Gary Tuchman struggles to stand as Hurricane Dolly ravages South Padre Island, Texas. Read his experience below.
______________________________________________________________________________
Gary Tuchman
AC360° Correspondent
Don’t mess with Dolly
As I write this, much of South Padre Island, Texas is underwater. It looks very much like parts of Wisconsin, Iowa, and Missouri from a few weeks ago, but the way South Padre got to this point has been much more rapid fire…
Hurricane Dolly was not taken seriously by many people who live on this barrier island on the southernmost point of Texas. Not only was she still a tropical storm as she was getting close, but South Padre hadn’t been directly hit by a hurricane since 1980. But this barrier island’s luck has now changed. The rains and the tropical storm force winds began at around 6am central time and continued into the evening. But it peaked in early afternoon with gusts of over 100 miles per hour. Dolly then made landfall in South Padre Island.
It is impossible for us to ascertain the extent of the damage because so much of the town is flooded and we physically can’t drive around. We can’t even get back to our hotel because the road to the hotel is underwater. So my CNN crew and I are sitting in one of our satellite trucks in a forlorn parking lot. The truck is shaking from the wind but it weighs 26 thousand pounds, so we feel safe. But we feel sorry for the people of South Texas, who will undoubtedly be dealing with many of the same heartbreaking problems we just saw in the flooded upper Midwest.
| Cindy |
July 23rd, 2008 4:02 pm ET WOW…that was brutal!! It seems that Gary has taken over Anderson’s job as the “Hurricane Man”! LOL Hopefully he’ll get inside and out of that mess unlike Anderson did though! I hope the people that live there are safe. My prayers go out to them. Cindy…Ga. |
|
| Peb - Los Angeles, California |
July 23rd, 2008 4:03 pm ET Gary Tuchman is my HERO!!! What a trooper. |
|
| Lilibeth |
July 23rd, 2008 4:08 pm ET Gary, that was hard to watch! I would have been blown away, literally! Please stay safe out there. Lilibeth |
|
| Perry |
July 23rd, 2008 4:14 pm ET Gary looks like Anderson when he was covering those other hurricanes. |
|
| Audrey Hepburn |
July 23rd, 2008 4:23 pm ET I wish this were being covered more in depth tonight, instead of a panel discussion leaving out more than half the audience. Hurricanes are soooo sexy, don’t you think? |
|
| Megan Dresslar |
July 23rd, 2008 5:19 pm ET Helloooo Gary!!!! |
|
| Kristina |
July 23rd, 2008 5:40 pm ET Why do news organizations insist on forcing journalists to report in the middle of hurricanes??? If you tell us there’s a hurricane outside we will believe you. It’s not necessary. First the mid-west floods and now hurricanes – it’s like some awful joke you people have been playing on Gary Tuchman for months. Poor guy. |
|
| Fay, CA |
July 23rd, 2008 7:15 pm ET Wow, Gary, I hope you stay safe and don’t get blow away down there. The power of Mother Nature never fails to amaze me–I’ll never forget the hurricane season of 2004–maybe it happened before, but it was so weird how these huge hurricanes kept coming one right after the other. I spent many nights (and early morings) that year watching Anderson being tossed around in the wind and rain and getting loopier by the hour as the night progressed and the storm got stronger while still managing to give viewers a clear picture of what was taking place. I don’t want to make light of the damage and destruction that hurricanes bring, but I do have to say that I miss AC’s on location hurricane coverage. |
|
| deborah, OH |
July 23rd, 2008 7:19 pm ET I agree with the rest of the bloggers–Gary looks like Anderson did when he covered the hurricanes. |
|
| Victor in Saanich, B.C. Canada |
July 23rd, 2008 7:20 pm ET Gary – Hurricanes – There will be more!! |
|
| Donna |
July 23rd, 2008 7:33 pm ET Gary, after this assignment, you deserve a vacation! Far away from the water! |
|
| Annie Kate |
July 23rd, 2008 7:46 pm ET Gary Seems like everytime I see you on CNN now you are either chest deep in flood water or being blown all over the road by a hurricane. I appreciate your coverage but you don’t have to stand in the middle of a hurricane where you could be hit and hurt by flying debris for me to believe you when you say the hurricane is bad. Stay safe and hope you get dry pretty quickly and can get back to your hotel soon so you can get some rest. I’m sure that trying to stay upright in the face of those winds was exhausting. Annie Kate |
|
| EJ (USA) |
July 23rd, 2008 8:39 pm ET Reporters must love putting themselves in danger. |
|
| JDSalinger |
July 23rd, 2008 10:43 pm ET South Padre will be just fine. Things are already turning around as it was not as bad as predicted. If you are really interested in helping our economy, take a vacation there in the next few weeks. You will get great prices and find out what most Texans already know: South Padre has great people, seafood, and fishing. Best, |
|
| Jo Ann, North Royalton, Ohio |
July 23rd, 2008 10:47 pm ET Gary, I can always count on you to take me to where the action is! I am certain that it takes a lot of strength to stand there in that kind of wind. I was worried that at the end of this clip I would see you get blown down the causeway; I am glad that didn’t happen! I hope you got out of there as soon as possible after this shot. I see a good long, but well deserved vacation in your near future! Take care, |
|
| EJ (USA) |
July 23rd, 2008 11:09 pm ET Hope you’re able to get some sleep soon, Gary. |
|
| Christopher |
July 23rd, 2008 11:25 pm ET Gary Thank you for your dedication to your job. How else would I really know what a hurricane is really like. I live in the desert. Chirs |
|
| Lare2 |
July 24th, 2008 1:45 am ET It’s 12:45am (Central Time) here in Laredo Texas and still waiting for the thunderstorms dolly will bring down here. I’ve spoken to people on Brownsville Texas and they say it was a really hard day. Power Outages and Phone Lines where down on several parts of the city. |
|
| Susan |
July 24th, 2008 5:11 am ET Why does the weather report on hurricanes have to be sensationalized. Just report it. Stay out of the wind and just report it. |
|
|
Comments have been closed for this article |
||
A behind the scenes look at “Anderson Cooper 360°” and the stories it covers, written by Anderson Cooper, the AC360° staff and a network of contributors. Insight you can’t find anywhere else.
We search the news each day to show you what’s on our radar and what we’re planning for the show each night.
For more details, read our tips on how to win 360° approval for comments.
Send your instant feedback to Anderson Cooper 360°.
- Video: Iranian anniversary protests
- Video: ‘United for Neda’
- La Dolce Vita at the G8
- 21 Days in an Iranian Prison
- Financial Dispatch: Fewer than expected file for unemployment
- Dear President Obama #171: Uh … Are you coming home soon?
- Morning Buzz: Grave-selling scheme?
- The shot: Jackson Cheeto?
- Google and Microsoft free-for-all
- Video: Missed warning signs?
