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CNN Live At Daybreak
Hurricane Fabian Takes Aim at Bermuda
Aired September 05, 2003 - 06:07 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Now another storm we're watching for you -- a literal storm. It being Hurricane Fabian. The folks in Bermuda are bracing now, as they're starting to feel the first bands of the storm.
And our Gary Tuchman is there, catching one of the last planes into Bermuda. He joins us now videophone -- Gary.
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's right, Fredricka. And right now, it's 7:08 a.m. here in Bermuda. The airport here on the island shut down at 7:00 a.m., and it will be shut down, they tell us, at least until tomorrow afternoon, and maybe longer, depending on what happens today.
Right now, it's actually a very nice morning. It is windy, but it is not yet raining, but we know that won't last for long. They are expecting the full brunt of Hurricane Fabian to hit this chain of six relatively large islands and 172 mostly small uninhabited ones sometime this afternoon.
It's been 16 years since a hurricane hit here. That was Hurricane Emily; 180 people were injured back in 1987 when a hurricane came.
One thing about Bermuda, they're very prepared here. They have very strict building rules. When you build anything in Bermuda, the walls have to be eight inches thick and all construction has to withstand sustained winds of 110 miles per hour and gusts of 150 miles per hour.
But nevertheless, when you're on an island or an island chain like this, you can't drive 50 miles inland. You're stuck on the island. Most tourists have gone home, but there are a lot still here, and they're getting ready for the full brunt of a category 3 hurricane.
Fredricka -- back to you.
WHITFIELD: And, Gary, oftentimes people living on these islands feel fairly used to the threat of tropical storms or even hurricanes. Are you getting a sense as to whether these people are feeling fairly at ease, or, you know, are they feeling rather nervous about it?
TUCHMAN: Well, it's a combination of both. Yes, when you're on an island, you should expect this when you're in the south or even north Atlantic. However, this is such a small, little, tiny spec in the ocean. It's only 20 square miles. And therefore, most hurricanes -- there are lots of threats -- but most of them miss this area.
So, a lot of people here, particularly younger people, have never even seen a hurricane before -- maybe have seen one. So, they're not very used to it, and that's why you do have quite a bit of nerves right now here in Bermuda.
WHITFIELD: Well, the bottom line, if you've been through one, you don't want to go through another one. Gary Tuchman from Bermuda, thanks very much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Aired September 5, 2003 - 06:07 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Now another storm we're watching for you -- a literal storm. It being Hurricane Fabian. The folks in Bermuda are bracing now, as they're starting to feel the first bands of the storm.
And our Gary Tuchman is there, catching one of the last planes into Bermuda. He joins us now videophone -- Gary.
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's right, Fredricka. And right now, it's 7:08 a.m. here in Bermuda. The airport here on the island shut down at 7:00 a.m., and it will be shut down, they tell us, at least until tomorrow afternoon, and maybe longer, depending on what happens today.
Right now, it's actually a very nice morning. It is windy, but it is not yet raining, but we know that won't last for long. They are expecting the full brunt of Hurricane Fabian to hit this chain of six relatively large islands and 172 mostly small uninhabited ones sometime this afternoon.
It's been 16 years since a hurricane hit here. That was Hurricane Emily; 180 people were injured back in 1987 when a hurricane came.
One thing about Bermuda, they're very prepared here. They have very strict building rules. When you build anything in Bermuda, the walls have to be eight inches thick and all construction has to withstand sustained winds of 110 miles per hour and gusts of 150 miles per hour.
But nevertheless, when you're on an island or an island chain like this, you can't drive 50 miles inland. You're stuck on the island. Most tourists have gone home, but there are a lot still here, and they're getting ready for the full brunt of a category 3 hurricane.
Fredricka -- back to you.
WHITFIELD: And, Gary, oftentimes people living on these islands feel fairly used to the threat of tropical storms or even hurricanes. Are you getting a sense as to whether these people are feeling fairly at ease, or, you know, are they feeling rather nervous about it?
TUCHMAN: Well, it's a combination of both. Yes, when you're on an island, you should expect this when you're in the south or even north Atlantic. However, this is such a small, little, tiny spec in the ocean. It's only 20 square miles. And therefore, most hurricanes -- there are lots of threats -- but most of them miss this area.
So, a lot of people here, particularly younger people, have never even seen a hurricane before -- maybe have seen one. So, they're not very used to it, and that's why you do have quite a bit of nerves right now here in Bermuda.
WHITFIELD: Well, the bottom line, if you've been through one, you don't want to go through another one. Gary Tuchman from Bermuda, thanks very much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
