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Idalia Now A Cat 2 Hurricane As It Lashes Florida Big Bend Region; Storm Surge Setting Records In Multiple Florida Locations; Officials Warn Of Life-Threatening Winds From Hurricane Idalia; Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired August 30, 2023 - 10:00   ET

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

[10:00:03]

RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: We continue to follow the breaking news out of Florida. Hurricane Idalia's kind of strophic (ph) strike on the state. New video is now coming in. The powerful storm came ashore as a category three hurricane, but is now a still extremely dangerous category two. It's ripping through Florida with 105-mile per hour winds.

And you can see this reporter from our WFTS affiliate, struggling to stand, at one point getting blown over. This was in Perry, Florida.

And as the storm now tracks across the state, the threat along Florida's coast is not over and it's still dire. The storm surge is still rising. Cars and homes are getting covered. And places like St. Pete's Beach, police say that they rescued at least one person from a trailer home community.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Yes, it is rough out there. Ocean water is simply pouring into cities right now including Cedar Key. This is something people, in this lifetime, in this area, have never seen in person a storm this strong has not battered the Big Bend area in some 125 years.

CNN NEWS CENTRAL anchors John Berman and Sara Sidner are leading our live team coverage they are standing by. John is in Tallahassee where rain has been coming down all morning. And Sara is further south in Crystal River, where the water keeps getting closer and closer inland.

The message from officials right now is still hunker down, stay off the road. Officials say that emergency crews are staged and ready to rescue people if needed as soon as it is safe. We also have crews up and down Florida's West Coast, ready to show you Idalia's power and fury like only CNN can.

Let's get to CNN's John Berman though who's in Tallahassee. And, John, you've been able to drive through part of the Gulf Coast of Florida. And you've seen some of the preparations underway. Take us to Tallahassee and what it's like there.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN HOST: Yes. Tallahassee right now, it is windy with the wind gusts blowing 40 miles an hour or more right now, raining heavily. They could get 6 to 10 inches of rain here. But the area of major concern, even as this hurricane moves inland toward Georgia, still as a hurricane, the major areas of concern are along the Florida Gulf Coast from Tampa all the way up through the Big Bend where they are experiencing historic and devastating storm surge.

I want to go right to Bill Weir Steinhatchee, in Florida, you know, not -- he is about an hour and a half from where I am right now driving, but it's a world away in terms of the level of devastation, Bill. Just describe what you're seeing.

BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, the good news is it seems like the surge has crested here in Steinhatchee. You can see this line of debris. There's some boxes and logs here. It has been receding ever since. But the devastation it is leaving behind is obvious.

This is the Dockside Grill here. The Steinhatchee River brushed its banks. We knew it was going to happen. It normally runs from east to west. We're looking south right now. The force of the dirty side of the storm has been forcing so much water upstream against the current here. And the victims of that are all these fishing community villages, condos, communities.

[10:05:18]

There's not a whole lot of development around the corner this way. Most of the town is behind us on higher ground. So that's good news. But where you were yesterday, John, the Sea Hag Marina, all of that we fear might have been wiped out as it's sort of the first bend in the river coming off of the Gulf of Mexico right here.

The family, the couple who owns this Marina, you could see their mood, you know, shift from hopeful early in the morning to more resigned as the destruction becomes obvious here. But we're also starting to see people drive around, which is probably not the wisest move right now. There's still gusts that are kicking up not as bad as we saw a few hours ago.

But you can understand people's instinct to want to check out the damage, see what survived but then too soon for that, to say the least. John.

BERMAN: All right. Bill Weir, and again at the top, but just to be clear, you said for now at least the surge seems to be going the other direction. I know the tie could still come in more, but for now, the worst seems to have passed?

WEIR: Yes. You can see that it's a very clear line where the -- where the high watermark left its debris there. And it has been receding now fairly steadily about as fast as it came up. At what point in level off, we don't know, but the wind is still holding this water here.

BERMAN: All right. The wind is holding the water there. I am very sorry to hear about the family that owns the Sea Hag, that Marina. That Marina may be gone. Although it is heartening to know that they themselves are OK, and that's what's truly important. Bill, every once in a while here, we do get this really just pounding rain. What are you getting in terms of rain there?

WEIR: We're getting these bands now. We saw them 80, 90-mile an hour gusts for a few minutes a few hours ago. Now, it's probably in the 30- mile an hour range. Still dangerous. We're taking shelter behind one of these grand trees that are here.

But we've seen plenty of this, you know, corrugated steel sheeting tin roofs blowing around, peeling off here. But again, just to sort of level what the locals were telling us. Last night, we went out on a short boat cruise in the calm before the storm with a local captain here who said he was worried that the surge would reach the roofline of the Dockside Grill right there. You can see it, it came up a few feet in inside but nowhere near their worst fears.

That gives you some perspective that probably could have been a lot worse in this area. But as far as what's happening further up, even beach, all of that, we don't know yet. It's too soon to tell.

BERMAN: That's right. We don't have eyes on some of these other areas where the storm surge could be even worse.

Bill Weir, thank you so much for that perspective. Please stay safe and please keep us posted over the next several hours as well.

Bill describing what he is seeing in Steinhatchee there, a town of 500 to 1,000 people, depending on the time of the year. What they are going through, which is quite bad and still developing right now.

Let's go now down to Tampa, obviously, one of the major metropolitan centers of the state of Florida where while the storm did not make a direct hit there, not at all, the storm surge there has been a serious issue. Derek Van Dan is there. Derek, what are you seeing?

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. And the wind continues to push up the water from the Tampa Bay as well, John. We are getting now these intermittent tropical feeder bands. And what was completely visible across Tampa Bay, just moments ago, has now been obscured by this heavy sheets of rain coming in. It is raining at quite a clip, probably a good half an inch to an inch per hour. This will cause lies inland flooding.

And what's happening is this is all working together to create the very difficult storm surge conditions that you see unfolding behind us on Bayshore Boulevard. Now this area floods, yes, during rainy days, it happens. But now, this is in conjunction with the surge of water that has been pushed up with this major hurricane.

The inland flooding meeting it's at the same time. And then also the exaggerated tides from the supermoon and full moon that's happening as we speak. Now, we just went through the low tide cycle. That was at 7:56 this morning. Now we're working our way back up into high tide.

So the concern here is that these surge that already broke record levels is one of those gusts wind that come through. We're concerned that the surge, later this afternoon, roughly 2:00 P.M. are going to be exacerbated by all of these kind of a company of issues here, the supermoon.

[10:10:23]

The storm surge, the push of the water from the storm, that's going to work together to create even further storm surge flooding concerns here along the Tampa Bay region. Tampa, you can't see it, but it is over my right shoulder. We've been here all day and the bay has just been keep the water pushing up creating waves, sometimes towering over two, three stories at times.

And, you know, and as these bands come in, they are literally stinging our face here. There have been spectators from these houses that have come to see the scene unfolding. And, you know, this is different for them. Because they know that this road can flood, but with this amount of water lapping up to the property lines, they know that their homes are at risk as well.

John, so what's going on here. We'll send it back to you.

BERMAN: Yes. Derek, if I can hang on to you for a second longer. And people are driving, they probably shouldn't be in this town. The rain is coming down here now really hard. And I can tell it's coming down hard where you are, too. And you're describing this two-prong concern of the storm surge in some areas, and then the freshwater flooding from inland to out.

But if I can ask you lean on to your immediate logical expertise for a second about the storm surge, we were just speaking to Bill Weir a moment ago in Steinhatchee, who said at least there, it seems like the surge for now may have crested. They're seeing it back off a little bit and they're seeing a debris line there.

Talk to us about how this could work over the next several hours, up and down the Big Bend area, even where you are. Could you see the surge recede some and then come back in again?

VAN DAM: OK. So that's a great question. And what we got to do is we got to visualize how a hurricane rotates, counterclockwise, OK? And so I am on the eastern side of where that center, of where Idalia made landfall.

Where Bill Weir is located, he's likely -- I haven't checked a map, but I believe he would be on the backside of the storm. So the wind direction will be completely opposite to what we're receiving here.

And that's important. Let's compare it to Ian, from September of last year. There was a major difference to what happened in Tampa Bay that had the water literally sucked out because of the direction of the wind was pushing offshore here in Tampa, versus the onshore component that brought the surge to Fort Myers Beach.

Same thing is happening here. We happen to be in the onshore component of the storm. And that is why we continue to see this push, the surge of water that is coming directly off the Gulf of Mexico. John. BERMAN: Yes, it's a really good explanation, Derek. And if you can, and I can't see you. So I don't know if you're just getting poured on or blown around now or what. So if you need to go let me know. But I'm going to hang on to you --

VAN DAM: (INAUDIBLE)

BERMAN: -- as long as I can, because this is such an important in -- this is such important information that we're both going to get wet for the time being.

In terms of the tides, you were talking about the supermoon and the tide rising. How does tide work with storm surge? Storm surge is independent of high tide, but the tides can make it worse?

VAN DAM: Yes. This is just incredible to think the unfortunate coincidence of this timing, right? We have high tide in Tampa Bay occurred about 2:00 P.M. this afternoon. We also have this supermoon.

Let me explain what that is. Supermoon is actually when the full moon is at its closest approach to Earth. It's roughly about 18,000 miles closer than it normally would be on its elliptical path around the planet. So what that does is it exaggerates the tug, the pole on the ocean, and it exaggerates the low tides, but it also exaggerates the high tides.

And now that we have what is a hurricane that has pushed up all of this water in combination with this high tide and the supermoon, we have the potential here for more surge in the locations that have been onshore component like I was explaining to you a moment ago.

BERMAN: All right. And again, the dangerous could persist for several more hours. Derek Van Dam, thank you for hanging on with us as long as you did to give us that terrific explanation about what you're seeing and what thousands of people are seeing all the way up the Gulf Coast around the Big Bend, because the storm surge is what we're most concerned about now, even as Hurricane Idalia moves inland toward Georgia still as a hurricane still delivering hurricane force winds tearing down trees, dumping several inches of water up to 10 inches of water in some areas, including perhaps here in Tallahassee.

[10:15:21]

Let's go back to my friend Sarah Sidner who is in Crystal River, who I understand is also seeing some of that storm surge, Sara.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: We're not getting the rain that you are, we are getting the surge in a major way. Let me let you see where we were. We started our morning all the way down here where you see those palm trees, perhaps. I think you can see those. That is where we started this morning and it was completely dry.

Now, we are more than a football field and a half away. We use football fields here in Florida a lot because everybody knows how big those are, from where the water starts normally. Now, in the -- in the past two hours, we have seen the water rise very quickly. I'm going to take you a little walk around here (inaudible). The Best Western (ph) just take a quick picture of that (inaudible) (technical difficulty)

I'm coming back. I'm coming back. Technologically speaking, there are some things we can do and some things we can't (inaudible).

But right now, this storm surge is really, really serious. I mean, I see fish. There's like minnows all over the place. All of the flora and fauna, all of the animals. Sometimes you could see some of the sceneries and things that are in the water coming up, because basically, the water is just rising like this and being pushed in by the wind.

We are starting to see a little bit of wind come here, but it seems very calm. So for a lot of people don't think, you know, let's go out and check it out. Don't do it. U.S. 19. They're up there. You see those vehicles flashing? So the police they have shut down the road. Why? Because if you look just past it, it is inundated by water.

That big huge garbage can there was being pushed around like it was a canoe in the water because the water, you know, lifts up and that is exactly where it is placed. That is literally in the middle of a highway here in Florida.

This is why they tell people look, it may seem like things have calmed down, because the winds have, but the storm surge is nowhere near at its height. The storm surge will be at its height here in Crystal River at 4:30 in the afternoon, Eastern Standard Time, which means we have several hours to go before we see this rise.

And by the way, it has risen at least five feet, at least from where we were, which is right where the water's edge was. It was completely dry several hours ago. Now, it is inundated with water. I want to now go to and here we're seeing another band of wind, another band of rain coming through, even though these aren't even tropical storm force winds at this point. This just feels like a regular storm during a Florida summer afternoon. But this is definitely from the effects of Hurricane Idalia.

Let me now go to Brian Todd, who is joining us now from another part of the west coast of Florida. Brian, tell me where you are and tell me what is happening where you are at this hour.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right, Sara, we're in Tallahassee, the same city that John Berman is in, but we're in a different location, pretty far away from him in the city. And we can tell you, as John told you a short time ago, we are getting pounded with a volume of water, a volume of rain that we had not seen yet. It is the most intense volume of rain we have seen all morning.

Now the wind is not as much of a factor right now, but we do expect that to be a factor between those two elements. You're going to see some real danger on the streets here. We've had debris flying around, lot of branches. We are getting kind of another intense pellet of wind right now.

Under the Spanish moss here on this old live oak tree. This is a real danger. This was a hurricane a few years ago that we covered here in Tallahassee. Trees like this one, it looks sturdy, but the ground beneath it is saturated. These are the kinds of trees in the City of Tallahassee that can come crashing down.

Another danger over here as I walked toward the street. And our photojournalist Jonathan Obear (ph) is going to kind of show you the power lines and the proximity to these trees. This is what local officials tell us they're worried about. A lot of power lines right near these old oak trees are very vulnerable to coming down.

I just spoke to an emergency management official here in Leon County, telling me that this is the time you've still got the shelter in place. Do not be deceived by the reports that this hurricane is moving away from us, because look at the intensity with which we are getting hit here.

And as you can see, plenty of cars on the road. People still kind of navigating these roads, not a great idea, because local officials are telling us, you have got to let the first responders, the power crews, and the other crews that are trying to get to the streets and clear them of trees. You've got to let them move around. You've got to let them navigate, give them the space. Don't do what these folks are doing and come out on the road.

[10:20:20]

Also, I can tell you been in touch with an emergency management official in neighboring Wakulla County, south of here where the town of St. Marks is, that's where we were yesterday. Very, very vulnerable to storm surge and flooding.

He said, so far, they have not had any reports of extreme flooding. But he says, with a caveat, they have not ventured out yet to really survey the damage. And, of course, right now, you can't do that because we're still getting hit with these intense pellets of rain and wind.

So in Wakulla County, the town of St. Marks, we -- you know, we're going to be monitoring that because that sounds very, very vulnerable to storm surge.

This is the way it looks in Tallahassee now. There was a sign behind me, one of those little banner signs, those advertisements on a -- on a small pole. It was getting whipped around. It has since been uprooted. And things like that, that's like a spear flying around. You've got to also watch for debris flying off the trees and off the buildings. That is a real danger still in Tallahassee.

I'm going to toss it back to my colleague, Boris Sanchez, now.

SANCHEZ: Yes. A lot of danger, a lot of opportunities for danger out there where Brian Todd is in Tallahassee, Florida. Thanks so much for the reporting. SOLOMON: Yes.

SANCHEZ: We have a guest now that's joining us, the Director of Emergency Management in Hernando County, David DeCarlo. David, thanks so much for being with us.

We spoke yesterday and you were putting out a warning to the community about how powerful this storm could be and how serious it could be, especially for areas along the coast. What are you monitoring now? What is the area of most concern for you?

DAVID DECARLO, DIRECTOR, HERNANDO COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: Well, good morning and thank you for having me.

Our area most concern is the west coast of Hernando County. The areas and communities from Aripeka, Hernando Beach, Bay Port, and Pine Island. We are experiencing major flooding already. We have 69 foot storm surge that is still expected to come.

Even though that Hurricane Idalia has made landfall, we are getting that collateral damage now. The water is rising. We've already had to do swift water rescue with boat. We've experienced some fires in that area.

The electric companies have shut down the power for emergency protective measures to save life preservation because that is paramount, but the worst is yet to come. Our high tide is not until about 1:20 this afternoon. With it being the king tide, it's going to last a few hours longer. So we're still -- we're still preparing and helping people.

And again, the message is do not go out there. We have restricted access. We have worked coordinated efforts with our sheriff's office not to allow anybody but emergency services personnel in there. The residents will not be allowed to be to go in there because the worst is still yet to come.

SOLOMON: And, Director, when we spoke with you yesterday, you urged people to listen to the evacuation orders. From what you can tell, have people heeded those warnings? What can you tell us about that?

DECARLO: Some people have, and I'm very thankful. Our shelters -- we still have capacity at our shelters. Our messaging is a shelter is a choice of last resort. It is a lifeboat not a love boat. So I'm sure some other people, the people that do evacuate have found other safe refuge with family or friends.

However, we still have people that have stayed in that area. They are calling 911 for rescue. We are working in coordinated effort with fire rescue, the sheriff's office. But we all have -- also have air assets that are coming in from the National Guard. We have the Coast Guard that are close by down in St. Pete.

But we're prepared -- when the weather is -- allows us to go in there and make those rescues, we will do so. But still the worst is still to come for Hernando County. SANCHEZ: Yes. Director, have you been able to assess just the extent of the damage so far? Do you have any indication as to what specifically has been affected by the storm surge for example?

DECARLO: All the -- all the roads are saturated, it's flooded. You can't get back in there. You'll need an airboat or a flash boats to get back in there right now. There is water in houses. I know we have people in houses, we've already spoke to those individuals that are in that area. Just tell them to hang tight.

We've already had a house catch on fire, and there's nothing we can do for it right now. It's going to burn until it reaches the water level. Again, our high tide is not till 1:20.

SOLOMON: And, Director, as you say --

DECARLO: I'm sorry. Go ahead.

SOLOMON: -- the worst is yet to come. I mean for folks who have decided to stay and still have power. Any sort of way you can quantify how soon before emergency responders can get out there or is it too soon to say?

[10:25:02]

DECARLO: I think it's too soon to stay -- too soon to say. We are keeping in constant contact with the National Weather Service in Tampa. They've been great partners. But again, our high tide isn't forecasted until 1:20. And that's going to extend normal, because we're in the king tide cycle. So we're looking at maybe 3:00, 4:00, 5:00 o'clock this afternoon into the early evening before we're able to get in there and actually assess.

So the water is going to be there for a period of time. And we'll have our shelters open for those that need to seek refuge. And we'll work with all -- with all of our community partners to make sure they're already safe.

SANCHEZ: David DeCarlo, the Director of Emergency Management for Hernando County. Please keep us posted on what you hear. The line of communication are open. If there's a message you need to get out there to your community, we are here. So thank you so much.

DECARLO: Thank you, sir. Appreciate it. Be safe.

SOLOMON: You too. In the meantime, we continue to monitor Hurricane Idalia as it rips across Florida and into Georgia, bringing devastating storm surge and powerful destructive winds. Our breaking news coverage continues after this break.

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