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Tornadoes Devastate Parts of U.S. South; New Test Gages Fertility of Women

Aired March 03, 2012 - 14:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: You're in the CNN NEWSROOM this Saturday March 3rd. I'm Fredericka Whitfield.

So much damage from a deadly storm system crossing a whopping 15 states. The destruction spans from the Gulf of Mexico to the great lakes and beyond. And 97 tornado reports are coming in from 11 of those states. More than 30 people have been killed in this monster storm. Rescue crews are combing through the rubble looking for survivors. Don Benton is one of those who made it through the storm in Tennessee. His house did not.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DON BENTON, HOME DESTROYED BY TORNADO: Definitely I thank the lord for sparing as many people as he had. And I know these things can all be replaced. But like everyone else here, it's going to take a while. It's going to take a lot of construction to help out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: It's important to note that this destruction storm system is not over yet. It's hitting parts of the deep south right now. We'll have more on that in a moment.

All right, in the meantime, BP will pay about $7.8 billion to settle lawsuit with victims of the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Thousands of fishermen, hotel owners, and Gulf coast residents will get a payout. In April of 2010 the Deep Water Horizon oil rig exploded killing 11 people and causing the worst oil spill in U.S. history.

And gas prices are going up again. The average price of a gallon of regular jumped more than a penny and a half in the last 24 hours. It's now nearly 3.76 a gallon, almost 30 cents more than last month. AAA says today's surge marks the 25th straight increase.

The Republican presidential candidates hope to build some momentum today that will carry them into Super Tuesday. Washington state is holding its caucuses right now. Ron Paul is the only candidate still campaigning there. The other three hopefuls have moved on to Ohio. It's one of 10 states holding primaries or caucuses on Tuesday.

All right, back now to our top story, the trail of destruction left by suspected tornadoes and severe storms. Josh Levs joins us now with pretty incredible video that's coming into us right now. JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, again, Fred. It's just into us in the NEWSROOM. We have been following images throughout the day. This is some of the most dramatic we have seen at all. Let's first take a look at this video clip and I'll tell you a little bit about it.

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(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEVS: OK. So this is the set-up. This is inside a gas station in Henryville, Indiana, as tornadoes were coming through the area. There's a man who you'll meet in a moment who was inside that gas station at the time. Certainly he was not aware there were going to be tornadoes. And he saw that from inside. Then he steps outside and you and I will now watch the next video together. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

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LEVS: Absolutely amazing. We're going to stay on this and I'm going to tell you a little bit about it. So Mike Kaiser was inside this gas station. He said there had been some tough weather throughout the week. He was not aware there would be tornadoes there that day. He had just gotten inside the gas station when he saw the tornado that you and I saw just before, what looked like from the inside. Then he steps outside afterwards and sees this wreaking havoc, bringing so much destruction.

And, folks, Henryville, Indiana, is one of the major places we have been talking to you about that was stricken by this. When he stepped outside, that is what he saw. It's absolutely stunning. And here's a little bit of what he had to say about that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE KAISER, RESIDENT OF HENRYVILLE, INDIANA: The vehicles on 160 were being turned over in front of us. We saw the marathon station across the street completely leveled. Nothing left of it. It then kept moving to the east and then you could tell with all the turbulence.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEVS: And he also mentioned if he had been in the gas station directly across the street, he wouldn't have survived because it was flattened. This is a good example of the randomness we hear about with the tornadoes. The gas station he happened to be into was affected but people there survived. He said the one directly across the street had very much the opposite effect. And as we know, Henryville took the brunt of the storm.

This is one of the places we're talking about. I have some pictures. I also want to remind folks that we're looking at devastation throughout the entire region. This picture behind me up at CNN.com looks at Madison County, Alabama, on Friday. And I'll go through a few of these quickly. And as you know, we have been getting images throughout the day. We're seeing destroyed homes, businesses, roads impassable. People's livelihoods are gone in a great many cases. Obviously this is the kind of thing we see in the wake of storms, but rarely, Fred, do we see the kind of thing we see in that video.

WHITFIELD: Wow, those images are extraordinary. And images from that gas station point of view, I can't believe he had the wherewithal to stand there and take that remarkable video. He was still and he seemed like he remained calm throughout. I'm glad he's OK. Thanks so much, Josh.

In the meantime, let's take a look where the storm system might be right now and where it may be headed next. That storm system stretches in a line from north Florida through Georgia to the Carolinas. Take a look at the damage left behind already in Charlotte. The National Weather Service says a tornado ripped through part of that city. According to a fire department official at least three people were injured.

Let's get a check in on where this system is heading next, Jacqui Jeras, because we're not completely out of the woods as yet. It still has more potential for damage.

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, there's a lot of danger out there still today for wind damage, which they think will be more of an issue today than actual tornadoes, and the other threat today is going to be flash flooding. We're getting a tremendous amount of rain with these storms.

First and foremost, we have a new tornado watch. This was just issued at the top of the hour. Here you can see it across northern parts of Florida into southern Georgia, just south of Savannah, including Brunswick, over toward Jacksonville, Florida, and stretching toward Tallahassee. And this is the main line we're going to be concerned about in the upcoming hours. This is going to last all afternoon long. This is going to go into the evening, and this watch doesn't expire until 8:00.

But I do think today is a different animal so to speak than what we dealt with yesterday. We're not expecting the large destructive long track tornadoes. But these tornadoes will very often what will happen today, they're very difficult to see. You may not know they're there. So when the sirens go off and the warnings are let out, make sure you take cover.

And take a look. We've got a couple of warnings right now. One includes Waycross. These are Doppler indicated tornadoes. We're seeing rotation within these storms, but haven't seen any spotters on the ground. But they could drop at any given time. It's a serious situation and you need to be seeking shelter.

And a reminder, this is the lowest level of your home, put on your bike helmet, get into your bathroom if that's your safe place and make sure you're going to be there for the next 30 minutes or so. This will be the line we're watching over the next couple of hours. More of these storms that are developing behind here could intensify and also produce rotation. So that's going to be the area that we're watching, and then the whole line itself will eventually be advancing on down to the south.

Now, I just want to kind of show you the convective outlook as we see it and who's at threat for today. I think that threat is diminishing here. So the big focus will be then South Georgia into north Florida, could be inching down toward Orlando late today. So keep that in mind if you have plans.

And just kind of an overview, Fredericka, of what we've been seeing over the last 24 plus hours is we've had so many reports of tornadoes, long track tornadoes, 11 different states being impacted by this outbreak. No tornado reports today. Nothing confirmed on the ground that we've had those warnings and that could change. So we're going to be watching Georgia and Florida to possibly bring that number up.

WHITFIELD: So with those warnings, some other advice I thought was really instructive. If you're at home -- I love the baby seat that you mentioned for protection. But if you have a bike helmet, any of that, you may want to wear that, put that on if you have to take cover in that a safe place in your home because people forget about the potential for head injuries with things falling down.

JERAS: Right, research has shown that most of the fatalities, unfortunately, in most situations are from debris or getting knocked around. You feel kind of foolish, people think I'm not putting on my bike helmet, I'm going to look like a fool. But there's no shame in it. Whatever you can do to save your life or your kids' lives, do it.

WHITFIELD: Thanks so much. That's a look ahead. Let's take another look at what this storm system has done. Hard-hit area of Henryville, Indiana, about 20 miles north of Louisville, Kentucky, a tornado it is confirmed did flatten homes and threw cars and buses into buildings. Fourteen people are dead in southern Indiana. The governors of Kentucky and Indiana sent National Guard troops to help search for survivors and also provide some security.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. MITCH DANIELS, (R) INDIANA: Lucky it wasn't worse. As awful as this has been heartbreaking, of course, we're trying and will continue to up the track of this storm. It's a long storm. Somebody later will tell us whether there were multiple tornadoes or not. It may have been 50 miles from here to Chelsea and we lost lives each point along the way.

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WHITFIELD: While the governor tries to console his community, we're hearing amazing stories of survival from Indiana, just like this one. Rescuers found a 20-month-old baby girl in a field after an outbreak of tornadoes there. She was all alone and injured, but alive. She is now in a hospital, and a spokesman says the little girl is in critical condition but has been reunited with her family. And we'll have much more on the storm throughout the afternoon.

Also today, Prince Harry, the ambassador. British royals hit the road in honor of the queen's 60-year reign. Details on that, next.

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WHITFIELD: Some headlines from overseas right now. In Syria, shelling, street fighting, and a car bomb killed at least 20 people today. People in the city of Homs saying Syrian forces fired artillery and mortars into several neighborhoods today and the humanitarian situation is getting worse.

And Britain's Prince Harry is in Belize right now. It's his first time traveling solo as a royal ambassador representing his grandmother Queen Elizabeth II. Several members of the British royal family are touring the world, celebrating the queen's 60 years on the throne.

A new cutting edge test can give a woman a glimpse into her future of fertility. It's inexpensive and any woman can take it. Dr. Sanjay Gupta has this week's "Health for Her."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Amy and Tim Hoffman's relationship was right out of the storybooks.

AMY HOFFMAN, FERTILITY PATIENT: We met right after college in our hometown. Actually grew up in the same hometown. We got married in the year 2000. We've been dating for about three years.

GUPTA: After the wedding, dreams of someday starting a family. But there wasn't any rush. Amy was still in law school and the couple wanted to wait to have children until they were more settled.

HOFFMAN: The plan essentially was for me to get started, start working, get myself established at a firm where I knew I would be for a long time, and then start working on having a family.

GUPTA: But things didn't go according to plan. After four years of on and off trying, they Hoffman's realized something was wrong. And Amy went in for a battery of tests. Reproductive specialist Dr. Mitchell Leef says Amy's problem is becoming too familiar among women under the age of 35. There is one test called an AMH that checks the egg count.

DR. DOROTHY MITCHELL-LEEF, FERTILITY SPECIALIST, REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY ASSOCIATES: This actually can tell you on a score of less than 0.1, which is the lowest number up to four or greater how many eggs you might have left as your ovarian reserve.

GUPTA: Amy's doctor gave her that test, and the results were shocking.

HOFFMAN: The number came back incredibly low which reflected I had a low egg count.

GUPTA: Sage Cronk on her partner were on their third round of artificial insemination when Sage had a AMH test.

SAGE CRONK, FERTILITY PATIENT: She said you have a 0.53. I looked it up online and my AMH level where it was that comparable of typical of a 40-year-old.

GUPTA: You may not know a woman's eggs may not necessarily age in tandem with a woman's body. That means it's possible for a woman in her mid-30s to have the eggs and thus the fertility chances of a woman much older.

MITCHELL-LEEF: We're finding that many of these ladies actually have lower ovarian reserve than ever anticipated. We're not sure why, but we're trying to get more of the young women to at least get their test done so they would know where they stand as far as being able to have children in the future.

GUPTA: Despite their low test results, neither Amy or Sage gave up becoming pregnant. Both women were able to harvest enough eggs to create embryos. Amy is thrilled to become pregnant.

HOFFMAN: It's amazing to start to think positively that it is going to happen.

GUPTA: And both believe that all women should get tested and hopefully avoid some of the agony they went through.

CRONK: Do it early on. Find out where you're at. Don't wait until you're 33 and think you have a couple of years, you know, to get pregnant a couple of times.

HOFFMAN: We just think we're invincible and we can all have children into our 40s. And for some people, that's possible, but for most people it's not.

GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: CNN takes an in-depth look at infertility. "Baby Quest" examines the medical breakthroughs and the great lengths people will go to have children. Watch "Baby Quest" at the bottom of the hour.

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WHITFIELD: All right, more now on that deadly storm system and the dozens of suspected tornadoes reported to have swept across 11 states. Here in metro Atlanta, people were on tornado watch throughout the night. Today they are assessing the damage from that severe storm. This is Paulding County, west of Atlanta, which was hit by a possible tornado. And that's where we also find Jennifer Mayerle. So how are they picking up the pieces there?

JENNIFER MAYERLE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, there's a lot of cleanup going on. But more than that, people are just feeling in awe of all the damage caused here. In this area in Paulding County, so many homes just had the top floor taken out. This home, you can see there's a mattress right there. I'm told that was only bought three weeks ago and that was the bedroom. Now you can see just to the right of it, that was a living room. And there was a TV, a couch, and actually the homeowner of this house, Bill Clifford, was sitting in that living room when the storm came through. And Bill, come up here and talk to us for a second. What was it like when you heard the wind and everything starting to come?

BILL CLIFFORD, HOMEOWNER: Scary, very scary. I wasn't paying attention. My son Frank kept telling me, come downstairs. And finally he got mad, I guess, and yelled at me. And I changed the TV and saw what was happening and I ran down the steps.

MAYERLE: And let's take a look at where you ran here, Bill. We're going to go into the house and hang on a second here, we're going to let you go inside and take a look at the damage. You can see the sunlight coming in today because the top of this house is off. And take a look up those stairs. That used to be the second floor of this home. Those are the stairs you came running down, Bill. And where did you go? Show us where you went.

CLIFFORD: I came down the stairs and we went in this closet. And I got in the corner and Jerry got in this corner. And frank grabbed the door, our son, and he threw these towels over us. And he pulled the door to close it, and about that time he was half way closed and the wind hit and tried to pull the door out of his hand. And he managed to get it closed and we were safe. But it only lasted a couple of seconds and went dead quiet. And when we came out of the room, everything was gone.

MAYERLE: It must have been a terrifying few seconds there.

CLIFFORD: Awful, it was just awful.

MAYERLE: And when you look outside today and see what the near miss from when you ran down the stairs and hiding in this closet, what did you think when you saw your home?

CLIFFORD: All I could think of, why did it take me so long to get in this closet?

MAYERLE: Thank goodness you did. You see the damage here, but the one positive thing coming out of this, there have been no injuries reported. That's the good news.

WHITFIELD: That's great news. Thanks so much, Jennifer. Appreciate that.

And we'll have much more on the storms later on. Meantime, each week on "The Next List," Dr. Sanjay Gupta profiling innovators from all walks of life. Tomorrow, you'll meet Dan Ogala (ph). He believes one important key to a nation's productivity is creating a strong community. In Kenya, he has created a support system and a place to exchange ideas.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I founded a community support group to empower by sharing knowledge and also providing platforms for people to explore their talents. My thinking was that's at least another way of breaking the vicious cycle of poverty.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, catch "The Next List" each Sunday at 2:00 eastern time right here on CNN.

And do you have a home office? Or do you deduct business dinners on your tax returns? Well, tomorrow in the CNN NEWSROOM at 2:30 eastern time, eight tax audit pitfalls to avoid.

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WHITFIELD: We'll have much more of the NEWSROOM in about 30 minutes. Jacqui Jeras is watching more severe weather today. We'll tell you where the storm system today.

More than 30 people already have died in this massive storm and many people have lost their homes. Rescuers are trying to help right now. We'll be bringing you the latest. I'm Fredericka Whitfield. See you then. Stay with us.

A CNN Special Report, "BABY QUEST" starts after the break.

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