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CNN Live At Daybreak
Key West Celebrates Michelle's Miss
Aired November 05, 2001 - 06:19 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.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: We heard about Hurricane Michelle from David Hennen.
Now, we want to see what the pictures look like, and we're going to check in with Dianne Fernandez. She's with our affiliate WSVN, and she -- I don't know if it's drawing the short straw, Dianne, or the long straw. But you're in the Florida Keys early this morning -- good morning to you.
DIANNE FERNANDEZ, REPORTER FOR CNN AFFILIATE, WSVN: Good morning, Daryn. We are live here in Key West, where as dawn approaches, there is quick conformation this morning that the Michelle's bark was much worse than her bite.
As you can see, there are some strong winds, but only a light drizzle at this point. And Key Westerners are, this morning, celebrating. They're saying that they were right all along. Michelle just rode right on by.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(voice-over): This seawall, about the only thing taking a hit from Michelle here in Key West. The high winds battering the beaches and spreading storm surge into some nearby low-lying areas.
The rest of the island, covered with a mist of a light rain. The only visible damage: a few knocked down tree branches and palm fronds. As a result, last night, everyone's attention quickly shifted from the storm to the World Series.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Normally, I don't like baseball, but the storm's a non event, so this is what I'm stuck with.
FERNANDEZ: And these stranded tourists are already talking about forging ahead with plans for a sailboat race to Cuba.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We might be able to go Wednesday, but they're talking about maybe Friday.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(on camera): So you heard there, things quickly getting back to normal, at least there are plans for things to get back to normal. That evacuation order -- a mandatory evacuation order that was put in effect early yesterday morning has, of course, been lifted. Folks, though, being asked to stay right where they are, at least until sunrise.
We can tell you that here on Duvall Street, of course, is very busy -- a business corridor. Things are scheduled to get back to normal. Shops scheduled to open their doors as soon as they can get all of this plywood down from their storefronts -- Daryn.
KAGAN: Something I'm sure they're good at practice over the years.
So Key West kind of gets away with not having a bad hit from Hurricane Michelle, but what about storm surge? Are they concerned about that at all, Dianne?
FERNANDEZ: You know what? When we went towards the shore yesterday, late last night, we actually saw just a few feet of standing water in some low-lying areas. But really, as far as we saw -- and I've got to tell you, we only went to some limited areas -- there was seemingly not too bad of a problem with that.
We did speak to police officers here in Key West, who, of course, had been on patrol all night long and all early morning long. And they tell us that, really, everything -- this entire area was pretty much left unscathed.
KAGAN: And as we've noticed in other reports, this is pretty late in hurricane season, so it might be that they're just -- when they take plywood down, it could be coming down for the year.
FERNANDEZ: Absolutely. Actually, all of this was just temporarily put up for Hurricane Michelle, and at that, people were not quick to put it up at all -- many of them waiting for the very last minute. Many people just very confident here that this storm was not going to hit, and obviously, they were right.
KAGAN: Well, good for them that it worked out well for them today -- Dianne Fernandez with our affiliate WSVN -- you and your crew stay safe out there, and thank you for that report.
FERNANDEZ: Thank you, Daryn.
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