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CNN Sunday Morning

Earthquake Hits Southeast Asia; Ukrainians Go to the Polls

Aired December 26, 2004 - 07:00   ET

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

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


TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, if you have been watching continuing coverage of the deadly tsunamis in southeast Asia this morning, our thanks to CNN international and anchor Shihab Rattansi and his team for doing such a fine job. We'll pick it up from there.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: From the CNN Center, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING. It's December 26th, 8:00 a.m. right here in Atlanta, 5:00 a.m. on the West cost.

Good morning, everyone. I'm Betty Nguyen.

HARRIS: And I'm Tony Harris. Thank you for being with us.

NGUYEN: And 8.9 magnitude earthquake strikes the Indonesian island of Sumatra, unleashing tidal wives across India and Southeast Asia. Thousands of people are dead or missing.

Today, Ukrainians are trying to elect a president, voting for the third time in two months. Kremlin backed candidate Prime Minister Victor Yanukovich faces Victor Yushchenko, who favors close ties to the West. Now the vote comes after Ukraine's constitutional court overturned portions of electoral reforms, which intended to avert fraud.

We, of course, will have a live report from our Jill Dougherty in Kiev a little bit later in the show.

Comair hopes to return to the skies this morning with the limited schedule. A computer crash grounded more than 1100 Comair flights on Christmas Day. Comair, based in Cincinnati, is a regional airline owed by Delta.

And aboard the International Space Station, the cupboard wasn't bare, but it was running low when a Russian supply ship docked yesterday. The craft brought much needed food, water, and fuel to the American astronaut and Russian cosmonaut who had been asked earlier to cut back on calories.

HARRIS: The very latest on the massive earthquake and deadly tsunamis is just ahead. Other stories coming up this hour, Christmas canceled for thousands of U.S. travelers grounded by a perfect storm of bad circumstances. We'll tell you want happened and where things stand today.

Also ahead, a Secret Santa hands out $30,000 worth of holiday cheer to some folks who have a whole lot of nothing. And later, a topic that weighs heavy on the mind of all of us at this time of year. We'll get some expert insights into winning the diet wars.

NGUYEN: Right now, though, we want to get straight to our top story. Thousands of people are dead or missing after a huge earthquake, magnitude 8.9, struck 12 hours ago off the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The earthquake triggered a series of powerful after shocks and tidal waves that killed people 1,000 miles away.

Take a look at this video. In Sri Lanka, waves 40 feet high swallowed parts of a port city, sweeping away hundreds of people. Many tourists are among those missing.

In southern India, enormous tidal waves killed at least 1,000 people in one state alone. People were swept away in their homes, their boats, and their cars.

Also in Thailand, what was described as a wall of water flooded the resort island of Phuket. One witness says the laguna beach resort is literally gone. And unconfirmed report says one entire coastal village is destroyed.

HARRIS: Last night's earthquake off Sumatra was the strongest recorded in 40 years. It caused tidal waves and killed more than 1500 people at the island nation of Sri Lanka.

CNN correspondent Satinder Bindra joins us now from the capitol of Colombo.

Satinder?

SATINDER BINDRA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tony, I watched giant waves roam into the capitol city of Colombo this morning. And the only way I can describe what I saw was imagine a giant vacuum cleaner in action. The waves came in. They quickly sucked everything out, homes, furniture, chairs, furniture, you name it.

Sri Lanka has just declared a state of national emergency and is now appealing to the international community for help. Tony, more than one million people in this island nation are now displaced. And more than 1500 people are already dead.

More than 3000 people have been killed on the eastern coast of Sri Lanka. And in the southern town of Gaul, which is a popular resort town, we understand more than 200 people there have been killed.

Amongst the dead in Gaul, at least 20 children. One naval ship has capsized there. And several sailors, about 20 of them, are still feared missing.

In the capitol of Colombo, where I am, a merchant ship just capsized in the Colombo harbor. Casualties there as of yet known. And just south of the capitol of Colombo, giant waves literally smashed the jail into smithereens. Some 200 convicts escaped. Amongst them, some of the most hardened criminals in this country.

As I drive along (UNINTELLIGIBLE) and drive along -- and driving along the coast right now, and all I can see is scenes of devastation. Homes have been destroyed. Debris littered all along the main road here. And people still scared, still fearing more tidal waves.

Back to you.

HARRIS: Satinder, just a moment. I have a quick question for you. Set the scene for us this morning. I understand that it was about 10:00 a.m. local time. Is that correct?

BINDRA: That's right. Tony, it was about 10:00 a.m. local time when I noticed this sea rising dramatically. The sea rose several feet in just a matter of about a half hour. And then the waves came crashing onshore.

Everything that was in the way, homes, minor shacks, everything was completely destroyed. And then, the sea, as I described, it was a giant vacuum. It just sucked everything right out. And the sea was so powerful that all the debris that it sucked out within an hour, all of that was gone. It had been sucked right out into the high seas.

The mood here is still one, Tony, of fear. And Sri Lanka is now appealing to the neighboring India and to the rest of the international community to do all they can to help.

Officials here are expecting the death count will still climb. And they say it'll climb dramatically. Back to you.

HARRIS: Satinder, thank you. Satinder Bindra from the capitol of Sri Lanka, Colombo.

NGUYEN: Now the damage across -- varied across the Indonesian island chain, but northern Sumatra, close to the quake's epicenter, was hit hard.

CNN correspondent Atika Shubert joins us now from Bali, Indonesia with more.

What is the latest there, Atika?

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Betty, as you know, the quake actually was underwater, about 100 kilometers off the coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra. And as you can imagine, northern Sumatra was the worst hit area.

There's still a lot of confusion as to exactly how badly hit it was. There are reports ranging anywhere from 150 dead to up to 400 dead. But what we're getting from local reports on the ground, descriptions it seems of devastation, especially along the coast there. Whole villages swept away, even reports of bodies being found in trees drowned -- people that were drowned and swept out to sea.

Now none of these reports as yet can be independently verified simply because communications in the area are completely down. I spoke to search and rescue teams in that area. And they say they're having a tough time simply gaining access to these remote coastal areas, much less trying to get information for there.

Now in the meantime, the government says they are sending emergency personnel. Two ministers are heading down there to survey the damage and see how to deal with the thousands that are now seeking shelter after their homes have been destroyed.

Unfortunately, the only thing that we know for certain is that the death toll is likely to rise -- Betty?

NGUYEN: In that death toll, we understand that it's mainly children. Is that correct?

SHUBERT: That's right. And a number of them were children, although we still don't know exactly the numbers. As I said, communication has been very difficult there in that particular area called Achet, the military has -- is out there now trying to help.

Interestingly, this area in particular actually had a bit -- has an insurgency going on. So there were quite a number of soldiers there, which in this respect was fortunate because they're infrastructure support that will be able to help people there. But we still don't know exact numbers.

NGUYEN: OK, of course we will continue to follow this all morning long. Atika Shubert for us in Bali today. Thank you, Atika -- Tony?

HARRIS: Well, Betty, let's try to understand some of the physics of the relationship between earthquakes and tsunamis. While these killer tidal waves were not technically a weather event, we can get some of the signs from our residence expert. Meteorologist Brad Huffines is here with some explanations.

Good morning, Brad.

BRAD HUFFINES, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Tony, I think the way that we can explain it most, at least what we're used to in the United States, is the storm surge concept. In the storm surge, a hurricane begins to move ashore and it pushes this wall of water toward the shoreline. Then once the winds stop, the water then that's been onshore begins to rush back out and offshore, and takes the debris that the lapping waves cause, and takes that all back out to sea.

What you're looking at now is the Indian Ocean. There's the large island nation of Sumatra. And that's, of course, we've talked about, where the earthquake was just offshore.

And this is actually a part of -- you've heard of the science -- study of science called plate's tectonics. The earth is actually made up of several plates -- large plates.

This is the Indo Australian plate here. The java trench right along the coast of Sumatra. That's where these plates, the Pacific plate and this Indo Australian plate sometimes grind. When there's grinding, those grindings happen, the ripples off that are the earthquakes. And of course, these ripples that happen in the ocean then -- have a United States Geological Survey animation for you -- when you see an earthquake like that happen, it causes such a shake that the water actually then ripples.

And notice that big wall of water that goes out in all directions, west, east, north and south from the center of an earthquake. And again, that's the United States Geological Tsunami model for the Pacific Northwest.

But the way that that applies to this situation here across the Indian Ocean is that once we saw the earthquake off the coast of Sumatra, that ripple that you see on the U.S.G.S. map from left to right, that big ripple then began to move across the Indian Ocean, and again affecting the east coast of Sri Lanka here, and also the coastline of India.

This is the country of India. What saved Malaysia in this situation -- Malaysia is the island right here with actually the peninsula with Burma here, what saved that is actually the shoreline of Sumatra itself. It kept the waves and blocked those ripples from heading off to the east, but it did head off to the west, causing the devastation in Sri Lanka and India.

You'll see much more of this kind of story as the day progresses on the stories of the ripples, Tony.

HARRIS: OK, Brad, thank you. And again, stay with us as we continue to cover the devastating events in southeast Asia. More on the earthquake and the deadly tsunamis in just minutes.

NGUYEN: Right now back here in the U.S., Comair plans to resume flying, but only on a limited basis today after canceling all of its flights yesterday due to a computer system crash.

The cancellations affected 30,000 travelers in 118 cities. That's just one problem that's made getting from here to there this holiday weekend a nightmare for air travelers.

CNN's Deborah Feyerick reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Her eight- month old daughter was sound asleep at the Kentucky Airport in Hebron Christmas Day, but Tina Tomissetti was fighting back tears.

TINA TOMISSETTI, TRAVELER: Because my daughter's baptism is tomorrow at 1:00. So we figured we've already missed Christmas. So they left with no choice but to hit the road and hope the weather's good.

FEYERICK: They missed Christmas. So did tens of thousands of holiday travelers across the country, all of them waiting with no word of when the get out or how long it would really take. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's so terrible. I've had four cancellations today. I've been run through five different gates. Nobody's told me anything. And my flight was six hours ago.

FEYERICK: Delta subsidiary Comair canceled all 2300 weekend flights. The airline says bad storms earlier in the week caused bad back-ups, triggering a computer crash.

DON BORNHORST, COMAIR SPOKESMAN: Our scheduling system, the system that we use to schedule our pilots and assign them to flights, failed.

FEYERICK: For the lucky ones who did make it out, presents got lost when bags failed to show.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They have luggages piled everywhere. So this could be a piece of paradise.

FEYERICK: In Philadelphia, the transit point for U.S. Airways, an airline spokeswoman says a high number of baggage handlers and flight attendants called in sick, making bad weather feel even worse.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, the weather's a problem, but this is beyond weather. This is just a lack of concern for the patrons.

FEYERICK: Said one man summing up the bitter sweet nature of holiday travel...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Waiting for the bags took as long as the flight just about, but it was worth it though. Just glad to be back in Philadelphia.

FEYERICK: Good to be back and even better to have the trip finally over.

Deborah Feyerick, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: Well a real life Santa Claus visited a Colorado homeless shelter yesterday and had the residents there believing in Christmas miracles. We will have that story.

HARRIS: But first, a white Christmas weekend in Cincinnati. The forecast for you and the rest of the U.S. coming up.

And here is our e-mail question this morning. Finish this sentence. "Tis the season to be..." and then tell us why. We're at wam@cnn.com. We'll be reading your replies throughout the morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Other stories in the news across America, a somber Christmas holiday at Fort Lewis, Washington. Dozens of people turned out for a candlelight vigil to remember the soldiers killed last week by a suicide bomber at their base in Mosul. Six of the dead were from Fort Lewis.

At Washington's Dulles International Airport, a family from Los Angeles traveling to Louisiana for the holiday was forced to leave their 16-year old son behind at the terminal. Despite having a valid ticket, the airline refused to allow the teen to get on the plane. They told Michael Jones that his name was on their no fly list. The mix-up was eventually resolved and he was put on a later flight.

And in the NBA, the Pistons and the Pacers met for the first time since their ugly brawl five weeks ago. This time, everyone was on their best behavior. Everyone behaved. And the Pistons won, 98 to 93.

NGUYEN: Well, the streets of Denver can be a hard place to live, especially at this time of year. Christmas was just another day for many of the city's homeless. Then Ben Franklin arrived.

Lane Lyon at Denver affiliate KMGH has that story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The man was just like an angel.

LANE LYON, KMGH NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Amazement is all around the Samaritan House in Denver.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am so little over the shock.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can I help you?

LYON: It started when Steve Holden answered the door. He says the man ringing the buzzer appeared to have a bodyguard.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They said they would like to give a cash donation. I says well, what kind of a cash donation? He said, "Well, can I come in and show you?"

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He told us that he had been down in the past. He had had some hard times in the past. And he wanted to give something back. And that's about as he would say. He wanted to remain anonymous.

LYON: Out came the money, all in $100 bills, all for people spending this Christmas homeless.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A kind of sobering feeling to be in a shelter on Christmas Eve. You know, but it -- you know, when things like this happens, it totally changes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When he came in and started to donate the money, had a big smile on his face.

LYON: In 30 minutes, he gave $35,000 to 300 residents.

REV. JOHN LAGER, SAMARITAN HOUSE: One family received a large donation, we think somewhere in the vicinity of $5,000.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Merry Christmas.

LYON: For people like Francine, the money is part of a fresh start, all thanks to the mystery man with a big wallet and even bigger heart.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's given everybody a lot of hope.

LYON: Lane Lyon, 7 News.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: And updating our top story this morning, thousands of people are dead or missing after a huge earthquake and deadly tsunamis. The earthquake registered 8.9 on the Richter scale. It struck 12 hours ago off the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The earthquake triggered a series of powerful aftershocks and tidal waves that killed people 1000 miles away. We will continue to update you on this story throughout the morning. And more straight ahead, when CNN SUNDAY MORNING continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Take a look at this. For the first time in 50 years, folks in Louisiana had a white Christmas. You're looking at the streets of New Orleans.

It wasn't all merry, though. Ice caused long stretches of Interstate 10 to shut down. Travelers will be glad to hear that today's temperatures in the area will get to above 50 degrees, but should take care of any lingering ice.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: Well, all morning long, we've been telling you about the deadly earthquake in southeast Asia and the devastating tsunamis. Thousands of people have been killed.

It struck about 12 hours ago off the Indonesian island of Sumatra. In Thailand, for example, at least 248 people were killed.

On the phone with us right now is Will Geddes. Will was actually -- Will, you there?

WILL GEDDES, EYEWITNESS: Yes, I am. I can hear you loud and clear.

HARRIS: You were vacationing in the area?

GEDDES: Indeed, indeed. Yes, I'm currently in Phuket and...

HARRIS: Phuket, OK.

GEDDES: ...we hit quite a lot of the rebirth on the earthquake and also the tidal wave. HARRIS: OK, Will, so I'm going to need you to set the stage for us. I understand that the tsunami hit at about 10:00 local time. Is that correct? And if you would, take us back to those moments just before, what kind of a day was it, and then describe for us what happened shortly thereafter?

GEDDES: Sure. Not a problem. The timeline on it was a little bit earlier than you've got there.

HARRIS: OK.

GEDDES: It started off with the first earthquake aftershock kicking in about 0600 this morning. That was followed by a second shock, which came through just after 8:00, which actually shook the villa that we were in.

About an hour and a half, hour and a quarter later, I was down on the beach. And the actual tide had pushed out quite substantially from the actual beach line. I investigated obviously by going down, having a look.

And literally, within moments from the water actually being up to my ankles, it actually came up to my chest within literally seconds as the first tidal wave hit.

And people very quickly evacuated off the beach. And the literally two waves later, the whole of the beach area was completely wiped out.

HARRIS: Wow. And Will, give us a sense of what it -- that's like when you start out with water at your ankles and what do you -- look to the horizon? And next thing -- I guess they -- the idea that we have is that we see this huge wave rolling in, but you were there. Describe it for us.

GEDDES: Well, to be honest, it's very different to what one imagines it's going to be. It's not like it is in the movies, where you see a big crescent wave and a couple of fishing boats caught up in it.

HARRIS: Yes.

GEDDES: It's a little bit like if you imagine looking at the bath in your home that you run, and one that is quite empty. Next, then it is at the top level. And it literally fills up very, very fast. So it's almost the water line just comes straight up.

You don't actually see any waves as such.

HARRIS: And Will, what is it like on the ground for you now?

GEDDES: Well, at the moment, everybody's in a little bit of shock. Obviously, we're very concerned about the local people here. There are some local traders who operate from the nearest beach. Their whole business has been completely wiped out. You have a lot of resorts which have beach villas. They have been completely decimated. In fact, there's a gym on the beach at the resort I'm staying at. And there was a -- you know, 400 kilo weight machines there, which were literally thrown straight through the building into the lake behind. It was a very powerful force.

HARRIS: OK, Will. Take care of you. Take care of your family. And thanks for that wonderful description. We appreciate it.

GEDDES: Thank you, sir.

NGUYEN: And we will continue our coverage of this earthquake and the tsunamis that follow, killing thousands in southeast Asia today. Stay with us for that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: We have updates on a deadly earthquake and even deadlier tsunamis off the coast of southeast Asia. Welcome back. I'm Betty Nguyen.

HARRIS: And I'm Tony Harris. Here's a look at what's in the news right now.

Thousands of people are dead, missing in southeast Asia this morning, after the strongest earthquake to hit the planet in 40 years. The 8.9 magnitude quake was centered off the Indonesian coast. It sent deadly tidal waves surging into Thailand, Sri Lanka, and India.

In Ukraine this morning, people are heading to the polls again. Two candidates are squaring off in a repeat of the presidential election. The previous vote was tarnished by allegations of massive fraud, which sent thousands of protesters into the streets. We'll have a live report from Ukraine in just a few minutes.

Canceled flights, lost luggage, and a night on a cold airport floor. That's what thousands of people are facing, as they try to head home for the holidays. The computer glitch forced Comair to scrap all of its 1100 flights yesterday. Limited flights are planned today. Thick snow and icy roads are also causing some travel headaches.

NGUYEN: We have more now on the massive earthquake that's left more than 3,000 people dead across south Asia. It was centered off the coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra, where hundreds of people are reported dead.

The quake churned up the seas as far as 1,000 miles away, triggering tidal waves that wiped out coastal areas in Sri Lanka, India and Thailand. Most of the deaths happened in Sri Lanka and India. More than 1500 killed in Sri Lanka. And that death toll could rise.

The tidal waves also wrecked a high security prison there, allowing some 200 hardcore inmates to escape.

In India, at least 1,000 people are reported dead. Massive waves that flooded the southern coast.

And in southern Thailand, the waves wreaked havoc in some resort areas. One British tourist says it looked like the whole sea rose up.

We want to go live now to Southern India, which is still reeling from the deadly tidal waves.

CNN's Suhasini Haidar is in the Chennai area. And she joins us on the phone with the latest.

What are you seeing right now?

SUHASINI HAIDAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Betty, we're actually at the Chennai beach area. That's where some of the worst devastation of this morning. Ambulances are still lined up here. And we see local groups distributing medicines and food supplies.

Those are nearby. What we're seeing is trees uprooted everywhere. Several homes have been damaged along the beach.

Now officials are saying this state of (UNINTELLIGIBLE) is the worst affected of all the Indian states, putting the figure of those killed here at more than 900.

Here in this city, officials are saying more than 100 bodies have come in since the morning.

Betty, many of those who were killed today were people just walking along the beach. Officials telling us some even came here to look at these inordinately high tidal wave that occurred after the earthquake.

This morning, some of those waves more than three meters high. Officials are saying they are trying to gather reports from everywhere. What they're really worried about now are the numbers of those who are still missing. That's more than 2,000 people in this state -- Betty?

NGUYEN: And let's talk about rescue efforts. Right now, how difficult is it to get into those hard hit areas, to try to find survivors?

HAIDAR: Well, many of those who are feared missing or dead are actually in the water. When this earthquake occurred, it was about 5:00 in the morning.

Now this in the time where traditionally Indian fishermen would still be offshore and out to sea. So we are seeing coast guard helicopters going out there, looking for any survivors.

The Indian prime minister's already sent several central ministers to try coordinate relief efforts. And we understand that they are trying to put into place some sort of, you know, get the army to start dropping food supplies and people to really assess the damage. But they're saying it could be several hours before they even know the extent of how bad -- the effect of these tsunami waves could have been -- Betty?

NGUYEN: And we will continue to follow this. Suhasini Haidar in Chennai for us this morning. Thank you.

We have much more to come on CNN SUNDAY MORNING on the quakes growing aftermath. We'll have more live reports from the hardest hit areas. So stay with us.

HARRIS: To other news now, they're re-running the presidential election in Ukraine. And much has happened since the first vote last month. That election was declared fraudulent.

A so-called orange revolution flooded the streets of Kiev with protesters. And according to his doctor, someone poisoned the opposition candidate. Sub plot on top of sub plot.

CNN's Jill Dougherty is covering today's vote from Kiev.

Hi, Jill.

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Tony.

Well, it really is subplot on subplot. And people here are calling this an historic vote because after all, don't forget, as you pointed out, three times, this is the third time that they will go to the polls. And they're hoping that this will be it, that they will finally have a legitimately, legally elected president.

Now we've already seen the two candidates, the two candidates who were running right from the beginning. That is Prime Minister Victor Yanukovich. He already went to the polls, cast his vote.

And then we also have the opposition candidate, Viktor Yushchenko. He has been to the polls as well. And then finally, the outgoing president, also a main character in all of this. And he is President Leonid Kuchma.

So all of them have cast their votes. And here we are. We're at the university -- the ancient, or very old university here in Kiev. And this is a voting place where maybe we can explain a little bit about how this happens. Similarly to other countries, back there in the back, you'll see a table. And that is where voters come in and show their ID. And they register over there.

And then they will pick up what we would call a ballot, what they call a bulletin here. It's paper ballot. And then they're going to go over. As you can see, this woman going into the booth behind that curtain. And she will cast her vote.

And then here's a lady coming out, in fact. Again, a paper ballot, which she's putting into that urn, the glass urn. Those will be standing there until 8:00 p.m. local time tonight, when they will all be counted. And Tony, the main thing is what they tried to do, is get rid of some of the problems that created real difficulties in that run off election that was annulled. A lot of it had to do with absentee ballots.

For example, there were a million and a half absentee ballots. Now there are only 188,000 of them. So they're trying to eliminate problems and make sure that this is very clean election.

HARRIS: And Jill, you now, we always ask the question in any of these elections, these days, turnout -- voter turnout. Do you have an idea of how it's looking on that front?

DOUGHERTY: You know, the latest report that we had from the central election commission was actually just from 11:00 this morning. So that was relatively early a few hours ago.

And it was slightly lower than normal, somewhere around 18, 18.5 percent. But now local time, it's 3:00 p.m. or actually about 3:00 p.m. So presumably, you know, we have another five more hours of voting. We'll see how that turns out.

There's a lot of interest in this, obviously, from both sides. People who support both candidates.

HARRIS: And my goodness, around the world. Jill Dougherty in Kiev for us this morning. Jill, thank you. We appreciate it.

NGUYEN: And as you've seen this morning, it's been a busy news day on this Sunday. We've got a lot more to tell you about, including we have a story on an American hero. That's coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Do you recognize that face? Well, you usually see him on stage behind Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, a spot he has savored for more than two decades.

Rolling Stones keyboardist Chuck Leavell live right here on CNN SUNDAY MORNING at 9:00 a.m. Eastern.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Battle wounds normally signal the end of a serviceman's career. But Marine Sergeant Nick Popaditch is not your ordinary grunt. Despite losing much of his sight, Popaditch exemplifies the hero warrior.

CNN's Casey Wian has his story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Gunnery Nick Popaditch is doing what he loves best, showing off an M1-A1 battle tank, the kind he's commanded through two Gulf Wars. GUNNERY SGT. NICK POPADITCH, U.S. MARINE CORPS: There's no weapons system in Iraq currently employed by the anticoalition forces that can take this thing off the battlefield.

WIAN: Popaditch rolled into Baghdad's Fidol (ph) Square on a tank he named Carnivore. He and his fellow Marines helped the Iraqis take down the now infamous statue of Saddam Hussein.

POPADITCH: We really felt at that time we were seeing these people liberated, these people were being freed. And they certainly were reacting that way. And it was just -- it was just an incredible moment to be part of.

WIAN: Popaditch completed the deployment and came home but just a few months later volunteered to go back with another unit.

POPADITCH: I'm a Marine. If Marines are off fighting somewhere, I don't want to be home watching on TV. I want to be there. I want to be with them and be part of it.

WIAN: This time he found himself in Falluja in a tough firefight with insurgents. A rocket-propelled grenade almost cost him his life.

POPADITCH: The other one came from straight down above me. It hit me right on top of the head, right about here.

WIAN: The explosion took out Popaditch's right eye and left him partially blind in his left eye and deaf.

POPADITCH: There is -- there's like a cap in there. I don't know if this is gross or not. It's not gross to me or anybody, but there's just a -- there's just a cap in there.

WIAN: Popaditch can't read but says his sight gets better every day. He can't hear with one ear and hopes a hearing aid will help the other. In spite of the ordeal, he feels lucky.

POPADITCH: It never struck me as a tragedy or anything like that, because you've got -- I'm perfectly fine from the neck down. I'm perfectly healthy.

WIAN: While he recovers, Popaditch hangs out with fellow Marines in the tank maintenance yard, anxious to get back to work.

POPADITCH: I'd go back in a minute. As soon as I can see again, that's my plan.

WIAN: And he hopes his 15-year military career will continue.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: We bring you hero stories every week on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

NGUYEN: New Year's resolutions mean weight loss is a top priority for lots of you out there. Up next, which diets work and which ones are doomed from day one?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Updating our top stories, the largest earthquake in 40 years hits northern Indonesia today. The magnitude 8.9 quake triggered aftershocks and tidal waves that killed thousands of people across Asia up to 1,000 miles.

Voters in Ukraine are going back to the polls today to pick a new president in a closely watched repeat election. The new vote was triggered by a fraudulent runoff and massive protests over it.

A little relief today for stranded holiday travelers. Comair says it will resume its flights on a limited basis. The Delta subsidiary canceled all 1100 Christmas Day flights, wow, because of a computer problem. 30,000 travelers were affected.

And we will go live to Reagan National Airport outside of Washington to see how the sky bound traffic is flowing this morning. That's ahead in the 8:00 hour of CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

NGUYEN: Well, right now, you've had the Thanksgiving turkey, the Christmas ham, and all the fixings. Now you might need a recipe for shedding those extra holiday pounds. Losing weight is usually the number one New Year's resolution for most Americans, but picking a diet that works, well it seems to get tougher each year.

So joining us now from New York with some tips is registered dietitian Lisa Drayer.

Good morning to you.

LISA DRAYER, REGISTERED DIETITIAN: Good morning.

NGUYEN: Well, let's talk about these diets. Why is it so hard to keep up the diet and keep those pounds off?

DRAYER: I think it's difficult for a lot of individuals because they don't adopt healthy eating habits that are sustainable over the long terms.

So many times, people are looking for a quick fix approach. They want to lose weight for an upcoming event to fit into a dress, whatever the reason may be. And they often take drastic measures in order to lose weight. So maybe they're following liquid diets for a few days, completely eliminating carbohydrates from the diet. These are not sustainable behaviors.

And I find that people have success when they make small changes in their diets. They downsize their portions. They switch from whole milk to skim milk in their coffee.

NGUYEN: Little things like that, yes.

DRAYER: Exactly. Or be realistic about it.

NGUYEN: Or walking more.

DRAYER: Exactly.

NGUYEN: Well, you know, it technically still is the holiday season. So is it smart to go ahead and start that diet now? Or should you be a little realistic and wait 'til after the new year?

DRAYER: Right. I would say give yourself another week, if you do enjoy the holiday foods, which many of us do. We might not...

NGUYEN: Oh, yes.

DRAYER: Right. But the important thing is to have a plan for the new year. So for example, don't just say -- wake up on January 1st and say, OK, I'm going to start to lose weight, and I'm going to start to eliminate a lot of the foods that I like. Have a plan. Think about what approach is going to work best for you. Are you someone that's going to benefit from having a detailed meal plan, showing you exactly what you need to eat?

Or are you someone who prefers an approach where you're choosing specific types of foods. For example, healthier carbohydrates, healthier fats in your diet?

Are you going to benefit from meeting one on one with a registered dietitian, who can tailor your diet? Have a plan in place. Know how much exercise you're willing to do. Think about that during the next week. Don't worry so much about losing weight in the next seven days, but do have a plan for the following year.

NGUYEN: OK, but when we talk about these plans, there are so many different diets out there. We've got the Atkins. We've got the South Beach Diet, the Zone. Let's break them down. Which ones work?

DRAYER: Well, you know, all of that can work. The question is which ones help you lose weight and keep it off over the long term? And in terms of which one is best, I'm often asked this question, but it really depends on which approach is best suited for one's lifestyle.

So for example, if you like the convenience of meals and shakes, you don't have to worry about portion control, then maybe Slimfast is the right approach for you.

If you don't love counting calories, you'd rather pick healthy carbohydrates and good fats in your diet, maybe South Beach is the right plan for you. However, you still need to watch portions.

If you like group meetings, if you like the group support, and you like having a budget of points, where you still have a limit of what you're supposed to eat, but you still have flexibility within that limit, then maybe Weight Watchers is the right plan for you.

So it really depends on what's going to best suit your lifestyle. Some people like meeting with a registered dietitian, going face to face, one on one in person. NGUYEN: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) exactly what you need.

DRAYER: Exactly.

NGUYEN: So basically the goal here is a lot of plans out there. They all work, but you have to be realistic and stick to it.

DRAYER: Right. But pick the one that's best suited to your lifestyle. Do your research. Find out what's involved in the program. Is there support available? Is exercise a part of the program?

But no matter which approach you take, if you're not limiting your overall calorie intake compared to what you were previously doing, they're not going to work.

NGUYEN: Then it's not going to work. All right.

DRAYER: Exactly. And 500 is the number. 500 each day.

NGUYEN: That's the magic number.

DRAYER: Exactly.

NGUYEN: OK, Lisa Drayer, registered dietitian. Thank you.

DRAYER: Thank you.

NGUYEN: Tony?

HARRIS: And the stork makes a Christmas e-delivery, but in an unexpected place. It's a story to tell the grandkids, that's for sure. It's coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Look at that. Good morning, Washington. Here's a live look at the White House, where the Broadway hit, not at the White House, but there in Washington, the Broadway hit "(UNINTELLIGIBLE) Millie" is delighting audiences at the Kennedy Center.

The curtain time forecast for the nation's capitol and the forecast for the rest of the country just ahead.

HARRIS: OK, so it doesn't only happen in the movies. A New York City woman actually gave birth in the back seat of a taxi cab on Friday. Luckily, one of the police officers who showed up to help is also a certified EMT, who knew exactly what to do.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

IVY DROR, OFFICER, NYC POLICE: Luckily enough, it was good color. It was breathing. It was crying. It had a good heartbeat. And everything worked out. Beautiful baby girl.

(END VIDEO CLIP) HARRIS: Also called into service an officer's shoelace, which he used to tie the umbilical cord 'til it could be cut. At last check, mother and daughter are doing just fine.

NGUYEN: Hey, you got to do what you got to do.

HARRIS: You do.

NGUYEN: They're saying mom and baby are just fine. A lot of people just trying to get home today.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: We have some great e-mails this morning.

NGUYEN: Yes, we do.

HARRIS: Here's the question that we've asked you. Finish this sentence, "Tis the season to be..." and then tell us why.

Our first e-mail comes from Henri.

NGUYEN: And he says, "Tis the season to be jolly because at 66, I have a new life. And this summer I will have a new wife. That is my reason, by golly."

HARRIS: And this is from Eddie. "Waking up every morning with an open mind and a happy heart." Open mind, happy heart. Way to live your life, Eddie.

NGUYEN: Absolutely.

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


Aired December 26, 2004 - 07:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, if you have been watching continuing coverage of the deadly tsunamis in southeast Asia this morning, our thanks to CNN international and anchor Shihab Rattansi and his team for doing such a fine job. We'll pick it up from there.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: From the CNN Center, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING. It's December 26th, 8:00 a.m. right here in Atlanta, 5:00 a.m. on the West cost.

Good morning, everyone. I'm Betty Nguyen.

HARRIS: And I'm Tony Harris. Thank you for being with us.

NGUYEN: And 8.9 magnitude earthquake strikes the Indonesian island of Sumatra, unleashing tidal wives across India and Southeast Asia. Thousands of people are dead or missing.

Today, Ukrainians are trying to elect a president, voting for the third time in two months. Kremlin backed candidate Prime Minister Victor Yanukovich faces Victor Yushchenko, who favors close ties to the West. Now the vote comes after Ukraine's constitutional court overturned portions of electoral reforms, which intended to avert fraud.

We, of course, will have a live report from our Jill Dougherty in Kiev a little bit later in the show.

Comair hopes to return to the skies this morning with the limited schedule. A computer crash grounded more than 1100 Comair flights on Christmas Day. Comair, based in Cincinnati, is a regional airline owed by Delta.

And aboard the International Space Station, the cupboard wasn't bare, but it was running low when a Russian supply ship docked yesterday. The craft brought much needed food, water, and fuel to the American astronaut and Russian cosmonaut who had been asked earlier to cut back on calories.

HARRIS: The very latest on the massive earthquake and deadly tsunamis is just ahead. Other stories coming up this hour, Christmas canceled for thousands of U.S. travelers grounded by a perfect storm of bad circumstances. We'll tell you want happened and where things stand today.

Also ahead, a Secret Santa hands out $30,000 worth of holiday cheer to some folks who have a whole lot of nothing. And later, a topic that weighs heavy on the mind of all of us at this time of year. We'll get some expert insights into winning the diet wars.

NGUYEN: Right now, though, we want to get straight to our top story. Thousands of people are dead or missing after a huge earthquake, magnitude 8.9, struck 12 hours ago off the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The earthquake triggered a series of powerful after shocks and tidal waves that killed people 1,000 miles away.

Take a look at this video. In Sri Lanka, waves 40 feet high swallowed parts of a port city, sweeping away hundreds of people. Many tourists are among those missing.

In southern India, enormous tidal waves killed at least 1,000 people in one state alone. People were swept away in their homes, their boats, and their cars.

Also in Thailand, what was described as a wall of water flooded the resort island of Phuket. One witness says the laguna beach resort is literally gone. And unconfirmed report says one entire coastal village is destroyed.

HARRIS: Last night's earthquake off Sumatra was the strongest recorded in 40 years. It caused tidal waves and killed more than 1500 people at the island nation of Sri Lanka.

CNN correspondent Satinder Bindra joins us now from the capitol of Colombo.

Satinder?

SATINDER BINDRA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tony, I watched giant waves roam into the capitol city of Colombo this morning. And the only way I can describe what I saw was imagine a giant vacuum cleaner in action. The waves came in. They quickly sucked everything out, homes, furniture, chairs, furniture, you name it.

Sri Lanka has just declared a state of national emergency and is now appealing to the international community for help. Tony, more than one million people in this island nation are now displaced. And more than 1500 people are already dead.

More than 3000 people have been killed on the eastern coast of Sri Lanka. And in the southern town of Gaul, which is a popular resort town, we understand more than 200 people there have been killed.

Amongst the dead in Gaul, at least 20 children. One naval ship has capsized there. And several sailors, about 20 of them, are still feared missing.

In the capitol of Colombo, where I am, a merchant ship just capsized in the Colombo harbor. Casualties there as of yet known. And just south of the capitol of Colombo, giant waves literally smashed the jail into smithereens. Some 200 convicts escaped. Amongst them, some of the most hardened criminals in this country.

As I drive along (UNINTELLIGIBLE) and drive along -- and driving along the coast right now, and all I can see is scenes of devastation. Homes have been destroyed. Debris littered all along the main road here. And people still scared, still fearing more tidal waves.

Back to you.

HARRIS: Satinder, just a moment. I have a quick question for you. Set the scene for us this morning. I understand that it was about 10:00 a.m. local time. Is that correct?

BINDRA: That's right. Tony, it was about 10:00 a.m. local time when I noticed this sea rising dramatically. The sea rose several feet in just a matter of about a half hour. And then the waves came crashing onshore.

Everything that was in the way, homes, minor shacks, everything was completely destroyed. And then, the sea, as I described, it was a giant vacuum. It just sucked everything right out. And the sea was so powerful that all the debris that it sucked out within an hour, all of that was gone. It had been sucked right out into the high seas.

The mood here is still one, Tony, of fear. And Sri Lanka is now appealing to the neighboring India and to the rest of the international community to do all they can to help.

Officials here are expecting the death count will still climb. And they say it'll climb dramatically. Back to you.

HARRIS: Satinder, thank you. Satinder Bindra from the capitol of Sri Lanka, Colombo.

NGUYEN: Now the damage across -- varied across the Indonesian island chain, but northern Sumatra, close to the quake's epicenter, was hit hard.

CNN correspondent Atika Shubert joins us now from Bali, Indonesia with more.

What is the latest there, Atika?

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Betty, as you know, the quake actually was underwater, about 100 kilometers off the coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra. And as you can imagine, northern Sumatra was the worst hit area.

There's still a lot of confusion as to exactly how badly hit it was. There are reports ranging anywhere from 150 dead to up to 400 dead. But what we're getting from local reports on the ground, descriptions it seems of devastation, especially along the coast there. Whole villages swept away, even reports of bodies being found in trees drowned -- people that were drowned and swept out to sea.

Now none of these reports as yet can be independently verified simply because communications in the area are completely down. I spoke to search and rescue teams in that area. And they say they're having a tough time simply gaining access to these remote coastal areas, much less trying to get information for there.

Now in the meantime, the government says they are sending emergency personnel. Two ministers are heading down there to survey the damage and see how to deal with the thousands that are now seeking shelter after their homes have been destroyed.

Unfortunately, the only thing that we know for certain is that the death toll is likely to rise -- Betty?

NGUYEN: In that death toll, we understand that it's mainly children. Is that correct?

SHUBERT: That's right. And a number of them were children, although we still don't know exactly the numbers. As I said, communication has been very difficult there in that particular area called Achet, the military has -- is out there now trying to help.

Interestingly, this area in particular actually had a bit -- has an insurgency going on. So there were quite a number of soldiers there, which in this respect was fortunate because they're infrastructure support that will be able to help people there. But we still don't know exact numbers.

NGUYEN: OK, of course we will continue to follow this all morning long. Atika Shubert for us in Bali today. Thank you, Atika -- Tony?

HARRIS: Well, Betty, let's try to understand some of the physics of the relationship between earthquakes and tsunamis. While these killer tidal waves were not technically a weather event, we can get some of the signs from our residence expert. Meteorologist Brad Huffines is here with some explanations.

Good morning, Brad.

BRAD HUFFINES, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Tony, I think the way that we can explain it most, at least what we're used to in the United States, is the storm surge concept. In the storm surge, a hurricane begins to move ashore and it pushes this wall of water toward the shoreline. Then once the winds stop, the water then that's been onshore begins to rush back out and offshore, and takes the debris that the lapping waves cause, and takes that all back out to sea.

What you're looking at now is the Indian Ocean. There's the large island nation of Sumatra. And that's, of course, we've talked about, where the earthquake was just offshore.

And this is actually a part of -- you've heard of the science -- study of science called plate's tectonics. The earth is actually made up of several plates -- large plates.

This is the Indo Australian plate here. The java trench right along the coast of Sumatra. That's where these plates, the Pacific plate and this Indo Australian plate sometimes grind. When there's grinding, those grindings happen, the ripples off that are the earthquakes. And of course, these ripples that happen in the ocean then -- have a United States Geological Survey animation for you -- when you see an earthquake like that happen, it causes such a shake that the water actually then ripples.

And notice that big wall of water that goes out in all directions, west, east, north and south from the center of an earthquake. And again, that's the United States Geological Tsunami model for the Pacific Northwest.

But the way that that applies to this situation here across the Indian Ocean is that once we saw the earthquake off the coast of Sumatra, that ripple that you see on the U.S.G.S. map from left to right, that big ripple then began to move across the Indian Ocean, and again affecting the east coast of Sri Lanka here, and also the coastline of India.

This is the country of India. What saved Malaysia in this situation -- Malaysia is the island right here with actually the peninsula with Burma here, what saved that is actually the shoreline of Sumatra itself. It kept the waves and blocked those ripples from heading off to the east, but it did head off to the west, causing the devastation in Sri Lanka and India.

You'll see much more of this kind of story as the day progresses on the stories of the ripples, Tony.

HARRIS: OK, Brad, thank you. And again, stay with us as we continue to cover the devastating events in southeast Asia. More on the earthquake and the deadly tsunamis in just minutes.

NGUYEN: Right now back here in the U.S., Comair plans to resume flying, but only on a limited basis today after canceling all of its flights yesterday due to a computer system crash.

The cancellations affected 30,000 travelers in 118 cities. That's just one problem that's made getting from here to there this holiday weekend a nightmare for air travelers.

CNN's Deborah Feyerick reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Her eight- month old daughter was sound asleep at the Kentucky Airport in Hebron Christmas Day, but Tina Tomissetti was fighting back tears.

TINA TOMISSETTI, TRAVELER: Because my daughter's baptism is tomorrow at 1:00. So we figured we've already missed Christmas. So they left with no choice but to hit the road and hope the weather's good.

FEYERICK: They missed Christmas. So did tens of thousands of holiday travelers across the country, all of them waiting with no word of when the get out or how long it would really take. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's so terrible. I've had four cancellations today. I've been run through five different gates. Nobody's told me anything. And my flight was six hours ago.

FEYERICK: Delta subsidiary Comair canceled all 2300 weekend flights. The airline says bad storms earlier in the week caused bad back-ups, triggering a computer crash.

DON BORNHORST, COMAIR SPOKESMAN: Our scheduling system, the system that we use to schedule our pilots and assign them to flights, failed.

FEYERICK: For the lucky ones who did make it out, presents got lost when bags failed to show.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They have luggages piled everywhere. So this could be a piece of paradise.

FEYERICK: In Philadelphia, the transit point for U.S. Airways, an airline spokeswoman says a high number of baggage handlers and flight attendants called in sick, making bad weather feel even worse.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, the weather's a problem, but this is beyond weather. This is just a lack of concern for the patrons.

FEYERICK: Said one man summing up the bitter sweet nature of holiday travel...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Waiting for the bags took as long as the flight just about, but it was worth it though. Just glad to be back in Philadelphia.

FEYERICK: Good to be back and even better to have the trip finally over.

Deborah Feyerick, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: Well a real life Santa Claus visited a Colorado homeless shelter yesterday and had the residents there believing in Christmas miracles. We will have that story.

HARRIS: But first, a white Christmas weekend in Cincinnati. The forecast for you and the rest of the U.S. coming up.

And here is our e-mail question this morning. Finish this sentence. "Tis the season to be..." and then tell us why. We're at wam@cnn.com. We'll be reading your replies throughout the morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Other stories in the news across America, a somber Christmas holiday at Fort Lewis, Washington. Dozens of people turned out for a candlelight vigil to remember the soldiers killed last week by a suicide bomber at their base in Mosul. Six of the dead were from Fort Lewis.

At Washington's Dulles International Airport, a family from Los Angeles traveling to Louisiana for the holiday was forced to leave their 16-year old son behind at the terminal. Despite having a valid ticket, the airline refused to allow the teen to get on the plane. They told Michael Jones that his name was on their no fly list. The mix-up was eventually resolved and he was put on a later flight.

And in the NBA, the Pistons and the Pacers met for the first time since their ugly brawl five weeks ago. This time, everyone was on their best behavior. Everyone behaved. And the Pistons won, 98 to 93.

NGUYEN: Well, the streets of Denver can be a hard place to live, especially at this time of year. Christmas was just another day for many of the city's homeless. Then Ben Franklin arrived.

Lane Lyon at Denver affiliate KMGH has that story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The man was just like an angel.

LANE LYON, KMGH NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Amazement is all around the Samaritan House in Denver.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am so little over the shock.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can I help you?

LYON: It started when Steve Holden answered the door. He says the man ringing the buzzer appeared to have a bodyguard.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They said they would like to give a cash donation. I says well, what kind of a cash donation? He said, "Well, can I come in and show you?"

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He told us that he had been down in the past. He had had some hard times in the past. And he wanted to give something back. And that's about as he would say. He wanted to remain anonymous.

LYON: Out came the money, all in $100 bills, all for people spending this Christmas homeless.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A kind of sobering feeling to be in a shelter on Christmas Eve. You know, but it -- you know, when things like this happens, it totally changes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When he came in and started to donate the money, had a big smile on his face.

LYON: In 30 minutes, he gave $35,000 to 300 residents.

REV. JOHN LAGER, SAMARITAN HOUSE: One family received a large donation, we think somewhere in the vicinity of $5,000.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Merry Christmas.

LYON: For people like Francine, the money is part of a fresh start, all thanks to the mystery man with a big wallet and even bigger heart.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's given everybody a lot of hope.

LYON: Lane Lyon, 7 News.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: And updating our top story this morning, thousands of people are dead or missing after a huge earthquake and deadly tsunamis. The earthquake registered 8.9 on the Richter scale. It struck 12 hours ago off the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The earthquake triggered a series of powerful aftershocks and tidal waves that killed people 1000 miles away. We will continue to update you on this story throughout the morning. And more straight ahead, when CNN SUNDAY MORNING continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Take a look at this. For the first time in 50 years, folks in Louisiana had a white Christmas. You're looking at the streets of New Orleans.

It wasn't all merry, though. Ice caused long stretches of Interstate 10 to shut down. Travelers will be glad to hear that today's temperatures in the area will get to above 50 degrees, but should take care of any lingering ice.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: Well, all morning long, we've been telling you about the deadly earthquake in southeast Asia and the devastating tsunamis. Thousands of people have been killed.

It struck about 12 hours ago off the Indonesian island of Sumatra. In Thailand, for example, at least 248 people were killed.

On the phone with us right now is Will Geddes. Will was actually -- Will, you there?

WILL GEDDES, EYEWITNESS: Yes, I am. I can hear you loud and clear.

HARRIS: You were vacationing in the area?

GEDDES: Indeed, indeed. Yes, I'm currently in Phuket and...

HARRIS: Phuket, OK.

GEDDES: ...we hit quite a lot of the rebirth on the earthquake and also the tidal wave. HARRIS: OK, Will, so I'm going to need you to set the stage for us. I understand that the tsunami hit at about 10:00 local time. Is that correct? And if you would, take us back to those moments just before, what kind of a day was it, and then describe for us what happened shortly thereafter?

GEDDES: Sure. Not a problem. The timeline on it was a little bit earlier than you've got there.

HARRIS: OK.

GEDDES: It started off with the first earthquake aftershock kicking in about 0600 this morning. That was followed by a second shock, which came through just after 8:00, which actually shook the villa that we were in.

About an hour and a half, hour and a quarter later, I was down on the beach. And the actual tide had pushed out quite substantially from the actual beach line. I investigated obviously by going down, having a look.

And literally, within moments from the water actually being up to my ankles, it actually came up to my chest within literally seconds as the first tidal wave hit.

And people very quickly evacuated off the beach. And the literally two waves later, the whole of the beach area was completely wiped out.

HARRIS: Wow. And Will, give us a sense of what it -- that's like when you start out with water at your ankles and what do you -- look to the horizon? And next thing -- I guess they -- the idea that we have is that we see this huge wave rolling in, but you were there. Describe it for us.

GEDDES: Well, to be honest, it's very different to what one imagines it's going to be. It's not like it is in the movies, where you see a big crescent wave and a couple of fishing boats caught up in it.

HARRIS: Yes.

GEDDES: It's a little bit like if you imagine looking at the bath in your home that you run, and one that is quite empty. Next, then it is at the top level. And it literally fills up very, very fast. So it's almost the water line just comes straight up.

You don't actually see any waves as such.

HARRIS: And Will, what is it like on the ground for you now?

GEDDES: Well, at the moment, everybody's in a little bit of shock. Obviously, we're very concerned about the local people here. There are some local traders who operate from the nearest beach. Their whole business has been completely wiped out. You have a lot of resorts which have beach villas. They have been completely decimated. In fact, there's a gym on the beach at the resort I'm staying at. And there was a -- you know, 400 kilo weight machines there, which were literally thrown straight through the building into the lake behind. It was a very powerful force.

HARRIS: OK, Will. Take care of you. Take care of your family. And thanks for that wonderful description. We appreciate it.

GEDDES: Thank you, sir.

NGUYEN: And we will continue our coverage of this earthquake and the tsunamis that follow, killing thousands in southeast Asia today. Stay with us for that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: We have updates on a deadly earthquake and even deadlier tsunamis off the coast of southeast Asia. Welcome back. I'm Betty Nguyen.

HARRIS: And I'm Tony Harris. Here's a look at what's in the news right now.

Thousands of people are dead, missing in southeast Asia this morning, after the strongest earthquake to hit the planet in 40 years. The 8.9 magnitude quake was centered off the Indonesian coast. It sent deadly tidal waves surging into Thailand, Sri Lanka, and India.

In Ukraine this morning, people are heading to the polls again. Two candidates are squaring off in a repeat of the presidential election. The previous vote was tarnished by allegations of massive fraud, which sent thousands of protesters into the streets. We'll have a live report from Ukraine in just a few minutes.

Canceled flights, lost luggage, and a night on a cold airport floor. That's what thousands of people are facing, as they try to head home for the holidays. The computer glitch forced Comair to scrap all of its 1100 flights yesterday. Limited flights are planned today. Thick snow and icy roads are also causing some travel headaches.

NGUYEN: We have more now on the massive earthquake that's left more than 3,000 people dead across south Asia. It was centered off the coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra, where hundreds of people are reported dead.

The quake churned up the seas as far as 1,000 miles away, triggering tidal waves that wiped out coastal areas in Sri Lanka, India and Thailand. Most of the deaths happened in Sri Lanka and India. More than 1500 killed in Sri Lanka. And that death toll could rise.

The tidal waves also wrecked a high security prison there, allowing some 200 hardcore inmates to escape.

In India, at least 1,000 people are reported dead. Massive waves that flooded the southern coast.

And in southern Thailand, the waves wreaked havoc in some resort areas. One British tourist says it looked like the whole sea rose up.

We want to go live now to Southern India, which is still reeling from the deadly tidal waves.

CNN's Suhasini Haidar is in the Chennai area. And she joins us on the phone with the latest.

What are you seeing right now?

SUHASINI HAIDAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Betty, we're actually at the Chennai beach area. That's where some of the worst devastation of this morning. Ambulances are still lined up here. And we see local groups distributing medicines and food supplies.

Those are nearby. What we're seeing is trees uprooted everywhere. Several homes have been damaged along the beach.

Now officials are saying this state of (UNINTELLIGIBLE) is the worst affected of all the Indian states, putting the figure of those killed here at more than 900.

Here in this city, officials are saying more than 100 bodies have come in since the morning.

Betty, many of those who were killed today were people just walking along the beach. Officials telling us some even came here to look at these inordinately high tidal wave that occurred after the earthquake.

This morning, some of those waves more than three meters high. Officials are saying they are trying to gather reports from everywhere. What they're really worried about now are the numbers of those who are still missing. That's more than 2,000 people in this state -- Betty?

NGUYEN: And let's talk about rescue efforts. Right now, how difficult is it to get into those hard hit areas, to try to find survivors?

HAIDAR: Well, many of those who are feared missing or dead are actually in the water. When this earthquake occurred, it was about 5:00 in the morning.

Now this in the time where traditionally Indian fishermen would still be offshore and out to sea. So we are seeing coast guard helicopters going out there, looking for any survivors.

The Indian prime minister's already sent several central ministers to try coordinate relief efforts. And we understand that they are trying to put into place some sort of, you know, get the army to start dropping food supplies and people to really assess the damage. But they're saying it could be several hours before they even know the extent of how bad -- the effect of these tsunami waves could have been -- Betty?

NGUYEN: And we will continue to follow this. Suhasini Haidar in Chennai for us this morning. Thank you.

We have much more to come on CNN SUNDAY MORNING on the quakes growing aftermath. We'll have more live reports from the hardest hit areas. So stay with us.

HARRIS: To other news now, they're re-running the presidential election in Ukraine. And much has happened since the first vote last month. That election was declared fraudulent.

A so-called orange revolution flooded the streets of Kiev with protesters. And according to his doctor, someone poisoned the opposition candidate. Sub plot on top of sub plot.

CNN's Jill Dougherty is covering today's vote from Kiev.

Hi, Jill.

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Tony.

Well, it really is subplot on subplot. And people here are calling this an historic vote because after all, don't forget, as you pointed out, three times, this is the third time that they will go to the polls. And they're hoping that this will be it, that they will finally have a legitimately, legally elected president.

Now we've already seen the two candidates, the two candidates who were running right from the beginning. That is Prime Minister Victor Yanukovich. He already went to the polls, cast his vote.

And then we also have the opposition candidate, Viktor Yushchenko. He has been to the polls as well. And then finally, the outgoing president, also a main character in all of this. And he is President Leonid Kuchma.

So all of them have cast their votes. And here we are. We're at the university -- the ancient, or very old university here in Kiev. And this is a voting place where maybe we can explain a little bit about how this happens. Similarly to other countries, back there in the back, you'll see a table. And that is where voters come in and show their ID. And they register over there.

And then they will pick up what we would call a ballot, what they call a bulletin here. It's paper ballot. And then they're going to go over. As you can see, this woman going into the booth behind that curtain. And she will cast her vote.

And then here's a lady coming out, in fact. Again, a paper ballot, which she's putting into that urn, the glass urn. Those will be standing there until 8:00 p.m. local time tonight, when they will all be counted. And Tony, the main thing is what they tried to do, is get rid of some of the problems that created real difficulties in that run off election that was annulled. A lot of it had to do with absentee ballots.

For example, there were a million and a half absentee ballots. Now there are only 188,000 of them. So they're trying to eliminate problems and make sure that this is very clean election.

HARRIS: And Jill, you now, we always ask the question in any of these elections, these days, turnout -- voter turnout. Do you have an idea of how it's looking on that front?

DOUGHERTY: You know, the latest report that we had from the central election commission was actually just from 11:00 this morning. So that was relatively early a few hours ago.

And it was slightly lower than normal, somewhere around 18, 18.5 percent. But now local time, it's 3:00 p.m. or actually about 3:00 p.m. So presumably, you know, we have another five more hours of voting. We'll see how that turns out.

There's a lot of interest in this, obviously, from both sides. People who support both candidates.

HARRIS: And my goodness, around the world. Jill Dougherty in Kiev for us this morning. Jill, thank you. We appreciate it.

NGUYEN: And as you've seen this morning, it's been a busy news day on this Sunday. We've got a lot more to tell you about, including we have a story on an American hero. That's coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Do you recognize that face? Well, you usually see him on stage behind Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, a spot he has savored for more than two decades.

Rolling Stones keyboardist Chuck Leavell live right here on CNN SUNDAY MORNING at 9:00 a.m. Eastern.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Battle wounds normally signal the end of a serviceman's career. But Marine Sergeant Nick Popaditch is not your ordinary grunt. Despite losing much of his sight, Popaditch exemplifies the hero warrior.

CNN's Casey Wian has his story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Gunnery Nick Popaditch is doing what he loves best, showing off an M1-A1 battle tank, the kind he's commanded through two Gulf Wars. GUNNERY SGT. NICK POPADITCH, U.S. MARINE CORPS: There's no weapons system in Iraq currently employed by the anticoalition forces that can take this thing off the battlefield.

WIAN: Popaditch rolled into Baghdad's Fidol (ph) Square on a tank he named Carnivore. He and his fellow Marines helped the Iraqis take down the now infamous statue of Saddam Hussein.

POPADITCH: We really felt at that time we were seeing these people liberated, these people were being freed. And they certainly were reacting that way. And it was just -- it was just an incredible moment to be part of.

WIAN: Popaditch completed the deployment and came home but just a few months later volunteered to go back with another unit.

POPADITCH: I'm a Marine. If Marines are off fighting somewhere, I don't want to be home watching on TV. I want to be there. I want to be with them and be part of it.

WIAN: This time he found himself in Falluja in a tough firefight with insurgents. A rocket-propelled grenade almost cost him his life.

POPADITCH: The other one came from straight down above me. It hit me right on top of the head, right about here.

WIAN: The explosion took out Popaditch's right eye and left him partially blind in his left eye and deaf.

POPADITCH: There is -- there's like a cap in there. I don't know if this is gross or not. It's not gross to me or anybody, but there's just a -- there's just a cap in there.

WIAN: Popaditch can't read but says his sight gets better every day. He can't hear with one ear and hopes a hearing aid will help the other. In spite of the ordeal, he feels lucky.

POPADITCH: It never struck me as a tragedy or anything like that, because you've got -- I'm perfectly fine from the neck down. I'm perfectly healthy.

WIAN: While he recovers, Popaditch hangs out with fellow Marines in the tank maintenance yard, anxious to get back to work.

POPADITCH: I'd go back in a minute. As soon as I can see again, that's my plan.

WIAN: And he hopes his 15-year military career will continue.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: We bring you hero stories every week on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

NGUYEN: New Year's resolutions mean weight loss is a top priority for lots of you out there. Up next, which diets work and which ones are doomed from day one?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Updating our top stories, the largest earthquake in 40 years hits northern Indonesia today. The magnitude 8.9 quake triggered aftershocks and tidal waves that killed thousands of people across Asia up to 1,000 miles.

Voters in Ukraine are going back to the polls today to pick a new president in a closely watched repeat election. The new vote was triggered by a fraudulent runoff and massive protests over it.

A little relief today for stranded holiday travelers. Comair says it will resume its flights on a limited basis. The Delta subsidiary canceled all 1100 Christmas Day flights, wow, because of a computer problem. 30,000 travelers were affected.

And we will go live to Reagan National Airport outside of Washington to see how the sky bound traffic is flowing this morning. That's ahead in the 8:00 hour of CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

NGUYEN: Well, right now, you've had the Thanksgiving turkey, the Christmas ham, and all the fixings. Now you might need a recipe for shedding those extra holiday pounds. Losing weight is usually the number one New Year's resolution for most Americans, but picking a diet that works, well it seems to get tougher each year.

So joining us now from New York with some tips is registered dietitian Lisa Drayer.

Good morning to you.

LISA DRAYER, REGISTERED DIETITIAN: Good morning.

NGUYEN: Well, let's talk about these diets. Why is it so hard to keep up the diet and keep those pounds off?

DRAYER: I think it's difficult for a lot of individuals because they don't adopt healthy eating habits that are sustainable over the long terms.

So many times, people are looking for a quick fix approach. They want to lose weight for an upcoming event to fit into a dress, whatever the reason may be. And they often take drastic measures in order to lose weight. So maybe they're following liquid diets for a few days, completely eliminating carbohydrates from the diet. These are not sustainable behaviors.

And I find that people have success when they make small changes in their diets. They downsize their portions. They switch from whole milk to skim milk in their coffee.

NGUYEN: Little things like that, yes.

DRAYER: Exactly. Or be realistic about it.

NGUYEN: Or walking more.

DRAYER: Exactly.

NGUYEN: Well, you know, it technically still is the holiday season. So is it smart to go ahead and start that diet now? Or should you be a little realistic and wait 'til after the new year?

DRAYER: Right. I would say give yourself another week, if you do enjoy the holiday foods, which many of us do. We might not...

NGUYEN: Oh, yes.

DRAYER: Right. But the important thing is to have a plan for the new year. So for example, don't just say -- wake up on January 1st and say, OK, I'm going to start to lose weight, and I'm going to start to eliminate a lot of the foods that I like. Have a plan. Think about what approach is going to work best for you. Are you someone that's going to benefit from having a detailed meal plan, showing you exactly what you need to eat?

Or are you someone who prefers an approach where you're choosing specific types of foods. For example, healthier carbohydrates, healthier fats in your diet?

Are you going to benefit from meeting one on one with a registered dietitian, who can tailor your diet? Have a plan in place. Know how much exercise you're willing to do. Think about that during the next week. Don't worry so much about losing weight in the next seven days, but do have a plan for the following year.

NGUYEN: OK, but when we talk about these plans, there are so many different diets out there. We've got the Atkins. We've got the South Beach Diet, the Zone. Let's break them down. Which ones work?

DRAYER: Well, you know, all of that can work. The question is which ones help you lose weight and keep it off over the long term? And in terms of which one is best, I'm often asked this question, but it really depends on which approach is best suited for one's lifestyle.

So for example, if you like the convenience of meals and shakes, you don't have to worry about portion control, then maybe Slimfast is the right approach for you.

If you don't love counting calories, you'd rather pick healthy carbohydrates and good fats in your diet, maybe South Beach is the right plan for you. However, you still need to watch portions.

If you like group meetings, if you like the group support, and you like having a budget of points, where you still have a limit of what you're supposed to eat, but you still have flexibility within that limit, then maybe Weight Watchers is the right plan for you.

So it really depends on what's going to best suit your lifestyle. Some people like meeting with a registered dietitian, going face to face, one on one in person. NGUYEN: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) exactly what you need.

DRAYER: Exactly.

NGUYEN: So basically the goal here is a lot of plans out there. They all work, but you have to be realistic and stick to it.

DRAYER: Right. But pick the one that's best suited to your lifestyle. Do your research. Find out what's involved in the program. Is there support available? Is exercise a part of the program?

But no matter which approach you take, if you're not limiting your overall calorie intake compared to what you were previously doing, they're not going to work.

NGUYEN: Then it's not going to work. All right.

DRAYER: Exactly. And 500 is the number. 500 each day.

NGUYEN: That's the magic number.

DRAYER: Exactly.

NGUYEN: OK, Lisa Drayer, registered dietitian. Thank you.

DRAYER: Thank you.

NGUYEN: Tony?

HARRIS: And the stork makes a Christmas e-delivery, but in an unexpected place. It's a story to tell the grandkids, that's for sure. It's coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Look at that. Good morning, Washington. Here's a live look at the White House, where the Broadway hit, not at the White House, but there in Washington, the Broadway hit "(UNINTELLIGIBLE) Millie" is delighting audiences at the Kennedy Center.

The curtain time forecast for the nation's capitol and the forecast for the rest of the country just ahead.

HARRIS: OK, so it doesn't only happen in the movies. A New York City woman actually gave birth in the back seat of a taxi cab on Friday. Luckily, one of the police officers who showed up to help is also a certified EMT, who knew exactly what to do.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

IVY DROR, OFFICER, NYC POLICE: Luckily enough, it was good color. It was breathing. It was crying. It had a good heartbeat. And everything worked out. Beautiful baby girl.

(END VIDEO CLIP) HARRIS: Also called into service an officer's shoelace, which he used to tie the umbilical cord 'til it could be cut. At last check, mother and daughter are doing just fine.

NGUYEN: Hey, you got to do what you got to do.

HARRIS: You do.

NGUYEN: They're saying mom and baby are just fine. A lot of people just trying to get home today.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: We have some great e-mails this morning.

NGUYEN: Yes, we do.

HARRIS: Here's the question that we've asked you. Finish this sentence, "Tis the season to be..." and then tell us why.

Our first e-mail comes from Henri.

NGUYEN: And he says, "Tis the season to be jolly because at 66, I have a new life. And this summer I will have a new wife. That is my reason, by golly."

HARRIS: And this is from Eddie. "Waking up every morning with an open mind and a happy heart." Open mind, happy heart. Way to live your life, Eddie.

NGUYEN: Absolutely.

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