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Massive Hurricane Targets East Coast; Hurricane Irene Threatens East Coast; Libyan Rebels Free Prisoners Who May Be Al Qaeda Sympathizers; Riding Out Irene; Irene Could be Travel Nightmare; Bernanke Mum on Policy; Eighteen People Killed in Nigeria Blast; Casino Attacked in Mexico, 52 Dead

Aired August 26, 2011 - 16:00   ET

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

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN ANCHOR: It is the top of the hour now and it's considered unprecedented. As Hurricane Irene gets closer to the East Coast, America's biggest city calling for mandatory evacuations in certain areas, the first time that's ever happened in New York City.

You're looking live at pictures we found of the waves now crashing in North Carolina. Evacuation centers have opened their doors. We're going to go live in a moment.

But we're also expecting NASA to release brand-new pictures of this storm. That's just minutes away.

But first, don't wait, don't delay, get out of its path. Hurricane Irene is an extremely dangerous storm, those words a warning from the White House as the East Coast is bracing for this monster storm. You are looking at pictures of Nags Head, North Carolina, just one of the areas in the danger zone.

Hurricane warnings now in effect from North Carolina to New York City. Irene expected to come ashore around North Carolina's Outer Banks late tonight, through tomorrow morning. After that first hit now, Irene is expected to target the Northeast.

President Obama cutting his Martha's Vineyard vacation short by one day to get back to the White House, urging Americans to prepare for the worst.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I cannot stress this highly enough: If you are in the projected path of this hurricane, you have to take precautions now. Don't wait. Don't delay. We all hope for the best, but we have to be prepared for the worst.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRIFFIN: Evacuations in full swing now along North Carolina's Outer Banks.

And that's where David Mattingly is, in Kill Devil Hills. David, the situation continues to get worse and worse, I imagine.

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Drew.

We just got a very brief shower just a few minutes ago, our first taste of rain as those outer bands continue to creep their way north up these islands. In this area, we have seen people taking the warnings very seriously.

You can look behind me, nothing on this beach but a bunch of seagulls and surf right now. The mandatory evacuation order went out for people who live on this island today.

They were told that now is the time to get out to pack your cars and move on to the mainland for higher ground. What they're looking for when this storm comes through is this storm surge where this surf right here will come up and almost violently pound against the dunes that are up and down these barrier islands.

And when it pounds here -- and there's a lot of places that aren't as strong as what you see behind me -- that surf is going to punch right through these dunes and then flood the roads and the property on the other side. There's also a problem when this system continues to move to the north. It's going to pull some of the water that's on the west side of the island, we're talking in the sound and in the bays, pull that water on shore as well.

I have seen that happen before, and that can be just as dangerous, flooding streets and making them absolutely impassable. But the authorities here are telling everyone now is the time to go and if you stay, then there's a chance that you will be on your own for a minimum of 72 hours. That's during the storm and after, because emergency crews won't be able to get to you.

And as you can see by the way this beach looks right now, Drew, it appears that just about everyone is taking those warnings seriously.

GRIFFIN: David, I know you have been through this many times before. I have got Chad Myers with me as well.

Are you indeed seeing the bands? Because when it comes in, you can actually see those bands especially when they're first coming in.

MATTINGLY: Well, they're not really visible from the ground. It just looks like a lot of clouds up there coming in from the Atlantic.

And the same with the surf and the wind. The wind is picking up gradually with every hour. The surf gets a little stronger, a little more violent every hour. We are not going to see some really bad conditions until tomorrow. And it's about this time tomorrow I think we're going to be seeing hurricane-force winds sometime around noon.

But it's going to be a very long and dangerous event. It may start at noon, but we're going to see hurricane-force winds possibly 10 hours after that. So everyone who is here, believe me, is hunkering down for a storm of this very young century.

GRIFFIN: Chad, we can start narrowing in on the hours that we're talking about. Is he right? We're going to see it on the Outer Banks about 4:00 tomorrow afternoon, somewhere around then?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Probably earlier than that, because everything goes downhill rather rapidly. And everybody, they focus on the eye. Everybody looks at the eye, the eye, the center, the center, the center.

But you know what? Things start going down 100 miles or 150 miles from the center where you could get hurricane-force winds four hours before the eye. And that's what we have with a storm this size. It's bigger than Texas. Literally, I measured it yesterday. It's as big as Europe. From the north to the south, the east to the west, you can cover Europe with that storm right there.

And I have some brand-new information here from a whole company called Hazis (ph). And they go and they look at some very intricate, detailed numbers, where people live, how much their house is worth, what every wind gust will do to that house -- 46 million people will experience 50-mile-per-hour winds or more -- 46 million people will get that 50-mile-per-hour sustained wind as the storm rolls up the coast.

With wind damage alone, there will be $2.7 billion, with a B., dollars of damage. So the red census tracks here over $1 million in damage from the Outer Banks all the way over here to Elizabeth City, back down and go a little bit south of there, you would be able to see Morehead City itself, farther to the north, damage all along the coast, 100,000 to one million.

And every census track here along the Jersey Shore and then even a couple of red spots there with greater than $1 million, just wind, not including flooding, not including surge. This is just wind damage. And then look what's going to happen to the eastern side of Long Island. Every census track here -- obviously there's a lot of money here. The houses are bigger here. They have more to damage. And so the damage would be higher.

But then if you just push that right in through Connecticut and Providence, this is where the core of those hurricane winds will be all the way up to Boston, and that red, and then the orange, and then the yellow. And the yellow gets all the way back even into the Adirondacks and the Catskills. A very impressive map. And that's what you can expect as the storm gets closer.

There's the center. You can see the eye again on radar. Couldn't see it again for a while because it was too far offshore. You can see it now, landfall very close to Atlantic Beach. And that looks like landfall about 7:00 a.m. tomorrow with the eye wall. But things are going to get bumpy all night long. Winds are going to go 40, 50, 60, 70 and then finally 80 and 90 by tomorrow early morning.

You need to get out tonight if you're getting out. There's no time tomorrow -- Drew. GRIFFIN: Chad, thanks.

New York has put out its own map I want to show you. It's an evacuation map. They're posted all over the city now. And the map is showing the areas in the danger of flooding. All the red dots on the map indicate where evacuation centers are located. Those centers are now open.

And Poppy Harlow is at one of those centers.

Poppy, New York, a densely populated city, how is this evacuation notice being taken?

POPPY HARLOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, Drew, it's perhaps most important at places like we are right now.

We're at the fifth largest hospital in all of New York City, the largest hospital on Staten Island. It's the Staten Island University Hospital. We're on the south shore. To give you some perspective, we're only about half a mile from the beach that is going to get hit incredibly hard.

What you see going on behind me now, all of these New York City buses, these are evacuating patients. You have got about 430 patients here. So far, they have managed to discharge 200. Those people have been able to go home. They have evacuated 157 patients, but, Drew, it takes a long time.

I have been watching patients come out with their oxygen tanks on beds. You have three different patients that were evacuated, Drew, from the burn unit by helicopter. This is a process that takes a very long time. It's a very delicate process.

And just to explain the magnitude of this for you, this has never happened at this hospital before. I'm told by the director of EMS they have prepared for this, they have run through drills, but never before has this hospital been evacuated. And, Drew, never before has the city of New York issued a mandatory evacuation.

So it's a long process. They did start doing this at the mayor's recommendation late last night. They expect to be done fully evacuated by 11:00 a.m. tomorrow. That should be in plenty of time before this storm, this hurricane hits New York City, Drew.

GRIFFIN: OK, Poppy, we thought you were at an evacuation center. But this is even more interesting. Where are these patients going?

HARLOW: It's a very good question, Drew.

These patients are going to other hospitals all over New York. They're going to hospitals in Long Island.

We're just on live right now. Just one moment.

But they're going to hospitals in Long Island. They're going to hospitals in New York City. What I have been told by the public information officers here, Drew, is that it's very difficult to find beds for these people.

GRIFFIN: Yes.

HARLOW: That's hard for them to do as well. They have to find locations for all these patients to go. They are literally inside the hospital lined up, hospital bed after hospital bed, their families coming, concerned.

But they're doing this. It's a fairly orderly process and again they're doing it in time, in time, Drew, to be well ahead of this storm because they got enough notice. But again I think this is one of the most serious situations when you talked about evacuating. It's getting people out of those hospitals.

And, Drew, as you know well covering Hurricane Katrina, you do not want to be in a hospital that's in the path of a hurricane.

GRIFFIN: I was just thinking that, Poppy. This is exactly what didn't happen during Hurricane Katrina. And it led to a whole lot of problems and deaths.

HARLOW: Right.

GRIFFIN: And so this -- as troubling as this is, it's a good sign.

Poppy Harlow, thank you so much, Staten Island, New York.

Still ahead, how Homeland Security is preparing for this storm, including warnings about power outages, blackouts. Plus we're going to talk live with a hotel owner who is refusing to leave his hotel on the Carolina coast, even though her area is just hours away from becoming the hurricane's bullseye.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRIFFIN: We're monitoring Hurricane Irene, as the giant storm is churning now closer and closer to North Carolina's coast. Take a look at the size of this thing, Irene now almost one-third the size of the East Coast. As Chad says, it's as big as Europe.

Let's bring in Jeanne Meserve. She's in Ocean City, Maryland.

And, Jeanne, much of the Eastern Seaboard is bracing for high winds and flooding. What are you seeing there right now?

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, right now, it's a beautiful day, but that big lady is headed right here and people know it and they're getting out of town.

This is the pool at the hotel here. It was full of families earlier. Now there are not kids in the pool. Look in here. They have put beach chairs in the water to try and keep them from blowing away in the winds that they're expecting Irene to bring. In addition, here's the beach, the famous beach of Ocean City. It's nine or 10 miles long. Ordinarily, on a weekend like this, there would be about 200,000 people in this town. There are now probably only about 100 or so besides emergency workers. They have paid attention to the mandatory evacuation orders. Most of them have indeed left town.

The city announced today that as of 6:00 p.m. Tomorrow, wastewater facilities will be shut off. That may inspire a few more to get over those bridges and get to safety.

We spoke to the mayor earlier today. He is a little worried about the businesses here. There are hundreds of them reliant on this tourist business. And he warns that he does expect to see some flooding.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICK MEEHAN, MAYOR OF OCEAN CITY, MARYLAND: This is a very large storm. And we're going to see some winds that we haven't see in Ocean City.

Right now, the predictions is we're going to see sustained hurricane-force winds. That's not something that typically happens here in ocean City. We're going to see -- because of the six- to eight-foot storm surge, because of the amount of rain that's predicted, we're going to see a lot of flooding in the low-lying areas.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MESERVE: Now, he believes that the city is in much better shape now than it was in 1985, when Hurricane Gloria slammed into Ocean City. The Army Corps of Engineers built bums and dunes down there to protect the development.

Earlier today, members of the Army Corps were down there with surveying equipment. They tell me they're trying to get a fix on how much sand is down there now so they can tell how much Irene washes away after she's left.

Back to you.

GRIFFIN: Jeanne, it's 26 years since Gloria. That's a long time. Are they worried that people have forgotten, or, quite frankly, have no experience with hurricanes in Ocean City?

MESERVE: Well, you would think they might be, but the people I talk to here seem to well understand the risk. And as I say, most of them have already heeded the orders to get out of town. The police here have been going door to door, knocking, telling people it is time to go. And for the most part, they tell me people have been compliant. They are indeed leaving dodge before Irene arrives.

GRIFFIN: Good. Thanks, Jeanne. Appreciate that. You know, most people are following the mandatory evacuation orders in North Carolina's outer banks, but there are some holdouts. On Ocracoke Island, take a look at where that is, staying put is Sara Clark, joining us by phone. She runs the hotel on the island.

And how are you doing, Sara?

SARA CLARK, HOTEL & COTTAGE (via telephone): Good. How are you?

GRIFFIN: I'm doing great. Why are you staying?

CLARK: Well, I married into the hotel business a couple years ago. So, we got a big responsibility with taking care of the property and just all the different buildings we have to look after. It's just a matter of taking care of our business and our personal property really.

GRIFFIN: And -- I mean, during this storm, what can you actually do that you feel you have to be there to take care of the property? Maybe explain why you don't want to leave.

CLARK: Well, during the actual storm, you know, we'll obviously be in the safest place, but afterwards, as soon as it clears up, typically once the storm moves out, it's beautiful and, you know, we kind of need to get right back on it, putting the furniture back, putting the screens back in place so we're ready. Because just as soon as they open back up, the tourists will be back on vacation and we need to get ready for that.

And that's typically -- you know, depending on the damage, that can take a couple of days and hopefully no more than that. But it just depends on what we're looking at.

GRIFFIN: You know, you've obviously lost this weekend to tourism. Is this a major blow? Or is the bigger blow really going to be the damage, the insurance, the preparations that you'll have to make to get your property back in order?

CLARK: This weekend is an off weekend. There's a lull right before Labor Day weekend, because kids have already gone back to school in most places. So, thankfully, most businesses weren't as busy as peak summertime busyness. I mean, of course, it is a loss, but there are busier times. So, you know, our main concern is really just the property and the tides coming up from the sound is really our biggest concern.

GRIFFIN: Yes. Now, you have a mandatory evacuation order there, which -- I mean, they can't come in at gun point and force you off the island, which is obviously why you are there. But what they do tell you is, look, if something happens, if you need us, if there's an emergency, we may not be coming.

CLARK: I know.

GRIFFIN: Are you prepared if there is a medical emergency out there? CLARK: I can tell you I'm not nervous.

GRIFFIN: I mean, are you prepared if there is a medical emergency?

CLARK: But I've been here for Alex and Ophelia, so I have experienced some, you know, a one and a two. I'm not saying that I'm prepared for, you know, for what is to come. But I've been here through some. So, hopefully, we'll be all right.

GRIFFIN: Sara Clark, on Ocracoke Island, one of the people there, 300 or so, we are told, who are hanging in, trying to ride this thing out and protect their property. Sara, thanks for joining us. We hope we'll be able to talk to you throughout this whole ordeal and certainly after it's over with.

CLARK: All right, thank you.

GRIFFIN: Thanks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I cannot stress this highly enough. If you are in the projected path of this hurricane, you have to take precautions now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRIFFIN: This is the warning from the president. This looks like an historic hurricane and the cost of damage alone could mean big trouble for an already fragile economy. We're going to break it down.

Plus, any second, we should be getting brand-new pictures of the hurricane from space. Stay right there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG (I), NEW YORK CITY: Waiting until the last minute is not a smart thing to do. This is life threatening.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRIFFIN: There's a lot of speculation and that's all it is on how much damage Irene will do, how costly is going to be. But "New York Times'" Nate Silver put together a worst case scenario and it's not pretty. Silver followed a complicated data model that lists the financial data impact from previous hurricanes. In this worst case world, Silver says Irene could cost $35 billion of damages in Manhattan. That's if it hits as a category two hurricane.

He says if Irene hits Manhattan, it would likely flood the subways as well as neighborhoods like the east village, the financial district, TriBeCa, and parts of Brooklyn and most of the Rockaways. A lot of pricey real estates in those areas. This is the worst case scenario and just one man's prediction, but it is ominous.

My next guest spent years covering monster storms as director of the National Hurricane Center, and he says one of his greatest nightmares has always been a major hurricane moving up the Northeast Coast. Max Mayfield, one of the most trusted voices on these kinds of storms, is going to join me live, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRIFFIN: I want to show you some new pictures coming not connected with Hurricane Irene. It's an Amtrak derailment that took place in Nebraska today, the southwestern part of the state. A hundred and seventy-eight people were aboard that train. Three people with nonlife threatening injuries were taken to a hospital. Everybody else is OK.

But if you're looking -- you're looking at this video for the first time, the wreckage of the t train hit some farm equipment and knocked the cars off the tracks there.

It is hard to imagine a hurricane this size slamming into New York City. Experts are now warning, even if Irene turns and Manhattan isn't a direct hit, a storm surge could cause a lot of damage there.

CNN's John Zarrella has been covering hurricanes across the Southeast for years. He lives in Florida, hurricane country, knows how to work this thing, right? That's why we send him to New Yorkers are preparing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Steve and Debbie O'Sullivan live in Rockaway Beach in Queens, New York; a tranquil setting, a beautiful, wide shoreline. They never really worried about hurricanes until now.

STEVE O'SULLIVAN, RESIDENT: We never really understood, you know, the greater impact of it. We never really had a great fear of them. We used to play out in them.

ZARRELLA (on camera): What's changed?

S. O'SULLIVAN: Katrina.

ZARRELLA (voice-over): The O'Sullivans, whose house sits just one block from the ocean, with the Atlantic on one side and Jamaica Bay on the other, are thinking about stocking up on hurricane supplies.

DEBBIE O'SULLIVAN, RESIDENT: I really am seriously considering getting more supplies of water and dry goods. It is a worry for me. I mean, he is not as worried as I am.

ZARRELLA: There may be good reason for concern. New York City hasn't experienced a big hurricane since 1938. With the increase in hurricane activity, combined with the law of averages, many experts believe another major storm may be coming -- and soon.

(on camera): Is it going to be a slow rise?

NICHOLAS K. COCH, QUEENS COLLEGE/CUNY: Yes, yes. It's going to come up slowly, about the rate that you'd fill a bathtub.

ZARRELLA (voice-over): Coastal geologist Nick Coch, himself a New Yorker, believes if a major hurricane hits, it could be catastrophic. Deaths might surpass Katrina.

COCH: Because the most dangerous thing in New York is the New Yorker, and the New Yorker thinks they've been tested by everything. But very few New Yorkers have been in the eye of a hurricane and know how uncontrollable the energy is.

ZARRELLA: National Hurricane Center computer models and comprehensive studies are chilling. The water is pushed into lower Manhattan, steadily rising. Sea water pours through the Holland and Brooklyn Battery Tunnels. JFK Airport goes under in an astounding 20 feet of water.

(voice-over): Water in the Wall Street District could be seven feet deep; the subways knocked out.

COCH: There's going to be glass all over the street, glass flying through the air.

ZARRELLA: One study puts economic losses from a Category 3 hurricane at $100 billion.

JEANNE SALVATORE, INSURANCE INFORMATION INSTITUTE: Metropolitan areas high population density and very expensive properties. So, you throw a hurricane into that scenario, and results can be really catastrophic.

ZARRELLA: There is a plan in place if necessary to move 2.3 million people out of coastal zones. But how many will go?

Dolores Orr heads the community board in Rockaway.

DOLORES ORR, COMMUNITY BOARD CHAIRMAN: For those that were raised here, I hear them today talking that they're not going anywhere. And that's a concern.

ZARRELLA: For the O'Sullivans, being prepared just makes sense -- even here in New York, where hurricanes are as unheard of as the Yankees not making play-offs.

John Zarrella, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GRIFFIN: Always leaves us with a chuckle. Chad Myers is with me here. And we're joined down in Miami and south Florida with the former director of the National Hurricane Center, Max Mayfield.

Max, thanks so much for joining us. You have said this is part of a nightmare scenario you had always worried about going up the Northeast Coast. Can you explain that to us?

MAX MAYFIELD, FORMER DIRECTOR, NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER: Mainly as we talked previously here is that large population and not really hurricane experienced. By the time they get north of Carolinas, the hurricane is a very infrequent thing, and I understand people not focusing on the hurricanes, but they really need to heed the advice of the officials. This is the real thing.

GRIFFIN: It's a two. We just saw the numbers that we kind of focus on, Max, a two, goes down to a one. Many times we're warning people about threes and fours and increasing. Are you concerned at all that these numbers are going to get in the way of people making good decisions?

MAYFIELD: It did in hurricane Ike. It was only a category two, yet they had a storm surge. And if you remember hurricane Isabel in 2003, that was only a category two, but it hit Ocracoke Island. We ended up with six million people without power between North Carolina and New England. And most of those power outages occurred in areas outside hurricane force winds. You don't need hurricane force winds to cause trees to fall down and power lines to fall down. And especially with all the rain you have up there in the northeast, this is a real concern.

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hey, Max, it's Chad Myers. We know that the storm can go left and right. But just put on your hat for a second and tell me, what's your biggest fear? Or what do you think will be the biggest problem with this land falling hurricane in the northeast? Where is it?

MAYFIELD: You have to have your plan for all the hazards, and that includes the storm surge and the wave action on top of the surge, the strong winds, and the inland fresh water flooding. There's going to be a tremendous rain, six to 10 inches, maybe 15 inches according to the National Weather Service. That's going to cause a lot of problems, and can cause loss of life if we're not very, very careful.

MYERS: What happens to Long Island Sound when this wave action and wind action pushes all that water to the East River from basically two different directions?

MAYFIELD: That's a real good question. The circulation is so large on the north side of long island. It will be coming in from the south and from the east and that could be a problem there for sure. And I don't want to say anything contradictory to what they put up at the National Weather Service. I know my friends in the weather forecast offices and hurricane center. They're working very, very closely with the local and state emergency officials. I want to be sure there's a consistent message. I feel very, very strongly about that.

And those in the emergency management, they've written those plans, they know what can happen communicating with the forecasters and the national weather service there. We want to make sure that the people respond to those messages from their local officials.

GRIFFIN: We're looking at a local picture from space showing the sheer size of this thing. And of course with the size that also means the duration of rain is going to be longer and longer. But do you guys, I'll throw this out do you, Max, and Chad, any chance this thing just stalls and sits and dumps rain, or can we count on it to keep moving?

MAYFIELD: No. It's going to keep moving. There's no doubt about that. In fact the forward speed will increase the farther north it gets. But it is going to have this large rain shield out ahead of it. And there's going to be a heavy swath of rain, you know, well in advance. In fact, you know, those outer rain bands start in New York City on Saturday afternoon, and then the tropical storm force winds, you know, likely that evening, and the wind is going to continue to increase and hurricane force winds sometime on Sunday morning.

So you want to have all your preparations done before the tropical storm force winds get there. And so really you've got today and you've got the morning on Saturday. You don't want to wait too long here.

GRIFFIN: Max, thanks, always appreciate it. Chad, thank you, too.

Still ahead, I'm going to speak with a bar owner in New York's Fire Island where there's already a mandatory evacuation order. But he's not going anywhere. Also this --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We don't know what we might encounter in here and it's very, very dark. This is incredible. There is literally a city under here. But you can see -- wow.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRIFFIN: Uncovering the secret tunnels beneath Moammar Gadhafi's compound in Libya. We're also getting some disturbing word that hundreds of prisoners who are right now walking free in Libya have some dark histories. CNN terrorism analyst Paul Cruikshank joins me live with brand-new information on that. And we'll also continue bringing you the latest on Hurricane Irene. Stay right here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRIFFIN: To Libya now. Say what you will about Moammar Gadhafi -- he is still on the loose, by the way -- but during his decades in power Gadhafi kept the lid on his country's Islamic extremists. How? Easy. Islamic radicals were thrown in prison. Remember this from Wednesday? Anti-Gadhafi rebels freed a prison in Tripoli. Today CNN has learned among those liberated inmates are hundreds of men who are believed to be supporters of Al Qaeda. They're now on the loose. The man who uncovered this story is CNN terrorism analyst Paul Cruikshank. He has been to the prison in the past. He joins us live from London. Paul, give us details on just who is now free in Libya.

PAUL CRUIKSHANK, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: Well, what we're hearing Drew is up to 600 prisoners from this prison are believed to be pro Al Qaeda militants, people imprisoned there by Gadhafi, people who had been there for seven years, people who were imprisoned at the height of the Iraqi insurgency.

Many of these individuals actually tried to go to Iraq. Some of them came back from Iraq after fighting against American troops there. So there are rather large concerns at the moment about who these individuals are and what they may do in the future, Drew.

GRIFFIN: Are these potential political leaders being released, or are these just fighters that Gadhafi threw in prison to get rid of?

CRUIKSHANK: We know very, very little about who these people were. They never got trials, for instance. Some of them were just thrown into jail by the Gadhafi regime. Others people perhaps had ties to Al Qaeda. These are young individuals that got out of jail. They're part of a sort of younger generation of radicals, so more extreme than some of the older generations of jihadists in Libya, the sort of people that would support suicide bombing and that sort of thing.

So because of that there's quite a lot of concern, concern are they going to join rebel ranks now or are they going to try to fight outside the chain of command outside the National Transitional Council? A lot is unknown at this point, Drew.

GRIFFIN: I know you've been talking to a lot of experts and analysts. What is their greatest fear about these particular individuals being released? And I should also add, Paul, do the rebels who freed them, did they know who they were letting out of prison?

CRUIKSHANK: Well, it's not clear when the rebels released these prisoners if they knew who they were trying to release, but the fear really is these people are people with deep sympathies to Al Qaeda, that they they're now free, that they may try to organize within Libya.

The U.S. military so far has only seen flickers of Al Qaeda in Libya, very little Al Qaeda presence at the moment in the country. the concern is that this may allow Al Qaeda to build up operations there with these individuals who are sympathetic to it operating now in the country.

What we've already seen in the last few months in the chaos of civil war some radical extremists really coming to the fore in Libya in the eastern parts of the country, they even set up some training camps. So all these sorts of things are causing a lot of concern right now to U.S. counterterrorism officials. But it's very difficult to untangle exactly what is going on in the fog of war, Drew.

GRIFFIN: All right, Paul Cruikshank, certainly something to watch as we watch Libya. And you have a very detailed article. Is this posted already on our website, Paula? I have check lately. OK, so it is posted. Paul, thanks a lot. Good to see you over in London. Thank you so much for bringing that to us.

We're hours now from a mandatory evacuation for New York's Fire Island. And one bar owner says no, no thanks I'm not leaving even though the storm is coming straight for his place. I'm going to talk with him next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRIFFIN: Continuing our coverage of Hurricane Irene. You know, while most people stock up on supplies or run for higher ground during a major hurricane, some decide to ride it out.

Such as the case with New York's Andy Keller joining us on the phone from Fire Island and Andy, what do you have planned over the next few days?

ANDY KELLER, NOT EVACUATING (via telephone): How you doing? Well, right now it's absolutely beautiful. This is a perfect beach day. And there were still people, you know, in the water, even though the waves are getting a little crazy. But for the most part, almost everybody else is gone.

The ferries are only operating like taking people off of the beach and back to the mainland. And the fire department just went around telling everybody they had to leave, it's mandatory now. I've just been trying to close up my restaurant bar and there are people just struggling to put plywood on their windows.

We've just been helping them out and you know, just trying to do whatever we can. I don't know if we'll leave or if we'll stay. I'm not sure at this point.

GRIFFIN: You may leave? Andy is, that right, now you're thinking about leaving?

KELLER: Well, I'm actually here with some real salty born and raised Fire Islanders, so they're the only people that aren't scared right now. And they're a little older. I don't know. I just want to make sure that everybody is fine if I do head out, you know? I don't know.

GRIFFIN: Andy, I feel like I'm running a psychology show here. I'm sensing a little fear in your voice at this moment. Did that fire truck coming by with the mega phone give you a little second thought?

KELLER: It absolutely did. If - well, one of my business partner's grandparents that's who were concerned about. You know, I don't want to leave anybody behind that I know and care about and just sit cozy on the mainland worrying, you know?

So if it gets absolutely 100 percent chance that it's going to be completely dangerous and not worth staying here, of course, we'll just pull everybody and get out of here. But as of right now, they're planning on staying and I'm planning on staying with them.

GRIFFIN: When do you think is your drop dead decision?

KELLER: Well, there's no cars on Fire Island. Everybody gets around on bikes and golf carts. But the national seashore did reinstate driving for people who have permits for tomorrow. They just have to be out of here by tomorrow at 3:00 p.m.

So I don't know how much later than that the ferries will run tomorrow. So that will have to be our make or break point and we'll have to decide by then. But we'll see when the time comes.

GRIFFIN: All right, we're seeing pictures of your establishment with your cute signs outside. I hope you don't follow this advice, drinking up a storm. Good luck to you, Andy Keller and to all the people out on Fire Island. I do hope you make the right decisions this weekend.

KELLER: Thank you.

GRIFFIN: OK, take care. You know, in a city of 9 million people, New York is, of course, one of the biggest concerns here. We're getting a look at what would happen to lower Manhattan if a storm surge hits, where the water would go.

Plus airlines, bus and subway service being canceled left and right as Irene approaches the coast. Mandatory evacuations are being issued. How unprecedented is this? We'll tell you next.

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GRIFFIN: This hurricane is already snarling travel. Airlines cancelling hundreds of flights and Irene hasn't even made landfall yet. Alexandra Steele has been watching all of this -- Alexandra.

ALEXANDRA STEELE, AMS METEOROLOGIST: You know, this is really historic on so many fronts. The sheer number of people impacted, 65 million people from New England down towards the mid-Atlantic and listen to this, 45 million people will feel winds and experience 50- mile-an-hour wind gusts. Boy, what are we going to see?

It's really historic, massive disruptions. We've talked about that. Of course, the sheer size, the movement, the slow movement of this hurricane, but New York City pre-emptively, what are they doing?

Transit shut down, the first time ever due to weather. At noon tomorrow, you're not going to be able to take the train, the bus, the subways, complete shutdown. And 7 million people use this in New York City every single day. Four million use the subway alone. Not going to happen. Complete shutdown tomorrow at noon. And all of the bridges, whether you're going over the bridges, the GW when those winds get to 60 miles per an hour, they will be shut down and closed as well. All right, in terms of what we're seeing around the road, this is just the tip of the iceberg, really just the beginning.

Eastbound access to Atlantic City, you can't do it shutdown at 6:00 tonight. Take a look at this. Garden State Parkway shut down 8:00 tonight, south of Exit 98. All right, that's the roads, that's the rails, that's the subways. That's just this incredible thing happening in New York City and certainly much of the northeast.

But now in and out and around not only the northeast, the mid- Mid-Atlantic, we're seeing delays, already pre-emptively, not even for today, but tomorrow and Sunday. Already JetBlue kind of a leading on this getting out and delaying and canceling flights first, 800 flights already and I've just word Delta cancelling 1,300 flights into and from New York City and the surrounding areas for tomorrow and for Sunday.

Really Saturday and Sunday, the worst of this. And here's a look at all the flights and the potentials what we're going to see all of the troubles, of course, Boston, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, major hubs being impacted. So 30,000 flights a day here in the U.S. so many of them on the east coast.

But it's not just the east coast, not the northeast, not the Mid- Atlantic. There were troubles in Chicago and Indianapolis today because of this and this is just the beginning of it. We're really going to see a virtual standstill I'm sure in the next couple of days because of this hurricane throughout so much of the airports and planes around the country.

GRIFFIN: It will take days to work this one out. Thanks a lot, Alexandra. Appreciate that.

More news unfolding right now in a speech today, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke declined to tip his hand on the future of the monetary policy. This time last year, you know, he singled his second round of quantitative easing, what some called printing of money to try to spur the economy.

Well, Bernanke said today that the fed will map out its course at a two-day meeting next month. The Dow, by the way, finishing in the green up 134 points.

At least 18 people killed in a deadly bomb attack at a U.N. building in Nigeria's capital. A white SUV drove into this compound and the vehicle detonated. Not knowing who's responsible for the attack just yet. The Nigerian president and the U.N. secretary both have condemned this attack.

Smoke pouring out of a casino. This is in Mexico, Monterey, the target of a deadly attack Thursday. At least 52 people were killed. Gunmen actually burst into the building and set it on fire. And as the rescue crews keep searching, the count of bodies may increase. Mexican officials believe the attack is connected with warring drug cartels. We're just getting in brand-new data on where Hurricane Irene is heading now. And new hurricane warning just issued. We'll have it for you after the break.

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GRIFFIN: New info on Irene breaking right now. Let's get right to Chad -- Chad.

MYERS: Still 100-mile-per-hour storm although the hurricane hunter aircraft cannot find 100 miles an hour. The hurricane center left it at 100 not to reduce it on us right now. They may have to do that later if they fly through and still can't find the 100 miles an hour winds.

So 100 maybe 90 still being called a Category 2 hurricane there as your numbers 31-7-77-4 moving north at 13 miles an hour. How did things change? Actually not much at all, except for one thing. You will notice that a Category 1 hurricane now off the coast of North Carolina and off the coast of Ocean City.

That's a reduction in the speed. That's a reduction in the energy, also a reduction in the storm surge as well, some good news there. And by the time it makes its way on Sunday afternoon, all the way to Connecticut, it is just a tropical storm.

Now, is big tropical storm and a minimal hurricane are no different when it comes to storm surge especially one hurricane that's been in the water as long as it has. This storm surge could still be just as bad, even with a -- think about the -- with the reducing hurricane.

Think about how Katrina had such a surge, especially for the areas east of New Orleans. It a Category 4 surge with a Category 3 hurricane because that for awhile Katrina was a Category 5 hurricane and the bubble of water was still under it. So this could still and probably will quite a surge for the north east. Don't let your guard down because that's a TS.

GRIFFIN: And in terms of preparing for this now, the way I'm looking at it, people not along the coast, they should really prepare for being without electricity for days and days and days.

MYERS: You should plan to camp out in your house for three to five days. What would it be like to camp? What would it be like to have no water and no electricity? That's what you have to think about. Get all those things. Get water in your tub to flush with. Get water in your sink. Get water in pans and pots. Get water in your refrigerator to drink just in case it's not good to come out of your faucet. And then just make sure you have lots of electricity, lots of batteries and things like that and even a radio.

GRIFFIN: Chad, thanks. We'll be seeing you all weekend long I'm sure.

But right now, we'll send this up north to Joe Johns in "THE SITUATION ROOM" in Washington, D.C. right now -- Joe.