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Biden Visits Turkey; 6.2 Magnitude Earthquake Hits Central Italy; Ukraine Celebrates 25 Years of Independence from Soviet Union. Aired 8:00a- 9:00a ET
Aired August 24, 2016 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[08:00:29] KRISTIE LU STOUT, HOST: And we begin with breaking news out of central italy where a devastating 6.2 magnitude earthquake has
toppled buildings and homes, many of them collapsed with the people inside.
Dozens have been killed. Rescue workers are right now frantically looking for any signs of life among the rubble. It has been difficult to
get to some of the more remote areas in the quake zone. In some cases, rescue workers do not have heavy machinery. And they're being forced to
use their hands.
The Italian president has urged the country to rally around those in the affected areas. Doctors are being called to come in to help, and
people are being asked to donate blood.
Now here is what the prime minister of Italy said just a short time ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATTEO RENZI, ITALIAN PRIME MINISTER (through translator): It is a time when we were in shock. It is a moment for action. And with my heart
in my hands I'd like to say to Italians during difficult moments Italy knows how to react and what to do. During times when things are not
working out, Italy is together and showing its beautiful side.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: Now, I want to bring in a resident in the disaster zone. Emily (inaudible) joins me now live. And Emily, you are a survivor of the
earthquake there in Italy. You're talking to us right now via the phone. How are you doing right now?
EMILY CHIESA, QUAKE SURVIVOR: We have been -- I'm fine. Not everything is fine.
The devastation is quite drastic in a lot of the little towns of Aquata (ph), because we are 13 little villages that make the town of
Aquata. It's very, very damaging, especially two of these little villages. So, one is (inaudible) just collapsed, all the houses are just gone.
There's no -- no houses anymore.
So, and the other is Aquata, the main center. And it's where there's been deaths.
So it's really -- still now when I'm speaking with you, the earthquake is still moving, the earth is still moving. It's -- from this morning,
just going on. Every so often, the earth moves, so it's very terrible.
LU STOUT: You are saying that the earth is still moving, you're still experiencing aftershocks. You just described a scene of just utter
devastation around you.
Since the first initial earthquake, have you been able to make contact with everyone?
CHIESA: Yes. My whole family and everything, yes, I have. But there's a lot of people, especially in the two villages, as I said, where
people are still looking for them.
There's been damage in all the little villages here. Some houses are very damaged, some less. But in these two villages, everything is just
gone.
So the rescues are still looking for people, for children, so it's very, very dramatic.
It's the devastation is very dramatic. We're just waiting for good news,but it's -- there's a lot of bad news coming along.
LU STOUT: Yeah, you're waiting for good news as this desperate rescue operation is under way to dig through the rubble and to find the living and
to look for more survivors. What do you need right now? What kind of help? What kind of supplies do you need to get through the next few days?
CHIESA: Well, I think people need tents. A lot of people need tents. A lot of people I think, we need a place where to stay, maybe some food,
not a lot of food, but some food.
But I think the most thing is there are people that were in the very damaged villages are really -- I don't know if somebody can help them,
because they're just so shocked, and so sad, and so -- they know that they couldn't do anything to save other people's lives, so they -- so
disappointed or everything, because they couldn't do anything.
So I don't know how you can help somebody like that. I'm sure you can help with beds,and tents for the moment.
[08:05:09] LU STOUT: Yeah, you're describing...
CHIESA: This is my idea, yes.
LU STOUT: Of course. And you're a witness to disaster, survivor of the quake, you're there in the quake zone, you're describing what you need
-- you need food, you need tents, beds. Earlier you described the earth is still moving, there's still aftershocks. So where are you going to sleep
tonight?
CHIESA: We don't know yet. We don't know. We know that maybe the soldiers are coming with some tents, and they'll go to build a camp. Maybe
people have their own tent, and so maybe in the gardens we'll put tents up, and (inaudible).
Today, like somebody had lunch all together since the 13 little villages, so every single village is trying to help themselves, and so
eating all together out of the houses, and so -- I don't know yet where we're going to sleep.
LU STOUT: Yeah and you're just waiting for...
CHIESA: I think somebody may be still manage to get in the house, but it's too risky in the
moment, especially after the...
LU STOUT: Absolutely. After all the aftershocks, yes.
CHIESA: It was terrible.
LU STOUT: Emily Chiesa, joining us on the line. Thank you for sharing your story with us. Thank you for listening, quite clearly just
the humanitarian need, what you need in the quake zone at this moment, especially shelter, food, some place to sleep tonight, and just our hearts
go out to you and the community that's been hit by this terrible disaster. Take care.
Now CNN contributor Barbie Nadeau is joining me now from Saleta (ph), another community that's been devastated by this earthquake in Italy. And
she joins us now live from the quake zone.
And Barbie the race is on to reach the living, to rescue survivors from the rubble. What's the latest on that?
BARBIE NADEAU, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, they're still faced with a variety of challenges trying to get the heavy equipment in that they need
in order to move this rubble. These are stone houses that have collapsed. These aren't wooden houses. It takes a lot to move the stones.
We were watching earlier a rescue operation behind us that ended so tragically when they pulled a body out of it. But there were the
neighbors working alongside civil protection -- people and the fire brigade with their hands, with garden tools, with pick axes, trying to remove the
trouble to reach the main floor building of that house.
The house behind me that you see a pile of rubble was a multistory, multifamily dwelling. We see this scene all along this road along this
road, all the way for the next mile or so and beyond up to the epicenter was of this devastating quake.
And we're still feeling tremors. We're feeling them every now and then. We've got real movement and we've got some visions of this rubble
behind us settling and moving. But all the while the people are doing everything they can to listen for their neighbors, to look for people who
might still be alive under the rubble and to just do what they can to remove that
heavy, heavy, heavy stonework to try to get to whatever and whoever might be below.
LU STOUT: And that includes the pile of debris right behind you. What was the structure that was once standing behind you there in Saletta
(ph)?
NADEAU: Yeah, no, this is a multistructure -- it's hard to get the perspective, because there's just so much devastation here. But right in
front of us is a multistructure house. You know, there was a first floor apartment, you know, they had to dig and dig and dig to finally get into
that first floor apartment.
Uup above it is another house, the side of it has been sheered off. You can still see things on the
shelves in one of the rooms in that house when you walk up around the back way.
Interesting, though, there's a prefabricated building right here to my right, and that was from 1979 earthquake, that was temporary housing that
they just never moved away. Someone's moved into it, made it a home for themselves.
But it really just does speak to the fact that there has been so much seismic activity in this part of Italy for so long, and the real question
now is going to be were these houses reinforced? Did people take the advice after a devastating 2009 earthquake in which more than 300 people
died, or did they not?
You know, in 2009, they had a regulation that said, every house over 100 years old should
be reinforced, anti-seismic measures put in place. We're going to be I'm sure examining this for many days and months to come to find out whether or
not anybody in this neighborhood not far from that devastated area actually learned a lesson from the 2009 earthquake.
But in the meantime, everybody is just looking for the living, focused on finding anyone who might still be alive under these piles and piles of
rubble.
[08:10:02] LU STOUT: Yeah. And right behind you, we just saw a man standing on top of the debris there. A very precarious position to be in
given the number of aftershocks that have been striking the area since the initial 6.2 magnitude quake.
Is this person representative of the rescuers that have been coming in to remove the rubble? Are you seeing more people coming in to help find
the living? Are you seeing more earth moving equipment being installed to help out?
NADEAU: Well, no, we haven't seen a lot of heavy equipment go along this road. This is one of the very few roads that leads to the epicenter
area, about a mile up the road from us.
That man that we saw up on top of that is actually on the top of a house. He's with the people who were here all morning looking for a
neighbor. They've moved up to another street. There's actually a hill. There's a little street between them with a tiny little well, the only
thing standing, a little bit of running water.
One might envision that that's where the people of the village used to gather in a little tiny
square up there.
Now that's all that's standing. Everything else is simply a pile of rubble.
What you've got up there that you don't see from the vantage point of the camera that are search
and rescue dogs looking for signs of life. And you see a group of people, same people that were down here below up there now just looking for anyone
that they could possibly save.
LU STOUT: Now the race is on to find survivors. Barbie Nadeau reporting live from the quake zone of Saletta (ph). Thank you, Barbie.
Now, let's go straight to our meteorologist Chad Myers. And Chad, we've got to talk about the
force of this earthquake. We saw just the damage, and the devastation it's caused tremors were felt all the way to Rome. What made this such a
powerful quake?
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It is a powerful and devastating quake, Kristie, because it was so shallow. It was so close to the Earth's
crust, the top, where we live. Had this earthquake been 200 kilometers deeper, that means that shaking would have 200 kilometers farther away from
everyone. Well the earthquake shaking was only 4 kilometers away from the epicenter on top.
So here we go. This is the Appenine mountain range. Right here. Right through the center part of Italy. There is a mountain, about 1,000
meters high.
But that's enough.
This is where the two plates have clashed or crashed in the past, and where the earthquakes
have been for many, many years, for eons.
This is the center of the area -- I'll try to get you some topography in here, show you that
there are mountains through here.
The mountains are caused by the earthquakes themselves, caused by the crashing of the
plates together.
So what do we have here? We are going to have a magnitude 5.2, probably, aftershock. We've already had one 5.5 There are more
significant aftershocks possible. I'm going to zoom in one more time right through here.
We're going to see that this is where the center of the earthquake happened, but there was shaking all the way down to Rome.
Rome is about 115 kilometers away, but it still shook. And there was also shaking in this
entire yellow area that is strong shaking. So, 1.9 million people there in Italy felt the strong shaking, because of the shallowness of the quake
itself.
Let's get rid of this. Let me show you what it felt like, 450 kilometers away, there was a seismogram, and this seismogram right through
here shows you where the shaking happened. It happened here right at about 36 minutes after the hour, it shook for a very long time.
Finally, stopped shaking about 15 minutes later.
So there was rumbling. There was sharp shaking here. But there was rumbling for quite some time. And then this is our aftershock right
through here.
Now remember, this is 450 kilometers away. Yes, I know that they are very amazing instruments and pick up any shaking at all, but if you think
about that distance away, that's what we had.
And how far away was the old quake in 2009, only a few kilometers, somewhere around 20 kilometers away. That was a 6.3, killed almost 300
people. This is a 6.2. We're still cleaning up and we're going to be cleaning up picking up and moving big stones, big parts
of buildings for many weeks, maybe months -- Kristie.
LU STOUT: Yeah, absolutely. The race is on to find survivors in the rubble in the immediate aftermath of this earthquake. What kind of
conditions are the rescue teams up against right now?
MYERS: Well, actually, very good. It really couldn't be better. Today it will be 25, tomorrow 27, Friday 29. So -- and remember we are
about 1,000 meters high, so not much humidity compared to what you'd get in Rome or Venice or you know you get into the mountains, and all of a sudden
you lose humidity, you lose temperature, but you also lose temperature in the overnight hours. It will be down to 13 in the overnight hours most of
those days.
So, if you're trapped in a building with nothing to cover you up, 13 outside isn't deadly, but it's certainly cold.
LU STOUT: Yeah, and that's why the eyewitness and the survivor in the quake zone we were talking to earlier made that appeal for some sort of
temporary shelter. She plans to be sleeping outside given all the aftershocks.
Chad Myers reporting for us. Thank you, Chad, and take care.
And do stay with CNN. Coming up on the program, we'll have more on the breaking news from Italy, dozens are dead there after a devastating
earthquake.
Also ahead, condemnation for North Korea as it defies UN sanctions, and launches a ballistic missile from a submarine.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:17:28] LU STOUT: It is midday in central Italy, a region grappling with the aftermath of a 6.2 magnitude earthquake. It struck in
the middle of the night when most people were sleeping.
The death toll has risen to at least 39. And an unknown number of people are still trapped in the debris.
Now, this area is a popular vacation spot and the rural villages have been bustling with people during the summer break. Now, there on your
screen you're looking at live pictures from one of the hard-hit areas in the quake zone.
Now, many of the buildings here were centuries old. They were constructed with stone. Some of the roads have been blocked. And it has
been very, very difficult to get heavy machinery in to help.
Now, Tommaso Della Longa,spokesman for the Italian Red Cross spoke to Isa Soares a
short time ago about the rescue efforts underway.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOMMASO DELLA LONGA, ITALIAN RED CROSS SPOKESMAN: Our first priority is to find survivors. So, since the beginning we deployed our rescue team
to find people under the building collapsed. Then obviously meanwhile we are also setting up with the
Italian protection and the national emergency response system, (inaudible), because we want to take care of the survivors, and to
give them at least a hot meal right this evening.
ISA SOARES, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And Tommaso, we have been
reporting that Italy's Civil Protectione (ph), the agency basically coordinating the rescue efforts, 37 people are now known to have died. Is
this what you're hearing?
DELLA LONGA: Yeah actually we are hearing several numbers. We are not giving numbers, and not even confirming numbers.
Also, because it's a very difficult situation. You have to imagine that the earthquake hit a rural area with some small cities like Amatrice
(ph), but also a lot of tiny villages and houses in the middle of a valley or mountain. So it's very difficult to say the number of cases that are
wounded.
It's something that will come after.
SOARES: You were talking, Thommao, about the rescue operations under way. Talk to us about the resources they have on hand there.
DELLA LONGA: Well, actually, on the side of the Red Cross, first of all, I mean the first responder were the people themselves by the
earthquake. As Red Cross, we have for example a branch in Amatrice (ph) and our guys by the earthquake first of all rescued their own families, and
then they worked to rescue the other part of the community.
Then, we deloyed right after our emergency team there.
[08:20:15] SOARES: How many people do you have on the ground? How many do you have on the ground, Tommaso?
DELLA LONGA: I mean, it's something that is growing minute by minute. But, now we can say more than 150, but it's depending on the needs.
Obviously, now with the deploying of the kitchen in the field, it will go up.
SOARES: And. And then obviously you face challenges getting there because of the landscape, is it not?
DELLA LONGA: Yes, sure. The logistics, are beginning the biggest challenge. But fortunately the main road is still there so we were able to
reach them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: And that was Tommaso Della Longa from the Italian Red Cross speaking with our Isa Soares earlier.
Now, let's take a moment and turn now to the Korean peninsula. South Korea and Japan have
very strong words for North Korea after it test fired a ballistic missile from a submarine. The U.S. says the missile flew about 500 kilometers
toward Japan.
And here is what the Japanese prime minister had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHINZO ABE, JAPANESE PRIME MINISTER (through translator): This is the first time that North Korea's missile landed at Japan's air defense
identification zone. This poses a grave threat to Japan's security, and is an unforgivable act that damages regional peace
and stability markedly. I firmly protest against North Korea with its unforgivable action in obvious defiance of UN security council
resolutions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: Now meanwhile South Korea says the missile test, it showed improved capability compared to previous launches.
Now, let's go straight to CNN's Will Ripley in Seoul. He joins us now live.
And Will, the missile it was deployed underwater from a submarine. It entered Japan's air defense identification zone. So, does North Korea now
have a more advanced missile program?
WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That seems to be the indication looking at the
evidence, Kristie. And this is, by the way, the first time that a North Korean submarine launched ballistic missile has made it all the way to that
Japanese air identification defense zone. So, a significant development as the prime minister Shinao Abe pointed out today.
You had the foreign ministers of Japan, South Korea and China putting out a joint statement not only strongly condemning this but saying that
this North Korean missile program and the nuclear program as well are considered the greatest threat at this moment to regional stability.
So very significant to have those three countries in particular joining together on this issue, even though there's a lot of other
disagreement about the U.S., and South Korea joint military exercises which are ongoing. They started this week, and could be a strong motivating
factor for North Korea to do a show of force such as a submarine missile launch.
When you look at the technical information, and that's still being analyzed by experts both here in Seoul, in the United States and elsewhere,
Kristie, just the distance that this submarine launched missile traveled is significant. It traveled 16 times further than the previous launch in
April that North Korea called a success. Back then it was just 30 kilometers, this time it was 500 kilometers, more than 300 miles. Some
experts here in South Korea are saying it could have gone even further. They're looking at what kind of fuel was used, if the missile came apart at
the different stages of the launch were successful.
But this is a troubling sign for many experts that North Korea is moving closer to having a
missile in a submarine that can move up close to an enemy shore, launch a surprise attack without any notice and whether that technology would be
used by North Korea or whether it would be sold by North Korea to another entity. That is, of course, the issue that is concerning for a lot of
people.
LU STOUT: Yeah. A very troubling issue, because with each test it's getting more knowledge and making this advancement in its weapons program.
And with each test will North Korea is condemned by the international community, it's politically isolated further. It gets slapped with more
economic sanctions. But why is that not enough? Why has that failed to stop Pyongyang?
RIPLEY: Clearly, the leader Kim Jong-un, North Korea's leader who has ordered more than 30 of these missile launches since he took power in 2011,
according to a South Korean official, is not concerned any longer with strong condemnation from the international community, even when his name
was added to the sanctions list, which infuriated North Korea so much that they shut down their last remaining diplomatic back channel in New York at
the UN in protest, and yet still these tests continue.
When I was in North Korea just this past may for the Worker's Party Congress, I was chatting with one government official who told me it
doesn't matter if people have to go hungry, they will tighten their belts before they stop developing this missile program, and the nuclear program,
as well, because North Korea has admitted now that they are continuing, they've resumed the production of nuclear materials, which means at some
point, another nuclear test will be imminent, as well no matter what the consequences are.
[08:25:03] LU STOUT: All right Will Ripley reporting for us live. Many thanks indeed for your expertise and for your reporting.
Now, earlier I spoke with a military expert on North Korea, Daniel Pinkston. And I started by
asking him to explain the technology behind this latest launch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DANIEL PINKSTON, MILITARY EXPERT: Well the North Koreans launched a missile from a submarine that was submerged, so they launched it from
underwater. And they've been working on this program for some time. They've conducted a couple of launches earlier this year, but today's flight test was much more successful. The missile
reportedly flew about 500 kilometers. And recent reports I've heard over the last hour or two assert that the missile was lofted at very high
altitude trajectory.
And if it were flown at a normal trajectory, it could fly about 1,000 kilometers or more.
LU STOUT: You describe today's launch as being successful. So on the back of today's
launch, how much progress has been made by the North Koreans in its missile development
program?
PINKSTON: Well, they've been making rapid progress. Analysts have seen work on this
program over the past couple of years. Most analysts expected that this type of success would come in
the future, a couple of years down the road. So what's remarkable is the pace of the flight tests, the
rapidity of the testing, and the progress that they've been making.
So, it looks like it could deploy these systems sooner than many analysts had expected.
LU STOUT: Yeah, this is very worrying stuff. You're saying that North Koreans are making very rapid progress in their missile program.
What about their nuclear program, and can North Korea pair the two successfully together?
PINKSTON: That's probably the case. Military experts, the former commander of the USFK has said he believes they have that capability. They
haven't demonstrated it, but we have to remember that much of this technology is decades old, and many of the components for miniaturizing a
nuclear warhead are available in international markets.
North Korea has made this a priority, the source of those components and they work on it every day.
The most important aspect of any nuclear program is your human resources. And they are able to select the best and the brightest, and
give those engineers those assignments to produce these weapons systems. And that's what they continue to do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: And that was North Korean military expert Daniel Pinkston of Troy University speaking to me earlier from Seoul.
Now we have news coming in to us from Myanmar just now. A 6.8 magnitude earthquake has
struck central Myanmar. An official there tells CNN that villagers around the epicenter say they felt heavy shaking, but most buildings there remain
intact and there are no reported deaths or injuries.
Now, data from the U.S. Geological Survey shows that the tremors were felt as far away as Bangladesh, India and Thailand. We'll bring you more
details on the quake as we get it.
Now, coming up after this short break, we'll get an update on the deadly earthquake in central
Italy. So, do stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LU STOUT: Now, back to the breaking news out of Italy, a powerful shallow earthquake has taken lives, and left towns in absolute ruin in
central Italy. The clock tower in this town froze at 3:36 a.m, the exact time that the trembling began early on Wednesday morning.
The mayor says the town is no more. Dozens of people in the region are known to have been killed, but the death toll is expected to rise as
teams reach the more remote sites.
Pope Francis expressed his sadness over the earthquake and led a prayer in St. Peter's square for the victims and the survivors.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
POPE FRANCIS (through translator): I'd like you to join together in prayer, so that the lord Jesus Christ is always there to help and relieve
our hearts in pain and to provide us peace through the intersection of the blessed Virgin Mary. Pray together with me for our brothers and sisters.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: Now, CNN contributor Barbie Nadeau joins me again with the view from Saletta (ph). It's one of the small towns devastated by the
quake. And Barbie, people are using their hands to rescue people from the rubble. The focus still is on finding the living. What's the latest on
that effort?
NADEAU: Well, you know, we see it behind us right here. This is a tiny little community
on the outskirts of a larger town with about 20 residents here. And we're seeing people moving all around the area. We've seen some police officers
going in and trying to get some belongings from people, and we've just seen people trying to move rubble.
We watched for the better part of the morning a rescue operation here right behind us that ended tragically when they took out a body. We saw it
was a tragedy when they took out a body. We saw all those people, including members of the community, including members of the fire brigade,
including civil protection people, now move up the hill to another house. They've got rescue dogs looking for people. We just saw about two dozen
officials in gear looking like they're going to be doing some rescue operations go up the hill there.
We've seen a lot of movement, but it's very sporadic. What you see behind me just repeats itself all the way around this area that's been so
devastated by this earthquake. It's all made a lot more complicated by the fact that they really don't know how many people are in the area right now.
This is not a permanent community. These are a lot of holiday homes here. People are visiting relatives. People's grandchildren are visiting here at
the ancestral homes, things like that.
And so they're really trying to get a grasp of who is here, who is accounted for, and who is missing. And that's going to take some time and
that could be well into a couple of days before we get a full number of how many people were here at the time of the earthquake, how many are dead, and
how many are missing, Kristie.
LU STOUT: The immediate rescue effort is still under way. We're still waiting for more heavy machinery to come in to move some of that
rubble, to find more survivors, so what is the aid picture like? Have you seen aid workers on the ground in the town there, are -- is there food,
water, temporary shelter being made available for the survivors?
NADEAU: We haven't seen anything like that here under any circumstance. Nobody with food or water, you know, handing things out at
all that we've seen here, you know, a lot, a lot of authorities of civil protection authorities and fire brigade people, you know, we've got just so
many people so devastating. You see even behind me people of this community who are so heavily affected by this
tragedy, just trying to make sense of it, and trying very hard to figure out what to do next.
Where are they going to sleep tonight? You know we're not seeing tents being set up yet. You know the civil protection authorities in Italy
know what to do. They've handled situations like this before. This is a seismic area. So earthquakes are common.
And you know, we -- things are in the works right now. But you know, the weather's good. But, you know, the weather is good. It's not raining.
People aren't in immediate need of that kind of shelter from the elements, let's say.
It's hot but it's not that hot. So people have a greater chance I suppose of survival.
We heard a civil protection person earlier say you know, if someone in a pocket of air down there under the rubble could survive for a long time,
and workers right now are just trying to listen using dogs, and all sorts of devices just to try to find out if they hear any voice, and start
digging with their hands, with whatever they've got available Kristie to try to save lives at this moment.
[08:35:19] LU STOUT: As you said survivors are just struggling to cope, struggling to just make sense of what they just experienced. And a
number of them have been hurt, they've been injured by the earthquake. Have you seen just the kind of injuries that doctors are handling? Is
there any sort of medical infrastructure there for life saving work?
NADEAU: No, in this area where we are right now, a little about a mile from the epicenter we're not seeing any sort of field hospital. We've
seen a number of ambulances. There are people on the move.
You know, obviously if a call goes out the ambulance goes. But most of that work seems to be
being done in ambulances. There is a field hospital set up as we understand closer to the epicenter where people are being taken. But there
-- and there are some temporary morgue situations that are being set up to try to collect those -- you know the people who have perished in this
terrible earthquake who all are going to need to be identified. You know, there are places set up, numbers to call for anyone who might be missing a
victim. But right now it's just really about, you know, do you know a neighbor? Did you know someone who was here? Let's try to find them.
Have you seen them? People making calls. It's really, you know, just when you see the sense of community in these small towns that are so common here
in this part of Italy where you see the strength of those communities, at its best, Kristie.
LU STOUT: Yeah, it's very heartening to hear the strength of the community, as they try to make sense of the disaster and just survive in
the days ahead.
Barbie Nadeau reporting live for us from the quake zone. Thank you.
Now, let's go back to our meteorologist Chad Myers. And, Chad, once again please lay it out for us. Why has this earthquake caused so much
devastation in central Italy?
MYERS: Because it was so close to the surface.
The focus, the epicenter itself is what we call the top layer of the crust where people live, but the focus or the earthquake itself, was very
close to the surface -- only four kilometers deep. So, when that shook it was only four kilometers away from the surface of the Earth. And it was a
violent shake.
Think about getting hit by lightning only a block away from your house. It is bang.
But, if you talk about an earthquake that's much farther away, let's say 70 kilometers deep. It has a lot of time to attenuate before it gets
to the surface. It's like being 70 kilometers away from the earthquake in distance this way, but the distance is this way.
So because this was a four kilometer deep quake, at a significantly shallow quake, in an area that is ancient, built with stone buildings, and
a population density here that saw some shaking of 13 to 20 million people, talk about the center, that's where the 150 million to 250 million square
miles or square kilometers of this shaking actually happened.
So we're talking about at least a couple hundred thousand people that were affected.
This map behind me is -- what weused to call a seismograph, but that is paper this is a
seismogram because it's on the computer. This is 450 kilometers away. You can see the shaking that the seismogram felt on top of the mountain there.
And it felt it for a very long time and then it felt another aftershock down here.
That aftershock was 5.5, Kristie.
LU STOUT: You know, it's still such a fluid situation. We're still trying to understand the complete picture of the devastation in Central
Italy. We're still trying to understand the full extent of the human toll, but from what we know now and the data that you've come across Chad, how
does this earthquake compare to previous earthquake disasters in Italy like L'Aquila?
MYERS: Yeah, that was 2009. That was a devastating quake of 6.3. So we think about how much damage happened at 6.3. We're at 6.2. Very, very
similar. Yes there's one factor here that is different. It is -- but it was so close to the Earth, so close to the top of where we live, right
there at the surface of the crust, that's what makes these two quakes so devastating. Almost 300 people, 295 fatalities at a 6.3. I suspect we're
going to be very close to that number here. And we're also talking about tiny towns. There are bigger towns in the way that we can't even get to.
There are towns with 5,000, 10,000 people. We're talking about towns when we're seeing them on our pictures, those towns are are 500, 200, 300
people. So there are many major towns that are what some of the major -- the mayors of those towns are called completely devastated, and in some
spots they said our buildings are gone, which means they have collapsed. They have pancaked, and people were sleeping.
People were in their homes when those houses collapsed, that's what's going to cause more fatalities than if they were outside at lunch time, and
they were not in the buildings. That is going to be a major factor as well -- Kristie.
[08:40:05] LU STOUT: That's right. The quake struck around 3:00 a.m. local time. A lot of people were sleeping inside very vulnerable to the
tremors Chad Myers reporting, thank you. Do stay with us. We're going to have a lot more on this story, The deadly earthquake and the rescue effort,
straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LU STOUT: Welcome back. And we return to our breaking news coverage of the deadly
earthquake in central Italy. And we're seeing some incredible images, live images of devastation, and the rescue efforts, as well. Aftershocks, as
we've learned earlier in the hour, they continue to jolt the area. And the U.S. Geological Survey says that those could persist for days, even weeks,
in some cases, rescuers are using their hands, their bare hands. As you can see there on your screen, this live video to push aside the rubble, and
to get to the living.
Now dozens of -- people have been killed. The latest death toll reported by CNN affiliate REI (ph) is 39.
And that unfortunately is expected to rise as rescuers reach more remote areas in the quake zone. We'll have more on the earthquake in
central Italy shortly, but to other news now. Iraqi forces are making gains in the strategic town of Ciara where they are fighting ISIS on their
march toward Mosul. After taking the military says it has gained control of the town's government complex.
Now, Turkey is ramping up its military assault against ISIS. Now Turkish media report that
tanks have now entered northern Syria as part of operation Euphrates Shield launched to protect Turkish territory.
Now, these are live pictures coming to us from the Turkish Syrian border. The military struck dozens of targets from the ground on Wednesday
morning. The U.S.-led coalition assisted with air strikes.
Now this comes on the same day that U.S. Vice President Joe Biden is visiting Turkey. Now, he's arrived there to move the country's president
and prime minister, they want to discuss Turkey's demand to extradite Fethullah Gulen from the U.S.
Now, Turkish leaders say that the exiled cleric was behind the recent failed coup. U.S. officials say they are considering the merits of the
extradition request.
The refusal by the U.S. to extradite Gulen so far has been seen in Turkey as a snub. Ben Wedeman has more on the tense relations between the
two countries.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The violent coup attempt to overthrow the Turkish government last month, which left more
than 200 dead has ignited a crisis between the two old allies. Ankara insists this man, exiled Turkish cleric
Fethullah Gulen, living in the United States since 1999, masterminded the failed coup.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is demanding the U.S. extradite Gulen without delay. Turkish officials say Gulen will top the agenda when Vice
President Joe Biden comes to Turkey Wednesday.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The west has failed the sincerity test.
WEDEMAN: Analyst Ahmet Han has followed the ups and downs in Turkish- American ties for years. He insists U.S. cooperation on Gulen is key right now.
AHMET HAN, ANALYST: Washington has to understand the weight of that single issue
for Turkey's relations with the United States and has to show in some sense that it is taking those demands seriously.
[08:45:13] WEDEMAN: Gulen insists he had nothing to do with the failed coup, and u.s. officials say they wait clear evidence of his alleged
involvement. But for many Turks imbued with a deep sense of their country's place and history in the region, a snub from the Americans won't be taken lightly.
"They should give Gulen back," says Fatima (ph) out on a stroll with her boyfriend. "If they don't, it means the U.S. is protecting him."
Nadir (ph), a carpenter fishing for sardines in the Bosphorus on his day off makes clear what he'd like to see as Gulen's fate. No translation
needed.
Bringing the coup plotters to justice is a Turkish priority. But so is fighting ISIS, the prime suspect in this weekend's bombing of a wedding
party in Gaziantep that killed more than 50, many of them children, and in June struck Istanbul's international airport.
Turkey's also fighting a low-level war against the PKK, the Kurdish Workers Party, which has been fighting to carve out a separate state for
more than 30 years.
Grappling with the messy aftermath of a failed coup, terrorism and war, Turkish officials will have scant patience for small talk when Biden
comes to town.
Ben Wedeman, CNN, Ankara, Turkey.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: Ukraine is celebrating 25 years of independence from the Soviet Union. The country marked the anniversary with a parade in Kiev,
but the festivities and this grand display of military might, comes amid recent escalating tension with Russia. Phil Black got an up close look
at the tense situation along Ukraine's eastern border. He joins us live from Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine. And Phil, what did you see at the border
between Ukraine and Russia?
PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Kristie, we knew that the cease-fire that's been in place for about a year and a half has never
really meant very much on the ground. International observers repeatedly talk about cease-fire violations, but that word really doesn't do justice
to what you do see on the ground, the fighting is intense. It is daily. It represents open warfare. Really in the last two months Ukrainian
soldiers say that more than 50 of their soldiers have been killed, hundreds have been injured, and there are fears that it could
only continue to escalate from here.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Through this gate is one front line of a war still ravaging a country and destroying
lives. A year and a half after all sides promised a ceasefire where would Ukrainian soldiers near (inaudible) in the country's east as they try to
hold a position against pro-Russian forces.
(on camera): Slamming into the walls of this shed. The people here say this is what it's like every single day. They're not just lobbing stuff at
each other. They're trying to move forward and take each other's territory.
(voice-over): Captain (inaudible) tells us we must now run. This short dash for cover draws fire. We shelter in the remains of another devastated
building. The source of the incoming fire is very close.
(on camera): So your enemy's out that way?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
BLACK: About 100 meters away?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
BLACK (voice-over): The pause in the shooting allows us to move forward. We cross more open ground between old buildings. This industrial
site is a fiercely contested prize. The Ukrainian forces say they've lost ten men in the last month and there are casualties every day.
The captain wants to show us one of the positions they're being attacked from. A tall tower-like building so close we could stroll there in
less than a minute. At that moment, the fighting picks up. There is incoming fire from several directions.
(on camera): There is now fighting during the day every day. The soldiers here say. But more than that, it's in the evening, 4:00, like
clockwork this begins and it really kicks off. Why is this position, this territory so important?
(voice-over): He says the enemy has already moved beyond the line of control set in the peace deal. He says the pro-Russian forces move forward
from here, they could keep going and take any city in Ukraine.
From relative safety, we listen to the remains of war. Until it gets too close. Mortars land just outside. They're punched through this building
before.
(on camera): Chris, you good?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, let's go, let's go.
BLACK (voice-over): Bullets whistle around our team during the final run to safety. This is what a ceasefire looks like in Eastern Ukraine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[11:51:18] BLACK: As Ukraine marks independence day it has become very different in tone in recent years. It is no longer a cause for
celebration, but it has taken on tremendous symbolism, especially to many of those soldiers that we met on the front line. They tell us they believe
they are fighting for Ukraine's true independence, not just independence in
name, as they believe it has been for some decades now, while still staying within Moscow's orbit, but to become a truly independent, normal, European-
leaning state. They say that is what they're fighting for, Kristie.
LU STOUT: Well, video evidence of fighting at the border, not a cease-fire, Phil Black reporting for us live from Kharkiv. Thank you,
Phil.
Our Christiane Amanpour sat down exclusive with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko. And you can watch that interview 5:00 p.m. Thursday on
Amanpour right here on CNN.
Now still to come on the program, we have more on the breaking news from Italy. The death toll we just learned has risen further. It is now up
to 63 after that devastating earthquake.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LU STOUT: Now let's get you caught up on the latest from central Italy. The death toll is, indeed, climbing RAI News (ph) reports at least
63 people have perished in a magnitude 6.2 earthquake. And the timing of the quake couldn't have been worse. It struck in the middle of the
night when people were asleep.
The region is popular with vacationers, particularly in the summer months. Families go to stay in centuries-old homes to take a break from
the heat in urban areas. Dozens of people have been reported killed. Again, RAI News (ph) reporting that the death toll has risen to 63.
And we have received powerful new video of a rescuer trying to comfort a woman still trapped
under the rubble.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[08:55:10] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you able to breathe a bit? Only a bit. The important thing is to stay calm. Police officers are on their
way now. We will try to remove this (inaudible) for them so that they wouldn't hurt you, OK?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: Now if there is any positive news in any of this, the weather
forecast is clear, it's in the 20s for the next few days. And that provides hope that more people will make it out alive.
now the quake hit central Italy, but it was felt as far away as Rome and Charlotte Smith was visiting Rome from the U.S. And she described the
moment she felt the tremors.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHARLOTTE SMITH, U.S. TOURIST IN ITALY: You know, it was just really very unsure of what was going on. And you know, I felt the whole entire
hotel shaking. My room was shaking. And you know, at first you're thinking you're delusional, but then you know reality sets in, and you feel
the movement of the hotel, and then I heard a lot of people outside of my room, and so I decided to go out in the hallway to find out what was going
on and they confirmed that it was an earthquake.
And so, I headed downstairs to the lobby with the family, just to try to figure out, you know,
how hard the earthquake was and what was going on.
HANNAH VAUGHAN JONES, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: How did the hotel respond? I mean, this is -- we're talking about Rome, the Italian
capital, some 100 miles away from the epicenter. But was there a reasonably good response in terms of people are used to this in Italy.
They've seen these sort of earthquakes before.
SMITH: Right. Well was a sense of calm downstairs in the lobby. And the person that was on duty, you know, said that everything was okay and we
were not in harm's way. And I had talked to a couple of my friends from the states, because they had heard about the earthquake and they were
preparing me for the aftershock and not to be alarmed that there probably would be an aftershock
and probably maybe 20 minutes later there definitely was an aftershock.
You know, some of our travel party, you know, were asleep at the time, and so a lot of them didn't even feel the earthquake and then we actually
have one lady that was in our travel party that's from California. And you know, she's used to earthquakes, and she knew that's what it was, and kind
of went back to sleep.
But, you know, initially it was pretty terrifying.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: And that was Charlotte Smith speaking to CNN's Hannah Vaughan Jones earlier.
Now, Smith is in Rome and about to fly back to the U.S.
I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. And do stay with CNN for more coverage of the deadly
earthquake in central Italy.
END
