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Widespread Flooding in New York; More Than 2,200 Evacuated Because of Leaky Dam in Maryland; Gaza Offensive

Aired June 28, 2006 - 13:59   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: At the top of the hour our top story: upstate under water. States of emergency are in effect in 10 counties in New York, and this is one reason, roads in the city of Binghamton look more like canals.
CNN Senior Correspondent Allan Chernoff is there.

Allan, you were saying there's some concern about those bridges. Has that changed at all?

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SR. CORRESPONDENT: Well, the concern certainly still there, without question. And you can see right behind me the Shenango River is beginning to pour right over the floodwalls. These walls are 25 feet high, and the city, literally, has been praying that these walls hold.

About 50 feet away from them, where I'm standing, there is also a wall holding the Susquehanna River, and there is water flowing out of that. Some cracks in that wall. But, so far, generally speaking, the walls are holding, and that, of course, critically important to protecting this city. About a thousand people have been evacuated from town, but so far no fatalities right here in Binghamton, New York.

Also, we do have a bring here that is pretty much flooded over, the Susquehanna River, right now.

Joe, if you can turn and show us that river.

The water flowing right over the bridge right now. It's been closed off. The fact is, it's been a beautiful, sunny day here since 9:00 this morning, but Binghamton has had pretty much three consecutive days of very heavy rain, and all that water combining now, just flooding into the rivers and flowing, as I said, over the floodwalls here.

Kyra, back to you.

PHILLIPS: Now, have any engineers been out there, Allan? Is this more about containing the water and kind of waiting for this to pass?

CHERNOFF: Unfortunately, I cannot hear anything that you're saying right now, Kyra. I apologize.

PHILLIPS: All right. That's OK. Allan, thanks so much. We'll keep checking in with you.

Allan Chernoff there monitoring Binghamton, New York, for us.

Well, in Pennsylvania, at least three people have been swept to their deaths and dozens more forced to their rooftops by water that's still rising. As Allan was mentioning, the Susquehanna River could crest 17 feet above flood stage in some places. Its banks no match for the heaviest rains in 200 years.

Many Pennsylvania roads and bridges are just a memory. Evacuations are mandatory in Wilkes-Barre. In Wayne County, emergency management headquarter has already moved to higher ground once and may have to move again.

Rivers and lakes are rising. People who live around them are leaving.

Our national correspondent, Bob Franken, is in western Maryland, where a leaky dam is causing a torrent of fear.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Inside this high school, a lot of people who just want to go home. They were rousted out of their residences along the low-lying Rock Creek area after the word had spread that a dam, the Needwood Lake Dam that overrides Rock Creek, was showing signs of seepage.

There was worrying that it could turn into a torrent. So 2,200 people were rousted out of their beds. The officials coming for a mandatory evacuation between 1:00 and 3:00 in the morning.

RACHEL STANLEY, EVACUEE: They knocked on my door at 3:00 this morning and said that we had to evacuate, that I had to get my medication, my pillow, my blanket, and that they were -- that I had to come down and go on the bus. And we were going to Wheaton High School. And that's all that they told us.

FRANKEN: There's one common feeling here. The people say they just want to go home. But officials say they have to make sure that the improving weather has also left behind a dam that has stabilized.

They have structural engineers there who are running tests, and officials are hoping against hope that there is not more bad weather. It has been a record-setting period of time here.

A 200-year meteorological event, say those who know about these things, with over a foot of rain registered since the weekend at D.C.'s Reagan National Airport. It has disrupted transportation significantly. It has caused all manner of problems in the District of Columbia with the government buildings, some of which are still having water pumped out, including the Internal Revenue Service.

It has meant tragedy. Children were apparently lost by rain- swollen creeks and the like. And it has meant the disruption of over 2,000 people who live in this area. As they said, they just want to go home. They just want this to be over.

Bob Franken, CNN, Wheaton, Maryland.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Now, in Virginia, more than 200 roads are closed and the state expects more to shut down as floodwaters rise. The search has resumed for an 8-year-old girl who fell into a ditch and was swept into a creek yesterday afternoon.

Meteorologist Reynolds Wolf with more on the heavy rain and severe weather as it threatening the East Coast right now.

Reynolds, what do you have for us?

(WEATHER REPORT)

PHILLIPS: It wasn't the vacation that they planned. Hundreds of tourists finally escorted out of lodges, cabins and campsites on the north rim of the Grand Canyon. And still, the wildfire that sent them packing is only partially contained.

The Grand Canyon fire has burned some 50,000 acres now. It's one of 32 major wildfires in Arizona and seven other western states.

Now, a state of emergency is in effect in Nevada, where 190 square miles have burned and virtually every piece of firefighting equipment is on the job in that state. One fire is looped around the state capital, Carson City, and despite an ongoing threat, some evacuees have gone back to homes and businesses in Moundhouse. And that includes one of the community's most famous, or shall we say infamous, establishments. Yes, the Moonlight Bunny Ranch brothel is back in business, boys.

On the move in Gaza, but Israel's mission to bring home a kidnapped soldier isn't stopping there. Israeli warplanes also are sending a strong message to the president of Syria.

CNN's Paula Hancocks joins me more from Jerusalem.

What's the connection between President Assad and Hamas, and why are these flybys taking place, Paula?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, the latest information that the Israeli military has told CNN is that they did, indeed, in the early hours of Wednesday morning stage a flyby with warplanes over the house of the Syrian president. And we also know that they say the motivation behind that was because they say there is a direct link between Assad himself, the president, and the exiled Hamas political leadership.

Now, the Hamas leader, Khaled Meshal, is the exiled leader. He has been in Damascus for many years, and he is the one that Israeli politicians are blaming for the kidnapping of this Israeli soldier.

They say that the attack that happened Sunday morning where this soldier was kidnapped was masterminded by Syria itself. And they say there is no immunity against any leadership for them to target if this soldier is not released.

Now, to update you on what exactly is happening in Gaza at the moment, we understand there is shelling going on in open fields in northern and southern Gaza. But the IDF denies that it is actually shelling any areas that are populated at the moment.

Now, we know troops are surrounding Rafah, a town in south Gaza very close to the Egyptian border. They launched airstrikes earlier on bridges that connect north and south, so they have cut of southern Gaza to the rest of the world.

They've also cut off much of the power in Gaza itself. This is where they believe that the 19-year-old conscript, Corporal Gilad Shalit, is being held, and they want to make sure that Palestinian militants do not move him -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Well, Paula, we're hearing more about hostages being taken, as well. What can you tell us about that?

HANCOCKS: Well, we heard a little earlier that the Popular Resistance Committee who is involved in the kidnapping of this Israeli soldier also had kidnapped an 18-year-old Jewish settler. Now, up until recently, the police had been calling him missing. But the PRC outside a mosque in Gaza City actually showed what appeared to be a photocopy of an ID card of this particular settler. They have been threatening to kill him if this raid, this Israeli military incursion into Gaza was not stopped.

And then, also, we hear from another militant group, a militant group who is attached to the Fatah group, President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah group, have said that they have a 62-year-old Israeli and they are holding him hostage, as well. Now, this one is from agency reports on the ground in Gaza City. We're trying to confirm that, but, if true, it is a disturbing ratcheting up in the number of hostages being taken. A very disturbing development there, indeed -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Paula Hancocks from Jerusalem. We'll keep following the story.

Thanks, Paula.

"All the news that's fit to print," that's the motto of "The New York Times." But many Republicans are having a fit over what "The New York Times" printed.

That story when LIVE FROM continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: So, you don't like what you read in the newspaper? You might write a letter to the editor or cancel your subscription, right? Well, many Republicans are going further than that.

CNN White House correspondent Ed Henry has their story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Republicans stepped up their barrage on "The New York Times" for publishing details of a once-secret program tracking the banking transactions of terrorists.

SEN. PAT ROBERTS (R), INTELLIGENCE CHAIRMAN: If another attack occurs because of this information going out and giving the terrorists at least a leg up in regards to what they know and not know and changing their method of operations, if that attack comes the people who have written these stories and the people who have made their decisions should look in the mirror.

HENRY (voice over): From the president on down, Republicans have been reading from the same script.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The disclosure of this program is disgraceful.

RICHARD CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think that is a disgrace.

REP. PETER KING (R), NEW YORK: Disgraceful and illegal.

HENRY: They're teeing off on media reports questioning the legality of a Bush administration program that uses an international database to review the banking transactions of thousands of Americans. The story was also reported by the "Los Angeles times" and "Wall Street Journal," but the attacks have focused on "The New York Times."

The chance to beat up on a newspaper with a liberal reputation is too good to resist for an administration struggling to keep its conservative base happy.

CHENEY: "The New York Times" has now made it more difficult for us to prevent attacks in the future. Publishing this highly classified information about our sources and methods for collecting intelligence will enable the terrorists to look for ways to defeat our efforts.

HENRY: But White House Press Secretary Tony Snow was less certain than the vice president when pressed Tuesday on what evidence there is the leak has compromised terror probes.

TONY SNOW, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: None of those things have had time to proceed. So we really don't have any basis right now for knowing exactly how it's influenced things.

HENRY: Snow did charge "The New York Times" endangered lives by bucking a tradition of media organizations agreeing to keep government secrets at a time of war. But "Times" executive editor Bill Keller defended the decision to publish, writing, "I think it would be arrogant for us to pre-empt the work of Congress and the courts by deciding these programs are perfectly legal and abuse-proof based entirely on the word of the government."

(on camera): But unlike the NSA domestic surveillance program, very few Democrats have raised questions about the banking program. Republicans are confident they're on solid legal ground, which is why they're firing away at "The Times." And if they score political points with conservatives along the way, so much the better.

Ed Henry, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: A Texas family buries a son and a soldier today. His entire hometown is grieving with them. Private 1st Class Kristian Menchaca, 23 years old, dead at the hands of insurgents in Iraq. He's being laid to rest with full military honors.

CNN's Ed Lavandera is in Brownsville, Texas, a city rallying around the Menchaca family, indeed.

Hi, Ed.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra.

An excruciatingly emotional day here in Brownsville, Texas. Army Private 1st Class Kristian Menchaca has now been laid to rest. Graveyard ceremonies just wrapping up a short while ago.

A very emotional moment for his mother and young wife, who broke down as -- in the final moments of that graveyard ceremony just a short while ago. But Private Menchaca remembered here today as a valiant soldier, courageous, who not only his family was very proud of, but whose city here in Brownsville was very proud of, as well.

About a thousand people turning out for this funeral service here today. Many people who showed up never met Private Menchaca, but he has a huge family here, very tight-knit, and a family that says they feel like they've been kind of thrust into the spotlight.

They say they like to remain quiet, tight-knit, and enjoy just their own company. But given the way that Private Menchaca died in Iraq has thrust them into the public spotlight. And they say that that is something they have been grappling with for the last several weeks.

But now Private Menchaca laid to rest here today. Ever since his remains arrived here two days ago he has been the talk of the city. Flags around Brownsville have been flying at half-staff, and on billboards and signs across town prayers and messages to his family have been put up for the last couple of days -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Ed Lavandera, appreciate your report.

Well, so many young Americans have given their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan. Some we'll never know, others you may already be familiar with.

As we continue to pay tribute to our fallen heroes, we remember Marine Staff Sergeant Raymond Plouhar of Michigan. He died this week during combat in Anbar Province. Just last month he was sharing candy with Iraqi children, an image captured right here.

But it was his appearance in the 2004 film "Fahrenheit 9/11" that made him widely known. At the time Michael Moore filmed that movie, he was a recruiter, a job that he fulfilled while taking a four-year break from active duty so he could donate a kidney to his uncle. Plouhar's father says that as a boy, Raymond was so interested in the military that when he fell and cut his chin, dad had to convince him the hospital was a MASH unit so he could get stitches.

Staff Sergeant Raymond Plouhar was 30 years old, just one of the 2,527 servicemen and women killed in this war in Iraq.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, in Virginia, more than 200 roads are closed, and the state expects more to shut down as floodwaters rise. The search has resumed now, we're told, for an 8-year-old girl. Niki Godbold (ph) fell into a ditch and was swept into a creek yesterday afternoon. Search crews looking for her.

Upstate New York under threat. As many as 15,000 people could be loaded onto buses today and driven out of Binghamton, where cars are under water and homes are flooded. It's feared that a rising river could break the city's concrete floodwalls.

And nearby, floodwaters cut a 25-foot deep hole in Interstate 88. Two truckers were killed when their trucks individually drove right into it.

Binghamton's deputy mayor, Tarik Abdelazim, now joins us on the phone.

Why don't you give us an update, Mayor, on your area.

TARIK ABDELAZIM, DEPUTY MAYOR, BINGHAMTON, NEW YORK: Sure. It certainly has been a harrowing last 12 hours. Fortunately, we started preparations yesterday at about 5:00 p.m. We've had great coordination with the county. However, still, up to two generations of resident areas (ph) have never seen anything like this.

We are experiencing right now water over our floodwalls. Fortunately, the predictions that were given to us by the National Weather Service, as well as the DEC, have come to fruition nearly exactly.

And so, it seems that we have seen the worst of it. We are cresting right now. But still, the damage has been quite severe, and we have received a lot of cooperation from the residents in moving, not so much early this morning when we began at 5:00, 6:00 in the morning, but later as the morning progressed and it seemed that this was a rather severe situation. The compliance was much better.

PHILLIPS: Now, Mayor, I don't know, can you actually see what is on CNN right now?

ABDELAZIM: Actually, just to clarify, I'm sorry, I'm deputy mayor.

PHILLIPS: Deputy mayor. So I better say "Deputy Mayor," or the mayor is going to be very upset. OK.

Now, can you see CNN right now? Can you see the picture that we're showing of one of your parks there in Binghamton?

ABDELAZIM: Sure, I can.

PHILLIPS: OK. So, tell me what has happened here. Are you concerned about this bridge and that the water is coming over the bridge, or is it still rising, or is it lowering?

ABDELAZIM: The monitoring that we've been doing very closely with the county and the state and the city engineers has indicated that the water levels have come to a halt in regards to the height. This certainly is an area -- this actually -- park is situated right at the convergence of two rivers, Shenango and Susquehanna. So, the problem is exacerbated a bit, but all indicators -- all indicators show that they have reached the crest.

This was the area, too, in the downtown area where we began evacuation procedures as early as 6:00 this morning. So, we had put everything into place. And again, residents were very compliant.

So, we're not too worried. We're just -- you know, we're hoping that our floodwalls remain -- maintain their integrity and that we've seen the worst.

PHILLIPS: Well, let me ask you this question. When was the last time you checked those floodwalls? Do you think they're strong enough? Do you think they're going to hold?

ABDELAZIM: There have been situations where there have been small cracks. In fact, we had a rather severe flooding incident last year in April.

Still, nothing compared to what we've seen this year. And a couple of those areas were patched. They have reopened. But, again, from early this morning we have had state and city engineers monitoring that very closely, and it seems that we'll be fine.

I mean, there is a very large private hospital, Lourdes Hospital, one of the largest care providers in the region, that is suffering from a great deal of flooding. They actually had been carting in trucks full of dirt, probably for the last 14 hours. And the 14-foot wall berm that they set up has been penetrated, and now that is an issue of concern.

PHILLIPS: Got it. So, has this sort of -- has this shut down business in your area today, or is life pretty much going as usual work-wise?

ABDELAZIM: Well, it's been very strange because, I mean, the mayor did issue -- Mayor Matt Ryan did issue a state of emergency for the city at 4:00 this morning, and ordering, obviously, no vehicular traffic other than emergency and essential vehicles.

However, when most residents woke up this morning at 8:00 or 9:00, the sun was shining, it looked beautiful. And there was very little indication, in fact, as to some of the damage and the danger.

PHILLIPS: Wow.

ABDELAZIM: So, it has been strange. Residents have been a bit confused. But I think the more they see the gravity of the situation, the more the local media has covered this, and it's been a few sections of town, they're starting to understand that this is a -- this is a serious incident.

PHILLIPS: Well, we'll stay on top of it, that's for sure.

Binghamton's deputy mayor, Tarik Abdelazim.

Thank you so much for your time, sir.

ABDELAZIM: Thank you very much. Take care.

PHILLIPS: Well, damaged cars, trucks and SUVs. Thousands of people's still litter the New Orleans landscape. So why is it taking so long to remove all of this?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, a couple of days ago we told you about a huge charitable donation by Warren Buffett. Now the flip side of the coin. A top executive taking back a planned donation.

Susan Lisovicz joins us live from the New York Stock Exchange.

Susan, just when we thought we were having this nice little roll going, good domino effect.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

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