Deadly Flooding in the South; Chaos in Honduras
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: And we're pushing forward in part to the Southeast, water as far as the eye can see, homes and businesses swamped by record-setting floods. At least seven deaths in Georgia are confirmed, including a toddler swept from his home. Another person in Tennessee missing and presumed dead. Seventeen counties in Georgia under a state of emergency. Chad Myers is tracking this deadly storm for us right here in the CNN weather center. Also, we're on the scene with CNN's Susan Hendricks and Rob Marciano right there in the flood zone. CNN's Rob Marciano, let's go ahead and begin with you in Austell.</s>ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Record-shattering amounts of rain over the past few days has led to scenes like this. This community inundated with water. They have a small creek that just winds around the back side of this subdivision. And it quickly grew into a massive torrent of water, inundated this subdivision. Thirty to 40 homes, not just flooding the basements, but flooding the entire first floor, and in some cases going up to the top floor. As you can imagine, a number of personal and in some cases, harrowing stories to tell.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We started thinking about what we could recover to take to the top step, but before we could even think about that, the bottom level was flooded. So, we got up there and we watched this guy with the car. I'm not sure if you can see the shot. He was driving down the street and I couldn't understand where he was going. And his car cut off and he watched his car just get completely submerged. And soon after, the water pretty much got to the top level. Someone did -- my neighbor had a boat and he started rescuing people, so we were very thankful for that.</s>MARCIANO: That's the car she's talking about. The gentleman lives right up there. He had his two kids in the car, and they just splashed right into a pond they didn't expect to see on their street, on their way to school. The women lives right there that was in that little piece with her garage door opened still from letting that water in. She didn't know what was coming either, and then later had to be rescued by a boat. The waters here are receding somewhat, certainly lower than they were a day ago. But there is still a slight chance of seeing some rain today, tomorrow, and the rest of the week, but certainly nothing like what these folks saw yesterday. Rob Marciano, CNN, Austell, Georgia.</s>PHILLIPS: All right. And now to Susan Hendricks. She's in one of the hardest hit areas in Atlanta. Susan, is the water still rising where you are?</s>SUSAN HENDRICKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, as Rob said, the water is receding here a bit as well. I would say about three feet, but still, for the people who live behind me, it doesn't even put a dent into the damage that they are seeing. Really mass amounts of water in a short amount of time has made it a true nightmare for these folks who live behind me. I want to bring in Sharon, one of the residents who lives in this area, and she plays tennis directly there. Sharon, if you'll join me right now, tell us what you think about all this when you saw what used to be just 24 hours ago.</s>SHARON BARROW, RESIDENT: I know. I came down here last night about 7:00 and it was still a little drizzly, and of course the water was much higher, but I couldn't believe -- the tennis courts are right there. They are just totally devastated. I mean, you cannot -- obviously, I don't think with water receding anytime soon, it's going to make any difference. The clubhouse is completely destroyed. The playground, which is right behind us -- this was all grass and a soccer field, and kids play tee ball and pitch tents and spent the night, and it's just completely destroyed. It's just unbelievable to think about that.</s>HENDRICKS: I talked to your neighbors who lived through Hurricane Ivan and said this is so much worse, the devastation is extreme. Were you here during Ivan? And what do you think about this compared to that?</s>BARROW: I didn't live in the area at the time, but I've talked to some friends of mine that said that they haven't seen it like this in maybe 20 years, plus. It could be even longer than that. At least in this particular area it hasn't been this bad, and I couldn't even tell you how long.</s>HENDRICKS: Sharon, how do you rebuild from here? This community is certainly a tight-knit one. I don't doubt that they will. Where do you go from here? Do you feel helpless?</s>BARROW: I don't think so. I mean, you know, it's a great community, and we'll pull together and we'll figure it out. You know, I think these tennis courts have been resurfaced at least once before, so hopefully they will and the playground will be back. And we'll be back, we'll be OK. We're a close-knit group. It will be OK.</s>HENDRICKS: Sharon, I don't doubt that, and certainly thanks so much for talking to me. I know you have a lot to go through, rebuilding, really, certainly keeping a positive attitude. I spoke to a young gentleman earlier who was in from California and had to literally rescue his mother and father from the home behind me. And Kyra, as you know, Sonny Perdue declaring a state of emergency in 17 counties, really being proactive. It's a nice day out today, very sunny and warm. The water has receded a bit. But officials are saying, look, this is not over yet, we can't let our guard down.</s>PHILLIPS: True. That's what Chad has been telling us as well. Susan, thanks so much.</s>PHILLIPS: It's been five years since western North Carolina got so much rain, and much of that region is also reeling from the high water. Right now, at least 20 counties are feeling the impact. Among the hardest hit, Transylvania County, where people have had to flee their homes. Roads and highways are closed. Schools have also called off classes. And in Chattanooga, Tennessee, a tragedy that didn't have to happen. Witnesses say that a 46-year-old man, Sylvester Kitchens (ph), bragged that he could swim a flooded storm ditch. After betting onlookers $5 that he could do it, Kitchens (ph) jumped in and was swept into an underground culvert. He is presumed drowned and searchers are still looking for his body. Well, they kicked him out, he slipped back in, and today thousands of supporters of ousted Honduran president Manuel Zelaya went wild. They were running the streets with riot and police gear. They were firing tear gas, water cannons, all happening there in the capital. Zelaya remains holed up in the Brazilian Embassy now, and CNN's Juan Carlos Lopez is there with the latest. Juan Carlos, we're hearing the U.S. Embassy in Honduras has closed. Is that true?</s>JUAN CARLOS LOPEZ, CNN EN ESPANOL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. That announcement was made at the State Department, and the reason for closing the embassy is the fluid situation in Tegucigalpa, the Honduras capital. Remember that President Zelaya was deposed on June 28th. He was sent to Costa Rica. He's been traveling all around, and then went off the radar for a couple of weeks. And he appeared in Tegucigalpa yesterday. The interim government has asked the Brazilian government, who is hosting him in the embassy, to either turn him over or grant him asylum. It's a very complicated situation, but the president -- the deposed president is back, and the crisis in Honduras is deepening again.</s>PHILLIPS: And Juan Carlos, I should point out that you are actually not there. You are in Washington,</s>D.C. LOPEZ: No.</s>PHILLIPS: Sorry about that. We had a little slip-up in copy. I guess the second question, will you be heading that way? And with regard to any role the U.S. playing in this crisis, what do you think?</s>LOPEZ: Well, first of all, the interim government closed the airport. So, right now, nobody's getting in, not even an international delegation that was headed there today by the OAS secretary-general. So, that's one issue. The other issue is that many consider this an opportunity for the Obama administration to show the effects of their policy in Latin America. They have been supporting the return of Manuel Zelaya to power. They've been asking for all actors involved to avoid violence. And now they're going to have take a step further -- at least that's what the analysts I've been speaking with have been saying -- because it's at a point where it could turn into a real violent situation. So, it's still up in the air, but they expect President Obama this week at the U.N. to talk this over with other Latin American leaders and find a solution.</s>PHILLIPS: All right. We'll track it. Juan Carlos, thanks so much. Who's who in American diplomacy? Stepping up to the podium and looking out on the U.N., it's sometimes pretty hard to tell allies from enemies. We're going to look at the world of issues facing President Obama.