Transcripts For CNNW Wolf 20170828

Likely before its all said and done. 2,000 people in houston rescued by first responders. Now tens of thousands of people huddled in shelters forced out of their homes by rising floodwaters. It was over five feet in our house. We barely made it out. Im just so grateful that they came. But what might be even worse, houston sheriff admits victims trapped in submerged cars under up to 15 feet of water may still be found when the waters start to recede. Out to reporters in the fields. The catastrophic flooding is devastating communities from meadville to blessing and to houston, roads are raging rivers. Brian todd and also ed lavandera in dickinson with members of the National Guard. Go to ed first. Ed, you were on the back of a truck, seeing some amazing rescues over the last 24 hours. What can you tell us now . Reporter hi, jim. We are in this convoy in dickinson, texas, along interstate 45 with the National Guard unit out of dallas, calmed the wolf pack. They are headed into some of these neighborhoods that have been hardest hit by the floodwaters here on the south side of houston. So this is kind of like north Galveston County and southern Harris County. And we are about to venture into these neighborhoods. Not exactly sure exactly what neighborhoods were going to be hitting, or a combination of reconnaissance and some of the neighborhoods, and some soldiers told us perhaps making our way into leak city as well along the interstate and its been really difficult to make our way into the neighborhoods. Sit down as the convoy starts moving. Trying to get to a town called fredwo friendwood for several hours. Became difficult. The roads impassable. Impossible to get into the neighborhoods where a lot of rescue missions are taking place. About 1,000 people in that particular town had been evacuated in friendswood just yesterday and those efforts are continuing today. Down here on the Southern Side of houston communities like dickinson, leak city, friendswood, you can just see the devastation from these floodwaters. The good news is, here in dickinson where weve reported much of the day yesterday, weve significantly seen the water levels and the floodwaters drop significantly over the course of the last 15 hours. So that is a sliver of good news. However, jim, were told, i was talking to a state trooper ay while ago who said in areas its going to take a long time for the water to go away, because a lot of the water is channeled through bayous. According to that trooper explaining to me because of that its going to take a lot longer for that water to run off and get out of these neighborhoods and allow people to get back in and survey the damage. So that is the situation as you can tell, were moving at a good clip now. Look off to the side. The area we reported from quite a bit yesterday. One of these neighborhoods, jim, about to see, i believe well about to drive past it. Its still under water. In the next 30 seconds or so, were going to hit that area. Here on this road where were driving on now, we were actually floating along on a boat yesterday. This is the neighborhood were about to hit. An area known as, subdivision called bayou chantilly. Into this neighborhood, we had to use a boat yesterday. The water is still rather high, but you can get a little closer, but sense there, a quick look inside that neighborhood. People are launching boats into this neighborhood. This is where we reported from quite a bit extensively yesterday, jim. You can see here. This gives a better indication of the amount of water from these Water Systems that just continues to make it impossible to get through. With these trucks and this convoy, this National Guard convoy, well be able to make it a bigger distance. Not clear exactly if were going to a rescue situation, soldiers going house to house or find people already evacuated and move those people to higher ground, jim. Ed, we should point out to viewers now youre on the back of a truck there with this rescue team live on the air now. Rolling through a community much more under water than it is right now. I suppose as these teams go in there, theres just no telling what theyll find as you were saying a few moments ago. Water is receding quickly in that area . Yes. Thats been kind of the good news. Some of thethis particular road we were on yesterday, i believe it was pretty much impassable. And the big con voice and trucks, its easy. A much more clearing. Easier to make our way through. This is some of the area where people have been launching from and they continue to make their way through some of these neighborhoods, and we are definitely were heading noth no north towards that area of leak city. Not sure how long it will take to get there, but these are all kind of Shopping Centers just along the service road of interstate 45. You can see what the parking lot conditions are. And this gets much worse once you get beyond this road. Buildings and into those trees you see in the distance, that is the areas where these bayous and these creeks run through in the southern Houston County area. And that is wa all of that waters rushing through there, coming out of its banks and making it, causing a lot of devastation, moving the camera to get you a better shot. You can see there as you look on the interstate on the left side of your screen, this is interstate 45. The number of boats and then as i mentioned, described to people, its amazing to see that the interstate here has an interstate usually jammed with car traffic, has essentially been turned into a boat launch for volunteers launching air boats like the one you see in front of me. Flatbottom boats as people make their out there in the draft of that airboat here one second. Hold on. Got the mist. Obviously cars shouldnt drive through this sort of floodwaters, but you can with the team that youre with right now. Tell us about that. How are you able to do that as these folks are going on and checking on people . Reporter no. Its very difficult. Weve seen, lost count how many cars weve seen stranded. Even high, trucks, big suvs, stranded in these waters. But these big militarystyle trucks can definitely handle and move around in higher water. So that is easier and gives them much more capability to get closer into these neighborhoods to relieve some of the, you know, a lot of these volunteers, these boats, getting into these neighborhoods pulling people out. These trucks can get closer and can bring them back to the interstate where they are then put on buses or other private cars and then folks have been taken to shelters, is all thats happening. Well see exactly im not exactly sure what it is were going to stumble upon. The soldiers are inside. Obviously, inside the truck. Getting calls, and have been on the radio throughout the moments weve been on this truck trying to figure out exactly where theyll be deployed to and where they need to help out. So you know, tagging along for the ride on this one, and havent been told exactly where these two trucks will end up. Theyre making their way through the service road. Leak city, the area i believe well end up in, is back over here to the right side of the interstate where were going. So you will monitor that situation, and try to update you guys exactly what we come across. But even the soldiers told us they dont really know exactly what it is theyre going to find or where exactly they were going to end up. So making their way through this area now. All right. Ed lavandera, stay safe. Thank you very much. Folks doing brave work there in your parts. And well check back with you. Keep us posted as things develop as you check on neighborhoods. Appreciate it very much. Texas Governor Greg Abbott says he sent in hundreds more boats and highwater vehicles to help out in houston. Rescuers pulled 2,000 people 2, 000 people, out of the water so far. More still waiting. Houstons police chief telling track residents to not give up. Right now 12,000 National Guard members are helping in the efforts. Joining me on the phone, Harris County chief executive ed emmitt. Hes also director of the Harris County office of Emergency Management. Have you, ed, on the phone with us now. Have you seen any of this new equipment being brought in by the governor . Is that making a difference at this point . From what youre seeing . Yes. It certainly is. The problem, the state presents, as rapidly as expected, but they couldnt get all the way in. Couldnt get to the normal stages area on the first day because so many of the highways were closed. That is that situations unraveling, and in a good way today. Those assets are being deployed. For example, now, were desperately in need of the National Guard to help take supplies to the shelters so that when we put people in the shelters they have food and blankets and all of the things that are necessary. And i remember from katrina, ed, there was a problem in terms of the federal response. Local officials, state officials, felt they werent really in good contact with federal Emergency Management officials. How have those contacts been like for you . Do you feel as though you are hearing enough from the federal government at this point in terms of assets being brought into the area . Help and assistance being brought into the area . Yes. Those contacts have been fine. Weve done this, i was not here for rita when it kim through our area, but i was here for hurricane ike, and weve been through many, many floods, and fema has been here. So we know each other. We have a very welldefined plan where the state, federal and local governments, not just Harris County but all of us work together. And then with our private partners in our Emergency Operation center. And do you have any idea how much longer its going to take to rescue some of these people with the rising floodwaters . Our ed lavandera was on the back of a truck with a volunteer team and seeing in areas, looking at actually his camera right now. Making their way through dickinson, texas, ed, and you can see many of the roads are still covered with water. Although our ed lavandera said the floodwaters are receding. Do you know how long its going to take to get into these communities . Why are some communities seeing that water receding faster than others . What can you tell us . Of course, were on the gulf coast of texas. So its a lowlying area generally and depends which watershed is, has been affected. The waters are receding and it really is going to depend on what happens to the remnants of hurricane harvey. Good news is, it appears to be moving farther to our east. Thats good for us. Not necessarily good for the people over in louisiana. But if we dont get significant amounts of rain and i think youll see the water go down fairly rapidly, xexcept in thos areas we have watersheds, rivers, for example, that drain from the area originally hit by the hurricane, because that water is still going to be coming downstream. And i guess how are you going to cope with the Weather Forecast . Theyre talking about a lot more rain coming in to the area. Is it just a situation you just have to really bear this out . And hunker down and try to get through it . Well, hunker downs the term. I mean, thats something weve used down here certainly back during hurricane ike. But thats what i said. The good news is, it appears that now the forecast is shifting harvey a little bit to the east so that were not getting those training bands coming off the gulf. I hoe it stays that way, because if so, that will make our life a lot easier. I will also say that a big difference that people havent really talked about. Now that were in the cell phone era, were better able to hear from folks that are trapped. Thats important. We cant get to all of them as quickly as wed like, but we have been able to initiate rescues where people call and said we have a group of people, a ladys in labor. Those kinds of things, and it allowed us to deploy resources perhaps in a more misht manner. Ed emmitt, director of the Harris County office of Emergency Management. We appreciate your time and do hope to that that Weather Forecast gives you relief as well. Thank you very much, ed. By air and by boat, more than 2,000 people rescued in the houston area, the coast guard plucking people off of rooftops. Well take you inside that mission just ahead, and more than two feet of rain from harvey and counting. Tracking the storms path. Thats coming up. Phone with our allstate agent, and i know that we have accident forgiveness. So the incredibly minor accident that i had tonight four weeks without the car. Okay, yup. Good night. With accident forgiveness your rates wont go up just because of an accident. Switching to allstate is worth it. We believe in food thats anaturally beautiful, fresh and nutritious. So there are no artificial colors, no artificial flavors, no artificial preservatives in any of the food we sell. We believe in real food. Whole foods market. Patrick woke up with a sore back. But hes got work to do. So he took aleve this morning. If hed taken tylenol, hed be stopping for more pills right now. Only aleve has the strength to stop tough pain for up to 12 hours with just one pill. Tylenol cant do that. Aleve. All day strong. All day long. You dont let anything lkeep you sidelined. Come on thats why you drink ensure. With 9 grams of protein, and 26 vitamins and minerals. For the strength and energy, to get back to doing what you love. Ensure, always be you. While the Hurricane Force winds diminished harvey is still a dangerous and historic storm. The numbers. Federal Emergency Management agency expects more than 30,000 people in the texas flood zone take ton shelters. 450,000 victims will seek some sort of disaster assistance. Dallas is opening a mega shelter, capable of accommodating 5,000 evacuees and 12,000 national and state guard members on duty helps communities affected by hurricane harvey. The coast guard has nine boat teams and 18 helicopters conducting search and rescue operations we should point out in the hardest hit areas of houston. For more joined by the commander of the coast guard, commander schultz. Admiral thanks for joining us on the phone. Appreciate it. How are operations going now . Weve been watching dramatic rescues going on. How is Everybody Holding up and how are these operations going . Good afternoon, jim. The operations are going, you know, very steady. Very strong. The weather remains challenging. It is just, i just left from houston a little while ago. Set down a route to go to this location, but our men and women are flying. We got about 12 aircraft in the air when i departed here briefly a while ago. The bands from the weather system are continually impose challenges. Flying around them. We have boats on the water. You indicated. What we call slug teams on water. Two yesterday and today responsible for over 1,000 rescues. Aviators, i dont have specific numbers where we are today, jim, probably from yesterday to today, 24hour period, probably close to 300 people rescued from the air what are you telling people to do if the water levels start rising rapidly in the area theyre in . How can they make themselves more noticeable by air, if one of your teams are in the area . Or if theyre on a boat . I suppose that, you know, there are dos and donts in this area. What can they do to speed up a rescue operation, if its at all possible, i suppose . Well, jim, as you can imagine. The volume of calls coming in to the 911 centers of the coast guard are staggering. In the tens of thousands. I would triage that sow say, folks first trying to call 911, call their state Emergency Operation centers. Call the United States coast guard. We have some monitoring social media but not the bandwidth to monitor that all the time. So 911, reach out to local authorities. Emergency operation centers. Call the coast guard. Your best way to get help. Stay calm, if youre in your home and your home remains safe, get to the higher levels. The residents do know go into your attic. We dont have visible of you being there. Hard to come find you. If you can get to your roof, wave a towel. Leave a marking on the roof so helicopter crews can see you. Thats my advice, jim to that question. And you mentioned the Staggering Number of calls youre getting at this point. Do you have enough equipment and manpower, enough personnel there to deal with all of this . I suppose you could use more assets . How are things going on that end . Yeah, jim. Were down here supporting the state of texas, the federal Emergency Management agency. Speaking specifically to the coast guard. You mentioned a number 18. We have 18 helicopters in houston right now. Obviously, different cycles and pla maintenance to keep them in the air. Flying about 12. Additional helicopters coming into the area tomorrow. We have the lions share of coast guard operational helicopters from across the country down here flying in is a prompt of this mission. Our counterparts and cbb, data control and marine operations, they have helicopters here. The guard and the department of defense. Helicopters from the state, sort of a a Critical Mass here that you can put in the air given the visibility and weather conditions as were el. I think weve got a pretty robust footprint in terms of air capabilities right now. Were surging in additional boats from various regions. You know, we here before the storm. Prepositioned outside and flowing in, and brought in additional capacity. Were working lard to throw everything we have at it. Rescuing texans, those folks with watercraft and personal knowledge and experience on the water are helping residents in the neighborhood. Thats a very, pretty positive thing and i injure more of that. People have to be savvy about their capabilities and not get in over their head out there. Very good advice. Okay. Vice admiral karl schultz, appreciate your time. Good luck to you and your teams and doing important work on the gulf coast. Thank you, sir. Thank you, jim. Floodwaters rising. Thousands of people stranded and some of them are separated from their families and loved ones as well. Ahead, were show you how one father and son reunited after their home was wiped out by the storm. No, please, please, oh shrieks in terror heavy breathing and snorting no, no. The running of the bulldogs . Surprising. Whats not surprising . How much money aleia saved by switching to geico. Fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more. If you could book a flight, then add a hotel, or car, or activity in one place and save, where would you go . Expedia. Thats why at comcast were continuing to make4 7. Our services more reliable than ever. Like technology that can update itself. An advanced fibernetwork infrustructure. New, more Reliable Equipment for your home. And a new culture built around customer service. It all adds up to our most Reliable Network ever. One that keeps you connected to what matters most. Happening soon, Texas Governor abbott holding a News Conference about the latest on Tropical Storm harvey and highlighting what texas faces in the immediate threat. Our reporters are with us. Polo sandoval what can you tell us . Reporter i can tell you the real flooding threat is just Getting Started the outside of houston. In richmond, texas, behind me the river that reached record levels memorial day of last year reaching about 54 feet. Today that record will shatter according to predictions from the National Weather service. Expected to reach throws to 59 feet. The result, mandatory evacuations up and down this river. I visited one Riverside Community a little while ago, jim. A mobile home park. A virtual ghost town. One person packing up everything the rest left behind was placed on top of furniture. The reality at waers levter lev continue to rise and this river expected to reach record highs later today. Hundreds perhaps thousands of people that could be displaced. The county judge told me a little while along, jim, this is an 800year flood that theyre expecting not far outside of houston. Certainly looks that way, too. Polo, thank you. And rosa flores, im sure youre hearing from people displaced by all this. Sounds like an alarm is going off behind you. What can you tell us from where you are . Reporter you know that alarm, jim harks been going off since the water started rising. Its from one of the buildings you see behind me. Because that water rose so quickly, i mean, we were here doing live shots yesterday. We had to keep on moving our position, because the water was moving so quickly and was rising so quickly. Here is the mindboggling thin, jim. Yesterday as about this hour, i couldnt walk down this pathway. I wouldnt be able to stand right here where im standing, because i would be completely under water. Let me show you some debris so you can see. Theres barricades, peoples belongings. A rug. I mean, all sorts of things. A lot of debris thats been flowing through here. This walkway turned into a pier while that water was raging. Now, behind me is well, i mean, its an overflowed buffalo bayou. Now, this is where two bayous meet, supposed to empty into the gulf of mexico. You know houston is a bayou city. And these waterways are designed to drain all of the water. Now, we just heard from city officials today that they are going to release water from a reservoir thats about 30 miles west. And they are saying that more water is coming through buffalo bayou. All of that water has to flush through here. So were expecting at any point for this water level to rise again. We just dont know the timing of that. Its impossible to predict, really, how quickly that water is going to flow. But, jim, look around me. It is still raining, and wow. Reporter were expecting another 15 to 20 inches of rain. On top of all of that water flowing this way from a reservoir, were getting more from old mother nature. Well, we certainly hope things get better down there. Sounds like folks will have to brace for more of those conditions you were just talking about. Obviously, shows just what a mess theyll have down there in houston to clean up once these floodwaters finally recede. Rosa flores, thank you, and polo sandoval, appreciate your contribution as well. Survivors just trying to make sense of whats left behind from harvey. Nick valencia met a man who lost everything and reconnected with his dad for the First Time Since harvey hit. Look at this extraordinary footage. Im scared. Seen a lot of things, that terrified me. Reporter i see the look in your eye. You look shocked. Yeah. I dont just lost everything i worked for. Ah everything. The only thing i got is the clothes on my back and hopefully my dad got out somewhere. And . Know. Maybe i should have left. Maybe i should have left. Okay, dad. Im going to jump on the bus. Ill be there. Are you okay . Yeah. Ill jump ill jump on one. Yeah. Im in rockport. Okay. Dad, i love you. Okay. All right. I love you. Im going to get off here and im going to ah i ill be right there. A sense what people are going ps weve seen unfold before us, thousands devastated by harvey searching for a safe haven. Joining me, san antonios mayor. Thank you so much for joining us, mayor. Its heartbreaking to hear those stories. How are you responding right now to your fellow texans . Well, our situation has turned from a preparation effort to now rescue and relief of our coastal neighbors. You know, were a compassionate city here in san antonio. Were a compassionate people here in texas, and so we will rise to the occasion to make sure that we help our neighbors in need. Its a tough situation down there. We have been a staging location for a lot of the search and rescue operations youre seeing right now. That have taken place along the coast. We will continue to be prepared for evacuees. Weve taken it over 1,000 folks into local shelters and currently increasing capacity so well be ready to do more. If there are folks in that area, that hardhit area of houston and so forth, if they want to come to san antonio seeking relief, seeking shelter, they can come to you and what will san antonio do for them once they arrive . Absolutely they can come here. No one turned away. We will do whatever it takes to make sure needs are met. We have an outpouring of support from volunteers through the red cross. Citizens who are absolutely willing to donate items that will be needed to keep their stay here as comfortable as possible and well be there for them when theyre ready to rebuild their lives but want to make sure that san antonio is here to help our neighbors no matter ho greno matter how grea need. Your city had practice doing this. San antonio received 25,000 people back in 2005 during hurricane katrina. I remember that storm well. Well were going to all parts of the country to get away from that area and seems to me you may be facing a similar situation in that these folks may not just be coming for a couple of days. They may be coming for some time. Yeah, and will find open arms here. Im pleased to hear that same sense of compassion from other cities around texas, but certainly we know that were very close to the areas hit. In fact, very fortunate not to be hit ourselves. So were ready to help, and our shelter capacity is increasing as we speak. No one will be turned away no matter their circumstance or how great their numbers. San antonio stands ready to help our neighbors in need. Okay. Mayor ron nuremberg, appreciate your time. Thank you so much for joining us. Thank you, jim. Special coverage of this historic storm continues, right after this. And ive never seen a better time to refinance your home, than this summer. Why . Because right now were seeing our average customer save 20,000. 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What can you tell us about a mystery person from West Virginia . New details. Discovered by congressional investigators, said an individual from West Virginia sought to set up a meeting between Vladimir Putin and the Trump Campaign. Since we broke the news last week the mans name is rick clay, whos a former contractor during the iraq war who privately reached out last year to rick dearborn, a top aide in the Trump Campaign and now the president s deputy chief of staff. Mr. Clay told me he was passing along a meeting request from one of his friends who came into contact with russians during a christian function. Saying mr. Dearborn rejected the request and thought serious enough that it should go through the proper channels of the state department instead. Also, jim, another twist. A republican source tells me mr. Clay informed his senator, the republican senator Shelley Moore capito about his desire to talk to the campaign about his russian contacts and the Senators Office confirmed she passed along his Contact Information to the campaign and said, that was the extent of her involvement. This is obviously going to be of interest to investigators. These congressional committees looking into this. And i suppose it adds another layer to this investigation for these panels to look at . Absolutely and raises key questions and that russians sought to employ covert tactics in the Trump Campaign and more broadly, Russian Intelligence Services talked to conservative organizations including religious groups to build align alliances in the United States. Its unclear whether this meeting amounted to a tactic or just an innocent request for a meeti meeting. Its something investigators have to look at. What has the white houses response been . Doesnt sound like well have a briefing today. The president is holding a News Conference. What are they saying . Last week when we presented them with the story he declined to comment on the dearborn email. And they wouldnt confirm clays account or discuss who the russians were he wanted, set up this meeting with. But ty cobb, president s senior Legal Counsel dealing with the russian issue said that the facts i presented to them have now vindicated dearborn and accused the media of salacious speculation following the first story. We now know this is at least a second time Trump Campaign official rees ject rejected a meeting after meetings were suggested with senior russian officials not acted on by the campaign. But this memo came around the same time of the june 26th power meeting with officials donald trump jr. And russian operatives after trump jr. Was promised dirt on the Clinton Campaign and that meeting, too, jim, also under investigation. The russia investigation continues. Manu raju, thank you very much. Back to our coverage of harvey. Get more on this developing situation in texas. Im joined on the line now by texas senator ted cruz. Senator cruz, youre in houston right now. I understand you were just working with some volunteers a few moments ago. As youre looking at the situation there right now, what are you seeing . Whats the greatest need . Well, jim, its good to be with you. This storm continues. Rain and flooding is still happening and houston is reeling, and all of the gulf coast in texas is reeling. And houston, weve had over 2,000 highwater rescues and i got to say the first responders, police officers, firefighters and the National Guardsmen and coastguardsmen have been incredible, and every bit as amazing has been just the incredible generosity of ordinary men and women. Neighbors helping neighbors. Weve had hundreds of individual texans get in flat bottom boats and rescues their neighbors from highwater threatening situations. And were grateful for the coordinated response of the federal, state and local government and everyone coming together focused on saving people from this terrifying storm. And senator, what is your sense of, i know that texans are always incredible about helping texans. Weve seen that unfold over the last couple days. Its been extraordinary. What is your sense of the federal response so far . Im taking it by your comments now that its been pretty good. And we know that President Trump and the first lady are coming down to texas tomorrow. Right. Thats fairly early on after a major storm like this hitting part of the United States. Is it a good idea, do you think, for the president and that entire entourage to be coming to the state of texas right now . Well, the federal response has been very strong. I spoke with President Trump and spoke with the Vice President and with several cabinet members over the course of the last several days and, the consistency from the administration, what does texas need . We are leaning in and leaning in hard aggressively and swiftly. The president in a Cabinet Meeting a couple days ago, a videoconference instructed each of the cabinet members to move as 1wi69ly as possible providing everything needed, and that has been conveyed at every level. The cabinet, multiple cabinet secretary, theyve reached out from head of dhs to the head of health and Human Services to the secretary of education, to the secretary of labor. Across the administration, the federal government has been working to provide resources, and one of the things ive spent a great dealen time on trying to coordinate that federal response with our governor, who im talking to regularly and then our local officials. Our mayors and county judges. And the collective response has been very strong. When i visited with the president he didnt want to come so early to distract from relief efforts. Thats why he delayed to trip to tomorrow. My understanding is where hes going to be traveling will be away from where the direct life threatening challenges are right now. But i think he wants to just to be here and to fleen with federal resources and here in texas were grateful for the national outpouring of love and support weve received the past several days. And senator, i know because youve been in washington for some time now, that these debates come up over relief for disaster areas and so forth. Im curious. If your perspective changed at all when it comes to that need for quick Disaster Relief for a hardhit area . I know during hurricane sandy, superstorm sandy, this became an issue. There were some republicans in texas opposed to that funding, and now many of those members of congress would like to see help come in as quickly as possible, and i know at that time you were one of those republicans opposed to that emergency funding. What is your sense of it now . Is your perspective different now, now that youre seeing this happening in your home state . Well, jim, its not accurate there was republicans opposed to hurricane funding. Every republican including Texas Republicans agreed that hurricane funding is an important and Critical Role for the federal government, and that hurricane sandy, a great many people were hurting from it. Now, there were a number of us concerned that that particular bill became a 50 billion bill filled with pork and unrelates spending that wasnt hurricane relief. It was simply local members of Congress Spending on their pet projects and twothirds of what was spent in that bill had little or nothing to do with hurricane sandy. Of course, the federal government has a Critical Role in Disaster Relief. It has before and should continue to, but you should not have members of congress that are exploiting disasters to fund their pet projects, and so there will be time for all of those debates in washington. Right now, jim, the immediate focus is on preserving life and saving lives that there are still substantial numbers of people in texas experiencing but let me say to the folks at home, if youre in an area that flooding is threatening your home, keep safe. Dont go up in the attic. A number of folks have done that. If you go up in the attic, you need to make sure you have an ax or some other way to get out. Because the attic can be very dangerous, you can get trapped and rescue works cant get to you. If water is rising, youre safer on the roof than in the attic. Secondly, if youre in an area where the floodwaters are rising, if at all possible, dont go in the car. Unless it is an absolute emergency. The most dangerous thing you can do is get in your car and drive into moving water. Moving water is deceptive, you think you can make it through, and yet moving water can carry the car away. And it is the easiest and fastest way to risk the lives of you and your family. Listen to the local authority, stay high and safe and dont take a risk. Thats all very good advice. And senator, this debate that i guess is happening in texas right now over whether houston should have evacuated, i know the governor has said, well, maybe people should have been evacuating even though there werent evacuation orders. The mayor of houston said, we could not have evacuated all those people at once. That would have caused other problems. What is your sense of this, this happens storm to storm, we have these discussions, what was the sense of that discussion being made . I think theres plenty of time that has subsided as we look back with hindsight and to debate what was done right and what could have been done better. I will stay, we have an active disaster unfolding. This is a 500year storm. We are seeing flooding that has never before occurred in texas, the magnitude of it, the damage from it, and i think the focus of everyone, from the president to the governor to all the local officials and first responders, is right now quite rightly on preserving right. Yesterday when i spoke to the mayor of houston, he raised significant concerns there were not enough boats and helicopters and highwater trucks. So i spent much of the day yesterday on the phone with federal officials trying to mobilize more assets to the area. And, you know, we have seen a number of whether it is National Guards being mobilized, whether it is texas, dps troopers being mobilized or Border Control agents with highwater rescue capability coming up from the border to assist. We have seen an incredible outpouring. Senator cruz, i know youre staying on top of it as we are, and we appreciate your time and calling in and talking to us about this. And all of our best, of course, to everybody down there in texas and who youre in contact with as well. And well try to keep tabs with you as this develops. Obviously, this is going to be something that texas is going to be in need of in terms of help and assistance for some time now. Well be following it as you are as well. Thank you, senator, for your time. We appreciate it. Thank you, we appreciate it so much. And were so grateful of the people across the country and the support theyre giving to the red cross, the Salvation Army and all the incredible volunteers standing with texas at this time of need. All right, senator cruz, thank you so much. Harvey is headed east to louisiana right now. The state has already declared a state of emergency. Just ahead, well talk to the states Lieutenant Governor about how theyre preparing for the storm threat. Scuse me. Mind if i sit here . Not if you want your phone to work. Let me guess, you cant livestream your lobster roll. And my mobile pay isnt connecting and i just got an unlimited plan. Right plan, wrong network. You see verizon has americas largest most reliable 4g lte network and now unlimited plans start at 40 per line, you know what i am saying . laughs. oh this is your seat. Definitely. Yep. Just tucking it in. Nah, i wasnt going to pull it out. When it really, really matters you need the best network and the best unlimited. Now plans start at 40 per line for four lines. But he hasoke up wwork to do. In. So he took aleve. If hed taken tylenol, hed be stopping for more pills right now. Only aleve has the strength to stop tough pain for up to 12 hours with just one pill. Aleve. All day strong. Its ok that everybody ignoits fine. N i drive. Because i get a safe driving bonus check every six months im accident free. And i dont share it with mom right, mom . righhht. Safe driving bonus checks. Only from allstate. Switching to allstate is worth it. Harvey has already dumped more than two feet of rain in north texas. And as the heed ad of fema warn this may not be over. This is a landmark event. You cannot draw this forecast up. Weve been telling people this is coming, its still ongoing, but you couldnt draw the situation up. The bottom line is that it is going to continue on. We need the whole community, not only the federal government forces, but this is a whole Community Effort from all levels of government. And its going to require the citizens getting involved. Now, as the storm moves eastward, a state of emergency was declared this morning in louisiana. I want to bring in billy none nungusser. A state of emergency has been declared for louisiana. What does that mean in terms of resources for your state . Well, if we need federal resources, they will be available. Unfortunately, we are very good at this kind of response going through the flooding last year in louisiana, and we prepared for the worst and hope for the best at this storm moves closer to louisiana. And we heard the fema director say that citizens need to get involved. We have seen plenty of examples of that in houston. You just said a few moments ago, obviously, people in louisiana are very accustomed to jumping in and pitching in to help their neighbors. What are you seeing in terms of those assets coming together, should we hope to see basically the same response of volunteers in the socalled cajun navy in houston to help with rescues . Absolutely. You know, were trying to kooshd night the efforts, coordinate the efforts through louisiana. Gov. All the volunteers, when the time is right, to go over and assist in mucking and gutting homes, which we absolutely are very good at here in louisiana. Its going to take a lot of volunteers moving quickly to help these people mock and gut their homes to get into their homes quickly. We started here in louisiana with our veterans and our seniors and really the faithbased groups step in big time in coordinating the efforts. And we hope to assist texas in doing the same. And when people think about doing big hurricanes, obviously, they think of katrina and what happened in new orleans, being the Lieutenant Governor of louisiana, you must be thinking back to that time. Has your state, has that city fully recovered from katrina . Can it take a punch like this from harvey here in the next couple of days . Well, of course were concerned about the southern part of the state. And now the storm looks like it will cross louisiana somewhere north of toledo bend between shreveport and toledo bend. So we are concerned for those areas. We do come back quickly. Last year we had flooding across louisiana equivalent to dumping the Mississippi River for 18 days into the middle of the state. Erer we are still rebuilding from that flood and hope to see rebuilding in louisiana. But it could strengthen there in the gulf, that is something unpredictable at this point. Thats what keeps us up at night. I ran for office after katrina and seeing the response to plaquemines parish. Any time theres a storm near the gulf, we all sleep a little lighter. And this thing is dragging out for many days and could be as much as a week before we know were out of the woods here in louisiana. All right, billy nungusser, Lieutenant Governor of louisiana, well be thinking about you over the next 48 hours. We appreciate your time. Thats it for me. The special Storm Team Coverage of hard voovey continues right. Stay with us. Im brooke baldwin. Youre watching cnn special coverage of the storm that make landfall as a category 4 hurricane and now has turned huge parts of texas including houston into an inland sea. And the threat from this storm rose with each and every passing hour. The rain from harvey continues to batter southeastern texas and now threatens the state of louisiana. This storm front isnt going anywhere. This is what were hearing from forecasters, that it could dump 15 to 25 more inches of rain on the upper texas coast by friday bringing totals in some places to more than 4