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Hurricane Milton Designated as Category Four Storm as It Approaches Landfall in Western Florida; Authorities in Florida Urge Those in Path of Hurricane Milton to Evacuate Homes and Businesses Ahead of Storm Surge. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired October 09, 2024 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. RON DESANTIS, (R-FL): Gas stations are running out quicker than they otherwise would.

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MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Now, state troopers in Florida are even escorting some of the fuel tanker trucks to the gas stations that need it the most.

John, one other point here is this is all happening before the storm. After the storm, the big thing to watch is how much damage gets done to the port of Tampa. This is a major port of entry for fuel supplies into a port that ends up supplying the entire state. So we need to watch that very carefully.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, Secretary Buttigieg, the secretary of transportation, said that it is a major focus of his today and will be tomorrow. Matt Egan, thank you so much. Great to see you.

EGAN: Thank you, John.

BERMAN: A brand new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's just no ifs or buts about it. We're going to get hit and it's going to be hard.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Quickly secure your home or business and safely evacuate the area.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're trying to get everybody out from Milton, and we're trying to get all the debris up from Helene.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You can't take no chance at all.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know that this storm is really serious.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To ride out the storm?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What are you guys doing?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're actually trying to find a place to go.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're sold out actually until Friday.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were able to come out and do some rescues for families with kids that decided to try and hunker down, and that was not a good idea. I hope that people learned from that and decided to leave. Once we leave, there will be no first responder here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you don't take heed, you're on your own.

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KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: The breaking news, a brand new update on hurricane Milton is now out this hour. The monster storm is a category four storm. That's downgraded slightly from where it was as a cat five. Wind speeds are now at 155 miles an hour. This is just shy of a cat five. But make no mistake, this is a behemoth. This is deadly and dangerous as it is expected to keep this intensity until it makes landfall in Florida along Florida's west central coast tater tonight or early tomorrow morning.

Tampa, Sarasota, Fort Myers, those are some of the cities that could all see a direct hit with storm surge predictions that are being described at this point as un-survivable. In minutes, we're going to speak with the director of the National Hurricane Center to get the very latest on the track and the timing and the intensity. Bottom line, Milton is on track to become one of the most destructive hurricanes in Florida's history.

Moments ago, I spoke with the sheriff of Hillsborough County that includes Tampa, and he is pleading once again for people to get out.

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SHERIFF CHAD CHRONISTER, HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, FLORIDA: Why gamble? Why would you gamble with your life for the lives of your loved ones? Get out. Even if it's inside the evacuation area, to a hotel, to a friend's house. We know it's an inconvenience. We know you're going to be uncomfortable. But you'll be alive.

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BOLDUAN: CNN's Randi Kaye and Isabel Rosales standing by along Milton's path. Let's get straight to you, Randi. It's very clearly starting to rain. What are you seeing there?

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, good morning, Kate. Conditions are certainly deteriorating here. We are on South Shore Drive in Sarasota. So we are along the water where they are expecting here a potentially record breaking storm surge of 10 to 15 feet. Keep in mind the storm surge for Helene was about seven feet, so they are quite concerned.

If you just look at this dock here behind me, you can see that boat. That boat is potentially going to be taken out by that storm surge and possibly by the winds. There could be 140 mile per hour winds here along the shore.

And then across the way there, if you can see there are a bunch of homes along the water. Many of them have their hurricane shutters up, certainly boarded up. A lot of people have left town because of what they experienced with Helene. We've been driving around Sarasota. It's really like a ghost town. They seem to be heeding those warnings, and after officials said to get out or you will die, in some cases, those people have and left town.

We did see a lot of debris all over the area here from Helene that was left behind. People have been emptying out the contents of their homes. We've seen China cabinets and dressers and mattresses and refrigerators all along these neighborhoods. So it's certainly a concern.

We did speak to one woman just yesterday who told me that her husband rode out the storm, hurricane Helene, in Siesta Key, which is a barrier island off Sarasota, which is now closed. They've closed the bridge. So anybody who is still on those barrier islands is now stuck there through the storm. But her husband rode out the storm there, and he was up to five feet of water. Water was up to his chest. Here's what she told me about what they're plan is for Milton.

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KT CURRAN, RIDING OUT HURRICANE MILSON IN SARASOTA, FLORIDA: That night he got not power. He had no phone, and we lost touch with him.

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And we found out the next day there was a five-foot surge of water in the house, and he was all night in the pitch dark in five foot of water.

He sat there for hours on the top of a neighbor's high house until the water went down a little. And then went back in the house and laid on a wet bed until light came up.

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KAYE: And Kate, you would think that they would evacuate for Milton. No, they are staying right here in Sarasota for Milton. They're on the ninth floor of a condo building in downtown Sarasota, which they say can withstand, was built to withstand a cat five hurricane. So they're certainly hoping that they will be safe. Kate?

BOLDUAN: All right, thank you. The important thing we're seeing right now, conditions are deteriorating right where Randi Kaye is. The new alert out -- we're going to speak with the hurricane director, national hurricane director shortly -- new alert out. It's a category four. This thing is progressing. Randi Kaye is standing by. Randi, thank you so much.

Let's get over to Isabel Rosales now, who is in Tampa. It's raining there as well. Tell us how things are going there.

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Kate. Good morning. I'm keeping my eye on the Hillsborough Bay right now. You can see during normal times the water levels are already pretty high up. This is Bayshore Boulevard, an area that is notorious for flooding. Back during Helene the storm surge got so bad that it actually reached the walls of the Tampa general hospital, which is the region's only level one trauma center. So I am keeping my eye on the water levels here, especially in the worst scenario we could be seeing double the storm surge here in the Tampa Bay region. Of course, that is very dependent on lung landfall for that.

Obviously, the messaging from officials right now is very much go. Evacuate if you can. This is the 11th hour. We heard that from the sheriff Chad Chronister, and hopefully people are taking that advice. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Isabel, thank you. Randi, thank you. We've got people stationed all along the path.

BERMAN: All right, let's get right to the director of the National Hurricane Center, Michael Brennan. We just had the 8:00 a.m. advisory. Michael, if you can hear us, give us the very latest on the forecast and the track.

MICHAEL BRENNAN, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER: Yes, at this point, unfortunately, Milton remains on track to make landfall along the west coast of the Florida peninsula late this evening or overnight tonight as a powerful large hurricane. Right now, it's about 250 miles southwest of Tampa, moving to the northeast, faster now, at 16 miles per hour. And you can see on the radar imagery, we're already seeing heavy rainfall moving up along the west coast of Florida into the Tampa Bay region across central Florida, even into north Florida. So we're going to see the rainfall continue, the threat for tornadoes develop, and then were going to see those tropical storm and eventually hurricane force winds move on shore later today and into tonight.

And then we're going to see that catastrophic storm surge play out near and just to the right of wherever the center of Milton crosses the coast of west central Florida overnight tonight.

BOLDUAN: And Michael, you talked about the speed, 60 miles an hour now. Can you give us -- just put that in perspective for us, because people want to know how long they're going to be in this. When it makes landfall, how it will -- and even before then, how long are they going to be in these catastrophic conditions? What are you seeing?

BRENNAN: Well, we're expecting landfall to be some time in the overnight hours tonight, early morning hours on Thursday, and then by the time we get to tomorrow afternoon, we're going to see the center of Milton emerging out into the western Atlantic. But it's going to be a very rough 12 to 18 hours for most people. Those very worst conditions are going to first reach the west coast of Florida with the tropical storm conditions beginning this afternoon, hurricane conditions tonight. That devastating storm surge is going to hit right around the time of landfall. Even the waters are going to start to rise this afternoon. With each successive high tide cycle, the water is going to get higher and higher. And then as we go through the I4 corridor, those worse conditions are going to be this evening and overnight. And over to the east coast of Florida during tomorrow morning and into the afternoon.

BERMAN: I know everyone's looking for wobbles at this point because a difference in 20, 30 miles in either direction makes a difference for one city or the other. Where are you seeing? And I know that there could be a change at any minute between now and landfall, but is it moving north? Is it moving south? What's the expectation?

BRENNAN: Yes, we still have various scenarios that could play out that could have the system come in, the center of the system come in north of Tampa Bay which is the worst-case scenario for funneling that storm surge into the Tampa Bay region itself. We could have the center come in over Tampa Bay a little farther to the south, which would bring that catastrophic surge into Manatee, Sarasota, even down to Port Charlotte. So everyone is at risk of that. Those wobbles of 10 or 20 miles really aren't predictable on any kind of timescale. But as we see the general track of the center towards the west central coast of Florida, the risk at this point when everybody needs to have taken those precautions and gotten out, we just cant tell you exactly what the exact location is going to get that worse surge right now.

BOLDUAN: Michael Brennan, thank you so very much.

[08:10:00]

The important piece of this is it's not just tonight, and that's what Michael was saying. The water is going to start rising this afternoon. We see from our correspondents, conditions are already deteriorating.

BERMAN: Yes, and after it hits tonight on the coast, it's going to go over Orlando and cities as it moves out into the Atlantic, and they're going to have a long, long 24 hours.

BOLDUAN: So the full force of hurricane Milton hits Florida in just a few hours. How emergency responders are using this time now to make final preps before the storm.

And the Biden administration is fighting misinformation that keeps spreading over the responses to, well, the prep for hurricane Milton and what happened with hurricane Helene. Joining us will be the secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas. That's coming up.

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BERMAN: All right, the breaking news, last-minute preparations as Hurricane Milton heads right at Florida's west coast. This comes, as there is pushback this morning from the Biden White House against the spread of misinformation on the federal response to Hurricane Helene, particularly from Donald Trump and the Trump campaign.

Let's go right to the White House. CNN's Arlette Saenz joins us this morning. What are you hearing, Arlette?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, the White House is grappling with this response effort for Hurricane Helene and eventually Hurricane Milton on two fronts, trying to get the resources to those devastated communities, while also pushing back on some of the misinformation that's been spreading about the government's response to this hurricane.

President Biden yesterday said that those spreading misinformation are un-American and just a short while ago, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told you that there is a massive misinformation problem that is complicating a federal government officials from helping these communities get what they need.

Now, one way that the White House is trying to combat this is by launching a Reddit account. So, they are hoping that they can post information there to get directly in the hands of those in the communities about the resources that are available for them.

This all comes as the response to Hurricane Helene has really become a flashpoint on the campaign trail with former President Donald Trump, among those who has been promoting some false narratives about the federal government's response.

Vice President Kamala Harris has said that that is simply irresponsible and she had this message last night for those in impacted communities about the misinformation that's been spreading.

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KAMALA HARRIS (D), VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: To all of those folks in North Carolina and Georgia, please know that FEMA and the people on the ground are there to help you. You are entitled to help.

There is a lot of misinformation and I beseech you, I beg you to please not pay attention to it because there are a whole lot of folks who are there to give you help and aid in terms of the immediate aftermath and what people need to do in terms of getting through the height of this emergency and this crisis, but also in terms of long- term help.

(End VT)

SAENZ: Now, as they are pushing back on this misinformation around the response efforts, the White House is also deep into preparations for Hurricane Milton, as it is barreling towards Florida's coast.

FEMA and other government agencies are prepositioning resources in the region, that includes high water rescue vehicles, also equipment that can be used in potential airlifts, as well as search and rescue teams.

They are also prepared to deploy millions of meals and water to get into those communities after the storm makes impact.

President Biden last night spoke with the mayor of Clearwater Florida, as well as the head of Pinellas County ahead of the storm and a bit later this morning, he will be receiving a briefing along with Harris on the response efforts.

And then this evening, he will deliver remarks here at the White House as that storm is getting closer to making impact, something that the White House has really warned residents to heed the local warnings about as the storm approaches.

BERMAN: Again, the pictures of the sea of utility trucks in Orlando shows you the preparations that are taking place here.

Arlette Saenz, thank you very much -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: That is quite a sign of preparation.

Joining us now to talk more about all of this is the Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas.

Secretary, thank you so much for the time this morning.

First and foremost, what is your message to the people of Florida as conditions are starting to deteriorate, we've seen from our correspondents, and landfall is now just hours away.

ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS, US HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: Kate, thank you so much.

The most important message is for people to listen to their local officials. The local officials will communicate guidance as to what people who are in the path of the storm need to do. They must follow that guidance. It is a matter of life and death.

BOLDUAN: It definitely seems to be so from everything we've seen with this forecast.

I want to ask you about the response to Hurricane Helene because JD Vance just came out with an opinion piece accusing the Biden administration of mismanaging the response, calling the response so far incompetent and calling you out specifically. Here it is in part, he writes this: "Shortly after Helene made landfall in the United States on September 26th, Joe Biden was at his house in Rehoboth Beach, Vice President Kamala Harris was flying between ritzy California fundraisers, hobnobbing with celebrities, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas was in Los Angeles presiding over an award ceremony."

How do you respond to those accusations from JD Vance?

MAYORKAS: Kate, we don't listen to or pay attention to such unproductive and quite frankly counterproductive words. We are focused on mission.

[08:20:07] The state and local leaders in the impacted states have praised the

federal response. We work in partnership with our state and local officials.

We have delivered more than $280 million in assistance directly to individuals impacted by Helene, and by the way, in Los Angeles, I was recognizing outstanding work of the personnel of the Department of Homeland Security and surely others should support and recognize that tremendous work as well.

BOLDUAN: On this -- I am talking about what is counterproductive, we've heard from federal, state, and local, the rumors and misinformation around FEMA and hurricane response has not only been false rumors to the extent of they've even need to launch a Reddit and their own webpage on FEMA to give the facts. It is also dangerous.

And "The New York Times" is highlighting in a new piece, a wave of antisemitic threats that have been laid leveled at officials involved in hurricane response, antisemitic attacks, according to this report, are mainly -- have been mainly focused on the mayor of Asheville, Esther Manheimer, FEMA's director of public affairs, Jaclyn Rothenberg, and you, Secretary.

Here is what it says: "Posts that questioned Miss Rothenberg's loyalty to the United States because of her Jewish heritage had more than four million views on X." That's what "The New York Times" gives us.

"The Washington Post" says, a post featuring the three of you together labeled "Jew" got a million views. What do you make of this?

MAYORKAS: Kate, repugnant expressions of hate. It is one of the core missions of the Department of Homeland Security to combat hate in all its forms and we remain committed to that mission.

It is most unfortunate that attacks are being levied against people who are dedicating themselves in the service of others, and I will say that the false information that is deliberately being spread has real consequences for real survivors of Hurricane Helene.

We have seen people who are reluctant to seek the federal assistance that they are entitled to, and that they desperately need to meet their immediate life needs. This has got to stop.

You know, our history and it is a proud history, is that we come together in times of disaster and we need to really bring that history forward and live in right now for the benefit of the individuals who are suffering.

BOLDUAN: And this is important because there has been fear that this misinformation would be detrimental to those who are affected. And you're saying you are seeing evidence that these rumors are setting in and people are not seeking the aid that is available to them because of these false rumors?

MAYORKAS: That is indeed the case, Kate and I will tell you another negative impact of this deliberately false information. It is demoralizing to the men and women at the federal level, at the state and local level, who are actually risking their lives to save others and to bring much needed relief to those who need it.

BOLDUAN: And another hurricane bearing down right now, Secretary Mayorkas, thank you so much.

And we want to make sure everyone knows that if you are in the middle of -- as this storm sets in, this is some information that can come in key. You can text the word "shelter" to 43362 and that will offer you information on shelters that are open, a list of shelters that are open in your area if you need a safe place to go -- John.

BERMAN: It is important information.

All right happening now, the outer bands of Hurricane Milton is beginning to hit Florida. The director of the National Hurricane Center just told us the deadly storm surge could start to come in hours. We've got new video from hurricane hunters who flew through the eye of the storm.

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[08:28:29]

BOLDUAN: One of the biggest concerns with Hurricane Milton is storm surge.

The National Weather Service is forecasting life-threatening storm surge levels here. So the basics, a storm surge is a rapid rise in water levels caused by strong winds pushing water onshore.

In parts of Florida, we are talking 12 to 15 feet of water from this storm in a surge. I want to give you an idea of what that really means beyond just the numbers.

This shows you a storm surge of about two feet. At this level, low low-lying coastal roads would be inundated with water. The next stage would be a surge of five to eight feet. This is enough to submerged cars, but remember Milton is expected to bring much worse, storm surge of 10-plus feet in places and this is taller than a city bus.

The average first floor of a commercial building is typically around 14 feet high and Milton's storm surge could reach a foot higher than that. So, it is impossible to know with certainty at this point where this is all going to hit and when.

But the places that are facing these catastrophic levels of surge from Tampa on south. We are talking Sarasota, Venice, Port Charlotte, Punta Gorda. This is how high it could get there.

And when you see the surge, this surge in relation to just an average human in a normal-sized room, it is clear why officials are saying get out now. BERMAN: Yes, and Kate, even with warnings like that and demonstrations

like that, there are some people who are choosing to ride out the storm.

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