing out in the Antarctic on the midnight tonight and during the day tomorrow. Stay home. Stay safe. Today, get what you got to get done out of the way early and then bunker down, get a book, get a nice movie to play, get some video games, keep the kids occupied, but stay off the streets and stay off the sidewalks tomorrow.

COSTELLO: How do you keep your workers safe in conditions like that?

ESPOSITO: Well, it's not easy. You know, all those first responders, police, fire, EMS, sanitation, a lot of these folks, they've got to put themselves in harm's way. But that's -- that's what they get paid for, that's what they take on as their profession. And they'll be out there trying to keep the citizens safe. You know we're going to -- people are going to get sick. People are going to fall and get injured. EMS, we have contingency plans to add personnel so that if we have an increase in volume, we're going to be able to take care of those folks that need to get transported to hospitals.

COSTELLO: I just can't imagine sitting out there in a snow plow with 65 mile per hour winds and snow falling at a rate of two to four inches per hour.

ESPOSITO: No, it's difficult. Listen, this is not -- these are not good conditions for anybody to be out there working. And my hat is off to the sanitation and fire and P.D., Port Authority, MTA. These folks are going to be out there trying to keep this city going.

COSTELLO: Well, thank you for taking time out of a busy morning to talk with me. Joseph Esposito, thanks so much.

ESPOSITO: Thank you.

COSTELLO: All right, let's head outside again, CNN meteorologist Chad Myers is, of course, tracking this storm. He has the proper winter clothing on this time.

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I do.

COSTELLO: And you appear more comfortable.

MYERS: I am toasty warm now, Carol, although the wind is blowing. One other thing that we didn't talk about a little bit is the fact that even though when these roads get plowed, we are going to see the wind blow those plowed roads closed again with drifts coming in from the north. So even though it'd be one snow plow after another, especially on any east-west roadways, it's going to be tough all night long. And 10:00 is probably the peak of the snowfall for here. That's when the thunder snow is most likely. But then for Boston, maybe six hours later than that as the storm rolls up the coast.

The snow has picked up. I know we talked about flurries, but this -- these are pretty good flurries. As I was walking back to the hotel, I'm telling you what, the roads were getting slick, these sidewalks were certainly slick. I slipped a couple times. Didn't fall, but I slipped. And so I think that's what we're going to see.

Yesterday it was beautiful. It was 41 degrees and sunny. This morning it's 25 and snowing. Twenty-five and that is going to stick everywhere across the area. We're not any warmer in Boston. We're not much warmer all the way down to Philadelphia, where it's snowing heavy. And even into the Poconos, the Berkshire, the Catskills, all those areas could pick up that two or three foot snowfall.

This storm is going to bomb off the coast. That means it's going to turn into almost a snow-a-cane. A snow hurricane with winds of 60 miles per hour and things will get dicey in the evening and the winds will bring down power lines. All of a sudden it's 20. You don't have power. You don't have heat. It's going to be a challenge few day for the people here in the northeast, Carol.

COSTELLO: Wait, I'm learning new terms. Another new term, snow-a-cane, is that what you said?

MYERS: I just made it up.

COSTELLO: I like it. Snow-a-cane. I'm going to have to remember that. I wrote it down.

Chad Myers, stay warm out there. Thanks so much.

MYERS: I will.

COSTELLO: I'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Well, at least we're not suffering alone. We're also suffering along with our friends in Pittsburgh. This is what it looks like there this morning. As you can see, whiteout conditions there. And they're only expecting, what, two to four inches of snow. So they escaped easy this time. But the wind is whipping up that snow and making travel conditions very hazardous. So, please, be careful.

Think potential historic snowfall is the only threat to the Northeast today? Well, think again. Some residence in Situwith (ph), along the Massachusetts coast, say wind and coastal flooding is their major concern. WCVB's Jack Harper has more on how homeowners are preparing for today's crippling storm.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were just looking at the forecast again a few minutes ago and it seems like it's going to be a pretty good one. A good amount of snow. It's the wind that always concerns us here, of course.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What we want to do is you want to have protection against not only the water coming over the wall and hitting the house, but all the little stones and pebbles that oftentimes come with it. And the power of moving water can really pick up rocks of unbelievable size, easily the size of your fist.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, the wind does off the top of the --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Off the top of the waves.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Off the top of the waves and the spray carrying rocks with it.

JACK HARPER, WCVB: They've been through dozens of storms. The house survived the blizzard of '78. Next door, a relative newcomer who will stay as long as she can.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Originally I'm from Alabama, so this is really new for me.

HARPER: Here in Situwith life, the new seawall has held up really well in the past few storms. And since tides this time are not astronomically really that high, it should do well again. The concern remains the wind and power outages.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Power is the key. Hopefully everybody's got a generator. I do not.

HARPER: The worst in recent memory, March 2012, a seawall break, winds, downed wires, touching off this fire, which wiped out several homes. All here hoping things go a lot better this time.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We'll know more tomorrow, that's for sure.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Those are some courageous homeowners.

And let's talk to another one. Bob Connors (ph) lives on Plum Island, Massachusetts, which felt the wrath of a massive snowstorm just two years ago. He's planning to stay at his home which has been open to local officials who are working through this latest event, but says he may move to higher ground if conditions deteriorate. Bob is on the phone with me right now.

Hi, Bob.

BOB CONNORS, MASSACHUSETTS RESIDENT (via telephone): Good morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: Good morning.

So, what's it like to live on an island when a blizzard hits?

CONNORS: Well, it's -- we kind of have a saying here on Plum Island, it's paradise 11 months a year and it's misery island about one month a year where we're getting all these crazy storms.

COSTELLO: So this one is expected to be quite the whopper. How have you prepared?

CONNORS: Well, we have a relatively new home that has -- exceeds the current coastal construction standards. And our house typically winds up being really a staging area for the emergency response crews. And for a better (INAUDIBLE), a lot of the media that is scattered about our area during these storms. And the wind --

COSTELLO: Wow.

CONNORS: Our house is ready to go. Neighbors -- I'm looking out my window. We've got neighbors boarding up windows. Some are putting sandbags in front of garage doors. But we're -- we've been through a number of storms and, honestly, wave energy, storm surge, we're not too concerned.

COSTELLO: Wow. So for you it's not so much the amount of snow, it's the flooding that will come after.

CONNORS: It's going to be the wave energy, how high the waves are and the number of tides. COSTELLO: Are you still with me, Bob?

CONNORS: Yes, yes, I am, Carol.

COSTELLO: Oh, good. Oh, good, I thought I lost you there for a second and I would -- it wouldn't be surprising since the weather is so very bad already.

So you said your house is a local staging area so that -- who will be with you tonight as you weather the storm?

CONNORS: We will likely have local and state officials. Our chairman of the board of (INAUDIBLE) for the town of Newberry has called in and he plans to come out here and to monitor the situation. Congressman Seth Moulton, our newly elected congressman, called earlier and wanted to offer any support and be asked to kept informed of any issues and needs we may have, to probably half of the media that's going to be on Plum Island tonight.

COSTELLO: Wow. So you're going to have --

CONNORS: We'll be providing food, coffee, and a worm place to go.

COSTELLO: Oh, Bob Connors, you're my kind of guy. Thank you so much for joining me this morning and thank you for hosting all of those important people because they will be important when weather conditions deteriorate later today. Bob Connors, thanks so much.

CONNORS: Thank you, Carol.

COSTELLO: You're welcome.

Millions told to stay off the road as blizzard-like conditions bare down on the northeast. A live look along the New Jersey turnpike now. You can see drivers are being forced to slow down thanks to the toll. Conditions are getting worse. Travel expected to be extremely dangerous as the afternoon wears on.

As for those expecting to take to the skies, well, you better check before you go. Thousands of flights we grounded ahead of the storm yesterday. And with so many people staying put, Internet needs (ph) are piling up faster than the snow. Here's one of our favorites. More like a storm survival gag than guide. Tips include, hoard water, Spam and bacon. Keep blankets and tall people nearby. Starbucks may be closed. Oh, no. And you may need to eat family pets. It's a joke!

Rene Marsh is at LaGuardia this morning, where no one's really laughing.

Good morning, Rene.

RENE MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I will laugh at that joke, Carol.

COSTELLO: Thank you.

MARSH: Hey, Carol, I have a question for you, do you want the good news or the bad news first?

COSTELLO: I always like to get the bad news first because it gets it out of the way.

MARSH: All right. So the bad news is, we're talking about a lot of cancellations. Already in the thousands and already in the thousands tomorrow as well. I mean, if you take a look at the boards, you can see that we're starting to see them light up. The red, that's not what you want to see if you have a flight coming out of LaGuardia Airport. And we are seeing more and more red as the morning goes on. Again, more than 2,100 cancellations already.

When you talk about the airports that are really getting hit the hardest, of course it's along the northeast region. We're talking about right here at LaGuardia. More than 500 cancellations in and out of the airport. Also, Newark having a tough time as well. More than 450 cancelations in and out, as well as JFK. Those are just to name a few. I mean they're having trouble in Chicago as well.

Here's the good news. There are still some flights that are still leaving out of LaGuardia. I mean you take a look behind me, you can see, this is the TSA line, this is security checkpoint here at LaGuardia, so there are some people who are getting out. They were smart, they booked the earlier flight. But if you booked an earlier flight, perhaps your luck will be better. The longer you wait, things are going to get worse. I spoke with one airport worker today who says they're starting to see a little bit of snow building up on the runway, but nothing severe. They're all waiting for later on this afternoon. That's when they think things are going to get pretty ugly at our airports, Carol.

COSTELLO: And I do notice the people that are getting through security, they have a spring in their step because they're probably going somewhere warm.

MARSH: I spoke with one lady who's going to Miami. And I said, lucky you, you're going to Miami. She wasn't so lucky because she was leaving -- she said she was leaving her kids behind. So she didn't necessarily find a silver lining. But I bet you if you talk to somebody whose flight is canceled, they'd love to switch places with her.

So, yes, most of these people are able to get out. I spoke with one air traffic controller also a little earlier this morning. He described the situation up in the tower as hectic, which is understandable because the runway is slippery. They have to make sure that these flights are spaced out, so they're -- a white knuckle situation in the air traffic control tower at this hour as well. Carol.

COSTELLO: Rene Marsh, reporting live from LaGuardia, thanks so much.

Still to come from the NEWSROOM, first ISIS wanted $2 million in ransom for two Japanese hostages. Now it wants this woman set free. We'll tell you who she is and why she's so important to ISIS.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: All right. Let's head out to Boston. Looks pretty, though, doesn't it? But, boy, it is frigid in that city this morning -- 15 degrees but it feels like negative 1. The winds are blowing at 12 miles per hour so that's whipping up the snow just a bit. They are in the severe category. Boston could experience two feet of snow. That's just mind-boggling, isn't it? And the winds will also pick up later today, maybe 60, 70 miles per hour.

So I'm feeling pretty good about New York's 25 degrees right now. Not really good, but pretty good in comparison to Boston. I'll have more on our coverage of this historic blizzard in the northeast in just a minute.

But, first, another big story we're following this morning. ISIS issuing a new ultimatum to spare the life of a surviving Japanese hostage. In return for Kenji Goto's freedom, ISIS is demanding the release of a would-be suicide bomber from a jail in Jordan. This weekend, a chilling video emerged indicating ISIS killed its other Japanese hostage.

CNN's Will Ripley is tracking the latest developments.

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, we know that right now a special envoy from Tokyo is on the ground in Jordan. These Japanese officials are doing what they can to negotiate with the Jordanian government to try to work out some sort of a deal to secure Kenji Goto's safe return back to his family here. His wife, his two young daughters, and his mother. who is so desperate right now for her son to return home.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUNKO ISHIDO, MOTHER OF ISIS HOSTAGE (via translator): I am a mother. I cannot bear this. I've got to believe in everyone's effort otherwise I cannot live. The human fighting to each other; this is not the samurai warlord area.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RIPLEY: But analysts are telling us that working out a deal to bring Goto safely back to Japan won't be easy. The terrorist that ISIS is demanding is Sajida Rishawi. She has ties to the terror group through her brother, who was one of the founding members of al Qaeda in Iraq. That's the group that was formed in 2004 and then was rebranded as ISIS in 2006. And now Rishawi herself was a failed suicide bomber. She was involved in a horrifying attack in Aman, Jordan, in 2005 that killed almost 60 people. And the Jordanian government, we're told, is not keen to hand over such a high level prisoner in exchange for just one Japanese journalist, which means that hope is fading here in Tokyo that Kenji Goto will make it home alive.

Carol.

COSTELLO: Will Ripley reporting. Thank you. Still to come in the NEWSROOM, on top of being dangerous, this storm

will likely be expensive too. Up next, the cost of the storm for businesses and for workers.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: It looks pretty nasty from that shot. Out the window, it doesn't look that bad, but you can see that it's a sign of what's to come in New York City. It is snowing now but lightly. But it's really cold -- 25 degrees with a real feel, I don't know, maybe 10 degrees is the real feel. It ain't pretty out there.

As the northeast braces for a potentially historic winter storm, businesses are bracing for impact on their workers and their bottom line. That impact can be negative for some, but for some it can actually be a good thing.

CNN chief business correspondent Christine Romans is here to tell us more.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: It's a good thing for whoever is selling those shutbacks and all of those shovels that you saw there. Snow happens. Winter happens. But this is a very, very big storm. And so there will be losers here. It will hurt the economy, no question. You'll have people, especially hourly workers, they're not going to get their money back; they're not going to get their wages back. That's going to be a problem.

There is usually a hit to the flow of goods and services into and out of businesses that can take a long time to get rectified. And then there's retail impact -- 85 percent of retail sales will just be lost when people are stuck and shut up at home. So lost productivity is a problem.

But I'll tell you, Home Depot, Lowe's, the corner hardware store, the guy who cleans and replaces gutters, the tree trimmer, the guy with the snowplow or the woman with the snowplow in the suburbs, they're all going to make money. And then city workers who have overtime, they will be among the few winners.

COSTELLO: Has there ever been any study on the economic impact of blizzards on cities?

ROMANS: Oh yes, absolutely. And if it's quick and strong and horrible, quite frankly, it has less of an impact than if it just goes on forever. Last year, the economy actually shrank 2 percent in the quarter that we had storm after storm after storm. We had them so often that it really hurt the economy overall. Usually for a big storm, though -- I mean, winter happens. Mother Nature happens. People adapt and you see this depressed activity and then over time we get over it. The economy gets over it. We certainly hope that's what happens in this case.

COSTELLO: Yes, me, too. Christine Romans, thank you so much. I appreciate it.

The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts now.

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