their side of the story today, show repeatedly prepare to share their side of the story today, wednesday, august 31st, 2011. captions paid for by nbc-universal television and good morning. welcome to "today" on a wednesday morning. i'm matt lauer. >> good morning. i'm savannah guthrie in for ann this morning. when you see images like these from patterson, new jersey, you realize just how long it's going to take to rebuild entire communities. >> unfortunately those flood waters are actually rising in some areas, not falling this morning. vermont has its own dire situation to deal with. those thousands of people stranded by washed out roads and bridges. and fema, the agency that deals with these disasters, is running into a serious money crunch because of irene and in-fighting in washington. i'm going to have more on that in a live report. also ahead, we showed you this terrifying x-ray on tuesday. it's an arizona man who was impaled by pruning shears while he was gardening. now he's speaking out about how it happened, how close he came to dying. we're going to hear from him coming up. it's amazing that he lived to tell the tale. plus, a warn for parents on the potentially deadly hazard that lithium batteries pose for your kids. but let's begin this wednesday morning in the aftermath of hurricane irene, we have it all covered. nbc's michelle franzen is in patterson, new jersey. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, matt. one of the latest towns, latest counties in new jersey dealing with flood waters caused by the rising rivers along here, thanks to irene. we're along the passaic river here. you can get a sense of just how high these flood waters have reached by that vacant building back there. the water is slowly receding after the river crested in the last few hours. but certainly it's not receding quickly enough. this water has already seeped into this town. they had to evacuate more than 1,000 people here. it is same story up and down with different rivers throughout new jersey here. once those waters recede, matt, it is all about clean-up in this area. devastating clean-up. many people who have lost everything, it was in their homes or they have sustained a lot of damage in that area. and tour that area and the damage today throughout new york and new jersey will be homeland department of security janet napolitano along with fema, the administrator. and they are expected to survey the damage here in new york and in the new jersey area. just devastating scene after scene, matt, that we are seeing all throughout new jersey. >> yeah, and michelle, since irene moved out of here we've had through beautiful dry days in a row. a lot of people may be shaking their heads at just how high that water still is. michelle, thank you very much. three minutes after the hour. here's savannah. >> other parts of the northeast are trying to cover from irene. the national guard has used helicopters to get food and water to thousands of people cut off by the historic flooding in vermont. "today" national correspondent amy robach is in rutland, vermont, this morning. good morning. >> good morning to you. this is one or was one of three roads that leads to hillington, a popular ski resort and summertime getaway. you can see what happened. what was once a babbling brook turned into a raging river during tropical storm irene. unfortunately all three roads look a lot like this, which cut off the people who live up on this mountain as well as hundreds of tourists. and while this scene behind me is dramatic, unfortunately it is all too familiar across the northeast. >> this is my daughter's trailer. and this is -- >> reporter: real heartache lasts more than a day. for major sections of the northeast, the pain from this once in a lifetime storm is going to be around for a long time. >> i never thought the scope of it would be this bad. but it's pretty devastating. >> reporter: towns in vermont remain cut off. the roads leading into them, impassable. the national guard supplying them with essentials. known as a winter time playground, killington resort looks more like a war zone. 1,000 people, mostly vacationers, are stuck in the area. new jersey mother karen nilo is one of them. >> three miles to our west is a washout. three miles to our east is a major washout. no way out. >> reporter: but she's caught a lucky break. today the road will be open for one hour and she will be able to drive home to her new jersey town that's under water. to the west of vermont, upstate new yorkers are looking at a tangled mess of downed trees and road closures. the rugged hills funneled irene's rains, taking away both livelihoods and homes. >> nobody was prepared for all of this, at all. nobody knew this was going to happen. >> reporter: on sunday some connecticut residents were rescued from their homes by boat. today 1,000 roads remain blocked. half a million people have no power. governor dan malloy says the issue is being addressed. >> there has never been this many people working on a power issue in the state of connecticut's history. >> reporter: while cities and towns rebuild the infrastructures that make them go, the victims of this massive storm have no less rebuilding projects of their own. >> basically i lost everything when the road flooded up. there are probably about 6 1/2 feet of water in my apartment. >> reporter: he lived in this basement apartment. >> everything from furniture, clothes, basically my whole being is gone now. >> reporter: back here in vermont you just heard, there will be one hour for tourists to get down this mountain. it won't be along this road, however. it's a little bit too unsafe. authorities have built back up part of this road. this is being used now for emergency crews to get back up the mountain. they are bringing much needed supplies, food, and water to those remaining on top of the mountain. back to you. >> amy robach, thank you. savannah, thank you. as rescue crews deal with the immediate impact of irene there are new questions in washington about whether fema has enough money to deal with this disaster. we're going to talk about that with the agency's administrator in just a moment. first, nbc's tom costello is in washington with more. >> this comes just as hurricane season actually heats up. simply put, fema is running out of money. the shortfall could climb to $5 billion. so, it's putting a temporary halt to pay for rebuilding projects in other disaster zones, from joplin to tuscaloosa, even katrina. with irene's path of destruction stretching from north carolina to vermont, president obama offered a promise on tuesday. >> as a government, we're going to make sure that states and communities have the support they need so their folks can recover. >> reporter: but in a year of mounting national disasters, from snowstorms and historiced floods to catastrophic tornadoes, fema's budget is stretched thin. now less than 0$00 million in te disaster relief fund, and everyone is lining up for help. >> like any town in any county, our coffers are a little bit bare at the moment. we didn't really budget for a major clean-up like this. >> reporter: so to pay for the food, water, and ongoing emergency operations associated with irene, fema is freezing new requests from state and local governments rebuilding from past disasters. that means if there were a new request for a school in tornado ravaged joplin, a bridge in tuscaloosa or a project in katrina's wake, all would be on hold for now. >> for any projects that have not come in for approval, we're not going to be able to fund those at this point. we're going to postpone those. >> reporter: postpone, not cancel. you can blame politics and the new budget realities. republican-controlled house already voted to get fema another $1 billion this fiscal year, but that increase is tied to budget cuts elsewhere. so senate democrats haven't acted. house majority leader eric cantor on fox news. >> yes, there's a federal load. yes, we're going to find the money. we're just going to need to make sure that there are savingses elsewhere to continue the to do so. >> reporter: in one week, cantor's own state of virginia was hit by both a earthquake and a hurricane. >> there's wide spread damage from vermont to south carolina. this is going to be a big project. >> reporter: while no one is suggesting fema doesn't need the money to respond to this year's mounting disasters, it may come at the expense of other government programs. the senate is expected to take up fema's funding when it returns next week. for republicans this is a matter of paying for the emergency but cutting back elsewhere. matt, 33 times in the past congress has approved money for disaster relief without cutting other areas of the budget. >> craig fugate is the adm administrator of fema. thanks for joining us. >> good morning. >> you don't have to be a math whiz to realize the numbers don't add up here. you have $800 million in the disaster fund. bills from irene are already coming in at estimates of some $7 billion. so if i have been flooded out of my home in new jersey or i lost a business in vermont, can i count on fema? >> for the individual citizens, yes, we have not stopped doing that. what we have done is permit repair work. doing the emergency work, life-saving activities and all of those activities are still ongoing. >> you need congress to act and get more money into your coffers. but as we see lately, although tom costello says 33 times in the past, congress has increased fund for fema without cuts. we know that these are different times. and congress doesn't act quickly on anything dealing with spending right now. are you worried about that? >> i'm worried about the people that we're working to help right now begin the immediate recovery. we've got a job here to do at fema. we're going to stay focused on it. work with the white house and the funds we need. we're working right now in the initial response and being prepared for the next disaster. >> i understand that and it is the people that need the help that you should be paying attention to. but what is your message to congress when this comes back up when they come back from their vacation? >> in this country, americans have always come to the aid of other americans in a crisis and disaster. that's our job. that's what we do. that's who we are. fema is doing its job. we're going to keep working and supporting the governors and citizens in surviving this disaster. we're doing our jobs. >> in the past when fema run short of funds before, congress generally comes through. does the system itself need to be changed or fixed so that this doesn't happen in the future? >> well, in this country, again, we look at these large-scale disasters as something that's hard to budget for. this is a question that's best left to the appropriators and to those that deal with these issues. fema is doing its job. we're working. again, americans have always come to other americans, whether it's katrina, the hurricanes i went through in florida, the earthquakes in the west coast, all disasters when they get to this point we've always as a country have come to each other's aid. >> you've been to vermont and looked at the damage. you've been through upstate new york and see what happened there as a result of irene. i know you're going to be spending time in new jersey today. what's your overall assessment? >> that this was not a coastal impact. this was a flood events and a power outage. and the flood damages here are very dramatic. and again, we're working hard with our state partners as they focus on life safety as we get ready to support the recovery. >> fema administrator craig fugate. thank you very much for your time. >> thank you. 13 after the hour. here's savannah. >> matt, thank you. to the uprising in libya. inside look today at the lavish compound of the daughter of fugitive dictator moammar gadhafi. stephanie gosk is in tripoli this morning. stephanie, good morning. >> good morning, savannah. since tripoli fell people have been flocking to and looting gadhafi's home, enincludes his compound here in tripoli, and a beach escape. people here believe the family plundered the country's wealth to fund their expensive lifestyles. it seems an unlikely neighborhood for a luxury home, but behind the concrete walls he lived in grand style the top of dictator's daughter was a lieutenant general in the libyan army and a lawyer. she was part of the defense team that represented another toppled dictator, saddam hussein. the arab named the 35-year-old bleechd blond the claudia schiffer of north africa. who has now firmly in rebel hands looted and damaged, but the lavishness is still plain to see. there isn't just a pool, it's a separate pool house with showers and a hot tub. inside the main home, a golden mermaid throne designed in her image sits at the bottom of a long marble staircase. this opulence is on display publicly for the first time, only fuelling the anger that average libyans feel toward the gadhafi family. by the time the rebels got here she was gone. nine months pregnant. she escape with her mother and two brothers to neighboring alger algeria. the government there said she gave birth with her fourth child while crossing the border. pictures are scattered and picked over in the master bedroom, including those from her wedding day. her husband ahmed, a general in the libyan army, was allegedly killed in a nato strike in july. the valuables have been looted from the house. but the stuff that's left he behind tells you a little bit about the family. there's this book "living in style paris" and then this one, "the secret life of saddam hussein, from the palace to the cave." the occasional passerby is let inside to wander the rooms and marvel at the riches, like this basement beauty salon complete with everything needed for a high-tech facial. back out on the street the resentment spills over. gadhafi pretended he lived in tents, this man says, when in reality he lived in palaces, while the libyan people are hungry. the gadhafi family is on the run. the palaces are no longer theirs, and now neither is the country. quick update on the hunt for gadhafi. one theory is that he has escaped to one of two strongholds. serte, his birth place to the east, or to the south. they have given them an ultimate numb, gave up or we will have an attack. let us get the rest of the headlines now from natalie stand tath news desk. good morning to you. >> good morning, everyone. parts of texas and oklahoma are battling a natural disaster of their own this morning. raging wildfires have forced hundreds to evacuate and dozens of homes have been engulfed by the flames. officials say persistent drought conditions and searing summer heat wave are likely to blame for the wildfires. $60 billion in u.s. funds have been lost to waste and fraud in iraq and afghanistan over the past ten years of war. this according to an independent panel. the commission on wartime contracting reported to congress that wide spread corruption and faulty planning are to blame for much of those losses. as the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks approaches, the federal government is ratcheting up security nationwide. officials say there is no specific terror plot being investigated but that americans can expect more security at airports, mass transit, government buildings, and even major athletic events in the coming weeks. now let's head to wall street. cnbc's mandy drury is at the new york stock exchange this morning. >> the month started out working for the first month but ending relatively calmly. even weaker than expected news on the economy recently hasn't really deterred the buyers in recent sessions because investors are increasingly convinced that the u.s. is going to step up to the plate and do more to try to foster a stronger recovery. as the gas prices, you may have noticed it's starting to go up ahead of the holiday weekend. national ainch op average of $3 a gallon. >> we are always looking for a silver lining around here. amanda drury, thank you. you might say she made quite a splash. daryl hannah was getting arrested in front of the white house where she was protesting an oil pipeline from canada to texas. the 50-year-old movie star and environmental activist was later released after paying a fine. this is her third protest-related arrest. it is now 7:18. let's turn it back over to matt, savannah, and al. >> most people don't get applause when they get arrested. >> but if you're daryl hannah. >> did you notice how the cops went right over and got her out of the line? >> exactly. >> not the others. >> chatting with her, too. >> mr. roker, how are you doing? >> keeping an eye on katia in th >> mr. roker, how are you doing? >> we're keeping an eye on katia. too early to tell what it will do. 385 miles west of the cape verde islands. west-northwest movement rocketing at 21 miles per hour. it will stay north of the leeward islands, get caught up in a trough coming off the atlantic coast and then will turn to the east of bermuda. we still have to keep watching this. it will be a major hurricane by early next week. >> good morning. another autumn like start here this last day of august. right now we're down into the 50s throughout most of the region. later today into the lower and mid-80s. not very humid. few clouds around. more of the same on thursday and friday. over the weekend, more heat and more humidity. saturday and sunday highs near 90. might >> and that's your latest weather. matt? >> al, thank you very much. now an arizona man who is really lucky to be alive after he impaled himself on a pair of pruning shears. he's got the x-ray to prove it. nbc's lee cowen is in tucson with this story. lee, good morning to you. >> good morning, matt. you don't often hear of gardening accident that is quite this serious. if it weren't for that ct scan to show where the shears ended up in his eye you might not believe that it happened, let alone the fact that it was survival. for all those times your mother warned you not to run with scissors, this is why. but for 86-year-old leroy, there was no running me says he simply lost his balance while trimming his neighbor's bushes and ended up falling eye first on his trusty pair of pruning shears. >> i tell you i have never had pain like this in my life. >> reporter: it down through his eye socket, nasal cavity, and ended up in his neck, right next to his carotid artery. >> i could have pled right to death. >> minutes to get inside his house where his girlfriend of 12 years found him bleeding into the sink. >> i saw this strinstrument in face and i just said, leroy, honey, what have you done? >> reporter: he was rushed to tucson's university medical center where doctors were shocked. >> i've seen things like branches, nails, glass, but this was -- i call it a one in a million kind of thing that you see. >> reporter: the doctor who worked on congresswoman gabby giffords after she was shot in the head in january saw reason to be hopeful. >> we were able to loosen it enough to slide it out carefully. >> reporter: he reconstructed his eye socket with a titanium match. remarkably the eye itself hadn't republican churd. >> i can see all of you just as good with this eye. >> reporter: he does, however m double vision. something doctors hope will go away when the swelling goes down. >> for this kind of direct impact, next to his eye, he's very lucky. >> reporter: as for any future gardening, well, leroy says those shrubs, they may just be neglected for a while. >> i'm not going to be doing any prune work when i get home. >> this wasn't leroy's only brush with head trauma. he once walked through a blat glass window and ended up with 240 stitches all over his face. some call him accident-prone me just calls it survival. just plain lucky. >> we're just