Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

At Least 15 Dead after Ida Unleashes Floods, Tornados in Northeast; Tornado Damages, Destroys 25 Homes in Mullica Hill, New Jersey; Biden Says, Abortion Ban Ruling an Unprecedented Assault on a Woman's Constitutional Rights Under Roe V. Wade. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired September 02, 2021 - 13:00   ET

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

[13:00:02]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Ana Cabrera picks up our coverage right now.

ANA CABRERA, CNN ANCHOR: Hello. I'm Ana Cabrera in New York.

The breaking news, at least 15 people are now dead. Ida unleashing severe flooding across the northeast and the death toll could climb as first responders are still searching for survivors. Water rescues are underway right now. Rivers are not done rising.

Record rain crippling community after community. New York City declaring its first ever flash flood emergency. Just look at this subway platform as that water rushed in. Officials say this was a once in a 500-year event, more than eight inches of rain in just a matter of hours in some places. Also in New Jersey, a tornado leveling homes, a concrete slab all that remains for some.

Now, we have live team coverage ready to bring you every angle. First, let's get right to CNN's Pete Muntean in Philadelphia, where rescues are still happening nearby.

And, Pete, that river is still rising.

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Ana. You know, we're maybe only at the beginning of the end here in the Philadelphia area. This is the Schuylkill River behind me. The flood stage begins at nine feet. The river currently, according to the National Weather Service, at 16 feet and it could undulate even higher to 19 feet as these waters are only now beginning to resurge. The flood warning here in Philadelphia ends at 7:00 A.M. tomorrow, and the National Weather Service says it will not get below flood stage here in Philadelphia until after midnight tonight.

I just want to show you the impact. Up the Schuylkill River is Conshohocken, Manayunk, Phoenixville. Those are all places where there have been water rescues taking place all day. In fact, Governor Tom Wolf's administration says there were 500 calls for water rescues in the Montgomery County suburbs to the north of here. You can see famous Boathouse Row up in the distance. It has been under water for hours.

But I want to show you one more thing. This is Interstate 76 here. That's the Pennsylvania Turnpike going into center city, Philadelphia. It is a parking lot right now because of an issue further on down the river. According to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, the crossroads between 76 and 676 is completely under water due in part of the fact that the pumping station there is also under water. So, they can't even begin to get out of that problem. The Vine Street Expressway here in Philadelphia, that -- it looks more like a river and a canal, water levels very high there.

Governor Tom Wolf spoke earlier. He says he has no doubt that this is due in part to climate change. The last time we saw river levels like this was after the blizzard of '96, an entirely different type of weather phenomenon. This is maybe only the beginning of the end here in Philadelphia. Ana?

CABRERA: And pretty soon we're going to talk to the mayor of Bridgeport, not far from Philadelphia, where they've had at least 50 people rescued so far. Thank you, stand by.

Let's go to New York City now, and Evan McMorris-Santoro is there. Evan, nine of the ten deaths so far happened in this city. The nature of the storm, it just struck in such a sudden way. What are officials saying?

EVAN MCMORRIS-SANTORO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. I'm standing on one of the hardest hit streets in the hardest hit part of New York when it comes to this massive storm last night here in Queens. And we're starting to see the beginning of what this massive cleanup that will be required to kind of dig out of this thing and clean up out of this thing. But before they can do that, they have to talk about what happened here and what they can do next.

Officials came to this area where I'm standing right now, the governor, the mayor, U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer. They talked for a while about what they thought went wrong. They said, look, this is an unpredictable storm, you never could have seen this much rain at one time. They said, look, climate change is upon us and these kinds of storms are coming. We have to plan more about things to do about that.

In the meantime, streets like this are digging out, trash everywhere, feet of water where I was standing last night. And over here to my left, a house where the water swept by so fast, it collapsed a wall in a basement apartment killing two people. That's two of those nine people you mentioned. The majority of those deaths happened here in Queens. This is the thing that Queens is focused on, that New York is focused on, is how to prevent that from happening again. And right now, that conversation is ongoing, Ana.

CABRERA: Evan, stand by. Let's head to New Jersey now, a states suffering from two devastating blows, flooding and a powerful tornado. Here is that tornado as it was ripping through a community of Mullica Hill last night. I think we have the video in just a moment. [13:05:00]

Polo Sandoval is there as well.

Polo, the governor speaking from the site of devastation earlier today. What are we hearing?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Ana. We are now in Elizabeth, New Jersey, and flooding that took place on this street is actually responsible for some additional deaths that had been added to that mounting death count. You wouldn't know it, but it was overnight that this street right here was under about eight feet of water, according to law enforcement authorities.

Eventually, those waters receded. First responders went into this apartment complex and that's where, sadly, they found the bodies of four people, a man and a woman both in their 70s and another man and woman both in their 30s, at this point authorities not releasing much on their identities, also unclear whether or not they were possibly related.

Still a lot of questions and a lot of frustrations here especially because just another layer of tragedy here is that the building that was basically flooded is right across the street from the local fire department headquarters here in Elizabeth, New Jersey. Authorities saying that at that time when that water began to rise, those waters coming from the nearby Elizabeth River, those first responders were out answering calls for service when, in fact, there were many people who actually needed help here. Authorities saying they quickly sprang into action, rescued many people, but, ultimately, four people died here.

We do expect the governor of New Jersey to visit here later today. That's according to the local mayor.

CABRERA: Okay, Polo, thank you, as well as our thanks to everybody else.

The mayor of Bridgeport, Pennsylvania, Mark Barbee, is going to join us now on the phone. And, Mayor, I appreciate you taking the time. I know it is a tense situation there in your community. We've all been seeing the aerial images of water rescues happening all morning long. What is happening in your city right now?

MAYOR MARK BARBEE, BRIDGEPOINT, PENNSYLVANIA (voice over): We're continuing -- first of all, thank you so much for having me. It's a tremendous honor. We are -- we're continuing to rescue people as we are aware. And we're issuing resources as we find out. So we're delivering meals to people, which is a program that was instituted by our chief of police, Chief Bereda, through the COVID pandemic.

So, we've amped up those efforts and we've also been working with different restaurants and getting out meals to people who need them. We are taking people in at Borough Hall for those that have been displaced and don't have anywhere to go. And it's a very grassroots effort. Being a small borough, in a situation like this, it's all hands on deck to do the work.

And it's interesting for me to speak with some of my colleagues, even in larger cities and other areas, and, obviously still very challenging, but the difference between when you have a larger administration, whereas -- I mean, we're working with maybe 10 to 20 employees on the clock as well as volunteers. So it's a very grassroots effort, but it's been relatively successful and really brought us together.

CABRERA (voice over): I'm happy to hear that. It sounds overwhelming, if you ask me. I know we spoke to one of your colleagues there, the borough manager, Keith Truman, earlier, who said 50 residents had been rescued just this morning, and the water, unfortunately, is not done rising. The river is expected to crest sometime in the coming hours before it begins to recede. So, what more are you expecting and what's the plan?

BARBEE (voice over): The plan is just to continue to communicate with people and make sure that everyone that we can is accounted for and everyone is taking their safety seriously. You know, I mean -- I feel we're all still getting calls. Of course, people are frustrated with the damage to their property.

And so it can be difficult in getting people to take their safety seriously, you know, and for them to understand what's at stake when they take certain matters into their own hands that maybe they're not -- that maybe it isn't the safest decision for them. So, that's been a little bit of a challenge as well.

CABRERA: I mean, it's the Schuylkill River there that rose about 12 feet in only eight hours. It's about two feet above major flood stage right now. Can you give us a sense of just how high the water is there in Bridgeport and how many homes might be affected and do you have any reports of injuries or deaths in your city?

BARBEE (voice over): We do not have any reports of injuries or deaths. I suspect there have been several injuries, but we don't have a definitive report in that regard. I can tell you that the water is higher than I have ever seen it as someone who has -- in a small borough who has lived all over the borough for over a decade now. And it's -- and the entire front street towards Schuylkill River is probably the lowest elevated point in the borough. And it is virtually -- I mean, the houses are probably three quarters if -- some homes are three quarters, if not, more under water.

[13:10:05]

It is unlike anything that I have ever seen.

CABRERA: Wow. Well, that does paint a picture. Thank you, Mayor Mark Barbee, for taking the time with us. I'm sending the best to you and everybody there working around the clock trying to save lives and trying to help the folks who may still be stranded and needing some help and assistance. I appreciate your time.

Please stay with us for all the breaking news on flooding in the northeast.

And, ahead, we're going to go to where all this started with Ida in Louisiana. It has been days since the hurricane hit and the misery for people there only growing.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: Just surreal images after the remnants of Hurricane Ida slammed the northeast.

[13:15:01]

At least 15 people are dead, hundreds so far rescued and rescues right now are still happening after what is becoming a truly record-setting event.

Meteorologist Jennifer Gray is joining us with just how historic this is. Jennifer, the flooding struck fast, extremely furious for some, and the danger is still there.

Yes, very much alive and well across portions of the northeast, especially this storm impacted 22 states from start to finish, traveled 1,500 miles, more than 500 flood reports. And we know the brunt of the flooding occurred here across the northeast. All those Rs are records set, daily rainfall records, more than 20, for yesterday. Look at this, Staten Island, almost nine inches of rain. This is in a 24-hour span. However, we know that a lot of this fell in much less time than 24 hours, and that was the problem.

Newark, New Jersey wettest day on record, almost 8 1/2 inches of rain. Central Park, one of the top five wettest days with more than seven inches of rain, and most of that fell within one hour. Three inches of rain fell in one hour, Ana, and that was the problem. So much rain in such a short amount of time, and it's going to take a while for this water to recede because all the rivers are overflowing the banks, so you have to get that water flowing downstream, and so that's where we could see some more flooding.

CABRERA: Okay. Thank you for that update, Jennifer Gray.

In Southern New Jersey, a tornado ripped through Mullica Hill. That's just south of Philadelphia. Some homes, as you can see, were just completely demolished, reduced to rubble. Residents have been sifting through debris for their most cherished belongings.

Joining us now is Lou Manzo. He is the mayor of Harrison Township in that area. And, Mayor, I mean, the images are just unbelievable, and yet you tell us that last check, still no serious injuries and no deaths?

MAYOR LOU MANZO, HARRISON TOWNSHIP, NEW JERSEY: Yes. Clearly by the grace of God, that's the case. When you see the devastation in those photos and to actually survey the area, it's impossible to believe that no one lost their life, and even more than that, we haven't had any serious injury reported. Only one person at last count actually required to go to the hospital, which is incredible. CABRERA: Wow, that is incredible. What do you attribute that to?

MANZO: Well, I think it's a couple of things. And first and foremost, the early warning system for tornados that we are now all becoming used to getting on our phones if we're tied into our local county, OEMs, Office Emerging Management systems, and we get those notices on our phone, and many times, especially if it's a tornado and you live in New Jersey, you don't actually ever expect a touchdown.

Well, those early warning systems, everyone said that it was that that gave them the time to shelter in their basement. In fact, we had one couple that we spoke to this morning, husband and wife, two children under the age of six, she's eight months pregnant, went down when they had the alert on their phone, and that entire house came down on top of them. It was reduced to rubble. And they were able to walk away.

CABRERA: Oh, my God. I've heard some 25 homes are now uninhabitable. What have you seen today?

MANZO: Well, overnight, it was one thing in the midst of the event, you know, during the storm, and I was getting reports and we're seeing videos, and we surveyed areas.

But it was when we went out this morning in the light of day, as is often the case, where you see the complete devastation, trees down across the roads, more power lines down, some still live, obviously, the homes reduced to rubble and then homes that are not completely destroyed but certainly impacted. And it literally is like something you the, for us, would see on T.V. maybe on CNN, a report from Oklahoma or Iowa, not something we see in New Jersey and certainly not in the southern part of Gloucester County.

So, the devastation was overwhelming, and, again, the shock and gratefulness that we felt that there was really no devastating loss of life was really what we're left with.

CABRERA: The governor toured today. What do you need from officials? What help do you need?

MANZO: Yes. Well, this is also something that was prominent last night from every corner on the political spectrum, from the governor's office right down to my local county commissioner's leadership who coordinated everything. And, by the way, I should throw in the president's office. I got a call from the director of Disaster Relief, I believe, from the White House. So, we have been offered everything that we need.

[13:20:00]

The governor declared a state of emergency. I spoke to Senator Booker a short time ago, who promised to push through whatever type funding we'd need.

So, at this point, it really is being coordinated by our local county office of emerging management, which is the way it should be, and they are overseeing everything, and as things are needed, they will request them.

CABRERA: Mayor Lou Manzo from Harrison Township, New Jersey, thank you for taking the time to speak with us. We send our best to everybody in your community and wish a swift recovery.

MANZO: Thank you.

CABRERA: The Supreme Court refusing to block a controversial Texas law from kicking in and now a strict abortion ban remains on the books. So, where does the legal battle go from here? That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:25:00]

CABRERA: President Biden is slamming the Supreme Court's decision allowing Texas to implement its six-week abortion ban. He calls it a, quote, unprecedented assault on a woman's constitutional rights. And he says he is launching a, quote, whole of government effort to respond.

Now, here's what happened. John Roberts siding with the court's three liberal justices while Trump appointees Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett, they all joined the majority and denied a request by Texas abortion providers to freeze the law without ruling on whether it's constitutional.

Here is part of Justice Sotomayor's scathing dissent. Quote, a majority of justices have opted to bury their heads in the sand, taken together the act is a breathtaking act of defiance of the Constitution, of this court's precedents and of the rights of women seeking abortions throughout Texas.

A reminder, Texas' new law bans any woman from undergoing an abortion six weeks after her last menstrual cycle. So that is before some women even know that they are pregnant. It also does not allow for any exceptions for rape or incest.

I want to bring in our CNN Legal Analyst and Civil Rights Attorney Areva Martin. It is -- is it accurate, Areva, to say Roe v. Wade is the law of the land?

AREVA MARTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, it was the law of the land and, technically, it still is, Ana, but this decision puts the Roe decision in grave jeopardy, I believe. And I think you're right, and the president is right, this is the most anti-woman piece of legislation we've seen in decades.

This piece of legislation sets women's rights back more than 50 years and subjects women to dangerous back alley procedures that we know will cause injuries and in some cases death and, unfortunately, will impact most significantly women of color and poor women.

CABRERA: Now, this decision didn't necessarily address the legality or the constitutionality. The majority said this was a procedural issue that got in the way. So, what were those procedural issues they might be referring to and do you think it says anything about how they would rule on the constitutionality of this law?

MARTIN: Well, the first part of your question, Ana, is what the legislators did in Texas was rather than make the government officials responsible for enforcing this law, they gave that power to individual citizens.

So you, me, anyone, an Uber driver or anyone that's been accused of aiding or abetting someone in getting an abortion can actually be sued in a civil suit, can recover $10,000 and their legal fees. And because government actors are not responsible for enforcing the law, the Supreme Court says t not clear that they had jurisdiction over this case, and that this is a matter that should best be decided in the state course.

And that's what the proponents of the law wanted to do. They wanted to take this out of the purview of the federal court system and make this a matter where you'd have to actually sue someone in state court and then bring up or use as your defense that the law is unconstitutional. So, this was a clever, unfortunately, wickedly clever way to get around what would typically be a pathway to federal court.

CABRERA: How do you see this playing out from here?

MARTIN: Well, we know that the opponents of the law have vowed to fight. We heard what President Biden has said. This case will continue to play itself out in the lower courts in the state of Texas, and, hopefully, there is a legislative fix, because, for 50 years, women have had the right to make choices about their reproductive health. It would be an astounding setback for women for us now to have to rely on legislators to decide what should happen with respect to our bodies.

CABRERA: Areva Martin, as always, it's good to have you here. Thanks for offering your expertise to us.

MARTIN: Thanks, Ana.

CABRERA: Up next, it's been days since Ida hit. But the misery could last for weeks and weeks, hundreds of thousands without power in Louisiana in sweltering heat. When will it be restored?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:30:00]