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CNN Sunday Morning

Tornadoes Kill 10

Aired April 25, 2010 - 07:00   ET

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

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: CEO touted the company's profit from betting against the U.S. market. Those bets, by the way, are called shorts. They're at the heart of this government lawsuit against Goldman Sachs.

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: And they're hoping one disaster does not spawn another. But the bad news is that, in fact, there is an oil leak now after that huge oil rig fire and explosion that happened in the Gulf of Mexico last week. It's leaking about a thousand barrels of oil a day. It's about 5,000 miles -- excuse me -- 5,000 feet below the surface of the water.

Now, 5,000 feet below, but that oil is going to be seeping up. It's going to make its way to the surface.

Now, the search for 11 missing rig workers was suspended on Friday. But still, this oil that's leaking and that oil slick that's at the surface right now, still about 40 to 50 miles from the coast of Louisiana. So, that's good news. They have a little time, at least, to clean this up.

BALDWIN: Emergency responders will begin searching for survivors this morning, and also, victims in Mississippi, in the wake of that fatal tornado.

HOLMES: Yes, emergency officials, though, scared -- scared really that they are going to find more victims in the death toll could go up.

Take a look at some of this destruction. Also, exactly where this happened.

BALDWIN: Yes.

HOLMES: Tornadoes confirmed in Mississippi and Alabama. Also reports of tornadoes in Arkansas and Louisiana. Not confirmed yet, but possibly could -- at some point today be confirmed.

We told you a moment ago, the death toll now at 10 people confirmed dead, three children among them, including a 3-month-old baby.

Now, Yazoo County and Choctaw County were the hardest hit areas. In particular, Yazoo City, which is in Yazoo County, the tornado there was reported to be about a mile wide. Injuries reported in at least 12 Mississippi counties, thousands right now are without power. The governor has declared a state of emergency in 17 Mississippi counties.

BALDWIN: Reynolds Wolf is watching this whole thing for us in the severe CNN weather center.

And, Reynolds, we just have to ask: have we seen the worst of it, or is there still a possibility of more severe weather today?

REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: There is a possibility of some severe weather today. But the thing that's working in our favor is that as this frontal boundary drives eastward, it's really going to lose a lot of its momentum. And now, ahead of the frontal boundary, you've got some moisture. But we're not going to have the same daytime heating.

Bottom line is: we don't have the same kind of fuel ahead of this boundary, this frontal boundary, to cause the same kind of damage that we've seen over the last couple days. This really has been a two-day event, really going underway late Friday afternoon, Friday evening and then, of course, yesterday was very tough.

We've been focusing quite a bit on Yazoo City. We're going back in time. And as you take a look at this radar loop, we're going to start things off around -- as it spins back around there at 10:30 in the morning and then right around 1:50 is when the tornado pass just north of Yazoo City. And you're going to notice, of course, that area where we had some damage.

But if you follow that line, it's also going to move through parts of Alabama, even to a place near Sand Mountain in Alabama, which is one of the foothills of the Appalachian mountain chain that goes up.

In Geraldine, we have a picture that's taken just moments ago. Let's show you that. This is a spot where we had damage. This shot shows some of the tree damage. And when you have this kind of tree damage, what does it do at times? Well, it's going to knock over some power lines -- like you see the one that right there on the far right hand corner of the screen. So, there are many people waking up this morning with no power. Some people are waking up without any homes. Homes have been destroyed, too.

So, certainly, it's going to be a big day cleaning up for many people across parts of Alabama, back into Mississippi, Louisiana. Even reports of tornadoes in parts of, say, Missouri, near St. Louis.

One thing that's really interesting about these storms is people often wonder why is it that these storms can cause so much damage, and why do we have so many fatalities when you have tornadoes. Well, one of the reasons why is when you compare it to, say, a hurricane where when we have a hurricane, we can know days and days, sometimes week in advance before a storm makes its way to the shorelines. So, plenty of advance warning.

Even though we had a moderate risk area over this area, including Yazoo City, well, the thing was -- these storms still hit very quickly. When they do, we don't often have time to react fast enough. And when that happens, of course, we have the widespread damage.

Let's talk about what's happening right now very quickly. You'll notice a couple of things shaded here on the maps. Those are areas where we have tornado watches. Thankfully, we're noticing that area getting smaller and smaller, which means that we're having many of those -- well, they're expiring. That's some good news.

What is bad, though, is we still have intense storms due west of Hilton Head Island, right along parts of the I-95 corridor. So, it's going to be another hour or so of strong storms in parts of north Florida into the Carolinas and Georgia. We have to watch within the day if it should progressively easier.

We're going to talk more about that coming up throughout the rest of the morning. But now, let's pitch it back to you guys at the desk.

BALDWIN: Reynolds, thank you.

Staying on Mississippi, the state emergency management agency, or they go by MEMA, for short, along with the National Guard are now mobilized. They're on the ground right now helping local officials who are no doubt exhausted from this fatal storm.

I have on the phone with me right now Brett Carr from the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency.

And, Brett, good morning to you. First let me just ask, are you and your family OK?

Brett, are you with me?

It looks like we lost Brett. Hopefully, we can get him back on the phone. He can give us an assessment on what exactly he has seen, the latest as far as damage and survivors of this fatal storm in Mississippi.

HOLMES: A lot of the assessments we are getting this morning as well coming to us by way of iReports. Josh Levs has been keeping an eye on these.

And you said a ton of them have been coming in, Josh.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, they have. We're getting more and more photos. I'm going to be showing you coming up. We're also getting some videos. I think we can show you one now.

It's one of our iReports. And what we're getting basically are people inside the storm who are giving us these descriptions of what they were seeing. Look at that. I mean, as the storm -- wow -- as the storm was coming through taking over the skies. On top of that, you got this pounding thunder, the massive winds in this area hard hit. We are about to take you inside the storm.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: All right. Second time is a charm here. Mississippi, the emergency management agency, along with the National Guard, as I say, they've been called in. They're on the ground, helping officials helping people as a result of this deadly tornado in Mississippi.

Let's try this one more time, Brett Carr from MEMA on the phone.

And, Brett, you can hear me now. Let me first ask you: give me your best assessment as to what is going on on the ground today in Mississippi, as far as damage, as far as injuries, as far as what you're hoping to do.

BRETT CARR, MISS, EMERG. MGMT. AGENCY (via telephone): Today, we are still currently in the response mode. We're trying to get the proper officials to the area. So, you know, today, hopefully, we can have more people there to help assist these people.

We know that some of the first responders that are in the area, you know, are to their limit. So, we're trying to get people there to help them out because, you know, working Katrina, it was -- it just got to a point where we were at our breaking point and people coming in to help us was just an amazing thing. So --

BALDWIN: Yes, people pouring in. I am sure the local, the state, the federal level coming in to help.

And let me ask you this, you know, in terms of challenges emergency responders face, our own crew had to go in on a four-wheel drive simply because of all the trees down blocking a lot of the highways. What is challenge number one for your crews today?

CARR: Challenge number one is -- for us, is really sightseers. You know, people that are out trying to view the damage, trying to take pictures, trying to do things like that -- you know, we're asking them to stay away for as long as possible, you know, so we can get our first responders in that need to be there to help these people to survey the damage and to really, you know, see what's going on there, because as of, right now, you know, we still haven't found -- you know, there could be people missing.

BALDWIN: Right.

CARR: We don't have any confirmed reports of missing people. But, you know, we're trying to get the proper officials there. So, if we could get, you know, local people and the people from other places that are coming in to stay back, you know --

BALDWIN: Stay back. Stay in place. Hoping for more stories of survival.

Brett Carr, with MEMA, I want to wish you luck. The governor is again declaring a state of emergency in 17 counties of Mississippi. Thank you, sir. Good luck.

CARR: Thank you very much.

HOLMES: And we've been talking about these images from the storm that have continued to come into us, not just from our crews but those iReporters out there. They're coming to us, literally, every minute.

BALDWIN: Yes, we love seeing what you bring us. Josh, what do you have?

LEVS: Yes. We got some iReports for you. We also have some brand new shots, those shots that are being thrown all over the web. People really are taking a look at this, including some from "A.P."

Let's start off with some of the hottest new pictures we've just gotten this morning. I think that one is really striking. This is two kids looking over the wreckage of a swing set outside Chester Baptist Church in Chester, Mississippi.

We got another one here of some trees snapped. Look at that. I mean, you can feel that as you look at it. Trees snapped in half and shredded after a tornado tore it. That one was in Holmes County, Mississippi.

A couple more here. Twisted metal, folding chair. This is Leslie Woods of Satartia, Mississippi, salvaging some folding chairs from a pile of twisted metal and broken equipment.

And then we got one more picture for you to see here. This is Yazoo City there in Mississippi where a building -- a major building that was just completely turned into debris.

I also have for you right now, just in right now, a new video from one of our iReporters. Take a look at this. This is an iReporter that we've been hearing from in the past. And what we have here is he's basically standing inside his garage, and was able -- this is in Olive Branch, Mississippi -- and was able to step outside and see a little bit.

This is Cameron Scott who says that there was this pounding thunder, these really massive winds.

I want to bring up the sound so I kind of bring you guys into the storm right now. And see what it felt like to those inside as it came through. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFEID MALE: Lightning is every two seconds.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEVS: If you're having trouble hearing it, he's saying lightning was every two seconds there. Look at that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wow. It's right over us now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEVS: You might have been in some heavy thunderstorms in your time. It's quite possible you've never been I think quite that powerful with the entire sky just complete gray and white, these massive winds.

And as you take a look at the rain, as you watch this more closely, which I've been doing this morning, the pattern of the rain keeps shifting. It keeps shifting directions. Sometimes, it's going directly sideways. It goes diagonal one way, in a few seconds later, it's going the other way.

This is a video taken from inside. As we look at this, I want to remind everyone, we don't air any iReports at all if anyone went to any danger. There's a lot of vetting. We talk to you. We find out where you were.

He was safe inside his garage. He's fine. His home is fine. That said, he was in the middle of the storm. This is what it looks like. And that is what affected so many people.

We're hearing from you also on Facebook and Twitter. We got all coming in. So, send us your pictures, your images. Facebook.com/JoshLevsCNN; Twitter.com/JoshLevsCNN. If you got tweetpics, whatever you've got, go ahead and send them as long as they were taken safely.

And, guys, I'll be back in a little less than an hour with some of the latest images from the scene of the destruction overnight. It's difficult to see sometimes. But, hey, this is -- it's a reality of these storms.

BALDWIN: It's a way to tell the story.

LEVS: Yes.

BALDWIN: Josh, thanks.

LEVS: Thanks, guys.

HOLMES: All right. From Barbados to Baltimore. We introduce you to Ramon Harewood. Yesterday morning, a young man from Barbados, he's only been playing football three and a half years. Well, guess what? He got drafted by the Baltimore Ravens yesterday.

He is here live to talk football and physics. We'll explain that. He's here with us live. Don't go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Stories we're keeping an eye on.

The search for survivors of the earthquake in western China is over now. The focus now on rebuilding the 15,000 homes destroyed, including 87 damaged Tibetan monastery. Tibetans have accused of Beijing of not doing enough in the immediate aftermath of that 6.9 magnitude quake. Death toll right now stands at more than 2,200.

BALDWIN: A rally in Arizona this weekend against what is being touted as the toughest anti-immigration law in the nation. Governor Jan Brewer signed a bill into law Friday afternoon. And critics are already saying one particular section of this bill could lead to racial profiling. What it does it gives local law enforcement legal permission to ask for a person's immigration status if they suspect he or she may be in Arizona illegally.

HOLMES: And in just a few hours, thousands expected to gather in Washington, D.C. to rally for climate change. Director -- film director, James Cameron, and Reverend Jesse Jackson are going to be there. Sting, John Legend and others are scheduled to play there. And they got a lot to rally for this morning because last night, Congress actually postponed indefinitely release of a new climate bill.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MELISSA DAWN JOHNSON, MORNING MOTIVATION: Good morning and welcome to another edition of morning motivation.

I'm here to let you in on a secret. Are you ready? You're being watched. Yes. People are watching you on the job, with your family, and even in your community because they're looking for an example and role model to follow.

Well, I'll tell you this: Your life has the power to impact others. I remember when my Aunt went through a very tragic situation in life, and I watched her. Well, later, I had to go through a similar situation, and because of her courage and grace under fire, she empowered me to have the strength to go through it.

So as well with you, recognize every day you're making your mark. And others are watching. And they're finding encouragement and strength and motivation through you.

So, until next week, please visit us at Brandmelive.com. And I'd love to hear your secrets to staying motivated every single day.

All right. We'll see you next week. Make every day brandtastic.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC)

HOLMES: Remember, we introduce you yesterday to a Morehouse student who has just been playing football about three and a half years. That's it. In his life, playing football three and a half years.

Well, soon, he's going to be playing in the NFL. Meet my -- meet my little friend here, Ramon. He got drafted yesterday by the Baltimore Raven. We're going to be talking to him in just a second. But we're going to first have a look back at how he ended up from Barbados to Atlanta, at Morehouse, and now, in the NFL.

Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAMON HAREWOOD, DRAFTED BY RAVENS: If I do something, I need to be the best at it. So, I always have measures in place to be, you know, the best I could be.

I'm a winner. I guess that's the best way to put it.

(MUSIC)

HOLMES (voice-over): At 6'7", 350 pounds, Ramon Harewood dominated his competition. The offensive lineman at Morehouse College was named first team all conference for the past two years. And while he may look like your typical NFL prospect -- his story is anything but.

HAREWOOD: There's no American football in Barbados. So, for me to aspire to do that would be ridiculous.

HOLMES: Ramon was born in Barbados, a small Caribbean island with a population of about 250,000. Now, growing up in Barbados, his size, speed and athleticism allowed him to excel at several sports.

HAREWOOD: I played volleyball for my country. I played rugby for my country, and track and field. So, you know, I was into sports.

HOLMES: Despite his athletic success and his raw talent, he never had serious thoughts as a future as a professional athlete.

HAREWOOD: I was being realistic. I was trying to be an engineer.

HOLMES: But all that changed with this would-be engineer after a chance meeting with a former football coach at a college fair in Barbados.

HAREWOOD: Captain came up to me and he was like, I can help you. You're way too big and too gifted to just be over here playing, you know, sports, going to school. You can make money for your family.

HOLMES: Ramon enrolled in Morehouse in 2006 on an academic scholarship. He had never played football before in his life. But he decided to give it a shot.

HAREWOOD: I didn't immediately fall in love with it. My first year here was a little bit rough, you know, trying to get adapted to the sport. I didn't -- I didn't really know, you know, too much about football. The new coach and staff, Coach Freeman, he came in '07, spring of '07. The first thing he did was move me to offense. HOLMES (on camera): When did you realize in his three and a half years here that, OK, this kid got a shot to do something special and be star in the next level?

RICH FREEMAN, MOREHOUSE FOOTBALL COACH: On March 12th of 2007. That's when I was named head coach here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: KX plus B.

HOLMES (voice-over): Despite his success on the football field, Ramon chose to keep his academic scholarship and keep his focus on the books.

FREEMAN: To see him do a great job academically and to come out and excel on the football field -- you know, we use that all the time. We use him as motivation to the rest of the young men.

HOLMES: Ramon has his own motivation: to strive for excellence, to make his family proud, and to represent his country. And if NFL fortune comes, well, so be it.

HAREWOOD: Money is not what drives me. I guess that's the best way to put it. But, of course, it's going to be great.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: The money is going to be great. Ramon here in studio, all 6'7''. And, I let you know, he's trimmed down about 340, 341 now.

And I don't know how much your life has changed yet, but he pulled up to CNN in a new Mercedes this morning.

No, I'm kidding. He didn't, folks. He's not there yet.

But, come on. Congratulations, my man.

HAREWOOD: Thank you. Thank you.

HOLMES: What was that like? Certainly, the journey you've been through, been playing football three and a half years. And now, here you are, got drafted by the Baltimore Ravens. Just tell me what the moment was like when you got the call and you heard your name actually.

HAREWOOD: It was so surreal, you know? I'm still in shock to be honest with you. I'm sitting there. I was watching it on ESPN. (INAUDIBLE), in the corner, in the bottom left corner, and the next couple teams. And I saw Baltimore like three teams away, you know, to pick. I was like, man, please -- I was like, dear God, please. Came up to two, it was Green Bay and then it was Baltimore. And then the newsman called me and he was like --

HOLMES: That's a newsman from the Ravens.

HAREWOOD: Yes.

HOLMES: Yes.

HAREWOOD: General conversation. And he was like, well, I don't want to speak out of turn. What we hear next, you know, Green Bay, they have to pick. And if they don't pick you, son, you're going to be a Baltimore Raven. Those were the best words I could ever hear.

HOLMES: What was the family's reaction because as people saw in the piece there, your family has been -- you have a background in education. Your family -- I think your aunt who started taking care of you for a long time has four degrees. The focus is always on education.

So, what was the family's reaction?

HAREWOOD: I called -- I called, you know, Barbados. My aunt (ph) was the first person I called. All I could hear was screaming in the background. They were all happy. My whole family was over there. It sounded like it at least.

There was a bunch of commotion in the background. And, I mean, she understands, you know, this opportunity just way too big to pass up. So, she's not, on my case, as much as before, you know?

HOLMES: But you already have a physics degree.

HAREWOOD: Yes.

HOLMES: Going for a civil engineering degree as well, which you'll have, 40-plus hours to get that.

How much do you think it helped you? Your character, your family background, and also, the education, the emphasis on education, with all the talk of Ben Roethlisberger being suspended, even though he wasn't charged with anything, so much about character is important now. And teams want to invest in a guy who's not going to give them off the field problems.

You aren't initially projected to be even be drafted. You're going to get a chance to trial for a team but not to be drafted. After you went to your interviews and impressed a lot of these teams with your character, your background, you started moving up. And sure enough here, you're drafted on the sixth round.

How much -- your character, how much do you think that helped you?

HAREWOOD: I think it had a lot to do with it. Like I told you last week, this is the easy part. Just, you know, talking, all you got to do is be yourself. That's all I have to do.

And, you know, playing football for three and a half years, going to Morehouse College, my background in itself, you know, my mom passed when I was 10. My whole life emphasizes hard work and commitment. So, it was kind of easy just to sit down and talk about it because I realize probably like, if I get four or five months to go like, you know, my story -- it's not a -- it's not a Michael Oher story, at least not yet. But --

HOLMES: But you're getting there. They could make a movie out of you one of these days.

HAREWOOD: Oh, yes. Oh, yes.

HOLMES: And, again, you have the physics degree. And I know that helps you on the field as well. You can outsmart quite frankly a lot of guys out there. You say, you apply the physics to every move you make out there.

Before I let you, everybody asks this question of an NFL guy as soon as he gets drafted: What's the one thing or the first thing you want to buy once you -- once you start making NFL money? You even thought about anything like that yet?

HAREWOOD: I haven't thought about it. I was still trying to absorb this thing. I have -- I have no idea. Let us say, house, but who knows.

HOLMES: And it's cold in Baltimore, folks. He was complaining about the weather in Atlanta the way being cold. And now, he's got to go to Baltimore.

So good luck there. It's been a pleasure. We're going to be following you. My first NFL jersey is gong to be Ramon Harewood jersey.

HAREWOOD: Thank you. Thank you.

HOLMES: But, Ramon, 6'7'' --

HAREWOOD: Probably my first NFL jersey as well.

(LAUGHTER)

HOLMES: Congratulations to you.

HAREWOOD: Thank you.

HOLMES: We are going to wrap this thing up here. Of course, we're keeping an eye certainly on the weather situation and continue to bring that for you as well. But we're going to hand this over to Sanjay Gupta in just a moment.

Stay here.