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Rescue Efforts Continue in Hurricane Milton Aftermath. Aired 1- 1:30p ET

Aired October 10, 2024 - 13:00   ET

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

[13:00:48]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: I'm Boris Sanchez coming to you live from Treasure Island, Florida, the Gulf Coast of Florida badly hit by Hurricane Milton overnight. I'm joined by my colleague Brianna Keilar in the nation's capital.

And, Brianna, we are monitoring the return, the slow return to normalcy for Florida's Gulf Coast after Hurricane Milton punished the western side of Florida and the eastern side as well with powerful winds and rain.

Here in Treasure Island just two days ago, this was a ghost town still full of debris from Hurricane Helene. Slowly, but surely, you might be able to see behind me folks are returning. There is a law enforcement presence here. Rescue crews are scattered throughout the region helping folks get what they need as neighbors are starting to return and assess the damage.

A sigh of relief so far today for Floridians. As Florida's Governor Ron DeSantis put it, this was not the worst-case scenario. Remember, this storm over the weekend went from being a tropical storm to a Category 5. As it made landfall in Florida, it became a Category 3, but it expanded dramatically.

So we are seeing huge issues not only here on the west coast, but all the way in Southeast Florida in Broward County and north of that. I do have some video that I want to play for you from search-and-rescue operations that were under way in Clearwater earlier today.

I was at the site of an apartment complex where folks had to run out of their homes at about 1:00 a.m. One family telling me that they were inundated and had to get out with the only things that they had on them, their clothes. One woman named Anne lived on the first floor of that apartment complex.

Once her room got inundated, she ran upstairs. A neighbor took her in on the second floor. All morning, we were watching crews remove folks from that area. Fortunately, as I heard from officials, no injuries, no serious injuries to report there.

The water has receded in that area. But, again, there is severe weather across the Sunshine State. We saw tornadoes, as I alluded to. There was severe weather in Port St. Lucie County, at least five people confirmed dead there from tornadoes that swept through the southeastern part of Florida the east coast of Florida.

As Hurricane Milton was making landfall, as it was approaching the state, some of those areas saw the worst property damage from this hurricane, and obviously several fatalities there.

We're going to get you a report from Brian Todd, who is on the way there, in just moments. And most notably perhaps, in Tampa, an area that was expected to see massive storm surge. It didn't necessarily accumulate the way that we anticipated that it would in some areas, but we did see extensive wind damage, perhaps most notably in St. Petersburg, to Tropicana Field.

That's the home of the Tampa Bay Rays, the baseball team. We have to point out that was actually a facility that was being used to shelter emergency workers. That was a base of operations. It also held a large amount of resources. So seeing that roof torn to shreds just gives you an idea of the power of Hurricane Milton, one that, despite not being the worst-case scenario, presented very difficult and ugly scenarios for Floridians.

I want to go live now to CNN's Isabel Rosales who is in Hillsborough County for us.

Isabel, earlier this morning, I understand that there was a senior citizens facility that was inundated with water, two to three feet of water. And you were speaking to officials there as rescues were under way. Give us an update. Where do things stand right now? Do we have an understanding of the human toll, whether there were injuries or even lives lost there?

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Boris, actually, I'm bringing you right to it.

This is it, the Great American Assisted Living Facility. Look at this. It's just a one-story building. I spoke with so many residents, again, 135 of them that were rescued out of here. And the waters came suddenly overnight. This is not an evacuation zone. This is the upstate area of Hillsborough County. They were not anticipating this.

[13:05:03]

All of this happened because of the torrential rainfall that just accumulated, causing flash flooding, causing a very dangerous situation, especially for the elderly, especially for people dealing with medical conditions.

Those on wheelchair and walkers that had to be rescued out in a vehicle like this, the vehicle that I'm in right now, which is a Sherp and an amphibious vehicle, allowing them to get into these floodwaters and get these people out to safety to shelter, to food, to water, to blankets.

They were shivering. They told me they were in those waters, those cold waters, overnight for hours. So what a relief it is to see these first responders getting them out of that situation. And this is what we're seeing right now. For the rest who are younger, more able, can get around, this is what

they're dealing with. They want to get out of this neighborhood. They have to wade through these dirty floodwaters. I have seen families, young children, parents putting the children over their shoulders, even on bikes trying to pedal out of here with clothing, a pair of shoes, whatever they can carry to get out of here.

I also spoke with Sheriff Chad Chronister. We were on an airboat; 33 years ago, he was a rookie starting his career here in this area of Upstate, then known as University. This is what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHAD CHRONISTER, HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, FLORIDA, SHERIFF: This is where I started. This is where I fell in love with this community. I have never seen flooding like this. We had people that evacuated here to make sure they were safe. They listened. They came here, 135 elderly disabled individuals that we rescued earlier.

They came here. They were evacuated from Bradenton to stay safe. This is a neighborhood that doesn't have a lot. They have very little and the very little they had, they have lost everything. We have water four feet up into their first floor here. This is a heavily Latino community. Their church is gone. Their cars are gone. Again, they don't live paycheck to paycheck.

These are people that live day to day and they have nothing.

ROSALES: I can tell because I have known you for many years that you're getting choked up right now. What are you going through?

CHRONISTER: Your heart shatters for these people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSALES: And, again, Boris, these are not people who ignored evacuation orders. This is not an evacuation zone. They were doing everything right.

And in that assisted living community, people came from Bradenton -- that's in Manatee County -- to shelter there. And then they had to go through that. So look up here how high the waters are. You can see on the second floor, folks, they're OK. I have been waving them and giving them a thumbs-up. They're OK for now.

But, again, so complex to get out of here without some help or really almost getting to the point of swimming in these portions that are so, so deep -- Boris.

SANCHEZ: And, Isabel, do you have any idea of what it looks like in other parts of Hillsborough County? Obviously, this is more toward the east coast, but there was enormous concern about storm surge.

It doesn't appear that it reached some of the higher levels of what had been prognosticated for Hurricane Milton. ROSALES: Yes, Hillsborough County avoided much of the devastation

that we saw over in Pinellas County and certainly down south, Sarasota and below.

We were in Plant City. That's another agricultural area, a different part of Hillsborough County, where a hotel had to be evacuated, a similar situation, not quite this bad, but they were flooded out, needed some help. And then we also went to Riverview, to the south of Hillsborough County, where we saw a major sinkhole.

That's another thing with all these floodwaters taking away the sediment, cutting off a community. The only way to enter in and out of a community was that road, washed away and turned into a sinkhole. So, still devastating to the people who live in these pockets, not quite as much as Pinellas County.

But if you're here, this storm, Milton, has been absolutely devastating.

SANCHEZ: Absolutely.

Isabel Rosales, thank you so much for that update from Hillsborough County.

This storm, Hurricane Milton, had far-reaching effects. Despite not being the worst-case scenario, for some folks, it truly was fatal and devastating.

I want to bring in CNN's Brian Todd, who joins us now over the phone.

He is approaching Port St. Lucie County, where, Brian, we have confirmed this afternoon that at least five people have been killed by tornadoes that touched down even as Hurricane Milton had yet to make landfall. Tell us more about what you're expecting to find there in Port St. Lucie County.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right, Boris.

You're right. This was at 4:30 p.m. yesterday when two confirmed tornadoes hit Port St. Lucie County, and it was hours ahead of the landfall that Milton made on the west coast of Florida.

[13:10:08]

You're right. As you mentioned, the governor, Ron DeSantis, said that now five people are confirmed dead in the county so far. The mayor of Port St. Lucie, Shannon Martin, said -- this is a quote from the mayor -- "We have never seen anything like that before."

Again, the devastation is really palpable. Our team is seeing that the nature of the tornado was very sporadic. It would touch down one place and then kind of lift up and then touch down another place. It wasn't like some tornadoes that kind of wide swathe through a given community. This was kind of a sporadic touchdown of these two tornadoes. But the devastation, the power and the force was such that concrete power poles that are made of reinforced rebar and concrete, some of those snapped completely in half. That's just how powerful these two tornadoes were.

Sheriff Keith Pearson says that the place where these people perished was a modular home community for residents who are 55 years old and older. We're told that the name of that community is the Spanish Lakes Country Club. CNN and other media are not being given access to that particular area at the moment, but we have seen -- again, the damage that we're seeing on the ground, our team, is just almost unimaginable.

And just getting a sense of the power of these two tornadoes that touched down is incredible. And it was -- of course, it's all the way on the other side of the state. And this happened hours, hours just before Hurricane Milton made landfall.

SANCHEZ: Brian Todd, please keep us updated as you get to St. Lucie County. We appreciate the report.

I want to chat now with a city councilperson for St. Petersburg, Florida.

Lisset Hanewicz joins us now live.

Councilwoman, thank you so much for being with us.

We saw some of the damage to Tropicana Field earlier when we popped by there earlier this morning. Obviously, the roof was devastated, but I'm wondering, the neighborhoods nearby St. Petersburg, what do they look like?

LISSET HANEWICZ, CITY COUNCIL MEMBER, ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA: Well, let me tell you, this is just devastating for us and all the communities that were impacted.

It's truly heartbreaking. Our community was just recovering from Hurricane Helene that had historic storm surge in our city. There were homes that were damaged from that flooding, and there was still debris on the curb of many homes, and then you have Hurricane Milton come, and with winds in excess of 100 miles per hour.

We were in downtown when the Tropicana Field roof was damaged and the crane fell. We were in -- staying in a hotel in downtown. We live in the neighborhood just outside of downtown. We went to the hotel to be safe. We had received words that the crane would potentially fall, but we weren't in the radius.

It did fall. And the roof of the Tropicana Field was absolutely damaged from the storm. It's just awful.

SANCHEZ: Yes.

(CROSSTALK)

HANEWICZ: The neighborhood around us, I will tell you, we...

SANCHEZ: Go ahead.

HANEWICZ: I was just going to say, the neighborhoods around us, I left the hotel. We came to our neighborhood to see how it was.

Neighbors were already out picking up a lot of debris in the neighborhood. A lot of trees down, a lot of polls and signs down. We were very lucky, not a lot of roof damage, which is what you worry about. And the houses seemed intact. But there was definitely a lot to be picked up in the neighborhood.

SANCHEZ: Yes. Yes, Councilwoman, I'm so glad to hear that you were OK, despite being so close to that crane that fell.

I'm curious about whether you have an update perhaps on whether there's anyone who's unaccounted for, if there were any confirmed casualties as a result of Hurricane Milton in the area.

HANEWICZ: We were advised that there were no casualties in terms of the crane.

Obviously, I haven't heard anything else in terms of casualties here. As you know, we have had very spotty cell service.

SANCHEZ: Yes.

HANEWICZ: Internet was down all morning. I couldn't even watch the TV. So the information I have gotten has been here and there.

But from what I have received, there were no casualties from the crane. And I haven't received any word of casualties. Of course, we're getting information daily, by the minute, so I will keep you posted.

SANCHEZ: Yes.

[13:15:00]

HANEWICZ: But, right now, our potable water system, it went down due to leaks in the transmission lines. They're back up.

SANCHEZ: Right.

HANEWICZ: But there is a boil water notice in effect for those in St. Petersburg. And it's a long road for recovery, from what I have seen.

SANCHEZ: Yes, it is important, important for folks to keep that in mind, that there are still some dangers out there. And putting the word out about that boil water advisory is very important.

Lisset Hanewicz with the St. Petersburg City Council, thank you so much for joining us.

HANEWICZ: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Of course. I want to discuss with another local official now the effects of Hurricane Milton. We're joined by Jennifer Poirrier. She is the city manager for Clearwater, Florida.

Jennifer, thank you so much for being with us.

I remember we spoke a couple of days ago about how devastating this storm could be. And while for some folks it certainly was and their homes may need repair and they likely will have to do a lot of work to get back to normal, it does appear that we were spared the worst here on the Gulf Coast of Florida. Is that what you're finding in Clearwater?

JENNIFER POIRRIER, CLEARWATER, FLORIDA, CITY MANAGER: Hi. Good afternoon.

And, yes, I would agree we have fared better than those to our south, for sure.

SANCHEZ: Yes.

I'm wondering . When I was in Clearwater earlier, I was watching emergency crews rescue some folks from an apartment complex. That apartment complex was under several feet of water, but it wasn't in the evacuation zone.

I'm wondering if there are similar incidences of areas like that getting flooded out and people having to be rescued across Clearwater.

POIRRIER: No, that was our most significant one for sure. We rescued over 500 people out of that apartment complex. There is an apartment complex that's to the east of that we did have a slightly similar situation in terms of flooding, but those are the only two.

SANCHEZ: I'm relieved to hear that and I truly have to give kudos to your response teams because the work that they were doing, the way that it was streamlined, it deserves merit, no question about that.

I'm wondering, Jennifer, what message you have for residents now as they start to try to pick up the pieces, because, obviously, there's still many hazards out there after a storm. You're talking about downed power lines, the potential for debris or construction or equipment or trees to be teetering.

What message do you have for the residents of Clearwater?

POIRRIER: We encourage them to stay inside if they don't have a reason, a significant reason to go outside, to please stay put.

There is a lot of debris out there. Our crews have been out there since before sunrise to clear the roads and clear the areas to make it safe and have done a good job at that. But there's still a lot to do and it's going to take some time to do that. So, please, if you have to go out, be careful. There are a lot of downed power lines and a lot of trees that are blocking the roadway. So just be careful.

SANCHEZ: Jennifer Poirrier, the city manager for Clearwater, Florida, thank you so much for joining us.

POIRRIER: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: We still have plenty more news to come on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

We're speaking to local, state and federal officials, as well as residents who have been impacted by Hurricane Milton.

I want to leave you with a look at the damage to boats in Punta Gorda, Florida, this obviously a coastal community, one of many hit by Hurricane Milton.

We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:22:57]

SANCHEZ: We are now giving you a look of Punta Gorda, Florida, video taken by a storm chaser of the devastation from Hurricane Milton.

You see boats strewn through the streets even. Clearly, this storm packed a powerful punch and it is not an area that is used to seeing storms of this magnitude coming toward it, catching a lot of folks off guard. Fortunately, as Governor DeSantis put it, this was not a worst- case scenario.

We do want to give you the perspective of that storm chaser who got that footage for us.

Aaron Jayjack joins us now live.

Aaron, thanks so much for being with us. I'm wondering, what has stood out to you from the damage that you have seen caused by Hurricane Milton?

AARON JAYJACK, STORM CHASER: Yes, Boris, we had a significant storm surge event here last night. We were here through the duration of the event, starting with just seeing the water lapping over the seawall here, eventually spilling over the seawall into the streets of Punta Gorda, surrounding our hotel.

Basically, we were in the Gulf of Mexico, on a little island in the Gulf of Mexico with water all across Punta Gorda. That water receded overnight, leaving with it the aftermath. And one of the pieces are, you can see this boat back behind me here that's been lifted out of the harbor and deposited here, along with inches of mud, tree debris, branches down all over the place.

So, a significant storm surge that I estimate was in the 12-foot range of storm surge. So, to get this boat up, you needed about 10 feet of surge here in this area and then another two to four feet down off the seawall down to the harbor, so a significant event here that folks are still trying to recover from.

Two weeks ago, Hurricane Helene came through here and caused storm surge. In fact, they had debris still piled up in front of their houses here in Punta Gorda, trying to get it out of here before the hurricane. But they ran out of time. Another major hurricane came and scattered all that debris from the previous one all through this area that was also hit two years ago by Hurricane Ian, more of a wind event during that hurricane.

[13:25:00]

So, this is a community here that's been through a lot in the last couple of years. And, sadly, the hurricane season isn't over yet. So we're watching the Tropics for more storms. And, hopefully, they will be spared here by any more storms this season.

But as I mentioned, the hurricane season continues, and we will be tracking these hurricanes out here the rest of the season.

SANCHEZ: Yes, Aaron, the southwestern part of the storm has just been battered by storms, notably Hurricane Ian Hurricane Helene, which you mentioned, which also left a ton of trash here in Treasure Island, a bit further north, where I am.

I'm wondering, Aaron, if you have got a chance to speak to some of the residents in the area, how they're feeling about how they fared through the storm.

JAYJACK: Yes, actually, I was talking with the hotel manager that -- the hotel we're staying at, and her home was destroyed by Helene, and she had to go stay with a neighbor.

And now the neighbor's home was also destroyed by this storm. They had floodwater come into that home last night when she was there. The home is still surrounded by water there. Lots of residents are out today walking around kind of just checking out the devastation here and trying not to -- it's quite slippery and dangerous with that, because there's so much mud that's been deposited here.

But this is -- there's no power here as well, so that's going to make things even more difficult. They have already got homes that are destroyed and now there's also no power. The power is knocked out here. So who knows when they're going to be able to get back online, hopefully soon for the people here.

But just a community, that my heart hurts for them, just dealing with yet again another major hurricane with Milton coming through last night.

SANCHEZ: Yes, it's tough to watch what they're enduring right now.

Fortunately, I can tell you that I have seen a number of utility vehicles on the highway, so hopefully power gets back to them sooner, rather than later.

Aaron Jayjack, thank you so much for your work. We appreciate you.

JAYJACK: Yes, thank you.

SANCHEZ: Stay with CNN.

We're going to take a quick break and we will bring you the very latest from Florida's Gulf Coast when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)