1 00:00:00,767 --> 00:00:03,180 [foreboding music playing] 2 00:00:09,249 --> 00:00:13,974 [man speaking] 3 00:00:15,629 --> 00:00:17,801 [man] Tractor trailer right here! 4 00:00:24,629 --> 00:00:26,870 [thunder rumbling] 5 00:00:29,249 --> 00:00:30,698 [man speaking] 6 00:00:42,043 --> 00:00:43,629 [man speaking] 7 00:00:43,629 --> 00:00:45,767 [water gushing] 8 00:00:47,146 --> 00:00:48,663 [electric sparks] 9 00:00:49,663 --> 00:00:51,249 [man speaking] 10 00:00:51,249 --> 00:00:53,180 [radio chattering] 11 00:00:55,111 --> 00:00:58,008 [man screams] 12 00:00:59,111 --> 00:01:00,698 [thunder rumbling] 13 00:01:19,836 --> 00:01:22,146 This morning, ahead of Hurricane Ida, 14 00:01:22,146 --> 00:01:24,939 it is an absolute ghost town on Bourbon Street. 15 00:01:24,939 --> 00:01:25,939 This is the French Quarter. 16 00:01:25,939 --> 00:01:27,629 So the hope is 17 00:01:27,629 --> 00:01:29,318 that these buildings will be able to survive 18 00:01:29,318 --> 00:01:30,629 what could be the worst hurricane 19 00:01:30,629 --> 00:01:31,732 ever to make landfall 20 00:01:31,732 --> 00:01:33,387 in the state of Louisiana. 21 00:01:34,525 --> 00:01:36,146 I'm Jonathan Petramala 22 00:01:36,146 --> 00:01:39,318 and I'm a documentarian journalist for 20 years. 23 00:01:39,318 --> 00:01:41,180 I focus on extreme weather. 24 00:01:42,318 --> 00:01:46,456 Hurricane Ida is heading towards New Orleans, 25 00:01:46,456 --> 00:01:48,318 part of the country that I have a huge place 26 00:01:48,318 --> 00:01:49,939 in my heart for, 27 00:01:49,939 --> 00:01:52,732 and it makes you hurt because you know 28 00:01:52,732 --> 00:01:54,836 that that place that you love 29 00:01:54,836 --> 00:01:58,249 is not going to be the same the day after. 30 00:01:58,249 --> 00:02:00,870 My partner, Brandon and I get there beforehand 31 00:02:00,870 --> 00:02:02,422 to document what's happening. 32 00:02:02,422 --> 00:02:04,318 [Steve] We are west of the storm. 33 00:02:04,318 --> 00:02:06,836 We have ominous news coming from the hurricane hunters 34 00:02:06,836 --> 00:02:09,215 as they continue to track Hurricane Ida. 35 00:02:09,215 --> 00:02:10,525 It is strengthening. 36 00:02:10,525 --> 00:02:11,629 It has sustained winds 37 00:02:11,629 --> 00:02:13,111 at 150 miles per hour. 38 00:02:13,111 --> 00:02:14,525 [Jonathan] As a journalist, 39 00:02:14,525 --> 00:02:16,111 you don't wanna scare anybody. 40 00:02:16,111 --> 00:02:18,939 But we have seen what can happen 41 00:02:18,939 --> 00:02:20,525 with Hurricane Katrina. 42 00:02:20,525 --> 00:02:22,732 And you have a hurricane stronger than Katrina 43 00:02:22,732 --> 00:02:23,939 heading for that same spot. 44 00:02:23,939 --> 00:02:25,284 It's terrifying. 45 00:02:27,043 --> 00:02:29,043 [Pastor Durant] I was born in New Orleans. 46 00:02:29,043 --> 00:02:31,456 And since Katrina, you know, we kind of learned 47 00:02:31,456 --> 00:02:32,870 to just ride storms out. 48 00:02:34,525 --> 00:02:37,732 My kids and my wife, we stayed in New Orleans. 49 00:02:37,732 --> 00:02:40,836 - [girl 1] Look what I do. - [girl 2] Let's go now. 50 00:02:40,836 --> 00:02:44,284 That morning, kids kind of was running around, still playing. 51 00:02:47,422 --> 00:02:50,318 And then you see people making last preparations. 52 00:02:50,318 --> 00:02:52,215 You see people boarding up their houses 53 00:02:52,215 --> 00:02:54,870 and, you know, starting to get a little quiet. 54 00:02:54,870 --> 00:02:56,870 You know, it started to get a little dark, 55 00:02:56,870 --> 00:02:58,353 the sky started to get a little dark. 56 00:02:58,353 --> 00:02:59,974 You can feel the wind blowing. 57 00:03:01,629 --> 00:03:05,180 But we figured, "Hey, this storm can't be a Katrina." 58 00:03:09,215 --> 00:03:11,422 [news reporter] All right. Now, we just got the 11:00 a.m. update. 59 00:03:11,422 --> 00:03:14,146 Landfall will probably happen a little bit before noon 60 00:03:14,146 --> 00:03:17,767 with a Category 4, 185 mile per hour winds. 61 00:03:17,767 --> 00:03:20,767 Those 185 mile per hour winds are gonna be right in here. 62 00:03:20,767 --> 00:03:24,215 And that is gonna just hammer Port Fourchon and Grand Isle. 63 00:03:24,215 --> 00:03:26,801 [suspenseful music playing] 64 00:03:27,732 --> 00:03:29,525 [man 1 speaking] 65 00:03:29,525 --> 00:03:31,353 [Jamie speaking] 66 00:03:32,525 --> 00:03:34,629 [Jamie Lyons] It was the morning of the storm. 67 00:03:34,629 --> 00:03:36,111 We were watching our local news. 68 00:03:36,111 --> 00:03:37,629 And we would just slowly watch it 69 00:03:37,629 --> 00:03:39,318 getting closer and closer 70 00:03:39,318 --> 00:03:40,836 and closer to us. 71 00:03:43,318 --> 00:03:46,215 Once the power was out, we were just left in the dark. 72 00:03:46,215 --> 00:03:49,629 Things started slowly intensifying. 73 00:03:49,629 --> 00:03:52,422 And I had my Nikon cameras, so I just was like, 74 00:03:52,422 --> 00:03:54,525 "Man, I'll just take a couple of videos 75 00:03:54,525 --> 00:03:56,870 to show people what these storms are about." 76 00:04:00,663 --> 00:04:03,249 We made the last minute decision to stay. 77 00:04:03,249 --> 00:04:05,560 It was just a... It was a split second decision. 78 00:04:06,318 --> 00:04:08,043 We weren't prepared for it. 79 00:04:08,043 --> 00:04:09,767 But of course we thought we were, 80 00:04:09,767 --> 00:04:13,663 but you really can't prepare for something like that. 81 00:04:15,318 --> 00:04:17,111 [people screaming] 82 00:04:17,111 --> 00:04:18,767 [Jamie speaking] 83 00:04:18,767 --> 00:04:20,456 - [woman speaking] - [Jamie speaking] 84 00:04:21,525 --> 00:04:23,629 [woman speaking] 85 00:04:23,629 --> 00:04:27,629 [Jamie speaking] 86 00:04:27,629 --> 00:04:29,043 [woman] Oh, no. That can't be good. 87 00:04:29,043 --> 00:04:31,180 [Jamie speaking] 88 00:04:50,146 --> 00:04:51,905 [television chattering] 89 00:04:56,629 --> 00:04:59,801 [Jamie speaking] 90 00:05:06,836 --> 00:05:09,456 The storm kept getting stronger and stronger. 91 00:05:09,456 --> 00:05:12,870 If this house falls down, I'm gonna get hurt for sure. 92 00:05:28,870 --> 00:05:31,318 [news reporter speaking indistinctly] 93 00:05:31,318 --> 00:05:34,422 [Jamie speaking] 94 00:05:34,422 --> 00:05:35,836 [news reporter speaking indistinctly] 95 00:05:35,836 --> 00:05:39,043 [Jamie speaking] 96 00:06:01,043 --> 00:06:02,974 All you could do is just really hunker down 97 00:06:02,974 --> 00:06:05,215 and just pray for the best, you know? 98 00:06:05,215 --> 00:06:06,905 Oh, my God. 99 00:06:17,318 --> 00:06:19,491 [man speaking] 100 00:06:21,870 --> 00:06:23,456 [Jonathan] The hurricane is making its way 101 00:06:23,456 --> 00:06:26,422 from the coast up towards where we are in New Orleans. 102 00:06:26,422 --> 00:06:29,008 I already see the outer band's here. 103 00:06:29,870 --> 00:06:31,249 Hurricane Ida, 104 00:06:32,146 --> 00:06:35,111 these clouds are moving around in that cyclonic action, 105 00:06:35,111 --> 00:06:36,870 might be one of the worst days in history 106 00:06:36,870 --> 00:06:39,318 for Louisiana or New Orleans. 107 00:06:39,318 --> 00:06:41,974 We're constantly scanning through radar 108 00:06:41,974 --> 00:06:45,111 as well as satellite because these storms 109 00:06:45,111 --> 00:06:47,387 make little adjustments on their path. 110 00:06:51,353 --> 00:06:53,560 [man speaking] 111 00:07:08,767 --> 00:07:11,353 Oh, oh. 112 00:07:13,043 --> 00:07:14,387 Oh. 113 00:07:15,043 --> 00:07:17,249 [man speaking] 114 00:07:23,732 --> 00:07:25,870 [Jonathan] Hurricane Ida is a major hurricane 115 00:07:25,870 --> 00:07:28,732 and it's heading right towards the biggest population center 116 00:07:28,732 --> 00:07:30,456 in the State of Louisiana. 117 00:07:32,111 --> 00:07:34,525 Because New Orleans is essentially in a bowl, 118 00:07:34,525 --> 00:07:36,215 the most dangerous part of a hurricane 119 00:07:36,215 --> 00:07:38,146 is not the wind, it's the water. 120 00:07:39,043 --> 00:07:41,525 So this is the storm reduction system behind me. 121 00:07:41,525 --> 00:07:43,422 You can see the floodgate blocking the highway. 122 00:07:43,422 --> 00:07:45,870 This is Highway 90 and you can see what's ahead of me, 123 00:07:45,870 --> 00:07:48,249 the storm surge, just the beginning of it. 124 00:07:48,249 --> 00:07:50,043 This is what these levees were rebuilt for. 125 00:07:50,043 --> 00:07:52,146 Hurricane Ida is gonna be the first real test 126 00:07:52,146 --> 00:07:55,560 this has had since they were rebuilt after Katrina. 127 00:07:55,560 --> 00:07:58,215 [news anchor] Possibility of 15 to 20 inches of rain 128 00:07:58,215 --> 00:08:01,043 in New Orleans, your concerns about that? 129 00:08:01,043 --> 00:08:03,146 We are seeing life-threatening flash flooding 130 00:08:03,146 --> 00:08:04,560 from this intense rainfall, 131 00:08:04,560 --> 00:08:06,767 life-threatening storm surges. 132 00:08:11,732 --> 00:08:13,146 [Jonathan] My partner, Brandon and I, 133 00:08:13,146 --> 00:08:14,629 we wanna go closer 134 00:08:14,629 --> 00:08:16,008 to where the core of the storm is. 135 00:08:17,732 --> 00:08:20,318 We know we are driving into danger. 136 00:08:20,318 --> 00:08:22,146 It's kind of like an apocalyptic movie. 137 00:08:40,422 --> 00:08:41,629 That water was really high. 138 00:08:41,629 --> 00:08:43,422 So I was fully expecting 139 00:08:43,422 --> 00:08:45,663 to come across a corpse in that car. 140 00:09:13,043 --> 00:09:16,525 [Brandon speaking] 141 00:09:16,525 --> 00:09:18,353 It's the most scared I've ever been in a hurricane 142 00:09:18,353 --> 00:09:20,043 because I don't know what I'm going to see. 143 00:09:20,043 --> 00:09:21,629 I don't know what I'm gonna come across. 144 00:09:21,629 --> 00:09:23,732 Am I going to be physically in danger 145 00:09:23,732 --> 00:09:25,180 by this water myself? 146 00:09:33,215 --> 00:09:35,525 Then I look over to my left and I see 147 00:09:35,525 --> 00:09:37,456 more cars and more people 148 00:09:37,456 --> 00:09:39,974 and I know more people are in trouble. 149 00:09:48,111 --> 00:09:50,043 [woman screaming] 150 00:09:50,043 --> 00:09:52,180 [Jonathan speaking] 151 00:09:59,111 --> 00:10:01,284 [woman screaming] 152 00:10:04,870 --> 00:10:07,525 [Jonathan speaking] 153 00:10:07,525 --> 00:10:08,732 [sobbing] 154 00:10:08,732 --> 00:10:10,698 [Jonathan speaking] 155 00:10:14,043 --> 00:10:16,284 [indistinct chatter] 156 00:10:19,836 --> 00:10:21,456 [Jonathan] These people were trapped and the hurricane 157 00:10:21,456 --> 00:10:23,111 still blowing, the water still rising. 158 00:10:23,111 --> 00:10:26,732 We got them around the deep water. 159 00:10:26,732 --> 00:10:28,801 We were able to give them a little bit of shelter from the wind. 160 00:10:32,422 --> 00:10:33,870 [Jonathan] We called 911. 161 00:10:33,870 --> 00:10:35,146 And so we're doing all we can 162 00:10:35,146 --> 00:10:36,939 to get them out of this wind, 163 00:10:36,939 --> 00:10:39,594 out of this rain, out of this dangerous situation. 164 00:10:51,215 --> 00:10:52,560 We planned on hunkering down. 165 00:10:52,560 --> 00:10:54,456 We didn't plan on leaving at all. 166 00:10:54,456 --> 00:10:57,525 You know, half the building had came down, 167 00:10:57,525 --> 00:11:01,836 and so of course, the wife and kids wanted to leave. 168 00:11:01,836 --> 00:11:03,353 The storm was still going on. 169 00:11:03,353 --> 00:11:05,525 Now, the winds are still at probably 170 00:11:05,525 --> 00:11:07,836 about 100 miles an hour, gusts, 171 00:11:07,836 --> 00:11:09,870 you know, the roads flooded. 172 00:11:09,870 --> 00:11:11,629 We get to that underpass. 173 00:11:11,629 --> 00:11:14,629 And we couldn't go any further on I-10. 174 00:11:14,629 --> 00:11:16,318 I heard people screaming, 175 00:11:16,318 --> 00:11:18,146 people saying, "Help, help, help, help." 176 00:11:18,146 --> 00:11:20,043 I just took my shoes off and I just took off 177 00:11:20,043 --> 00:11:22,663 running out on the highway to see who needed help. 178 00:11:24,215 --> 00:11:25,422 I look up and I notice 179 00:11:25,422 --> 00:11:26,939 the man was unconscious 180 00:11:26,939 --> 00:11:28,767 and so, hey, 181 00:11:28,767 --> 00:11:31,043 you got to try to save his life. 182 00:11:31,043 --> 00:11:32,629 [phone ringing] 183 00:11:32,629 --> 00:11:34,249 [dispatcher speaking] 184 00:11:34,249 --> 00:11:37,456 [Pastor Durant speaking] 185 00:11:50,215 --> 00:11:52,215 I'm explaining to 911, 186 00:11:52,215 --> 00:11:54,836 "Hey, man, you guys gotta get some help out here." 187 00:11:54,836 --> 00:11:56,422 [man speaking] 188 00:11:56,422 --> 00:11:58,663 [Pastor Durant speaking] 189 00:11:59,146 --> 00:12:00,870 It was bad. 190 00:12:00,870 --> 00:12:02,629 It didn't matter what I had to do. 191 00:12:02,629 --> 00:12:04,284 I wanted to save him. 192 00:12:12,456 --> 00:12:13,353 [wind gushing] 193 00:12:13,353 --> 00:12:15,801 [Pastor Durant speaking] 194 00:12:15,801 --> 00:12:19,146 I noticed the gentleman laying in the center of I-10. 195 00:12:19,146 --> 00:12:20,525 I ran over, 196 00:12:20,525 --> 00:12:22,318 started doing CPR on him. 197 00:12:22,318 --> 00:12:23,732 Some other people came. 198 00:12:23,732 --> 00:12:25,043 They helped. 199 00:12:32,629 --> 00:12:34,629 I was on the phone with 911, 200 00:12:34,629 --> 00:12:37,043 and I was trying to give them the location. 201 00:12:38,318 --> 00:12:40,353 They sent one guy out in an ambulance. 202 00:12:40,905 --> 00:12:43,318 [sirens wailing] 203 00:12:43,318 --> 00:12:44,974 He checked his pulse. 204 00:12:46,525 --> 00:12:48,043 I wanted him to live. 205 00:12:48,043 --> 00:12:50,353 I wanted him to be alive. 206 00:13:00,732 --> 00:13:03,663 [somber music playing] 207 00:13:17,318 --> 00:13:19,043 [Pastor Durant] I went in my van and got a white sheet 208 00:13:19,043 --> 00:13:20,525 and covered him up with a white sheet, 209 00:13:20,525 --> 00:13:22,215 said a prayer over him. 210 00:13:22,215 --> 00:13:24,215 And so I sat out there with them. 211 00:13:24,215 --> 00:13:27,836 I can just see the sheet just... 212 00:13:27,836 --> 00:13:29,767 [makes sound] 213 00:13:30,318 --> 00:13:32,249 Finding James that night, 214 00:13:32,249 --> 00:13:35,249 I got this real sad, eerie feeling. 215 00:13:36,043 --> 00:13:38,974 I think about him every day, every day. 216 00:13:41,353 --> 00:13:45,284 That was a scary night. 217 00:13:47,836 --> 00:13:51,629 [tense music playing] 218 00:13:51,629 --> 00:13:53,939 [Jonathan] New Orleans is not the same. 219 00:13:53,939 --> 00:13:56,836 You're seeing this beautiful city torn to shreds. 220 00:13:56,836 --> 00:13:59,870 It was like the entire place was a water world. 221 00:14:01,732 --> 00:14:04,525 [Derick] Southeast Louisiana is composed of swamps 222 00:14:04,525 --> 00:14:07,215 and wetlands, and it's also saturated 223 00:14:07,215 --> 00:14:09,801 from heavy repetitive rain. 224 00:14:09,801 --> 00:14:12,249 That gave Ida its energy source that allowed it 225 00:14:12,249 --> 00:14:15,353 to maintain its structure and its power. 226 00:14:16,525 --> 00:14:18,732 We started seeing reports from New Orleans, 227 00:14:18,732 --> 00:14:20,525 and it was just devastating, 228 00:14:20,525 --> 00:14:22,456 the destruction that we saw there. 229 00:14:23,215 --> 00:14:25,249 As the hurricane was making its way up 230 00:14:25,249 --> 00:14:28,939 through Mississippi, people in Louisiana were left 231 00:14:28,939 --> 00:14:30,353 picking up the pieces 232 00:14:30,353 --> 00:14:33,111 and desperately searching for survivors. 233 00:14:37,111 --> 00:14:39,525 [Jonathan] And in New Orleans, they have a pumping system 234 00:14:39,525 --> 00:14:41,249 and the flood protection walls. 235 00:14:41,249 --> 00:14:43,939 Unfortunately, the entire coast of Louisiana 236 00:14:43,939 --> 00:14:46,318 doesn't have the levee protection system 237 00:14:46,318 --> 00:14:47,801 like New Orleans does. 238 00:14:47,801 --> 00:14:50,974 [tense music playing] 239 00:15:08,043 --> 00:15:09,767 [Vincent speaking] 240 00:15:10,801 --> 00:15:14,525 I was born and raised in Lafitte, Louisiana. 241 00:15:14,525 --> 00:15:16,008 My community raised me. 242 00:15:16,008 --> 00:15:17,215 The bayous raised me, 243 00:15:17,215 --> 00:15:19,043 the marshes, the swamps. 244 00:15:20,905 --> 00:15:23,180 When a hurricane comes, we all work together. 245 00:15:29,836 --> 00:15:33,801 Me and my buddy Evan, we had one mission, go in, 246 00:15:33,801 --> 00:15:36,456 help our neighbors, help whoever we can. 247 00:15:38,008 --> 00:15:39,215 [Evan speaking] 248 00:15:39,215 --> 00:15:41,456 [Vincent speaking] 249 00:15:44,318 --> 00:15:46,629 There's an elderly woman, Ms. Emily, 250 00:15:46,629 --> 00:15:48,525 who's on oxygen and they haven't heard 251 00:15:48,525 --> 00:15:50,663 from her since yesterday. 252 00:15:50,663 --> 00:15:53,043 Her daughter reached out to me. 253 00:15:54,560 --> 00:15:56,767 [Vincent speaking] 254 00:16:35,422 --> 00:16:36,629 [woman speaking] 255 00:16:36,629 --> 00:16:39,008 [Vincent speaking] 256 00:16:39,008 --> 00:16:40,629 [woman speaking] 257 00:16:40,629 --> 00:16:43,318 [Vincent speaking] 258 00:16:43,318 --> 00:16:45,249 It all happened so fast. 259 00:16:45,249 --> 00:16:47,836 When I've seen where she was located, 260 00:16:47,836 --> 00:16:49,353 I knew it was gonna be bad 261 00:16:49,353 --> 00:16:50,974 because that's where it hit the worst at. 262 00:16:53,318 --> 00:16:55,422 [Vincent speaking] 263 00:16:55,422 --> 00:16:58,318 - [Evan speaking] - [Vincent speaking] 264 00:16:58,318 --> 00:16:59,353 [Evan speaking] 265 00:16:59,353 --> 00:17:01,560 [Vincent speaking] 266 00:17:18,939 --> 00:17:23,146 Lord, please let her have found a way out, 267 00:17:23,146 --> 00:17:25,939 because if she's in this house, it ain't good. 268 00:17:29,525 --> 00:17:30,870 [Evan speaking] 269 00:17:31,456 --> 00:17:33,043 [Vincent speaking] 270 00:17:33,043 --> 00:17:34,801 [Evan speaking] 271 00:17:34,801 --> 00:17:36,353 [Vincent speaking] 272 00:17:37,353 --> 00:17:40,353 - [Evan speaking] - [Vincent speaking] 273 00:17:42,008 --> 00:17:43,663 [panting] 274 00:18:13,525 --> 00:18:15,698 [dogs barking] 275 00:18:16,629 --> 00:18:18,801 [Vincent speaking] 276 00:18:46,043 --> 00:18:48,043 We decided to get out the house 277 00:18:48,043 --> 00:18:49,456 and go talk to the neighbor. 278 00:18:50,249 --> 00:18:52,456 [Vincent speaking] 279 00:18:59,043 --> 00:19:00,939 - [man speaking] - [Vincent speaking] 280 00:19:00,939 --> 00:19:03,146 [man speaking] 281 00:19:09,629 --> 00:19:11,146 [Vincent speaking] 282 00:19:16,077 --> 00:19:19,111 [tense music playing] 283 00:19:23,939 --> 00:19:25,801 [Vincent] We're looking for Ms. Emily. 284 00:19:25,801 --> 00:19:28,939 Looking and I guess about 15 minutes goes by, 285 00:19:28,939 --> 00:19:30,318 felt like a lifetime. 286 00:19:33,732 --> 00:19:36,560 It's like she never left. She's in there. 287 00:19:37,525 --> 00:19:39,043 We gotta find her. 288 00:19:41,387 --> 00:19:44,456 I was afraid of what we might find, you know. 289 00:19:45,698 --> 00:19:48,698 We flipped every piece of furniture over 290 00:19:48,698 --> 00:19:51,249 and really tear this house apart. 291 00:19:52,422 --> 00:19:55,525 And my buddy Evan, when he looked down, 292 00:19:56,801 --> 00:19:59,318 she was right down between, like, 293 00:19:59,318 --> 00:20:01,629 the kitchen cabinets and the refrigerator. 294 00:20:04,043 --> 00:20:07,318 She had unfortunately passed away. 295 00:20:09,422 --> 00:20:11,422 We just felt like what if we could've got there 296 00:20:11,422 --> 00:20:12,836 a little bit sooner? 297 00:20:15,422 --> 00:20:18,422 I instantly thought of how it might have been 298 00:20:18,422 --> 00:20:20,767 for her in those last few moments. 299 00:20:28,491 --> 00:20:31,663 [dramatic music playing] 300 00:20:35,905 --> 00:20:37,939 [Nora] She was just such an amazing person 301 00:20:37,939 --> 00:20:39,732 that she tried to help out anybody 302 00:20:39,732 --> 00:20:41,318 and everybody she could. 303 00:20:43,905 --> 00:20:46,146 I just want my mom back. 304 00:20:46,732 --> 00:20:49,974 And I'm sorry she had to suffer. 305 00:20:51,008 --> 00:20:54,215 [dramatic music playing] 306 00:21:23,525 --> 00:21:27,663 But then I told my buddy, you know, we gotta go back. 307 00:21:34,732 --> 00:21:36,422 And then we went and get her dogs 308 00:21:36,422 --> 00:21:38,422 and brought them to a relative, 309 00:21:38,422 --> 00:21:40,974 a family member of Ms. Emily. 310 00:21:50,008 --> 00:21:53,111 We couldn't make it in time for Ms. Emily but being able 311 00:21:53,111 --> 00:21:56,836 to get those dogs back to her family was a good feeling. 312 00:21:57,732 --> 00:21:59,836 That's just what we do down there. 313 00:21:59,836 --> 00:22:01,284 We help each other. 314 00:22:13,077 --> 00:22:15,422 [Derick] Two days after Ida made landfall 315 00:22:15,422 --> 00:22:18,422 and we're still tracking it as it's heading our way. 316 00:22:18,422 --> 00:22:22,387 As Ida made its way over Mississippi and West Virginia, 317 00:22:22,387 --> 00:22:24,974 it started to lose some of its strength. 318 00:22:27,008 --> 00:22:28,491 But then things start to change. 319 00:22:28,491 --> 00:22:30,387 You've got this hot storm 320 00:22:30,387 --> 00:22:32,111 coming from the Caribbean 321 00:22:32,111 --> 00:22:35,180 colliding with a cold front from Canada 322 00:22:35,180 --> 00:22:38,560 and it really turns into a completely different animal. 323 00:22:40,008 --> 00:22:42,422 What was even scarier was that this storm 324 00:22:42,422 --> 00:22:44,732 was now headed on up to Pennsylvania, 325 00:22:44,732 --> 00:22:47,111 New Jersey, and New York. 326 00:22:55,525 --> 00:22:57,974 [reporter speaking] 327 00:23:18,180 --> 00:23:21,111 Impact in 14.0-- 328 00:23:21,111 --> 00:23:24,215 This has now created a storm that is much more powerful. 329 00:23:24,215 --> 00:23:27,836 What that's going to mean is torrential downpours 330 00:23:27,836 --> 00:23:30,353 of flooding, even tornadoes. 331 00:23:30,801 --> 00:23:32,974 [thunders crashing] 332 00:23:37,732 --> 00:23:40,111 [man speaking] 333 00:23:54,801 --> 00:23:56,836 [Mike] Where we are in South Jersey, 334 00:23:56,836 --> 00:23:59,698 there's no thought to, well, there's gonna be something 335 00:23:59,698 --> 00:24:03,387 really big coming through, 'cause this is South Jersey. 336 00:24:03,387 --> 00:24:05,043 Nothing usually happens 337 00:24:05,043 --> 00:24:06,560 in South Jersey. 338 00:24:07,318 --> 00:24:09,560 [alarm blaring] 339 00:24:15,836 --> 00:24:18,043 [Mike speaking] 340 00:24:25,629 --> 00:24:27,525 - [Joanne speaking] - [Mike speaking] 341 00:24:27,525 --> 00:24:29,836 [Joanne speaking] 342 00:24:29,836 --> 00:24:32,249 [Mike speaking] 343 00:24:50,905 --> 00:24:53,043 [Mark speaking] 344 00:24:54,939 --> 00:24:56,629 [alarm blaring] 345 00:24:56,629 --> 00:24:57,974 [Mark speaking] 346 00:25:26,732 --> 00:25:31,836 We got into the basement with less than 10 seconds to spare. 347 00:25:33,284 --> 00:25:34,456 [Mike speaking] 348 00:25:38,215 --> 00:25:40,318 [Joanne speaking] 349 00:25:40,318 --> 00:25:44,422 I didn't really grasp what was going on until we went down, 350 00:25:44,422 --> 00:25:47,732 and within seconds later, 351 00:25:47,732 --> 00:25:50,215 we heard the freight train come through. 352 00:25:50,215 --> 00:25:53,249 The most ominous sound you could ever imagine. 353 00:26:12,043 --> 00:26:14,939 [Mark speaking] 354 00:26:32,111 --> 00:26:33,905 [Derick] This is a terrifying situation 355 00:26:33,905 --> 00:26:35,629 for people in New Jersey. 356 00:26:36,836 --> 00:26:38,594 This is not just any tornado. 357 00:26:38,594 --> 00:26:41,318 This is EF3 with wind speeds 358 00:26:41,318 --> 00:26:43,456 of up to 150 miles an hour. 359 00:26:48,387 --> 00:26:49,836 [Mike] When we were in the basement, 360 00:26:49,836 --> 00:26:53,043 we could hear the tornado hitting our house. 361 00:26:53,043 --> 00:26:56,974 It was just this sickening, crunching, ripping sound. 362 00:27:05,318 --> 00:27:06,560 [Mark speaking] 363 00:27:09,491 --> 00:27:11,663 [objects clattering] 364 00:27:15,146 --> 00:27:16,525 [Mark speaking] 365 00:27:47,043 --> 00:27:50,767 And then there was complete silence. 366 00:28:20,732 --> 00:28:22,629 I come up the steps and I look, 367 00:28:22,629 --> 00:28:27,180 and we looked up and all we saw was the sky. 368 00:28:27,180 --> 00:28:30,284 And I just kinda sat on the foyer floor 369 00:28:30,284 --> 00:28:33,284 and I started to cry 'cause I couldn't believe 370 00:28:33,284 --> 00:28:35,180 what my eyes were seeing. 371 00:28:39,215 --> 00:28:42,043 When we walked outside, it was like a warzone. 372 00:28:42,043 --> 00:28:46,215 There were just debris everywhere. 373 00:28:46,215 --> 00:28:51,422 You do realize that was probably not very survivable. 374 00:28:57,008 --> 00:28:59,318 [Derick] Very shortly after Ida hits New Jersey, 375 00:28:59,318 --> 00:29:03,422 it's classified as one of the deadliest weather disasters 376 00:29:03,422 --> 00:29:05,043 in the state's history 377 00:29:05,043 --> 00:29:07,939 with several fatalities already reported. 378 00:29:10,215 --> 00:29:13,043 In Cranford, just like some of the other towns around it, 379 00:29:13,043 --> 00:29:15,836 residents there are being taken by surprise 380 00:29:15,836 --> 00:29:18,525 by the rapid flash flooding. 381 00:29:18,525 --> 00:29:21,732 [tense music playing] 382 00:29:23,629 --> 00:29:26,663 [Janice] I live with my husband and my four boys. 383 00:29:27,801 --> 00:29:31,008 We went to bed around 11:30, 384 00:29:31,008 --> 00:29:32,629 and around 2:30 in the morning, 385 00:29:32,629 --> 00:29:34,732 my son came running in and told me 386 00:29:34,732 --> 00:29:37,939 that water was coming through the basement window. 387 00:29:37,939 --> 00:29:40,422 The water was just pushing through and my two boys 388 00:29:40,422 --> 00:29:42,111 have their bedrooms down there, 389 00:29:42,111 --> 00:29:44,663 so we just tried to pick things up off the floor. 390 00:29:48,318 --> 00:29:51,663 And then by 4:00 is when everything changed. 391 00:30:02,043 --> 00:30:03,801 [water crashes] 392 00:30:03,801 --> 00:30:06,663 [Joel] Mom! Mom! 393 00:30:07,146 --> 00:30:09,801 Mom! Mom! 394 00:30:09,801 --> 00:30:11,318 Mom! 395 00:30:11,318 --> 00:30:13,180 Mom! Mom! 396 00:30:13,180 --> 00:30:16,043 We heard the wall and the foundation just break. 397 00:30:18,422 --> 00:30:21,180 - [water crashes] - [Joel] Mom! 398 00:30:21,180 --> 00:30:23,629 Mom! Mom! 399 00:30:23,629 --> 00:30:26,043 [Janice] All I could hear was the crashing of the water 400 00:30:26,043 --> 00:30:27,318 and screaming. 401 00:30:27,318 --> 00:30:28,974 My son was just yelling. 402 00:30:29,836 --> 00:30:31,318 [Joel] Mom! Mom! 403 00:30:31,318 --> 00:30:33,318 [Janice] I was in the utility room. 404 00:30:33,318 --> 00:30:37,836 When I opened my eyes, I had about four inches to breathe. 405 00:30:37,836 --> 00:30:40,836 That's how high the water was to the ceiling. 406 00:30:43,732 --> 00:30:47,146 Me and my son, Joel, were trapped down there. 407 00:30:47,146 --> 00:30:49,318 And I can't swim. 408 00:30:49,318 --> 00:30:51,767 I definitely thought I was going to die. 409 00:30:54,836 --> 00:30:58,146 My husband decided he would go outside 410 00:30:58,146 --> 00:31:01,318 so that maybe he could pull us out through one of the windows. 411 00:31:01,318 --> 00:31:03,111 Joel had to like swim a little bit 412 00:31:03,111 --> 00:31:05,043 and then he eventually did pull him out. 413 00:31:05,043 --> 00:31:09,111 My husband then went to go look for me. 414 00:31:10,008 --> 00:31:13,146 He grabbed me by my arms and just slid me out 415 00:31:13,146 --> 00:31:15,043 onto the ground, 416 00:31:15,043 --> 00:31:18,698 and he just held me. 417 00:31:18,698 --> 00:31:21,043 I said, "I can't believe you saved me." 418 00:31:21,043 --> 00:31:25,905 And my son looks over, my second son, Mateo, 419 00:31:25,905 --> 00:31:27,525 and he looks at me and he says, 420 00:31:27,525 --> 00:31:30,732 "Mom, you're alive?" And I said, "Yes." 421 00:31:30,732 --> 00:31:33,249 And the four of us just hugged each other. 422 00:31:35,525 --> 00:31:37,767 [boat engine rumbles] 423 00:31:40,043 --> 00:31:42,215 [Janice] In that moment, the firemen pulled up 424 00:31:42,215 --> 00:31:45,353 in like a raft and took us away. 425 00:31:49,043 --> 00:31:51,146 [train horn honks] 426 00:31:52,629 --> 00:31:54,491 [Derick] We're starting to get reports that people 427 00:31:54,491 --> 00:31:57,318 living in these densely populated areas 428 00:31:57,318 --> 00:31:59,491 in river or floodplains 429 00:31:59,491 --> 00:32:01,525 are in grave danger. 430 00:32:03,422 --> 00:32:05,111 Some towns are seeing 431 00:32:05,111 --> 00:32:08,215 10 inches of rain in just a few hours. 432 00:32:17,180 --> 00:32:18,629 [Mitesh] I was a retail pharmacist. 433 00:32:18,629 --> 00:32:20,387 And even with the storm approaching, 434 00:32:20,387 --> 00:32:22,215 it wasn't even on my mind 'cause I was so focused 435 00:32:22,215 --> 00:32:24,422 on what I had to do at work. 436 00:32:24,422 --> 00:32:27,180 I lived in Rahway, New Jersey with my wife Nirali. 437 00:32:27,180 --> 00:32:30,629 And we just had a newborn called Anjeli. 438 00:32:30,629 --> 00:32:34,043 My wife and child were at home at that time. 439 00:32:36,422 --> 00:32:40,353 [Nirali speaking] 440 00:32:50,318 --> 00:32:52,043 [Mitesh] My wife had called and said that 441 00:32:52,043 --> 00:32:54,249 the water was approaching our steps. 442 00:32:57,836 --> 00:33:00,180 My wife did send me a few videos. 443 00:33:00,180 --> 00:33:03,974 And then one of the videos she had sent was our basement. 444 00:33:04,387 --> 00:33:07,043 [Nirali speaking] 445 00:33:17,215 --> 00:33:19,491 As the hours progressed, 446 00:33:19,491 --> 00:33:22,008 my sump pumps... I have two sump pumps 447 00:33:22,008 --> 00:33:24,836 and a French drain and all the things 448 00:33:24,836 --> 00:33:27,801 to stop flooding coming into my home, 449 00:33:27,801 --> 00:33:30,560 those all started to break one by one. 450 00:33:47,043 --> 00:33:49,318 Some pipe or some line must have gotten loose 451 00:33:49,318 --> 00:33:52,180 from one of the walls and leaked 452 00:33:52,180 --> 00:33:54,974 and caused the gas to fill up our home. 453 00:33:56,732 --> 00:34:00,663 [tense music playing] 454 00:34:02,836 --> 00:34:04,870 [Nirali speaking] 455 00:34:09,284 --> 00:34:11,836 There was water coming out from the windows 456 00:34:12,111 --> 00:34:13,525 of the basement. 457 00:34:13,525 --> 00:34:16,215 And around that time 458 00:34:16,215 --> 00:34:18,422 is when I made the decision 459 00:34:18,422 --> 00:34:21,111 to leave because it was just too much. 460 00:34:23,939 --> 00:34:27,043 Leaving at that moment felt dangerous. 461 00:34:28,422 --> 00:34:31,077 Never in a million years 462 00:34:31,077 --> 00:34:32,422 would I have expected 463 00:34:32,422 --> 00:34:33,870 what happened to my home. 464 00:34:41,077 --> 00:34:43,560 [explosion] 465 00:34:54,801 --> 00:34:56,008 [Justin] 19. Yeah, I'm on foot. 466 00:34:56,008 --> 00:34:57,939 Yeah, I'll keep calling for help. 467 00:34:57,939 --> 00:34:59,836 It was my day off 468 00:34:59,836 --> 00:35:01,732 but I knew it in my heart that no matter what, 469 00:35:01,732 --> 00:35:03,146 I was gonna go to work because I know 470 00:35:03,146 --> 00:35:05,043 I could be a help to maybe one person. 471 00:35:13,318 --> 00:35:18,353 - [woman speaking] - [Justin speaking] 472 00:35:19,146 --> 00:35:21,836 - [woman speaking] - [Justin speaking] 473 00:35:21,836 --> 00:35:25,284 - Yes. - [Justin speaking] 474 00:35:25,284 --> 00:35:27,456 Yes. [woman speaking] 475 00:35:30,422 --> 00:35:32,215 [Justin speaking] 476 00:35:32,215 --> 00:35:33,525 You could tell she was like 477 00:35:33,525 --> 00:35:35,077 really struggling to hold on. 478 00:35:35,077 --> 00:35:36,732 I heard the fire trucks come. 479 00:35:36,732 --> 00:35:38,698 They sent swift water rescue guys. 480 00:35:38,698 --> 00:35:40,215 [man 1 speaking] 481 00:35:40,215 --> 00:35:42,939 [man 2 speaking] 482 00:35:42,939 --> 00:35:44,318 They get her across safely. 483 00:35:44,318 --> 00:35:46,525 That was my sigh of relief. 484 00:35:46,525 --> 00:35:48,801 If we didn't go try and help her, 485 00:35:48,801 --> 00:35:50,249 she could have died. 486 00:35:50,801 --> 00:35:52,870 It's just very emotional. 487 00:35:56,732 --> 00:36:00,180 [tense music playing] 488 00:36:00,180 --> 00:36:03,491 [Nirali] When I left after grabbing everything 489 00:36:03,491 --> 00:36:06,043 and putting it into the cars, 490 00:36:06,043 --> 00:36:08,836 I really did think I made the wrong decision. 491 00:36:08,836 --> 00:36:11,008 I thought that I was being a baby 492 00:36:11,008 --> 00:36:13,836 and I thought that I could have handled this, you know? 493 00:36:18,560 --> 00:36:21,043 [explosion] 494 00:36:26,801 --> 00:36:29,284 It was one of those moments 495 00:36:29,284 --> 00:36:30,939 where you wake up and you're like, 496 00:36:30,939 --> 00:36:33,043 "Wow, I'm so thankful." 497 00:36:37,180 --> 00:36:41,146 [thunder rumbling] 498 00:36:45,387 --> 00:36:47,249 [Derick] I'm in New York and, basically, it's like 499 00:36:47,249 --> 00:36:49,698 a tsunami hitting the city. 500 00:36:49,698 --> 00:36:52,249 The National Weather Service office in New York declared 501 00:36:52,249 --> 00:36:55,456 its first-ever flash flood emergency. 502 00:37:07,939 --> 00:37:10,663 [tense music playing] 503 00:37:18,905 --> 00:37:20,629 [woman 1 speaking] 504 00:37:22,422 --> 00:37:24,043 [woman 2 screams] 505 00:37:27,387 --> 00:37:29,801 [woman 3] Oh. Oh, God. 506 00:37:29,801 --> 00:37:31,146 [woman 4 speaking] 507 00:37:32,111 --> 00:37:33,767 [woman 5 speaking] 508 00:37:35,732 --> 00:37:38,008 [man speaking] 509 00:37:45,905 --> 00:37:48,008 We were dispatched to a neighborhood in Queens 510 00:37:48,008 --> 00:37:50,732 where there were reports of basements flooding. 511 00:37:53,043 --> 00:37:55,077 Officers are called to a flooded basement 512 00:37:55,077 --> 00:37:57,215 apartment in Queens where they tried 513 00:37:57,215 --> 00:38:00,387 to rescue a young couple and their two-year-old son. 514 00:38:03,077 --> 00:38:06,491 Unfortunately, the family didn't make it. 515 00:38:14,767 --> 00:38:16,318 [car horn honking] 516 00:38:16,318 --> 00:38:19,560 [thunder rumbling] 517 00:38:20,767 --> 00:38:22,491 [Derick] I remember interviewing a woman 518 00:38:22,491 --> 00:38:25,767 who was in her apartment, in her basement apartment, 519 00:38:25,767 --> 00:38:28,905 the water is rushing in, flooding down the stairs. 520 00:38:28,905 --> 00:38:30,905 She's screaming for help. 521 00:38:30,905 --> 00:38:33,353 She finally gets a neighbor's attention. 522 00:38:33,353 --> 00:38:35,836 I remember talking to her a couple of hours 523 00:38:35,836 --> 00:38:39,111 after that rescue and she was just in tears. 524 00:38:40,008 --> 00:38:41,422 [Amrita] We have lost a son. 525 00:38:41,422 --> 00:38:43,180 We have lost a sister. 526 00:38:44,008 --> 00:38:47,077 This is... Yeah, we... I cannot comprehend. 527 00:38:47,077 --> 00:38:49,767 No one... The emotions here. 528 00:38:50,215 --> 00:38:52,698 I can't speak for everyone. 529 00:38:52,698 --> 00:38:54,870 There is only sadness, 530 00:38:54,870 --> 00:38:58,111 and it's just overwhelming. 531 00:38:58,111 --> 00:39:00,801 I've never seen anything like that when we got there 532 00:39:00,801 --> 00:39:04,180 and saw the sheer terror that these people felt 533 00:39:04,180 --> 00:39:06,732 in the final moments of their lives. 534 00:39:06,732 --> 00:39:08,318 It is something that will stick with me 535 00:39:08,318 --> 00:39:09,456 for the rest of my life. 536 00:39:13,146 --> 00:39:17,353 [melancholic music playing] 537 00:39:26,767 --> 00:39:29,629 Hurricane Ida was the most scared I've ever been in a hurricane. 538 00:39:32,146 --> 00:39:33,767 And I just did the best I could. 539 00:39:42,732 --> 00:39:45,043 Hurricane Ida cost lives of folks all the way 540 00:39:45,043 --> 00:39:46,905 from Louisiana into New Jersey. 541 00:39:46,905 --> 00:39:48,905 Lives and families that are gonna be impacted 542 00:39:48,905 --> 00:39:52,387 for generations because of what one storm caused. 543 00:39:55,767 --> 00:39:58,180 I think about what would have happened 544 00:39:58,180 --> 00:40:00,836 if we stayed a lot. 545 00:40:00,836 --> 00:40:03,180 I don't think I would be here. 546 00:40:03,180 --> 00:40:06,422 I'm so thankful my daughter is able to see another day. 547 00:40:07,456 --> 00:40:08,939 Those are moments where I'm like... 548 00:40:08,939 --> 00:40:10,698 I'm just grateful. 549 00:40:13,215 --> 00:40:15,939 [Mitesh] There really was nothing salvageable from the home. 550 00:40:16,525 --> 00:40:18,560 Everything material is lost. 551 00:40:19,594 --> 00:40:21,387 But... 552 00:40:21,387 --> 00:40:23,629 I didn't lose my family that day. 553 00:40:26,870 --> 00:40:30,387 I was just so thankful that we were all okay. 554 00:40:33,456 --> 00:40:35,525 It really makes you understand 555 00:40:35,525 --> 00:40:37,629 and appreciate everything you have 556 00:40:37,629 --> 00:40:40,560 and realize that the little things, they don't matter. 557 00:40:40,560 --> 00:40:43,767 [melancholic music playing] 558 00:40:56,077 --> 00:40:59,249 That night was life-changing 559 00:40:59,249 --> 00:41:01,836 for me and for my family. 560 00:41:07,629 --> 00:41:12,008 I ended up moving to Galveston, Texas. 561 00:41:12,008 --> 00:41:14,491 And now I have my own church. 562 00:41:15,491 --> 00:41:19,043 Galveston is hurricane-prone, you know, 563 00:41:19,043 --> 00:41:21,836 and so I've already told my wife, 564 00:41:21,836 --> 00:41:23,422 I said, "I'm not leaving. 565 00:41:23,422 --> 00:41:25,180 If a hurricane come, I'mma stay here 566 00:41:25,180 --> 00:41:27,698 and I'm gonna help people. You guys go, 567 00:41:27,698 --> 00:41:30,215 but I'm gonna stay here. That's my mission." 568 00:41:30,215 --> 00:41:33,284 [melancholic music playing]