Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

Floodwaters Forcing Mass Evacuations in Northeast

Aired June 29, 2006 - 08:00   ET

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

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Take a look, everybody. These pictures of the destruction of the flood. Flood waters forcing mass evacuations in the Northeast. Rivers are approaching record levels. We're live at some the hardest hit areas for you this morning.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: In Gaza, rising tensions. Israel has arrested several member of the Palestinian cabinet, lawmakers, as well. They're still searching for that kidnapped Israeli soldier, as well.

S. O'BRIEN: Responsible reporting or a threat to national security -- Republicans in the House ready to take on the "New York Times" with an official slap on the wrist.

M. O'BRIEN: Staying fit in your 30s, 40s and 50s -- new guidelines now on just how much exercise is enough.

That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

S. O'BRIEN: And welcome back, everybody.

I'm Soledad O'Brien.

M. O'BRIEN: And I'm Miles O'Brien.

That devastating flooding in the Northeast at the top of the news this morning.

Homes, parts of cities under water along the Susquehanna and the Delaware Rivers. All throughout Pennsylvania, Northeast, New Jersey; still some worries down in Maryland, as well, as you look at some affiliate pictures from our affiliate WPVI.

This is the Delaware River. And clearly it has crested over its banks. There is still concern that it is still rising. We just talked to the governor of Pennsylvania a little while ago, as they watch very closely the Delaware River as it continues to rise. This is from New Hope, Pennsylvania here.

And as we move farther to the south, remember Rockville, Maryland and the Needwood Lake at the headwaters of the Rock Creek. There you see the sand bags as they try to shore up that earthen dam there. Concern that it could give way because of the swollen waters. About 2,200 people downstream of it are evacuated, as well.

We're tracking it from just about every location -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: That's right. Three live reports for you this morning.

Jason Carroll is near Wilkes-Barre in Pennsylvania.

Allan Chernoff is in Binghamton, New York.

And Chad Myers is watching it all from the CNN Weather Center.

Jason, let's start with you -- good morning.

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Soledad.

And we do have an update for you from where we are.

The Susquehanna River levels have really dropped over the past several hours, dropped, in fact, two feet, from 33 feet to about 31 feet.

Let me just tell you how that translates. If you look behind me, you can see where the flood waters are right now. Again, that's where they are now. But yesterday the flood waters were all the way up to where I'm standing at this point. So you can see how much the flood waters have receded in the past several hours.

So things looking much better today. Yesterday, though, it was a much different story in terms of how things looking out here. Things looked much more grave. The river actually crested at about 34-and-a- half feet. The levees are built to hold about 41 feet of water. At least four people died in Pennsylvania as a result of the flooding. Forty-six counties declared a state of emergency. Fifteen thousand people even at this point without power. Several thousand still without water.

Two hundred thousand people had to be evacuated. They were under a mandatory evacuation. But not everyone decided to evacuate. We spoke to one woman who has lived in this area for several decades, at least since the 1960s.

When you watch her interview, Soledad, pay particular attention to the water levels behind her.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEANNE CHOPKA, RESIDENT: No one knows how bad it is to be in a flood unless you're in it. And every time it happens, you just die a little bit.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARROLL: All right, now I'm going to walk right over and stand in the exact same position where I did that interview yesterday. That was right here. And so you can see, there's no water where I'm standing right now. But as you just saw in that last interview, you can see where the water levels were right behind that woman.

So, again, things have receded in terms of water here significantly. In the next few hours or so, officials are going to be meeting to determine in terms of whether or not to lift the mandatory evacuation order -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: And, in fact, we're going to get a live update, Jason, in just a little bit from the mayor of Wilkes-Barre just ahead.

Thanks, Jason.

Appreciate it.

All right, let's go 80 miles north to Binghamton, New York.

It's also being flooded by the Susquehanna.

Governor George Pataki says there's going to be at least $100 million of damage.

CNN's Allan Chernoff is there for us this morning -- Allan, good morning.

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.

And from where I'm standing, it's easy to see how the governor made that estimate. Let's illustrate for you how things have improved. But they do remain quite severe.

First of all, where I'm standing right now, yesterday this was entirely under water. So you can see how much the water has receded, a good four feet in the spot that I'm standing.

Now, why is that?

Partly because the water is moving so rapidly. We've had a nice sunny day yesterday and the sun-again coming out now. You can see the rapids here. And what you're looking at is not the Susquehanna River proper. In fact, the normal bank of the river is a good 80 yards from what you're looking at right now.

So the water moving very rapidly. And if our cameraman can pan back, Joe, and have a look at the garage just to my left, you'll see that in the screen, the water has just been flowing by.

This garage is owned by Anton Lucas, the owner of this house. He's a contractor. He normally keeps his lumber in that garage. And we have been seeing it just swept out gradually. And you can see the garage may not hold on much longer.

Now, I'm going to show you how the situation remains pretty severe walking in here. The water is still quite deep. And this is Anton's basement. This is where he keeps a lot of his tools. He's, as I said, a contractor, a home construction worker. So he's got plenty of tools. And the water inside the basement -- you can't actually see inside here -- but his tools are floating. All sorts of material, some metal, as well, I can see here. So really a very tough situation for so many residents here, just facing devastation of their homes.

S. O'BRIEN: Oh, that poor guy, and everybody there who is obviously dealing with the same thing.

Allan Chernoff for us this morning.

Allan, thanks.

Let's get right to Chad Myers, our severe weather expert, at the CNN Center -- hey, Chad.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hey, Soledad, I don't know if Allan is still there, but I'd actually like to ask him a question about the flood wall. The mayor of Binghamton was very concerned about the water either breaking through or going over the flood wall.

Does he know anything about that?

Did it happen?

Allan, can you still hear me?

CHERNOFF: Yes, I can, Chad.

What happened certainly yesterday is that the floodwalls were holding. We did have water flowing through at seams of the floodwalls. And in certain areas, yes, water was cascading over in the late afternoon.

MYERS: Wow!

CHERNOFF: But generally those floodwalls were holding. And the mayor told me last night that, in fact, he believes those floodwalls saved the City of Binghamton.

MYERS: Wow!

Great news there.

I just noticed the river gauge for the Susquehanna at Binghamton. And it went up to about 33 feet or so and then never got any higher. And it stayed flat for hours. And I thought the only thing that could make that happen is if water cascades over the wall, then obviously the gauge can't go any higher because the water just goes over. But at least, though, not a lot went over.

Thanks, Allan.

Thanks for knowing that.

Appreciate that.

From Scranton all the way back down into Bloomsburg, we are still seeing flooding there. And I know we talked about where Jason Carroll is. He's actually on the high side of the river. If you go on the other side of the river, that's where all the flooding is, not really Wilkes-Barre proper, because they have a huge levee system there and the levee, unlike New Orleans', didn't break. It held. And it was way below the top of the levee. But the other side of the river, all the people over there, they don't have a levee. And water just goes on that side.

So we'll try to get some pictures on the other side of the Susquehanna, where the flooding really was.

(WEATHER REPORT)

M. O'BRIEN: All right, thank you very much, Chad Myers.

MYERS: OK.

M. O'BRIEN: The Israelis are taking prisoners as they turn up the pressure on Palestinians in Gaza. Israel rounding up and arresting dozens of Palestinian government officials and lawmakers. Their tanks rolled in after the Palestinians killed two soldiers, kidnapped another. So far, no sign of the kidnapped soldier.

Just a short time ago, an Israeli air strike hit a car in Gaza City.

CNN's Paula Hancocks is live now from Gaza with more -- Paula.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Miles.

Well, we're having word from (AUDIO GAP) in southern Gaza that there is an incident that's ongoing there. Palestinian security forces telling us that Palestinian militants have blown a hole through the fence that is on the border with Gaza and Egypt.

Now, this is very close to Rafah, right on that border. And we understand that from agencies on the ground and these sources that there was a rush of Palestinians trying to get through that hole, trying to get into Egypt. Obviously, there has been a lot of shelling in that particular area and so many of these just trying to get away from the shelling.

Now, we understand that some Palestinian security personnel have been -- are forming a human chain along that line to try and stop Palestinians fleeing from southern Gaza into Egypt.

Now, as you said, there was an attack there just a few minutes ago in Gaza City. We know that the Israeli Defense Forces launched an air strike on a car which contained Islamic Jihad militants. Now, we understand that one of those militants was injured and the rest managed to get away.

But there is constant shelling here and round about Gaza City and also along the northern border -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Paula, in the midst of this constant shelling, we are aware that the Israelis have excellent intelligence about Gaza, which is an area about the size of two Washington, D.C.s. But somewhere there is a kidnapped Israeli soldier.

Are they concerned they might be firing shells into an area that might harm one of their own?

HANCOCKS: Well, this is what I've been asking the politicians for the past couple of days. It's a good point, I think. But they're saying that they couldn't just sit around and wait for the Palestinian Authority and the militants and the Egyptian mediators to try and negotiate with these militants to let this soldier go. They said they have no choice but to take matters into their own hands.

Now, they do believe he is in southern Gaza. Israeli security sources believe that he is close to the Khan Younis Refugee Camp, which is to the southern part of Gaza. And we know that tanks and troops are surrounding that particular area and around Rafah.

So there's certainly a presence down there. Now, whether or not they'd be able to do a house-to-house search to search for their soldier is really quite unlikely. This refugee camp is incredibly densely populated. And, also, it would be very dangerous for both sides for them to launch that kind of campaign -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Paula Hancocks in Gaza City.

Thank you very much.

Be sure to stay with us for more on this developing story. At the bottom of the hour, we'll get more on Israel's invasion into Gaza from the Israeli Foreign Ministry -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: On Capitol Hill today, the House is expected to pass a Republican resolution condemning several news organizations. At issue, news stories about a secret program to monitor private bank records and track possible terrorists. The report first appearing in the "New York Times." The seven page resolution condemns those in the administration leaking information to the media. It also demands the cooperation of the news media in not disclosing classified intelligence programs.

The Supreme Court is expected to rule today in a key case. The justices are deciding whether President Bush went too far in ordering war crimes trials for so-called enemy combatants at the Guantanamo Bay Detention Center.

Let's get live right now to Bob Franken.

He is in D.C. for us this morning on this story -- hey, Bob.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.

You've been to Guantanamo Bay, as well as I have, and we know about the intrigue that has accompanied, since its opening, the Guantanamo prison.

Now, the question has turned into one of the large constitutional questions that you only get every once in a while from the Supreme Court -- whether the president has the authority to create the military commissions, often incorrectly called tribunals, that would try -- already 10 defendants are facing criminal charges under the system.

The lawyers for Ahmed Salim Hamdan, who is allegedly a former bodyguard and taxi driver of Osama bin Laden, claim that the commission does not meet the minimum legal standards both of U.S. law and international law. The justices will have to decide whether that's true, whether the Geneva Convention should be applied. The Geneva Convention, of course, the protocol that is supposed to protect prisoners of war.

The administration has claimed all along these are not POWs but enemy combatants.

The decision might also rest on whether Congress passed legislation which made this entire hearing moot, that the justices have no reason to make a decision.

It will be only eight of them. The chief justice, John Roberts, recused because he had decided this case on a lower court in favor of the administration. A 4-4, vote if that would happen, would favor the administration because they would revert back to the lower court ruling.

This is complicated. President Bush is watching it closely to decide what steps he takes next on Guantanamo Bay -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Bob Franken for us this morning.

Bob, thanks.

M. O'BRIEN: Coming up on the program, in Wilkes-Barre, they were planning a big party. But no one there is in the mood for that right now. We'll ask the mayor what's next for his city.

S. O'BRIEN: Also, spy satellites are America's eyes and ears in space. How useful are they in the war on terror? We'll take a closer look this morning.

M. O'BRIEN: Plus, we're going to feel the burn -- how much exercise is enough in your 30s, 40s and 50s? We'll hear from a fitness guru to the stars.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: In Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, they are -- were preparing for a big bicentennial celebration this holiday weekend. The Beach Boys slated to headline the party on July 3rd, but they got no good vibrations from Mother Nature and the party is now postponed on account of flooding.

A couple hundred thousand people ordered to evacuate in and around Wilkes-Barre. The Susquehanna River crested below the 39-foot high dikes, we're glad to report. But nonetheless, a lot of damage there and people still out of their homes.

Joining us now is the Wilkes-Barre mayor, Thomas Leighton.

Mr. Mayor, good to have you with us.

Some bicentennial celebration this is.

MAYOR THOMAS LEIGHTON, WILKES-BARRE, PENNSYLVANIA: Oh, yes. It's -- we're all disappointed. We put a lot of time and effort into the planning of this. It was going to be a great weekend. It was starting tonight, with our $31 million movie theater that was opening up, Archie (ph) Theaters in downtown. And it was going right through the 4th of July.

So we're all very disappointed, but we definitely will rebound from this and we will have a great celebration.

M. O'BRIEN: When are you going to have it, do you know, at this point? Or is it just -- it's too early to say, I imagine.

LEIGHTON: Well, it's too early to say. We're going to sit down today and analyze the infrastructure damage that occurred. And some day next week, after the 4th, we'll regroup and we'll contact the Beach Boys and see when they're available. And we're hopeful that they will be available some -- for some date throughout the summer and we'll schedule around their schedule.

M. O'BRIEN: It'll be an event to remember, one way or another, unfortunately for some bad reasons.

Bring us up to date now on the statistics -- the number of people out of their homes, injuries, fatalities.

LEIGHTON: I believe there's been very minimal injuries. I've been not made aware of any fatalities. We gave people enough notice to get out yesterday during the daylight hours. They had eight hours of daylight to evacuate the city and the surrounding valleys. So we're confident that everybody got out in a timely manner and there's been no fatalities.

M. O'BRIEN: What about the damage at this point?

We were talking a little while ago with Chad Myers. And on one side of the river, you have very high dikes. On the other side, you're not as well protected, correct?

LEIGHTON: Well, just in certain low lying areas where there's not a lot of population, there's very minimal dike protection. But we pretty much were secured throughout the valley yesterday. And there was a $175 million dike levee raising project that took place and was completed approximately five years ago. And the dikes held up very well and the water stayed within it banks downstream.

In the area where we're standing here now, they did have some flooding.

M. O'BRIEN: So a lot of money was spent on that. It seems like money well spent this morning. Do you have any way of assessing how much property you might have saved by doing that levee project?

LEIGHTON: It's too early to determine how much it is. But in 1972, based on the devastation that we had with Hurricane Agnes, we probably saved billions of dollars in property damage.

M. O'BRIEN: Overall, how has the response been from the federal and state authorities?

Have you gotten the help you needed and you have gotten it in a timely way?

We ask this, of course, remembering what happened with Katrina nearly a year ago.

LEIGHTON: We were very satisfied with the response that we got from FEMA and FEMA officials yesterday, as we were with Hurricane Ivan. So we've had a great working relationship with them here in the Greater Wyoming Valley. And I don't foresee any problems with working with them and getting the damage control from this current storm.

M. O'BRIEN: All right, as this water recedes, what are your big concerns, mayor?

LEIGHTON: Well, what we've got to do now is we have to go out and inspect all the infrastructure. When the water recedes, it kind of sucks the underground out. And we -- we're -- we had a lot of sink holes occur after Hurricane Ivan now. And our concern is that underground utilities can be affected, such as a natural gas line or a sewer line.

So we'll go out and we'll check the areas that were affected after Hurricane Ivan and see how they responded to this storm.

M. O'BRIEN: Well, we're glad the worst of it is over.

We wish you well as your city gets back on its feet. And keep us posted. And I hope the party does, in fact, go on, at some point.

LEIGHTON: No, we'd love to have you.

M. O'BRIEN: All right.

Thomas Leighton, the mayor of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.

Thanks for being with us.

LEIGHTON: You're welcome.

M. O'BRIEN: Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Coming up this morning, a developing story out of the Middle East. Israel is stepping up its offensive in Gaza. We're going to take you live to Jerusalem and get an update from Israel's foreign ministry. Up next, some basic exercise guidelines for folks in their 30s and their 40s and their 50s. Just how fit should you be as you get older? We'll take a look.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: Exercise, we all know, is vital for long-term health. So this morning in our health series, "30, 40, 50," we're taking a look at some basic fitness guidelines for those of us in our 30s and our 40s and our 50s.

Here is medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Maybe you don't have J. Lo's body or you wish you had Cindy Crawford's abs. Well, you might not look like them, but you can be fit like them, says their trainer, Radu.

RADU, FITNESS TRAINER TO THE STARS: It's come down to the issue of what you do is what you are.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM TRAINING CLASS)

RADU: Bend. One second. Bend. One third. And down again. Ready? Let's go.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COHEN: We asked this fitness guru to the stars to show us workouts for people in their 30s and 40s and 50s.

Meet Carrie (ph), who's 31; Joe, who's 46; and Brooke, 57.

The American Council on Exercise has guidelines for what we should all be able to do based on our age.

First, pushups.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM TRAINING CLASS)

RADU: Let's (UNINTELLIGIBLE) is what pushups are all about.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COHEN: Without resting, men in their 30s should be able to do an average of 20 push-ups. In your 40s, it's 15. And if you're over 50, 10.

For women in their 30s, 15 is average. For 40s, it's 12. And for 50s and beyond, at least seven.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM TRAINING CLASS) RADU: OK. Let's work these abs guys.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COHEN: Now, your abs. In one minute, women mid-30s to mid-40s should be able to do 30 curls. Mid-40s to mid-50s, 30 again. Mid-50s and beyond, 20.

For you guys mid-30s to mid-40s, give me 38 curls. Mid-40s to mid-50s, 36. And mid-50s and beyond, 33 is average.

Not quite up to those baseline levels and wondering how do I get there? Slowly, says sports medicine expert Dr. Kevin Eerkes.

DR. KEVIN EERKES, SPORTS MEDICINE EXPERT: If you start too fast or work your way up too quickly to what your goal is, then you're liable to get an overuse injury and come into the office and see a doctor like me.

COHEN: And, of course, with lots of dedication, you can battle gravity in time and go well beyond what's expected for your age.

BROOKE, 57-YEAR-OLD: I can come here and work out with people that are in their 30s and I can -- and I feel like I can -- I'm competitive with them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM TRAINING CLASS)

RADU: From here, we go back and push back. Push back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COHEN: As for the motivation to get fit, Radu, who, would you believe, is nearly 60, offers this. Don't be motivated by the gym mirror. Instead, find an activity you love and share it with friends.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM TRAINING CLASS)

RADU: And jump! And go jump!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COHEN: Elizabeth Cohen, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

S. O'BRIEN: If you are over 40, according to Elizabeth, you want to check with your doctor before you begin a fitness program.

Last year, President Bush and the G8 leaders committed to provide treatment for all HIV and AIDS victims by 2010 in Africa. Coming up, part of my exclusive interview with Bono, who has been keeping track of the pledge. He's going to tell us where the U.S. stands in its promise.

Plus, New Orleans water woes -- the city ruined by water after Katrina. But now, weirdly enough, it may not have enough water. We'll explain just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com