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New Day

Hurricane Florence Makes Landfall In North Carolina With Plenty Of Destruction And Suffering Ahead. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired September 14, 2018 - 07:30   ET

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

[07:30:00] CHRIS CUOMO, CNN HOST, "CUOMO PRIME TIME": Now we want to go to Scott and Oberle (sic). They are hunkering down in Wilmington, North Carolina, I believe. Do I have that right? I'll assume I do.

All right, so can you hear me right now?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, we can hear you.

SCOTT OBERLE, RIDING OUT THE STORM: Yes, we're currently on a --

CUOMO: All right.

OBERLE: -- a residence --

CUOMO: All right, great. Kellie and Scott --

OBERLE: But --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, we can hear you.

CUOMO: Great. And you are now experiencing the eye of the storm. Is that true? You have a little bit of a calm period.

What are you seeing? What are you feeling?

OBERLE: Yes, the eye of the storm just passed over us. There's been a slight break in the weather.

We are without power right now. We have a generator running and hooked up.

Our road, as you can see behind, is experiencing some water. This is typical, especially for a category one with the amount of rain that we have received which is I want to say upward of about eight inches overnight.

We lost power around 1:30 in the morning.

But we're doing quite well here and hopefully, everything holds up.

CUOMO: All right. Now, as you know but just to state the obvious, nothing is moving around you right now. You know it's not over, right? You have the whole back side of the storm that follows the eye. As we've all learned, who cover this stuff and lived through it, it is the worst sense of false security that you can have. You understand that you've got half a storm yet to go, yes?

OBERLE: Oh, absolutely. We completely understand living here in beautiful, sunny Wilmington, North Carolina that, as anyone who lives here should know that, the backside of the storm is the worst.

The wind directions are going to change. That is guaranteed.

Currently, right now, it is fine. Everything's nice and calm. The eye is currently over us. Even though that it has diminished overnight and (audio gap) de-strengthened to a category one. But still, we know the impact that that backside will have on -- especially, tree limbs.

CUOMO: Yes.

OBERLE: As you can see, we have quite a few trees which are we are concerned about but haven't lost any yet. We're keeping our fingers crossed but we're just bracing for another round of torrential rain, possible flooding, and winds.

CUOMO: All right, so stay safe. Hopefully, the next part of the storm goes as well and uneventfully for your two as the first part did. Thank you for talking to us.

Let's go to Chad Myers now, our meteorologist.

Getting some more gusting here now Chad, but we know that this is just the first course of the meal to come. The eye of the storm -- you've coached us through it many times when it comes to coverage.

Tell us what they're seeing in Wilmington and what the reality is to follow.

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Finally -- finally, our crews can begin to dry out in Wilmington because they were really in it. In fact, Wilmington picked up four inches of rain in one hour. In just the last hour, 4.0 inches.

And so our little live shot we had was right there and there you see that that is the center of part of the eye right there. Our crew is still right there, still seeing some rainfall, but that is the calm eye.

And like you said and he said, that's not it. There's all this that's going to come your way very, very quickly as it moves on by.

Now, this storm did pick up some motion this morning because in the overnight hours it just sat there. And there was a threat that this wasn't even going to be on land until maybe noon. At least now it's moving something -- maybe six miles per hour and the rotation's still there.

But this part of the eye isn't so bad as the eye that's already gone by. That is truly a wet, very windy, 102 mile per hour storm that we've had in that area just now in the past, I'd say, half hour or so has finally gone on by.

We do have a tornado watch in effect for these bigger cells that are still headed up toward the north. Unfortunately, those bigger cells are also headed to New Bern, which has had so much water from rain and also from the water pushing in with surge.

We talked about surge and I'll just briefly -- go on this briefly here.

The surge has been here -- obviously, to the right side of the eye -- and also in here, pushing the water into New Bern because it's into the Pamlico Sound and on up the Neuse River and on up the Trent River. At New Bern, those two rivers come together and that's where the water has smashed together and gone up almost 10 feet overnight for a 10- foot storm surge.

We know right about here, Emerald Isle, your surge is seven feet right now. And also, more surge coming onshore just to the south of there.

And many of these islands Chris are eight feet tall. And so you say oh, well, they've got some room. No, because you have 10- to 15-foot waves on top of that surge that's already over the dune.

So those are the ways we talked about that are going to be destructive right now and those waves don't stop for another 16 to 18 hours. They're going to keep coming and coming and coming because this is the bubble we've talked about. That's the bubble of water and now it's onshore.

[07:35:15] CUOMO: And I'll tell you, it's hard to tell people what to expect because I've never seen a storm of this duration before. I mean obviously, Irma was very different than this. Other big storms that we've covered, they can be worse in intensity but not in duration, and we don't know what that's going to mean.

And also, sometimes within one city you have very different realities. We just talked to two folks -- they're in the eye right now. We know the plus-minus of that.

John Berman -- we're waiting for a shot to get back up because he's still getting pummeled by the worst of it.

So there's variability --

MYERS: Three miles away.

CUOMO: -- within even the same area.

MYERS: Right, yes. The shot's just three miles away, yes. There he is.

CUOMO: And -- is he back up now? Can he --

MYERS: I can see him. CUOMO: We can see John. He's OK. He and his team are dealing with this.

We're waiting for him to get audio. As soon as he does we'll get him back in control of his show. Javi, the E.P., he'll let me know -- the executive producer.

So Chad, you know, you keep making this point about duration --

MYERS: Yes.

CUOMO: -- and for us, it's the opposite end of the scale, right? We already have about 6,000 without power. The rain has been since about 4:00 in the morning, Eastern Standard Time. We've seen the gusts.

MYERS: Yes.

CUOMO: A little bit of wetness -- not really that much, just the wind.

The concern will be the softening and that people who didn't leave think that it won't be that bad. It's only going to be bad up north.

What's the reality?

MYERS: You know, I couldn't hear what you were saying, I'm sorry.

But I have the forecast radar here and it will show us what the next 16 hours will look like. And I want to put a dot right where you are. It's actually a sun. I'll just make it because you're such a sunny guy.

Up here toward the north the rain continues and we're talking 4:30, 5:00, 5:30. This is this afternoon and the rain is still coming onshore here.

You begin to pick up some backside rain here -- not front side yet -- and this goes all the way until midnight tonight. So you don't even get onshore flow Chris until over midnight -- 2:30-3:00 in the morning and that's when everything changes for you.

That's when the offshore wind that's pushing the water away will begin to push the onshore water on, and that's when you start to get surging. Now we hope at that point in time that the land has taken enough punch out of this storm that you don't get the surge like the people here on the east side have right now. It's 11 feet in some spots.

CUOMO: So is it safe to tell people that it won't be as bad as you go further south?

MYERS: Well, we've always hoped that but the potential was that the storm didn't make its way onshore -- it stayed offshore maybe 10 miles and then scoured the entire landscape of the South Carolina beaches. That was always a possibility.

Right now, we're still not seeing that left-hand turn that has been forecast for so long and we thought that would happen.

When you get a cat three or cat four storm that has -- is barreling -- it was doing 17 -- it takes some time to slow that thing down. It has momentum all by itself.

Now that it's onshore, we are going to lose some power -- that's the good news -- but not very quickly. And then by the time it gets down to you -- let's say 18 hours later -- it might be a 70 mile per hour storm; not 90 anymore. Your gusts may be 75, not 100.

In fact, Wilmington, not that far -- it's called Smith Creek. They just had a wind gust to 100 miles per hour in Wilmington proper -- Smith Creek, the little reporting station there.

Downtown at the airport, the gust was 82 and that was the highest gust that they've had since Donna in 1960. So this is a big wind event.

So we're just hearing that landfall has been confirmed. Javi, where is it? Wrightsville Beach -- exactly where we were talking about.

And it's still a 90 mile per hour storm. And we expected that to be still a 90 mile per hour storm Chris because as this thing made landfall right there it hasn't lost any pressure.

The lower the pressure, the bigger the storm.

CUOMO: All right.

MYERS: We will -- we -- sorry. We -- as the lower the pressure goes --

CUOMO: All right, Chad.

MYERS: -- the -- go ahead, go ahead. I have too many points in my head right now. Go ahead.

CUOMO: Sorry. I want to get to John because he's in the thick of it --

MYERS: Yes.

CUOMO: -- and we want him to take the audience through how they're holding up there. So John, please tell us how you're doing.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Hopefully, you can all hear me right now. We've been in this storm -- the thick of this storm for about 30 minutes.

We just got confirmation that the eyewall -- the eye did make landfall in Wrightsville Beach about six miles from where I am with a wind speed of about 90 miles per hour.

You've been hearing Chad say we're getting gusts here of 100-105 miles per hour which is why we're having so many technical problems simply because our gear is just getting waterlogged and blown everywhere. [07:40:06] Now, this is the eye -- the outer eyewall and now the inner eyewall of the storm here. That is where the greatest wind speeds are, which you can see -- 90, 95, 100 mile an hour gusts. This will exist here for some time.

But that's not the biggest threat of this storm. The biggest threat of this storm, as you've been hearing all morning, is the duration. It's that the tropical storm force winds will stick around for a long time. It will simply bear down on so many of the structures.

But more importantly -- but more importantly, will lead to the storm surge which is what we saw up in New Bern which is where those water rescues are and we'll continue to see as it moves down the coast.

The storm surge issues -- well, they're still very real in New Bern and could get worse. You'll start to see more communities that are affected by it, including so many of those beautiful barrier islands. Oak Island, I was on yesterday, could see a storm surge of six to nine feet, which will wash away the dunes and flood right into those houses.

More than 400,000 people without power in North Carolina already. That number will go up.

We're waiting to hear from FEMA. We'll hear from Brock Long and FEMA in the next hour.

We're talking to the National Hurricane Center in the next hour to get the storm forecast.

This storm is just crawling -- crawling down the Carolina coast.

Let's get the latest forecast. You've been listening to Chad Myers all morning.

Chad, you know, you've been promising me that I'm going to be in the eye soon and the winds won't be blowing quite as strong. We're not there yet.

MYERS: You missed it. You just got eyewall and only eyewall.

And here's what I want to tell you and your crew -- that the wind is about to change direction by 90 degrees. The wind was coming from the north and now it will be coming from the east because you didn't get any of this dark area here -- like we had guests on T.V. a little bit ago with not a breath of wind three miles from you.

So here comes your wind from the east, so prepare for that. Make sure your stands are there, your lights are all ready to go, for a big wind direction change of 90 miles per hour this way.

In fact, Wrightsville Beach just had a wind gust with that right there at 105. That would be the biggest gust of the day so far.

And then, after your east wind John, you're going to get a south wind because you are going to get all sides of the eyewall. You missed the eye.

BERMAN: Thanks for that, Chad.

So I missed the eyewall. I missed the only break. I was going to get -- now I'm going to get the rain and the wind coming from a different direction and we will prepare for that.

CUOMO: All right.

MYERS: You OK, John?

CUOMO: All right, look -- obviously -- in a storm, obviously, you're going to have communications issues. That's not unusual.

BERMAN: You have me back?

CUOMO: All right, there's John.

BERMAN: You have me back? All right.

My cord just literally split --

CUOMO: Yes, John. We hear you.

BERMAN: My cord just literally split into. The cord just split into at the connector right now. I had to plug it back in. I'm back.

My cord is in my hand right now. If my crew can hear me, some duct tape might be helpful.

The wind speed, as you've been saying -- the winds here -- we're getting the gusts of 100 miles an hour. Chad Myers just warned us that the wind direction will change.

Chad, now that it has changed direction and the speeds that kicked up, how long will we be feeling these winds?

MYERS: Well, you know, the storm is still even 90 miles per hour on the other side. But eventually, as you go from your north wind to your east wind, which is right up here -- right here in Kings Grant -- this is where the wind is coming so far from the east at 90 or 95 miles per hour.

Then eventually, I would say in another 20 minutes, your wind is going to come from the south, but that will likely only be 75. And only 75 is an oxymoron -- I get it -- but it won't be what you're seeing right now.

BERMAN: It won't be what I'm seeing right now -- OK. Well, the wind will die down.

And then how long though will we get the tropical storm force winds? We've been telling people they could be feeling winds above 45 miles an hour until tonight maybe.

MYERS: Oh, I think that's for sure. Here it is. I know you don't have a monitor and at times you can't

even see your camera because the wind is so hard, but I'm going to advance you all the way to midnight tonight.

Here's where we are -- 9:00, 10:00. There goes the eye over Wilmington and slightly sliding to the west.

Now we're at 2:00 this afternoon. Wind is still coming up here on east side battering the shore that has already been battered.

Now we're still 7:00. The eye just getting to Chris Cuomo at North Myrtle. And by 11:00, the winds still onshore and this is when your surge gets there. That's midnight surge for you John, and it is eyewall for you, Chris Cuomo, somewhere around 11:00 tonight.

[07:45:12] BERMAN: All right. Well, Cuomo can have the eyewall. He deserves it.

Yes, Cuomo can have it. He can have it.

CUOMO: I'm just glad you're safe.

BERMAN: He can have it.

The surge -- the surge, Chad. Just tell me about the surge her in Wilmington. Is it a concern here?

I have the East River behind me -- the Northeast Cape Fear River. Do you expect a surge there?

MYERS: Of course, there will be surge because there's so much water -- freshwater up the river that is trying to come down and it's doing OK now because the wind is blowing down the river. But as soon as the wind changes and tries to blow that water back up -- yes, you will get it.

Now, the old forecast for 24 feet wasn't for where you were standing. It's farther up the river when the river gets skinnier and so it's not as wide, and when it's not as wide it won't be as tall. When you make it skinny, then all of a sudden that water goes up rather quickly.

Maybe 10 miles upriver from you, the worst.

BERMAN: All right. Chad Myers, Chris Cuomo, thanks very much.

This is CNN's special live coverage of Hurricane Florence. The wind changing directions but every bit as strong here in Wilmington, North Carolina.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:50:20] BERMAN: All right. John Berman here in Wilmington, North Carolina. This is CNN's special live coverage of Hurricane Florence.

Landfall confirmed at 7:15 a.m. for this storm in Wrightsville Beach, about six miles where I am.

Landfall relatively insignificant given the fact that this storm is so huge and the effects of the winds can be felt for so far, like where I am in Wilmington right now with wind gusts of 90 miles an hour and greater. And yes, when you see the rain and the wind whipping like this it looks tremendous and you can see the impact.

But the biggest danger from this storm has been from the flooding and from the storm surge along the coast and up the rivers here.

Joining me to talk about that is a man who has got great experience in this field, the former governor of North Carolina Pat McCrory, who is up in Charlotte. God bless you for that, Governor. That was a smart move.

PAT MCCRORY (R), FORMER GOVERNOR OF NORTH CAROLINA, FORMER MAYOR, CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA: Well, we're about to get 10 to 12 inches.

BERMAN: You are very concerned.

MCCRORY: Yes, I'm very concerned --

BERMAN: You are very --

MCCRORY: Yes, my heart's bleeding for the people --

BERMAN: Go ahead.

MCCRORY: -- right now. My heart's bleeding for the people of New Bern, Morehead City area, and especially the small towns going inland, in Tarboro and then ahead of Wilmington also. In Fair Bluff, Fairmont, Whiteville.

These are small towns of 200 to 2,000 people. There are no cameras there right now and I guarantee you there are people possibly on their roof right now as we speak.

We have farmers that are losing not just their crops but also their animals and that's going to cause a major environmental issue.

This is going to be a three to 10-day event for the people along these rivers where computer models actually show which neighborhoods are going to flood, and which towns are going to flood, and exactly where the floods will be.

So there could be people right now as we speak, especially in New Bern and in the small towns outside of New Bern, like Bath and Little Washington, that are fighting for their life and worried and panicking right now. And thank God daylight's coming so rescuers could possibly at least see them.

And that's about the only good news that I'm hearing.

BERMAN: Yes, we've been speaking to some of those first responders on the ground -- they're staging. They're prepared to help just as soon as they can. They've got to wait for the winds to die down in some cases.

We have heard of some rescues that have taken place in New Bern. And as you point out, that does appear to be the area of greatest danger.

But you know from experience when you were governor of this state -- Hurricane Matthew -- that when these rivers flood that can be life- threatening. Tell us about that.

MCCRORY: Well, just two years ago in October of 2016, we lost 28 people due to drowning in their cars. And what you do is you have people panic between now and two to three days from now and try to go through the water and they have no idea how powerful that water is.

And right now, if you have someone trapped in a house, say in New Bern or any of the small towns outside of New Bern, they could be panicking and get out in that water, and that water's extremely powerful.

And, by the way, that water is extremely dirty from an environmental standpoint with gas, with fertilizer, and possibly even with dead animals.

I mean, it is bad and I'm just glad daylight is coming out right now.

But the emergency workers have got to also be concerned in their rescues because the weather's not right to rescue them as of yet and these people are going to have to be very, very patient. And yet, the concern is they panic.

And sadly in some of these metro areas of New Bern, Jacksonville, Morehead City, the decisions were made not to evacuate as far as individual families or even the whole towns, and now we're living with those decisions. But my prayers are with them right now.

And this is not just a beach event. This is an inland event of many thousands upon thousands of people in towns that the rest of America has never heard of. But they're good people, they're hardworking people.

And they have yet to recover from Hurricane Matthew from over two years ago. Many of those houses have yet to be rebuilt from just two years ago, sadly.

BERMAN: Yes, and we have heard Jacksonville -- you were talking about the people who were evacuated from a hotel there overnight. New Bern -- we've heard about rescues all night.

Governor, if you can for a second, talk about -- well, I've got to let you go, Governor.

I appreciate your time, Gov. Pat McCrory, former governor of North Carolina talking to us about his experience in this state -- his vast experience. And, Governor, as you know, the danger will last for days.

[07:55:02] So, Governor, thanks very much -- Pat McCrory.

MCCRORY: God bless.

BERMAN: All right.

Hurricane Florence, again, bearing down. Wind speeds 70 to 90 miles per hour here in Wilmington, North Carolina. Confirmation of landfall at 7:15 a.m. but really, just the beginning of the effects of this storm as the surge and flooding will continue for days.

CNN's special live coverage continues right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

BERMAN: Welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. This is NEW DAY and this is Hurricane Florence, which is bearing down on the Carolina coast.

A confirmed landfall for this hurricane at 7:15 a.m., 45 minutes ago in Wrightsville Beach, about six miles where I am -- from where I am right now.

We are still very much in the thick of it here in Wilmington, North Carolina. A confirmed wind gust of 92 miles an hour, which is the strongest wind gust recorded here apparently, since 1960.

And as bad as that is and as bad as this looks, right now where I'm standing in Wilmington, the real danger of this storm isn't the wind, it's the duration. This will be going on for some time -- hours and hours, if not days.

It's the rain falling at three inches per hour, which will fall like this again for days. Twenty-two inches of rain already recorded in Atlantic --