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CNN Live Saturday

Tropical Storm Fay Downgraded to Tropical Depression

Aired September 07, 2002 - 12:01   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Our top story this hour, the remnants of Tropical Storm Fay. The storm, now a tropical depression, is moving inland after sloshing ashore along the central Texas coast. And while it's not -- it does not have the threat it once had, it's still causing some problems. CNN's Ed Lavandera is on the storm beat in Galveston. And I know, Ed, you're relieved that this storm has been downgraded quite a bit.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it means we get to stay dry for quite a while now. The storm -- we're along the seawall here in Galveston, Texas, which is about a 45-minute drive south of Houston, Texas, and the storm moved through in the overnight hours yesterday as it made its way through the area, dumping a lot of rain. Winds that probably reached about 45 miles per hour in this area. And the rains that -- and the flooding that it has caused, minor flooding, we must emphasize at this point so far, south of Houston -- there have been some reports of some minor, isolated flooding around that area as well, and that's what the major concern has been going into this storm. Not that it would cause a lot of damage, a lot of wind damage or anything like that, but that since this storm was so slow moving that it might stay isolated over this area and cause some flooding that people needed to worry about.

There has also been some flooding closer to the Gulf Coast line. If you just take this shoreline all the way down, probably about a 20- minute drive that way, there's been also some isolated reports of flooding. But again, we must emphasize that nothing is very serious at this point.

But it is the situation that folks here will continue to monitor, of course. In a lot of people's minds, in the back of a lot of people's minds, the storm, Tropical Storm Allison last year which caused billions of dollars of damage because of flooding and killed 22 people. That storm moved in much the same way. It came in and just hovered over the city and over this part of Texas and just stayed there for several days, dropping a lot of rain, which led to the flooding. So that's what led a lot of people here in southeast Texas to want to pay a lot of attention to this storm -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And, Ed, always after a storm makes for a great day at the beach.

LAVANDERA: Yeah, that's usually what happens, so there's guys out here surfing and enjoying the beach, and a lot of joggers along the seawall front here. So the blue skies have fallen in and snuck in right behind the tropical storm. WHITFIELD: All right. Well, that's good news. Ed Lavandera, thank you very much.

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