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Residents Evacuating in as Rivers Rise to Record Levels; Historic Flooding in Missouri; Interview with Gov. Jay Nixon; "Affluenza" Teen Expected Back in U.S. Today. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired December 30, 2015 - 07:00   ET

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

ALINA MACHADO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John. Hundreds residents have left the town of Pacific, Missouri. If you look around, it's easy to see why.

[07:00;01] The Meramac River has been at flood stage here since Sunday. Some 400 businesses and homes are already under water and relief is still days away.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MACHADO (voice-over): Missouri bracing for historic dangerous flooding, dozens of counties facing a severe threat as the Mississippi, Missouri, and Meramac Rivers approach record levels.

GOV. JAY NIXON (D), MISSOURI: Now that the rain has moved out, the threat has changed but it is not by any means over.

MACHADO: The deadly floodwaters claiming more than a dozen lives. Many fear this is just the beginning as swollen rivers rise and crest in the next 48 hours.

NIXON: You're talking about almost ten more vertical feet of moving water, so the power we're talking about, as well as the volume, is extremely significant.

MACHADO: The governor declaring a state of emergency and activating the National Guard as officials predict river levels could exceed the great flood of 1993 that claimed nearly 50 lives and damaged or destroyed some 50,000 homes, the most devastating in modern U.S. history.

In the town of West Alton, near St. Louis, the mayor urging his 500 residents to evacuate after water levels overtopped the levee.

WILLIE RICHTER, MAYOR OF WEST ALTON, MISSOURI: This is your notice, this is serious. So you need to get final preparations and go.

MACHADO: Parts of Union, Missouri, under water with homes, cars, restaurants completely submerged. And in Verbon (ph), one photographer even capturing video of this cabin floating away.

Authorities urging drivers to stay off inundated roadways, fearing they'll get stuck and swept away. NIXON: The vast majority of deaths we've had, I can't stress this

enough, is people driving into water, and especially driving into water at night.

MACHADO: It's the race against time as residents and volunteers sandbag their homes and prepare to evacuate.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am worried. I just don't know what to do. And it's still supposed to come up higher. My main concern right now is just getting our vehicle out so that we're not -- our truck is not trapped in here.

MACHADO: Officials now watching and hoping that the levees hold.

RICHTER: It's more just a wait and see. Once it's over, then we'll have to go from there, because we really don't know what's going to happen.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MACHADO (on camera): Flood waters here are expected to crest at about 35 feet. That's 2 feet above the record that was set back in 1982. John?

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Alina Machado for us in Pacific, Missouri.

Let's get the very latest on the situation there. Joining us now by phone, Missouri's governor, Jay Nixon.

Governor Nixon, thank you so much for being with us. We know you have a full plate this morning.

GOV. JAY NIXON (D), MISSOURI (on the phone): Absolutely. We'll be in Pacific today. You're right on and one of the real areas of concern. We're going to see if Valley Park and Eureka, the two gauges above and below there, that the Meramac River is going to be four feet over its historic level and still rising. Now, that doesn't come until sometime tomorrow.

BERMAN: Four feet above the historic level in pacific. We're talking about 13 feet above flood levels in St. Louis, expected to crest there tomorrow. How concerned are you?

NIXON: I mean, the 13 feet above flood level is one thing. The 4 feet above all-time historic level puts us in a situation where we're evacuating folks. That's why I called the National Guard up yesterday. That's why we've got a state of emergency. That's why we work with the Red Cross and others to open shelters.

It's cold out there, too. So this is a time in which this is not a summer flood. This is dangerous. We got water movement; we've already had 13 deaths in the state. So we are -- with Guard members arriving literally as dawn hits us here in a number of places throughout the state, we're very concerned about how this next 35 hours is going to go. BERMAN: You know, I heard it in your voice in the news conferences

yesterday, I sense it this morning, are you getting the response you feel you need given the temperatures, given the level of the threat right now?

NIXON: We've had to throw a lot of resources at it. We're going to continue to work to enhance those local levels. I know down in the Mississippi, we were in Perryville yesterday where you got a 30 mile levee that looks as if you're going to see historic highs there too, which could put an entire industrial park and thousands of jobs in play. And also you look at down deep (ph), down the Mississippi River, where it could be two feet higher than it was in the '93 floods.

So we've got a wide range we're fighting all the way from the boot heel all the way through St. Louis and west. We've already got Highway 44 closed, which takes about 100,000 vehicles a day, and a major trucking route, closed both ways in a 40-mile detour, so there's a lot of area to what's going on. We're trying to focus our attention on that. That's one of the reasons I called up the citizen soldiers of the National Guard to make sure we had the forces necessary to deal this challenge.

BERMAN: Yes, ten mile stretch of I-44, as you said, 100,000 people travel that every day. This will affect millions of people across the country, including in your state. Is there one area or is there one thing that you're most concerned about this morning, Governor?

NIXON: I think two things really. First of all, just don't drive into moving water.

[07:05:00] I mean, the 12 deaths that we have had are ones in which folks drove into moving water and perished.

Number two is we're going to make sure that people are safe in that St. Louis area there. You've got Pacific, you've got Eureka, you've got Valley Park. You've got areas where the water's rising high and these are highly populated areas, so setting up shelters at places like Francis Howell Senior High School, and places like that, so the folks who do have to leave their homes, we're going to make sure that they're warm and safe.

Bottom line, the other thing is, we're going to make sure that if they do have to leave their homes, they're kept safe. We're being in patrols there to make sure we keep the security tight, and make sure that the only people coming in and out is people working to fight the flood, or folks who live there.

BERMAN: You know, Governor, we keep on tossing around the term "historic" and this is being compared to what happened there in 1993. You know, you spent a long time in Missouri. You've been there your whole life. You know what happened in 1993 was devastating, so this comparison should be alarming to a lot of people.

NIXON: The levels of water, that's why you hear in my voice and you hear the voice of other people who are out there, we've never seen water this high. And when it goes above records, not by an inch but by two or three feet, you really don't know exactly how far that water is going to go. But the good side of this is it's going to move up relatively quickly. We've got a number of dry days here, cold but dry days. So we should get crests sometime late tomorrow night and then be on our way to beginning recovery. If we can get it going down, then we'll be over that hump. And we still got a full flood-fighting day today and all the way till midnight tomorrow night before we get to even near crest.

BERMAN: That's a long time. You're talking 40 hours right now before this starts to recedes. What will you be doing over the next 40 hours to monitor this situation?

NIXON: Well, we'll be obviously checking in with our state emergency management folks, making sure we have the Guard folks in the right place, working water rescues where necessary. Our water patrol, highway patrol working together. Its water division has done a number of rescues. Our helicopters are in the air flying to make sure that we see what's going on. And in areas where levees are being worked, we're providing the Missouri Department of Transportation not only employees but trucks to make sure that if those levees have to be shored up that they will. Working with our non-governmental organizations like the Red Cross to make sure there' warming shelters. Also warning people that if you get an evacuation order, get out thereof and get to a safe place, because this water is still coming up.

BERMAN: What's been your communication with federal authorities so far? Have you spoken to the president?

NIXON: I have not talked to the president. We focused all the local folks, whether it's the corps of engineers or the other federal agencies that on the ground with us, we're in the middle of a flood fight here. And certainly I'll be glad to talk to the federal folks, and they've been shoulder to shoulder with us, you know, pitching sandbags and helping us. We were down in, like I said, Perryville. They were helping us reshoot with -- making sure we know the height of the levee, the 30-mile levee, you got to have it within a few inches, where you're going to shore up, support.

So they've been good partners on the ground. That's been our biggest focus right now. We'll worry about the dollars that happen after this and the recovery later on, but right now we're in a massive flood fight across a wide swath of my state.

BERMAN: A flood fight, it's going to be a brutal one until midnight tomorrow night. Any last message you want to give to the people of Missouri?

NIXON: Two things. It's 28 degrees out there so it's going to be cold, so if you're out, make sure you're dressed for it. Number two, don't drive into water. And number three, we're going to make sure that the flood fights we can win, we'll win. But if we can't, we're going to get people out. But just because we get people out, just because the water starts going down, doesn't mean we're leaving. We're going to be there to rebuild all these areas to make sure they're back. It's important part of our state. It provides a great, great level of concentration of population as well great workers, and lots of friends. I'm from some of these areas. So we'll be out there in it with folks today.

BERMAN: Governor Jay Nixon, thank you so much for taking the time to speak with us this morning. We know you're busy, but it is such an important message. As you say, you are in the middle of a flood fight. We can hear the concern in your voice. I hope the people of your state are listening. Thank you, Governor.

NIXON: Absolutely. Thank you.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: You can hear the urgency and alarm in those authorities, and they're watching the levees throughout the region, they're monitoring them with water levels rising in a number of rivers.

CNN meteorologist Jennifer Gray is right there, live in Valley Park, Missouri. She's got a look at the timing and the forecast. Jennifer?

JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: That's right, Christine. You know, we are expected to reach that record level any minute. And in fact, we are going to go about three feet above that before this part of the Meramac River is expected to crest around midnight tonight.

Look behind me, this tells the entire story. You can see that overpass. That's Interstate 44 the governor was just talking about shut down. And you can see 141 that runs underneath it, which is also a main road through here, and it is completely under water. In fact, the water is almost to the interstate bridge right there. And you can see orange cones bobbing in the water. The road has been closed several hundred yards this way and so that indicates that the water has risen even more if it's carrying away those road closure cones. And so it's got to be about 12 to 13 feet deep right there under that overpass.

And so incredible flooding here. We are going to see record flooding right here along the Meramac River.

[07:10:03] Also this meets up with the Mississippi River. So not only here but we will see flooding in places like Paducah, places like Little Rock, even Memphis, during the next week or so.

St. Louis has had the rainiest year on record. They have received about 61 inches of rain this year. Normally they only receive 40, so they're about 21 inches above that. They've received 11 of those inches in December alone, and so you can see all of this water, too much water to handle, flows into the streams, into the rivers, several major rivers flow, of course, into the Mississippi where it meets up near here. And all of this water is going to flow downstream.

This is different from the 1993 floods -- that happened during the summer months. It was due to the snow melt as well as a lot of rain. This is happening at a completely different time of year. But everyone here does remember those '93 floods, and just as the governor was saying, that this is going to rival that. It's scary, Michaela, for the people around St. Louis and downstream.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: It certainly is. They are in for a flood fight, as Governor Nixon just said. All right, Jennifer, thank you.

Joining us right now, though, St. Louis district engineer from the Missouri Department of Transportation Greg Horn. Mr. Horn, thanks so much for joining us. Give us a sense of scope here. How prepared is your department for what is about to happen?

GREG HORN, MISSOURI DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION: Well, we're very prepared. We've been working on this for this whole -- this last week. You know, we had record floods here the month of December. We had over 10 to 12 inches this last weekend alone. What that did is it caused flash floods right off the bat that closed a bunch of roads. Now all those streams and creeks are flowing into the rivers, so the Meramac, the Mississippi, the Missouri River are all coming up. And that's closing a whole bunch of different roads. So we have over 224 state roads closed right now in Missouri. And it's really been difficult.

PEREIRA: It has been difficult. It's a real challenge, rerouting all of those people, especially when you consider that I-44 is a major trucking route. We know that there's some 100,000 vehicles that go through there per day. A ten-mile stretch of that is closed. How are you managing to route people to safety?

HORN: That's the tricky part. It's closed actually in two places, one in mid-Missouri and last night at 2:00 it closed in St. Louis. The problem is a lot of our detour routes are also closed. And so we're trying to find routes that can handle the trucks. Some of these are 100, 150-mile detours. So we're urging people to get to I-70. I- 70 is open. It was closed earlier this last -- this week from a flash flood, but it s open now, so anybody coming through Missouri, we're trying to urge them to take them Highway 70.

PEREIRA: OK, I-70 is open. That's a good message we hope will get spread to people that are trying to get in and around that area.

I'm curious what your message is to motorists right now. Are they heeding the advisories to stay clear of those roads?

HORN: Yes. Like the governor said, we had a lot of people drive into the flood plains, those floods, and 12 people have already passed away. Their cars got washed away. So stay out of those roads, stay away from the floods. You know, if you go to the MODOT website, you can look, click on our travelers map, and that will show you all the roads that are closed. So you can actually plan your trip. And we're urging people to do that, plan their trip as they're driving around Missouri.

PEREIRA: Yes, it's unfortunate, the timing of this, when so many people are trying to take to the roadways to see family and travel for the holidays. I think it's worth reminding people, we do it often here on CNN, of the dangers of driving through standing water or moving water. Remind people of this, because this is something where you said we've already lost enough lives. We can prevent this if people heed the call.

HORN: Yes, some people when they drive through, it looks like it's a few inches. But if it's flowing, it can push your car right off. And then other people, you really can't tell how deep it is. And so they'll try to drive through. It's a dangerous situation. We put those barricades up on purpose, to keep people out. We're working very closely with the police, the local police, the highway patrols, to try to keep people away from those areas.

PEREIRA: Yes, obviously there's a lot of agencies working in concert. The Department of Transportation relying on its partners and other agencies to make sure that these closures go off without a hitch and to get people where they need to go. What are your biggest challenges right now?

HORN: Well, right now, like I said, since I-44 closed last night at 2:00, is trying to route those people around and trying to get them to roads -- you know, the truckers, especially -- to roads they can make it. You can't send those semi tractor-trailers on small roads. These detours are miles and miles away.

PEREIRA: Well, and that river, the Meramac River, really winds around. I was looking at it on a map. It really winds around and when you see how many areas that it's already breached and how much water is there, it's really going to be a challenge for you.

All right, Greg Horn, thank you for your time. I know it's a busy day for you. We'll keep making sure people are aware of the closures. We'll point them to the MDOT (sic) website. Thanks for joining us.

HORN: Great. Thank you.

BERMAN: Scary situation there.

Meanwhile, a NEW DAY of protests expected today in Cleveland after a grand jury decided not to indict the police officer who shot and killed 12-year-old Tamir Rice.

[07:15:04] On Tuesday, demonstrators formed human chains, some closed downtown streets. Police say there were no arrests. Rice's family has accused prosecutors of sabotaging the case. Federal authorities are still reviewing it.

PEREIRA: Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is expected to unveil a new training plan for his embattled police department today. This is happening as dozens of protesters gathered outside Emanuel's house last night, calling for him to step down for allegedly covering up police misconduct. Those demands have grown louder since dashcam video surfaced showing Officer Jason Van Dyke gunning down Laquan McDonald last October. For his part, Van Dyke pleaded not guilty.

ROMANS: The new warning of the dangers of walking while looking at your smartphone. According to a new study, about 10 percent of injuries that land people in emergency rooms happen because of distracted walking. And some of those injuries are deadly. Ohio State researchers say millennials between the ages of 21 and 25, they are the most at risk. And the National Safety Council says about 80 percent are the injuries are the result of a fall, most of them happening at home.

PEREIRA: Oh, you want to see a journalist walking while texting? It happens in the hallways here. And oftentimes I'll just kind of like, hey, looking up. Walking while texting is dangerous. Just a reminder, friend.

BERMAN: Distracted walking.

PEREIRA: Yes, it's a problem. It's a problem.

All right, for more us here ahead on the fugitive "affluenza" teen or so he's called. The punishment that he could now face after fleeing the country. Ahead, we're going to speak with the father of one of the victims of the crash that Ethan Couch caused. That young man was injured in the drunk driving crash back in 2013. Stay with us.

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[07:20:31] PEREIRA: Ethan Couch, the so-called "affluenza" teen, is expected to return to the United States later today. Couch and his mom were apprehended Monday in an Mexican resort town of Puerto Vallarta. That teen is wanted for violating probation from a 2013 drunk driving conviction that killed four people.

Joining us now is Kevin McConnell, whose son was a passenger in that car that was hit by Couch and survived. He's joined by his attorney, Greg Coontz. Both of you joined us before here on NEW DAY. I'm glad to see you.

Kevin, maybe we can get your reaction to the fact that Ethan and his mom were apprehended. Were you surprised? Were you relieved?

KEVIN MCCONNELL, SON INJURED BY ETHAN COUCH: Good morning, Michaela. Oddly enough, my first reaction was really? Puerto Vallarta? You're going to flee justice into another country just to hole up in the one place in that country that you're most likely to run into somebody that's seen the news or the Internet from the U.S.? I didn't understand the logic there.

But my second thought was you know, Merry Christmas to the victims and their families.

PEREIRA: Yes, I imagine it provides a little bit of relief, though it doesn't bring back the loss of their loved ones. How does injure son Lucas feel about it all?

MCCONNELL: You know, we've tried to, since the civil case has been settled, we've tried to shelter him from that and let him move on with that. So we're kind of keeping him out of the loop. He knows what's going on but, you know, he's trying to move on and put this behind him.

PEREIRA: Well, that's what a good parent does. Kevin, you've said that you felt, you believe in redemption. But you've said that you think the only thing that is going to help this situation and this troubled young man that caused all of this pain was a lengthy incarceration. I want you to listen to what the Tarrant County, Texas, District Attorney said in her press conference yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHAREN WILSON, TARRANT COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: If he stays in the juvenile court, the maximum sentence he could receive is incarceration in a juvenile facility until he turns 19, which is April the 11 of 2016. That is not enough. The alternative is for his case to be transferred to the adult court.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PEREIRA: And if he goes to the adult court, the most severe punishment he could face would be 120 days in jail. Your idea of a lengthy incarceration not looking likely, Kevin. How does that sit with you?

MCCONNELL: Well, I'm no judge, but he's had four chances without incarceration and his recidivism has just continued. So the D.A. was originally asking for 20 years, and I've seen nothing that's happened so far that would make me change my mind that the 20 years wasn't a warranted sentence.

PEREIRA: Greg, as an attorney, how does all of this sit with you? We understand that they're bound by the original sentence.

GREG COONTZ, ATTORNEY FOR JENNINGS AND MCCONNELL FAMILIES: Hi, Michaela. That's the problem, is their hands are tied to some extent. Many times if you're talking about a minor juvenile crime, then this would make sense. But when you're talking something this substantial obviously, nobody thinks the laws are set up correctly and that this should be the result.

PEREIRA: So do you both think the laws need to change?

COONTZ: You know, it's always hard to take one case and use that to change the laws across the board, so that's a tough question. I think the question -- or the issue here more is the way it was done initially and the judge's decision, ruling, and keeping it in juvenile court.

PEREIRA: Kevin, I'm curious, given all of what your family has gone through and all of the other families of the victims that weren't as lucky as your son, do you still have faith in the legal system?

MCCONNELL: I do have faith in the legal system. I think actually -- I think the Tarrant County justice system will get to have a do-over. And I think in the beginning, the first part of this situation, I think all the moving parts functioned properly minus one weak link. And I think that we have a chance now to do this again minus that weak link.

PEREIRA: Well, part of this is also the role that his mother played in this, Kevin. You're a parent. You know that parents will do almost anything for their kids. But you also have to face the consequences of that. His mother was apprehended along with him in Mexico. How much blame do you think she deserves in all of this?

[07:25:03] MCCONNELL: I think she deserves a great deal of blame. I think she has never let him make decisions on his own. I think she has made decisions for him and they've all been bad ones, including where to run to when you try to escape justice.

PEREIRA: What I think is --

MCCONNELL: Another bad decision.

PEREIRA: -- amazing, Kevin, is you have, and you've demonstrated each time you've been with us on our air, you have a great deal of forgiveness. I think a lot of people would have a hard time having that kind of forgiveness for somebody that had done all of this.

MCCONNELL: Well, you can't harbor bitterness. I mean, I'm a Christian and we've all sinned. And we've all received forgiveness. So, and I can just quote Shawna Jennings on this -- who am I not to forgive Ethan Couch?

PEREIRA: Have you talked to some of the other families recently since his apprehension?

MCCONNELL: Yes, we're in very close contact with the Jennings family on a weekly basis. We speak with Eric Boyles from time to time. So we're in contact with those families.

PEREIRA: And what did they say to Ethan being captured?

MCCONNELL: You know, I think everyone is relieved a little bit. It's my hope that this will bring some peace to them and to my family as well. It's also my hope that now that the Tarrant County justice system does have another shot, that we can not worry about this rule or that rule and what the precedence is, but somehow common sense would prevail and proper decisions would be made.

PEREIRA: I think we could wish common sense for a new year's wish for all of America. I think it would probably be well received.

Greg and Kevin, thank you so much for joining us. Our best to your family, Kevin, and to the families that are still struggling with the loss of their loved ones.

MCCONNELL: Thank you so much.

COONTZ: Thank you.

PEREIRA: Coming up in our next hour, we're actually going to speak with the Tarrant County sheriff Dee Anderson. We'll get the latest on this case. John?

BERMAN: All right, thanks, Michaela.

Donald Trump versus the Clintons. It is getting personal if it wasn't already. After declaring that Bill Clinton is fair game, now Trump says his own personal life is too. Does he mean it? We'll discuss, next.

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