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State of Emergency in Massachusetts; Travel Ban Lifted in New York City; Interview with Mayor Pedro Segarra

Aired January 27, 2015 - 10:30   ET

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


BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I was just getting warm in our satellite truck and Jennifer Gray, our meteorologist, was saying at points when people got here this morning it was definitely multiple inches an hour.

As far as power outages -- right because that's always been the big concern -- as far as this part of the state and the two major power companies, they are saying about 23,000 customers are without power. But really the story is the southern, southeastern part of the state and specifically the Cape and Nantucket. Because when you hear that number, 23,000 -- it's about 13,000 customers on that little tiny island of Nantucket where the likes of Patriots Coach Bill Belichick and Secretary of State John Kerry have beautiful homes and that is where really the story is.

I know we have crews that are hopefully safely but we'll begin the trek out down the cape and as close as they can get to just see exactly the story of the coastal floodings because when you have these winds as we've been hearing reports, at times gusting in the 70s, maybe even hitting that 80-mile-an-hour, that's when that really whips up the water.

Of course, the tide is a huge story up here, Carol. And that is when we're starting to see entire cars in roads in that part, totally engulfed in water. So that's the story.

Here in Boston, it is quiet as can be other than hearing the snowfall. We'll be out here through the day. Who knows how much we will get. I think most people honestly are enjoying it and enjoying that he's not working. I'm enjoying not having to be at work. And so this is taking him the nor'easter -- Carol.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: I know and it looks so beautiful too, if you could just sit and enjoy the series, it would be great.

Ok Brooke, you look, really cold. So I'm going to let you get back into that light truck. Thanks so much -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Ok.

COSTELLO: This massive storm prompting Governor Dan Malloy to call in the National Guard. The Connecticut governor lifted overnight travel bans for certain areas but when he spoke this morning to reporters, he says conditions in certain areas could actually get worse before they get better. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The snow is getting heavier in eastern Connecticut and picking up as we speak. The high winds will remain along the coast but coastal flood warning has been lifted.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Joining me now, Hartford Mayor, Pedro Segarra. Welcome, sir.

MAYOR PEDRO SEGARRA, HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT: Thank you. Thank you for having me.

COSTELLO: Thanks for coming back. We appreciate it. How are things in Hartford?

SEGARRA: Well, it's still snowing here. We have a lot of snow coming down and a lot of wind which causes a lot of shifting of the snow. But the PWs are in full force out there trying to push back the snow curb to curb. We did a lot of preparations for this storm. We had a parking ban last night which was in full compliance by 1:00 a.m. That helped us get snow off the roads.

We just are asking our public to stay off the streets. The snow is not done yet. And we want to do a good job clearing our streets and we can only do that if people just stay off the roads. Don't walk in the roads. Don't drive in the roads. It's pretty bad out there. We really need to get these roads clean so we get our city back to normal as promptly as possible.

COSTELLO: Was there a travel ban issued through Hartford and has it been lifted if there was?

SEGARRA: Well, the state has had a travel ban on their roads. We've had a parking ban within the city. People have pretty much complied with staying off the roads. So internally, the city or traffic has been -- because it's still snowing heavily in some cases near to whiteout conditions because there's just a lot of snow flying around.

We've had more intensification this morning so people have been very good. Our residents have stayed off the roads and we're asking them to continue to do that. We want to continue to clear the streets.

We expect that the storm will start to subside sometime after noontime today and we want to take advantage to get roads clear so that we can get things back to normal.

COSTELLO: This has been what -- the second extreme weather event this winter. When you sit down and you plan out the rest of the winter and how you guys are going to handle things, do you expect this just to be the pattern the rest of the winter?

SEGARRA: Well, I hope it's not. Obviously it takes a toll on our staff and it also takes a toll on our budget. So we hope for the best. We prepare for the worst. You know, we don't have an option. If it snows and we need to clear streets, we've done this before several years ago. We went severely over budget because we had a lot of storms. We have to do what we have to do. We're a financial center for the region, for the country, in terms of insurance and finance.

We need to -- we have 60,000 workers that come into that center in order to provide the workforce needs of these corporations, and we have to keep our city going. We hope for the best. We always prepare for the worst and we have to get this done.

COSTELLO: So how much did you spend this storm do you think?

SEGARRA: We haven't figured it out. I think we have not depleted our budget. This storm was not the three feet of snow that was anticipated. It's also not one that will be over a foot. We still are within our budget at this point. We have plenty of salt. You know, we hope that this is the last major storm. Having said that, we don't have an option. We need to get the job done.

COSTELLO: That's true. Mayor Pedro Segarra thank you so much for joining me. I appreciate it.

SEGARRA: Thank you so much.

COSTELLO: You're welcome Mayor. Before we head to break, blizzard tweets are piling up faster than the snow. Twitter, a flurry of storm hashtag -- take a look.

It's not just the northeast -- as you could see from this map everyone is getting in on the conversation including South America and even Hawaii. I'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: In Massachusetts, the governor has declared a state of emergency warning people to stay put with a statewide travel ban also in effect. Let's head back to Boston and meteorologist Jennifer Gray. On the phone is my husband, Tim Snyder. He actually lives in Boston and he's been living there for a time -- it's a long story.

TIM SNYDER, HUSBAND OF CAROL COSTELLO: Thank you.

COSTELLO: But Tim is here, too. Jennifer, I want to start with you. We're told the worst is to come, is that true?

JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, I think it's just more of the same is to come, you know. We've seen the snow come down very heavily. One inch an hour; two inch an hour at times; we've had gusts of 30 to 40 miles an hour. It's just not letting up. It's not getting better. It's not getting worse at the moment either. We have really rough conditions a couple hours ago.

But the crews have been out here plowing. This is actually a street that was plowed recently. Look at it -- Carol. We have several inches of snow here once again. You can see all of these mounds that are piled up and even beyond that.

These snow drifts that you're seeing come all of the way up to the bottom branches of these trees. It's definitely serious out here in Boston. We've been protected by the harbor which is why we haven't got a lot of coastal flooding but other places like Nantucket and places along the cape that had some serious coastal flooding with all of those waves crashing in.

We have a wage hike of 20 feet of shore. And so that's intense when you talk about winds out of the northeast combined with really rough seas. You can take your coin to get that coastal province. We had about 150 people in shelters. Several people had their cars towed about 150 in Boston. That did enable those crews to get in and start plowing. But yes, You're right. This is a long way from being over here in Boston.

COSTELLO: Ok. So, Tim, just from a resident standpoint. You've been living the dream all night in the blizzard. What do streets look like from where you are. You are in back bay not far from Boyle's history.

SNYDER: It looks like the city has executed a savvy plan. They are concentrating from what I've been able to see exclusively on the main roads. They're not only plowing them, they are plowing them every minute or so you'll see three or four snowplows go by. And then meanwhile on the lesser streets, the ones I was walking on earlier, the citizenry and then private firms are doing sort of mini cleanups. But it's certainly a monumental task and as Jennifer indicated, it's getting worse.

COSTELLO: People are pretty much obeying that travel ban. You don't see traffic at all or cars parked along the streets?

SNYDER: All you see -- you see quite a few walkers. I've seen a couple skiers too. They are having fun. One guy looked like downhill gear. Didn't even look cross-country; kind of weird. That's pretty much it. I think people are using it as a sort of holiday. I was on a search for coffee in thank heavens they had a Starbucks inside the Marriot. Otherwise --

COSTELLO: Oh no. That would have been awful. Well thank you Tim. I appreciate it.

SNYDER: Could I add? The only thing about the cloud of this snow -- Jennifer said it was powdery. You know, snow comes in different models. You have that sort of light cottony stuff. This is more like daggers. So when the wind blows and you open your eyes it's like a little arsenal of needles. That's not very pretty out there.

O'REILLY: No, that sounds actually very painful. I understand it's difficult to walk too, Jennifer, right?

GRAY: yes. This is definitely snow that is carried by the wind very easily. It's very fine. It will kind of sting you a little bit in the eyes though when the wind blows right in your face. We've been talking about the snow drifts. When the wind blows the snow at 30 and 40-mile-per-hour winds, you are going to see those piles of snow drift. Because it just takes it and carries it. It's very powdery, it is very fine. When you see the wind blow and you could barely see anything in front of your face, we talk blizzard-like conditions with visibility less than a quarter of a mile, that's what we're talking about. Part of it is snow and part of it is snow being lifted off the ground. That's already fallen. So we're getting quite a bit of a snow (inaudible) going on here in Boston as well.

COSTELLO: All right. Jennifer Gray, and thanks to my husband, Tim Snyder. I appreciate it, honey.

SNYDER: Thanks -- good seeing you. Thanks for bringing --

COSTELLO: Nice seeing you too. Absolutely. See, you should always listen to your wife. Thanks, Tim.

Still to come in the newsroom, parts of Massachusetts in the dark after a nor'easter tears through the state and as we said. It isn't over yet.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Checking some other top stories for you, at 47 minutes passed the hour. President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama have landed in Saudi Arabia. The Obamas are there to offer condolences and pay their respects to the country's late King Abdullah. Moments after arriving, the President spoke with the new leader, King Salman.

Earlier this morning, humans across the world were briefly forced to interact with each other in person. Facebook and Instagram went down in the wee hours leaving millions of users around the world briefly unable to post selfies. Those affected were greeted with this message saying sorry, something went wrong. Thank goodness everything is back to normal now.

Fire crews in Massachusetts battling blizzard-like conditions as they work to put out this stubborn fire in Worcester. According to our affiliate WFXT, the two-alarm fire engulfed the home before 3:00 this morning. Officials say Everyone was able to get out safely.

Trending now on Twitter, blizzard 2015. Here are some of the photos you Tweeted out. They come from all over the northeast -- enjoy. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: New York is one of the most photographed cities in the world but you won't often see it like this -- ghostly and desolated. Streets virtually empty and covered in snow -- makes for a beautiful picture.

So let's talk to the photographer who snapped these images. Anthony Quintano joins us by phone. Hi Anthony

ANTHONY QUINTANO, PHOTOGRAPHER: How are you doing?

COSTELLO: I'm good. So you braved the cold to take these beautiful pictures. What struck you about the city empty of people virtually?

QUINTANO: I mean, it's just always surreal to see such a big city absolutely empty. The streets clear of vehicles even crowd of people especially Times Square where you normally have crowds of people and to only see a handful just playing around. It's always inspiring to see and to document.

They had said this would be an historic event and I really wanted to come in and document that event. Even though it didn't reach the levels they said it would, it was still beautiful to see.

COSTELLO: Look at Times Square. It's kind of scary in a way to look at Times Square like that.

QUINTANO: It is. It's beautiful at the same time. And it's great that everybody was able to get their work done in cleaning the mess that was left. It was fun to see. There was a group of people having a snowball fight in and around the Times Square area. People taking selfies -- it was just a really fun sight.

COSTELLO: I've heard from more than one New Yorker that the city overreacted by shutting down the subway system and issuing a travel ban. What do you think?

QUINTANO: I'm not a meteorologist. I am a weather nerd and I do follow a lot of them. And I know how frustrating forecasting can be for them and I think in the end it's better safe than sorry. I think it was great how everybody was prepared and there weren't a lot of people in the streets and I think it was best because it allowed for the crews to clean up whatever mess that did exist. And I think it was -- even though the forecast didn't get what we wanted, it was better that the city was cleared as it was.

COSTELLO: I'm just mesmerized by your pictures. They are so beautiful. Wow. Kind of makes you wish there were less people in New York City. But everything will return to normal.

QUINTANO: Thank you. Thank you for sharing them.

ANTHONY QUINTANO: Thanks.

COSTELLO: All right, let's head back to Massachusetts just a bit and check in with Jennifer Gray before we bid you adieu.

So Jennifer, bring us up to date one more time. When will things get back to normal in Boston?

GRAY: As soon as the snow stops falling. We've seen snow falling continually ever since yesterday afternoon. It started very light and it picked up pretty heavily around 7:00. You can see just the wind gusts just blowing the snow all around.

We have those plows out. The crews are really busy working. We see trucks come through every couple of minutes and they are really doing a fine job of getting the snow out of the way. You can see just piling up on the sides of the street. Where I'm standing right now.

This actually was cloud about an hour ago. And look at all this snow that's build in -- and you see the people behind me Carol I think people are getting a little bit cabin fever her in Boston. They're wanting to get out and check it out. Of course, if you don't have to drive anywhere, that's what people are going to do. Because that driving ban is still in place in Boston, of course we're worried about places like Nantucket and places south of Boston along the coast not protected by this harbor and so they are getting significant coastal flooding.

Power is out all across Nantucket and we're also seeing reports and pictures of water inside homes. It's a messy scene down there. We are looking at just a couple of power outages here in Boston. But most people do have power which is great news. And so if we can keep the winds like they are now which really aren't all that bad, then I think power will stay on in Boston. This snow definitely isn't kicking up on the power lines. It's just too powdery plus and wind gusts are helping remove all that. It's just blowing it all around.

But we've seen blizzard-like conditions. They haven't officially named this a blizzard in Boston. National Weather Service is going to a look at it once the storm dies down just a little bit to see if we met the criteria. It's definitely been nasty -- Carol. And it's going to stay this away all the way through the afternoon and to the evening hours.

COSTELLO: I'm just watching those kids behind you. Thank goodness someone brought them a sled. They were attempting to do down that hill sliding on their natural assets.

GRAY: Aren't they cute? The snow is so powdery you sink into it. They're having a hard time to stay on top of the snow. They're cute.

COSTELLO: They are cute. Ok Jennifer -- I think you should join them. It will warm you up. Thank you so much.

GRAY: I think so too.

COSTELLO: Jennifer Gray. All right. Let's head to Rhode Island. George Howell has this report.

GEORGE HOWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're watching wind gusts pick up here in Providence, Rhode Island. You can see a good example of that when you look back down this street and you see the snow blowing there in the wind. Keep in mind there are no cars on the road. That's a good thing. Officials have told residents to stay off this road. There's a travel ban in effect through the night. Snowplows as you can see are doing their best to clear the road. But here's the thing. The snow is expected to fall faster than these plows can keep up with. The other big concern is along the coastline here.

In the state of Rhode Island, there are many communities are in those low lying areas. We know that the wind gusts will get up anywhere from 60 to 70 miles per hour. That's something that people will have to keep watch of especially as high tide sets in. The other thing that is definitely important as the snow continues to fall, people who could get stranded or trapped in homes and officials ask neighbors to watch out for neighbors. Check on neighbors to make sure they have food, water and necessities to hunker down and get through what looks to be a multiday event.

George Howell, CNN, Providence, Rhode Island.

COSTELLO: All right. Thank you so much, George. Like I said, life in New York City is slowly returning to normal. The subway system will be up and running by about noon today. Although it will be on holiday service so I guess we'll be 60% running at noon today. The travel ban has been lifted. You can start driving around again. That's a good thing. The streets are being cleared. The snowplows are out.

It's good to say life is getting back to normal here in New York City. As for Boston, they got a long way to go. Keep inside. Stay warm. Please, please, please, stay safe.

Thank you so much for joining me today. I'm Carol Costello. NEWSROOM special coverage of the blizzard hitting the northeast continues right now.