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CNN Saturday Morning News
Possibly Seven Tornadoes Hit Central Florida; Seventeen Killed in Storm; Search and Rescue Continues; Towns Try to Pick Up The Pieces
Aired February 03, 2007 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Pictures you're loOKing at here show the destruction and devastation in central Florida. Strong storms there leaving a trail of brOKen homes as well as brOKen lives. Many caught completely by surprise.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 911.
Where's your emergency?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, I'm in an 18 wheeler and it's been turned over by a tornado.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're definitely in Volusia County?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, ma'am.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. What's the last cross street...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm in the middle of the road.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're on 17?
What's the last cross street you remember seeing?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ma'am, I couldn't tell you. I'm just -- I was trying to get out of the truck.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: From the CNN Center, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
It is February the 3rd.
Hello to you all.
I'm T.J. Holmes.
And with me from Lady Lake, Florida, Soledad O'Brien -- good morning to you, Soledad.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, T.J. good morning to you.
We're in Lady Lake this morning and you can see, just as the sun is kind of starting to come up, the amount of damage. And it's one of those things where the scope is just intense.
I can see debris, probably from this house, spread out acres down the way.
Lady Lake right in the middle of that 70 mile swath that went right across central Florida. And the home behind me, the people who live here actually were OK. A near miss. And that's the story from many of the people here -- T.J.
HOLMES: All right, Soledad, a lot more from you, of course, coming up.
We're going to be talking about picking up the pieces from shattered homes and shattered lives. Central Florida still reeling this morning from the deadly storms. And at least one tornado that ripped across that area.
Lake, Seminole, Sumter and Volusia Counties are under a state of emergency. The storms ripped roofs off houses, reduced entire neighborhoods to rubble. Some of that we were hearing being described by Soledad just then.
And if you are just waking up with us, here now is the latest.
Emergency officials say at least 19 people were killed by the storms. Among the dead, two high school students. This was the second deadliest tornado outbreak in Florida history. The worst was in 1998, when 42 people died. Authorities say the primary search and rescue effort is over. Crews are now moving into the recovery phase -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Let's peek through this home here and kind of give you a closer loOK.
Gene Sugs (ph) and his wife lived here. And take a loOK at exactly how they were able to survive this storm. We're going to kind of watch our step, because this place is obviously littered with nails and there are some wires still down today.
He was in the part of the house that you can see where the structure is still standing. And he, like many people, didn't even know it was coming. He said the wind blew his bed right against a wall. He felt something falling on his face. It turned out it was the rain, because the ceiling had been ripped off.
He heard his wife, who was in a room down a little bit further, down here, he heard her screaming for help. And what he was able to do was come out and lift the rubble.
Be careful here. This is kind of rough.
He was able to lift some of the rubble off of her and rescue her, as well. And they're OK.
But loOK at what's left of their home. If they had been in any other part of the house, they probably would not have been able to survive this storm, because if you can loOK straight back, everything else, except this middle portion, has been flattened. It's just a mess. And that's kind of, T.J. a standard story here.
I mean if we come around this side -- I'm not quite sure how far we can get here -- the wall has completely collapsed off the side of the home.
Today, they've had the opportunity to get an R.V. in. They're not staying here. They're going to come back, probably, we're expecting, to try to pick through some of the rubble and see what they can grab from what's left of their home. We'll have an opportunity, hopefully, to talk to them a little bit about what their future plans are, as well.
And, sadly, it's kind of a story that a lot of people had. No warning. The storm came at almost the worst time possible -- 3:00 in the morning. If you weren't watching TV, if you didn't have one of those radios that would wake you up and notify you of the incoming storm, you would not know.
Rob Marciano filed this report for us, because that is a story that many people have in central Florida.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST (voice-over): 3:00 a.m. and destruction swept across central Florida. A killer tornado, jolting many people from their sleep in a real life nightmare.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The lights kept going off and on. It's when I heard my chimes going crazy and the wind, is when I knew it was coming. And then we heard the freight train sound.
MARCIANO: A sound so loud that one woman who'd taken off her two hearing aids for bed said she heard it clearly.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Without my hearing aids, I don't hear a sound, peace and quiet. About 3:15, 3:20, I heard this strange noise. It was so loud that I'd never heard of before. And the sound was -- it got louder and louder and louder and it just clicked in my head, oh my god, tornado.
MARCIANO: Homes and businesses flattened along the way. The counties of Sumter, Volusia and Seminole hard hit. But Lake County saw devastation and death in the county's worst disaster ever.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And over at this house right here, some lady -- I was trying to help her out, but she didn't make it. It was -- I tried my -- I tried my hardest. I told (UNINTELLIGIBLE) that guy, I was in there checking her pulse and everything.
MARCIANO: Areas that just last night held houses now loOK like war zones. The storms ripped some homes off their foundations and tossed cars around like toys.
The Lady Lake Church of God bowed to Mother Nature. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It loOKs just like a bomb went off. It used to be a church.
MARCIANO: The church's pews, altar and bibles now piles of debris. Devastated church members consoled each other, but they say they'll still hold service on the site this Sunday.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: There are five shelters across three counties. And that's where many people were able to spend the night. The tornado or tornadoes -- it loOKs like it was a series of tornadoes now across this big swath -- skipped over the main highway here. And so what you have is this path that runs through Paisley in Lake County, where we were last night.
The devastation there just as bad. It's a little more rural, so it's a little more spread out. But more people died in that town -- Paisley -- than anywhere else in this county. And, of course, it then continued on further east.
We continue to update you on what's happening here.
We're expecting, as the sun is now coming up and the weather, so far at least, is kind of clear, that people will start coming back to their homes today and try to spend another day picking up, cleaning up.
There was a curfew in place in this county last night. They didn't want people to come in -- it's too dangerous with the power lines down. They also didn't want any looters to come in and grab anything.
The sun is up, the curfew is over, we expect people to be coming back later this morning -- T.J.
HOLMES: All right, Soledad.
Now, any idea -- a lot of people are -- do they have shelters set up for them? Where are a lot of people staying? Do they have family in the area? I guess where did everybody kind of go and seek shelter last night?
O'BRIEN: They had a lot of different options there. There are five different shelters, some of them set up in churches. The Red Cross, as well, helping people. Some people, like the people who live here, just went and stayed with family members. Some of the members are here on the property because they wanted to keep an eye on the property.
But the couple that was living in this house actually was able to go off with some family. I mean, obviously, it's got to be just a traumatic event to survive a tornado in the way that they did.
So, it seems like people are getting the help that they need at this point. HOLMES: All right, Soledad.
Thank you so much.
Of course, we are going to be checking back in with you plenty this morning.
We'll see you soon.
And, also, Florida's governor, Charlie Crist, declared a state of emergency in four counties and quickly spOKe with President Bush about receiving federal aid.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. CHARLIE CRIST (R), FLORIDA: You know, I impressed upon him the importance of us getting federal aid from both FEMA, as well as Homeland Security. I talked to Secretary Chertoff earlier. And that kind of cooperative spirit, he assured me that we would get help as quickly as possible to make sure that central Florida was covered, that we're doing everything to protect our people. The most important thing is to make sure that our people are safe and secure.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: And we are going to talk live with Governor Crist about an hour from now. He'll be in the city of Lady Lake, along with Soledad. And that's coming up at 8:30 Eastern time.
And a little later this morning, Governor Crist and FEMA Director David Paulison -- they plan a news conference at 11:00 Eastern. And we will bring you live coverage of that event. Please stay here with us.
Of course, when deadly storms hit in central Florida and really hit all around the country, when we see disasters, our CNN I-Reporters jump into action. We've got a sampling now of some of the pictures coming into I-Report.
One picture here, this was sent in by Alex Woods. He toOK this picture while walking around his neighborhood in Florida. Alex says his house was not damaged, but this is what he found just down the street. This picture is of a house with a boat that got squeezed into a camper. This picture is also from Alex Woods' neighborhood. It shows what the storm did to the trees and that the trees then did to a house.
Also, this picture comes to us from Susan St. Amour. She's staying with her dad in The Villages Retirement Community and toOK these pictures after the storm hit. She also sent us another picture you're taking a loOK at there.
And if you have photos, videos for I-Report, go to cnn.com/ireport. Send us whatever you have. We'll show some of those throughout the day. Meanwhile, Bonnie Schneider here with us, keeping an eye on the weather situation -- and, Bonnie, what can you tell us about what blew through Florida?
BONNIE SCHNEIDER ATS METEOROLOGIST: Well, using Google Earth, we can show you the exact track of the storms. Now, the National Weather Service will be back on the scene today to get a better idea of what happened. But as we take a loOK at the tornado fatalities, in Lady Lake we had six reported and 13 reported fatalities in Paisley.
And this is where it all began -- you can see right here -- in central Florida, around 3:00 in the morning. That's when we had the first tornado warning issued.
And as far as time for warnings, they range between about nine minutes and 16 minutes, not a lot of time but every little bit helps. And as you can see, this storm tracked all the way -- this super cell thunderstorm -- all the way to the coastline, to New Smyrna Beach.
So, unfortunately, this storm lasted for way too long of a time. It must have been a very powerful thunderstorm. We're still getting that data in and still evaluating what we can find out about the tornado, whether it was one large tornado or a series of tornadoes that erupted from the super cell storm.
Well, what's happening in Florida right now?
It's so interesting to know, we still have a similar pattern, that El Nino pattern bringing in a strong southern branch of the jet stream. That brings a lot of moisture coming in from the Gulf. So that steady flow of rain.
But we don't have the same contrast of air masses, with the powerful cold front that ripped through the area the day the tornadoes worked their way through the region.
So now we're seeing kind of cloudy, showery weather through central Florida. And I think we'll continue to see this throughout much of the day today.
You'll notice Miami is dry right now, as everyone gets ready for the Super Bowl on Sunday. But we run the risk for showers there and kind of breezy conditions for Super Bowl Sunday, as well.
Now, loOKing at the region, you can also see some rain up toward northern Florida. Temperatures today, as a result, will be cooler. They'll mainly be into the mid-'60s in the Orlando area to about, I'd say, 71, 72 degrees in Miami. So you'll see kind a cloudy, showery day. But at least severe weather is not in the forecast, and that is some good news -- T.J.
HOLMES: Yes, that is definitely good to hear.
Bonnie, thank you so much.
We'll be checking in with you, as well, throughout the morning. Meanwhile, more American deaths in Iraq. That and other headlines right after the break.
And, of course, Soledad O'Brien continues our live coverage from the tornado zone -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: All right, T.J.
And just ahead, there's this...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When we came around the corner, it was devastating. And we kept saying has anybody seen Gene?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: We're going to tell you ahead one man's story when his wife just basically went to splinters. That's straight ahead as we continue here from central Florida in the aftermath of the storms -- T.J.
HOLMES: Thank you, Soledad.
And also ahead, a soccer match turns deadly in Italy. Details of that just ahead.
Stay here with CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Our other headlines this morning, new American deaths to report from Iraq. Hours ago, the U.S. military announced the deaths of three more U.S. soldiers. That brings now, the U.S. military death toll since the war began, to 3,093. Also in Iraq, nine bombs exploded in a two hour span this morning in the northern city of Kirkuk. Police say at least two people were killed. The target, the political headquarters of the Kurdistan Democratic Party. Separately, one person was killed by a car bomb blast just south of Baghdad.
Another $100 billion -- that's how much President Bush will request to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. A senior administration official tells CNN the president will ask for another $145 billion for 2008. The funding requests will go to Congress on Monday.
Meanwhile in Gaza, Hamas and Fatah agree to meet to discuss a new cease-fire. But the fighting continues. Just this morning, several people were injured by gunfire. Both groups are locked in a power struggle for the Palestinian government since the Islamic militant group Hamas ousted Fatah for power last year.
And there will be no soccer in Italy this weekend. That's because of this ugly, ugly scene outside of a game in Catania yesterday. Rioting fans faced off with police. There were dozens of injuries. One officer was killed. Tear gas also filtered down to the field, chOKing spectators and players alike.
O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody.
You're loOKing at some live pictures from Lady Lake in Florida right there. That's where I'm reporting from this morning.
Today, we're talking about the aftermath, the cleanup and what lies ahead for the people in central Florida who were just slammed by what appears to be a series of deadly tornadoes.
We've got Bill Vance -- he is the town manager for Lady Lake -- on the phone with us this morning.
Bill, I appreciate you talking to us, because I know how busy you are.
First and foremost, let's talk about how everybody spent the night last night.
What are they telling you? Did everybody get into a shelter who needed to be in one?
BILL VANCE, LADY LAKE TOWN MANAGER: Last night I visited the shelter in Lady Lake about 8:45 and there was 30 -- approximately 30 individuals at the shelter. Obviously, there was many more than that displaced, so that leads me to believe that, you know, that the majority of the folks displaced stayed with friends elsewhere.
O'BRIEN: What do you need? And do you feel like you're getting your needs met by the folks at FEMA and elsewhere who you started putting requests into?
VANCE: We had a great day yesterday, as far as beginning to work on providing for the needs of the folks who obviously, you know, suffered through this devastating event.
I spOKe directly with FEMA Director Paulison yesterday and that was, in large part, due to the efforts of Congressman Stearns.
Obviously, we've gotten the attention of, you know, most every major politician who represents our area. You know, we're loOKing for portable housing or temporary housing beginning early next week. We need portable showers, clothes, food, water, ice. The Red Cross -- we got them in town and they were happy to be there.
You know, so pretty much across the board we're having a lot of success with coordinating, you know, what's going to be needed by these folks in the very near future.
O'BRIEN: We have seen some shots from people from yesterday picking through the rubble, trying to, you know, I guess, in some cases, salvage what they can; in some cases loOKing to see if there are any survivors or any bodies, at this point.
Can you confirm for me the number dead in Lake County or in Lady Lake specifically?
I think that that number has been reported differently.
VANCE: Right. Well, the number dead in the county as a whole, I heard, was 19. The last confirmed unfortunate number I heard in Lake -- or Lady Lake -- was three. So...
O'BRIEN: And would you say -- yes.
Would you say that then you're continuing to do recovery of bodies or is it still a search and rescue? Do you think that there are people who are -- who are trapped in the rubble of their homes, at this point?
VANCE: Well, I think it's going to be a combination of the two today. Yesterday was pretty much solely dedicated to search and rescue, and clearing roads and, you know, uncovering vehicles that might, you know, be operable so people could get elsewhere if they needed to.
Today, it's going to be more of an aggressive cleanup, debris removal effort, you know, in coordination with the citizens. The town has significant contracted resources that we're going to make available to that entire area. And we're going to aggressively work with these folks to get this thing cleaned up.
And throughout the course of that cleanup, you know, hopefully we don't, but unfortunately we might, you know, come across, you know, some more bodies.
Hopefully...
O'BRIEN: All right, Bill Vance, (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...
VANCE: And hopefully a lot, if that's the case.
O'BRIEN: Yes.
Yes. That's absolutely right.
Bill Vance is the Lady Lake town manager.
Mr. Vance, I appreciate your time.
I know how busy you are today, because you guys have got a lot of work ahead of you if where we are this morning is any indication of, really, how much damage there is in this county.
Thanks for your time.
VANCE: OK, thanks for having me.
O'BRIEN: You know, T.J. you hear a lot that people are lucky to be alive. You hear it so often, in fact, that it almost becomes a cliche. But when you loOK at structures like the one behind me, where a couple actually got out alive, that cliche happens to turn out to be true.
Rusty Dornin, this morning, also has the story of someone who escaped death very narrowly.
Here's her report.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
GENE BARTHAUER, SURVIVED TORNADO: I see one of my jackets.
RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There was no place to hide, no safe place to go in Gene Barthauer's mobile home. So when the tornado struck, he stayed right where he was.
(on camera): So where were you when this happened?
BARTHAUER: That's my bed right there.
DORNIN: Oh my God.
(voice-over): And there 86-year-old Barthauer stayed, huddled for 20 minutes, until neighbors came with flashlights.
His friends Rich (ph) and Maryanne Horner lived around the corner. When they discovered their house was OK, they came running.
MARYANNE HORNER, NEIGHBOR: We didn't know what happened to Gene. When we came around the corner, it was devastating. And we kept saying, has anybody seen Gene? DORNIN: When they got to the remains of his mobile home, Gene wasn't there. He had walked down to the clubhouse of the Lady Lake mobile home park.
From the air, it appears flattened. From the ground, it's not much better -- sheet metal wrapped around trees like paper decorations.
Barthauer's clock marks the hour when his life here blew apart. Across the street, the only thing left from his neighbor's place is sand and a concrete pad, along with her couch and some other belongings.
BARTHAUER: The whole place just blew right over the top of mine, and along with her, and toOK it right across over...
DORNIN (on camera): And they found her somewhere over here.
BARTHAUER: They found her out in the field over there.
DORNIN (voice-over): One of two residents here believed to have died in the storm.
Barthauer has no insurance. It was canceled by the company last year. He says he never filed a claim for anything, and they didn't give him a reason. Now, out of this mess, he only wants to find one thing.
BARTHAUER: I'm loOKing for a Michigan jacket that my daughter bought me last Christmas.
DORNIN: So with hammer and crowbar, they set to work. Soon, search and rescue crews come through, loOKing for survivors.
BARTHAUER: Oh, these -- these are all accounted for, all the way down to the end.
Does that loOK blue over there?
DORNIN: Then, they struck pay dirt -- the closet.
BARTHAUER: There it is.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We can see it?
BARTHAUER: Right underneath this.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We can see it.
DORNIN: Just another closet rack, and...
(CHEERING)
(LAUGHTER)
DORNIN: And then was the Handy Andy doll his granddaughter gave him. But not much else.
BARTHAUER: My life here -- I think my life here is gone. I don't -- I wouldn't -- I don't think I would rebuild here. I've got a place in Michigan on a lake.
DORNIN: A man with a place to go, but not much to take with him.
Rusty Dornin, CNN, Lady Lake, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: That kind of devastation goes across four counties in Florida today.
Coming up this morning, we're going to take you on a chopper tour to really get a good sense of just how bad the damage is and how wide the scope is, as well.
Also ahead this morning, T.J. has got a report on Donald Trump and others, high profile figures whose privacy has been compromised. We've got that story and other stories across America this morning, when we return in just a moment.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody, as we bring you live coverage of the aftermath of the deadly tornadoes that hit central Florida. Keep in mind that when these tornadoes hit, it was just after 3:00 in the morning. And so for many people, they had no idea what was coming. They had no idea what hit them.
We have access to some of the 911 calls that came in and they are, in some cases, absolutely chilling.
Listen to these calls from Volusia County.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My roof is gone. Oh my god.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Listen...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can't (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Listen.
Did anybody get injured?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not injured?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You just have -- your roof is missing?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, my living room and the bedrooms. Well, I'm in the kitchen.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.
And there is nobody injured, correct?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No. No. But I don't know about my neighbors. It's all old people in here honey.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.
OK, listen, we've got the calls and we're on the way. We're sending people as fast as possible, OK?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 911.
Where is your emergency?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, I'm in an 18 wheeler and it's been turned over by a tornado.
(END VIDEO CLIP) O'BRIEN: Those are just some of the emergency calls that came in this morning that we had access to early this morning that came in 24 hours ago when that storm was hitting.
And you can see, as the sun comes up today, really people are going to be coming back out again, trying to reclaim any of the things that they can grab.
At a house like this, where really almost nothing is salvageable, the people who lived here made it out OK.
But there is -- and we did a tour around and we'll take you on that tour in a little bit -- there's almost nothing to grab. There is nothing to find from here -- T.J. back to you.
HOLMES: All right, Soledad.
It seems impossible loOKing at some of that rubble. We've seen disasters over and over again and rubble like that and people walk out of there. So always amazing to see.
Soledad, thank you.
We'll be back with you shortly.
Meanwhile, we're going to get to some Other News Across America.
"The Donald" may have a couple of choice words for one New York State agency. I don't know if he can fire anybody there, but the New York Department of State, their Web site accidentally displayed Social Security numbers contained in commercial loan documents, including the Social Security number of Donald Trump. The problem has been fixed, but it's not yet known if any of the numbers were compromised and may have fallen into the wrong hands.
Well, yet another alleged embezzlement scandal at the Omaha Archdiocese. This time the parish priest is accused of stealing $100,000 from church coffers. Other embezzlement schemes over the past two years have cost the archdiocese some $480,000.
For the first time, a new cancer vaccine is mandatory for young girls. The governor of Texas ordered all girls in the state to get the shots before entering sixth grade, beginning in 2008. Gardasil is the name of it, actually. And it was approved by the FDA last year. And it aims to prevent a sexually transmitted virus that can cause cervical cancer.
And in Bellevue, Washington, a judge is using a new kind of home monitor to keep tabs on offenders ordered to stay away from alcohol. The skin sensor detects alcohol in perspiration. Each hour, it sends a wireless update to the judge, who can issue an arrest warrant for violators.
So there you have it -- Soledad, back to you.
O'BRIEN: And, all right, T.J. thank you. You know, what we're going to see today here, certainly in Lake County and the other counties that were affected, there will be investigators out trying to figure out just how strong the tornadoes were that hit here in Lake County.
But, loOK, I mean this is a brick wall from a home that has just absolutely fallen down. You have to imagine just how -- how strong a wind was for that. The best way though to get a sense of the damage is to go up in the air, get the scope. We're going to take you on a chopper tour, straight ahead this morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Welcome back to our coverage of the aftermath of the deadly tornadoes in central Florida.
Central Florida, today just devastated as you can see from these live pictures here as the storm ripped in a 70-mile long trek right across the state. There were desperate calls for help. Listen --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, my mom is gone. My mom is gone!
911 OPERATOR: OK, is you mom there?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just send an ambulance! I don't know where she is!"
911 OPERATOR: OK, hold on a second ma'am. Hold on, hold on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody. I'm Soledad O'Brien reporting live this morning from central Florida, we're in Lady Lake, Florida, for you this morning. Betty's got the day off. T.J. is in Atlanta.
T.J., good morning.
HOLMES: Good morning to you, Soledad.
Oh, so tough to hear those 911 calls. Of course, central Florida as we see there waking up to a nightmare. Residents just reeling from those deadly storms. At least one tornado ripped across the area, Lake County, Seminole County, Sumter County, Volusia County are all under a state of emergency.
The storms ripped roofs off houses, reduced entire neighborhoods to rubble. A lot of you maybe just waking up, maybe just joining us here. We have the latest for you now.
Emergency officials say at least 19 people were killed by the storms and among the dead, two high school students. This was the second deadliest tornado event in Florida history. The worst was in 1998, 42 people died in that. Authorities say the primary search and rescue effort is now over. They are now moving on to the recovery phase.
Soledad, back to you.
O'BRIEN: All right, T.J., thank you.
We are back at the site of one of the homes that's really pretty indicative of just how strong the storms were at least here in Lake County. As you can see the brick from the home just completely collapsed. And we'll kind of make our way this way.
Here's the bringing problem this morning as people come back to clean up. I mean this. The nails that are sticking out. There's almost nothing here left to try to salvage. The only thing that stood, and withstood the storm is the bathroom. That's of course why Chad is always telling people just to try to find some kind of security right in the middle of the home, in the bathroom. Everything else around, though, is gone.
The couple that was here was able to get out. The husband found himself pinned against the wall with his mattress. Was able to dig his wife out. They're OK today. We expect that they're going to be coming back and trying to pick through some of their belongings, or whatever they think they can grab.
A good way, though, to get a sense of the real scope, because this is a 70-mile long trek that started kind of down this way and headed straight across down that way is to get up in the air. And that is exactly what Gary Tuchman was able to do.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Flying above the scene you get a very clear idea of the terror these entire communities went through early Friday morning. This loOKs to me when much like what we saw in September 2005 when we flew over coastal Mississippi and Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina.
Normally you don't think of tornadoes causing the same kind of damage, the extent of widespread damage that you see during hurricanes. Certainly this isn't the same kind of damage as Katrina, which was widespread in two states.
Nevertheless, when you're in the air now, at an altitude of 750 feet, all we can see is damage. We see flashing police lights, helicopters flying around, police helicopters, traffic jams that go for miles, and very extensive damage.
It's sad, and tragic. We see lots where there are no longer homes because the homes have been blown to smithereens. Mobile homes, larger homes, and the damage is unbelievable. In the area called The Villages, where it's an upper-middle class community where there are golf courses, where there are tennis courts, you see parts of homes inside the sand traps on the golf course, inside the water hazards of the golf course. You see shuffle board courts and tennis courts ripped up. But of course the saddest thing, are the homes, the places that these many people have lived all their lives just completely gone. The fact is less than 24 hours ago, it was a normal night. People went to sleep. They knew they had a rainstorm coming up. Very people heard about the tornado warning because it came at the absolute worst time, after 3:00 in the morning when people were sleeping.
The fact is when you see the damage from this high in the air, and you can see the businesses, the stores, and the churches and homes destroyed it's actually amazing that more people weren't killed. The fact is, though, that this area will take a long time to rebuild. We see it happens in earnest right now.
There are many workers below us; 750 feet below us on the streets, trying to fix the power lines, right now, because thousands of customers are without power. Already putting the blue tarps on top of the houses. That's something we still see in Mississippi and Louisiana, from Katrina, blue tarps covering the damaged roofs.
We already see dozens, scores of blue tarps on top of the houses right now. The fact is when you're on the ground you see how sad, you see how devastating this is. But when you're in the air and only in the air can you see how catastrophic the entire situation is. This is Gary Tuchman, CNN, Lake County, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: Not far from Lake County, Florida, is Volusia County. Susan Roesgen is there for us, live this morning,.
Hey, Susan, good morning.
SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad. I'm at the Volusia County sheriff's office mobile command center, where the deputies have cordoned off about a four square mile area of the worst destruction.
No one was killed here in Volusia County. But we've got the 911 recordings of the calls that were made to the sheriff's office early Friday morning, and you can hear just how frightening it was when the tornado blew through.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We just had a tornado touch down and I don't know if there's a bund of people hurt or not.
911 OPERATOR: OK, we've got people headed out there already. Are you injured?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, I'm trying to get people inside. There's a bunch of kids. There's a boy here bleeding. I don't now how bad. There's people screaming --
911 OPERATOR: OK, OK, calm down, calm down. We already have people coming out there. You have somebody that has decided where you are, right?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I -- I think everybody is safe. Everybody OK? You've got a little blood on you, but I think you're just cut a little. I think everybody's OK. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The whole building is just gone.
911 OPERATOR: OK, calm down. Are you injured or is anyone with you injured? I need to know of any injuries. Are you injured at all?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I stepped on some nails and my lip is bleeding. I don't know what --
911 OPERATOR: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The roof fell on my head.
911 OPERATOR: OK.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROESGEN: Again, those were some of the frightening 911 calls, Soledad, that came into the Volusia County sheriff's office early Friday morning. Again, no one was killed in this county. Some people were injured and they say the destruction is every bit as bad here in this four square mile area as it is in the Lake County area -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Oh, it's terrible. Those calls are just awful, just chilling.
We're back in Lake County. I want to show you a little bit closer up this home. They're surrounded by eight acres, and you can see even way down into their meadow far, far down, debris. Long, long distance has gone from here, way across the field, because of course there were no structures in the field.
If we come back this way I'm going to walk you think a little bit of their home. This is a brick home. This is a solid structure. LoOK what's really the only thing that's still standing. This is still firm. It's not going to knock down any time soon, if you take a loOK back here, if you're here, that's it.
They probably would not have survived if the bedrooms had been on the other side. Instead, though, the bedrooms were here. The husband was pinned against this wall with his mattress. So he ended up being OK, once he dug himself out. His wife was over here in this part of the house, which was another bedroom. She was under a bunch of rubble, because the ceiling came off and collapsed on top of her. He dug her out, and they were both able to get out safely.
So, really, quite remarkable when you loOK at this, the amount of damage that people were able to survive. Of course, though, Lake County hit very hard. The number of people who died here 19 confirmed by CNN, at this point. And 20, by other reports, as well. The county and the state having a different confirmation there. We're going to obviously confirm those numbers for you as we're able to get it. And they're expecting it's possible those numbers could go even higher, of course. Because as the sun comes up, it's a little bit later in the day, people will start coming in and digging through what is left of their possessions. And also see if they can track down any of the missing neighbors and friends.
That's what we have from here, T.J., this morning as we continue to report on the aftermath of this deadly string of tornadoes, that really slammed right into central Florida. T.J.?
HOLMES: My goodness, Soledad. Thank you so much. Meanwhile, Florida's Governor Charlie Crist has declared a state of emergency in four counties. And he quickly got on the phone with President Bush about receiving federal aid.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CRIST: I impressed upon him the importance of us getting federal aid from both FEMA, as well as Homeland Security. I talked to Secretary Chertoff, earlier. And in that kind of cooperative spirit, he assured me that we would get help as quickly as possible, to make sure that central Florida was covered. That we're doing everything to protect our people. The most important thing is to make sure that our people are safe and secure.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: And we will talk live with Governor Crist about an hour from now. He'll be in the city of Lady Lake, there, with Soledad. That's coming up at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time. And then a little later Governor Crist and FEMA Director David Paulison plan a news conference at 11:00 a.m. Eastern. And CNN will bring you live coverage of that event. So, please stay tuned here with us.
Meanwhile, this word just coming in, that bird flu back in the news. British agriculture and health officials confirm the lethal H5N1 strain of bird flu has been found on a turkey farm in southeast England. The European Commission says the outbreak was discovered last night after 2500 turkeys died.
Soledad, back to you.
O'BRIEN: All right, thanks very much.
Paul Milliken is an affiliate reporter for us; he's in Volusia County this morning at the Hawthorne Hills Mobile Home Park.
Paul, first, thanks for helping us out yesterday, with our live coverage. We appreciate it. Tell me what you're seeing this morning.
PAUL MILLIKEN, CNN AFFILIATE REPORTER: I'm sure I'm seeing the same kind of things you are. The devastation -- there's not even words to describe it. It's really amazing.
What's really lucky here in Volusia County is that no one died, which is really miraculous when you loOK at the kind of damage we're talking about. I'm holding an orange here. I don't know if you can see it. The strange thing about this is, my photographer, Jamie and I have been walking through, there are orange trees all around here. The trees are still standing, all the leaves were there, all the oranges were plucked off and they're all over the place here. Just a strange sign and some of the strange things these tornadoes can do.
LoOK at all the damage around me. You can see some of the siding here. A lot of wires hanging everywhere. There's still no electricity in this area. There probably won't be for quite some time. But there aren't many houses left either. I'll step out of the way and let Jamie show you some of the destruction.
Now that it's light out a lot of the homeowners are arriving back on scene. Many of them slept in shelters last night. Many had to sleep with relatives, as well. They're getting a firsthand loOK at the damage that their houses sustained. Again there's not many left standing here. Most of them are caved in. A lot of water damage here, as well.
There are a few houses in the back that are still standing, amazingly we talked to a woman who is living still in one of them. She has no power. She says she doesn't think she will for awhile, but says she plans to stay here. Now, you loOK at this and you have to wonder where does the cleanup process begin? You know, crews are going to start arriving here any minute now that it's bright outside. But it's still such a huge job out here.
Again, there's metal siding, twisted around trees here. There are pieces of mobile homes everywhere. There are pieces from cars everywhere. I mean, just all kinds of things here. I mean I'm sure, again, the same stuff you're seeing in Lake County in Florida, and again the good news here, though, that nobody died. Amazing, amazing stuff.
O'BRIEN: Yeah, it is very good news for you. I mean, can you imagine -- you're exactly right. You loOK around at just, you know, things on top of things on top of rubble, on top of piles of mattresses, and stuff. And you think, well, where do you start, where do you start picking up any of the pieces?
Paul, thank you very much. Again, thanks for yesterday for helping us out as the news was just breaking.
MILLIKEN: Sure.
O'BRIEN: Ahead this morning, we're going to do a closer loOK at what the folks at the Red Cross are doing. As you well know, when there's a disaster it's the American Red Cross is often first on the scene to help out. We'll update you on what they're doing this morning. Straight ahead. We're back in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: As you well know, whenever there's a disaster, often the first folks on the scene to help out is Red Cross. Ike Pigott is with the Red Cross. You were actually in Florida for the Super Bowl prep, and then you got redeployed. What happened?
IKE PIGOTT, AMERICAN RED CROSS: Well, you know, obviously 4:00 in the morning yesterday we found out that there was a huge, tremendous need here. And the first thing you do is try and assess how big that need is.
And you know, when we saw that it was going to be beyond the capabilities of the local chapters to respond to on their own, we start bringing in resources from as close as we can into the area.
O'BRIEN: What kind of resources do you have here now for the folks here?
PIGOTT: We're bringing in personnel, bringing in trained volunteers who know how to plug themselves immediately into a disaster operations. We have a number of our mobile feeding trucks that are in now and delivering meals to some of the areas where the folks just can't get any other food right now.
O'BRIEN: You have shelters set up, too, right?
PIGOTT: We have at least seven Red Cross shelters open that we know about right now. Obviously, as we find out a little bit more about the need we'll be opening additional shelters throughout the day based on getting them close to where the people are.
O'BRIEN: How have those shelters been populated? I know whenever you're in a sort of a tight-knit community often people really want to stay with their friends and relatives.
PIGOTT: Most people, whether it's a tornado or hurricane evacuation, they want to be in the place where they're most comfortable. So we've had a lot of folks that have stayed with friends. A lot of folks in the retirement communities, spend all day together, they know each other, so they're finding the most comfortable thing.
We've had a few dozen people check in through our shelters, and that is going to fluctuate over the course of the next couple of days, as they find out about the services, and make themselves available for them.
O'BRIEN: One of the big complaints, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, was with all the shelters, people really couldn't figure out how to find each other. It was sort of a logistical nightmare. And it wasn't a Red Cross issue, it was across the board an issue.
PIGOTT: It was everybody's issue. One of the things the Red Cross did was kind of step in and get all of these various agencies together. The folks who had these safe and well type websites. It's actually a coordinated network now. You can go to Redcross.org and in the upper right-hand corner click on the safe and well graphic.
This is an on-line database that people can use to communicate to friends and loved ones across the country and say hey, I'm OK. Phone lines aren't always there. Cell phone towers go down in areas like this. And if you can get to a phone and you're in the affected area, call in. Let the folks know that you're all right. And the information is posted, it is all public information. It's no Social Security numbers, no phone numbers or anything, it is just a simple message, I'm OK. And in a lot of circumstances that's the most important news people can hear.
O'BRIEN: Sometimes that's really, at the end of the day, the only thing you really want to hear. How long do you expect to be here? How long will you be able to help the people out here?
PIGOTT: We're going to be here as long as the need's here. Since we're still within the first 28 hours post-storm, there's still a lot of assessment going on. We want to make sure that we've got an appropriate response. We're bringing in the right numbers of people and vehicles to service the need. And, as that need starts to diminish, we'll start pulling back our resources, as well.
O'BRIEN: All right, Ike, thanks for talking with us this morning. I know you're real busy. So we appreciate you stopping by.
PIGOTT: Thanks for having us on.
O'BRIEN: Our pleasure. Let's send it right back to T.J. in Atlanta. T.J.?
HOLMES: All right, Soledad, thank you so much. We're going to talk about something that's happening on cnn.com. It is one of the most popular videos on our website this morning, and it includes crying babies in Russia. But the way they were silenced is just going to break your heart. That is next when CNN SATURDAY MORNING continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: CNN.com, of course, your place for news video on demand. The most popular things this morning: The store clerk, in Ohio, who shot back at armed robbers. The cameras captured that shoot- out.
Number two is the so-called E-gate scandal in Seattle. Port police exchanging racial insensitive and sexually explicit e-mails in the department.
Also in Russia, the muffled cries of helpless infants in a hospital nursery. Nurseries -- or rather, the nurses had used tape to cover their tiny mouths to keep them quiet.
And then rounding out the top four, a piece we just showed you minutes ago, CNN's Gary Tuchman gets a bird's-eye view of the tornado destruction in Florida.
Still a lot more ahead this morning, this SATURDAY MORNING, in our ongoing live coverage of the Florida severe weather damage. Coming up, did storm victims get adequate warning? CNN's Joe Johns has that story, in "Keeping them Honest". And then a little later, we'll speak live to Florida Governor Charlie Crist about what happens next. Don't go anywhere.
Also, we're keeping an eye on our affiliates, several affiliates we've been monitoring starting yesterday, leaning on them, happily. This is WESH, one affiliate we're keeping an eye on. Bringing you the information they have and all the other resources of CNN on the ground, as well. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My roof's gone. Oh, my God.
911 OPERATOR: OK, listen, Ma'am, did anybody get injured?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.
911 OPERATOR: No injuries?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.
911 OPERATOR: You just have your roof is missing?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, my living room, my bedroom, I'm in the kitchen.
911 OPERATOR: OK, and there's nobody injured, correct?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: You can literally hear the fear in the voices on some of these calls we've been listening to. Meanwhile, recovery efforts are on the way after central Florida is slammed by severe weather.
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