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"Extremely Dangerous" Hurricane Idalia Slams FL As Cat 3 Storm; Cat 3 Hurricane Idalia Could Bring 16-Foot Storm Surge; FL Big Bend Region Slammed By Its Strongest Hurricane In 125 Years. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired August 30, 2023 - 09:00   ET

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

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[09:00:36]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: We are tracking some major breaking news this morning. The worst of Hurricane Idalia is now striking Florida as an extremely dangerous Category 3 storm.

RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN HOST: Yes, Idalia was packing 125 miles per hour winds as Florida's vulnerable big bank coast took a direct hit. We are now seeing catastrophic storm surge and flooding. Conditions have been called apocalyptic and are life-threatening. Major bridges in Tampa are closing as they get lashed with waves.

And this, this is what winds of 125 miles per hour look like. You can see the gusts driving the rain and at one point sending debris flying across this parking lot. This is happening in Perry, Florida. The water this hour still rising with storm surges up to 16 feet possible in some areas.

Now, just about one hour ago, white caps were just starting to hit the front yard of this orange home in Steinhatchee. Within 30 minutes, the water now nearing the roof line.

SANCHEZ: Yes, the images we're seeing right now are simply unprecedented. This is historic because Idalia is now the strongest storm to make landfall in the Big Bend region in 125 years. We want to take you to the region now.

CNN News Central Anchors John Berman and Sara Sidner are kicking off our live team coverage. John is in Tallahassee. Sara is a bit further south in Crystal River. Let's go straight to John Berman now. John, what are you seeing where you are?

JOHN BERMAN, CNN HOST: Yes. Boris, Rahel, thanks so much. I'm in Tallahassee, the capital of Florida, where it is raining at times heavily, where the wind has been picking up. Gusts here have been 40 to 50 miles per hour. Tallahassee has never been hit with hurricane force winds. Unclear if that will happen as the storm is now passing south and a little bit to the east of here.

But Tallahassee will be very much in this severe storm zone for several hours. The major concern, and the thing I think we want to stress all morning long, is the danger from Hurricane Idalia is not over, and in fact, might very well be increasing right along the coast.

The storm made landfall in Keaton Beach, but in Steinhatchee and other areas along the Gulf Coast, the storm surge could increase over the next several hours. The water levels could rise over the next several hours as the tide goes up and as that wind. Even though the eye of the storm has moved inland, not far from where I am right now, even though the eye has moved inland, the winds are still moving in the direction, pushing the water up on the shore.

So this is still a very dangerous storm. And there are certain areas we don't have eyes on yet to know how bad the storm surge is, even as it continues to get worse. As I said, here in Tallahassee, the Capitol, this is where Governor Ron DeSantis and other state officials are coordinating the storm response, they can't get out much right now.

They can't really move around even here because there are times -- and you will see over the next few hours -- there are times when the bands move through here and the wind is coming in from this direction, blowing debris, and the rain is falling and is simply blinding. They're expecting 6 to 10 inches of rain here, which could lead to severe freshwater flooding, puddling and things.

They don't want people out. They don't want people driving. There are trees, big, beautiful trees, in some cases all over this city and this inland region. So many reports now of trees down, major tree damage in areas. So getting around, getting the response teams to the places they need to be, whether it be in the inland areas or along the coast where the storm surge is, will be very, very difficult.

As Boris and Rahel said, we've got people all over the Gulf Coast and now inland as the storm moves in them. Here's some wind coming in to cover this storm as it moves through into Georgia. I'm in Tallahassee. Let's go down the coast. Sara Sidner is in Crystal River. Sara experiencing, I think, some of that storm surge.

SARA SIDNER, CNN HOST: We absolutely are. And it is really starting to show rear its ugly head, if you will now. I am about 165 miles south of where John is, and I want to give you a view of what we're seeing here in Crystal River now.

Crystal River is a very low lying place. It's 3,400 or so people who live here, residents. It's a small town. It is also a town where the entire area of the town is in a flood zone, which is why authorities ask people diligently please to evacuate because of the storm.

[09:05:10]

Not necessarily because of the winds. We are not getting hurricane force winds. We're getting now tropical storm force winds. And some of the rain is starting to come down. I'm going to open up here and let Adolfo give you a view of what we're seeing.

Probably about 15 minutes ago, maybe 20 minutes ago, this was clear. There was not water here. This is the parking lot of the Best Western Hotel, for anyone who has been to Crystal River. The parking lot now has, I don't know, about 1 foot of water that is covering the parking lot. This was not the case 15 minutes ago.

But you can see we were standing early this morning right where that blue sign is that shows Florida's treasure, which is the manatee, and showing that this is where people come to see manatees. Now we are seeing this water really rise, really come up.

And here's the deal. This isn't even the worst of the storm surge. This is just the beginning. We are just past low tide. Low tide. High tide is not expected until about 4:30 this afternoon. So we have a ways to go. And at 4:30 this afternoon, we will really see what the effect of this storm will be on Crystal River because this is about a storm surge event and a rain event, not so much here a wind event.

We're not seeing damage from very strong winds. We are only seeing floodwaters rise up here. We are right next to the water. But almost the entire town is at the same level, near sea level, and that is why they have been trying to get people to evacuate.

I do want to give you some sense of what we've been seeing around here. There are people that have stayed. There are some people who have come to this hotel because it has a second story. Most homes in Florida do not have basements. There is no reason for them because they'd be inundated with water, without a hurricane. Very low water table here.

So most people don't have basements, but a lot of people are very near the water. I'm going to give you an example. And when I say very near, I mean on the water. You see this house right here. Now, that house is not technically flooded because the bottom story of that house, they have actually built so that water can come in. There's nothing down there.

They live on sort of the second floor of that. But the water where it is right now is a few feet up that house. It is going to at least double that. So you see that window there, that is closest to the boats and the water. The water could come up very close to that. If it gets to 9 feet, that's a lot of water, that's over my head by a lot.

And so that's the big concern here. It is the storm surge, the flooding. And we have this thing called a king tide, something that we don't see every day. It is a strange conglomeration of a lot of different things happening at once. A hurricane, a major hurricane that has not hit this area like this in about 125 years.

And you have this conglomeration of the stars. You've got the moon going to be a majorly -- I've forgotten what they call it. I'm sure John will remember because he's a genius. But you've also -- you will see a king tide. And that king tide is going to cause some serious problems when you have this kind of weather pushing the water off and onto shore. John?

BERMAN: Yes, it's a supermoon, I think, Sara, tonight or expected very soon. The moon -- SIDNER: Thank you. I knew it. I knew it.

BERMAN: -- actually closer. Chad Myers keeps on telling us -- Chad Myers keeps telling us the moon is closer to Earth than it's been, which is making the tides more powerful, which is the exact wrong time for this.

To emphasize what Sara is saying, the storm surge is happening right now and getting worse. I just got word that Idalia is now a Category 2 storm. As it moves inland, the wind speeds are decreasing. But as bad as the wind is about 100-105 miles per hour, that's not the story that we're most concerned about right now. It is the storm surge.

I'm going to go to Bill Weir, who's in Steinhatchee right on the coast. Bill, I was with you there last night. I just saw pictures of where we were standing last night. The water is now over where our heads were, substantially over where our heads were. Just tell us what you're seeing.

BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is the Steinhatchee River where you did that live shot yesterday. The banks of it. It normally would flow from east to west. But right now, thanks to the dirty side of Idalia, it is pumping upriver now. And we're watching pieces of the Sea Hag Marina and those docks and everything and between here and there floating, being pushed upriver now.

I saw an entire dock sailboat still attached going upriver. A lot of concern for the few sailors who decided to ride it out on their boats just around the bend here.

[09:10:01]

But we did our morning live shots down where those white buildings are on the other side where the river was at its normal level here. Now it's well over this road. We're sort of hiding from the wind behind the cedar block (ph) motel here, and we're ready to run from the water. Thankfully, we have a way out of here and we're at about 25 feet of elevation, but it gives you a perspective now.

This has got to be -- I don't know, I'd have to guess, it's 10 feet of storm surge? We don't have the Sea Hag as reference from the longtime locals who were here in 2016 when it got to 6 feet. But, I mean, your heart breaks for the family, the couple that owns this motel and the marina across the street. And they had cleaned out all the inventory yesterday in anticipation of a worst case scenario.

This is their worst case scenario, at least for the boat operation. The motel, thankfully, should be OK up here. The wind gusts now, really it wasn't until the last 20 minutes that we started to see some really nasty winds. It was oddly calm most of the morning, but now it is pounding, John Berman. And you wouldn't recognize the place.

I have a pit in my stomach thinking about driving around here yesterday. It's sort of a hidden jewel, this town of about a thousand amazing fishing birding here. We're next to the nature coast, and so you just got to worry about folks' livelihood and their lives in the near term. John?

BERMAN: And lives are what's most important. And so many people did go, but some people did stay there. Bill, I just want to ask while I have you, you say the Steinhatchee now moving inland. The water is flowing inland with the storm surge as it is. If it continues to get worse, what is worse like there? Can you even fathom what it would be like if this goes up another 2 feet, 3 feet, 4 feet?

WEIR: Yes, it would just mean more total losses of property. You know, most of the older construction, that's what makes it so charming. Sort of the old fishing shacks are here, but there's also retiree communities. Prefabricated mobile home type places are no match for this storm surge.

I'm looking across the river and there's some newer construction up on stilts. It looks like they're going to be OK. So again, there's always those neighborhoods that show what resilience looks like for those who put in that initial investment. But again, this is sort of one of the least populated areas of Florida. So if there's any kind of silver lining, it's not like a major center like Tampa taking the brunt of this, but that's cold comfort to the people who live here and are worried about everything they have.

BERMAN: No, their lives are there, Bill. Please, to you and your team, stay safe. Keep us posted there. It is a treacherous situation in Steinhatchee, and again predicted to get worse.

As Bill just mentioned, the population in Steinhatchee is anywhere from 500 people to 1,000, depending on the seasons. It's not much. It's a very sparsely populated area all along where Idalia made landfall. It's a different story as you move further south. Tampa is not where it made landfall per se, but it is experiencing very dangerous storm surge.

Let's go to Derek Van Dam who is there? Derek, what are you seeing?

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, John, exactly what you're saying. This proves the point that you don't need to be near the center of the storm to feel the impacts of this major hurricane, which now I believe is a Category 2. But let me just set the stage here. This is Bay Shore Boulevard, Tampa directly over my shoulder. And a very angry Tampa Bay over my left shoulder.

We've been watching the water just pound in across this beautiful boulevard. And as John was mentioning, this is a more highly populated area compared to the Cedar Key region, for instance. Remember that this is the strongest hurricane to make landfall in the Big Bend in over 125 years.

So why are we here? We're talking about the storm surge and we just a moment ago, before crossing to me, we saw high water rescue vehicles from the Tampa Bay Police drive behind us. So they're out investigating these communities directly impacted here along the shoreline of Tampa Bay.

And what we've noticed here is the water receding by, let's say, 6 inches, perhaps 1 foot. But we're concerned because we know that we're in a low tide cycle right now. The high tide occurs about 02:00 this afternoon. We already set record high -- record storm surge in the East Bay and old port Tampa, old Tampa port earlier this morning.

And now, as we approach another high tide, according to the mayor who we had on in our 08:00 show, is talking about the worst is still yet to come.

[09:15:04]

There are three factors at play, and that being the supermoon, which is on its closest approach to Earth. So that has that tug on the tides. It makes the low tides more exaggerated and it makes the high tides more exaggerated. So supermoon, we've got inland flooding from the interior parts of the Florida peninsula and then we have that tremendous amount of water that has surged in ahead of the Idalia.

So all of these three working in combination to create the storm surge threat from Tampa Bay northward into the Big Bend. And we are worried that this water will continue to rise as we reach that high tide level later this afternoon, with all of those three working against us. So the tornado threat here is real. We understand that as well. The flash flooding inland is real.

So, so many components to this very dynamic storm. But really our storm surge threat is our greatest concern here, John. Remember, you can hide from the wind, but you can't outrun the storm surge, right? This is dangerous and it means business.

BERMAN: Yes, absolutely. Derek Van Dam in Tampa. It is dangerous and the storm surge is why tens, if not hundreds of thousands of people up and down the Gulf Coast around the Big Bend where I am right now, up to Tallahassee, need to be on high alert and need to be vigilant for several more hours because the storm surge could very well get worse.

As bad as it was where Derek Van Dam is standing in Tampa, and as awful as it is in Steinhatchee where Bill Weir is. The next several hours could see the waters rise even more. And Sara, it's hard to even imagine what that means at this point.

SIDNER: I agree. And you talked about in several hours things could get worse. We're not going to see high tide here in Crystal River, Florida until 04:00. That's in seven hours. So we have seven hours to watch this water. And by the way, it's not inching up, it is flooding up quickly.

We keep moving back because the water keeps coming. We are almost at the end of this parking lot here as we are watching the water just rise and rise and rise. If it hits the maximum of what they think it could do, it could be 9 feet. I'm 5'9". We're talking way over my head, if that storm surge happens in the way that has been predicted.

We are hoping it doesn't. We are hoping it stays a bit lower. But no one has ever seen that kind of a storm surge here in modern history. It's been 125 years since the West Coast and this part of the West Coast has seen a storm like this. So people need to beware. Most people have already evacuated. There is still time, by the way, here in Crystal River to leave. We see people actually leaving as this water starts to come up now.

Now, I wanted to get to our next guest who is with us. His name is Rob Herrin. He is with the Hillsborough County Fire and Rescue. Sir, thank you for what you do, and thank you for joining us. Can you tell us now, at this moment in time, what are the dangers for the people who live in Hillsborough County as you know it?

ROB HERRIN, PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER, HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY FIRE RESCUE: Right now, it's water and rising water. We have several teams that we had prepositioned since yesterday that have begun surveying the areas of our lowest lying areas, where hopefully we've had residents that evacuated, sending back the information to our command center.

We have law enforcement helping with road closures, and we have these teams outdoing what we call windshield assessments. It's kind of a rapid, you know, where we need the most needs, and then we'll backfill that with what's called a technical research and rescue team. As citizens need rescued from their homes, we'll be there to do it.

SIDNER: Thank you for that. We know that people were told in low lying areas that they really did need to evacuate. We also know that every hurricane that has ever come through Florida or anywhere else for that matter, there are always residents who stay. Some of whom maybe they can't get out in time, some of whom are just hard headed like me, and they stay in place hoping that they survive this storm.

Can you give me a sense of have you seen it like this? Because I know that, you know, your county has seen storms before. Your county has gone through tropical storms, flooding, hurricanes. Sometimes you get more than one during hurricane season. How is this different or is it? Is this something that you think that people have seen before there?

HERRIN: I don't think we've seen anything of this nature in quite a while within Tampa Bay area. You know, we warned against this storm surge, and as you said previously, it's now combined with a supermoon, a king tide. It's kind of like everything's coming together, and it's this delay that we fear that residents will walk outside, see it's sunny outside, think everything's fine, but there's more water coming.

[09:20:06]

So we haven't really faced anything like this in a while. And like you mentioned, we do have some residents who feel like the Tampa Bay area has a bubble over. And hopefully, you know, this is enough to keep everybody safe but get their attention so that if anything in the future happens again, they'll heed some warnings and go ahead and evacuate.

SIDNER: The Tampa mayor we spoke to last hour, she told us that there are a couple of bridges linking Pinellas and Hillsborough County that have been closed at this point. So those who are stuck on either side will just have to be there until those bridges are reopened. Can you give me some sense of whether you think that those residents who may or may not have heeded the warning if they may underestimate these storm surges?

Because, I mean, where I am and I know it happens there, where you are, it gets sunny, it gets nice, or it gets a little bit windy, and it seems like everything is OK to go out and go check things out. Do you think that there are some people who are seriously going to underestimate the power of this storm surge?

HERRIN: I think there will be, and I'm hopeful that, you know, they do kind of stay if they decided not to evacuate. Our message now is to stay where you are until you hear they all clear from postal officials. We don't need you out on the roads. The roads, a lot of those, especially if you're in an area that you should have evacuated, are impassable right now.

Electrical lines could be down. There's still so many hazards after the winds and rains have cleared, that we need to make sure our residents and visitors are aware of. But, yes, I'm hopeful that there's a little bit of a wakeup call for those, and I hope everybody makes it through it safely. Confident for that.

We're ready to respond. But at the end of the day, I hope maybe it's a little bit of awake up call and, you know, moving forward. They'll evacuate when asked.

SIDNER: Can you give me some sense, sir, of how many people that you have available? Because I know that you all have said this over and over, and it's something that people are just going to have to live with, that in the midst of this major surge that you can't go out and rescue somebody. If you're putting your own people in danger, then they would need rescue, and it would just be a domino effect. That does nobody any good.

Can you give me some sense, though, of the numbers of people that you have from your department who are ready to go when the time is right for them to go out and help people and try to clear roads and try to get to people if they have stayed and are in danger.

HERRIN: Yes. We have doubled down our normal, you know, crew during a shift, so we have several hundred firefighters that are ready to respond from the stations. We've also spun up, you know, well over a dozen technical search and rescue teams and rapid needs assessment teams that have specialized personnel.

We have boat assets with swift water rescue technicians, several of those that are standing by. We've even moved those to the areas that we anticipate the most need. So Hillsborough County Fire Rescue is certainly in a position and has already exemplified, that we're ready to respond and assist those citizens that need us that may not have evacuated.

SIDNER: Rob Herrin, thank you so much, not only for joining us. I really appreciate that. But thank you for taking care of the citizens the way you do. Thank you to your firemen and women who are out there and are going to be there for people. We love our firefighters in this country. They take care of us when times are absolutely the toughest, putting themselves in danger. We surely appreciate you and please take care of yourself and your family for us.

We'll check back with you in the next few hours as this storm surge continues to rise. Appreciate you, sir.

HERRIN: Thank you.

SIDNER: All right, let me toss it back now to Boris, the pride of Hialeah and Ms. Rahel.

SOLOMON: Thank you, Sara. And Sarah, thank you for being there in Crystal River, bringing us these pictures. Our thanks to Sara, John Berman. We have reporters up and down the sort of western coast of Florida who we will be checking with throughout the show.

But Hurricane Idalia now weakening slightly to a Category 2. Hundred thousand people in Florida still without power, still sort of flash flooding, warning, that sort of thing.

SANCHEZ: And the storm surge continues and it is going to get worse, because as Sara noted a moment ago, high tide is coming in a few hours, already on top of a 12 to 16 foot storm surge in some areas. There is going to be quite an effort at cleanup and obviously, as this is ongoing, a focus on emergency rescue and other efforts on the ground.

When we come back on CNN News Central, we're going to hear directly from FEMA Director Deanne Criswell. She has an update for us on what is happening on the ground. More on this historic storm when we come back.

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[09:29:06]

SOLOMON: Welcome back to CNN's breaking news coverage of Hurricane Idalia. So a short while ago, a reporter from our affiliate WFTS, was in Gulfport, Florida. As floodwaters rise there amid warnings for residents to stay at home. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JULIE SALOMONE, WFTS REPORTER: All morning long, we have been hit with kind of those outer rain bands. It'll be raining and then it'll stop for a little while and then the wind will just move in. The rain will just move in. And this area behind me is Gulfport, Florida. It's in Pinellas County. And this area is prone to flooding.

I'm going to step out of the way so you can see just how flooded some of these roads got. Again, this area is prone to flooding. The city says it flooded in the past during Tropical Storm Ada a couple years back. It's right in front of the Gulfport casino and the bay here is nearby. So that's really that storm surge that's pulling the wall water onto land.

This is what county officials were warning people. They said overnight the storm surge would move in and they were concerned about flooding.