Scott switched to another cable channel. "Think about the time needed to rebuild the dams and the time to refill the lakes. Wheres the water going to come from for the entire southwestern section of the country?"
"Who knows? It's beyond comprehension."
"We don't even know the half of it," he mused. "One thing we do know: We have to find Farkas and the four nukes."
They continued to watch the water invasion of Interstate 10 near Blythe, California. The powerful torrents of water finally weakened the highway to the point that chunks of concrete began falling into the raging Colorado River. Minutes later the span sagged a couple of feet and then broke into three pieces.
With the two major southwestern east-west interstates closed, commerce ceased to flow across southern California. Gridlock became the norm as thousands of trucks and other vehicles had to be rerouted north or south. Soon a detour was implemented west of Tucson to swing Interstate 10 traffic to Interstate 8 through Yuma, Arizona.
Next came the destruction of the Imperial Dam and the Laguna Dam. The television coverage of the events was excellent, both from the air and the ground. News crews, most of whom had powerful floodlights trained on the water, had been stationed in advance along the river.
Shortly after the Laguna Dam was destroyed, the flooded river wreaked havoc in Yuma before surging into Mexico. Although Interstate 8 suffered some minor damage, the highway survived the pounding waters. A few of the news helicopters flew into Mexico to follow the flood, but most stopped at the border.
Continuing south, the waters spread out far and wide as the flood surged into San Luis, Guadalupe Victoria, Estacion Coahuila, Riito, and Oviedo Mota, before reaching Mexico's Colorado River delta and finally spilling into the Golfo de California.
With the entire southwestern section of the United States now declared a disaster area, President Macklin made the decision to return to the White House. In his judgment, he could not successfully lead the country from the confines of the NORAD complex.
NORAD provided the safety and communication capabilities the commander in chief needed to pursue the war on terror, but it did not look right for the president of the world s only superpower to lead the country from the bowels of a cave. The citizens needed to see him, know he was okay and in good health, and hear his comforting, reassuring words.
Minutes after the Hoover Dam was bombed, Macklin gave the order to send the USS Nimitz battle group to the North Arabian Sea to join the USS Stennis and the USS Washington and their escorts. Now, before he left for the White House, the president ordered the USS Constellation battle group to sail into harms way. En route to her home port of San Diego, California, the aircraft carrier and her support ships reversed course for the North Arabian Sea. The homecoming parties would have to be delayed for now.
The USS Enterprise and her battle group assumed station on the East Coast of the United States, while the Abraham Lincoln covered the West Coast. Ships from the coast guard were also on station to help defend all waterways and air routes close to the country.
Shortly after 10 P. M. the president and his staff left Cheyenne Mountain for the E-4B waiting at Peterson AFB. Macklin was looking forward to having breakfast with the first lady. Maria Eden-Macklin would be arriving at the White House only minutes after Marine One delivered her husband to the residence.
Security was tight at the White House. The marines were out in force, and fighter planes circled the mansion around the clock. Construction crews were working twenty-four hours a day to repair the damage caused by the crash of the hijacked Gulfstream G-IV.
En route to Peterson AFB, Hartwell Prost used a satellite phone to call Scott and Jackie. Farkas had been sighted far from the location of his crashed B-25, ^^ their Bell 206 L4 LongRanger would be in Las Vegas early in the morning. The FAA had granted a discreet code for their transponder, and agent Frank Wakefield requested they contact him early in the morning.
Military search-and-rescue helicopters, including units and squadrons from the marines, coast guard, navy, air force, army, air national guard, and army national guard, were tasked to hunt for stranded survivors along the entire Colorado River. Some of the units were coming from as far away as the East Coast. Other units were volunteering but being held in abeyance until the situation could be assessed in the light of day.
The U. S. Border Patrol was galvanized into an organization to assist in rescue efforts on both sides of the river to Page, Arizona. Like most law enforcement agencies along the river, every available Border Patrol agent had been called to duty. Military transport planes and helicopters from active duty squadrons and air guard squadrons were flying the agents to critical areas along the river.
The FAA authorized civilian law enforcement and EMS helicopters to assist with the efforts to rescue people. The Feds restricted the number of news helicopters and forced the media to use pool reporters along the river.
Everyone was operating under intense emotional and physical stress. The civilian and military helicopter pilots were flying in dangerous conditions, sometimes having to hover under live power lines, close to trees, and near telephone poles and other obstacles.
Most of the victims were along the riverbank. Others, who were far from the river, had believed nothing could happen to them. Unfortunately, hundreds of them paid the ultimate price for underestimating the power of the raging water.
Overhead, a navy E-2C Hawkeye early warning aircraft was helping to coordinate the efforts of helicopters from Naval Air Station North Island, California, helicopters from Marine Corps Air Stations Miramar and Camp Pendleton, California. It was a difficult task, especially at night, to keep the massive rescue operation as safe as possible.
Due to the chaos along the river, innovation become the rule. Certain helicopters flew at higher altitudes than others, using searchlights to look for survivors. Other helicopters went in low to rescue stranded people and take them to medical facilities.
The rescue operation was proceeding at a reasonable pace until half past midnight, when a totally unexpected phenomenon began to occur. Beginning in the flooded areas of Mexico between Yuma, Arizona, and El Centro, California, and spreading southeast toward Sonoyta, Nogales, and Agua Prieta, first hundreds and then thousands of illegal aliens began storming the U. S. border.
In Mexico, the word had spread like a wind-driven forest fire. The destroyed dams and unprecedented flooding presented a chance for a brighter future for many Mexican citizens. If illegal immigrants wanted to enter the United States and not get caught, now was the time to go.
Like the famous California gold rush of 1848, every precious minute lost could be an opportunity gone forever. The encouraging message was being broadcast from radio stations in Tijuana, Matamoros, Nuevo Laredo, Chihuahua, Guadalajara, Mexico City, and Monterrey.
The same theme prevailed throughout Mexico. "Let s take back the land the Americans stole from us! Dont worry, the Americans arent going to shoot tens of thousands of Mexicans. Take advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! Follow your dreams! Go to America and prosper!"
The first large concentration of migrants began crossing the All American Canal in the El Centro border sector near Calexico, California. The irrigation waterway follows the Mexico-U. S. border for eighty-two miles, and 11,000-plus farm workers were hoping to find employment in the Imperial and Coachella valleys.
In their haste to enter the United States, 271 laborers drowned in the water of the canal during the first twenty minutes. Seeing their friends and family members being swept away, hundreds of illegal migrants frantically passed the word down the line at the canal. Most of the second wave of laborers decided to cross the border in the desert.