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CNN Live At Daybreak

Barry Rains Threaten Floods

Aired August 06, 2001 - 07:15   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: Flooding is now the big concern from Tropical Storm Barry. The National Weather Service says that Barry is getting weaker, moving slowly. It is expected to sit and dump rain across the Gulf Coast as it moves along.

Barry moved ashore about 1:30 Eastern this morning in the Florida Panhandle just east of Destin. And that, of course, is where some of the heaviest rain has fallen.

Joining us now by television is Florida -- television -- telephone is Florida Governor Jeb Bush. He is with us live actually. Thanks very much, Governor Bush, for being here.

I know that you have freed up some state funds on the weekend to go to some of the counties worst affected. Where are you hoping that kind of relief goes?

JEB BUSH, FLORIDA GOVERNOR: Well, we expect to see quite a bit of damage in the Panhandle area west of Tallahassee and east of Pensacola. There is going to be lots of flooding. And we're still concerned. This storm has hit shore, but people need to be very careful when they go outside if they see in their low-lying areas if there is water -- standing water. They have got to be careful with downed power lines; 34,000 homes don't have power right now. So we're asking people to be very cautious today and tomorrow.

MCEDWARDS: And Governor Bush, in terms of what you have seen -- other storms you have seen in other seasons in that area, how does this rate?

BUSH: I am sorry. Can you say that again?

MCEDWARDS: How does this one rate in terms of other storms you have seen?

BUSH: Well, this was a very powerful tropical storm. It did not reach hurricane status. The wind damage may not be as much as some of the hurricanes that we have had in the past. But there has been a lot of rain. And as the storm goes north, the rivers will bring that water right back down to us. Then we expect to see a significant amount of flooding, which does make it a little bit different than other storms that have gone through that area. MCEDWARDS: Do you have a sense yet in Tallahassee whether people are coping all right? Whether communities are getting the help they need at this point?

BUSH: Yes, I think everything has worked out. We have a good emergency operation system -- a good cooperation between the state and local communities. Unfortunately, we have had a lot of practice on this, so we work well together. And we got the message out early enough yesterday for people to either evacuate where they were to safer areas, or to prepare well. And so, I think most Floridians in that part of the state responded to the challenge well.

MCEDWARDS: How much do the clean up efforts and the aid that you have to send out to these areas when these kinds of storms hit -- how much does it cost? How much of a portion of your budget is it?

BUSH: Well, we quickly flip from preparing for these storms to assessing the damage. And today, we will start that. We will have assessment teams go out and assess the costs of public-sector support and loss of property to the private sector. And then we go to Washington, if appropriate, and seek support. And the local communities get support from us. So it's a good system that we have in place to deal with disasters.

MCEDWARDS: All right. Governor Bush, thanks very much for time this morning.

BUSH: Thank you.

MCEDWARDS: Good luck with the efforts.

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