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Around the World

Typhoon Haiyan Survivors Struggle in Storm's Aftermath; Baby Born in Makeshift Hospital; U.K. Hopes to Lift Liquid Ban

Aired November 11, 2013 - 12:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CO-ANCHOR: About four in 10 veterans in the U.S. are now 65-years-old or older.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CO-ANCHOR: And home after home destroyed, up next, we travel with the military to go to a remote group of islands devastated by the typhoon.

For international viewers, World Sport is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: The president of the Philippines has declared a state of national calamity. This it is just days after his country was slammed by one of the strongest storms ever, ever recorded.

Authorities estimate as many as 10,000 people were killed in Friday's super typhoon Haiyan, although the official death toll stands at 942. Today, countless survivors are just going through the splintered wreckage of their homes sifting through it searching for loved ones who might be buried beneath. Others, they are simply scrambling to find food and water in areas that are littered with dead bodies.

HOLMES: By any definition, this is catastrophic devastation, people now struggling to grasp the enormity of what they have been through, what they have lost and the challenges they now face.

Anna Coren takes us to a remote area particularly hard hit.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Above the vast blue sea that separates thousands of islands that make up the Philippines, a rescue mission is under way.

We're traveling with the military to a remote group of islands devastated by Super Typhoon Haiyan yet to be reached by authorities. From the air we can see the carnage, home after home, village after village, nowhere has been spared. On the ground, lie the injured with broken bones and internal bleeding. They've been waiting for days for a medical evacuation.

HILARIO DAVIDE, CEBU GOVERNOR: We haven't seen anything like this before. I thought I'd only see this on television.

COREN: There's a real sense of desperation here on the ground. The focus is obviously on the sick and injured and getting them to safety.

The people of this hard hit island need food and fresh water. They've been without it for days. Despite an assurances from the government, it is yet to arrive. The problem facing authorities is logistics, getting the supplies to these hard hit and remote areas and to the people who need it. This airfield in Cebu has become the staging ground for the relief operation.

C-130 Hercules fly in survivors shell shocked from what they've lived through.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I cannot say anything yet. I'm still in shock. I'm so sorry.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A lot of people are dead. Our friends are dead. Some of our family members are dead. It's really devastating.

COREN: As the death toll grows by the day, families here desperately wait for news of loved ones.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am the only survivor of the family and I want to know them, if they are still an.

COREN: Having had no contact since the typhoon hit, many say hope is all they can hold on to.

Anna Coren, Cebu, the Philippines.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Yeah, people who lived through that massive typhoon, watching the levels rise, hoping the water wouldn't get too close to their homes, one iReporter is going to tell us what that harrowing experience was like, coming up next.

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A tornado just passed us, and the tornado lasted for four hours. The hotel was just crumbling, you know?

I mean, at first it was the ceilings that went off. And then the roofs just started to fly in all directions. And then the water just started coming.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Can you imagine? Those scenes of devastation we've been seeing from the Philippines are indeed shocking and heartbreaking, and for people who live there, of course, very difficult to imagine what they've gone through.

MALVEAUX: And this one man, he watched a river near his home rise and rise and rise.

IReporter Mark Alforque snapped some of the pictures of these muddy waters that are rushing by Cebu, and he's joining us now by phone.

First of all, tell us, what are you seeing where you are? I mean, days after, these are just extraordinary pictures of flooding.

MARK ALFORQUE, CNN IREPORTER, CEBU, PHILIPPINES (via telephone): Basically I was at home, and the moment that the radio announcer was telling that the river near our village is overflowing, we immediately went out of our house and checked how's the river, and it was really overflowing.

The trees beside it was like they're already gone. And it was just horrible. The wind was so strong. The rain was so strong. There's like a big reservoir at the top part of the river. And it's what makes us very frightened because the more rain had come, the more water will overflow, and our village will be wiped out if that will be happening, just horrible.

MALVEAUX: Mark, I have to ask you this, because I know so many people there lost their lives, how did you survive this?

ALFORQUE (via telephone): We survived because probably there are things that are coming in -- I mean, the typhoon was coming and then we were just prepared for it.

And it's just so unfortunate that there are some places in our country that how prepared they were, but -- and the safest place that they were able to be evacuate, but still, they were adrift of the typhoon, I mean, (inaudible) and that's just so sad.

HOLMES: And Mark, we've seen the damage in Tacloban. And Cebu is also a place that was pretty hard hit.

What is it like there now? Are people getting the help that they need? And what is the damage like in Cebu?

ALFORQUE (via telephone): Well, right now, the relief effort is on its way. One of the problems really right now is the transportation since we are a group of islands and reaching one island to the other is really one of the hardest things.

And what makes it really worse is that even the land you cannot reach in those areas because there are debris around. There are airports, but runways are not working. They're also -- debris is around. So it's just so hard to reach in those areas.

But the government right now are working very hard to reach in those areas. A lot of government organizations are also helping.

And we need help right now and I'm appealing to the world. If -- you know, to help my fellow countrymen and if you know, my voice will be the only thing to help them, then I'm appealing to the world right now. They need like food, water, medicine and most of all, we need everybody's prayers.

HOLMES: Yeah. Mark, thanks so much, Mark Alforque, there in Cebu. And you know, a lot of people talk about the four days later they still don't have this critical aid. And they knew this storm was coming. Why is it taking so long? Well, the main problem is just logistical, getting from island to island to island, no roads, no airports, it's tough to get that stuff around.

MALVEAUX: You know, I covered Hurricane Katrina and it was devastating. But you look at this, and this is something that is of a magnitude that you cannot believe.

HOLMES: Three and a half times Katrina.

MALVEAUX: You just can't even - you can't get your head wrapped around this.

HOLMES: Yes.

MALVEAUX: And we wish Mark the very, very best. And he says, it's his voice. You know, his voice getting to the rest of the world to seek food and shelter. If you're one of those people who can actually help the folks in the Philippines impacted by the storm, we want you to do this. We want you to check out the website here. See how you can lend a hand. We can all make a difference here, cnn.com/impact.

HOLMES: Well, amid the chaos, a moment of hope. A little ray of sunshine, perhaps. A baby born while the region was still getting over what they had gone through. We'll have the details for you coming up.

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HOLMES: Yes, a little bit of a hopeful story now in the midst of all that misery brought by Super Typhoon Haiyan. That baby there, born in a makeshift hospital at the damaged, the decimated, really, Tacloban Airport.

MALVEAUX: So how does a little infant survive during such a tragedy? Communication is limited. Clean facilities are hard to find. Medication is sparse. Want to bring in our senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen to talk about what are the chances for that little baby's survival?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, it's interesting. The - I think we would probably think that the birth would be the big challenge. In fact, many of the challenges really lie ahead after the birth. You know, for the birth you need just a safe place to give birth, basically. But afterwards, you need clean water for that mom so that that mom will survive and so that - so that that mom can breast feed her baby because once that baby gets dirty water, you run into a situation where the baby could become dehydrated and that's what devastates babies in these situations.

HOLMES: Yes, disease, a huge risk there at the moment with the bodies in the street and water being tainted. But you actually - it reminds me of the story you did in Haiti with sort of a parallel. What - tell us about that. COHEN: Yes, that - I mean it really speaks to how strong we are as a spies. This was a two-month-old baby who was separated from her parents and stuck in the rubble and she survived for four days without any hydration at all, no water, no nothing. Four days alone in the rubble, this tiny baby. So, you know, we're meant to be tough as a spies, right? The spies has to continue. But, again, it's that dirt water that is often the culprit and that often kills babies who do survive these tragedies. You know, they survive the initial hit, but it's often the dirty water that kills them later.

MALVEAUX: Elizabeth, do you think we're going to see this death toll, do you think we're going to see more -- more bad news that people are not going to be able to sustain this over a long period of time? Because we're just days into this now and I imagine, this is going to go on for quite some time, weeks and perhaps even months before their lives can be any semblance of normalcy.

COHEN: Yes, unfortunately, I do think that the death toll will rise. And again, it's because of this clean water. If you don't have access to clean water, you get these horrible diarrheal illnesses which are especially devastating for small babies. You also get stagnant, dirty water. Mosquitoes breed in that stagnant, dirty water and they then start spreading -- the mosquitoes spread diseases. So I do think it could get worse before it gets better.

HOLMES: A lot of people too in the flood waters getting cuts and the like and getting infections from that.

COHEN: And getting infections, right, from the dirty water.

MALVEAUX: Yes.

COHEN: It's awful.

HOLMES: Just a horrible -- four days later, all these people have had no fresh water. It's just terrible.

COHEN: It's awful.

MALVEAUX: What's the best thing we need to do? What can we do? What's the most important thing looking from the outside in?

COHEN: Looking at - looking from the outside, I think it's probably giving to those agencies that are trying to get in there and help these people get clean water and get more sanitary conditions.

HOLMES: Yes. Money. That's what they need. Yes. All right, Elizabeth, good to see you.

MALVEAUX: Thank you, Elizabeth.

COHEN: Thanks.

HOLMES: Elizabeth Cohen there.

All right, we're going to continue our coverage of Typhoon Haiyan. Also this.

MALVEAUX: Bottled water, shampoo, body lotion, all banned from your carry-on luggage, of course, in the U.S. you have more three -- if you have more than 3.4 ounces of each. But could they actually be allowed on flights in Europe?

HOLMES: Yes, London steps towards lifting the ban on liquids. That will complicate things, won't it? Oh, it will.

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HOLMES: Well, if you travel, you know this already -- bottled water, shampoo, body lotion, perfume, I know that this bothers you, all banned from your carry-on luggage in the U.S. If you have more than 3.4 ounces of it.

MALVEAUX: It does bother me. Yes. I don't like my things confiscated at --

HOLMES: I know it does because you've got that big gallon one.

MALVEAUX: I do not.

HOLMES: Yes.

MALVEAUX: All right. Europe, the TSA, they're actually working to allow more liquids to make us a little bit happier here. With new technology, London's Heathrow Airport taking a small step towards actually making this happen. They're introducing a new scanner that can detect suspicious substances.

HOLMES: Yes, technology for you. Could the U.S. be next? Let's go to Rene Marsh in D.C. with that.

What do we know about what they're doing in London? Will it travel?

RENE MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Michael and Suzanne, you know, just like flyers here in the U.S., those in the U.K., they are only allowed a small amount of liquids and gels in their carry-on bags. And that's because of the threat of liquid explosives.

Now, I want you to take a look at this video. It shows the power and potential of a liquid explosive. This demonstration as done for CNN at a New Mexico lab. And, again, it just shows and it supports that the threat is real.

That is where this new liquid scanning technology comes in. London's Heathrow Airport started installing new scanners just last week capable of scanning flyers, liquids. We know that the machine scans container in less than 10 seconds. It uses radio frequency and an ultrasonic technology that would alert security personnel if they find any suspicious substances.

Now, it was developed by an Ohio-based company, which says in addition to Heathrow, Aberdeen, Glasgow International and Southampton Airports have purchased this technology. And the company just announced today that a couple of Australian airports bought the scanners, as well.

So starting in January, let's just say you bought duty free liquor at JFK and you traveled to Heathrow Airport to connect to another flight. Right now, as it stands, you wouldn't be allowed to carry on that duty free liquor. But with this new technology, starting January, you would be allowed to connect without any problems with that duty free liquor. And again, this is just one step towards the larger goal, which is to lift the ban on all liquids no matter the size of the container by 2016 in Europe.

HOLMES: That sounds time consuming, doesn't it?

MARSH: Yes.

MALVEAUX: And confusing.

HOLMES: Yes.

MALVEAUX: Very confusing about this whole thing. I mean it would have to be kind of universal for it to work, don't you think, for most passengers?

HOLMES: Yes.

MARSH: Absolutely. And, you know, it begs the question, you know, will this all happen next in the U.S.? I know that's the question that many people are asking. We reached out to the TSA and they said, by way of a statement, that they're saying, quote, "developing technologies in cooperation with our E.U. and international participants that would ultimately allow the relaxation of limitations on the liquids." They're saying that that remains their long-term goal, as well.

MALVEAUX: All right.

MARSH: So they're opening the door, the TSA, to this sort of thing happening one day if the U.S.

MALVEAUX: All right, Rene, we're going to have to leave it there. Thank you so much. We appreciate it.

And thank you for watching AROUND THE WORLD. CNN NEWSROOM with Wolf Blitzer starts right now.

HOLMES: See you tomorrow.