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Rick's List
Disaster in Arkansas
Aired June 11, 2010 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): This is a special edition of RICK'S LIST, "Disaster in Arkansas." Flash floods hit a campground while many families sleep.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The water crested this morning at about 5:30 local time. There are multiple camps along this stretch of the river.
SANCHEZ: The death toll still climbing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's everything. There are helicopters. There are sheriff's deputies, police cars, four-wheel drives. There are people on foot.
SANCHEZ: Who is trapped? Who survived? Who is missing? New information, video and interviews as part of your national conversation.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: Hello again, everybody. I'm Rick Sanchez.
I will tell you, this is starting to look like a real disaster taking place in Arkansas. There's more information coming in, but suffice it for me just to say this. They're now setting up a temporary morgue. They're bringing in refrigerator trucks, just so they can have a place to stack all the bodies they expect that they're going to be taking out of this campground in Arkansas.
I understand we now have some brand-new pictures coming in. Let's go ahead and go to those pictures. They're coming in from KEATU. As the video -- KATV -- pardon me, I misspoke. As the video comes in, I'm going to share it with you.
And Chad Myers is going to be joining me here in just a little bit.
As we look at these pictures, let me go over some of the new information that we have. We can confirm now there are 16 people dead -- 30 people have been rescued. They're not quite sure how many more people are still unaccounted for. But suffice it to say there could be dozens more that are unaccounted for, people that are missing that they hope to be able to be looking for. Some of them may be trapped. Some of them may have climbed trees. Now, why is this such an interesting story? This thing seemed to happen overnight just as people were either waking up or asleep, fast asleep, in this campground, in this campground vicinity. Suddenly, these flash floods came in.
You hear the word flooding a lot, but in this case it truly is exactly what -- what it says. It's a flash flood. In other words, it happened so fast that the people there didn't have time to react.
Chad's going to take you more through this in a little bit, and he's going to explain to you exactly how this happened and why in this particular geographic area, it happened the way it did.
But, as I continue, let me tell you where this is. It's Ouachita National Forest. It's just west of Little Rock. The area is called Camp Albert Pike. They say -- and this is somewhat ominous, as we look at these pictures and these maps -- they say there could have been as many as 300 people there in the campground.
And this is not one of those campgrounds where they take everyone's name as they walk in. Most of us who have been to campgrounds know that sometimes they will just record a vehicle, but not how many people are in the vehicle. And if you're in a big camper, it could be, in all, a lot of people.
Well, in this campground, they didn't even register the people who were going in. So, there's really -- it's very difficult to quantify what's going on.
We have been talking to the governor's office. We have been talking to the rescue officials there. We shortly are going to be talking to someone with a public information office for the state as well, who's going to bring us the very latest.
Let me bring Chad in now as we look at some of these pictures.
First of all, it's hard to tell as you look at these pictures. I mean, for all we know, this could just be a river. But it's what's underneath these waters that matters.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Right.
SANCHEZ: Why don't you start by telling us, Chad, where this area was and what exactly the flash flood seemed to do to these folks?
MYERS: Border between Oklahoma and Arkansas. You would go from Oklahoma City. Then you would kind of travel out toward Fort Smith toward Little Rock.
(CROSSTALK)
MYERS: So, this national forest, Ouachita National Forest, and Mena, and Talimena State Park and all of these areas kind of rugged, kind of way out there, part of the national forest system that you really -- you bring your stuff with you...
(CROSSTALK)
MYERS: ... because there's nothing to buy when you get there. OK? So, this -- and people want to be here because there are great rapids here. I would venture to say half the people that camp here are going to get in that river the next day, either get in their canoes, get in their rafts, get in their floats, or rent something and go down that river on purpose.
SANCHEZ: But the nightmare here is, we're getting some indications -- and, by the way, God bless them -- we understand a lot of families were involved with this...
MYERS: Yes.
SANCHEZ: ... little children with their moms and dads, whose bodies have been found drowned as a result of this.
From what I understand, there were people just camping, sleeping, when this thing hit. And they didn't know the water was going to suddenly come up on them, right?
MYERS: Yes, 3:00 yesterday afternoon, the river level was three feet deep. So, even if you tried to find something deep, you were at three feet. That's it -- 3:00 this morning, 12 hours later, that river was 20 feet deep.
SANCHEZ: Wow.
MYERS: It came up 17 feet. And if you're going to go camping and you want to park your little trailer, whether it's a pop-up or a tent trailer, you want to get it close to the water, because you want to hear the water trickling.
SANCHEZ: Right.
MYERS: You want -- it's the nice -- that's where the campgrounds were.
SANCHEZ: So, the closer you are to the water, the less...
(CROSSTALK)
MYERS: The deeper that water got.
And I would tell you the only thing that was going to save your life last night is a NOAA weather radio.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: That would have told you?
MYERS: At 1:30 in the morning, this NOAA weather radio went off for that county, went off. This went off. And if you had this on...
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: But the reason you're out there is because you don't want to be hear anything that has anything to do with technology.
(CROSSTALK)
MYERS: Exactly. And it was raining and it was raining hard.
SANCHEZ: Hold on. I think we got somebody to talk to.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: You want to join me on this thing?
MYERS: Sure.
SANCHEZ: Joining us now by phone is Tommy Jackson, who is a spokesperson for the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management there.
Mr. Jackson, first of all, sir, our condolences to you and yours and all the people of Arkansas. This is one heck of a thing to have to go through, sir. Thanks for joining us.
TOMMY JACKSON, ARKANSAS DEPARTMENT OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: It's my pleasure, and you're right. And thank you -- thank you for your thoughts and prayers.
SANCHEZ: Listen, we still don't seem to have a handle on this thing.
We're hearing numbers of about perhaps 16 people dead. You have rescued apparently 30. Could have been 300 people in the park. How many people are still unaccounted for? Do you know?
I don't know, guys, an exact number unaccounted for. And you guys have been touching on some of those reasons. But the situation is the state police are confirming now 16 dead.
SANCHEZ: Wow.
JACKSON: It's a very fluid situation, as you know. I mean, our -- we hope and pray that number won't go any higher.
More than 30 we know have been rescued. And we're -- we're hearing now that, at perhaps a minimum, 36 people are unaccounted for. So, the whole thing is so fluid. And, again, we hope and pray that they all will be found safely.
But, in the meantime, since early this morning, when it -- when news broke of what was going on down there, the search-and-rescue operation has been intense. There are numerous workers in there. Three-county search-and-rescue operation teams are in there. State police are in there.
Arkansas National Guard has sent a Black Hawk helicopter down there with lift capabilities. And, as you all were discussing earlier, how much that river surged in such a short time is very terrifying. And it's an area where people go for the views, and there are some great gorges down there.
And if they would have had their vehicles, those who had their vehicles, probably, it was not much help to them because of the low- water bridges. They would have been flooded. It happened -- the real -- the real wall of water, I guess, came in around 5:30 this morning, from what we understand. And...
SANCHEZ: But let me just add that we got some information that there's a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter with hoist capability that's now arrived in the area, able to lower soldiers from the chopper to perhaps I suppose do some rescues in that area, although, if people got caught up in that current -- OK, hold on.
We have got some brand-new pictures. All right, these are -- these are pictures from KARK. And are you able to see what we have on video? Do you have a monitor with you, sir?
JACKSON: No, I do not.
SANCHEZ: All right. We're looking at what appear to be cabins in that area right there.
MYERS: Yes.
SANCHEZ: And it looks like they have taken a pretty good hit. I mean, everything -- you know what it looks like? It looks like a hurricane, after a hurricane, or maybe after a tornado. Things are kind of thrown around a little bit by the water.
It looks like it came in and it left. But it may be the people who got washed down in this river who still are either unaccounted for or not.
MYERS: Sir, where did you get the number 36 missing? Where did that number come from?
JACKSON: That number has -- it's actually floated around from several of the emergency workers on -- on -- on the ground. I don't know exactly where it -- where it originated from.
MYERS: Right, because, you know, you hope that that's worst-case scenario, but there are people that may not even have been in contact with their family and the family doesn't even know that they're missing.
JACKSON: That's true. And we have heard -- we have had communication with some of the families, some family members who are trying to find out about their loved ones. And, man, it's a tragic thing, the waiting game, and, again, I know your prayers and our prayers all go out to them.
SANCHEZ: Well, we did hear earlier today -- we intercepted a communication, a police communication, I think it was one officer -- one agency talking to another, and they said something to the effect, guys, prepare yourself when you get here, because there are children who have drowned, and you will see things that will be kind of tough to look at.
Does that pretty much capture the sense of what's going on there out there on the scene?
JACKSON: I think, sadly, it does. And I don't know how many children. We have just heard that children are among the deceased, yes.
SANCHEZ: I will tell you, let's sneak a quick break in.
Sir, thanks so much. You know what? We will be -- we will be -- we will be trying to get back with you and touch base with you to find out what's going on. And my thanks to you once again. Let us know if you get anything else on this information. We are going to be dedicating much of this newscast to this story, and, as we get more information, Chad, you are going to hang in there with us, right?
MYERS: Of course. Sure.
SANCHEZ: You know what I want you to do if you get a chance when we come back? I always like to visualize this kind of stuff. Can you go over to the map and show us where this is in Arkansas and what the geography of the area is, so we can get a better sense for it?
MYERS: You have an east-west set of boundary mountains. They kind of run east-west. Most mountains don't do that.
SANCHEZ: Right.
MYERS: They go north-west, Appalachians, Rockies. But this particular set of mountains kind of goes this way, and the water funnels into these valleys, into these gorges.
That was a scary word that I heard him say. People go there to enjoy the gorges. Well, what happens...
SANCHEZ: Yes. Exactly.
MYERS: What happens to a gorge when you fill it with water. It goes up rather quickly, because it has no place else to go.
(CROSSTALK)
MYERS: It fills up the funnel.
SANCHEZ: It's like that.
MYERS: Right.
SANCHEZ: Right. When it's shaped like that, it's going to go in there.
All right. Let's take a quick break. Before we do anything else, let's just go to our commercials now, try and save as much time as we possibly can. We will come back. We're going to be all over this story. We will be touching up on -- touching on some of the other stories that are going to on in the news, but this will obviously be the thing that we're going to be dedicating most of our time to.
We expect new video, new information, new interviews that we can do. And Brooke Baldwin is going to be joining us in just a little bit to bring us up to date on what's going on, on this as well. Stay right there. This is a special edition of RICK'S LIST, "Disaster in Arkansas."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Something absolutely horrific has been taking place in Arkansas, and the first pictures are just now coming in. And if you stay with us, we're going to take you through this together, because we're seeing these pictures. We're getting some of this information for the very first time.
Suffice it to say that some people were at a campground in Arkansas in an area which is prone to flash floods. The flash floods did, in fact, come in. It happened while many of them were still sleeping early this morning.
They came in so fast and so suddenly that as many as 16 people have been killed, drowned. They're looking for another 36 people that may have been washed away in the flooding. The waters came through. There you can see what's left of some of the campgrounds.
Apparently -- and this kind of ominous even just to say -- there were as many as 300 people there at the time that this happened. Who knows where they were. It's hard to figure out exactly how many, by the way, because they didn't register as they came into the campground, but they were families. Children are involved.
This is a very sad story that we're following for you right now, the information still coming in. It's so remote, by the way, so remote, that some of the rescues crews are just now getting to the scene, because it's that far out from Little Rock, Arkansas. You see the map right there? And it's a very rugged terrain.
We are doing everything we possibly can to touch base with as many people as we can that can let us know what's going on there right now. And all of us have our hands in this story, including Brooke, who's joining me now.
I understand you have been making some phone calls, and you have been able to reach some people on the phone who may be able to give us some information.
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right.
So, as we're, of course, information-gathering, getting some of the facts and the figures, we also want to talk to some of the family members of some of the folks who may have been camping over the weekend, and one of whom is this woman Whitney Bettis, who is good enough to join me on the phone. Whitney and I talked earlier in the day. She's calling in now from Fort Worth, Texas.
And, Whitney, thanks for calling us.
First, let's just make it clear here it's your aunt and uncle who were camping at this campsite the past couple of days, right?
WHITNEY BETTIS, CONCERNED ABOUT RELATIVES IN ARKANSAS: That's correct. They have a cabin.
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: They have a cabin...
BETTIS: Yes, ma'am.
BALDWIN: ... around the property. When's the last time either you or someone in your family touched base with them?
BETTIS: Oh, probably a day or two ago. My mom, which my uncle is her brother, spoke with them and knew they were going to the cabin. And, earlier this morning, I started seeing reports on Facebook. And then I pulled up a couple of news Web sites, and I was just -- I was frantic.
You know, there's no cell phone service up there, and I knew all the phone lines had been washed away. So, we have been really, really concerned. And we got a phone call about 30 minutes ago that they are safe.
BALDWIN: They're safe?
BETTIS: And they're on their way home. Yes, ma'am. They are on their way home.
BALDWIN: Oh, thank goodness.
Now, you bring up a good point, Whitney, and that is the cell phone service is awful around there. And you and I were talking, and this is so remote. This is so rugged. You said you grew up going to this area every summer as a child. So, A, that's concerning, because it's a popular place for children. And when we hear these numbers trickled in, we worry about that.
And, B, paint the picture of this campsite for me. And I have never been there. Rick's never been there. How remote and rugged are we talking?
BETTIS: It's a good -- oh, gosh, from the nearest -- the way you measure things in Arkansas I guess is to the nearest Wal-Mart. It's probably a good 45 minutes to an hour to the nearest, you know, sit- down restaurant or anything like that.
It's very -- it's a beautiful, beautiful part of the state. And, like I said, I can remember sitting in the edge of the river and playing with tadpoles and catching crawdads. And it just breaks my heart that so much sadness is going to be associated with this place now.
SANCHEZ: When did you find out that your relatives were OK?
BETTIS: About 20 minutes -- 20 or 30 minutes ago.
BALDWIN: Wow.
BETTIS: My aunt, once they got out on the highway and got towards more of a populated area, they got cell phone service, and my aunt called my mom.
SANCHEZ: Thanks goodness. Boy, you must have really been...
BETTIS: Oh.
SANCHEZ: You must have been really all wound up all day, then, huh?
BETTIS: It has been -- it's been hard to sit here and watch it on TV. And watching that number going up, I just keep praying that that number of 16 stops. That is just terrible.
SANCHEZ: Let me take off on Brooke's question, because I think that was a really interesting question she just asked you. Put us in this place. Tell us -- you've been there. Can you imagine if you got this kind of flash flooding.
BALDWIN: In the middle of the night.
SANCHEZ: In the middle of the night. Why was it so difficult for people to, I don't know, climb a tree, run in a different direction, get away from it? Why do you think this thing has become -- or became the nightmare that it did?
BETTIS: You know, I -- I really can't answer it. I mean, it's -- that river, it's -- I'm watching it on CNN right now as I'm talking to you guys, and it just -- that water is so crystal-clear, of course, when it's not -- when the river's not rolling like that. And, but, like you said, I mean, it was early, early morning.
I'm sure panic hit because of where the campgrounds are. They are right on the bank of the river. But I'm sure, as water crept up in there -- or didn't creep -- it rolled up in there, I'm sure people just panicked and tried to get out the best way they knew how.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: You know what, Chad? Can you answer that question for us?
MYERS: I have it.
SANCHEZ: Go ahead.
MYERS: I have it. Here we go. This is Arkansas itself. And this is the Albert Pike campground. And just, rather than talk about it, let's bring people right down to it. Matt, go ahead. Let's zoom right in here. And we will take you to what we're going to see.
From Arkansas, right here, these east-west mountains I was talking about, the Ouachita Mountains, Ouachita National Forest, Mena, and Talimena State Park, and then over there would be Little Rock. See how these ridges are going this way how water runs through these ridges. There's the river we're talking about right there, right at the Albert Pike campground.
You can see these cabins all the way through here in the slightly lowered area, and then the water comes all the way up through here, so all the water runs into these valleys and then water only has one place to go, downhill. And it gets down into this valley.
And this is the strip that the water went from three feet deep to 20 feet deep in less than 12 hours.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: So, the people -- the people would have been camping right along here...
MYERS: Absolutely, sure.
SANCHEZ: ... when the water funneled into this direction.
MYERS: You can see the cabins that are permanent. And what you can't see are the R.V.s that actually can park there as well.
SANCHEZ: Because anybody has a right to go in there and just drive in and say, you know what? I'm going to take the kids down there and we're going to put up a little sleeping bag and a tent and we're going to just sleep right there next to the river.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: They could have done that last night.
MYERS: They could have.
SANCHEZ: And nobody knows they're there.
MYERS: And even the lady you're talking to on the phone right now, they actually had a cabin. And those -- we saw some of those pictures of those cabins.
SANCHEZ: Yes. Yes, they're torn up.
MYERS: Those cabins have been there a very long time. This water hasn't been this high ever that I can remember, and those cabins are torn up, so this could be a big-time record flood.
SANCHEZ: Brooke, finish up with the guest, if you would. BALDWIN: Whitney, and, also, just to reiterate a point, as we look at some of the maps and we some of the tents and where the cabins would be, you also made a great point to me on the phone, that being that the nearest road or highway is some, what, 15 miles away, and that's one of the reasons why it's taking these rescue crews so painstaking long to get there, right?
BETTIS: Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. It's -- and that's the allure of the whole thing, is everyone wants to go because it is so secluded and because it is so quiet.
BALDWIN: Yes.
BETTIS: So...
BALDWIN: These pictures are unbelievable.
BETTIS: I'm seeing the pictures of cabins that I remember from when I was 10 years old.
BALDWIN: Oh.
SANCHEZ: Wow.
BETTIS: This -- this is really hard to watch.
BALDWIN: Oh, gosh.
SANCHEZ: God bless you, Whitney.
BALDWIN: Whitney, thank you.
BETTIS: Thank you.
SANCHEZ: Our thoughts are with you.
BALDWIN: Thank you so much for calling.
SANCHEZ: Listen, this is a tough story.
BALDWIN: Good lord.
SANCHEZ: We're going to stay with it, breaking news on this Friday afternoon. As many as 16 people possibly -- well, 16 people dead, many of them washed away in this flash flood in the middle of the night in Arkansas.
We understand that there may be another 36 people that they're still looking for. There may have been as many as 300 at the park when this happened. We're getting all the information that we possibly can, and we're going to be talking to some more Arkansas officials in just a little bit.
We have been in touch with the governor all day long. And the last minute, just before we went on air, he told us, I have got to get in a helicopter and fly over this thing. And if I get off the helicopter, I will try to call you when we're up.
So, if the governor calls us, or he's listening to us right now, Governor, do what you got to do for your people, but if you get a chance to call us in, we will be happy to relay any information you want shared.
This is a special edition of RICK'S LIST, "Disaster in Arkansas."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Welcome back. This is a special edition of RICK'S LIST.
We're following a developing news story. There has been a disaster in Arkansas at a campground, a flash flood that suddenly came through and killed as many as 16 people. They're still looking for another 36 people. There were something like 300 people there, and we understand we're just now getting our very first aerials. Our very first aerial pictures are coming in.
Here we go. Chad Myers, come on over here. I have a feeling you might be able to help me with this, because sometimes it's understand -- it's important to know the geography as you look at these.
All right, we're seeing this for the very first time, folks, along with you. And there is part of the river. This is the Cato or the Missouri River.
MYERS: Yes.
SANCHEZ: Chad, what are you learning from this?
MYERS: Yes. This is the kind of...
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: Wow. Look at that.
MYERS: And that would be the low water. Remember, the emergency manager said there were low-water bridges that people would not have been able to get over anyway. Even if they woke up, even if they had a car, there was absolutely no possible way for these people to get over that.
And that water was over that bridge for quite a bit of time. Now we're now back down. This water actually went from three to 20, now back down to only down to 12 feet. So, you have to realize that this water was almost eight feet higher than this at one point, so that bridge was completely inundated.
There you go. See how this valley works?
SANCHEZ: Yes.
MYERS: You can just see that up on the very top of your picture, how all that water that fell into this bowl so to speak had to go down.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: And, by the way, Angie Massie, my executive producer, told me we're about to see some pictures of trees actually bowing. In other words, they were hit by the water. Oh, there you go. Look at that. Look at that. Look. You see those trees?
MYERS: Oh, of course, yes.
SANCHEZ: So, essentially, those trees were taken down by the water at one point. Now that the water has receded, all you see is the tree bent over back or bent over, right?
MYERS: Yes. And in three days, this will be back down to three feet deep, and it will be a trickle. It will be a perfect stream. Yes, you can see where this was much farther to the left and to the right of where it is right now...
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: Right.
See it just on the left there? You capture from time to time. You can see where the trees actually went and knocked those things over. That's an interesting image. Now we're getting some pictures from KATV. We want to thank both of our affiliates there, KARK and KATV.
(CROSSTALK)
MYERS: They have hustled. I'll tell you what, this is not an easy shot.
SANCHEZ: It's not an easy place to get to.
MYERS: It's not easy story. It's certainly not an easy shot, yes.
SANCHEZ: Well, those are some of the first aerials. We have got other pictures from the ground coming in.
And we also have now from the Arkansas National Guard spokesperson Captain Chris Heathscott.
Captain, thanks so much for being with us, sir. We appreciate your time. We know you're extremely busy today.
Fill us in on exactly what's going on there now.
CAPT. CHRIS HEATHSCOTT, ARKANSAS NATIONAL GUARD: Well, this morning, the Arkansas Guard was called to provide a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter.
So, at about 9:45, we deployed that chopper and got on scene about scene 30 minutes and/or to assist with the search-and-rescue operations. Along with Arkansas, it's my understanding that the Oklahoma National Guard had two (INAUDIBLE) helicopters just happened to be in the area, and they diverted their mission in order to support us with aerial reconnaissance to help us identify where individuals may be, so we can use our hoist operations to go down and pull people up.
SANCHEZ: Have you been able at this point to actually perform any rescues?
HEATHSCOTT: Well, at this point, we haven't been able to verify that because our choppers are flying so low. We have had communications in and out, and whenever we do have that communications, they are obviously very busy and really have no time to provide those updates, so the primary focus right now is just to pull the living out and help this community recover.
SANCHEZ: When you say pull the living out, you mean the people who are trapped -- we're looking at that bridge now that they have been told not to cross. You're talking about pulling people out of that -- what has really almost become an island now, right? Get them out of that area?
HEATHSCOTT: Right. We're just out there searching -- searching along the river there to try to identify anybody out there that is still -- still in need that we need to help pull out.
But, you know, we're here to support the community as long as we need to be here and get them through this.
SANCHEZ: What are you doing with the deceased?
HEATHSCOTT: That -- that right there is all completely up to the civil authorities. To my knowledge, our soldiers have not had any role in pulling those out. But I can't confirm that at this point.
SANCHEZ: We understand. And this is not for you. You don't even have to comment on this, sir.
But for the edification of our own viewers, we do understand that a giant refrigeration truck has been sent to the area, where they hope to create a makeshift morgue where they will stack some of the bodies as they get them out of the area. That in and of itself tells you just how drastic the situation is.
Back to the pictures. Chad Myers is joining us now as well.
Chad, we're on with Army National Guard spokesman Captain Chris, Heathscott.
Got anything for him?
MYERS: Captain, where were you last night when this rain happened?
HEATHSCOTT: Well, I was -- I live just outside of North Little Rock. (CROSSTALK)
MYERS: Did you experience the rain?
(CROSSTALK)
HEATHSCOTT: ... Little Rock, but I don't think it was near enough to make me think that we would walk into such an event today.
SANCHEZ: Really?
HEATHSCOTT: So, I mean, it was -- it was pretty surprising for me when I first got notified that this was going on, but I'm sure it's no more surprising in the community that is going through this.
SANCHEZ: Oh, that's interesting.
(CROSSTALK)
MYERS: Radar -- radar estimates, Rick, that there were nine inches of rainfall that fell in this one area, in this -- basically, in this bowl-shaped area.
SANCHEZ: Is that -- why is that so much? Why is that -- why is that apt to kill 16 people here, when I have heard of nine inches in other places before that didn't?
MYERS: Nine inches of rain in Miami, Florida makes nine-inch flood. Nine inches of rain in a valley, in a bowl, makes a nine-foot or in this case a 17-foot flood.
SANCHEZ: Wow. That pretty much explains it.
MYERS: Yes.
SANCHEZ: Stay right there.
Captain, thanks so much, sir, for taking -- oh, hold on.
Got new pictures coming in. Wow. Now we are starting to see some of the very first vehicles that have been turned over as well. Can you imagine? These are people who were just sitting in their R.V.s on a vacation they had so looked forward to, in many cases with their kids?
All right, we have got a live reporter now, we understand, is at the scene. He's going to join us when we come back.
Chad, hang tight. We will go through this together.
This is a special edition of RICK'S LIST, "Disaster in Arkansas," 16 dead, and the toll may be climbing. We will be right back.
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SANCHEZ: This is pretty unbelievable what we're watching develop now in the state of Arkansas. This is -- for those of you just now joining us getting home from work -- this is a special edition of RICK'S LIST.
We learned several hours ago that there was really this incredible nightmare of a story, people camping along this river at a campground in Missouri, off the Caddo and Missouri Rivers. It's called the Camp Albert Pike. It's in the Ouachita National Forest, when suddenly flash flooding developed, and many of these people were literally, well, taken away by these waters -- some of them in campers, RVs, in vans.
In fact, we got a chance now to talk to somebody who knows a lot about this. She's on the scene. This is Courtney Collins of our affiliate KARK.
And, by the way, even before we ask Courtney a question, you notice what's behind Courtney? There's actually a vehicle down there in the river.
COURTNEY COLLINS, KARK REPORTER: Right.
SANCHEZ: Chad and I were looking at this a moment ago and figuring that thing probably didn't start there. It probably got there.
Courtney, go ahead, fill us in. Tell us what you got.
COLLINS: Well, right now I'm in Glenwood. We're still in Montgomery County, which really suffered flooding across the board. But we're in Glenwood, which is about 13 or so miles way from the staging area where the real disaster at the Little Missouri happened.
Take a look behind me. Here's a great image of how much this river has gone up. That truck, a van you see behind me belongs to a paintball business. They said that didn't drip downstream, and at least, the waters didn't move it. That is just typically where they park it. That shows just how far the river has come up. The water is nearly up to its windows.
So, it's just -- the water receded a little bit since we've been here. But, at one point today, it was nearly to the road. So, it's really just been a devastating day for everyone. Glenwood not nearly as affected as down there in Langley at the Little Missouri River.
Hopefully, you guys have some of our video we sent you of the scene where all those people lost their lives.
We're being told by state police that there are 14 confirmed dead as a result of the flash flooding. They say there are also several who are still missing and many who are injured.
One air evac pilot told us at least 10 people have been transported to local hospitals and they still expect that number to rise. And air evac continues to go 10 miles north and south of the stream, looking for survivors and also, sadly, to recover more bodies.
SANCHEZ: Yes, we got a lot of that. By the way, we're confirming 16 people dead now, Courtney. You know, it's interesting.
So, you are -- you are, what, downstream or upstream of the actual area where the camp -- where the park is, right? When I first went to you, I thought you may have been in the park itself. But where are you specifically in relation to that park where the tragedy happened?
COLLINS: We're actually -- right. There's actually two rivers in this area. This is the Caddo River that you can see behind me, which is obviously moving quickly and the water is very high. The Little Missouri River is where everything happened. We're only about 13 or so miles from the town that's closest to the campsite.
The problem is cell service is a no-go out there. Also, the area is so treacherous surrounding the campsite, they can't really take us back there unless we have a state police escort. But we did get our photographer in there earlier today, that's how we were able to get shots of the campground.
SANCHEZ: So, needless to say, you're as close as we can get right now to be able to file the live story from there for us?
COLLINS: Exactly. It's been a lot of back and forth today, just because this area has been affected on both ends. But, yes, this is the closest we can get and be safe and show you what's going on around here.
SANCHEZ: What's the reaction, Courtney -- real quick, before I let you go -- what are people telling you, what is the reaction? If we were in Arkansas right now, what would people be talking about and saying?
COLLINS: I don't even think anybody can really wrap their head around how devastating this is. I mean, we have a lot of severe weather in the area. People here are used to tornadoes in the springtime, and flash flooding. But just 14 people lost their lives at a campsite all at once, no one can really get over it.
I talked to so many people who say, that's one of our favorite spots, we're out there all the time. They can kind of picture how one of the lower areas, how dangerous it could be to get stuck as the river starts to rise. So, everyone's devastated and everyone's also just thinking how close they've been to that situation so many other weekends when they've been out there.
SANCHEZ: And once again, CNN has now confirmed that 16 people dead, 36 people that they're still looking for.
Courtney, thanks so much for filling us in on this story as we -- as some -- and hold on. We've got new pictures coming in now.
All right, these are live -- these are live pictures also from KARK, that's the station that Courtney works for.
Hey, Chad, we've got new live pictures coming in if you want to take a look these just as they come in.
MYERS: It looks like that pickup there had tumbled a number of times. You see that there wasn't much room for anybody inside that thing.
SANCHEZ: I think there's a bulldozer over there. I think I just saw some kind of a --
MYERS: And you can see the road. Look at pieces of asphalt there on the right. That's where a rood used to be, there's not a road there anymore.
SANCHEZ: Oh, they're using bulldozers to try to clear the roads. They've brought in heavy equipment -- the road is gone.
MYERS: Gone.
SANCHEZ: The road's gone. My goodness!
MYERS: Completely washed away, which is why we tell you don't drive if the road is flooded because you don't know if the road is still there or not.
SANCHEZ: Wow.
MYERS: It was there when you left, but it may not be there when you get there.
SANCHEZ: We'll take a quick break. We're going to be right back. Stay with us. This is special edition of RICK'S LIST, disaster in Arkansas.
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SANCHEZ: What a story. For those of you just now getting home from work, we're dedicating our newscast today to this tragedy that's occurred like that in an area of Arkansas where people were literally sleeping while they were camping out and flash flooding came through and -- well, pretty much killed 16 people, 36 are still missing. There may have been 300 there. The very first pictures are now coming in.
Chad, as we look at these, what?
MYERS: Well, now we're getting to ground -- what we would call ground zero. This is where the people died. This is the campground -- and that was 13 miles away from where that reporter just was, and you can see how devastated that water was. It came in and literally washed away the asphalt on the road.
SANCHEZ: Geez.
MYERS: So, even if people were trying to get out, there was no where to go. This warning came out, and there was a warning at 1:35 a.m., by 3:00 in the morning, the water had gone up another eight feet. And by 5:00 --
SANCHEZ: But, again, it's all about -- and I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt you -- but it's all about -- the water just fell all in one place.
MYERS: It all fell into a bowl and that was the bowl. You can see it right there. The bowl is like this. It fell from the top of this ridge to the top of this ridge, and it just ran right down, because gravity works.
SANCHEZ: Yes.
MYERS: It ran right down to where the people were camping.
SANCHEZ: And if you were in a camper, an RV, a van, you literally would be picked up by those waters and moved.
MYERS: Yes, 12 inches of water can pick up a car, 24 inches can certainly pick up an RV and people were washed down and tumbled down in their RVs as they slept.
SANCHEZ: Good Lord. God bless them. We'll be right back. Stay with us.
This is a special edition of RICK'S LIST.
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SANCHEZ: All right. We've got some of the pictures coming in now from that campground that became really a tragic place. People were sleeping overnight.
Here we got some brand-new pictures. I want to thank those of you on Twitter who have been trying to suggest that my pronunciation needs a little help with both of those rivers. It's Ouachita and the Caddo rivers. I believe earlier I had said Wachita (ph) and Caddo. So there you go. Ouachita and Caddo, right?
MYERS: Right.
SANCHEZ: Here we go with some of the very first pictures. Now, Chad was pointing out to us moments ago that these are in fact the first pictures that we've seen that get us real close to the area where the tragedy occurred, where many of these people died, right, Chad?
MYERS: Those are parking pads. Those are pads where RVs should be and probably were last night, and the water moved every one of those from those parking pads.
SANCHEZ: And now, that area looks dry. But, obviously, the water came through there. Look at that, that's part of the road.
MYERS: And that's part of the problem.
SANCHEZ: How does that happen? How does the road get torn up by the water?
MYERS: The water goes -- gets underneath and literally sucks the dirt and washes the dirt away from the asphalt itself and lifts that asphalt away. It has such force.
You can't imagine what the force of a moving water stream can be, and some of the helicopter pilots were saying that they could hardly keep up with the speed of the river in their helicopter. That's how fast the water was rushing at times.
SANCHEZ: What is that up there, that white? That's a vehicle, some kind of RV or something?
MYERS: I believe you're probably right. That is what is left of an RV.
SANCHEZ: Good Lord.
MYERS: And this is right there in the main area where we were watching and I brought to you on Google Earth where all of these cabins, where all of these RVs would have been and how people would -- were there all night long, and at 1:30 in the morning, the warnings came in, by 3:00 the water was to them, by 5:00 the water was over their head, and there's nothing they could do about it.
SANCHEZ: Well, here's some of the information we can share with you now in case you may have missed it, that's been coming in to us. There are 16 people confirmed dead by state officials.
Look at that river, just going right over it. I imagine that is not a safe bridge right now, is it?
MYERS: No. And that water's down. That water was completely over that bridge an hour ago.
SANCHEZ: Sixteen people dead. They've rescued 30, but unfortunately, there are more than 30 that are still missing. Thirty- six people are unaccounted for at this time. They say there may have been as many as 300 people in the park at the time that this happened.
It's hard to tell, because this is not a park where they actually register people when they come in. They are welcomed. It's a very remote area, the Albert Pike Campground and they're welcome to just some in and camp for the night.
We're told, by the way, that they've had to make or bring in some refrigerator trucks because they're expecting that there may be more bodies and they're going to have to set up a makeshift morgue as a result of this -- as a result of this story.
When we come back, we're going to be joined by a woman who lives in the Albert Pike Campground, somebody who actually lives there. The flooding destroyed some of their cabins. We'll be seeing some of those in these videos as well. She's going to share some of the stories with us.
Brooke Baldwin is here with me as well. Chad Myers is staying with us for the long run.
And you're watching a special edition of RICK'S LIST. This is disaster in Arkansas.
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SANCHEZ: First things first, breaking news. Many of you just now joining us, it is a very terrible situation that's taking place in Arkansas. I'm going to take you right into the area.
You see that Albert Pike Campground there? It's a very remote area, and as you can see, it's cavernous. And when it rains right at the very top, between those two hills there, you can only imagine all that water's going to be funneled right into that river right there. That's the Caddo River. It's a combination of the Caddo Rivers and the Little Missouri Rivers.
And some of these very first pictures are coming in now. We're looking at -- wow, did you see the bark of that tree scraped off? Did you see that?
BALDWIN: I can't get over the bark, the pieces of road, the pieces of asphalt that are sort of now scattered among the area. The bridge --
SANCHEZ: That's amazing.
BALDWIN: -- just covered in water. It's unreal.
SANCHEZ: I think we've got someone on the phone who can talk to us who knows a lot about this area and it's probably breaking her heart to look at these pictures on our air.
Janice McRae has some cabins there at this campground. And I think we go her on the phone.
Janice, are you there?
JANICE MCRAE, CAMP ALBERT PIKE RESIDENT (via telephone): Yes, I am. And, you're right, this is breaking my heart.
SANCHEZ: I feel so bad for you. I'm so sorry.
MCRAE: I'm telling you, it's not about me. It's about these people, that this is such a special place for these cabin owners.
SANCHEZ: Were you there?
MCRAE: Yes, I was here.
SANCHEZ: When it happened last night?
MCRAE: Yes.
SANCHEZ: What did you see?
MCRAE: I was asleep, you know, it was raining but we didn't know that it was going to be flooding because it hasn't -- we hadn't had much rain lately. The ground wasn't wet, wasn't saturated. We weren't worried about it, we were in bed asleep, and about are -- I don't know what time it was, 2:30 maybe, a call came in from one of our cabin owners --
SANCHEZ: Hey, Janice, hold on just a moment, we're getting a -- we're getting a strange -- OK, it's gone. We're good. Sorry about that. Go on, Janice. Continue.
MCRAE: OK. I'm saying that the water was coming up in his cabin, so we jumped out of bed right then and got dressed and went down there. And we rescued two little kids, two little boys, off of the -- that cabin right there, that's on TV right now --
SANCHEZ: Really?
BALDWIN: You rescued two kids out of that cabin?
MCRAE: There was two kids on the top of that cabin, on the roof. Of course, that's all that was sticking out was just the roof.
SANCHEZ: Where were the parents?
MCRAE: What?
SANCHEZ: Where were the parents?
MCRAE: They were up with their grandparents, which are elderly, very elderly grandparents. And he was in the water. We could see him. There was a man that was with me. We both waded out to him. In the water and got him and pulled him to safety.
And then we found the grandmother. She was down in the water behind the cabin there. And we got her out. That was early. That was way before daylight.
SANCHEZ: And the kids were on top of the camper?
MCRAE: On top of the cabin.
SANCHEZ: On top of the cabin.
MCRAE: On that cabin. Now, yes. At daylight, it's really -- it was a -- it was a while before anybody could get in here, because the roads we'd had some cave-ins. And there was -- my husband got on his tractor, he went up and cleared the road so the emergency vehicles could come in.
BALDWIN: And, Janice, it's really easy for us to look at the pictures right now broad daylight and we're seeing sort of a destruction, the aftermath. But again, just to reiterate to people who may not realize this, this is happening in the middle of the night, in the pitch dark with all of this rain and flood.
MCRAE: I was talking to a young mother that did not know where her 5-year-old son, her 2-year-old daughter -- her husband.
SANCHEZ: Oh!
BALDWIN: Oh, my gosh.
MCRAE: She does not know or did not at that time where they are. She was telling me about how that they got the kids into the pickup and before they could get the pickup into the -- into reverse, that it was -- it started floating away.
SANCHEZ: Oh!
BALDWIN: That fast?
MCRAE: And then another car came and crashed into them. And their camper crashed into them and it knocked them all out of the pickup. And she told me about how that in the pitch darkness she was holding on to a tree that was coming down the river. And she said she could not tell anything.
You know, it was pitch dark. And every so often, there would be a vehicle that would rush floating by her with its park lights on, something blinking, and then she could look around and get a little bit of a sense of where she was.
BALDWIN: And, Janice, we're not just talking about a couple of families here. I mean, we're hearing, and you're the manager of the campgrounds. You can tell us, we're talking potentially hundreds of people.
MCRAE: Actually, I'm not the manager of the campground. This -- our property is adjacent to --
BALDWIN: Got you.
MCRAE: The forest service camp that's called Albert Pike, recreational area. And so, anyway, these were campers in all that were camped up --
BALDWIN: Got it.
MCRAE: -- in the forest service area camping area.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: Yes. They don't even -- we understand they're not even registered.
MCRAE: No, they don't. Well, you know what? They do -- part of it is just they don't register.
SANCHEZ: Right.
MCRAE: You just go in there and camp.
BALDWIN: So, we don't know how many people.
MCRAE: Yes, in the camping area itself, you register, but you put your name in an envelope in a box. And the box is -- you know, there's no way --
BALDWIN: This is rugged camping.
SANCHEZ: Let me ask you something I heard you say a little while ago. I heard you say that as soon as your husband went out there, one of the first things he saw was cave-ins. What do you mean by cave-ins?
MCRAE: OK. The road coming in here, as you were showing the Google Earth, the road coming in here is curvy. And it's -- you know, we're just in a valley. This is a -- this is a valley here.
Well, as you come on over into the valley and that road has been carved out of the mountain, there's place where is the ground, the water rushed through down the mountain, I don't know what I'm saying. But anyway, and it washed dirt off of the upper part of the road across it.
SANCHEZ: I see.
MCRAE: So, he had to push rocks and dirt and clay. And I don't know -- I really hadn't asked him about trees or whatever. But, yes, he had to clear a spot.
SANCHEZ: Hey, Janice, can you stay with us for a minute? We just want to get a break in and then we want to have you on when we come back. Is that all right with you?
MCRAE: Yes.
SANCHEZ: All right. We're going to do that. Janice McRae is taking us through this. She was actually there in the middle of the night when this tragedy occurred. She's going to join us on the backside. And we'll talk about, you know, some of the difficult conversations that are going to involve some of the families that maybe didn't make it, as well.
You're watching a special edition of RICK'S LIST, disaster in Arkansas. Brooke Baldwin's with me, Chad Myers is joining me, as well. We're going to be right back.
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SANCHEZ: Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez.
This is a special edition of RICK'S LIST. We're bringing you the very latest out of what is a certain disaster in Arkansas. And it happened suddenly.
In the middle of the night, people were camping at a park when, suddenly, flash floods came through, killed 16 people. They're still looking for 36. There may have been as many as 300 there. We're told 30 have been rescued.
And one of the persons who can actually take us through the story because she was there is Janice McRae. She has a cabin there in this particular campground. She was telling us moments ago as, she's looking at these pictures on our air watching CNN, it's very difficult for her.
I mean, it's -- it breaks your heart to see a place where you spent so much time and suddenly, you're seeing scenes like these, and reports of people who died and reports of people who had to be rescued.
She was telling us moments ago about a family, including two children with their grandparents who had to be rescued from the top of a cabin because the waters had risen so high.
Janice, thanks once again for joining us. We were just commenting during the commercial how great it is to have you here with us to actually explain to the American people what happened in the middle of the night here.
What do you know about those who are deceased? What are they doing to get them out of there? What did they do? How difficult was the task? Take us through that part of the story, if you would.
MCRAE: Oh, wow. Okay. Well, even before the rescue units got here, we were out looking. Those of us that were here were out looking. And there was -- two boys in particular that had gotten separated from their families, but they came over to where we are.
And we heard somebody screaming down at the river. And we went down there. And even though we couldn't rescue this lady, she was hanging on to a light post. And we couldn't get to her at all. And we were -- we were trying to get ropes and just anything to throw out to her. But it just wasn't happening.
These two young men were cheerleaders. They were saying you are doing a great job. You just keep hanging on. And you know, I think they saved her life because the water finally receded enough that a state trooper was able to wade out to her and get her and bring her to safety.
SANCHEZ: The people who have perished in this, did they drown?
MCRAE: Yes.
(CROSSTALK)
MCRAE: The ones that I have seen were drown, no doubt.
SANCHEZ: Yes. And the 36 they're still looking for, what is the possibility or your best guess that they may have just been taken down the river?
MCRAE: I think that the ones that got taken down the river are very, very lucky to be -
