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Tornado Damages Up To 100 Homes, Closes Schools In Virginia Beach; Mississippi River Floodwaters Spill Into Downtown Davenport, Iowa; Border States, Big Cities Brace For Surge As Title 42 Ends Soon; Texas Set To Bus More Migrants To Chicago Despite Mayor's Plea; Zelenskyy: Preparations For Counter-Offensive Complete; Neighbors Pay Respects To Those Killed in Missile Strikes in Ukraine. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired May 01, 2023 - 13:30   ET

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

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[13:33:16]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: State of emergency in Virginia Beach, Virginia, after this huge tornado that you see here tore through the city on Sunday. A resident was able to capture this as tornado sirens began to blare.

The destruction here is widespread. Emergency services say up to 100 homes were damaged as winds whipped through the area, tearing down trees, collapsing roofs as well. Several schools were forced to close today as emergency crews begin their cleanup efforts.

We have CNN meteorologist, Chad Myers, here with more.

This was extraordinary, something you do not really see in this area.

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: That's absolutely correct. This was an EF-3 tornado, middle of the scale, but very high up on the damage scale here.

So we had houses moved off the foundations. Roofs completely destroyed.

Three tornadoes over the weekend. Two in Florida and one in Virginia Beach. Here comes the storm. There goes the weather, across Virginia Beach, moving from the southwest to the northeast.

This is what happened. Temperatures were very, very warm. Humidity was warm. All of a sudden, a cold front came through and spun these tornadoes up. This one here in particular.

There's only been four tornadoes in Virginia Beach since 1900. The biggest being an EF-2 or F-2 at the time. And this was a three. So the largest since 1900 or at least equal to it. Because remember, we changed the scales from "F" to "EF" scales.

But we're in the middle now. We're in the middle of tornado season. Right there. That's the peak coming up here. And we will see more weather coming up.

But not this week. Just cold weather coming up this week. No real threat of tornadoes when you have temperatures that are in the 40s and 50s -- Brianna?

KEILAR: I suppose that is the good news there.

Chad, thank you so much for that update.

Jim, you are looking at some major water damage potentially here.

[13:35:01]

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN HOST: Yes. Windy where you are. Super wet in the Midwest, dangerously so. Flooding the main concern right now.

A slow-moving swell triggered by a massive snow melt up north, it's now pushing down the Mississippi River. Flood warnings in place all the way from St. Paul to just north of St. Louis.

Parts of downtown Davenport, Ohio (sic), that's what it's looking like there - Iowa, rather, under water. The city saw flooding after the river broke through a temporary barrier back in 2019.

But a crest, the high point of the waters, is expected sometime today. That could exceed 21 feet, which would rank in the top-10 historic crests. We're always breaking history records with weather lately.

CNN's Adrienne Broaddus is in Davenport, Iowa.

Adrienne, what are you seeing there? It's wet. It's deep where you are. Any relief coming?

ADRIENNE BROADDUS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Relief is on the way, Jim. The river rose slowly and it's going to recede slowly as well.

I'm standing in the same sport where I was standing Friday. On Friday, I could see the street. That is not the case today. River Drive looks like a river, literally. And folks have been coming by to take pictures.

Above, you will see a bridge. There's a bunch of people up there snapping photos. And we've even seen some kayakers floating along River Drive. We'll tell you about the kayakers in a moment.

But first, I want to talk about the business owners. We spoke with some business owners who said history has been their best teacher. Over the weekend and throughout last week, they put up a temporary wall and sandbags. They believe those sandbags are holding.

By contrast, the owner or manager of a local restaurant, which is about one block away from the river, told us she expects at least $40,000 in damages. That's an ugly situation for her.

But some people are finding beauty in the situation -- Jim?

SCIUTTO: Adrienne, good to have you there.

I have to say, as I've been watching this, this is ingenuity, right? You put in some pylons, traffic pylons, a ladder, and that's how you fill the sandbags. Folks figure it out when they need to.

Adrienne Broaddus, thanks so much.

Boris, over to you.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Coming up, police say a Texarkana baseball player who was shot in the chest during a game was not the intended target. The latest on his condition and the search for a second suspect.

And Chicago's mayor is asking the Texas governor to stop sending migrants to her city. This and more when CNN NEWS CENTRAL returns.

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[13:41:54]

KEILAR: Now to some of the other headlines wore watching.

Northeast Texas authorities arrested one person, looking for another after a college baseball player was shot during a game over the weekend.

Texarkana police cleared this field in Spring Lake Park after they said an 18-year-old from Texas A&M, Texarkana, was struck in the chest by a stray bullet from a nearby shooting. He was in the bullpen area at the time. The player underwent emergency surgery and is listed in stable condition.

The CDC will soon stop tracking the spread of Covid-19 at the community level. Instead of the color-coded tracking system, the agency will keep tabs on infection mainly through hospitalizations in some areas.

The end of the nation's public health emergency next Thursday means the government can no longer require labs to report Covid data.

And more angry protests in France over the government's decision to raise the national retirement age to 64. A CNN team on the ground saw demonstrators shoot fireworks and other projectiles at police, who responded with tear gas as they were retreating. Dozens of protesters were detained.

Boris?

SANCHEZ: Brianna just talked about the official end of the Covid-19 pandemic, and it will have tremendous implications for immigration as well. In 10 days the pandemic-era immigration policy, known as Title 42, ends. The U.S. anticipates a major surge in migrants crossing the border.

Already today, Chicago is bracing for busloads of asylum seekers to start arriving again from Texas.

CNN's Jeremy Diamond has been following this story.

Jeremy, Title 42 allowed the Biden administration, and before that the Trump administration, to quickly expel migrants who cross the border.

Now that it's ending, there's something like 35,000, 36,000 migrants reportedly waiting in cities across the border to across. What is the Biden administration going to do?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's exactly right. The Biden administration is anticipating a surge of migrants following the expiration of this Title 42 policy in just 10 days.

But already, even before those thousands of people who are across the border are expected to cross, we're already seeing some signs of strain along the U.S.-Mexico border. Detention facilities along the border are already over capacity, according to a DHS official.

And if you look at the numbers, already this year, we have started to see the number tick up, about 23 percent increase from February to March in the number of encounters along the border.

In recent days, that number, we have seen about 7,000 encounters per day. That is towards the higher end of what these agents typically experience.

The Biden administration has been working there, looking at new policies that would prevent certain migrants who cross other countries before getting to the U.S.-Mexico border from seek asylum protections at the border.

They're also looking at expediting some things. They're also increasing legal pathways for some of these migrants.

But we're seeing the strain, not only on the border towns, but also in cities, major American cities.

That's where Lori Lightfoot, the mayor of Chicago, comes in. Because she's warning about the government of Texas restarting busing migrants there.

Listen to what she said this morning on "CNN THIS MORNING."

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[13:45:01]

MAYOR LORI LIGHTFOOT (D-CHICAGO): We are completely tapped out. We have no more space, no more resources. Frankly, we're already in a surge. We've been seeing, over the last week, 200-plus people come to Chicago every single day.

And I'm solely compassionate to the fact that the borders are themselves really overrun. But you don't solve that problem by simply sticking people on buses to a city that they didn't ask to come to. (END VIDEO CLIP)

DIAMOND: Boris, the Biden administration says they are providing resources not only to the border towns, but also to some of the cities that are experiencing migration surges.

But again, as we look toward the expiration of Title 42 in just 10 days, it shows you just how broad this problem will be. Not only the border towns, but major Americans cities likely to experience some strain.

SANCHEZ: And potentially, a political problem for the Biden administration as he runs for reelection.

Jeremy Diamond, thank you so much for that.

Jim?

SCIUTTO: As Russia just punishes Ukraine with more airstrikes, new signs that Kyiv, the capital, and the country may be preparing to strike back, as Russia's war machine faces a new crisis. We're live from the Ukrainian capital, next.

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[13:50:50]

SCIUTTO: We've, of course, been covering the war in Ukraine for some time, but these stunning new pictures show the brutality of the fight for one city in the east, Bakhmut.

Look at those explosions. And this is a daily event, many times a day.

We are learning as well that a U.S. Marine was killed on the outskirts of Bakhmut just last week. The mother of Cooper Harris Andrews said he was killed by a mortar. Sadly, his body has not been recovered yet.

The mercenary Wagner group has been doing most of the fighting for Russia there. Its leader is threatening to pull out, saying that Moscow has stopped supplying his forces with ammunition.

That threat comes as the Kremlin has fired the military leader in charge of supply lines for the forces in the east.

Ukraine says it is now fully prepared to launch a counter-offensive. Of course, it's not saying when or where that counter-offensive will take place.

For now, Russia is still launching attacks across the country, many of them targeting civilians. Officials say that overnight missile strikes injured at least 34 people.

CNN's Nic Robertson is in the capital, Kyiv.

Nic, of course, Ukraine is not going to tip its hand as to where and when it's going to launch this counter-offensive. They do have high hopes. This, despite the fact that Russian forces are well dug in, in the east.

Tell us what we know about these preparations and just what kind of fight we should be prepared to witness now.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: The Russians are believed to have as many as 369,000 troops inside Ukrainian territory. That's a big number. That's three times what there was at the beginning of the invasion. So there's literally a wall of men to go through.

One of the things that's been holding the Ukrainians back is the poor weather. It's been sunny the past few days. That will help get a counter-offensive going and give it some momentum.

But when Russia speaks about hitting its targets here, as it's claiming to do with those missile volleys fired at Kyiv and other parts of the country, that doesn't stack up. Nothing hit here in Kyiv.

Further south, as you say, 34 civilians were wounded, five of them children.

But as we saw in Uman on Friday, the reaction and the resolve of the community is so strong.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTSON (voice-over): In the shadow of death, there is love. Floral tributes and toys for victims of Russia's strike in Uman, Friday.

Anya (ph), 15-years-old, is paying respects to her near neighbors.

"So many innocent children died," she says. "I'm so sorry they're not alive anymore."

More than a day after the apartments destroyed, recovery winding down, 25 dead, six of them children.

Victoria (ph) points to where her father lived.

(on camera): I think this one with the blue wall here?

(voice-over): She lists all the neighbors who are now dead. On the ninth floor, a grandma, her daughter, and two great-grandchildren. On the eighth floor, a father and son. On the seventh floor, a mother and daughter, my best friend. And on the sixth floor, a young couple, both 30.

Her father survived.

"It was a miracle," he says. "They rescued me with a ladder. And people gave me clothes."

Victoria (ph) shows us documents, a letter to her now dead friend, the photo of another neighbor. She tells us she found them blowing in the wind.

"They're so important," she says. "They're all that's left."

(on camera): The recovery is painstakingly slow. The wait for answers about the missing just as painful. But in all the grief there is humanity. And there is anger.

(voice-over): In a nearby school, neighbors sought clothes, a gift for survivors who lost everything.

NATALIE ALEPIKHOVA, VOLUNTEER: We saw all this family, the children they were crying. And I don't know, we just felt that something we need to do to help them.

[13:55:01]

We feel some hate for our Russian neighbors, if we can call him like that. But most we are focused on helping just only happen.

ROBERTSON: Police already documenting the scale of the loss.

Boris Bov (ph) telling them his vehicle destroyed.

"It's not what's been destroyed that matters," he tells us. "It's the loss of lives. We sent photos of the destruction to our distant relatives in Russia so they can see what their army is doing. They didn't reply," he says.

All around, life is being put back in some sort of order. The broken patched up. But ask anyone about repairing relations with Russia.

(on camera): What do you think about Russia now?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Animals.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Imagine that, for the next generation, Russia's attack, a life-shaping memory.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCIUTTO: Nic Robertson, in the capital, Kyiv, thanks so much.

And a sign of another big fight to come in that country.

KEILAR: We'll be watching that.

A manhunt still underway for a man accused of killing five of his neighbors. We'll have the latest next hour on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

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