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American Morning
Interview with Mayor of Virginia Beach
Aired September 17, 2003 - 07:31 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: We have been following all morning the progress of Hurricane Isabel.
And joining us now from Virginia Beach, Virginia to talk about storm preparations there is the city's mayor, Meyera Oberndorff.
Thank you for joining us, Ms. Mayor.
Nice to see you.
MAYOR MEYERA OBERNDOFF, VIRGINIA BEACH, VIRGINIA: Good morning.
It's still glorious here, but we know we're in for a blow.
O'BRIEN: I've got to tell you, it looks beautiful behind you, but give me a sense then of what's the expectations of what you're expecting in the next 24 to 48 hours?
OBERNDOFF: Well, the wind field has widened and so we are being much more sensitive to people who are living in low lying areas, by encouraging them to evacuate before the storm ever begins or to move up to high land. If they -- we have not announced the opening of shelters yet, but that will come later in the day. We are looking at the full force on Thursday around noon.
But having been through hurricanes ever since I was born -- I'm a native here -- I know that it can be very capricious and just when we think she's going on in one direction to do something, she's liable to turn around.
O'BRIEN: So outside of encouraging folks who want to get out of town to get out of town, tell me specifically what the ex -- what the preparations are for this hurricane, for the folks who are going to stay.
OBERNDOFF: OK. What we have done for the past two days, we have been encouraging our citizens to put away any extraneous things in their yard that could become a missile when the winds are very high. We have been encouraging them to buy canned food, water to sustain themselves in case there's a loss of power from two to five days. We have talked to people who have medical needs about evacuating early to be certain that they were able to go to other areas and safe hospital surroundings. We are telling the elderly or the folds that it takes a little more time to do things that they need to get started and move on up to higher land, out of the way of the storm.
O'BRIEN: You have not issued, however, an evacuation order. Do you expect that you will do that?
OBERNDOFF: Actually, the governor of Virginia has issued a mandatory evacuation for those people in Virginia who live in low lying areas. The city is working in concert with the governor and the state officials to make sure that we go in, inform folks and then see to it that they get to a safe area.
O'BRIEN: You mentioned that you...
OBERNDOFF: Before...
O'BRIEN: Oh, forgive me, Ms. Mayor. I'm sorry for interrupting you. Do you want to finish that thought?
OBERNDOFF: Please. We're trying to get all this accomplished before the storm actually touches down.
O'BRIEN: You mentioned that you have been living through hurricanes your entire life. Tell me a little bit about the morale of the folks where you are. How are they holding up? Are people very nervous? Are they sort of moving along and going to deal with this the best they can?
OBERNDOFF: We have the most wonderful citizens. They are very adaptable and when we tell them what they need to know, they're quick to pick up on it, follow it and do the safe things. Of course, some of the older hands always let you know that they've been through hurricanes before, so they're just not going to hop, skip and jump.
But we always remind them that if they come in harm's way after we've told them to evacuate, there won't be anyone to come in and rescue them.
O'BRIEN: Mayor Meyera Oberndorff, thanks for joining us.
Good luck to you and everyone in your community.
And as we can see, it's a beautiful day right now, but I can hear, obviously, the wind picking up. So we certainly appreciate your time. I know you're busy with your preparations.
OBERNDOFF: Thank you, Soledad.
It's a joy to be with you.
O'BRIEN: You're kind.
Thanks.
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 September 17, 2003 - 07:31 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: We have been following all morning the progress of Hurricane Isabel.
And joining us now from Virginia Beach, Virginia to talk about storm preparations there is the city's mayor, Meyera Oberndorff.
Thank you for joining us, Ms. Mayor.
Nice to see you.
MAYOR MEYERA OBERNDOFF, VIRGINIA BEACH, VIRGINIA: Good morning.
It's still glorious here, but we know we're in for a blow.
O'BRIEN: I've got to tell you, it looks beautiful behind you, but give me a sense then of what's the expectations of what you're expecting in the next 24 to 48 hours?
OBERNDOFF: Well, the wind field has widened and so we are being much more sensitive to people who are living in low lying areas, by encouraging them to evacuate before the storm ever begins or to move up to high land. If they -- we have not announced the opening of shelters yet, but that will come later in the day. We are looking at the full force on Thursday around noon.
But having been through hurricanes ever since I was born -- I'm a native here -- I know that it can be very capricious and just when we think she's going on in one direction to do something, she's liable to turn around.
O'BRIEN: So outside of encouraging folks who want to get out of town to get out of town, tell me specifically what the ex -- what the preparations are for this hurricane, for the folks who are going to stay.
OBERNDOFF: OK. What we have done for the past two days, we have been encouraging our citizens to put away any extraneous things in their yard that could become a missile when the winds are very high. We have been encouraging them to buy canned food, water to sustain themselves in case there's a loss of power from two to five days. We have talked to people who have medical needs about evacuating early to be certain that they were able to go to other areas and safe hospital surroundings. We are telling the elderly or the folds that it takes a little more time to do things that they need to get started and move on up to higher land, out of the way of the storm.
O'BRIEN: You have not issued, however, an evacuation order. Do you expect that you will do that?
OBERNDOFF: Actually, the governor of Virginia has issued a mandatory evacuation for those people in Virginia who live in low lying areas. The city is working in concert with the governor and the state officials to make sure that we go in, inform folks and then see to it that they get to a safe area.
O'BRIEN: You mentioned that you...
OBERNDOFF: Before...
O'BRIEN: Oh, forgive me, Ms. Mayor. I'm sorry for interrupting you. Do you want to finish that thought?
OBERNDOFF: Please. We're trying to get all this accomplished before the storm actually touches down.
O'BRIEN: You mentioned that you have been living through hurricanes your entire life. Tell me a little bit about the morale of the folks where you are. How are they holding up? Are people very nervous? Are they sort of moving along and going to deal with this the best they can?
OBERNDOFF: We have the most wonderful citizens. They are very adaptable and when we tell them what they need to know, they're quick to pick up on it, follow it and do the safe things. Of course, some of the older hands always let you know that they've been through hurricanes before, so they're just not going to hop, skip and jump.
But we always remind them that if they come in harm's way after we've told them to evacuate, there won't be anyone to come in and rescue them.
O'BRIEN: Mayor Meyera Oberndorff, thanks for joining us.
Good luck to you and everyone in your community.
And as we can see, it's a beautiful day right now, but I can hear, obviously, the wind picking up. So we certainly appreciate your time. I know you're busy with your preparations.
OBERNDOFF: Thank you, Soledad.
It's a joy to be with you.
O'BRIEN: You're kind.
Thanks.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
