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Don Lemon Tonight
Hurricane Florence Pounding Carolinas With Winds and Rain, Could Make Landfall in the Morning; Florence Now At A Category 1. Aired 12m-1a ET
Aired September 14, 2018 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Midnight here on the East Coast. I'm Don Lemon. You are watching CNN TONIGHT. This is our continuing coverage of Hurricane Florence live here on CNN.
I've moved down to the beach because this thing is starting to get closer, starting to make landfall and I just want to bring you closer to the action. We still have a little bit of time before that happens.
We can see that the wind has started to pick up. I'm behind the building here. As we're walking out between the buildings, we got more gusts. The outer bands are starting to come through. No rain here in Myrtle Beach where I am.
But you can see my colleagues who've been out there and there's some waves lapping at the shores here. One person who's been in rain all night and that is my colleague, Anderson Cooper.
Anderson, I can't see you. I could see you from my location before but what's going on now?
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: The story of rain continues. Earlier we were talking in the last hour, we were talking about how Dianne Gallagher had seen some transformers exploding, lighting up the sky. I just saw that here in Wilmington for the first time.
I almost thought it was a lightning strike at first but I believe it was some sort of a transformer because it had that kind of bluish glow to it. A number of the buildings, the lights went out for about a second or so, then they seemed to pop back on.
So it seems like there's still electricity, still streetlights here. Our lights are still on at a hotel nearby and the buildings nearby. But, again, that's just a sign of perhaps things to come as it gets later and later and this rain continues and the wind continues to pick up.
But it's really -- you know, it's a story of water, of rain, of storm surge that we've been covering for the last really, you know, 18 hours or so. And that's going to be the story for the next 24 to 36 hours, Don.
But there's a long way to go. You know, it's miserable out but thankfully people are not out on the streets. It seems most people are inside or already asleep or watching television as long as the electricity lasts and hopefully they'll stay there until this thing is gone.
LEMON: If you still have electricity and you're watching this storm, you're one of the lucky ones, Anderson, because over 150,000 people, we're told, without power now and about 12,000 people in shelters -- I misspoke earlier. It's 126 shelters in North Carolina.
I believe you said where you are in Wilmington, there are five shelters where people are sheltering in place there. And those are the lucky folks who could actually get into those shelters. This is nothing to play around with.
COOPER: Yes, it's really not. You're right; five shelters to expand the capacity. After last night they started to fill up so they're expanding capacity on that. But at this point people are either in the shelters or at their homes and they should stay where they are at this point, according to all the officials we have talked to.
They do not want people obviously out on the streets, driving around. There's still not a water, at least in the areas I'm in on the ground.
But we're watching very closely the river, which we're not expecting to crest until Tuesday. So there's a long couple of days still to come. It's going to be miserable for a number of days for people and, you know, they've got to buckle down and stay where they are and try to get through this as best they can.
LEMON: Listen, I was speaking, Anderson, to Ed Rappaport (ph) at the National Hurricane Center a short time ago. And he basically reiterated and confirmed everything we were saying, everybody reads a lot into those numbers, what category it is. Of course that's important.
It tells you the wind speed or what have you. But he says --
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LEMON: -- there's a 5-mile difference between the 1 and 2 and once it was downgraded to a 1, even if it's downgraded right now, I think right now 90 mile an hour winds are the strongest winds we've been getting in some places. I think 100 in Davis County somewhere, that's still nothing to mess around.
COOPER: Yes. You're breaking up so I couldn't hear just the end part of what you said. But, yes, those winds are nothing to scoff at when you're standing outside, particularly given the size of this storm and the amount of time that those winds are going to be hitting the coast and hitting even inland areas.
Look, we've both been in storms that have higher, sustained winds. Going back to 2004, 2005, we saw storms that were higher category. I think the untold story and the thing I'm frankly am not sure about and the thing we're going to have to wait and see is just the story of the water and what happens in terms of the storm surge and this pounding rain that continues hour after hour after hour.
LEMON: Yes, and if you get 30 inches of rain in that short amount of time, then that is problematic. Anderson, thank you very much. I want you to stand by.
We'll get back to Anderson in just moments. He is riding the storm out there, watching it for you so that you don't have to be out in it.
Also in Wilmington, North Carolina, I want to get to my colleague, Martin Savidge. He joins us now.
Martin, what are you experiencing now?
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Don, we're on the outskirts of Wilmington, very close to what's called Wrights Field Beach. And where you are in relation to this storm can give you a very different experience. Here, it's a combination of both the battering winds -- the winds are quite strong at times. You can hear them howling in the wires above you, you can hear the trees being torn apart above you as well.
And at the same time, it's the wind driven rain. There are times you can look behind you at the streetlights and it's like a fog, it's almost like a wall of water you're staring into.
So that is the combination of wind driven water and also the rain is falling in tremendous amounts here. So even though this storm has been downgraded, it's not a major hurricane anymore, it is going to be a major problem and potentially a major disaster, especially the interface when you have an urban environment.
You're going to have water that begins to pool, rivers going to be flooding. We've already seen that in Dianne's reporting. But this is going to be something that will expand beyond the coastal neighborhoods here, which is why the Coast Guard is standing by, both with helicopters for air rescue.
But then on top of that, they know they have to get into urban streets. For that, they have to use different vehicles, high-water rescue vehicles by the National Guard but also small, flat bottom boats like we saw being used in New Orleans.
It's a combination of what you need in the open areas as well as what you need even in city parking lots like this. The next day, the next hours, maybe even the next few days are going to be the stories that's revealed, as Anderson just said.
But right now we're still dealing with high winds, dangerous winds, power outages, power lines that can come down, trees that can topple over. It is not a time for people to let down their guard and certainly not a time for anyone to go out and say, hey, let's see what's going on right now -- Don.
LEMON: Absolutely. Well said from Martin Savidge in Wilmington. Martin, thank you very much.
Just getting an update from the top of the hour coming from the National Weather Service. They're saying they are getting life threatening wind gusts in Eastern North Carolina right now already.
So this is just the beginning. The storm is still stirring. It hasn't made landfall yet but already life threatening wind gusts, Eastern North Carolina. I want to get to my colleague, Brian Todd. Brian Todd is at Hampstead, North Carolina. We've been watching Brian Todd. We've seen him with some flooding, with some trees and some branches down and also traveling along the roads there in Hampstead.
Brian, what are you seeing now?
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We've seen a worsening of conditions along these roads. And we're going to show you another reason why the downgrading of this storm to a category 1 should not make people underestimate this.
The winds, as I've heard you and Martin talk about just a second ago, are still extremely strong, especially where we are in the northern band of this storm. You can see the front tree ahead of us could be on the verge of snapping and collapsing.
We're going to cruise past it and show you the debris on the road. A lot of these roads are very bad off now and they're getting worse by the minute. The wind and rain are really whipping around here. These rural areas, especially near the Intercoastal Waterway, are vulnerable.
We're going to take you to the edge of this road. This is Watts Landing Road. It goes right up to the Intercoastal Waterway. We're going to be --
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TODD: -- at the edge of it in a second, where the road is washed out.
And we have to point out the road is washed out, it was washed out before the storm hit. But the fact it's washed out means that this could make it even more vulnerable, this area, this street and the homes on it could be much more vulnerable to the storm surge.
We know it's nothing, we know it's going to get worse. We're right about at the time when high tide is going to hit. We're at the edge of this road right now. I'm going to get out of the vehicle and go to the edge of the road.
We talked about people on the barrier islands and on the Outer Banks, who could be trapped on the Outer Banks, on those islands because they're only acceptable by boats because the roads to them can get washed out.
Well, this is a washed out road. And it illustrates that, even that people on the mainland can get trapped. Over here, you don't see them but there are houses just a few feet away from me. And look at the storm surge here with the marshland area is overwhelming this area. It's about to push the water all the way up here.
I'm really just a few feet from several homes and we're getting a really bad gust right now and kind of the wind and rain is hitting us from side to side. That's another thing about a hurricane; you just never know what direction the wind is going to come from.
But, Don, there are houses to my right just a few feet away in serious danger now from this storm surge, which I've seen rise up a couple of feet just in the last couple of hours here.
LEMON: Thank you very much for that, Brian Todd. We appreciate your reporting.
Brian Todd is in Hampstead. I just have a little bit more information for you. When we're talking about the intensity of this storm -- and you heard Martin Savidge saying, depending on where you are in the Carolinas, you get a different perspective of this storm.
This now from NOAA; they're telling us there's almost 10 foot storm surges, 10 foot flood stages in New Bern. That's where Delia Gallagher (sic) was just a short time -- Dianne Gallagher, excuse me -- Dianne Gallagher was a short time ago.
And she's standing by there. But again, they're seeing some flooding there. Almost 10 feet; 9.6 is the exact count they told us. But that's nearly 10 feet there. And they're also saying 70 mile an hour sustained winds right now in that area.
So the winds are starting to pick up. Let's check in with my colleague now, Ed Lavandera, Jacksonville, North Carolina.
Take us to the scene now, Ed.
What are you seeing?
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Don, it's the eeriness of these storms, when they start making landfall in the darkness of night. You hear the eeriness of the wind howling through the areas we're in. It's hard to really make out exactly what's happening around you.
That's what lends itself to these rather tumultuous and nerve-wracking storms as they come ashore here in the darkness of the night. We've been speaking with emergency officials here in the Jacksonville, North Carolina, area. They say there are reports of homes starting to take on water near rivers here in this area.
These are rivers that obviously make their way and flow their way into the Atlantic Ocean. With all that storm surge pushing in, that water really has nowhere else to go. It's really hard to assess just how significant the damage is at this point because first responders aren't really able to get out in full force and assess the situation.
We are told here in the Jacksonville area, though, Don, there are no rescues taking place. That is bit of good news considering, here on the top side, the north side of this hurricane, where we have been throughout the day, we've really seen some of the strongest and heaviest rains lashing out against the coastline here for much of the day.
It taken quite a while. I'm surprised at how long in the areas that we've been that the power has seemed to hold on. And just as I was just thinking that, the power transformer about 50 yards away from us started exploding. I've never seen that in storms in all my years of covering hurricanes.
It was like a fireworks display right next to you. So in that instant all the power went out here in Jacksonville. So that is what we're dealing with here tonight, Don.
LEMON: All right, thank you. Ed Lavandera, stay safe and we'll get back to you.
Listen, I want to bring you now to the conditions on the ground here where we are in Myrtle Beach.
This is John Rhodes, former mayor, right?
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LEMON: Steve Taylor, you're a resident.
STEVE TAYLOR, MYRTLE BEACH RESIDENT: Yes, sir.
LEMON: I'll get to you in a moment. I understand why you're here, Mayor. You're the former mayor.
JOHN RHODES, FORMER MAYOR, MYRTLE BEACH: For 12 years.
LEMON: For 12 years. So tell me, what's going through your mind right now?
RHODES: Well, it's a waiting game right now. We know she's coming in, we just don't know what time. It lasts two days this very five different directions and so but it's pretty well set we're going to get some effects from it.
Hopefully it'll be down to a low category 1 where we'll maybe get winds up around 70 to 80 miles an hour. But the big problem is going to be the rain. When Matthew was here two years ago, it dropped a little over 15 inches of rain in the area. And that's around an area which is a lot of low country where the mall was flooded. This is going to be --
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RHODES: -- historical with 20-25 inches of rain sitting in that area. So we're going to have a lot of problems with ingress and egress from veins coming in like 501 and places like this to get back into the beach.
LEMON: You've gone through this before. You've seen it and you know how unpredictable this can be. Generally you know where it's going, you know, the wind speed. You know what happens. It can move fast, do a lot of damage with winds or it can go slow and bring a lot of water.
This appears to be a water event and you've gone through that.
RHODES: It is. And something's that's difficult, it's going to be moving at 4 mph. We've never had a storm come through Myrtle Beach moving at 4 mph. We're looking at anywhere from 36 to 48 hours of constant wind and rain.
And we just have to be prepared for it. And that's one thing about our city is our guys have been through this before, our guys and girls that had on in the streets, they're ready, they're prepared and they'll take care of this beach.
LEMON: I got some comfort from him.
Did it help you?
You must be very comfortable, Steve, because you're staying.
TAYLOR: Anytime I'm with John, I'm comfortable.
RHODES: Steve also happens to be the chairman of the beach committee, which looks after this beach.
LEMON: And that's one of the reasons you're here.
But why are you riding it out?
TAYLOR: I've lived here my whole life and I've never left for a storm. And, you know, you've got to decide what's best for your family and whether you're prepared. And I believe the vast majority of people that stay around these storms, at least locally here in Myrtle Beach, are prepared. They've been through these storms before.
You've got your generator, your batteries, your food. If you've got elderly, those are the people that need to consider moving and get out of town. But in my case I've got businesses here and I want to stay close to home.
LEMON: I've been speaking to people and they say, listen, I know there are physical issues -- and that means physically safe with your body and your person.
But there's also fiscal issues. We have businesses here. This is our livelihood. We don't want, you know, people looting. We want to keep an eye on that because that's really how, that's what sustains us.
TAYLOR: Right, that's one issue. The other is, in Myrtle Beach, we're a tourist economy and this has been a week now that we'll be without any business down here. So business owners --
LEMON: What does that do to you?
TAYLOR: Well, it hurts my pocket like everybody and my employees, too. They can't work. So it's important for the beach and our community to get back up and running and get the message out that we're open and get cleaned up and get back in business really quick.
LEMON: I was trying to tell people earlier, when I was here on the beach, this season, when you're in the Northeast, when you're up where we were in the New York area, it's usually Memorial to Labor.
Yours is extended because of the weather, because it's so warm here and you can continue to make money and a livelihood really Florida a month or so, maybe even more past what is a traditional season.
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RHODES: -- gone through Thanksgiving.
LEMON: You have?
RHODES: The shorter months have really increased in the last five or six years.
LEMON: And you need that.
RHODES: And we were able to get the funds to promote Myrtle Beach and advertise. A lot of people think that we're just a small beach. But Myrtle Beach is the third largest resort in America, (INAUDIBLE) by Las Vegas and Orlando.
Think about Miami Beach and all the publicity they got; we do twice the number of tourists as Miami Beach and people have no idea. Plus we've got 100 golf courses. So you've got a lot of reasons to come down and visit and stay with us.
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LEMON: This guy is really still the mayor. He's still the mayor.
Give us some words of wisdom and comfort. I would prefer to not be here but this is my job. I would prefer you to not be here but, listen, I'm not going to shame you. If you want to ride it out, that's your business. You're a grown man. Give us some words of comfort as we leave here.
TAYLOR: Again, I think that most reasonable people know how, that have been down here and lived through these storms, know to stay inside. They're not out -- this isn't like we're at the end of the pier, having a party and throwing caution to wind.
Everyone is prepared; you stay inside and wait until the storm has passed and then you try to take care of business. But this has been a long three days already and we've still got three more days. So we're ready for it to move on. So we're ready.
RHODES: Like I said, we're going to get the beach back into shape as quickly as possible and welcome our tourists back to Myrtle Beach this fall. We're still going to have a great fall.
But it'll take us two or three days to get the beach shaped back up. And hopefully we don't lose any more structures like the piers and all, which does take us more time to get rid of the debris on the beach.
But right now I'm looking pretty positive. Once the rain goes, then I'd say we'll finish up. Well, right now, it's like it's probably going to be around Sunday before we get out of this.
LEMON: You're good.
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LEMON: Fingers crossed.
Thank you, Steve.
Thank you, mayor.
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LEMON: You guys stay safe. Thank you so much. We hope your business gets back open --
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LEMON: -- really soon, because we understand, every day --
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LEMON: I will. And I love seafood. I'm from Louisiana, so I'm going to take you up on that. I appreciate it.
Listen, there are life threatening storm surges already occurring. We just got the update from the National Weather Center, so -- from NOAA, so you guys stick around. Again, this is just beginning. You heard them. They've been dealing with it for three days. They expect to deal with it for three more days.
They're experts, they're pros. They've been here forever. They mayor, obviously he's been the mayor, so they have some skin in the game here. But if you don't have to be here, the window is almost closed but you need to get out.
We're going to continue our coverage here in the Carolinas. I'm Don Lemon. I'm in Myrtle Beach. Our special covering continues right after the break.
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LEMON: I'm Don Lemon, live in Myrtle Beach. Out in the elements, not much of the elements here in Myrtle Beach. The rain hasn't started yet but the wind has certainly picked up. We had high tide just about an hour ago, so we're checking all the weather conditions for you. We're out here so that you don't have to be. Stay at home and watch
while you have power. Don't come out in the elements. Emergency officials have been saying, if you haven't left, you need to hunker down and stay where you are. Do not go outside.
I want to go just up the road north to our Nick Watt in North Myrtle Beach. That's where Chris Cuomo has been camped out all day.
I'm wondering what the situation is where you are, Nick. Good evening to you.
NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Don, we're about 15 miles further north from where you are in Myrtle Beach and the conditions, pretty similar. We had a band of rain come through at about 5:30-6:00 pm, which was pretty heavy. We thought that that was the hurricane arriving for us.
It was not. It has been windy ever since but no rain. We're expecting the winds to really pick up, 5 o'clock in the morning and then, tomorrow afternoon, maybe, you know, between 75 and 90 miles an hour.
But as we have been saying all along, it's not about the wind, it's about the rain, it's about the water. And that's what's different about this hurricane to others that have hit here in the past year.
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WATT: Matthew hit here 2016; killed 30 people in the Carolinas but the rainfall totals were a maximum of 20 inches then. We're talking now about maybe 40 inches. And, of course, there was Hurricane Hugo back in 1989, which also killed a lot of people here. It was a much faster storm, winds of 135 mph but, again, not this volume of water that we're expecting.
Where we are here, the beach, the shore is about 300-400 feet behind me. And basically there's nothing to stop the water coming into the town from there. The dune is really nothing to speak of.
And these houses, I'm standing right now on a deck, which is about 15 feet high, which is the reason that we're staying here because when that storm surge comes it will just go underneath this house, which is built on stilts.
But that Intercoastal Waterway, just 2-3 blocks that way. There is a chance that this entire sliver of land will be under a few feet of water.
You know, the other problem we've had with this storm slowing, we expected to have these conditions here already but the storm has slowed which we've discussed before, it breed complacency in people.
Also the fact that this morning the storm was -- Thursday morning was downgraded to a category 2. I spoke to people on the beach who said they had been planning to evacuate but when it was downgraded to a 2, they thought, ah, it doesn't matter.
The 2 is the wind. It's the water, Don, that we all know is going to be the biggest problem.
LEMON: The water's the biggest problem. The wind, that's a problem, too. All of it collectively it can be a huge issue.
Nick Watt, great reporting. Stay safe. I can't see where you are. I don't have a monitor to be able to see. But I just want to show, what you were talking about, why you guys were there and what's going on in the building.
This is the building we're staying in and usually now this building would be filled with people and all the rooms would be lighted here. But not so tonight. A bunch of people have been evacuated, obviously.
And you can see just how far or how close, however you want to put it, it is to the beach here. Again, high tide just moments ago, water lapping closer and closer to the shore here and to this building.
As I was standing here earlier, I got a ride with someone. Came and picked me up and we took a ride around Myrtle Beach and that is Corporal Tom Vest. He's tasked with making sure people are safe here and making sure they're heeding those warnings when it comes to evacuations.
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LEMON: This stretch right now usually is filled with people, right?
CPL. TOM VEST, MYRTLE BEACH POLICE DEPARTMENT: Yes, generally this area is busy all summer long.
LEMON: But now?
VEST: What's good is it seems people have heeded the warnings and gotten out of town early.
LEMON: You've got to be happy about that. Because many times they don't.
VEST: Yes, it's good to see that so many people did leave. And we saw with a lot of the evacuations, people were leaving even before the mandatory evacuation was ordered.
LEMON: There's still time to go at this hour as we're doing this interview.
What's your biggest concern?
VEST: The big concern for us is providing protection for all of the properties throughout the city. To do that we brought in extra manpower. We would say all hands on deck. We have all officers that work for us available so we're able to provide adequate protection for all the houses and businesses.
LEMON: So what's the process been?
Today, were you going around telling people they should leave? What has the process been?
VEST: Today we have teams of officers around the city. We're communicating with residents discussing evacuation with them, talking about their plans if they are going to stay.
LEMON: So what are you looking for now, as you ride around?
VEST: We're looking to make sure that nobody needs any help as far as evacuation or preparing. A lot of people have had a lot of questions and we're here to provide those answers as best we can. We'll do everything we can but, at a certain point, it'll be unsafe for law enforcement to be out.
LEMON: It must be frustrating for you; you can't really force people to evacuate, right. But if they stay or they're in danger, you've got to come rescue them.
VEST: We encourage everybody to evacuate. And really the important thing is that we're concerned with people's safety. That is our primary responsibility, is to provide safety. And if people choose to stay, we may not be able to do that during the peak of the storm.
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LEMON: Corporal Vest, we want to thank him for that. Remember, those are the people who run towards danger, right?
Our people who are in law enforcement, our people who are tasked with protecting people.
But in this situation, this situation is so dangerous and it is preventable. Just remember, if you decide to stay, which is your business if you want to do that, but just remember you might be putting other people in danger who may have to come and rescue you.
And here's just how serious this is. Eight months of rain predicted here, they're expected to get in just two to three days. Imagine what that does to the infrastructure here.
[00:30:00] DON LEMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: It's going take some while for that, take quite a long time for that water to go down. That means extreme flood conditions. And that means the possibility of people drowning here.
So, just keep that in mind as you decide what you're going to do over the next couple of hours. Our coverage is going to continue here from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. I'm Don Lemon. We'll be back right after this break.
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LEMON: This is the scene along the beach now, in Myrtle Beach, in South Carolina. You can see -- looks like a pretty average night on the beach here. But that storm is looming out there, in the Atlantic, and it's getting closer and closer to the shore, closer to the coast. That light you see right there, that's a beach patrol. The beach
patrol trying to get people -- pan this way and show them. That's the beach patrol, getting people off of the beach here. They have been going up and down the beach, trying to get people off.
The beach is technically not closed. The water is what's closed. They don't want people going out there because the riptides here really, really, really strong, we've been told, again.
[00:35:11] So, law enforcement has been patrolling, trying to get people out. They've been all over the state of North Carolina, all along the Carolinas, as well. Why don't we get to our colleague, my colleague, Brian Todd, has been out and about in this as well. He is in Hempstead.
Brian, I understand you're still driving around -- driving around. What are you seeing?
BRIAN TODD, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Don, seeing worsening conditions. I mean, it gets worse every few minutes. We're driving along Watts Landing Road. We just learned a short time ago that the authorities in Pender County where we are have established two triage centers.
It's a good thing they have, because anyone who ventures out has a pretty decent chance of getting injured. We're pulling away from the intercostal waterway. We'll switch the camera out. These are the conditions that people are facing as they try -- if they try to get out of here, falling trees, falling limbs.
We're going pull over here. I'll show you some of the dangers here. This is why more than 150,000 customers in North Carolina are without power. You open the door to your car, like I'm doing. The wind is going to whip you around.
This is, again, illustrative of all the dangers that people are going to face if they try to go around these roads. We have gone through several of these whirl roads right by the intercostal waterway surveying the damage, and I can tell you, it has gotten much worse just in the last half hour.
The rainfall has become heavier, the wind has gotten stronger. Again, just because they downgraded this to a Category 1, I mean, we're just getting pound by a gust right now, and these trees above me, could be in danger of falling.
So, again, in these rural areas right by the intercostal, you've got the storm surge on the one side, pushing the water this way, trying to come this way, you're in some danger of getting hit with some limbs, and I've got to probably take some cover right now, Don.
LEMON: Yes, all right. Brian, we do want you to be safe. So make sure you hunker down there. Brian Todd is in Hampstead, North Carolina again. We have crews stationed all along the Carolinas. I want to bring in some folks here who are -- you're going to ride it out. Let's bring in Gail, Gail Childers. Gail, it's good to see you. Gail is one of the first people I met
when I got here. I was like, who is this lady? Who is this smart, you know, what, this smart mouth lady? I'm so glad you're here but why are you staying?
GAIL CHILDERS, RESIDENT OF MYRTLE BEACH: My husband works here at the Hampton Inn, and I came to stay with him. I've got some medical background, and in case anybody got hurt, I'd be here. Found out our kitchen staff couldn't come, and I used to work in the kitchen.
So they asked me if I could stay and cook for all these folks.
LEMON: Yes. I was going to say, actually, you're pretty, a really nice lady because you decided to do this because -- so that other people can go home and be safe with their families. That's important, yes?
CHILDERS: So many kitchen staff, they've got large families and they've got pets and everything else, so they wanted to evacuate. My kids, I sent up to Kentucky. So my husband and I are here and trying to hold the fort down.
LEMON: Your husband is Cord.
CHILDERS: Correct.
LEMON: Who is the first person I met when I got here. So, then, what's your -- what's your advice to people here? Because they've been saying leave, you sent your children out.
CHILDERS: Yes, I did.
LEMON: And unless there is a very important reason for you to stay, what do you say?
CHILDERS: Get out. I used to work here as a firefighter paramedic, and I've been here through hurricanes. It gets bad. It's not just during the hurricane, it's after. It's the water, waiting for the water to recede, waiting for the power to come back on.
You know, people run out of food. They run out of supplies, they run out of fuel, you know. During the hurricane, stay inside, stay safe. People have medical emergencies. Paramedics can't get out to you.
LEMON: Yes.
CHILDERS: Yes.
LEMON: I'm so glad that you're here, and I'm glad that you're one of the first people. And listen, you have a very kind face, and you guys have been really great to us, so thank you so much, and you be safe, OK?
CHILDERS: I'll try.
LEMON: Thanks for taking care of us, and thanks for taking care of everybody else.
CHILDERS: Got a bunch of people in there to take care of.
LEMON: Thank you, Gail, we really appreciate it, and also, as well, Cord, as well. On other side of this break, storm chasers. Don't go anywhere.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:40:00] LEMON: You know, people wonder why they do it, but boy, we certainly need them, and I'm talking about these storm chasers, the hurricane chasers. It's a very dangerous job. I would not -- I'm not sure that I would do it. Most people wouldn't. But, again, they're important and we need them.
One of them is Mike Scantlin. He has been out following this hurricane, chasing this storm. He joins us now from Wilmington, North Carolina. Michael, thank you for what you do, we hope that you stay safe. What have you been seeing since you've been out there?
MIKE SCANTLIN, STORM CHASER: Yes, Don, it's really starting to ramp up here. We've got some of the inner rain bands coming through, so we're getting some gust, probably 80 or 90 in the rain bands. But between the rain bands, it's pretty slow.
She slowed down quite a bit so we're going to be waiting quite a while for the worst to get here. But, it's weakened quite a bit, but it has weakened quite a bit. But there's still going to be some devastating storm surge and rainfall as it comes ashore.
LEMON: Yes. So, Mike, listen, you've done this before, in your experience, have you seen a hurricane that sort of sits this -- the way that this one is doing? Because usually, that means, it's going to bring more water with it. What does this tell you? What does your experience tell you?
Are you there? Are you there, Mike?
All right, we lost Michael. We'll see if we can get him back. OK, there you are.
SCANTLIN: I'm back.
LEMON: Can you -- are you there, Mike Scantlin?
SCANTLIN: Yes. We've got cell coverage going in and out. So, it's getting pretty hairy out here.
LEMON: That's all right.
SCANTLIN: It reminds me a lot of Hurricane Harvey from last year, where it came ashore. It was a lot stronger then, obviously. But once it came ashore, it's, kind of, parked. And that's what's going to happen with this storm, unfortunately.
[00:45:19] LEMON: Yes. There's some video. Can we put the video up? I think this Topsail Beach, right, that you took this video. Explain to me what's going on. What are we seeing here, Mike?
SCANTLIN: Well, we have some -- the outer rain bands came through. We were going to set up there, but it got a little hairy, and we got -- we got force out. The police didn't want us there because it was going to get too dangerous. And, you know, they were right.
We were pushing the envelope there, but we have -- at high tide, we had storm surge coming over the sandbar, and inundating some of the inner areas, the low-lying areas. But once the tide receded, then it started to move back out and we were able to get out of there safely.
LEMON: All right. You be safe. Thank you, sir. I appreciate it. From one storm chaser to another one, I'm going to go to Mike Theiss now. Mike Theiss is in Wrightsville Beach. He has been out, chasing the storm. Mike, tell us what you're seeing.
MIKE THEISS, CEO OF ULTIMATE CHASE: That's right, Don (INAUDIBLE) can actually reiterate what Anderson Cooper said earlier, in that bright flash, that blue that just illuminated the entire sky was indeed a power flash.
I can confirm that because my vehicle, my chase vehicle was right next to the transformer when it blew up, literally sparks flying in the air. Suddenly, somebody fired a shotgun off right next to my car. Conditions here are definitely starting to deteriorate more. The winds are picking up. We've got some heavy rains coming through.
And I'm watching radar on the western eye wall, is very intense. And it's going to be coming through this area of Wilmington in the next few hours, and definitely at day break, I think, is when things are really going to be at their most intense as far as the wind coming through here, and the storm surge.
And then over the next few days as the rainfall accumulates, that's going to be the real big danger is flash flooding.
LEMON: Yes. This is probably, you know, the strongest winds that we have gotten thus far. I mean, nothing like what they're experiencing at other places. But I'm going ask you the same question I asked your colleague. What -- from experience, when a storm sits like this just off the coast and is picking up so much water, what does your experience tell you?
THEISS: My experience tells me that we're definitely going to have issues with flash flooding. That's a guarantee, you know, just because there's lots of rivers around here. If the forecast verifies the type of rain they're talking about, yes, there is definitely going to be some rescuing going on.
I tell you, the hotel I was at, in Wilmington, was just full of emergency personnel that literally had jet skis parked on the back of their trailers and boats ready to go. I mean, these brave people are just ready to rescue people. And everybody here is ready. I mean, we've had several days. The storm is moving so slow as it's coming in. And now, it's time. You know, it's time to bunker down and, I think, at day break, like I said, I think conditions will be worse. I did record a wind gust of 83 miles per hour, several hours ago (INAUDIBLE) and since then, i haven't popped that.
So, it's kind of a strange hurricane in that sense, that so far, it recorded the highest wind in one of the outer bands. Of course, the core is not here yet. The core is a few miles away. Once that eye wall and eye overtakes this area, which I think it will come over Wrightsville Beach area.
We should see some pretty intense winds, probably around 90 miles per hour, according to what the National Hurricane Center is saying.
LEMON: All right. Mike Theiss, you be safe out there. We'll get back to you. I want to get now to my colleague, Ed Lavandera. He is in Jacksonville, North Carolina. We've been going to Ed throughout the evening. Ed, it was raining where you were. You were drenched, soaking wet before. There were some winds as well. What are you seeing?
ED LAVANDERA, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the rains still continue here, Don. We're -- you know, being on the top side, the north side of Hurricane Florence. And really, since mid-afternoon, we have seen strong winds, relentless rain here throughout the day.
There have been maybe a handful of moments where we've been caught inside a couple of these bands like in dry spot, which is -- but that's been a rarity throughout the day. And we've already seen the effects.
Not here -- not just here in Jacksonville, North Carolina, but you make your way up north toward Morehead City, Atlantic Beach and then further inland into New Bern, North Carolina. These are all low-lying areas that emergency officials are very concerned about as more and more rain continues to fall.
We're already seeing some major potentially catastrophic flooding there, in the town of New Bern, and we're waiting to see exactly the extent of the damage and how prolific the flooding in other areas are going to be. We spoke with emergency officials here in Jacksonville, a short while ago.
They tell us that they've already heard reports here from homes alongside rivers that are already starting to take on water as well. The extent of that damage and just how many homes are taking on water, we don't know yet, simply because first responders here, in the darkness, is very difficult for them to get out and make any , kind of, serious assessment as to what is going on.
[00:50:11] So, a lot of that will be done once the sun comes up tomorrow. But there is great concern here, Don, as the water continues and the rain continues to fall, the extent of the flooding damage that is going to be seen here throughout this area.
So, that is the area that they're -- and one of the things that they're going to be most concerned about here. The nice thing is that the winds don't seem to have been as intense. But, it's that rain that we're going to be extremely worried about. Don?
LEMON: You mentioned the other areas and we're talking about flooding, Ed Lavandera, 10-foot storm surges I'm hearing in New Bern, and also, we're hearing that New Bern is without power, 100 percent -- 100 percent without power.
So, you are right. This thing is picking up. It's starting to come ashore. It is causing flooding. It is causing power outages, and we're going to keep an eye on it.
Here's the big problem. Ed Lavandera, thank you very much. Here's the problem, there are a number of people along this area, and they may work in the businesses here and their livelihoods depend on it. Some people are lucky enough, fortunate enough to have resources that they can have a second home or they just have resources that they can afford the rebuild.
The big story is going to be, what happens to the people who don't? There are a lot of people who aren't of means, let's put it that way, in this area. And they're going to be the ones who are going to be affected by this the most, especially monetarily, and it's going to be tougher for them to rebuild.
So that's part of the story that happens here as well. We'll continue to talk about this. We'll continue to follow the story. We're back after a very quick break here, in North Carolina -- South Carolina.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:55:00] LEMON: Back now, live. A lot of people, volunteering, helping out their fellow men and women here in the Carolinas. You heard Gail Childers earlier. Another person who is doing that is Adam Randall, and he is the owner of the CODfather in Charleston, South Carolina. He joins us now.
Adam, thank you so much for joining us. I know we're going to put up this image. Apparently there is a picture of you with police, you were serving emergency responders today. That is good news. Why are you doing it?
ADAM RANDALL, OWNER OF THE CODFATHER: Why am I doing it? Because, you know, I like to pay it back to the community. I like to be a member of my community. Those guys are out working away from home, away from their families. You know, curled up and sitting on the side of the interstate, waiting for a disaster.
So, you now, I just wanted to take care of those guys.
LEMON: Yes. You said to me last night as I spoke to you, you said listen, this is -- your livelihood depends on your business, and you said if you had -- I forget, how many thousands of pounds -- like a thousand pounds of fish or something that like that is going to go bad if you didn't get rid of it.
RANDALL: Yes, right by a thousand pounds. Yes, basically.
LEMON: About a thousand pounds.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: Yes. Have you lost power yet?
RANDALL: No. Well, strangely enough, yes. We lost power yesterday. I think a transformer blew just random happenstance. We all obviously thought the worst, and it was in the middle of service, so it was quite scary, but the power was restored and we're still good to go.
LEMON: Yes. And so, you said if you weren't able to sell it because people had been evacuated, that you were going to give it away. And that's exactly what you did. How many -- and what did you do? How many people did you serve and what did you do?
RANDALL: Honestly, I've got no idea. We opened the shop at 11:00. It was busy off the get-go, and we basically had line for over three hours, a lot of uniforms --
LEMON: Oh, wow.
RANDALL: -- service members came in to get the fish sandwich, and then a lot of the regular community and the regular customers tagged along to support us also. I really don't have an answer for how many we did. I know that my people worked very hard and we did a lot. We moved a lot of product.
LEMON: So, Adam, your specialty, fish and chips., right? You were -- you weren't doing that today, you were doing sandwiches?
RANDALL: Well, no. We had four menu today. So we did the fish and chips, four portion, half portion, we also do a fish sandwich. We weren't able to get any deliveries this week, so we just start running out of a few things. But, that was the whole idea.
LEMON: You know, we talked about not only the physical but the fiscal and how much, you know, how much money -- how business owners suffer when you have these incident when you -- when you have this horrific weather that comes through?
RANDALL: Right. Yes, I mean, it's expensive. You lose money, you know, and that's expensive. Things of this nature, you know, how many closed down for a weather event. It's not something that is covered by insurance or anything of that nature. You just have to -- have to take it.
You know, you have to take the (INAUDIBLE) you've got to take the rough with the smooth. So, yes, we lose a lot of money. But, you know, we will bounce back and we'll be just fine.
LEMON: You're a good guy, thank you sir, if I was closer, I would come and get some fish and chips. But we really appreciate it and we thank you for being such a good person and a good citizen.
RANDALL: Yes. Thanks for having me. And yes, this is awesome. Thanks very much. Everybody --
END
