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Hurricane Matthew Batters Florida's East Coast; Heavy Rain, Powerful Winds Lashing Florida; 24 Million Under Storm Watch or Warning. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired October 07, 2016 - 10:00   ET

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

[10:00:00]

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN HOST: And good morning. I would like to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Carol Costello along with Chris Cuomo. Chris, I don't think you can hear me the wind is wreaking havoc with our technical abilities this morning. So, you have to excuse us.

That monster storm hasn't even hit where Chris is in Jacksonville. We are following all the latest on Hurricane Matthew as it climbs up the Florida coast. Moments ago we heard from Florida Gov. Rick Scott. He said so far, no deaths have been reported but warned it isn't over yet.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. RICK SCOTT, (R) FLORIDA: We are very concerned about storm surge. And the worst effects are still likely to come. If you remember, the Jacksonville area has a lot of low- lying area, especially Nassau County. We're very focused on Jacksonville. There's potential for significant flooding there.

Damage assessments are just coming in from south Florida. They will continue. The storm passes each county. I've been reaching out to people in each county as it passes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: All right. The hurricane still a category 3 storm, already slamming into places like Daytona Beach. Watch as the powerful winds litter the streets with debris. So far, millions have been ordered to evacuate. About 600,000 people without power right now. Many in the southeastern part of the United States now bracing for more. Officials warning that some communities could be uninhabitable for months at a time.

All right, I want to take you back out to Jacksonville and get this. Jacksonville has not been under a hurricane warning in 17 years until now, so I would imagine, Chris, people are bracing for the worst?

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: I hope so. I mean, that's what the caution is all about, whether or not people are heeding these warnings or you know, deciding to play a game where they say well, it doesn't seem that bad or I know what it's like. First of all, they haven't seen anything like this in over a decade even by the more marginal expectations here along the east coast of Florida.

Most of us who don't live here think about Florida and say well, they are very storm-savvy but not along the east coast. Literally more than a decade and memories of Hurricane Andrew are an unfair comparison. It was an incredibly powerful storm. This one is much more slow-moving. And that's why storm surge will probably be more of the story here. Jennifer Gray is in Palm Bay. She's our meteorologist. She's been telling us about this all morning long. You went through some intensity then a low. And now you are hoping that it will be passed the window but then it's about everybody who comes next up north like us in Jacksonville. Jennifer?

JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, you're exactly right. We are getting out of it. We are in that very last rain band with this storm. So in the next couple of hours, it should stop raining here. But north of us, Daytona Beach and points north, Flagler Beach, Palm Coast, up to Jacksonville, we are going to see the effects of this as we already are in Daytona Beach with that storm surge that's pushing in.

All of those winds on the north side of that storm are going to be pushing onshore so it's going to push all of that water inland. And so areas like Jacksonville, very vulnerable part of the coast as well as the Georgia coastline. We could see an inundation with water and that's why it's so important to heed those evacuation warnings and get out, especially those coastal areas.

The storm surge is going to be a huge concern. Rain, just the flooding is going to be a huge concern as well up the coast as well as the wind. We are watching so closely because this storm is basically just tap dancing along this coast, paralleling the coast to the north. Any slight wobble to the west, you're talking about 100 miles per hour winds on the coast. We saw one of those -- we have experienced a 100 mile per hour wind around Cape Canaveral. We had winds up to 80 miles per hour where we are but that was about as high as it got where we are. But north and if that storm, Carol, wobbles a little bit more to the west, you are going to be talking about significant wind damage up the coast.

COSTELLO: I know. We are keeping our fingers crossed. Jennifer thanks so much. I want to take you now to the Forecast Center and Chad Myers. He gave us a great illustration of what the eye of that hurricane is doing right now.

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Right. It's wobbling around. Whether it's going east or west depends on what side the heaviest convection is on, Carol.

Let's go back and let's talk about this storm surge that everybody has been talking about all day and why. Why will we have this storm surge? Think about taking a cup of coffee and trying to cool it off. You're using your breath to blow the coffee but it really blows to the other side of the cup and the other side of the cup, the coffee is higher than on the side that you're blowing from. Well we are blowing 100 mile per hour cup of coffee toward the shore. And so eventually the water is going to pile up here, plus there's a small bubble of water under the storm because it's been a low pressure for a long time, kind of sucking in water from all directions. So as we push this up into Jacksonville or up into Georgia or even up into Charleston, that's where the water is finally going to get onshore. It can't go any farther because the shore gets in the way. If there's no land here, the water would just go around

[10:05:16] and around and around and around and it would just be nothing. But the shore gets in the way of the storm. That's why we get the storm surge in general.

So we have our winds, 40, 50, 60 miles per hour. We have had some winds in Daytona almost to 100, along the coast of Cape Canaveral, 109 miles per hour. That was in the seashore, the national seashore we had that little beach there, Playalinda Beach had 107. So, it has been gusty but the winds have really have been offshore because that's where the eye has been, just slightly offshore.

So the threat is not of that 140 mile per hour wind anymore, not really even 120, but the threat is the water that that wind is pushing. And when it pushes it against the shore, and it pushes it up the rivers and it pushes it into St. John's and into Savannah and the Tybee, in the St. Simon's, or into Charleston, those areas can flood easily even without significant wind, just because of rain. And there's a lot of rain coming. This is a very wet storm.

Later on today, we are just about to the parallel of Tybee and Savannah, then Charleston and then finally out to sea. But as this storm runs up the coast, it will make a lot of rainfall, significant rainfall, up to ten inches. Now that concerns me a little bit even with the potential for some sinkholes. That's always a potential when you get so much water in Florida and you have an aquifer that's been drawn down a little bit.

So think about that as you're driving around. If you look and say that doesn't look right, stop the car and make sure. But we will have ten inches of rain from Jacksonville all the way north even into almost the upstate of South Carolina and the piedmont to North Carolina depending on how quickly it moves away. That could cause river flooding. Let alone the water that wants to go the other way which is salt water flooding. Let's hope they don't come together in a bad way in a couple cities and really push that number past 11 feet. Carol?

COSTELLO: Oh, I hope not. Chad Myers thanks so much. I want to take our viewers back to Daytona Beach because Matthew is still kind of like doing damage there. In fact, Boris Sanchez, our reporter there, the roof just came down on you, Boris?

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Not exactly, Carol. It was part of the roof. A glass window that was kind of like a sunroof over us just shattered, fortunately we were inside. Hotel management actually got us out of there just moments before. Let me kind of set the scene. So we were doing our live shot under this awning where there's a loop in front of the hotel, and as we were standing there, I walked out to try to get some video of the street in a moment where things looked pretty calm.

Actually, Carol, I may have to move for a second because management is having us moved out of the way of the windows here. But as we were standing, I got a quick video of the street and I walked back and just a moment later we started hearing this banging over us on the awning and out of nowhere there was a loud crash, huge bang. We looked over and what looked like, I can't make out exactly what it is, it's a giant chunk of metal just came down in front of us, about 20 feet in front of us. Several of us started moving toward the inside of the hotel and then not a minute later we started hearing glass crashing and that's when management had us all go inside. Once we all got inside, we heard more crashing. We looked outside and there was a chunk of wood, I can't tell if it's plywood or wood from the actual structure of the hotel itself but it went straight through that sunroof and now there's glass all outside.

The management of the hotel is very smart. They told us all to get inside and get away from the windows, because the wind is really picking up here and what I was mentioning earlier when we got a chance to chat, the debris that's all over the street, they become missiles. Anything from piece of plywood to a fence to a sign can become extremely dangerous going you know, 150 plus miles an hour. So obviously, you know for anyone that's out there, it's a terrible idea to be outside right now in these conditions as the eye of Hurricane Matthew gets closer and closer to Daytona Beach.

COSTELLO: And Boris, I know you talked earlier about some guys out in the street doing like, I don't know, tricks with their car? Are people -- are the streets pretty much deserted now as far as you can tell?

SANCHEZ: Well, just a few moments before that glass came down, as I mentioned, there was kind of a lull in action. So I walked a little closer to the street to try to get some video and also get some perspective on these really loud banging sounds we were hearing coming down the street to get an idea of what that was. I did see some cars driving through. I can't tell you if those are civilians or journalists.

What I can tell you is earlier this morning when we got up to start our day close to you know 5:00 a.m. there was a guy in a pickup truck that was speeding down the street. Fortunately we were standing near the police chief at the time, we were chatting with him, and the guy just stops at an intersection and started doing doughnuts, at one point, almost losing control of his car. He started driving down

[10:10:16] the street again recklessly, having to brake right in front of the storefront -- I mean, the streets are drenched so it's hard to have any kind of control your car in a situation like this. He lashed so when you know you're doing tricks. Fortunately, the police were able to stop him. The police chief told me he was later arrested. But -- I cannot understand why someone would think that is a good idea. So you know the warnings from officials are very real. I have seen it first-hand. This is a very dangerous situation and it can quickly escalate in a matter of moments even when things appear calm. Carol?

COSTELLO: All right. Boris Sanchez, good advice and please stay safe. And thanks for sharing. We do appreciate it.

All right we want to head back to Jacksonville. That's above Daytona Beach. Chris Cuomo, you see what's happening in Daytona right now. It's coming.

CUOMO: Well, Carol, you know what they say, there's no cure for stupid. You know certain people may be stuck or uniquely vulnerable and are forced to stay. But the idea of playing in a storm like this out of curiosity just does not make sense. We have been hearing it from everybody and that guy Boris was talking about, the chief down there in Daytona Beach made sure he is now safe by placing him in jail.

We want to get some perspective from David Paulison. He's a former FEMA administrator. He has seen a lot of situations like this and what the aftermath can be. And obviously, what we are dealing with our expectations here, David, if you can hear us, we heard from the governor that they are in excess of 500,000 without power, about a quarter of the overall number of those without power has already been restored. They see that as a good sign in terms of what they are being able to get done but what are the considerations going forward?

DAVID PAULISON, FORMER FEMA ADMINISTRATOR: Well, it's a couple things. One, I think you pointed out very clearly people need to stay off the streets until this thing is gone. You know, we have more fatalities, more injuries in the aftermath of the storm than we do during the storm. If people would just stay inside and shelter in place until the winds are gone, until emergency managers say it's safe to be on the streets, then they will be good and can take care of their families.

I think what we also need to stop and think about, too, after this storm is gone is what we're doing about pre-disaster mitigation. We spend billions of dollars after the storm but we're not spending that much in front of the storm. And so whoever the next president is, I think it's time to sit down and reassess how we are dealing with disasters in this country.

We are seeing the amount of damage we're having here and it's just simply remarkable. We are just lucky the thing is staying offshore a little bit. You know I live in south Florida. We really lucked out with this one because we were prepared for the worst and ended up getting by in pretty good shape except obviously Daytona, Jacksonville, Savannah, is not going to be doing that. So yes, people stay inside. Wait until the winds die down. Wait until things calm down before they get out on the street and then they will be be fine. They can take care of themselves and their families.

CUOMO: Well, obviously the concern is Mr. Paulison -- we also don't know what we don't know yet, right? And we have got about halfway to go in terms of the duration of this slow-moving storm as it makes its way up the coast. Jogging west there a little bit every once in a while and then obviously winds up creating more impact. But in terms of what you deal with afterwards, storm surge, what are the kinds of problems that come along with storm surge?

PAULISON: Well, obviously part of the storm surge is the damage is roads. It can take the foundation out from buildings. If people are close to the coast we can have flooding. When you know what we just saw in Louisiana recently with the flooding and the amount of damage it causes, those types of things. We are going to have power lines down. I have been very pleased, by the way, with the way the emergency management system in Florida has been working. Emergency managers all the way up the coast have been doing a good job.

The governor has made it extremely clear. That he said the political will step up and say hey, this is a dangerous storm, you need to evacuate if in the evacuation zone. He's warned people upfront, we are going to be out of power, you need to prepare for that. And understand that we may not have power you know, for a week or so in some areas.

So all the emergency managers, the governors have done what they're supposed to do. Now it's up to us to do what we're supposed to do. Listen to that advice, pay attention and stay out of harm's way until things calm down.

There's going to be a power lines down and trees down. -- There's going to be roads that are washed out. There's a lot of dangers out there in the aftermath of this storm that you may not see so that's why it's best to stay home.

CUOMO: Right. And Mr. Paulison, we just heard from Gov. Rick Scott giving a presser about what to do and he says for those in this area, Jacksonville and parts approximate and north. Now is your last window to heed the evacuation orders. The I-10 corridor is open. Several hours from now you will start getting weather that you cannot travel in so if you are in one of those zones that needs to evacuate, now is the time to do it. Mr. Paulison, thank you very much for that

[10:15:16] FEMA perspective. Appreciate it. And hopefully what we have to deal with in the aftermath here is as small as possible. But again, we are only halfway through. You are looking at live pictures of Cocoa Beach Florida. They have been dealing with heavier gusts there in that part of central Florida, winds still in excess of 100 miles an hour, hitting the coastline. This is still a category 3 hurricane, sustained winds of 120 miles an hour at its strongest. We have complete coverage. Please stay with CNN.

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COSTELLO: All right, back with the breaking news coverage of Hurricane Matthew. This is from St. Augustine, Florida. As you can see, rain and it's very windy there right now. I think Matthew is right off the east coast of Florida, right around the Daytona Beach, Palm Coast area. It's headed up the coast toward the state of Georgia. St. Augustine is also feeling some effects of Hurricane Matthew right now. Jacksonville has yet to feel

[10:20:16] the effects but they are very worried about storm surge because the St. John's River is there. They are very, very worried about heavy rain there.

In Orlando, you know, they apparently escaped the brunt of the storm but they were in it earlier this morning. You know, Disney World closed down for the first time, I think it's only closed down four times in its history, but Disney world closed down just in case. So as you might expect, the local media had reporters all over Orlando. Sachelle Saunders has this report from earlier this morning.

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SACHELLE SAUNDERS, WKMG REPORTER: I'm okay. I'm all right. I mean, you know, it's just evaluating my life right here in front of this concrete block.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: OK. She's OK. Daytona Beach, Florida is nothing like that in Orlando. So Orlando escaped and they were very lucky this morning, right? Jacksonville maybe not so much, let's head out there now. That's where Chris Cuomo is. Hi, Chris.

CUOMO: Man, not a good look of what could be coming. Of course, the concern is that people stay safe, stay out of that weather unless it is completely necessary. Somebody who is doing the right thing, Julie Albro and her family, Titusville, Florida near Cape Canaveral on the phone right now. Julie can you hear us?

JULIE ALBRO, RIDING OUT THE STORM IN TITUSVILLE FLORIDA: Yes, sir.

CUOMO: Great. It's good to hear your voice. How is everybody doing?

ALBRO: We are doing well. Just finished up with breakfast and starting to watch the winds picked up just a little bit more, surprisingly. We thought they were pretty bad around 4:00, 5:00, but as it goes by, the gusts are getting stronger not the steady wind, but it will calm down and then pick up more, bigger gusts. And trees are losing their leaves and limbs and it's something to see.

CUOMO: Well, you know how it works. These things spin around in a circle so you get bands as they come through, but it is moving past your area right now though slowly. This is a slowly-moving storm. What are you seeing? You said trees are down and beat up but are you seeing any major damage or power lines down? You have power, yes?

ALBRO: We do have power. Most everyone around us has lost their power. There's mailboxes are gone and signs are knocked down and things of that nature but for our little bitty area right here, we still have power. It did turn off for about five or ten minutes but it came right back on.

CUOMO: All right. Good. So relatively you are still in good shape there. In terms of storm surge, flooding, is that any kind of concern where you are?

ALBRO: Not here in our neighborhood. I have seen pictures of my friends around town, who are having some yard flooding, but right here where we are, no. We haven't seen any yet. It seems to be soaking up pretty good so far.

CUOMO: Good. Good. Hopefully it stays that way. And now, where you are, was it an evac order or was it shelter in place?

ALBRO: It was not evacuation where I am. Mostly the barrier islands close by, but not where we live. We live almost to the I-95 corridor there. We were not asked to evacuate, although there are two shelters within a mile and a half of our home.

CUOMO: How many of you are in there? Do you have just immediate family? Do you have friends with you? Who do you got?

ALBRO: We have five children from 8 years old to 12, my mother-in-law and my brother and of course, my husband.

CUOMO: Five kids. You got enough on your hands without any weather going on there. I hope you stay safe. If the situation changes and there's need, please contact us. You know how to get us. And we'll get the word to authorities. As you know, there's a significant lag time right now but where you are, within a few hours, it should be a clear enough situation where emergency services are back out and about. Please stay safe and thank you for talking to us, Julie, best to you and the kids.

COSTELLO: All right. Chris Cuomo thanks so much. And Julie, stay safe there because you are a brave woman because I would have high- tailed it out of there.

All right I want to bring in Lieutenant General Russel Honore because the governor of the state of Florida deployed the 3500 National Guard and I suspect some of them are already at work now, general.

LT. GENERAL RUSSEL HONORE, RETIRED U.S. ARMY AND AUTHOR "LEADERSHIP IN THE NEW NORMAL": Absolutely Carol and they are well trained. Florida has had repetitive dealing with these floods over the years but it's been a long time since we have had one significant like this. And it's going to be a hard go

[10:25:16] if the scenario Chris was talking about and you play out in Jacksonville. That is the big scare now. And after Jacksonville it's going to be further up to Charlotte and Savannah will be the next scares. But I think Jacksonville could take a major hit, looking at the angle and the major rivers and inlets that go through that city.

COSTELLO: So the storm has already passed by St. Lucie and Martin counties you know, in the southern part of Florida, the southeastern part of Florida, along the I-95 corridor. The governor said that he's already deploying some rescue workers and would he also deploy some National Guard just to see what the damage is, to see if any rescues are necessary?

HONORE: The way they normally work, it's by the county and the county requesting assets to reinforce. They have a league of professional emergency managers there in Florida. And I have worked with many of them and know them, and go to Florida at least two or three times a year to various conferences and they have a well-planned out drill how those National Guard troops are called forward from city to county to state police and they will flow in.

Most of those National Guard come from that area. They have over 12,000 National Guard troops in Florida so they have a good sized force there and they practice this annually as part of their annual training. So the problems are going to be, Carol, is the approach in to Jacksonville with the various inlets if the storm surge were to hit eight to ten feet, because much of that city and the surrounding areas is below that in elevation.

COSTELLO: I'm just kind of remembering back to Hurricane Katrina and what the National Guard did there. They will be out in boats perhaps after that storm passes just seeing if everything's okay?

HONORE: Absolutely. They will be a part of the search and rescue team moving around in what we call IDB's, little bitty boats, little skiffs and everything in between, working with local search and rescue. And of course, they will bring in those high clearance trucks and anywhere they can get in with those, those are very efficient at picking up people in subdivisions that might be flooded. But I think the biggest threat is going to be in and around Jacksonville.

COSTELLO: All right. We are waiting for it. Lieutenant General Russel Honore thanks so much for being with me this morning. I am going to bring back out to Daytona Beach, because that's where Matthew is you know, doing its damage right now. You can see the wind is still blowing. They have sustained wind of 80 to 100 miles per hour. And we do think some buildings in Daytona have suffered damage. We'll be back with much more in the "Newsroom."

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