Transcripts For WPVI Nightline 20170826

Countless patients. Countless ailments. Countless hours. And guess what . You can handle it all. Be a leader in your field with a bsn from strayer university. A Nursing Program created by and for nurses. Lets get it, nurses. Announcer this special edition of nightline, Hurricane Harvey state of emergency, continues. And good evening. Breaking news tonight as we come on the air. Hurricane harvey barreling into the texas coast as a potentially catastrophic category 4 storm plunging residents into darkness, collapsing buildings. But the damage is just beginning as historic rainfall and lifethreatening flooding are expected. Governor greg abbott warning if the storm continues on this path texas is about to experience one of the worst natural disasters in its history. Well talk with him in a moment. But first we go live to abcs matt gutman, whos been out in the whipping wind throughout the day in Corpus Christi, just 30 miles from where the hurricane came ashore just a short time ago. Matt, whats happening . Reporter well, juju, we were in that town named rockport. That is where officials right now are talking about some devastating damage from the storm. It is a pan flat town. When we went there, there was a mandatory evacuation. It was basically a ghost town. But some people did stay. The mayor of that town telling people that if you do stay write your Social Security and your name with a sharpie on your arm because you might die. And that is the kind of situation that were seeing there right now. They are talking about people trapped in buildings. Theyre collapsed buildings in a very serious situation there. And all around this area here in Corpus Christi, 120,000 people without power. Let me give you a sense of the sounds of the night because we cant see very much yet and that is one of the problems for rescuers right now in places like rockport. It is pitch black. There are all sorts of different kinds of debris flying through the air. You hear the skittering of plexiglas that burst off a hotel. The metal from street signs just skating by. And of course the howling of the wind, this low rumble happening everywhere. Weve also been hearing a tremendous amount of rumbling the past couple of hours. Still a very touch and go situation here. This storm is not nearly over. And whats so remarkable about it is how much rain it has dumped in this area, not just the winds. It is simply this relentless storm pounding this area right now. Juju. And clearly youve been seeing people run from the path of the storm throughout the day. Hows the community been reacting . The communitys devastated and surprising there are still people driving down the roads. We spoke to one woman who came to port aransis and shes about to give birth on tuesday and she wanted to flee but she cant because she has a scheduled csection and she basically knows that where her house is theres a mandatory evacuation, theres almost no chance that it is going to survive. This family heartbroken. So many people in this community struggling through. Especially since many people left their homes. They dont know what theyre going to find. We were in rockport. It is a ghost town. This panflat community that is going to be inundated. Places like that are going to take a long time to recover. Just one more note about this particular storm, juju. Ive been to a lot of hurricanes, but what is unique about this is it just continues to hover and sit over this area and then its going to make a uturn coming back, dumping all of this rain for days on end. Normally you get a bit of a respite after the initial passing of the storm. But not with this one. And that is what is so concerning to officials in this part of texas, juju. Well, stay safe, matt. I know youve covered many storms, but be well. Were going to turn now, though, to port lavecqua, text tx a lowlying area which is likely to be flooded and also where there are mandatory evacuations. Home to a third of americas refineries. Abc meteorologist rob marciano is live from the most dangerous side of the storm. But we just lost his signal a moment ago. He joins us by phone. Rob, can you hear us . Reporter i hear you, juju. We lost power. I just saw part of our hotel go flying off the side. A down spout dangling. Thingsing to r incontinuing to. All the sounds that were hearing, its become that much more its been since 2005 that ive experienced a storm of this strength at night, namely hurricane rita. That was [ inaudible ] similar feelings tonight. Right now im pinned up against a pillar of our hotel, which is which is why we decided to stay. Here staying here with other media colleagues. But now with the storm surge we are surrounded by water. This hotel is an island. Were at high tide. But tides dont mean a whole lot in this part of texas. With the winds blowing as they are i expect the water to continue to pile up things are going downhill in a hurry. Now that we have no light at all nbld nbltd and the rain is coming down [ inaudible ] rob, thank you so much for your reporting throughout the day and into the evening. I know youre a veteran of many of these storms. Please stay safe. Dont tack any undue risks. But were going to turn now here in the studio to our meteorologist kate parker who lives and breathes hurricanes. Kate, what makes this story and this particular storm so scary for you . Its a storm thats not measured over the course of hours. Its measured over the course of a week that were going to look at these impacts. So this is not anything thats going to be a quick one and done. Were not measuring in inches of rain. Were measuring in feet of rain. If you look at the radar you can see this category 4 storm, the first to make landfall since 2004, has made landfall but its not just the rain, the wind. Its a tornado threat as well. So weve got a tornado watch thats up. You can see that extends all the way from just north of Corpus Christi into louisiana. And some of it is the funny loop that the path of the storm is going to take. Exactly. Look at that Flash Flood Watch and this explains exactly why. This is a category 2 storm inland in the forecast. Its not just on the coast. Look how it meanders and these days on days. Look at that. Thats wednesday 7 00 p. M. And its still hovering near houston, dumping rain all this time. Thats why were measuring in feet of rain, not inches of rain. Look at this, locally over two feet possible. And why are there conflicting signals that were hearing about, whether to evacuate or not . Where can you go when youre looking at a rainfall forecast . Thats a tough call to make. If youre evacuating for wind and storm surges its an easier call. But look at this widespread area. Its all of south texas. Sxrel the rainfall totals are scary but its the flooding youre worried about. Right. Weve got dry soil. Were going to see quick runoff of this rain. Were going to see this rain dump in the same area for days on end. And then weve got the storm surge which means it cant drain easily. So youve got coastal flooding, youve got inland flooding. Youve got days of it. Its an unusual situation. And the evacuation was made that much more difficult because this storm really did pop up fast. It did. It developed very quickly. On wednesday we werent looking at a storm of this size and here we are with a category 4 landfall. But the gulf was primed. The gulf of mexico was ready for a storm of this size. Everything was primed for it. We had the warm water, we had low shear, and this is what happened as a result. And yet this will stall over this system which will also affect air traffic in that region for days. Its likely you cant fly a plane in Tropical Storm force winds, at least not safely. Looking at like i said a category 2 hurricane over land for days on end. This is not something thats going away quickly. And the people there, i worry that you look at this and say landfalls happened, were in the clear. That is not the case. We appreciate your insights. Thanks, kate. Joining us now from taftd, texas is mary lou galinda just north of Corpus Christi, mary loui understand a tree just fell on your house . Yes, maam. It broke our roof. Its like the branch off a tree. Im trying to can you see . And it came through the window . No. The roof. I mean it came through the roof. It came into your bedroom . Yes. Can you see it . I can. I can. It must be harrowing for your family. I know that youre right in the belly of this storm in the mandatory evacuation zone. What made you decide to stay . Well, my husband is a cancer patient whos battling Prostate Cancer as we speak, you know. Hes also in a wheelchair and has a prosthesis, and its very hard and very difficult for him to get around. I know youve already shared some earlier video with us with some pretty serious storm damage coming in around your neighborhood. What else are you seeing now . We cant see anything because it is completely dark. And were boarded up and we closed the doors. So we hear a lot of noises on the outside but we cannot see anything. Theyre talking about 130mileanhour winds. How does that sound . What does that feel like for you inside your house . Well, we can feel the roaring. And every now and then we can feel a little shake. Have you had seconds shots about your decision to stay . I guess you have no choice. Oh, yes. Absolutely. My husband says we should have left, we should have left. But we didnt leave. So now weve got to make the best of it. Okay. Preserve your Battery Power there, mary lou. Were going to wish you the very best. Keep in touch and be well tonight. Batten down the hatches. Thank you. All right. Were going to go now to mike brotherton, whos joining us from Corpus Christi. Mike, hows it going out there . Were surviving right now. At my house we still have electricity. So thats definitely a plus for us. According to reports here from the local news theres probably about 70,000, maybe a little bit more than that, that do not have electricity. So weve been fortunate so far. And youre right at the outskirts of Corpus Christi. What does it sound like . What does it feel like . Its a constant howl out there. You hear the wind, you dont really hear the rain, even though the rains going on. But the winds definitely going. You can hear the boards on the house shaking from when we boarded up the windows. I know you also have a 12yearold daughter kayla. I sympathize because im not sure what i would tell my kids. How has she been handling it . Oh, there she is. Hi, kayla. Shes right here waiting to get on tv. Id say shes holding up just fine. This must be your first big storm given that youre 12 years old. Its it was at first i was very nervous about it but its a little more calming knowing that hes been through several storms and he knows whats going on. But it cant be fun to watch the windows on your house being boarded up. No, it was its very dark. Being boarded up it kind of tells you to brace for the worst. And hope for the best. Well, thanks to both of you, mike and kayla, for joining us from Corpus Christi. Good luck tonight, and hopefully youll be able to weather the storm in peace. Appreciate it. Thank you. All right. Be well. Joining us now is the governor of texas, greg abbott, in austin. Governor, thanks for joining us tonight. Its my pleasure. Thank you. Lets start with the damage assessments that youre getting at this hour. What are you hearing . Well, as you can see, as the storm rolls in its pretty dramatic. We dont have exact numbers right now because the devastation is happening fairly quickly. I know you asked President Trump to declare a major disaster. Whats the worst Case Scenario that youre looking at . Well, the president granted that declaration. And what that means is fema has now been triggered to assist texans in our cities and counties to begin the rebuilding process. That will be of tremendous help. And yet a fema administrator said today that the window for evacuation has pretty much closed. What advice are you giving to residents who have decided to shelter in place . They need to have strategies to make sure they stay as safe as possible. They need to be constantly vigilant about rising water. They need to be prepared to be without power and maybe have inadequate access to food and supplies for a couple of days. And you tweeted out a photo earlier from the Emergency Operations center. What plans do you have laid out for those four days of flooding you that see coming . In that Operations Center we have 30 agents of the state of texas represented to make sure we cover everything from water rescues to keeping roads open to making sure we have Adequate Health care and supplies going to the people. So we have intricate plans in every potential avenue of the state of texas. There was a grim message from the mayor of rockport, texas who was quoted as saying if youre going to stay in your home you better take a sharpie and write your name and Social Security number on your arm. Is it that grim . Because then we have the mayor of houston saying, well, perhaps you should not evacuate. I know youve called for people to consider it. Do you want to clarify those mixed signals . Well, sure. Rockport got hit very hard tonight. And the people there are facing a tough situation. But the way that it works is that its up to the local officials whether they be the county judges in texas or the mayors to make the declaration. Obviously the mayor of rockport made his declaration. Houston is not getting hit with the eye of the storm like rockport is. And the damage there will be different. And at the appropriate time if it is necessary the county judge or the mayor will make the necessary declarations. Well, good luck to you tonight and in the days ahead, governor. Thanks for joining us. My pleasure. Thank you. And the governor mentions rockport, texas the area hardest hit by tonights storm as it comes to landfall. And were joined now by the mayor of rockport. Good evening, mayor. Good evening. I understand there are reports of collapsed buildings in your city. Can you tell us what youre seeing . My title is mayor pro tem. My name is pat rios. And we are hearing that there are buildings down. Weve got reports we cant we are unable to get people out on the street. Its a little too dangerous. Were hoping were currently in the eye of the storm. Its a little calm. Weve had a couple of crews go out to take a look. Were waiting for them to get back in and report because that storm is going to be back on us really quick. Right. And we can imagine its enormously dangerous to go out there and do damage assessments in the middle of the night. Right. Weve had a few reports of people that have been trapped in homes made falling trees and are unable to get out. Weve had some calls during the height of the storm but we are not allowing our personnel out. Its too so how do you commence search and rescue operations . When does that begin . Well, it depends on the storm. Its not going to be up to us. Weve currently been advised were going to have hurricaneforce winds up to 8 00 p. M. Tomorrow night, saturday night. Well, pat, thanks so much for joining us with your insights and good luck to your community. Were all thinking about you tonight. Thank you so much. And keep those prayers coming. Were going to need them. Okay. Good night. Stay with us. When we come back, because we go back into the heart of the storm and to washington for the president s response to this emergency in texas tonight. Afi sure had a lot on my mind. My 30year marriage. My 3month old business. Plus. What if this happened again . I was given warfarin in the hospital, but wondered, was this the best treatment for me . So i made a point to talk to my doctor. He told me about eliquis. Eliquis treats dvt and pe blood clots and reduces the risk of them happening again. Not only does eliquis treat dvt and pe blood clots. Eliquis also had significantly less major bleeding than the standard treatment. Eliquis had both. And that turned around my thinking. Dont stop eliquis unless your doctor tells you to. 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Were sitting in the eye of the storm right now. But weve evacuated to our neighbor has a railroad container storm shelter inside his barn. So weve evacuated to his storm shelter. How did you what was the damage like to your home . What happened . We had a metal roof, and it peeled all the metal off the roof. So of course then the rain proceeded to start coming through and leaking through the wood, which then causes its a twostory home. But then the sheet rock proceeds to start falling in on the bottom half of the house. The walls did not cave in. But its basically raining in the house now. You sound very composed for someone who just lost their home tonight. Whats your plan . Sharon . I think we lost the phone call tonight. Clearly were going to continue our coverage of Hurricane Harvey. The category 4 storm that is wreaking havoc on the texas coastline tonight. You should be sure to stay with us throughout the evening and in the morning tune in to good morning america. 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