Transcripts For KGO Good Morning America 20170831

Just coming back and gathering what i can. So much to rebuild. The day of giving starts right now. Good morning, america. Welcome to our day of giving. Harvey is finally moving out of texas. The damage left behind just devastating. These helicopter shots show the conditions around port arthur and beaumont, texas, right now. As you can imagine, the road to recovery is going be a long one. And heres what we know this morning, at least 31 deaths, the red cross says it is caring for 32,000 displaced people, 49,000 homes reported to be damaged but we know that number is believed to be much, much higher. This could end up being the costliest storm in u. S. History, more than 100 billion. And we are devoting this morning to the fundraising effort, all part of disneys day of giving. You can support the red cross by phone, text or online. Text harvey to 90999. Go to redcross. Org abc or call 1855999give. As you can imagine, we have Team Coverage across texas and louisiana. Well begin with breaking news. Explosions at a flooded Chemical Plant in crosby, texas, and Clayton Sandell is there for us this morning. Good morning, clayton. Reporter and good morning, robin. Thats right, the companys owners said there has been at least two explosions at their plant five miles up the road and theres some mixed messages theyre not calling it an explosion. They dont want people to panic. They say its a relatively small but intense fire where these chemicals are being stored. Those remaining containers still could ignite. One deputy was transported to a hospital after inhaling what theyre calling nontoxic fumes. This is something the plants owners predicted would happen because the volatile chemicals they use to make plastics. Harveys floods knocked out all electricity and two sources of backup power. I want to show you some video here. Overnight the Company Released this clip that shows what happens to this type of chemical when it starts to get warm. Basically it spontaneously combusts so that is why everyone here living here within a 1 1 2mile radius of this plant has been evacuated. There are some Big Questions that need to be answered. Thank goodness they got the people out. To gio benitez in morning, in orange, texas, with the latest on the flooding and conditions at those evacuation centers. Good morning, gio. Reporter george, good morning to you. Right now zthe concern in beaumont is that the water supply has been knocked out by those floods. People could go without water for days. In Southeast Texas widespread flooding inundating thousands near and along the coast. A local judge issuing an urgent warning, quote, get out or die. The images frightening. Inside this nursing home beds surrounded by that murky water. Residents in wheelchairs hoisted onto boats. Patients in Critical Condition choppered out. People at emotional breaking points. I waded through the water and somebody gave me a ride on the boat. Just break my heart. Reporter some seeking shelter in the nowflooded civic center. Were inside the civic center, they got people all in the bleachers. They got mattresses on top of chairs. People on top of tables. Water is coming in from every angle. Reporter others stranded inside this bowling alley. Everybody come here and pick people up and bring them to a better place, thank you. Reporter port arthurs mayor Derrick Freeman reassuring his citys people, even after his own home was flooded with four feet of water. I know one thing, its not going to defeat us. If you call 911 and we havent gotten there yet, we are on the way. Reporter families left with nothing. How are you feeling right now . Scared. I dont know which way to go, losing everything. No clothes, nothing. Just what i got on. Thats it. Reporter thousands relying on the generosity of strangers. A citizen armada, a fleet of civilians on boats jumping in to help out. So this is what were seeing of the private boats, people with private boats are coming out here and they are getting these people out of those homes, out of that flood. A Group Calling themselves the rescue rangers coming from as far away as oregon with their personal vessels. In the midst of it all, i could think of is just the unity to know it didnt matter what race, religion we was, we all come together in unity to make sure these people are safe. Reporter and as for that water supply in beaumont, it officials cant even start fixing it until the floodwaters recede and, robin, they just have no idea how long thats going to take. Thats right, gio, thank you. Joining us on the phone is the mayor of port arthur, texas, Derrick Freeman who we just saw keeping spirits up in his city even though his own home flooded with four feet of water. Mayor freeman, thank you very much for joining us this morning. We saw the dramatic video that you posted. You know, floodwater there in your own home asking for prayers for your city. Tell us about what the situation is like this morning, mayor. Well, its getting better. You know, two nights ago we had a lot of water, we got about 20 inches of water in 24 hours and it devastated our city. You know, theres some parts that has receded and gone down but we still have people in three, fourfoot water in some homes so, we still have active efforts getting people out of their homes and we have First Responders and Emergency Personnel all around the city making sure were taking care of the public safety. Any idea how many people could be still stranded this morning . No, maam, but, you know, one thing thats awesome, we have a group of about 100 folks coming in from louisiana. They just got here 5 00 this morning and theyll be going home to home knocking on doors doing welfare checks, so, you know, as were doing some of the other things theyll be doing the doortodoor and were so grateful to make sure we get to every citizen and make contact. Yes, sir, everybodys doing their part. Doing whatever they possibly can. We saw the video of the nursing home and our hearts just went out. How are the folks there doing . Theyre well. You know, it was something that we werent prepared for and we didnt know we would have to get them out of there while we were rescuing people out of four foot of water but, again, we were leb thankful for the cajun navy and the citizen help and the volunteers. It was so awesome to see everybody come together as one as a community. And what is your biggest concern at this very moment . The rebuild. You know, were going to bounce back. Port arthur, we got hit with hurricane ike, hurricane rita. And Hurricane Harvey and weve rebuilt every time so were going to rebuild this time. Were going to be okay. And the way that you keep your spirit up and for your deth spirit come from, mayor . God is good. God is good. All the time. All the time. So were just making sure we Stay Grounded and do what we have to do to meet all the needs of our citizens right now and i think weve done a great job, our First Responders between the volunteers, the community leaders, weve had Business Leaders step up. Donating water, food, any blankets, walmart, catholic its just been an awesome experience to be part of a team of people that know that theyre willing to give back. You know, were all a firm believer. You cant get a blessing until youre a blessing to somebody else so they got a lot of people that need a blessing right now. You said for us to pray and the prayers are continuing. Mayor freeman, thank you very much. All the best to you and your residents. Thank you. Everybody there. Thank you. Thank you. Yall have a great day. Some encouraging words from the mayor but we also heard him say many victims are still stranded and we want to go to our senior meteorologist rob marciano who went above beaumont, texas, in a black hawk helicopter to see rescues firsthand. Good morning, rob. Good morning, george. We went up with the u. S. Customs and border protection. Yesterday, we saw water in many neighborhoods as high as the rooftops and we immediately came across an elderly couple that neededs are cue. You see the woman coming out and getting out of that basket. Boy, was she relieved. Atch thes to watch. These tight urban environments. You see multiple and in some cases over a dozen working the same area. That alone is a difficult thing for these pilots to endure. Now, not the least of which they were doing it in Tropical Storm conditions. George. You came upon one very large family. We did. We saw on higher ground, there wasnt much of it, on higher ground, there were dozens of people con greg gating there, escaping the flood waters. We took on 13 people, likely a family, kids excited to be on a helicopter. Sometimes the women were scared. But they were all very, very grateful. An amazing thing to watch. Just that agency, 200 rescues. Rob, i know everyone has been going around the clock. Give a sense of how many rescues there have been in total. You know, george, its tough to quantify because the way they measure it is differently. Hoisting up in the basket is one rescue. If you bring on family of 13 thats also considered to be one rescue. So come piling those numbers is certainly mindboggling. Safe to say these guys in these choppers arent counting the numbers as much as they are out there trying to save lives. Rob marciano, thanks very much. Absolutely incredible every time you see the video. While the heavy rain might be over for texas, there are still vulnerable areas that could turn into dangerous flooding conditions so lets go to ginger zee with the latest on all that. Thats right. Whats left of harvey still dropping heavy rain in parts of louisiana, even southeastern arkansas, so this thing is going to move north and east and the flash flood threat actually takes its way all the way into southern ohio, just south of cincinnati, so louisville, lexington, nashville and memphis in the next 48 hours up to 8 inches. But remember, even though the rain has stopped in houston for now, you still have rivers that are going to rise. Were still going to see flood threats all the way through this weekend and some places for weeks. Watch as the river expands. This is the brazos river, the town of richmond, thompsons, lake jackson, all communities that could see flooding because theyre expected to crest at 56. They just updated this. This water is moving so fast, 100,000 cubic feet per second and, george, the runoff already in the gulf of mexico. Okay, ginger, thanks. Already 30,000 people have taken to houston shelters. 10,000 National Guard troops will be deployed to the region from across the country joining the 14,000 already there. Abcs chief National Correspondent tom llamas on the scene, been there since sunday. Good morning, tom. Reporter george, good morning. The water behind me is receding but things are far from normal here in houston. Still so much water on the ground. Lets take a look from above now, were at a park in downtown houston, this area right here used to be field with outdoor concerts. Now, theres so much water you cant even tell and look at those trees, the water so high, another reminder of harveys wrath. The rain has stopped but the misery far from over. Harveys impact on houston relentless. More than 13,000 people rescued so far. Officials going doortodoor marking bright orange cs on homes that are clear. Officials estimating up to 40,000 homes in one county alone are destroyed. About 100,000 is certainly not out of the question. Reporter with the death toll expected to rise, were learning what happened to some of those that were lost in the floodwaters. On wednesday, a grim discovery. This white van confirming the deaths of six members of a houston family, including four children, who were trapped inside when the vehicle went under into the rushing waters. Earlier this week i spoke with Rick Saldivar whose brother was the only one to survive. What have these last couple of days been like . A nightmare. Just a nightmare. Reporter so many still missing. Families here at the Convention Center separated from their loved ones gather at the missing persons table hoping to get answers. It has been challenging but also rewarding and weve been able to reunite some families and that makes it all worthwhile. Reporter two of seven rescue volunteers are missing after the group was forced to abandon their boat when it crashed into an electrical pole. The group last seen together on this Facebook Live video. For others some relief. We spoke to Faye Mcdaniel on wednesday. She told us her family had no idea that she was rescued and that shes been ushered from shelter to shelter. What was the message you want to give them if theyre watching this. Im okay. Im just ready to go home. Reporter but just hours later after we tweeted out her photo other Media Outlets reported her story, her daughter rushed to the shelter and reunited with her mother. Now, houston is turning a corner in many ways. Theres traffic on the highways. Restaurants, gas stations, stores are now opening. But also there are neighborhoods, absolutely destroyed. And tens of thousands of people that are waking up every day on a cot, in a shelter, surrounded by strangers, reminded every minute of harvey. Robin. And were thinking about them. And we have a very busy morning here. Our parent company, disneys day of giving telethon is well under way and i want to take a look at our studio upstairs. Phones are already ringing. Viewers opening their hears and their wallets for the people affected by harvey. We have a lot of staff members. We have a lot of celebrities that are going to be fielding the calls so you never know who is going to pick up that phone when you make that call and the telethon will continue throughout the day on abc, on freeform and radio disney, and you can support the red cross by phone, text or online. Text harvey to 90999. Go to redcross. Org abc or call 1855999give. And were also streaming live on facebook and on our website right now through noon eastern. Logon to see whos joining us. While there you can make a donation. Tony danza and arod. I saw that. But there are so many people who have been saying, what can we do . And this is a day where you can actually do something. Isnt that right, amy. Thats right. We do have a lot of other news to get to beyond whats happening in texas. We begin with a deadly shootout involving police in sacramento. They were investigating a stolen car at this hotel when investigators say the suspect opened fire from a balcony killing a sheriffs deputy. Two other officers were wounded but that suspect is in custody. And a show of force by the u. S. Military following another missile threat from north korea. U. S. Fighter jets conducted bombing drills with south korea just days after the north launched that missile over japan. President trump wednesday saying talking is not the answer for the crisis. Well, the president says his plan to overhaul the tax code would, quote, bring back main street. But during a speech at a missouri manufacturing plant, he offered few specifics about that plant other than his goal of lowering the corporate tax. And tributes are pouring in from around the world marking 20 years since the death of princess diana. Mourners leaving flowers, photos and notes at the gates of kensington palace. Her sons william and harry and duchess kate visited a Memorial Garden on wednesday. You see kate there wearing a poppy print dress and poppies are a symbol of remembrance. Elton john posting a message on instagram saying, 20 years ago today the world lost an angel and i actually think its pretty fitting we have our day of giving on this day on her 20th anniversary because we know thats what was so important to princess diana. She was all about that. Youre right about that, amy. So many people are affected by harvey and theyre looking for any reason to be hopeful. Well, at a shelter in the houston suburb of deer park, everyone stopped on wednesday to celebrate a birthday. Anthony, as you can hear the group sing to him, gave him a cake and volunteers at the shelter even gathered gifts for him. It was something for all the kids to take part in. Im sure hes going to remember this birthday for quite some time. Cant forget that one. Lets go back to ginger now. And after almost 52 inches you look at a map like this and say, oh, locally 6, remember, that can still do damage. Just east of little rock, nashville to lexington tomorrow. Good morning. Im abc7 news meteorologist mike nicco. Sunny today. Huge jump in temperatures. It will be 20 degrees warmer along the coast to 50 degrees warmer inland from what youre feeling right now. Record heat, fire danger and poor air quality tomorrow through the weekend. Highs slowly taper next week. 70s along the coast into San Francisco, 80s around the bay, 90s south bay and north bay, looking at 100s inland. Temperatures tonight in the 60s and mainly 70s. 80s in our hills. I this day of giving so important because i cant stress enough the flooding not done. Well still see flooding this weekend in houston. And so many people concerned about whats in that water, the trillions of gallons of water thats been dumped in texas and louisiana. The dangers revealed ahead. And j. J. Watt, the football superstar, keeps on raising the bar fundraising for houston. Wait till you see how much hes raised. When they thought they should westart saving for retirement. Le then we asked some older people when they actually did start saving. This gap between when we should start saving and when we actually do is one of the reasons why too many of us arent prepared for retirement. Just start as early as you can. Its going to pay off in the future. If we all start saving a little more today, well all be better prepared tomorrow. Prudential. Bring your challenges. That just tastes better. Fresher. More flavorful. Delicious. With more great nutrition. And 25 less saturated fat. Only egglands best. Better taste. Better nutrition. Better eggs. I love you, droolius caesar, but sometimes you stink. Febreze car vent clip cleans away odors for up to 30 days. Because the things you love can stink. Our entire company here at disney abc, a day of giving. And we are trying to get you to make a phone call in to abc7 so that we can give money to the American Red Cross and they can pass it along to the folks who need it so much in texas and louisiana this morning. The number is on your screen 4159547625. Again, 4159547625. This is what i dont want to see. I dont want to see people sitting here on their computer. I want to see them on the phones, right . And youve been getting some calls from our viewers this morning. Yes. And anyone in particular kind of make an impact on you as you were talking to them . Weve had a number of people call in, being very generous, just wanting to do what they can to help. And we really, really appreciate youre going to be hanging out in here. So if you need anything, text me. Do you play . Use the chase mobile app to send money in just a tap to friends at more banks than ever before. You got next . Chase. Make more of whats yours. All right, look at these numbers. The sun is up. This is as cool as its going to get for probably six or seven days. Thats how hot its going to be, even during the overnight hours. Take a look at temperatures today. 70s in San Francisco to 100s inland. 100s spread to south bay, the bay and even the north bay tomorrow. And look how hot it gets. Alltime records possible tomorrow and saturday, reggie. Mike, i dont approve of your hot forecast, but i do approve of this. Since i last saw you, people have been listening and calling. Thanks to you, we have raised more than 2 million. Kimberly in concord, patty from oakland and kathy from concord among those calling this morning. Kathy tells us shes donating up to half of her Family Business because she and her family are devastated by whats happening in texas and louisiana. Again, news. He hey. What can you tell me about your new Social Security alerts . Oh well alert you if we find your Social Security number on any one of thousands of risky sites, so youll be in the know. Ooh. Sushi. Ugh. Being in the know is a good thing. Sign up online for free. Discover Social Security alerts. For get the lowest pricesmart of the month. Buy 1 get 1 free on select small bags and variety packs of dog and cat food and save 50 on select dog and cat treats. This week only at petsmart. For the love of pets. Welcome back to gma. Look at that devastation from Hurricane Harvey. Entire neighbors underwater right now. 100,000 homes severely damaged or destroyed by the deadly storm and this is some live drone footage of the Buffalo Bayou river in houston. That is near downtown houston. And this morning is our day of giving telethon. It is under way upstairs in our studio right now and the fundraising will continue throughout the day on abc, on freeform and radio disney. You can support the red cross by phone, text or online. Text harvey to 90999. Go to redcross. Org abc or call 1855999give. A lot more coming up in our next hour and our parent company, disney, has already donated 1 million. And well be raising money throughout the day on that. Right now we look at the possible dangers in those floodwaters. An astonishing 25 trillion gallons of rainwater have fallen on texas and louisiana and people have been wading waist deep in those roads turned to rivers and experts worry about what may be in those waters. Eva pilgrim brings us that story from pearland, texas. Those floodwaters were just about everywhere. You can see that were inside one of those homes that was damaged and the bottom two feet or so of the wall, they have come in and immediately removed it. It touched everything. I want to show you what this water looks like. This is a bottle of the floodwater that we got yesterday. Heres a clean bottle of water just to give you some reference. Its clearly dirty. This morning were learning it also may be dangerous. Brown, murky water flooding houston. Local officials have been warned about the possible dangers. These waters are dirty. They carry all kinds of shall we say stuff in them so weve got to make sure we dont have a Health Crisis too. Reporter bacteria lurking in the floodwaters. The water is filthy. It contains sewage. It contains runoff from who knows what. Reporter the epa on the ground monitoring water quality. Gma asking dr. Terry gentry from texas a m microbiology lab. To collect samples in cyprus, texas, just outside of houston. Im going to collect the water sample to test for e. Coli and bacteria. Reporter he collects two types of water. Drinking water and floodwater. While the Drinking Water came back fine, the floodwaters, e. Coli and coliform levels are concerning. We saw elevated levels of e. Coli and and this likely represents viruses and other organisms that could cause disease in some individuals. Reporter the e. Coli numbers more than 125 times the epa recommends being exposed to while swimming and 15 times higher than the standard set for wading. We do see that oftentimes when theres a storm event, so if it rains a lot, we go test the creek or a river we may see levels comparable to that. What we dont see is the breadth of this. In this case youre covering square miles. Reporter the Harris County department of health tells us the results in the report would be exactly as we would expect. With floods the waters in the streets can easily be overrun and contaminated with sewage, trash and displaced animals making it dangerous and unsafe. Dr. Susan whittier of Columbia University looked at the results. So those numbers are really high. Reporter dr. Whittier cautions anyone exposed to the water. The rescuers and those residents who had to be in it, especially those with open wounds. Getting out of the possibly contaminated clothing is essential. And somehow showering to try and, you know, clean your skin as much as possible. Reporter george, were actually standing in the familys living room and theyve removed everything from the room and they put it out on the curb outside, and thats what experts tell you to do. If you cant clean the items, unfortunately, they will likely have to go, george. I believe that, eva. What about the Drinking Water . Reporter george, at least a dozen areas have received unsafe water notices. We expect that number will likely grow. George. You can see how long its going to take to clean that up. After a storm like that, and youve been evacuated, you want to go back to your home, but you got to remember all thats in the water. Its so hard because you want to go back to see and to think when you get back you have to take all of your things and throw them away. Because theyre contaminated. Coming up, what about j. J. Watt. He is raising the bar on fundraising and hes the man. 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We are back now with the outpouring of support for all those impacted by Hurricane Harvey and j. J. Watt, im telling you, t. J. , that houston texan star, hes raised the bar. He is a threetime defensive player of the year in the nfl. Hes what we would call the stud out in the field. Right. It does not matter what he does the rest of his career on the field, it does not matter what he does the rest of his career for his houston team, it will all pale in comparison to what he has now done for the houston community. Uhhuh. Reporter j. J. Watt, star defender for houston texans, is taking to social media to raise money for Hurricane Harvey relief efforts. Its hard to not be able to help. Reporter starting with his own 100,000 donation sunday, he challenged his followers to match it and raised over 500,000 in less than a day and after tackling that goal he raised the bar higher. Ive upped the goal to 1. 5 million now. Reporter and higher. 2 million. Reporter now after raising over 9 million he is setting his biggest goal yet. Everything is bigger in texas and so im raising the goal to 10 million. Reporter money is pouring in from more than 6,000 donors. On tuesday he told us its the small donors making the biggest difference. The beauty of it all, its not necessarily big donations coming in, 5 here, 10 here, people from all over the country giving what they can. Not necessarily big donations, its really a Crowdfunding Effort and thats so incredible to watch. It wont be a oneweek thing but a longterm relief effort and its cool to see how many are stepping up. Reporter some other celebrities also stepping up. Kevin hart. My harvey hurricane donation site is now live. Its set up and shouts out to j. J. Watt, and i saw what youre doing. Reporter Sandra Bullock and Leonardo Dicaprio and dwayne the rock johnson. We all want to step up to the pretty plate, do everything we can. Reporter all making big donations encouraging others to do the same. Keep in mind here, folks, he started with a goal and said ill donate 100,000. Can you all match it . That was done in two hours. 200,000, a million, 1. 5, 3, 5, 8, 9, now its up to 10 million. Theres probably no doubt it will hit 10 million even as we speak. Hes gotten a couple big ones. A Million Dollars here from walmart but most of them 20 to 100 from a lot of individuals just wanting to it adds up. And they trust him. Thats the thing. Hes such a likable j. J. Watt said lets do it its going directly to the cause. Such an impressive man. And the donations for our day of giving are already pouring in as well. They are. When we come back, youre going to want to hear this incredible gospel singer who is lifting spirits at a houston shelter. She joins us live. By sherwinwilliams has complete onecoat coverage. And its also stain resistant. How stain resistant . This stain resistant. And, its also scrubbable. 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We are back now with the volunteers who hit the perfect pitch, the perfect note to lift spirits when Victoria White broke out into song at a texas shelter. Her performance meant so much. Not just to the evacuees but to so many around the world. 15 million views and counting. Heres a sample of that powerhouse performance. We want to see let us see we want to see come on, yall. One more time. We want to see your kingdom yeah music can soothe the soul and we are thrilled now to be joined by Victoria White herself and her volunteering partner Marquist Taylor at the shelter in conroe, texas. Conroe, texas. It is so great to see you both and tell us, victoria, what inspired you to go there to that shelter and break out into song . Well, our local shelter was at capacity for volunteers and so we knew we wanted to be boots on the ground and so we had to figure out somewhere that had space for volunteers and we found out that the shelter here in conroe did and we came to lend our gifts. And victoria, we saw you getting strength from everyone around you. Absolutely, absolutely. It was great to be able to interact and meet and encourage everyone who was present. Marquist, are you planning to go to other shelters . Absolutely. We plan on spreading the love. You know, there was a lot of loss but theres a lot of love so well keep spreading it all around. Why dont you spread the love right now. Yes, maam. Absolutely. Lets do it. Lets do it. Let the kingdom of heart be the mountain were on the fountain i drink from or he is my song and let the kingdom of my heart be the shadow where i hide the road of my life oh he is my song victoria and marquist, thank you. Wow. Absolutely, thank you, guys. And what is your final message to people who are watching about the people who have been affected by this hurricane . The final message is that these people still need help and we encourage everybody to get out and serve, give, donate, monetarily thats whats going to be able to sustain the people. Lets be the hands and feet. Boots on the ground and we all have resources to give to help out one another. Bless you both. Their example and gifts and we want to thank the many volunteer, emergency workers, troops and medical personnel that have helped the hundreds of victims at the Lone Star Expo Center as well as usher relief to thousands across the state with supplies. Lets go up to amy. You can be a hero too. Im here in our command center where our panel of celebrities and abc employees are fielding all of your calls at home for our parent company, disneys day of giving. The donations are already pouring in. Were so inspired. We have already raised well over a Million Dollars and the telethon is going to continue throughout the day here on abc. Freeform and radio disney and you can support the red cross by phone, by text or online. You can just text harvey to 90999. Go t abc or u dcreo rgro. Oss can call 1855999give. Give. So, robin, were hoping everybody is exercising their arm muscles making calls and texts. Did i see your hubby up there. He has rolled up his sleeves if youd like to talk to andrew shue, you can call that number too. Everybody doing their part. This storm has taken a tremendous toll on such a big part of the country. So many people need your support and the person whos really come through is j. J. Watt. We were talking about him. Well, he among others are really making a difference and were going to hear from j. J. A little bit later this morning. Thank you so much for doing that. Meat lovers, extra large. Meat lovers, extra large. I doni refuse to lie down. Why suffer . 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At carmax, its all about confidence. Nothing but net. Nailed it or should i say, nailed it govnor. Welcome back to Good Morning America. You know, weve been talking so much about the flooding rains of harvey that there have been weve not been talking about the fires and there are 60 large wildfires burning in the west. This one, helena fire in california, the california Highway Patrol showing us this really stunning video. This one is 1500 acres, 0 contained and unfortunately it is so not alone. It comes along with an excessive heat watch thats really spreading all the way from los angeles and were taking these all the way to the coast. Hot in san diego up through San Francisco, up to even portland. Red flag warnings extend all the way through northern montana. A lot of the fires are concentrated from montana through oregon but my goodness a heat advisory is not going to stop through the weekend. A very hot one. It could be the hottest burning man weve ever seen and look at some of those numbers, 113, redding. This is for fridays high temperature. 107, fresno. By the way, we are still talking all about houston and, of course, port arthur, texas, those communities that need so much. It is our day of giving right here at abc, our parent Company Disney doing all of this. Weve got the calls, the phone banks open. Youll want to join us because all through the next hour, youre going to see familiar faces taking your donations. Your local news and weather your local news and weather coming up next. Hi leaving a career to follow a calling takes courage. A personalized Financial Strategy can give you confidence to take the next step. Hi guys aw yeah see how access to j. P. Morgan investment expertise can help you. Chase. Make more of whats yours. Good morning america is brought to you by carmax. Drive whats possible. Good morning. Im Jessica Castro from abc7 mornings. And we want to give you an update on our phone bank right now that is open. Abc7 news a part of the entire abc family hoping today to make a day of giving, and were collecting donations to help the victims of Hurricane Harvey nationwide. You can call right now, 4159547625. And give your donation. Already we have more than 7,000 collected here locally, more than 2. 4 million nationwide and that number growing. I want to check in with dennis. Dennis, youre taking calls. Tell me, whos been calling in and some of the stories youve heard. Some of the best stories from lake county, we have sandra. Her church burned down in the past in lake county fires, and instead of using all that funding, theyre sending some to texas for houston. And then patty from louisiana, shes a cajun. Shes never been back, but her roots are from there and she wanted to donate to help them. That is awesome thank you to everybody whos donated. Our phone banks are open now. Our news continues with Good Morning America. Please call in and give yo without pg es assistance, without their training our collaboration with pg e is centered around public safety. We could not do our mission to keep our Community Safe. Anytime we are responding to a structure fire, one of the first calls you make is for pg e for gas and electric safety. Its my job to make sure that they have the training that they need to make the scene safe for themselves and for the public. Its handson training actually turning valves, turning systems off, looking at different wire systems all that training is crucial to keeping our Community Safe and our firefighters safe. Together, were building a better california. Grocery of wow savings. E wow means you save 50 or more. There are three stages of wow. Denial. Is this price right . Acceptance. And boooyah wait for it. Boooyah has three os. Grocery outlet bargain market announcer this week all assorted pepsi brand 12 packs are just 2. 66 each. Good morning, america. Its 8 00 a. M. Breaking at this hour, explosions at that Chemical Plant under six feet of floodwater. Fears of a massive fire. Sheriffs deputies rushed to the hospital and now, as harvey finally moves out, the magnitude of the devastation becomes clear. Entire neighborhoods underwater. More homes threatened now as many as 100,000 destroyed. More than 30,000 People Living in shelters right now. Ive got the heart of a hero and we are kicking off an unprecedented day of giving. Banding together across the country to help those affected by Hurricane Harvey. Will you make the call . From heroic rescues. To sheltering strangers. Thank you so much. To acts of selflessness. Lets take care of the people. Thats the right thing to do and thats the way i was brought up. Now the truly hard work begins to respond, recover and rebuild. And it starts right now as we say, good morning, america. Good morning, america. And welcome to an important morning here in times square. Gma is kicking off disneys day of giving. We are all coming together to help those affected by Hurricane Harvey. And, boy, are we hearing from you. Number one trend on twitter right now and all the guests giving of their time upstairs right now, answering your phone calls, taking your donations, were hearing its very busy as people donate this morning so, if youre having trouble getting through, please just keep trying. We want to hear from you. Yeah, we can go through this all day long. Weve been talking a lot about j. J. Watt and hes going to join us live in this hour. First though we have to get the latest from the storm zone. There have been two explosions overnight at a flooded Chemical Plant outside houston. Clayton sandell is on the scene in crosby, texas. Good morning, clayton. Reporter and good morning, george, thats right. The company says there have been at least two explosions at this plant, its about five miles up the road here and that it is now on fire. However, local fire Officials Say that it is not an explosion. They are calling this an intense fire because they dont want people to think that this is some sort of devastating event. They say its a relatively small but intense fire in one of the nine containers where these chemicals are being stored but its still very important to note that other chemicals could still ignite. Now, about a dozen deputies were checked out overnight after inhaling what is being called nontoxic smoke. Theyre expected to be okay. But this is something the plants owners expected would happen because the chemicals that are stored at this plant need to be kept cold and the floods from harvey knocked out all of the power and all of the backup power, so now we have this chemical reaction. And i want to show you some video that is file video, not from this incident but does show you, give you an idea what happens when this chemical gets too warm. Essentially it spontaneously combusts and that is why everyone within the 1 1 2mile radius of the plant has been evacuated but this morning, officials here say they dont believe there is at the broader threat to the community but still lots of questions about the overall impact. George. I bet there are. Glad the deputies are okay. Right now more mandatory Evacuations Ordered near a reservoir in houston because of rising water and the situation is even more dire east of the city and gio benitez is there with that. Good morning again. Reporter oh, robin, good morning to you. Listen, as we come on the air we are hearing that heartbreaking number, 31 people dead so far because of the storm. And that number is expected to rise. Now, i want you to take a look at some video here from right here in east texas, because we are seeing so many people with private boats come in from all across the country to help rescue people stuck in those floods. That effort is still under way right now this morning and beaumont and port arthur are the hardest hit areas. We simply cannot get there by car so now in beaumont, the water supply has been knocked out. People may go without water for days if they have not evacuated yet. Now over in port arthur, an incredible rescue effort at a nursing home, 70 people, the most vulnerable, the elderly in wheelchairs, in beds, surrounded by murky water. Some had to be airlifted out. It is truly a dire situation here. These people have lost everything. So its just incredible to see all of these amazing Everyday Americans come out here and help out. Robin. All right, gio, thank you so much. And all that devastation as you know and you see people that are banding together and it reminds us of the spirit of this country which we see time and time again when disaster strikes. Such as hurricane katrina, my hometown was damaged almost beyond recognition. What i took away from that experience is the incredible heart, the resilience, spirit and grit in this country when faced with such devastation. We get in there, we help each other. We help our neighbors, friends, complete strangers as weve been seeing in that region. It is a beautiful thing to see and to receive. So it is in that spirit this morning that were reaching out to help all those, all those who are just in the beginning stages of dealing and recovering from so much turmoil and loss after this massive storm. We know its going to take month, its going to take years to recover from this, and were going to start helping all those people right now and i want to say to all of you affected youre going to get there and were going to start this morning. Youre talking about grit before and your mom, she went back to your house. Oh, gosh, i remember telling mom went back with windex and some paper towels and she had no idea of the destruction and thats the mindset of people there. Theyre just doing whatever they possibly can and having grown up in the region where there are hurricanes and storms like that, but you talk about seeing the good of people that are coming out that weve seen time and time in the houston and outlying areas these past few days. All week long. Well need it. For many more months. And coming up, were kicking off disneys day of giving coming together to help those affected by Hurricane Harvey. There are so many ways to give back to the people of texas. Well tell you what they need in the wake of the storm and how you can make a difference. Amy, whats going on upstairs . Well, we have friends and family of Good Morning America all joining us to lend a helping hand answering phones, taking your donations right here. Look, we have kevin jonas and daymond john working hard. If you call you could be talking to them and so many of our wonderful celebrities who have decided to pitch in today. We will be right back. 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For real this time. Thats why im using nicorette. Only nicorette gum has patented dualcoated technology for great taste, plus intense craving relief. Every great why needs a great how. Im on the phone towel please while other Insurance Companies just see a house. We see the home youve worked really hard for. So why not give it the protection it deserves. Ive got the heart of a hero we welcome you back. We are right here, command central were calling it, for our big day of giving. So many people from across the country. These women are nurses from the great state of louisiana who are visiting. Yes. So many people are pitching in for all those that are affected by Hurricane Harvey. Daymond john, kevin jonas. Are you really working the phones . We are. We are working them. I just spoke to people from new jersey. We keep swapping it off. I spoke to jennifer in new jersey. She lost her house in a gas explosion last year so she knows how it feels. So many are affected and want to help out from other storms. Thats where it starts. Great to see you. I saw earlier this morning, she said darby from scandal. Darby from scandal. I know. How are you . Im fine. How is it going . Good. The phone is ringing off the hook and its just wonderful. I mean i talked to this woman who burst into tears and shes like, our country has to Stay Together and we have to help each other out. Its very emotional for me to hear all these amazing americans of Hurricane Harvey. Its wonderful that youre giving of your time. You have to tony danza, he is trying to photobomb you. Well, you know what, i was on the phone with jason who just donated and he said i cant see you. So i said robin is coming over. Ill photobomb. Thats how i got in. Bless your heart, tony. Mwah. Nice to see you. George, look who you have. Already filled here, alex. Some great people have called. We have wayne, a retired gentleman who served in katrina and andrew, made a nice donation this morning. A lot of calls. A lot of support. That is so good. Well keep doing this all morning long. Want to tell you also our parent Company Disney has already made a 1 million donation. So many more donations coming in right now and we want you to know also that all proceeds are going to the red cross. We know the lines are busy. We know a lot of people want to donate this morning so, if youre having trouble getting through by text or phone, you can go the red cross website or facebook. Robin. Thank you so much, george. Look at all around. Roger goodell, nfl commissioner is here. Well talk to him in just a little bit. Its just wonderful how many people are helping out and amazing to see how everyone is just pulling together but lets remember why were here. Harvey could be the costliest, expensive Natural Disaster in u. S. History. Early estimates put it upwards of 100 billion and the state of texas saying more than 49,000 homes are already reported damaged and we know that number is going to go higher. And the governor adding 32,000 people currently living in shelters so im wondering if they even have a home to go back to. Emergency preparations under way in texas. Tropical storm harvey is expected to strengthen into a hurricane. Flooding that could impact life and property. We could lose both this weekend. As Hurricane Harvey began its slow march towards the gulf coast, the nation held its breath. This is a sobering experience. Are you okay . Im scared. Look at that car. Its almost completely underwater. Look at these waves that are coming in. Reporter in disbelief, we watched as cars and homes began to disappear underwater. Came in at 5 30. Before you know it, its a foot and then its two feet. It envelopes the house like you cannot imagine. Reporter and shed tears with those who lost everything. Were pretty worried that we wont have a home to go back to. He goes, your house is gone. And i said, what . He said, your house is gone. Reporter but through the chaos. I want to check and see if he can climb out. The water is going on ten feet deep. Reporter and destruction. We need help. We need help right now. They got a whole family out there in the water. Reporter we witnessed the rise of the human spirit. Good job, buddy. Reporter that ran deeper than the floodwaters. The emotion there is just palpable. Reporter we watched neighbors helping neighbors and in the face of mother natures fury create a human chain to save those stranded in rising waters. And share their hopes with those in need. Call or text me if you need anything. I really mean that. Im right down the street and im right here for you guys. Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thanks. Reporter of course, there were tragedies. Behind me in the parking lot of this restaurant theres a body. We have an officer who went the extra length to show up in some very challenging times and is no longer here with us. [ baby crying ] reporter but there were also triumphs. You guys have weathered the worst nightmare. Now you have this. Yes. Whats that like . Its definitely the blessing that came out of everything. Reporter as the water begins to recede, we see the damage it left behind in cities like houston, rockport, bayside, seadrift and refugio, texas, but the one thing this tragedy made clear is the most difficult of times brings out the best in humanity. My objective is take care of the women and children. Reporter as people from texas and neighboring states volunteer their time, donating clothes, food and blankets to those in need, its now time for the rest of us to join in. And that is exactly what we are doing. Such heartbreak and yet such hope as south texas continues moving forward in the wake of the storm, and so lets go to one of houstons hometown hero, olympic superstar simone biles, the recordsetting gymnast joins us for a day of giving from the Lone Star State in the Convention Center there. Hello there, simone. Wonderful to see you this morning. How is your family doing . I know you were in your home there in the houston area when the storm struck. How are you and the family . Yes, my friends, family and i were all doing good thankfully. It was a bit scary but were all doing good, thank you. Were glad to hear that and i hope you can feel the love from all around the country and the world and here in our studio with this day of giving. You know, what does it mean to see people banding together to do whatever they can to help . Yes, i feel like houston is one of the strongest cities in the world so it is amazing to see everyone giving back, even people that have lost their everything in this storm. Theyre even coming and volunteering so thats super exciting to see. I know. They had to turn away some volunteers there at the shelters in the houston area because they had so many you have been spending a lot of time there. What are you finding that the people need the most right now, simone . Yes, ironically enough people right now need the most is boxes and tape. They have all the other supplies coming in. Okay, thats good to know. Because we want to know what we can do and everybody has some kind of resource to give. You know, i think about when they threw a parade, they threw a parade for you when you came back from the olympics and now that you are there, you know, lining the streets and doing whatever you can, just let people understand the spirit of those from your hometown area. Yes, im in this incredible i like the hashtag we have going on, houstonstrong because we all come together as a community. Yes, i know. And you have that and j. J. Watt, what hes been able to do. What youve been able to do. What so many are doing and were just trying to do our part here for our day of giving. Our best to you and everybody behind you and just give them our love and wellthe bngkiin of you and keeping you in our prayers. Thank you simone, so much. Okay. No problem. Thank you so much. You got it. George. Thanks, robin. Im over here with dr. Jen ashton. She is just back from houston and, jen, you really got a sense of what these families are dealing with. You could literally see it in their eyes. Ysical pain and the physical devastation, its the psychological trauma and shock and something we dont really pay enough attention to. Its easy to see when someone is physically injured. Its not easy to see when theyre emotionally suffering so we know from previous Natural Disasters that ptsd, which can start when the shock wears off, is going to be as important as the broken limbs and the infection. People really need to know were paying attention encouraging them. You know what, there are teams of Mental Health individuals, one landed from israel coming from all over the world to give people the psychological support they need. How else can people help . Were raising money here. Kevins been on the front lines all morning. Theres another one. Its great. How else can people help . Think of it in terms of hard assets and soft assets. Hard, the basic, shelter, food, medication, clothing. Soft assets, time, support, money, jobs, those things are really important and specifically what can people do . I cant emphasize this enough, as a physician, blood, blood, blood. Not just today but in the future coming weeks and months anin th ywrehe blood, you will save a life. And then i think other things for texas, support the houston food bank, very, very important. Giving to the texas diaper bank. I saw truckloads of diapers coming through the Convention Center. And then volunteering your expertise. People dont always have to give money. You can give your time. Thats just as valuable. Such a big difference. One of the things were learning throughout all of these devastating catastrophes when people give they really get something out of it. Its therapeutic for all of us. Well need that when cameras go away long in the future. Thanks very much. Lets go over to ginger. George, our help here goes deep. Look at the great folks behind me having a great time, right . Yes, taking in the calls. Artur row and amy, you know her as the voice of alana of avalor. A woman gave her last 10. Her name is mary from michigan and she said that she believes what little you have to give, whatever blessings you have it will come back to you and she gave her last 10. She has an aunt in beaumont, texas, that she hasnt been able to get ahold of yet and shes trying to do the best she can. It means so much to so many and we actually have a message from somebody else that wants to help. Hey, Matthew Mcconaughey on the other side of the world, texas. Ill be home in a few days to see you then but i want to send my thoughts and prayers your way. I know a lot of people giving you a lot of support and help right now through the devastation of harvey, but i also know and we all need to recognize that right now you can take as much help as you can get. So on this day of giving im giving a shoutout to the rest of america to say, hey, lets ask ourselves what we can give. Can we send a prayer . Can we give our time . Can we make a donation to the American Red Cross whos doing a bunch of good work . Please take a minute and think about what you can give. These people are displaced from their family, theyre displaced from their homes, with the help we can give them, they can find some direction. They can stabilize their life and find out where to put the next foot because a lot of them dont know where to put that foot right now so, in the meantime, and all times until we see you next time, just keep living. Thank you very much. If Matthew Mcconaughey cant inspire you to give i dont know would can. Good morning. Im abc7 news meteorologist mike nicco. Sunny today. Huge jump in temperatures. It will be 20 degrees warmer along the coast to 50 degrees warmer inland from what youre feeling right now. Record heat, fire danger and poor air quality tomorrow through the weekend. Highs slowly taper next week. 70s along the coast into San Francisco, 80s around the bay, 90s south bay and north bay, looking at 100s inland. Temperatures tonight in the 60s and mainly 70s. 80s in our hills. I well, look who i found over here. Alex rodriguez, part of our abc family, and i know this is especially a concern to you, whats happening in texas because you, of course, played three years with the Texas Rangers so you are quite familiar with the area. Talk a little bit about how this has impacted you seeing what the devastation weve been seeing. I played three years in texas and everything in texas is big, big character, big hopes, big dreams, and i have a lot of friends there, talking to them. Its a horrific time but in andrew in 92, it wiped out our high school and we came back and won the national championship. We rebuilt. Well rebuild in houston too. They need help. Yes, they do. Youve been fielding calls throughout the morning. What have you been hearing from people so generous and we encourage people to give just about anything at this point. Amy, the support has been incredible receiving calls all morning from california to new york to florida, everybody is coming in, a couple of ladies were crying. The support has been incredible. We encourage everybody to come out and continue to help. Every little bit helps even if its five cents. Its true, and speaking of support and help i know you and Jennifer Lopez each donated 25,000 to the red cross for the relief effort there and that is so admirable. We thank you for that and the people of texas, i know, thank you for that too. But talk about how, even if you have 1, 5, 10, those all add up. Yeah, we need everybody. The energy, you know, texas is a very patriotic state, people like to come together and this is a Good Opportunity to rally and jennifer and i thought it was a great opportunity. Weve been watching the horrific time down there and giving back, even if its five cents, every little bit helps and we need Alex Rodriguezs phone to ring. You can talk to him if you call in. We have ashanti answering the phones, as well. So many people waiting to talk to you. Robin, ill send it over to you. Your husbands phone is ringing. Andrew is right behind me. Hes constantly been on the phone. This is our day of giving and it is on a roll. We have already taken more than 8,000 calls this morning. Take a look at how much money we have raised so far for the American Red Cross and its going directly to everyone impacted by harvey and thanks to you and our viewers. See the guys from rascal flatts. Gary, would you please get on the phone . Well hear from rascal flatts and j. J. Watt in just a moment. Come on back. And good morning. Im reggie aqui from abc7 mornings. This is our nerve center right now for our day of giving. We are trying to raise funds for the American Red Cross so they can take that money and send it directly to people who have been affected by the storm. I want to introduce you to dennis over here who has been answering our phones this morning. I understand you just talked to someone who got very emotional. Yes, she started crying on the telephone, so i kind of coached her through everything, and she got emotional because shes a certified nurse assistant. Shes been watching channel 7 and she saw those pictures of the elderly people and she started crying, decided she wanted to make a donation. We really appreciate her donation. The numbers on the screen, wow nice outfit. When i grow up, im going to mars. Were working on that. Some people know how far they want to go. A personalized Financial Strategy can help you get them there. See how access to j. P. Morgan investment expertise can help you. Chase. Make more of whats yours. Were going green this morning. So far temperatures in the 50s and 60s and clean air, but look what happens this afternoon. Its a spare the air day. Weve got heat inland 100s, but look what happens tomorrow. It spreads to parts of the bay with 80s along the coast in San Francisco and more of that saturday. Heres a look at my accuweather sevenday forecast. Its not going to get better until next week, reggie. Mike, i have good news. I just got the National Numbers from disney and all our abc stations 3. 79 million so far donated, and you can make that number go even higher. Thanks again. Well be seeing you throughout the morning. Well go right back now to abc and Good Morning America. Good morning, america. This is dennis quaid. Im also a houstonian. Thank you to everyone who is lending support to the people who are affected by Hurricane Harvey. To be a part of disneys day of giving, please donate by texting, calling or going to the website on your screen. Thank you. Dennis quaid, a houston native. One of so many pitching in. You got John Leguizamo right here, too. I know. How is it going . Good to see you. A lot coming in . Say what . A lot of calls coming in from all over the country, ohio, pennsylvania, new jersey. Atlanta, and people really moved by what they see on, you know, the footage that they see, the old folks home. People sitting in the waisthigh water waiting to be helped. People just really their hearts are breaking. Theyre pitching in for disneys day of giving. We want to tell you how you can give. Go to redcross. Org abc or call 1855999give. And dont give up. Were hearing that people are reaching out and were so busy but to continue to try to reach us. Were here for you and tony photobombing you. Are we blocking you again . Darby, you know, we cant move you . Take the phone right there. Its a scandal, i tell you. All week long weve seen these Inspiring Stories of neighbors going above and beyond to help those hit so hard. By harvey. Rescuers on jet ski, teachers visiting shelters to read to kids. So many more. Take a look at these hometown heroes. Truck drivers. Teachers. Musicians. Its crazy out here. Reporter what makes a hero isnt who you are but what you do when disaster strikes. And this week theyve shown up in droves to help houston. Theyve come from far away like this army of jet skiers from miami organized by rapper zoey dollaz. Thousands of children have found refuge at shelters like this one set up at the george r. Brown Convention Center. Theres a lot of kids here that need something to do and a sense of normalcy so were trying to provide a safe space for kids to be kids. There needs to be experienced, skilled educators who can work with those children particularly in a very traumatic, very stressful situation like the one were in now. Special ed teacher christie mcclintock has stepped up to make sure all children are taken care of. We have come up with specific resources on the spectrum that might need help communicating. Lot of them have lost their communication devices. Reporter principal Mohamed Maroof came from kip high school. We are at a local church helping get some care packages ready for the families and kids who need it right now. Reporter and this teacher is volunteering with children staying at a local mosque. A lot of them felt really sad about losing their toys and their belongings and so, you know, i hope that i hope that at least in the little time that weve been here that they were able to sort of put those things out of their mind. Reporter the spirit of resilience and compassion is shining strong in this community. Inspiring millions across the nation to follow their lead and give. We should love for our brother what we love for ourselves. Im here now with nfl commissioner Roger Goodell and weve seen some incredible efforts from nfl players and teams giving back to all those affected by Hurricane Harvey and the work isnt done and, commissioner, thank you very much. You were just on a call. Yes. Who did you hear from . I heard from susan who is in new jersey who obviously went through this a couple of years ago and they all want to just give more and its really inspiring. We have seen j. J. Watt and other players and weve seen the league come through and now we know there was supposed to be a game tonight between houston and dallas and that has been called off but the efforts are still continuing to help people. Well, they are and, you know, the texans wanted to give back into their community, j. J. Wanted to obviously continue to work that hes doing there on the ground and all the players and the coaches and the team officials, the owners, are all doing so much and tonight, well have 15 other games and all of those games, each of those teams will be reaching out and trying to do what they can to try to support the people in the texas gulf coast region. I dont want you not to take the call. Thats okay. Will it roll over to someone . Hold on. Go to someone else. Someone picked it up . We dont want to miss that. And we know the nfl foundation is also doing its part matching some of the funds. Yes, we did a Million Dollars, the texans have done 2 million, and many of our individual clubs have also done significant contributions so were proud of the efforts. But people like j. J. Watt there on the ground inspiring people to give back is something that it mean to you personally. You asked us to be a part. You wanted to come here. What has this impact meant to you . Well, i think this is what makes us all proud as americans that we have times when we get to help one another. There are people in need and theres so many people as were hearing this morning and talking to who want to help. Yeah. And so for all of us this is a chance for us to give back and try to help people get through a very difficult time and come out on the better side. Well help them. Yes, and weve seen this time and time again. We saw that after Hurricane Harvey and what happened there and the superdome that was used and i want to bring in drew brees. I think you know drew brees a little bit. Hey, drew. Commissioner goodell is here with me. Drew brees, everybody. Thank you. Good morning, drew. [ applause ] who dat. Who dat. Who dat. Hey, drew, you know, in all seriousness you know firsthand what the people in houston and the outlying areas are going through because its what you and others went through after katrina. Yeah, its a heartbreaking situation. But what ive seen in our Community Band together and how a country can band together to help those and i would encourage everybody to do whatever you can just to do something, whether its to donate 5, donate resources or your time. Everybody can just do something to help the people down in houston, then it goes such a long way. I remember being in the superdome for that when it reopened. You guys were playing the falcons and it was people, some people were saying, like all the attention was built on rebuilding the superdome when homes were destroyed and even saints faithful said they needed someplace. They needed someplace to go, they needed an outlet and thats what sports and in particular with the saints beloved and just tell people how important it is to have that outlet in a time like this. You know, i think its what it symbolizes. It symbolized that if we can rebuild the dome and bring it back, that we can rebuild this together and not drew, with your foundation and helping. I know your heart goes out to the folks in houston and the outlying areas that were impacted just like they went out to you in new orleans, drew, all the best to you. Thank you for taking the time and joining us. We really appreciate it. All right. And a final button on this, you know, there are some people who say, hey, its sports but it is something that people really need in a time like this. I agree, robin. I think sports have a way of bringing communities together and inspiring them, and i think what drew did so much in new orleans, which is he gave people belief that the community was going to be able to rebuild and it would come back, and the nfl played a big part and the saints played a big part and were all so proud to do that. And youre a big part in whats happening in houston, texas, louisiana. Lets get to george and amy. Robin, thank you. We ask everyone at home to keep our phones ringing here in the gma studios. You have a special announcement for us. Ashanti. Were going to be doing a semibenefit concert in houston later this year and well be donating the proceeds. Wow, so the plans are coming together. We dont know all the details. We dont all the details yet but a lot of them are excited and are in. Music always heals. Absolutely. All right, were so, so happy to hear that. George, over to you. If youre watching on Facebook Live, donate by click the donate video right below the vi the Energy Conscious whopeople among usle . Say small actions can add up to something. Humongous. A little thing here. A little thing there. Starts to feel like a badge maybe millions can wear. Who are all these caretakers, advocates too . Turns out, its californians its me and its you. Dont stop now, its easy to add to the routine. Join Energy Upgrade california and do your thing. Ive got the heart of a hero and we are back here on gma. Our day of giving. I think we have j. J. Watt on the phone. J. J. , you must be so inspired by the incredible outpouring of support for what you started. Its been absolutely unbelievable. You know, i think that these difficult times definitely bring out the best in people and we are seeing that shown through to the maximum here. People from all over the world, people from all over the country are donating their time, donating their money, and its really going to go a long way to help these people in houston. J. J. , its incredible because earlier in the week you were blown away that you had raised 1. 2 million. Now youre near 10 million . Yeah, we started out on sunday hoping to raise 200,000. And now were at 9. 2 million reaching the 10 million here soon. Its truly incredible to see what happens. I cant thank everybody enough who donated. And the money keeps on coming in, and how do you hope its going to be used . Well, to get out of the gate right away this weekend well go out and give supplies. Right now were filling up semitrucks with water and generators and cleaning supplies and baby food, baby clothes, take out directly to the people. Ill take it out directly to the people who need it the most and the hardesthit areas. Thats really the first stage. We want to get this going as quickly as we can to make sure we help the people at their most needed time. And, j. J. , do you have any idea what 10 million is going to buy you in total . Thats a significant amount of money but obviously theres a significant amount of need. Yeah, obviously the plan has changed a bit from when we were hoping to raise 200,000, but now that we have this significant amount of money, so the plan is changing with it. Right now, the biggest thing is this first day is getting out and helping these people get back in their home, help clean their homes up and things like that, and then well transition to bigger phases and thats what were working on right now to make sure we spend the money the right way and i want everybody to know its going to go directly to the people. We know youll do it and follow through. Congratulations. Thank you, j. J. Thank you. Thank you, guys, and thank you everybody who donated. Lets keep it going and see how big we can get it. Houston, we love you. Were all behind you. Lets go to ginger. Look who is around me. The cast of the chew. We got clinton kelly, Michael Symon and carla. Some of the best food on tv and now bringing us some help. Clinton, you talked to somebody quickly from . From pennsylvania, a lot of people have been saying that they went through a tough time in their lives and other people good morning. Im meteorologist mike nicco. Temperatures wont be this cool again, these 50s you see this morning until possibly six or seven days from now. Jump in temperatures, 20 to 50 degrees today. Record heat, poor a a a a a a aa george, the calls just keep coming in. They do and we want to go to the woman at the top of it right now. As we said, 100 of the money we raise this morning is going to the red cross. And were joined by the ceo and president of the American Red Cross, Gail Mcgovern in austin, texas, right now and, gail, thats what people want to know. Where exactly is this money going to go . Well, first, let me say that my heart goes out to all the people in texas and they have been impacted with such an incredible storm and i also want to say thank you, thank you to Good Morning America. Thank you to abc, thank you to disney, and thank you to all the people that are calling. Its extremely heartwarming. The need is enormous. I mean, it is a big, big area that got impacted and we are spending money on meals. As of tuesday night, 180,000 meals and snacks. We had 32,000 people in our shelters. We are supplying them with cots and blankets, well be fanning out into the community with things like bleach and buckets and gloves and things to help them muck out of their homes. The need is enormous and it is so heartwarming to see how the American Public just steps up whenever theres a need. It is so heartwarming, gail, thank you for your good work. Lets go over to amy. Our day of giving is not just happening right here in times square. Abcs nick watt is in los angeles with some very familiar faces. So, nick, how is it going out there . Reporter it is going pretty well. This place has been open at our l. A. Affiliate since 4 30 this morning. It will be open until 8 00 p. M. Tonight and weve got a bunch of stars cycling through here. Weve got legendary choreography debbie allen. Weve got Chandra Wilson from greys. Weve got val and maks from dancing with the stars. Weve got scott foley down here. Is anybody not on the phones . Scott, can you talk to me for a second . I have christine on the phone. Im talking to Good Morning America and youre on the phone with me. Christine is getting ready to give a donation. Youve had 500 bucks, 5, youve had it all. Ive had everything. All right, this will carry on throughout the day. Back to you guys in new york. Wonderful to see, nick, keep up the good work. Coming up next, rascal flatts here live. Back now with our day of giving and good friends rascal flatts, yes. They have a new album out called back to us. But this morning youll take us down memory road. Its a hit song to everyone thats been affected by the storm. Rascal flatts with i wont let go and we wont, huh . [ applause ] its like a storm that cuts a path it breaks your will it feels like that you think youre lost but youre not lost on your own youre not alone i will stand by you i will help you through when youve done all you can do and you cant cope i will dry your eyes i will fight your fight i will hold you tight and i wont let go it hurts my heart to see you cry i know its dark this part of life oh it finds us all and were too small to stop the rain oh but when it rains i will stand by you i will help you through when youve done all you can do and you cant cope i will fight your fight i will i will dry your eyes i will fight your fight i will hold you tight and i wont let you fall dont be afraid to fall im right here to catch you i wont let you down it wont get you down youre gonna make it youre going to make it yeah i know you can make it and i will stand by you i will help you through when youve done all you can do and you cant cope and you cant cope i will dry your eyes i will fight your fight and i will hold you tight and i wont let go oh im gonna hold you and i wont let go ooh i wont no i wont, no, no, no t, no, no, youre going to be hanging out in here. So if you need anything, text me. Do you play . Use the chase mobile app to send money in just a tap to friends at more banks than ever before. You got next . Chase. Make more of whats yours. People love my and my french fries. Wait what if i put them together . a burrito stuffed with scrambled eggs, creamy guacamole, bacon and crispy french fries. Ill call it the california breakfast burrito boom. Someone got that, right . Scrambled eggs. Guacamole. Bacon. French fries. Youll call it the california breakfast burrito. Boom. Good work everyone. Another winner. Introducing my New California breakfast burrito. Only at jack in the box. Thank you, rascal flatts. Thank you. Thanks to all of you. All the volunteers. Have a great day, everybody. The Energy Conscious whopeople among usle . Say small actions can add up to something. Humongous. A little thing here. A little thing there. Starts to feel like a badge maybe millions can wear. Who are all these caretakers, advocates too . Turns out, its californians its me and its you. Dont stop now, its easy to add to the routine. Join Energy Upgrade california and do your thing. Oh hey its me mom, catching some side eye. First rule of motherhood. Someones always judging. Breastfeeding, didnt work out. Guess what . Worlds still turning. Yeah, i bribe my kids. How else you think stuff get done around here . Moms special juice, its wine. Now if you think thats shocking, check this out. New yoplait mixins, with salted caramel pretzel. Watch out now. Hey, good morning. Im alexis smith from abc7 mornings, and im inside our call center this morning. We are teaming up with our parent company, disney, and the entire abc family for a day of giving. We are collecting donations for the American Red Cross, of course, to help out all the victims of Hurricane Harvey. And i have cynthia shaw with me. Cynthia, you are with the norcal chapter of the American Red Cross. Talk about what people are doing here locally. I know houston feels like its a long ways away, everyone affected. What are we doing here . Were sharing information about what the incredible volunteers and the community are doing in texas and louisiana to respond to this massive event. Thousands of people, millions of people affected. We have local volunteers that are flying out today to support the relief efforts and working with many local companies and donors who generously want to help. Okay. And if you want to call and donate today, 4159547625. Or you can do it announcer its live with kelly ryan. Today, from the last tycoon, matt bomer, and we hit the velcro wall with american Ninja Warrior host matt iseman, plus a fabulous caribbean vacation could be yours if you tune in to win, and Anderson Cooper is our cohost for the day, all next on live. [upbeat music] im ready announcer and now here are kelly ripa and Anderson Cooper. [cheers and applause] kelly [speaking indistinctly] distinctly] hi hi