Flooding Death Toll Rises in Southeast
COOPER: The governor of Georgia is asking President Obama to declare a state of emergency in his state, that after days of heavy flooding have left parts of the Southeast under water. As of tonight, at least nine people have been killed. Others have been pulled from their cars and homes and communities devastated by some of the worst flooding in years. Look at those pictures. David Mattingly is live in Cobb County, Georgia, for more on the flooding. David, what you are seeing?</s>DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Anderson, to give you an idea of how dramatic some of this flash flooding was in these Atlanta area neighborhoods, if I had been standing here last night, the water would have been up to here. Now, you can see it's gone down quite a bit since then, but it's now leaving behind all the damaged items that residents had to abandon when they evacuated here, like this -- this mud-covered vehicle right here. The water was all the way up to here. It's going to be a total loss. And it is just an example of what's waiting for the residents when they do come back here, because, when all this water recedes, that's when the real pain begins.</s>MATTINGLY (voice-over): Hattie Marcell took her children and ran. Now coming back to her flooded home for the first time, there are signs everywhere of the pandemonium she left behind. (on camera): This car right here, how high did the water come up?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was up under water.</s>HATTIE MARCELL, FLOOD VICTIM: It was -- yes, it was up under water. The only part that you could see was just the top.</s>MATTINGLY (voice-over): This car is just one of the things her neighbors had to abandon when the water came pouring into their cul- de-sac. Inside the houses, it's worse. (on camera): I see the waterline right here.</s>MARCELL: Yes.</s>MATTINGLY: Right here. Oh, boy. What a mess. (voice-over): No one had time to save their belongings. Neighbors felt lucky to save themselves.</s>BRANDE ALLISON, FLOOD VICTIM: I mean, I'm laughing and joking about it, but I'm really crying on the inside, because this is just unbelievable. I mean, when we left here yesterday, we got stuck in the field with three kids. And trying -- and we broke the fence down trying to get out of here.</s>MATTINGLY: Historic flooding left its muddy mark all over Atlanta, sending torrents water over critical interstates, turning commutes into an ordeal. The water was so high in some areas, roller coasters at an amusement park almost disappeared. Hundreds had to be rescued by boat from densely populated areas that had never seen flooding before. To make matters worse, some flooded houses burned. State estimates place the damage at a quarter- of-a-billion dollars. And the cleanup has barely begun. (on camera): Did it float over here? (voice-over): Individual losses could be devastating. Hattie Marcell says her neighborhood was not in a flood zone. She did not have flood insurance.</s>MARCELL: I don't want to have to deal with the -- you know, the heartache and pain and going through trying to rebuild. And I had just actually redone my house.</s>MATTINGLY: Repairing the damage may not be an option. And she may have to move, one of the many painful decisions facing victims of a major flood in a major city.</s>MATTINGLY: So many people now finding out they weren't quite prepared with their insurance, not having flood insurance to deal with anything like this, Anderson, so this disaster being very personal and hitting very hard in a lot of individuals' pocketbooks.</s>COOPER: Yes, good to see at least the water going down in the neighborhood you're in. David, thanks. Erica Hill is falling other stories making headlines tonight. Let's check in with her in a 360 news and business bulletin -- Erica.</s>HILL: Anderson, President Obama joining other world leaders today calling for immediate and substantive steps to combat climate change. Speaking at a special United Nations summit, the president said failure to act now would bring -- quote -- "irreversible catastrophe." He pledged the full commitment of the United States. Also today, the president meeting with Israeli Prime Minister -- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. He's pushing those leaders to restart Middle East peace talks. Palestinians are insisting Israel halt all construction of Jewish settlements and Palestinian territory as a precondition for resuming talks. Netanyahu, however, told CNN the settlement issue is something that should be raised in negotiations, and not before. In Massachusetts, the state Senate approving a bill today which allows the governor to name an interim replacement for the late Senator Ted Kennedy. The bill now goes bath to both chambers for a final procedural vote tomorrow, before it heads to the governor, who has said he would sign it. And some good news from General Motors -- the automaker adding a third shift to several plants in Kansas, Indiana, and Michigan. That extra shift is expected to add 2,400 jobs. Finally, Jenny Sanford, the wife of embattled South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford, is writing a memoir. Mrs. Sanford is now separated from her husband, after he admitted to an affair with an Argentine woman. The publisher says Sanford's book is about maintaining integrity and a self of self during life's difficult times -- Anderson.</s>COOPER: Well, sadly, she knows a lot about that. Up next: new revelations about John Edwards' affair and why his wife, Elizabeth, does not want him to publicly say if he is the father of Rielle Hunter's baby. We have the "Raw Politics" on that. Also ahead: tracking the accused craigslist killer -- new insight tonight on how police used technology and a digital trail to track the prime suspect.