CNN mobile unit takes hit from Katrina
Posted on: Monday, 29 August 2005, 20:27 CDT
By Paul J. Gough
NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - CNN's self-styled mobile storm center, which debuted during Hurricane Dennis in July, became a casualty of Hurricane Katrina, which slammed into the Gulf Coast on Monday.
Hurricane One was severely damaged when a 12-by-8 section of fence struck the sport utility vehicle while it was parked in a Holiday Inn lot in Gulfport, Miss., during the heat of the storm. Correspondent Gary Tuchman and a crew of three had been working in the truck when they heard a loud bang and shattered glass.
"It was a huge thud, and first we thought the hotel collapsed. We looked back and we saw the back of the SUV, the windows smashed, glass everywhere," Tuchman said in an interview. "Nobody was hurt, and we immediately got out. It was bad luck. You obviously take some risks."
Tuchman said the SUV was unable to be used at all, not just for the equipment that gave CNN the ability to drive around and take live photographs for use on the air.
"There's the possibility that it's totaled," Tuchman said.
The mobile unit wasn't even near the coast when it was damaged. Tuchman said the crew -- he and a photographer, producer and engineer -- had determined it wasn't safe to stay out in the hurricane and had parked all of CNN's vehicles near a strong wall that they thought would protect them. The hotel is about four miles from the coast, and Tuchman said the owners told CNN that it had survived Hurricane Camille in 1969.
"It was a fluke, but these things happen," Tuchman said.
Hurricane One debuted when Hurricane Dennis struck Florida and came back for this storm. Tuchman said the equipment inside wasn't damaged, so it's being retrofitted for another vehicle.
Reuters/Hollywood Reporter
Source: REUTERS
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