Staten Island Ferry Crashes into Dock; Deadly Tennessee Floods
CAREY: We want to let you know about the breaking news we continue to follow for you. We have reporters on the scene. This is what happened. A ferry boat crashed into Staten Island. This is the boat that takes people back and forth between Manhattan and Staten Island. About an hour and a half ago now it ended up crashing. You can see lots of emergency crews on the scene. We are hearing that there are some minor injuries; a total of about 60 and it appears that the majority of them are minor. We're still trying to figure out what happened. The witnesses from multiple vantage points say that it seems to them, that for some reason the ferry sped up. Again, there is going to be an investigation, but that's what people on the scene are saying right now. CNN's Susan Candiotti also spoke with a witness who said that he heard someone yell red, red right before the crash. So we're getting as many angles on this covered as possible. This is a very, very busy ferry. It wasn't Saturday but nevertheless, there were about 250 people on board. We're going to keep you posted on that.</s>HOLMES: Yes. Certainly during the week you would have seen so many more people on these ferries. But again, this one was about to dock. You can assume it left New York, Manhattan, at about 9:00. And then it was pulling in at 9:25 in Staten Island. We've been hearing from some of the witnesses, the eyewitnesses, not just those who saw the thing coming in but some who were actually on the ferry when it hit. Take a listen to some of the people we heard from.</s>TY WILBURN: There's a massive effort under way right now and dozens of first responders are downstairs helping the people who are injured responding to that ferry crash that happened about at 9:25. Eyewitnesses on the boat tell us as the ferry was approaching the dock it sped up and slammed into the dock. Again, it could possibly be dozens of people injured as a result of this. Joining me right now is Alex Gonzales. He was on that ferry coming from New York to Staten Island about 9:25. Tell me what happened, Alex.</s>ALEX GONZALES, WITNESS: As we left the port from Manhattan, the boat was smooth sailing. As we approached the dock, it started speeding up. I got a little nervous because I didn't -- I was wondering why it was speeding up so fast. As soon as we got to the port, it just slammed right into the dock and pushed everybody back. There was a young lady with a child there that flew literally. It was chaos, pandemonium. It was like something I've never been in, in my life.</s>WILBURN: What was going through your mind when this happened?</s>GONZALES: I hope I don't die. That's all I felt like. Just I don't want to die right here on the ferry. I came out here every Saturday. I just don't want to die.</s>WILBURN: Talk about the injuries. Did you see people around you?</s>GONZALES: There were a lot of people that were taken off on gurneys and on stretchers and it took us maybe 10 to 15 minutes before they let the people that were able to walk off. So it was chaos.</s>WILBURN: And so, again, take me back to the moment before it happened. As you were approaching the ferry --</s>GONZALES: It was normal as usual, everything was smooth sailing. Started raining and went back inside, sat down. And then all of a sudden as we approached the dock it just started speeding up, literally fast. Like what's going on here? And then as soon as it was like maybe about 20 feet away, it was like this boat isn't going to stop. And as soon as it crashed, it pushed the whole dock in, the bridge and everything. And then all of a sudden that's when all the cops came running down and all the ferry -- I guess security, started coming down telling everybody to sit down. There were people, old lady next to me who was having a heart attack. So it was scary.</s>WILBURN: What about the impact? I mean ...</s>GONZALES: It was like so hard it was like it threw you back. Like I said, there was a lady with a child on the front that literally got thrown from the front part out into where we were sitting. Like literally maybe about ten feet. That's how hard the impact hit her. It was like boom and everything got pushed back. You see the bridge get pushed in and the sad part about it is, this is the same boat several years ago.</s>WILBURN: I don't know about that.</s>GONZALES: The Barbary (ph).</s>WILBURN: Are we sure about that?</s>GONZALES: Yes. We are definitely sure about that.</s>WILBURN: So where were you on the ferry when this happened?</s>GONZALES: Right on the first tier right in front. Right there, like literally I just walked in ten minutes before the impact.</s>WILBURN: And did you see it coming? Did you feel it coming? Was there any sense before it happened?</s>GONZAELS: It was more like usually when we come here it goes smooth sailing.</s>WILBURN: Right.</s>GONZALES: This time it just sped up for some reason. And then there were several people around me who were like, "Why are we speeding up?" And I was like, I don't know. And, boom, impact.</s>WILBURN: Obviously, I don't know if you know this, but was this -- could be a ferry-operated error? What did it seem like to you?</s>GONZALES: I would think truthfully that I don't know if there was maybe something wrong with the ferry but who knows.</s>WILBURN: Again, we're getting reports of dozens of injuries. Did you have the sense of that as you were on the ferry right after it collided into the dock?</s>GONZALES: Yes, absolutely. Because I see -- yes, there were a lot of people hurt. A lot of people were hurt.</s>WILBURN: Again, what do you make of this? I mean you take the ferry every Saturday morning.</s>GONZALES: And right now, like I'm scared to even go back on there because like it's unbelievable how this is like the second time in about seven years, I think eight years that all I do is come to Staten Island and go back and now look what just happened. You have people on gurneys literally laying in the station. It's sad.</s>WILBURN: Again, we're getting reports of 60 people injured. When you hear that number, did that surprise you at all?</s>GONZALES: No, not all. Not at all because there was at least several hundred -- I would say maybe 200 to 300 people on it but the impact alone jarred you.</s>WILBURN: Ok.</s>GONZALES: Like it just -- as soon as it hit, it's like your body rocked and if you didn't get a grip, there's a lot of people that probably were just sitting there like not even paying attention.</s>WILBURN: Right.</s>GONZALES: But once I saw what I -- boom.</s>HOLMES: Boom. You heard the word there. But the update, 252 on board, 60 of them injured when a Staten Island ferry ran into the dock and reportedly sped up as it got to the dock. Some of those injuries said to be serious. We're not going to go too far from this breaking news story, keeping an eye on it. And I believe from our producer -- I heard you right -- we're going to go -- Janet Napolitano is in Nashville right now. She's speaking, she's there surveying the damage after the flooding. Let's listen in.</s>JANET NAPOLITANO, SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY: -- bet it volunteer effort that you see represented here at the gym and the efforts of the mayor and the governor, your federal representatives obviously have been very active here. So I think Tennesseans can be assured that everybody is really focused on this and paying attention and now we've got to work our way through this. Craig Fugate is here. He is the FEMA administrator nationally. He's been here I think three of the last five days. He's been all over the state and reporting back to me what he is seeing. And we have been -- even as we have been traveling around today talking with the governor and the mayor about other things that will need to be done in the coming days and weeks to set up. For example, information centers where people can get information and other areas of the state to really begin thinking through the recovery efforts that will need be made in terms of housing, small business, you name it. This is a -- this is a big flood that affected a lot of areas across Tennessee. Some parts are dry and open for business and people should know that. But other parts are going to need long-term help. In that regard, let me just give you a few things, now. As of 7:00 this morning, my time, so in D.C., so there were 16,000 Tennesseans who had already registered for assistance with FEMA. Let me give you that number again. As of 7:00 this morning Eastern Time, there were already 16,000 Tennesseans who had registered for assistance with FEMA. More than 650 inspections already had been completed. The inspections are done so we know what the damages number is for obvious reasons. And then more than $4.1 million already had been approved for assistance to individuals. That's not the same as the public assistance. The President has already signed every disaster declaration that has been submitted. We turn those around very quickly for Tennessee so those resources could be immediately available. So, people watching this may want to know what they need to do to register for assistance. This is the key number one step. We can't help if we don't know who you are and where you are. So it's 1-800- 621-FEMA; or go to www.fema.gov, www.fema.gov; or go to m.fema.gov, m.fema.gov. So those are three easy -- I have this high tech card we wrote, has the numbers on it. I'll hold it up here, take a picture of it, put it on your screens because that is the first step. And then, of course, the volunteer centers located all around this area have all of this information and more. As we get into place people helping with their housing needs, with their other assistance needs and recovery from this flooding. With that, let me just stop and see what questions there might be. Yes, ma'am.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Madam Secretary,</s>NAPOLITANO: Well, your question goes to one of the more difficult issues. We will be able to provide through FEMA assistance but only up to a certain level in terms of cash. We can -- we will be working with people right now on where they need to live. For example, a lot of people went to live with relatives or they're staying in a motel. We can help with that but as soon as we know who they are, who is out of their house -- and again, 1-800-621- FEMA -- we will begin working with them and looking individually what their housing needs are going to be. Are they going to need rental housing for a while? Is their house repairable or not? That sort of thing. But there will be individuals who will be -- who no doubt are going to suffer financial damage from this. And I'm not going to ...</s>CAREY: You've been listening to Janet Napolitano, the secretary of Homeland Security. She is in Nashville right now. She just got a look herself at some of the pictures that we're showing you. She's trying to tell people how they can get help; people are trying to get help. She said so far 16,000 people have registered with FEMA to get help. There's the Titan Stadium that's flooded there. She is saying that they can do things limited when it comes to cash but they can do things more like if you're staying in a hotel with a family member right now, they can get you some place else or maybe you could have a more long term temporary housing if you will. But she is trying to let people know, basically, that FEMA is there. She wants people to register. She says they can't help if they don't know who you are. And also, CNN's Martin Savidge is there in Nashville as well. I know that Martin has gone through some of these neighborhoods where people's lives had been changed because of what happened in Nashville, the Cumberland River so far above its banks. I mean these pictures are unbelievable. It seems to have receded now so people can take a breather. What's going on now Martin?</s>MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it should be pointed out, by the way, that Secretary Napolitano is the highest ranking member of the Obama to visit the devastated area so far. As you can see by the river here, it's gone back, not quite to normal. But let me point out how far we have come since the really serious days of flooding. Down there is a stone marker. You can probably see it's got measurement levels on it. At its worse this river was actually three feet above the top of that marker, if you can even try to fathom that. That would mean the marker and those street lamps were all completely submerged. The water, as we say, has gone down significantly. But as you can tell, there is still a lot more to be revealed of that riverside park down there. So it's got a ways to go but it's still above flood stage and of course, for anyone who lives near or has been affected by the Cumberland River tributaries, that's good news. But the impact though continues to be felt here within the state of Tennessee. The death toll has now risen -- again it stands at 22. The damage in the Nashville area alone has been deemed so far to be $1.5 billion. So that's a significant figure and it's likely to go up. And then on top of that, there are all the individuals that have been affected by this storm. We wanted to also point out something else. Tourism is huge in the community of Nashville. It's the home of country music so they get about a million visitors every year. One of the big drawers of that is Opry Land. That is a huge resort and entertainment complex. And that has been effectively shut down because 85 percent of that property and it is massive was touched by the flood waters. And now we went in there -- actually yesterday, one of the first to see the entire set up there after the storm. And it's amazing the damage that has been done. It's quite shocking to see, reminiscent of what you would see in buildings of Katrina. And then there's the economic impact because you lose that hotel and it will be closed at least until September. Immediately 10 percent of all of the hotel space in Nashville is wiped out with the loss of that hotel. And then on top of that, 25 percent of the hotel- run tax generated from that one hotel alone which means that it's a significant reduction of money just at the time that it's needed by the city of Nashville. And then on top of that, it's also the site of the Grand Ole Opry. We got to look at the damage that was done. Water went two feet above the stage. Colin Reed is the CEO of all of Gaylord Entertained and he talked about the responsibility of this very unique place.</s>COLIN REED, CEO, GAYLORD: What I'm shocked about is the speed at which this stuff came over the levy. That's the thing that I find very, very hard to comprehend. Pete, I think most of these benches are going to have to go, man. They are wet and warped. What you see here are a lot of the costumes of the artists that have been removed from their lockers and bags ready to take out and be cleaned -- dry cleaned.</s>SAVIDGE: Now the Grand Ole Opry show does go on. In fact, there will be a performance tonight; it will be at the Ryman auditorium, it won't be at the Grand Ole Opry house. But as you just heard there, significant damage inside but they are recovering and they do say that they will rebuild. Back to you, Richelle.</s>CAREY: And you believe them when they say that. When you meet these people and you hear them, you're going to feel their spirit. You know they mean that Martin. Thank you very much.</s>SAVIDGE: You're welcome.</s>CAREY: To find out how you can help, if you want to make a difference, if you want to help these people rebuild, they say they want to. This is what you can do. Go to cnn.com/impact. There's a list of agencies there that are chipping in and helping those people that have been affected by this.</s>HOLMES: All right. Also coming up, again, the breaking news that we have this morning: a Staten Island ferry has run into the docks; several people have been injured. We will have the very latest developments when we come back.