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Hurricane Michael Threatens Parts of Florida Coast; Interview with Florida Senator Bill Nelson. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired October 10, 2018 - 8:00   ET

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

[08:00:00] NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: -- disappeared, killed within two hours of entering the consulate. His body dismembered, cut up with a bone saw. Alisyn?

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Gosh, Nic, it's just horrifying stuff. Thank you for staying on top of this story.

Well, we have more breaking news coverage of hurricane Michael, and it continues right now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN breaking news.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. This is NEW DAY. It is Wednesday, October 10th, 8:00 in the east, which means we just got the brand-new update from the National Hurricane Center, and it is sobering -- 145 miles an hour winds for hurricane Michael, a powerful category four storm with signs that it could strengthen even further. This will be the most powerful hurricane ever to make landfall on the Florida panhandle.

I'm John Berman, as I should say, in Panama City Beach, Florida, right on the panhandle. Alisyn Camerota is in New York. This is our special live coverage of hurricane Michael, which is a very dangerous storm, catastrophic. Category four, storm surges high as 14 feet in some places, and that wind speed of 145 miles an hour catching some people by surprise as they wake up.

We just spoke to people who have chosen to ride out the storm, but they made that choice when they thought this was going to be a category two hurricane. It is now a category four storm, and there's nothing they can do about it. The governor of Florida, Rick Scott, has said that the time to evacuate has come and gone. The time to take refuge is now. You need to stay where you are. The roads are not safe. You need to be as safe as you can given the circumstances. Again, we just got a brand-new update from the National Hurricane Center, so let's bring in Chad Meyers to get a sense of exactly what we're seeing. Chad?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: John, they're going with 145 miles per hour right now on the surface. We saw something around 155 aloft, but that doesn't count. That's at 7,000 feet where the planes are flying through it. So translated down to the surface, around 145. And that was the forecast for landfall, 140 to 145, so now we're there. Hopefully it doesn't get bigger than this, higher than this. And let me show you what you can hope for in the coming hours. We do

have a tornado watch in effect. Some of those storms are Tallahassee or maybe even not that far north of Florida, could see some rotation with a small tornado falling out of it. There is the eye itself, about 100 miles or so from Panama City, and then eventually going right over Panama City and into the Carolinas.

Now let me get you back to the hope. The hope is that this inner eyewall falls apart. I know you can't see it out there, but it is very impressive. And this right here is where the maximum winds are, through there, through there, and here and here. If, if we can build another eye wall around this in the shelf now, the Gulf of Mexico where this is getting shallower. If we can get rid of that warm, deep water and we get an outer eyewall to kill this inner eyewall, it's called an eyewall replacement cycle, the storm could go back down to maybe 120. That would be amazing.

It is not the number that we're worried about in the eyewall. It's the size of this thing. It continues to affect all the way from Apalachicola to Tallahassee and all the way west to Mobile. It is a big storm. It has a very low pressure, and really the only hope we have of getting these numbers down would be that eyewall replacement cycle. Right now it is not in the cards, but it does happen sometimes when the water gets shallow, so we're crossing our fingers here.

BERMAN: All right, Chad Myers, stick around if you can for a moment. Do we have -- OK. In a moment, Chad, we're going to speak to Ken Graham, the director of the National Hurricane Center. I want you to stick around for that interview. In the meantime, Chad, let me ask you a few questions.

MYERS: Sure.

BERMAN: Exactly where and when? There hasn't been very much variation in the forecast to this storm, but when do we expect the eyewall to make landfall and where?

MYERS: Likely the eyewall somewhere around 1:00 to 3:00. Panama City maybe over toward Laguna Beach. If it turns to the right, and I haven't seen it yet, hasn't turned, that would be your Mexico beach area.

So, yes, still a very strong storm as it moves over the Florida/Georgia line. So the winds in Tallahassee could be 110 miles per hour even though you think they're not on the coast, this thing isn't going to slow down. The winds over Georgia are going to be between 70 and 95 miles per hour there. So here is where the real damage is, the bad side of the eye, but there will be also winds at 100 or more from Destin through Fort Walton Beach, and then this surge that we talked about now up to 14 feet potential. That's St. Marks, Apalachicola, and the like. The wind is the story right now. Let's hope for an eyewall replacement cycle. That would certainly bring things down maybe 20 miles per hour. Right now I don't see it.

[08:05:06] BERMAN: All right, Chad. Chad, stick around for a minute if you will. Joining us is Ken Graham, the director of the National Hurricane Center. Ken, thanks so much for being with us. People lucky enough to sleep woke up to the news that this had been become a powerful category four storm. We just heard 145 miles per hour sustained winds. What are we looking at here?

KEN GRAHAM, DIRECTOR NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER: Yes. We keep getting those updates from the aircraft and we've upped the winds to 145 miles an hour. We're now 90 miles southwest of Panama City. So it is just incredible. This is going to be one of those situations that is definitely going to be historic, incredibly dangerous. And you know what's interesting, looking at the records back to 1851 in the vaults here, we can't find another cat four in the panhandle like this, so this is truly historic and very dangerous.

MYERS: Ken, it is Chad Myers here. Question about Tallahassee. You got the university there, you got the capital there, trees all over the place. This could bring down thousands and thousands of those pine trees here, not only making all the damage along the coast but inland as well.

GRAHAM: That's such a good point that you make because you think about this, you look at this forecast, and I think it is important to look at it because a typical cat four like this, you get those kinds of winds, it is catastrophic damage to the trees, structures, roofs off. Weeks, if you go historically, the power outages could literally last weeks because it is absolutely overwhelming.

But look at this. We focus so much on the center. And I'm trying to get people to really think about it, 185 miles away from the center, those tropical storm force winds are occurring, and even 40 miles away the hurricane force winds. So still a hurricane over Georgia and a tropical storm over the Carolinas. So catastrophic wind damage associated with the trees along the coast but also stretching into portions of Georgia, maybe even the Carolinas by the time it is all done.

BERMAN: Brock Long, FEMA administrator, told us that was one of his areas of biggest concern that people in Georgia aren't paying attention the way they need to because there's been so much focus on Florida. Ken, I look behind me, I see the ocean here really beginning to kick up. We have been told the sea level is already two and a half feet higher. The storm surge here is the major concern, particularly east of where I am as you get to Apalachicola. I understand now the storm surge predictions are upwards of 14 feet?

GRAHAM: Yes, we just updated it because what happens is you start worrying about it. There is so many things about that go into storm surge, the size of the storm. So many things go into that, and the track as well. You get little jogs in the track. So we have updated this. Think about it. Tyndall Air Force Base, the Aucilla River, possibly nine to 14 feet.

We have to think about this for a second. Those values, taking that tide and putting the storm surge on top, that does not include the waves. The destructive waves are on top of this. We could get another two to three feet or so, very destructive waves on top, as far away as Destin six to nine feet, as far as away as Tampa, St. Pete you get two to four feet on some of those typical roads flooding. So very dangerous. Half the fatalities in these tropical systems occur with the storm surge and then 90 percent total including the inland rain, that's what causing those fatalities. So we've got to make sure we're protected from that as well.

MYERS: Sir, it is Chad again. This place hasn't really had anything like this in the, I don't know, five generations that people have actually lived there. And very few of the homes, at least until recently, were not built after Andrew. They were pre-Andrew construction. What is that going to look like with 145 miles an hour wind?

GRAHAM: Yes. You're going to have that incredible destruction. So you talk about -- we have already mentioned the trees and the power lines, those prolonged power outages. But let's talk about the structural damage. You start getting a cat four winds, right now looking at the latest, still 145. That's destroying houses. That kind of wind for a period of time could definitely destroy houses. You're going to see roofs off houses, you're going to see houses collapsing. You're going to see incredible structural damage. And that's incredibly dangerous to everybody as well.

The other thing, those trees, when they fall, they have got to fall on something, and it is incredibly dangerous as well when the trees fall on those houses and cause the damage and people get hurt that way, too.

BERMAN: Director, is there anything at this point that could slow this storm down, that could reduce the power of the storm before it makes landfall?

GRAHAM: You know, sometimes I have seen cases where they slow up a little bit towards land. But we got to focus continuously on the impacts because even if you have an eyewall replacement, even if you slow up a little bit before land, usually what happens is you will have an expansion of that wind field when that happens. And that will throw more storm surge into some of these areas. So either way, the impacts are going to be catastrophic whether we slow down at this point or even gain a little bit more power. Either way the catastrophic impacts are going to be the same. This is incredibly dangerous situation.

BERMAN: Incredibly dangerous situation. Ken Graham at the National Hurricane Center, thank you very much. Chad, thank you for playing along. Just a reminder what we heard from the governor a short time ago who said that the time to evacuate has come and gone. The time to take refuge is now. You need to stay where you are. That goes up and down the coast from where I am. About 60 miles from here is Apalachicola which could see some of the worst of the storm surge. That's where that 14 foot, that new estimate of a 14 foot storm surge is. And that's where we find CNN's Derek Van Dam. Derek what are you seeing?

[08:10:09] DEREK VAN DAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John. I'm standing on Highway 98, this one of the main thoroughfares through Apalachicola. That way is Panama City. Let me get you to this side. That's the ocean. That's where the water is expected to come up.

We're concerned about the storm surge. We keep talking about it. The new projected numbers, between nine and 14 feet. That means water approaching some of the first floors of the buildings in and around where I'm standing right now.

Do yourself a favor. Look at the map of Florida. Notice the Big Bend area. That is the area that's shaped like a C. It is almost as if it is a catcher's glove or a catcher's mitt. When a hurricane with the force of hurricane Michael comes in from the Gulf of Mexico, it takes all of that accumulated water and dumps it in the form of storm surge. And on top of that, just like the National Hurricane Center gentleman was talking about a moment ago, the waves could add an additional two to three feet on top of the absolutely high storm surge that we're predicting in this location.

The vegetation around me, this is a lot of trees, a lot of pine, a lot of palm. We're surrounded by a national forest here, John, and we are expecting thousands upon thousands of trees to fall in these catastrophic winds. And that is going to make it virtually impanel to pass or navigate any of the roadways once hurricane Michael decides to leave this area. Now, of course, we have the worst to come. Many of the businesses have been boarded up, people anticipating this storm to really make its worst appearance here by the middle of the day.

This is Derek Van Dam reporting from Apalachicola, Florida. John, back to you.

BERMAN: All right, Derek Van Dam over in Apalachicola. Derek, thanks so much.

I can hear, I believe, in Derek's microphone the wind beginning to pick up there. And that's happening here as well in Panama City Beach. You can see there's a brief break in the rain. It's been raining really hard for the last two-and-a-half hours. We're getting a little bit of a break from it. But just as the rain goes away the wind has begun to pick up and we get our first look at the ocean behind me. Just ferocious, ferocious seas there. And we're watching that very closely as the storm surge begins to move in. Already four feet higher than normal in some areas, particularly where Derek just was.

Joining us now is Florida senior senator, Bill Nelson. Senator Nelson, thank you so much for joining us. We know you have been watching this storm very closely over the last several days. And I'm sure you, like the rest of us, when you woke up to the news that it reached a category four level, that must have been a cause for major concern.

SEN. BILL NELSON, (D) FLORIDA: Indeed, John. And the storm is going to hit in about four hours. So you better have a place to get to. It's too late to evacuate for folks. I was just there in Panama City. I came here to vote on the water bill of which we have critical projects for Florida, and I'm flying back in just a couple of hours. And I will be out in the panhandle tomorrow. This is -- this is deadly serious. I want to comment about the building structures. We had a couple of

hurricanes in the '90s in the panhandle. And I will never forget going along the beach. There is a structure that was built to the new building code, and it withstood. There was one built pre-Andrew building code and it is demolished. And I think we're going to see a lot of that in this storm.

BERMAN: I think you're absolutely right. There are plenty of buildings here that are still older. And just so you know, I don't know if you were warning me or warning people that they have to have a plan here. We do have a plan here. We're going to leave the water's edge here in just about an hour because it won't be safe to be here. We're going to get about a mile inland and take shelter there.

Senator, the storm surge is such a cause for concern, and you talk about the wind damage to the structures. These structures can't withstand a 13-foot storm surge, can they?

NELSON: That's right. And that's why if you are anywhere near the beach, you've got to get away from the beach, because on the right side or the east side of the eyewall is the strongest winds. And they're going to be pulling that water, and it's shallow water. There is a storm surge that could be up to 12 to 13 feet. You just think how tall you are and think 13 feet above mean high tide, and we're talking about a wall of water along with the wind that's going to come through with an excruciatingly destructive force.

[08:15:03] And that's why you want to get to a safe place as high ground as possible.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: We have been talking about the coast quite a bit because that's where I happen to be standing. But this won't just be a coastal event. This will head inland 100 miles from where I am is Tallahassee. They could see an impact from a major hurricane, correct?

NELSON: Indeed. And there it will be the wind. It is such a canopy town with all those beautiful live oak trees. A number of people will go down. It will make the roads impossible to travel.

It's going to down the power lines. That's going to happen throughout the panhandle, and folks are going to be without refrigeration because they don't have, unless they have a generator.

By the way, if you have a generator, get it outside because the carbon monoxide will come in your house and it is a lethal silent killer. And that happens after every hurricane. Get your generator outside.

BERMAN: Yes. It's such a good point. You have to make good choices. Not just today. Right now, the immediate good choice is to stay where you are, get to a safe place within your house.

But you need to make good choices over the next several days. Don't drive through standing water. Don't drive near down power lines. Don't use your generator inside. That's such a good point. And just as you need to be prepared for the next few hours, Senator,

people need to be prepared for the next few days and weeks and the possibility of power outages which could reach very, very high numbers based on which this storm looks like, correct?

NELSON: Indeed. This could be several weeks without power. You just think where all the trees are, all the down lines. It's going to take a while before they can finally get the electricity back up.

BERMAN: All right. Senator Bill Nelson from Florida. Thanks so much for being with us. We'll see you back down here in Florida tomorrow.

NELSON: OK. Thanks, John.

BERMAN: And I should note at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time, we're going to hear from Florida Governor Rick Scott. He is going to brief on this storm. He has been saying for the last several minutes the time to evacuate has come and gone. The time to take refuge is now.

Also, a dire warning, the first responders, they're not going to be able to help you for the next few hours because they have to stay safe and the conditions will just be too dangerous.

The wind beginning to kick up here in Florida. The most powerful hurricane ever to hit the Florida panhandle very much on its way.

Stay with us. Coming up, we're going to speak to a couple of people who have chosen to ride out the storm.

This is CNN's special live coverage of Hurricane Michael.

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[08:21:27] BERMAN: All right. John Berman live in Panama City Beach, Florida.

We just got new satellite imagery of hurricane Michael. You can see just how immense this storm is with that very clearly defined, very menacing eye wall right there in the middle. This is a huge storm. It is a destructive storm. It is a category four hurricane, maximum sustained winds now of 145 miles an hour.

It will be the most powerful storm ever to make land fall in the Florida panhandle. I don't know if you saw that right there. The water just came up here.

This is where the seas just came up where I'm standing right now. Creeping ever closer, about two and a half to three feet higher than normal already. The storm surge here at Panama City beach could get to nine feet. That is very, very dangerous.

Now, we heard from the governor a short time ago who said that the time to evacuate has come and gone. The time to take refuge is now.

Joining me now two women who have chosen to stay here in Panama City beach for the duration of this storm. Janelle and Tracy, thank you so much for being with us. Tell me why

you chose to stay.

TRACY DUNN, RIDING OUT STORM IN PANAMA CITY BEACH: Well, we -- for one thing, we didn't expect it to get to this. We thought maybe two or three. But there is so many people that live around where we're at, they are staying. We wanted to stay and make sure they're okay. We realized they weren't going to leave and there were a lot of older people, a lot of people with animals, so we made the decision to try to stay.

BERMAN: Let's take three steps up. On the hill here we keep on looking back to that sea there that creeps ever closer.

You said you didn't think it was going to be this bad. When you woke up this morning and saw a category four, what did you think?

DUNN: I thought, well, we'll just have to make the best of it and pray and hope for the best. Because, like I said, it is not in our nature to leave anybody behind, and we would rather make sure they were taken care of. So that's why we're here.

BERMAN: So how are you going to get through this? What are your plans? What provisions have you made?

JANELLE FROST, RIDING OUT STORM IN PANAMA CITY BEACH: Well, we have boarded up. We've got our water, flashlights, mattresses, just hunkers down, taking care of the old people, the young people and the animals.

BERMAN: So, a lot of your neighbors did choose to stay. And people need to know. You hear mandatory evacuation. That's not enforceable. They don't come and force you to get out. So people have to make the decision themselves. A lot of times the safest choice is to leave, but people choose to stay for their own reasons.

Why did all these people choose to stay?

FROST: I think a lot of them it wasn't optional. They didn't have children down here or family members. Big retirement community down here, and a lot of them didn't have a place to go or were afraid to leave.

Same way with the people with animals, especially people with bigger dogs. They couldn't board them. They couldn't leave them and they just wouldn't leave your babies.

BERMAN: A lot of times people feel like they have nowhere to go or can't afford to go and these choices can be very, very difficult.

You are a mile away from the beach. It creeps ever closer. You're about a mile from the beach, tell me the conditions around where you are.

DUNN: Actually, it's not that bad where we are right now. A little wind, a little rain. No flooding, no water. FROST: Still have power.

DUNN: Still have power.

BERMAN: That's not going to last. You know that's not going to last.

DUNN: Not going to last. Fortunately, I've been here. I've rode out Ivan. I've rode Opal.

[08:25:02] We came home. We had no shingles. We had a few debris, but not much.

BERMAN: You hear Ivan, Opal, Dennis, those are the names we keep on hearing. But the fact is Michael is going to be worse than one of them in terms of wind speed, 145 miles an hour.

As we look, I look along the coast here, people can't see, there is some buildings that are new and look very strong. Others not so much. Are you convinced the houses that are around you with built to withstand the wind.

FROST: The one we're in has gone through some major, major storms. That will be our salvation would be that home. The newer homes that have been built, I couldn't say. We'll just hope for the best.

But like I said, the one that we're in it is pretty storm weathered. So like I say, we'll just pray and hoping for the best. Tell our families we love them and hopefully we'll see them soon.

BERMAN: I was going to ask you that. Do you have loved ones who may be watching not from this area that you want to send a message to this morning?

DUNN: All of our friends and family, Georgia, Alabama. We love them. Just pray for us. That's it.

FROST: Same here. My sisters, Claudine Davis (ph) and Michelle (ph). I love you. You knew I had to stay. So this is where I would be to take care of everybody and the animals. So, hope you understand.

BERMAN: I know this is hard. Are you finding it hard because the fact that you chose to stay or hard because you know that people are worried about you?

DUNN: Both, both.

FROST: Definitely both. But it was the way our parents raised us. We have never been one to run from a fight. When we know we're going to be needed, Tracy and I are always the first people there to try to help someone.

DUNN: Well, the thing is I can't bring to myself to turn my back and go down the road knowing that I have left old people, young kids, people in need, animals and me turn my back and go down the road knowing they're left behind. I can't do that. I'm going to stick it out with them. If I go, I go with them. BERMAN: Are you more concerned about yourself? Or are you concerned

about the people you are taking care of.

FROST: Definitely the people. If we were more concerned about us, we'd have left two days ago, honestly.

DUNN: Everybody else first. You shouldn't be that way at times, but --

FROST: It's just the way we were raised.

DUNN: It's the way we were raised and friends and family is not always blood. They're who you make your family.

BERMAN: All right. Tracy and Janelle, listen, thank you so much for being with us. Please stay safe. Stay strong. I mean, everyone around you is going to need your strength over the next few hours. We know you're ready. Make sure they're ready as well. Thanks so much for being with us.

We're going to hear from Florida's Governor Rick Scott in just a moment. He has a live briefing about this storm. Hurricane Michael, as we've been talking about. It is the most powerful storm ever to hit the Florida panhandle.

The people have chosen to say, they're as ready as they can be, just hours now from impact.

Our special live coverage of Hurricane Michael continues after this.

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