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U.S. Marines Land in Tacloban; Marking Veterans Day; Death Toll Could Top 10,000; Storm Reduces Towns to Rubble; Storm May Have Been Strongest Ever; 200 Marines on the Ground; Interview with USAID's Al Dwyer; Chris Christie Won't Commit

Aired November 11, 2013 - 13:00   ET

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

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Right now, they're digging through the rubble in the Philippines. They're looking for victims of the deadly super typhoon. As many as 10,000 people could be dead; hundreds of thousands are without shelter or food.

Right now, U.S. Marines are in Tacloban. Their priority is to get to the airport there running 24 hours a day, and that could make all the difference in the world to the relief efforts.

And right now, Americans everywhere remember the men and the women who served or have served in the United States military. Today, the president continued a Veterans Day tradition by laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery.

Hello, I'm Wolf Blitzer, reporting today from Washington. Here's the latest on the killer typhoon that has devastated so much of the Philippines. The president there has declared a state of national calamity. Families and rescuers are digging through the debris of thousands of homes. They're searching for as many as 10,000 bodies. Aid is coming in from all over. Pope Francis even sent $150,000 to churches in the Philippines to help storm victims. U.S. Marines are also helping deliver aid. We'll hear more about what they're doing in a few minutes.

With food and water hard to find, some have turned to scavenging and looting. They're going through the debris of homes and businesses. One person referred to the free-for-all as World War III. The storm has now moved on to Vietnam but was downgraded to a tropical storm. There are still fears the storm could cause massive flooding in parts of Vietnam and China.

The United Nations estimates that in the Philippines alone, more than 600,000 people have been forced from their homes. Many of them huddle together in shelters. But as our Paula Hancocks reports, even those who found shelter weren't safe from the storm. And I must warn you, some of the images may be hard to take.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The sign refers to a very different time. Now, all that greets visitors on the road to Tacloban is devastation. (on camera): Three days on since the storm itself. There are still bodies by the side of the road. Now, we can't show you the faces of these bodies as it's just too graphic. You can -- you can still see the terror as the wave hit on the faces of these bodies. And they're still here, three days on. Some of them are crudely covered. Others are just open and have blackened skin from the sun.

Now, the officials say that they're looking after the living which is what you would understand but they have to get rid of the bodies. This is a health issue for those people living and trying to survive around here. The stench is overpowering and, of course, they have to start considering disease. This is the Tacloban Convention Center. We're told by the locals that a lot of people came in here to try and protect themselves from the storm. But, as you can see, the water reached the second story and the locals say that anyone that was on the ground floor not expecting this storm surge simply didn't make it.

(voice-over): Many residents used this school as a shelter from the storm, but the water engulfed it.

ROGILO ROSALES: (INAUDIBLE.)

HANCOCKS: This resident says a lot of children died in here. Only a few managed to survive. No one knows how many lost their lives. Down the road, a public well is being put to use.

ROSELDA SUMAPIT: For now, we don't have enough water even though we are not sure that it is clean and safe. We still drink for it because we need to survive.

HANCOCKS: We see just two trucks in two hours making their very slow way into the city and the heart of desperation.

Paula Hancocks, CNN, Tacloban, the Philippines.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: That was a view from the ground. Our next guest got the view from the sky. Al Dwyer is the leader of the US AID's Disaster Assistance Response Team. He's on the ground now. He's done two flyovers, one over Tacloban City and the other along the coastline. Al, thanks very much for joining us. Tell us how bad this damage is. What have you seen?

AL DWYER, PRINCIPAL U.S. ADVISOR, US AID DISASTER ASSISTANCE RESPONSE TEAM: Well, good morning. Certainly a catastrophic situation. We did fly over Tacloban City where we get along the coastline out to the ocean. You know, 90 percent of the structures are damaged or gone. Certainly all the secondary roads remain closed. The debris and, you know, most of the vegetation, trees are gone. I think what was surprising to me is really the storm surge, the actual wave that came with the storm caused the greatest amount of damage to property and really affected the loss of lives.

BLITZER: You've been doing this for about 15 years, Al. Is this the worst you've ever seen? DWYER: Well, I tell you, if it's not the worst, it's close to it. Now, I guess I'd compare it to what we saw even earlier last year in the Philippines and typhoon Bolper (ph) hit Min Da Naw (ph) and, again, the Aceh tsunami, a lot of -- a lot of connections with that, as well, so.

BLITZER: I -- are the government there and all the international aid assistance coming in, is it enough to save lives right now?

DWYER: Well, there's a real effort right now to provide help. For example, yes, the government of the Philippines is on the ground. They're starting initial operations. The United States as well is bringing in two 747s the next couple days. This will be full of plastic sheeting, hygiene kits. I mean really right now, at this point, shelter, health, food and water are our priorities. We're also mobilizing food out of our Miami warehouse and Sri Lanka. And so, a lot of resources are coming to bear. It's just a question of getting it there and getting it out to those people who need the help.

BLITZER: And I assume they need food and water and medicine the most right now, right?

DWYER: Yes, it's the basics right now, Wolf. Food, water, medicine. Again, though, a lot of things are en route. We do have -- we're working closely with the Department of Defense assets and setting up means right now, at this point.

BLITZER: We've heard 10,000 may be dead right now, obviously hundreds of thousands homeless. Are those the numbers that you're hearing, as well, Al?

DWYER: Well, there's -- you know, there's not a lot of information on the actual number of dead. This was a large storm. It covered a lot of areas. People are still doing assessments. You know, I don't think we actually know the figure right now. And I'm not sure if we'll ever know, to be honest. But assessments are ongoing but certainly it was a severe storm. A lot of people lost their lives and we're just going to continue to try to assist those who survived.

BLITZER: Al Dwyer is with the US AID Disaster Assistance Response Team on the ground there in the -- in the Philippines and talked a little bit about it. Al, thanks very much for what you're doing. Good luck.

DWYER: OK, thank you, Wolf.

BLITZER: This important note to our viewers. For more how -- for more on how you can help the survivors of this disaster in the Philippines, please visit CNN.com, slash, impact.

Still to come here on NEWSROOM, U.S. Marines are on the ground at Tacloban. We're going to tell you why their presence right now potentially could make a huge difference in this ongoing relief effort.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BLITZER: During the height of Typhoon Haiyan, ships were tossed around like toys. Now, this is a scene in one village. In the village of Tacloban, houses were destroyed after ships slammed into them. For those who survived, life right now is a nightmare. Many are living in makeshift homes made out of wood and plastic. They are hoping help will arrive so soon. But for so many people, they have resorted to roaming the streets. They're looking for food, water, other basic necessities wherever they can find them. We'll get to the relief effort underway in just a moment.

But first, another question remains just how powerful was this storm? For that, let's bring in our meteorologist, Chad Myers. He's at the CNN Severe Weather Center. Chad, was this strongest storm ever recorded?

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: We may never know. We may never know because there wasn't a wind anemometer that could withstand the wind. There's nothing that would stand up to 195 miles per hour.

Now, how we will look to see whether this was possibly bigger than Camille or some of the other big storms on record was that we'll see how far things were thrown. And that's exactly how forecasters go out and find how big a tornado was. How far did this car get picked up and thrown? And I think one thing I heard today from one of the eyewitnesses said this was like a tornado over my house but it lasted for four hours. The wind never stopped.

So, super Typhoon Haiyan. Now, you may hear this thing called Yolanda. That was the Philippine name. Don't get confused. They're not two storms. It's the same. They rename storms depending what country they are. So, Yolanda was used by the Philippines. It's the same storm, 195. Camille at landfall was estimated at 190 and the Labor Day storm that went through the Keys and up the west side of Florida at 185.

So, as we know -- this is from Dr. Jeff Masters of WUnderground.com. As we know right now, at least as we think, yes, this was the strongest storm. And that's indicated by satellite. We've only had satellites for, what, 50 years? Of course, there were bigger storms earlier in life or earlier in the generation of the world. But, for now, the biggest storm to ever hit land on recorded history is this storm right here -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Is there another storm on the way, Chad, right now?

MYERS: There is a little bit of a storm. There's some generation possible but I don't believe it's going to be more than about a 35- mile-per-hour storm. That will still bring rain and that's not good but it'll also maybe even move around some of those sheets, the plywood, stuff that's already really torn up already. It's just sitting there now just waiting for a 35-mile-per-hour wind to pick it up. We've used this number a lot, about three, two and a half, three and a half times stronger than Katrina. And here's how the numbers stack up.

If you look at super Typhoon Haiyan, estimated wind gusts of 235, that would put -- if you had up with square foot of plywood, that's 140 pounds per square foot. That's how much wind pressure is putting on that one square foot of building. Now, the building's obviously bigger than one square foot. And then, if you're down to 120 where we were with Katrina, that's only 36 pounds per square foot. It's exponential. You multiply the wind velocity by itself. You square the wind velocity. That's why this exponential speed go at -- you know, from 100 to 120 to 140 is not just 20 percent. It's much larger than that.

BLITZER: Chad, thanks very much.

MYERS: You're welcome.

BLITZER: That's devastating numbers indeed. The United States is among the nations that have joined the relief effort. Earlier today, the U.S. Marines arrived at the Tacloban Airport. They will turn the airport into a 24-hour operation putting lights on the runway. This will also allow more aid flights to arrive.

Our Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr has more on the U.S. relief efforts underway.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, the U.S. Military has now completed an initial assessment of what is needed and how to get it there. But it's going to be very tough going. There are about 200 Marines already on the ground trying to help bring in some of the aid and supplies. But the big priority now is to get that airport at Tacloban open and running 24 hours a day. Due to the damage from the storm, it's only been able to operate in the daylight hours. And that, of course, is limiting the amount of aid that can come in. There are several U.S. military aircraft that have moved into the airport and tried to unload some initial supplies but it's far from enough. So expect to see more troops, more aircraft arriving. And the U.S. is going to see what it can do to help the Philippine military get to some of the outlying, very remote areas to keep looking for possible survivors.

There's also civilian aid coming in. The Agency for International Development trying to ship in tents, medical supplies, hygiene supplies like soap, toothpaste, toilet paper, enough for 10,000 people. But it may take days to get that shipment there. And there are tens of thousands, possibly hundreds of thousands of people, survivors, who desperately need help.

Wolf.

BLITZER: Barbara Starr at the Pentagon. Thank you.

By the way, tonight, Anderson Cooper will report live from the Philippines. Don't miss "AC 360" at 8:00 and 10:00 p.m. Eastern.

Up next, Sarah Palin making a stop at a Tea Party event in Iowa. And she took a shot at big government. We're going to hear exactly what she said that has raised a few eyebrows. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Earlier today, President Obama honored a Veterans Day tradition, laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery. He gave tribute to the American service men and women who died in all wars. The president promised to continue to support veterans, saying we all owe them, quote, "a debt we can never repay."

A very special veteran accompanied the president to Arlington. At 107, Richard Overton is believed to be the oldest living World War II vet. He served in the Pacific from Pearl Harbor to Okinawa. Still lives, by the way, in the house in Austin, Texas, he built right after the war.

After pulling off a landslide victory everyone thought he would, the New Jersey governor, Chris Christie, is now wrapping up speculation about a possible White House run. This weekend, the governor did the rounds of the Sunday talk shows. He says his focus is on the job of being governor of New Jersey right now. But listen to what he also told ABC News.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), NEW JERSEY: I'm the governor of New Jersey. That's my job and that's what I asked for four more years and that's what I intend to do.

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, ABC NEWS: All four years?

CHRISTIE: Listen, who knows.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Who knows indeed. Let's bring in Gloria Borger, our chief political analyst.

He's clearly leaving open the possibility of a run for 2016.

GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: You think? Yes. Yes.

BLITZER: So is he, as some of his supporters suggest, the answer to the GOP's problems?

BORGER: You know, it depends which part of the GOP you talk to. If you talk to people who identified themselves as moderates, the establishment business wing of the party, they look at Chris Christie and they say, yes, this is exactly what we need. But if you look at - if you talk to Tea Party people and you talk to people who identify themselves as conservative, there was a poll done in September, only 33 percent of people who identify themselves as conservative like Chris Christie. They don't thing he's got the credentials. They believe he's more about the personality of Chris Christie than the ideology of conservatism. They consider him suspect on issues like gun control, even same-sex marriage, even though he's, you know, anti- abortion. So he's got a long way to go with that wing of the party.

BLITZER: A different wing from Christie's wing of the Republican Party, the Sarah Palin wing of the Republican Party -

BORGER: Yes.

BLITZER: She was in Iowa over the weekend. I'll play a little clip of what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SARAH PALIN, FORMER ALASKA GOVERNOR: So often the people who are too enlightened for religion, for church, well, they're the very same people who have a zealot-like faith in their own church, which happens to be the church of big government.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: All right. So she's out promoting herself, clearly. She's got a new book that's just being released this week, so she's generating some publicity for herself, wants to sell the book. But she's also sparking some notes, some chords, among the GOP consecutive base.

BORGER: She is. But she's mostly selling books, Wolf. She's not going to run for president. She is sort of an unofficial leader of the Tea Party wing of the party, but I don't know how much pull she has when it comes to getting people out to vote. What was interesting to me about that event this weekend was you heard Senator Mike Lee, who was the person who led the shutdown fight with Ted Cruz, Mike Lee of Utah. He's clearly getting some heat back home about what happened with the shutdown. And his speech was not just about railing against people who like government and all the rest. His speech was saying, as a Republican Party, what we need to have is an agenda. He was specific. He said we need to figure out where we stand on health care, on education, on immigration. So you could see that he says, look, OK, we've done that, now it's time to figure out what we stand for. Very hard to do that without a national leader, which is what Chris Christie wants to be, but at least you see the Mike Lees of the world moving in that direction.

BLITZER: So you don't think she's going to run for anything?

BORGER: I do not.

BLITZER: Not the Senate from Alaska, not for president? She's done basically running for political office?

BORGER: I do not. I think she's writing books. I think she's giving speeches. I think she probably has a very nice life. And I think if she ran, I think she would have a lot of trouble.

BLITZER: And she's making a lot of money right now.

BORGER: She's doing just fine.

BLITZER: I'm sure she's enjoying life.

BORGER: Yes.

BLITZER: She's going to be on with Jake Tapper tomorrow on "The Lead."

BORGER: Great.

BLITZER: 4:00 p.m. Eastern tomorrow. So we'll hear what she has to say here on CNN as well.

Other news we're following. Aid - getting back to our top story - it's now on the way to the Philippines, but could the massive amounts of damage keep those supplies from getting to where they are so desperately needed? We'll take a closer look when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: One survivor in the Philippines is comparing it to World War III. Others say it's like living in hell. This is what they're talking about, complete devastation in areas of the country hit by a super typhoon. The storm has weakened and moved off to Vietnam, but what it left behind is a staggering death toll. It's possible more than 10,000 people are dead. Many of the bodies are in the streets. Others are buried in rubble. U.S. Marines, they are now on the ground. They are helping where they can with supplies and support. But there are major difficulties getting aid to where it's needed because of the damage caused by the storm.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIG. GEN. PAUL KENNEDY, U.S. MARINE CORPS: Every building is either significantly damaged or destroyed. The streets are all closed. You can see where the - you know, it's a 15 to 25-foot wave came across entire villages. And so everything's wiped out.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A lot of people are dead. Our friends are dead. Some of our family members are dead. So it's really devastating.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Joining us now from Manila is Kristie Lou Stout.

The thousands of homes destroyed, Kristie, bodies lining the streets. What's the government in Manila, the capital where you are right now, what are they saying, what are they able, what can they do to help the folks out there?

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In the aftermath of the super typhoon, this is what the government of the Philippines are doing. They have sent special forces on the ground to that hard hit area of Tacloban City. That happened earlier on Monday. There they're delivering aid and they're also providing law and order.