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CNN Live At Daybreak

After the Storm: Houston Residents Pick Up the Pieces

Aired June 12, 2001 - 08:04   ET

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

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
COLLEEN MCEDWARDS, CNN ANCHOR: Right now, Houston is drying out, cleaning up after taking the toughest punch from Allison over the weekend. Up to 3 feet of rain fell on South Texas. At least 19 of the 20 deaths blamed on the storm were in Houston.

And that is where CNN's Brian Cabell is this morning -- Brian.

BRIAN CABELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Colleen.

This is what's left of Green River Estates, a community about, oh, 15 miles northeast of downtown Houston. That mobile home back there was floated about 50 feet off its foundation. That X indicates that they searched for bodies in there. They didn't find any. In fact, fortunately, they found none at all in this subdivision at all.

Now, take a look at this one over here. This is another mobile home. This floated about 100 feet off its foundation -- into the road, as a matter of fact. There was a puppy found inside there, 6 months old. They tried to get it out. They could not, however. It drowned on Friday night.

Now, let's sweep over here across to the other side of the street. This home suffered a -- well, some sort of electrical problem on Friday night as the floods came in. It burned down -- total destruction.

Over here, however, we have a few gentlemen here who are sitting pretty, shall we say.

Their home is intact. This is Mike Hallo over here.

Tell me, Mike, anything recovered from inside your home?

MIKE HALLO, FLOOD VICTIM: Nothing.

CABELL: Nothing at all?

M. HALLO: Well I got some papers that I got -- I got my hospital that I got to go Wednesday. And all that paper, got them all dried to go there tomorrow with. That's the only thing I've saved so far.

CABELL: You got out of here on Friday night?

M. HALLO: Yes. Across the street, I could see that water just getting ready to come from the bayou across the curve there. And when I seen it, I knew that it was time to leave, because this is the fifth time I have been in a flood here.

CABELL: Let me talk to your son, Louis.

How high was the water here on Friday night?

LOUIS HALLO, FLOOD VICTIM: I would say about 12 feet.

CABELL: Twelve feet. How did you get out?

L. HALLO: I left Friday evening about 7:00 -- 7:00 p.m.

CABELL: And how fast was the water rising?

L. HALLO: The water was rising fast.

M. HALLO: Fast.

L. HALLO: It's the fastest I've ever seen it around here. We've been here 27 years.

CABELL: And where are you staying right now?

L. HALLO: Right now, I'm staying with my daughter.

CABELL: And what are you going to do for the next couple of weeks? This place is not inhabitable.

L. HALLO: Well FEMA is coming out today. And we're just going to take it from there.

M. HALLO: We'll come up with something.

CABELL: You got in touch with your family earlier. They were happy to hear you're still alive, huh?

M. HALLO: Yes. Yes. Thank him so much you all -- thank you all for letting me (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

L. HALLO: Yes.

CABELL: A happy man.

M. HALLO: Yes. And I've got a brother. Last year, he had a stroke. And I didn't call him because he can't talk. And I wanted to talk to my sister. And my sister called and talked to him, you know.

CABELL: But again, they didn't know you were alive until just about an hour ago.

Well, good news here for the most part. This -- nobody died in this subdivision. That's the good news. As many as 20 people have died in the storm so far, but in this Green River Estates, good news: The houses are down, but the people are alive.

I'm Brian Cabell, CNN, live in Houston.

MCEDWARDS: All right, thanks to Brian and thanks to his guests for sharing their stories with us as well.

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