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American Morning
Tropical Storm Isabel: Virginia Beach, VA
Aired September 19, 2003 - 08:49 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.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Just about 24 hours ago, this was the sight and the sounds there in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, Outer Banks area. The director of FEMA earlier today telling us here on AMERICAN MORNING the worst impact was in this area of North Carolina right around the Outer Banks. Four thousand people or so, he says, did not get out, did not evacuate. A number of building collapses have been reported in this area. Urban search and rescue teams apparently are in that area now. That's according to FEMA.
Further up the coast in Virginia, Virginia Beach today, let's get a live look now with Kathleen Koch who is back on the scene yet again this morning.
Kathleen, good morning there.
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.
At this point, it is absolutely impossible to gauge the extent of the damage, but both state and local officials say that it is unprecedented. Norfolk's Emergency Management coordinator told me that in the 32 years that he has been here, this is the absolute worst he has seen.
We'll show you some scenes from the height of the storm yesterday. There were roofs being ripped off homes and businesses. We stood here in front of our hotel on the beach in Virginia Beach and watched the roof of a six story hotel next door, the Seahawk Hotel, basically be ripped off, blow into pieces, and then scatter and sail through the air, landing in the parking lot below, nearly pummeling some of the media crews who were down there doing live reports.
Windows in some businesses that weren't boarded up, we had more than 70-mile-an-hour wind gusts here, those windows that weren't boarded up were smashed in and shattered, a lot of damage to the contents of those businesses.
And then there was the rain, 6 to 10 inches of rain. And then the 9-foot storm surge. And this coming in an area that was already 28 inches ahead of normal rainfall. So many of the large trees in Virginia Beach simply were ripped up by the roots. Their roots couldn't hold onto the rain-soaked ground and they toppled over onto homes, onto businesses and blocked a lot of the roadways.
But still the folks here, the mayor and others tell us this morning, that they really think they came through the storm quite well. And now the cleanup process begins. They've got a lot of Red Cross workers, Federal Emergency Management Agency officials who are either on the scene or headed this way with semi trailers and trucks full of water, supplies, cots, generators, lots of things that people will need to help in the cleanup -- Bill.
HEMMER: Kathleen, a quick word or two here, as you look around there, have many people come back already?
KOCH: Lots of people have. And, Bill, it was astonishing that even at the height of the storm we had people still coming out. People who hadn't evacuated who came out just to witness the fury of Isabel. But today a lot of people are out in bikes -- on bikes and out in cars driving up and down. And of course a lot of unfortunate business owners and homeowners are out picking up what's left of their homes and businesses.
HEMMER: Thanks, Kathleen. Talk to you later there in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
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 19, 2003 - 08:49 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Just about 24 hours ago, this was the sight and the sounds there in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, Outer Banks area. The director of FEMA earlier today telling us here on AMERICAN MORNING the worst impact was in this area of North Carolina right around the Outer Banks. Four thousand people or so, he says, did not get out, did not evacuate. A number of building collapses have been reported in this area. Urban search and rescue teams apparently are in that area now. That's according to FEMA.
Further up the coast in Virginia, Virginia Beach today, let's get a live look now with Kathleen Koch who is back on the scene yet again this morning.
Kathleen, good morning there.
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.
At this point, it is absolutely impossible to gauge the extent of the damage, but both state and local officials say that it is unprecedented. Norfolk's Emergency Management coordinator told me that in the 32 years that he has been here, this is the absolute worst he has seen.
We'll show you some scenes from the height of the storm yesterday. There were roofs being ripped off homes and businesses. We stood here in front of our hotel on the beach in Virginia Beach and watched the roof of a six story hotel next door, the Seahawk Hotel, basically be ripped off, blow into pieces, and then scatter and sail through the air, landing in the parking lot below, nearly pummeling some of the media crews who were down there doing live reports.
Windows in some businesses that weren't boarded up, we had more than 70-mile-an-hour wind gusts here, those windows that weren't boarded up were smashed in and shattered, a lot of damage to the contents of those businesses.
And then there was the rain, 6 to 10 inches of rain. And then the 9-foot storm surge. And this coming in an area that was already 28 inches ahead of normal rainfall. So many of the large trees in Virginia Beach simply were ripped up by the roots. Their roots couldn't hold onto the rain-soaked ground and they toppled over onto homes, onto businesses and blocked a lot of the roadways.
But still the folks here, the mayor and others tell us this morning, that they really think they came through the storm quite well. And now the cleanup process begins. They've got a lot of Red Cross workers, Federal Emergency Management Agency officials who are either on the scene or headed this way with semi trailers and trucks full of water, supplies, cots, generators, lots of things that people will need to help in the cleanup -- Bill.
HEMMER: Kathleen, a quick word or two here, as you look around there, have many people come back already?
KOCH: Lots of people have. And, Bill, it was astonishing that even at the height of the storm we had people still coming out. People who hadn't evacuated who came out just to witness the fury of Isabel. But today a lot of people are out in bikes -- on bikes and out in cars driving up and down. And of course a lot of unfortunate business owners and homeowners are out picking up what's left of their homes and businesses.
HEMMER: Thanks, Kathleen. Talk to you later there in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
