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American Morning
Claudette Aftermath
Aired July 16, 2003 - 07:10 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.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: A downgraded Claudette is now blowing across Texas after hitting the shore with 80 mile per hour winds and knocking out power for residents across the Texas coast. At least two deaths are being blamed on the storm.
Ed Lavandera has the story from Port Lavaca, Texas.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For a few hours, it seemed like most people saw Hurricane Claudette as the main attraction in a traveling show.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've just seen a lot of heavy surf coming all the way over all high five lanes of the sea wall. It's really awesome.
LAVANDERA: With 85 mile per hour winds, Claudette crashed into the Texas Gulf Coast with enough strength to cause dramatic-looking damage.
In Port Lavaca, sustained winds were able to peel rooftops off several structures. Wind gusts were able to put this motor home on its side.
Some of the hardest hit areas were the small coastal towns between Galveston and Corpus Christi. But officials say Claudette, which was only a Category 1 hurricane, did not cause major damage.
In the raging Gulf swells, a Coast Guard rescue team saved two shrimpers, who found their way into danger. Their shrimp boat became trapped in the storm near the Sabine Pass in Southeast Texas and started to sink. Both men were pulled out of the Gulf waters safely.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
The cleanup process actually started yesterday for many towns along the Texas Gulf Coast, and this is the kind of things they're going to be cleaning up here this morning. This brick wall fell from the top part of this building here when the winds blew through Lavaca yesterday afternoon. So, these are the types of things they're going to be cleaning up.
Fifteen counties along the Texas Gulf Coast were affected by Hurricane Claudette, and Texas Governor Rick Perry has started asking for federal disaster relief to help in the repair process here along the Texas Gulf Coast. Soledad -- back to you.
O'BRIEN: A question for you, because you mentioned 15 counties affected. Is it too early to put a financial figure to all of this damage?
LAVANDERA: We haven't. In fact, we're having a hard time getting just how many people are still left without power, so I don't even think they've gotten to that point. But it's not just counties along the Texas Gulf Coast. There are also counties further inland as well that were affected by this storm.
O'BRIEN: All right, Ed Lavandera, a great report. Thanks for that.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Aired July 16, 2003 - 07:10 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: A downgraded Claudette is now blowing across Texas after hitting the shore with 80 mile per hour winds and knocking out power for residents across the Texas coast. At least two deaths are being blamed on the storm.
Ed Lavandera has the story from Port Lavaca, Texas.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For a few hours, it seemed like most people saw Hurricane Claudette as the main attraction in a traveling show.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've just seen a lot of heavy surf coming all the way over all high five lanes of the sea wall. It's really awesome.
LAVANDERA: With 85 mile per hour winds, Claudette crashed into the Texas Gulf Coast with enough strength to cause dramatic-looking damage.
In Port Lavaca, sustained winds were able to peel rooftops off several structures. Wind gusts were able to put this motor home on its side.
Some of the hardest hit areas were the small coastal towns between Galveston and Corpus Christi. But officials say Claudette, which was only a Category 1 hurricane, did not cause major damage.
In the raging Gulf swells, a Coast Guard rescue team saved two shrimpers, who found their way into danger. Their shrimp boat became trapped in the storm near the Sabine Pass in Southeast Texas and started to sink. Both men were pulled out of the Gulf waters safely.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
The cleanup process actually started yesterday for many towns along the Texas Gulf Coast, and this is the kind of things they're going to be cleaning up here this morning. This brick wall fell from the top part of this building here when the winds blew through Lavaca yesterday afternoon. So, these are the types of things they're going to be cleaning up.
Fifteen counties along the Texas Gulf Coast were affected by Hurricane Claudette, and Texas Governor Rick Perry has started asking for federal disaster relief to help in the repair process here along the Texas Gulf Coast. Soledad -- back to you.
O'BRIEN: A question for you, because you mentioned 15 counties affected. Is it too early to put a financial figure to all of this damage?
LAVANDERA: We haven't. In fact, we're having a hard time getting just how many people are still left without power, so I don't even think they've gotten to that point. But it's not just counties along the Texas Gulf Coast. There are also counties further inland as well that were affected by this storm.
O'BRIEN: All right, Ed Lavandera, a great report. Thanks for that.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
