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U.S. Embassy Tells Americans, Stay Away From Airport; Hurricane Aims For Northeast U.S, 40-Million-Plus Under Threat; Non-Profit Group Ascend Members Stuck in Afghanistan; New South Wales Logs Third Day of Record Cases; Taliban Takeover Poses Major Challenges for Aid Workers; Haiti Earthquake Rescue Effort Moving toward Recovery Phase. Aired 2- 3a ET

Aired August 22, 2021 - 02:00   ET

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

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ROBYN CURNOW, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Hi. Welcome to all of our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. Thanks so much for joining me this hour. You're watching CNN. I am Robyn Curnow.

So coming up, hurricane Henri is targeting the U.S. Northeast right now. More than 50 million people are in its path.

And a new threat is emerging amid the chaos at Kabul's airport. U.S. Defense officials say ISIS could be planning an attack.

Also, young Afghan women newly empowered to literally reach new heights now find themselves fleeing for their lives.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Robyn Curnow.

CURNOW: So hurricane Henri is barreling towards the northeastern U.S. right now with landfall expected in the coming hours on either Long Island or southern New England. Now more than 50 million people -- take a look at this satellite image here -- more than 50 million people are under hurricane or tropical storm warnings.

And states of emergency have been declared in New York, Rhode Island and Connecticut. CNN has just obtained this video of flooded streets in downtown Hoboken, New Jersey.

This is part of the rain system already hitting the Northeast. For days, residents have been prepared -- warned to prepare for situations like this and to evacuate or to shelter in safe places. And here's what New York governor Andrew Cuomo told his state. Take a listen.

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GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D-NY): New York tough also means New York smart. And New York smart, today, means get out of harm's way, please. (END VIDEO CLIP)

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CURNOW: So earlier, CNN spoke with Lieutenant Commander Robert Mitchell. He is part of a Hurricane Hunter team that flew directly into hurricane Henri on Saturday night, gathering data that really helps forecasters to know what to expect from the storm. He described what it was like to fly into the eye of this storm.

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LIEUTENANT COMMANDER ROBERT MITCHELL, NOAA PILOT: This storm has been uniquely bumpy. Our flight yesterday was heavily influenced by some of the dry air that was coming in from the -- from the west.

And so, we had some of the strongest air turbulence that we have had in storms for quite a few years. All that dry air intruding into the hurricane has really caused a really tough ride for us.

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MITCHELL: We try to fly into the center and measure each of the quadrants of the storm, to try to get a good picture of what the storm is trying to tell us.

The storm on this track, with the dry air coming in from the west -- the last time that I flew on something like this was actually superstorm Sandy.

That was a much stronger storm and had much more organization prior to being impacted by some of the weather systems coming off the U.S. But this track and this kind of left-hand turn that it's going to make in the next day here is -- is somewhat rare.

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CURNOW: So hurricanes are rare for the northeastern U.S. The last time one made landfall in New England was back in 1991 when hurricane Bob came ashore in Rhode Island.

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CURNOW: I want to take you now to the deepening crisis in Afghanistan. The U.S. embassy in Kabul is warning Americans who are still in the country not to attempt to come to the international airport unless they are notified.

There are growing fears that terrorists may try to attack the airport or the crowds clustered around the gates, as you can see here.

So the U.S. says it is setting up alternative routes in Kabul to safely escort stranded Americans and others to the airport. Nearly 27,000 people have been evacuated so far, including about 2,500 Americans. And in the coming hours, President Biden is expected to address the

security situation at the Kabul airport. We get more details from Oren Liebermann at the Pentagon -- Oren.

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OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: The Pentagon has been aware that the airport, itself, Kabul International Airport, is a target for groups like ISIS-K, as well as the Haqqani network and Al Qaeda.

But now, it's gone to a different level. Military planners have begun preparing alternative routes, according to two Defense officials, as a way of getting American citizens and Afghan evacuees from their location to the airport in light of this emerging threat.

As far as we know, they haven't started using these routes. But it's a response to the changing environment. The growing crowds around the airport that might be a very tempting target for groups like ISIS-K.

Modes of attack could be vehicle borne improvised explosive devices, mortar attacks or suicide bombers. And it's because of a threat like that, that they have developed these plans.

The senior diplomat in Kabul, who spoke with one of our colleagues, says that there is a credible threat there but not, it appears, an imminent one. Nevertheless, because of what has been a constantly evolving situation on the ground, the military went ahead and began to develop these plans and routes that would give U.S. troops there, and the U.S, in general, more oversight and more visibility on where U.S. and Afghan evacuees are moving and -- and the ability to see them as well as the ability to either avoid or disperse the large crowds that would be that tempting target.

For the most part, the Pentagon says most Americans have gotten through Taliban checkpoints though they are aware there are some reports of those who have been stopped.

ADM. JOHN KIRBY (RET.), PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: We know of cases, a small number that we know of -- and we don't have perfect visibility. But we know of a small number of cases, where some Americans -- and certainly, as the secretary, also, said in that statement, Afghans, Afghans that we want to evacuate.

Not -- it wasn't just Americans that he talked about -- have been harassed and, in some cases, beaten. We don't believe it is a very large number.

LIEBERMANN: There is some level of coordination between U.S. forces there and the Taliban on these alternative routes, not complete coordination and the Taliban doesn't know everything, officials told us.

But it requires that level of coordination against, in this case, a common enemy that is ISIS-K. As the U.S. tries to move forward more people from their location to the airport and then, ultimately, of course, out of Kabul International Airport and to a third country, either, the U.S. citizens bringing them back to the United States or Afghan evacuees to Qatar, Bahrain, that are stepping up and offering assistance to try to get Afghan evacuees out of the country -- Oren Liebermann, CNN in the Pentagon.

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CURNOW: Now seven Afghan civilians were killed while desperately trying to get in the airport on Saturday in Kabul. Large crowds have been swarming these airport gates for days now, hoping to catch a flight, any flight, out of Afghanistan.

The U.K. defense ministry says the victims died in two separate incidents as crowds were trying to push their way near the facility. One incident happened just outside the airport, while the other was at a nearby hotel. The ministry couldn't confirm the exact causes of death.

Now Jomana Karadsheh is following all of these developments for us from Istanbul.

Jomana, hi. I mean, just talk us through the backlog of people. So many people. The logistics, the red tape is certainly amplifying the crisis, isn't it?

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I mean, Robyn, it's been a week, a week since the Taliban takeover. A week since this crisis erupted and it seems like the situation is getting more chaotic, more dangerous, more disorganized by the day.

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KARADSHEH: You know, you're talking about the crowds that we have seen gathering outside the airport. You have got thousands of people, who have converged on the airport. And, you know, not necessarily all of those people have the paperwork or qualify for evacuation.

You've got so many desperate Afghans, who are making it to the gate, trying, desperately, to get out of the country, to flee Taliban rule. And, you know, we saw that desperation turn into death yesterday, as you mentioned.

You know, we saw these reports that civilians may have died outside the airport. And the British MoD that was assisting in that area helping out civilians did confirm that at least seven people lost their lives in two separate crushes around near the airport.

And, you know, Robyn, this is coming after reports over the past week we have had of at least 12 people, who've lost their lives trying to just get to the -- to the airport. And, you know, if that risk of getting caught up in a stampede was not enough, now you have got what Oren was reporting.

U.S. officials saying that there is a potential, possible threat, a possible ISIS plot to attack the crowds outside the airport, talk of the possibility of using car bombs or suicide bombers or mortars. And that is why the Americans are looking at different ways,

alternative routes to get people into the airport and different access points. But really unclear how they are going to be doing this, Robyn.

It is -- there are very limited options of how people can get to that gate and get into the airport. And this all when they're up against that deadline of August 31st for the U.S. military withdrawal. Lots of questions.

If they are actually going to be able to evacuate thousands, perhaps tens of thousands by that August 31st deadline and watching this, really concerned, terrified, actually, are Afghans who are associated with the U.S, who worked with the U.S.

They are watching and, no matter what U.S. officials are saying to try and reassure them that they won't be left behind, they have a real fear, Robyn, that they will be left behind.

CURNOW: Jomana Karadsheh there in Istanbul, thank you for that update.

Now before the Taliban takeover, nonprofit group Ascend sought to empower Afghan women and girls by teaching them how to climb mountains. Well now, the organization is desperately trying to get its members out of harm's way.

Ascend founder and executive director Marina LeGree joins me now from Naples, Italy.

Marina, hi.

How difficult has the past week been, particularly in trying to get these girls out?

MARINA LEGREE, FOUNDER AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ASCEND: It's been a nightmare. Continues to be. It's -- we have tried everything. We have people pulling for us all over the world and at all levels. And we still can't seem to get people out.

CURNOW: What have been some of the stories in terms of your attempts to get them out?

LEGREE: Well, I have been in touch constantly I'm not there, myself. But it's been agonizing to be trying to lead the girls to whatever we've been told will work. And they're constantly on the phone with me, sometimes, on video. And I can see how badly it's all failing.

We've been three times caught in mobs that are -- where people have died. Fortunately, our girls haven't died; we've had injuries. They have kept their heads and kept their families safe.

But someone was shot right next to a 7-year old's sister of one of our team members. One of our team members had her father -- his -- he had a head injury from, apparently, U.S. troops doing crowd control. It's -- it's been really bad.

CURNOW: So have they tried to get from Kabul to the airport and just failed?

Or -- or got through and then couldn't -- couldn't be processed, I understand.

LEGREE: No. Nobody can get through. If you're -- if you get through, then you're in a safe zone. And this is what I'm calling for to anybody who will listen.

We need the U.S. military to get outside the wire and establish a safe zone to process civilians. It is not going to work to call people to the airport and tell them -- it doesn't matter what you tell them. It doesn't matter what their visa status is. They can't get in the gate and they are dying in the -- in the attempts.

CURNOW: Who are your girls?

You started this NGO to help them climb mountains. Clearly, this is a challenge way beyond some of the highest peaks you've had to encounter.

Who are they?

And -- and what do they mean to you?

LEGREE: Well, they mean everything to me. They're -- they're the future that -- that I think Afghanistan can be. I think a lot of us dream that girls can be free and can be empowered. And these girls really embody that.

They're athletes. -- but they're citizens. They volunteer in their communities. That's a big part of what we do. They are role models for other girls. And most of them are teenagers and we -- we try to give them tools to be leaders in whatever context they're in.

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LEGREE: And we are really seeing them draw on those now, where they are having to keep their heads in a crisis that goes day after day after day. And we're having to apply medical training to deal with injuries.

It's -- it's it's hard to say. It's -- it's hard to explain how difficult it's been for me, too, as an American to watch my country fail in this. And I am the one that these girls trust. And I'm saying, come. These are the instructions. You will be looked after.

And then, it's -- it's not -- it's -- they're not being looked after at all. It's an impossible situation and I cannot understand why the U.S. government can't task our military to make a safe zone for these people. We're just watching them die.

CURNOW: Our reporter before you said there were limited options. There is obviously a deadline, real concerns that some people will be left behind, many, that this is not going to end anytime soon.

Are you preparing for a worst-case scenario that you won't be able to get these young girls out?

LEGREE: Yes, of course. And we have not just the girls that are on our staff or on the team now but we have a network of girls, who have been part of our program over the years and they are all terrified.

I am getting messages, around the clock, begging me to help them. And the -- the calculation everybody is making is we all know the airport is bad. And we've, again, seen death right -- literally, right next to us.

But the Taliban are here. And our girls are mostly Hazara. They know that their time is -- is limited and they will be targeted. So they are just deciding which -- which risk to take. And it's incredibly difficult. And in -- yes.

CURNOW: Thank you for all you have done and continue to do. Good luck. And that is a terrible choice, many of those girls, as you say, are perhaps facing right now. Keep us posted and thank you, again, Marina LeGree.

LEGREE: Thank you.

CURNOW: You can find out how you can help Afghan refugees or if you are a veteran troubled by events in Afghanistan, please do go to cnn.com/impact.

Now coming up here on CNN, another day of record COVID numbers in Australia after violent anti-lockdown protests in two of its biggest cities. A live report from Sydney. That is just ahead. You're watching CNN.

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CURNOW: Welcome back. I'm Robyn Curnow, live in Atlanta. Thanks for joining me this hour.

So coronavirus vaccinations in the U.S. are slowly heading in the right direction. For the third straight day, more than 1 million doses of the vaccine were administered. But the COVID death rate is headed in the wrong direction, with the U.S. now averaging 1,000 deaths a day for the first time since early April.

And we understand that famed civil rights leader reverend Jesse Jackson and his wife are both in the hospital after testing positive for the virus. That's according to the organization Jackson founded, Rainbow PUSH Coalition.

The 79-year-old is at least partially vaccinated, we understand. Jackson received a dose of the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine in January. Meanwhile, people in South Africa are lining up in droves to be

vaccinated. The South African government recently made the shot available to all adults. And officials said the line at a drive- through queue on Friday in Johannesburg here was several miles long. South Africa is hoping to deliver 300,000 vaccinations per day.

Australia is reporting hundreds of new COVID cases just a day after these violent protests rocked the country. New South Wales recorded more than 800 new infections on Sunday, a record for the third straight day in a row.

This comes after hundreds of angry protesters clashed with police over tighter COVID restrictions in several Australian cities on Saturday. Well, Angus Watson is in Sydney, where dozens of protesters were arrested on Saturday.

Angus, hi.

What more can you tell us about this?

Certainly, folks are getting pretty, pretty angry because it's been, I don't know, you tell me, how long since there have been lockdowns there where you are?

ANGUS WATSON, CNN PRODUCER: Well, Robyn, where I am here in Sydney, the worst-hit city in Australia's third wave of COVID-19, a lockdown has been in place since last June.

And it will be in place until at least the end of September and perhaps further on. That's as the Delta variant moves through Sydney, forcing case numbers up. Some of the case numbers now on a day-to-day basis are the highest that the country has ever had.

And meanwhile, we're seeing protests like the ones on our screens now, where we have thousands of people turning out, particularly, in Australia's second largest city of Melbourne.

There, police say, to cause mayhem in their protests against this -- these lockdowns, Robyn. And some of the scenes that were on display yesterday in Melbourne are the most violent that Australia's seen in quite some time.

Police forced to use nonlethal weapons, firing pepper balls and using pepper spray against angry protesters there, causing injuries to police. At least nine police officers still in hospital with broken noses, head and spinal injuries, concussions.

Now Robyn, of course, as the Delta variant spreads, Australia's vaccine rollout has not been quick enough. We have just had over 20 percent of the population fully vaccinated.

But despite that, the prime minister, Scott Morrison, saying things will get better in the not-too-distant future. He wrote an op-ed today released, in which he sought to shift the focus from these very high case number counts to hospitalizations and deaths. I will read you a little bit of what he said in that op-ed. "Shifting our focus from not just case numbers to actually looking at

how many people are becoming seriously ill and requiring hospitalization is increasingly what matters," he says.

"After all, this is how we manage all other infectious diseases."

But Scott Morrison may want to treat COVID-19 like the flu or another infectious disease.

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WATSON: The cold, hard truth, Robyn, the vaccination rates in Australia just aren't high enough for him to do that just yet -- Robyn.

CURNOW: Thanks for that. Live there in Sydney, Angus Watson, good to see you. Thanks for that update.

Coming up on CNN, millions of people are under threat from hurricane Henri, as the storm takes aim at the northeastern U.S.

Plus, a military site in Germany gets a new mission, helping people flee the Taliban. We report from the airbase, coming up.

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CURNOW: It's 28 minutes past the hour. Thanks for joining me. Welcome back to all of our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Robyn Curnow live in Atlanta.

So millions and millions people are bracing for impact as hurricane Henri takes aim at the northeastern U.S. Now the storm is expected to make landfall on Sunday near Long Island and southern New England.

Some areas are already starting to feel Henri's impacts and heavy rains from the storm have forced hundreds of flight cancellations in New York and New Jersey. States of emergency have been declared in New York, Connecticut and Rhode Island. And state leaders are urging residents not to take the storm lightly.

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GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D-NY): I feel confident saying to New Yorkers that they could not be in better hands in terms of an experienced team. Now that doesn't mean that Mother Nature doesn't win. She wins. She wins. She won at superstorm Sandy. She wins every time. But we will be doing everything that we can do to be prepared.

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GOV. CHARLIE BAKER (R-MA): We plan and prepare for the worst and hope we never have to use those plans. And maybe that, in this particular time, that will be the case.

GOV. NED LAMONT (D-CT): We're prepared for what could be a tough storm. We got the folks on the ground, ready to hit the ground running and do everything we can to keep you safe.

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CURNOW: So in Connecticut, officials are warning that more than half the state could lose power during the storm. And they say that it could take weeks -- weeks -- to get everything back up and running.

Authorities say another big concern, as Tyler was saying there is, of course, the storm surge and the flooding, especially in low-lying areas. Brian Todd is in New London, Connecticut, with more on that.

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BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Here, in New London, Connecticut, and in Groton, just across the Thames River, there are some low-lying areas. So there is real concern about storm surge, about flooding in these two towns. A lot of water around here. You have got the Thames River right behind me. You have got Long Island Sound just south of that.

That's where these two bodies of water converge. And again, some low- lying areas. A lot of neighborhoods in these areas could be vulnerable to storm surge and flooding. I just talked to the mayor of Groton, Connecticut. He has ordered mandatory evacuations in at least two neighborhoods covering about 40 homes.

So that covers at least 80 to 100 people. Not everybody has taken him up on that. Of course, mandatory evacuations mean they strongly suggest you get out of your home but they do not require it. They cannot force you out of your home.

But they are trying to get some people in low-lying neighborhoods to evacuate. We did speak to a couple of them. A lot of them are saying that they're not going to get out because they're concerned about their pets. They are concerned about other things. They may wait it out. They may kind of make a last-minute call during the height of the storm.

But the mayor of Groton says that's really not the time to make that call. He is not going to be able to get first responders out to these people at the height of the storm on Sunday -- Brian Todd, CNN, New London, Connecticut.

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CURNOW: Thanks, Brian.

Severe weather is also causing devastation in middle Tennessee. We know at least 10 people have died during severe flash flooding in Humphreys County, about 60 miles west of Nashville. The sheriff's office told a CNN affiliate that two of the bodies they

recovered were toddlers. More than 2 dozen people are still missing and officials say nearly 50 National Guard troops have now been deployed to help with rescue operations there.

I do want to go back to another one of our top stories, the race to evacuate people from Afghanistan. The U.S. has said it is in talks with the Taliban to get out people.

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CURNOW: But there are fears ISIS could pose a deadly new threat. The U.S. says it wants to establish alternative routes to the Kabul airport over fears of an attack by the local ISIS affiliate.

Meanwhile, though, both the U.S. and Afghan evacuees are arriving in the U.S. By the end of the weekend, the Washington, D.C, area is expected to see some 1,500 arrivals. A senior-administration official says the Biden White House may even compel U.S. airlines to help with getting tens of thousands of evacuees to the United States.

But -- but -- before they can reach the U.S, many people are being taken to Ramstein air base in Germany. The base was a major destination for medevaced U.S. troops during the Afghan war and as Atika Shubert now reports, it has a new mission, serving as a haven for refugees fleeing the Taliban.

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ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Plane after plane, carrying men, women and children, evacuees who are part of the chaotic scramble to airlift people out of Afghanistan following the Taliban's takeover.

Now safe at the Ramstein U.S. airbase in Germany, one of the biggest outside of the United States, soon capable of taking in up to 7,500 people from this unprecedented airlift, explains 521st Air Mobility Operations Wing Commander, Colonel Adrienne Williams.

COLONEL ADRIENNE WILLIAMS, WING COMMANDER, 521ST AIR MOBILITY OPERATIONS: It's enormous because it is such a huge humanitarian mission. But I can tell you, on each of those C-17s, we have gone from 75 passengers on board all the way up to 400.

SHUBERT: So as you can see behind me there, that's a C-17 Globemaster and these are the flights that have been coming in and out of Ramstein airbase bringing passengers. One just landed.

And what happens is passengers disembark. They're brought here by bus and the first person they meet is a USO imam. They are given a welcome to Germany, to the Ramstein airbase and then they proceed through medical checks, as well as security checks.

Then, they are brought to a holding area, where their IDs are checked. Then finally, they will be able to get to their temporary living quarters here on the base.

SHUBERT (voice-over): This is an all-hands-on-deck effort between the U.S. Air Force, Army, as well as more than 1,500 civilian volunteers, including the Red Cross. But safety and security is the priority here.

That includes rigorous ID checks, fingerprints and iris scans to screen for anyone flagged by federal databases, says Brigadier General Joshua Olson, 86th Airlift Wing and Installation Commander.

BRIGADIER GENERAL JOSHUA OLSON, 86TH AIRLIFT WING AND INSTALLATION COMMANDER: First and foremost is the security. So we focus heavily on the security. And then from making sure we take care of all of their -- their health needs, COVID checking. And so making sure that they don't have any symptoms.

And then, also, we -- we do a very robust check with the Department of State and also all of our federal agencies.

SHUBERT (voice-over): This is their home for the next two or three days, hastily assembled cots for beds and 40 people to a tent.

Women and children are inside the cavernous airplane hangar. Men sleep in the tent city outside with a small area in between for families to meet. None are allowed to leave yet.

SHUBERT: These are the temporary living facilities. The capacity here at the moment is 5,000. They are hoping to get that up to 7,500. But there is a flight arriving here almost every 1.5 hours. And it's filling up fast.

SHUBERT (voice-over): On our way out, we meet this Haseeb Kamal. He says he is a U.S. citizen from Virginia and had flown to Afghanistan to visit family and got married there last week.

HASEEB KAMAL, U.S. CITIZEN: So I just, like, rushed, like everybody else. And the only people that I could get in was my dad and my sister. U.S. forces were shooting fires, the Taliban and also, like, Afghan forces, too, at the gate. So people were getting hurt left and right. And it was a really bad situation.

SHUBERT: I mean, that's incredibly traumatic.

What did -- have you been able to speak to your family since you were separated from them at all?

KAMAL: Only this morning for two minutes. That's it.

SHUBERT: What did they say?

KAMAL: They're in shock. They were worried about us. And we were worried about them.

They're saying what's going to happen to them?

And I was like, I don't know. SHUBERT (voice-over): But this is only a temporary reprieve. There are

still so many questions about where they will go and what will happen to family still trapped in Afghanistan. Many here, looking to the U.S. for answers -- Atika Shubert, CNN, Ramstein Airbase, Germany.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CURNOW: Well, the Taliban takeover Afghanistan poses major challenges for nongovernmental organizations and aid groups. For that, more on that, I am joined now by Charles Davy. He is the managing director of the British NGO, Afghanaid.

How are you doing?

Because I understand you made it out of Kabul on Monday, if I'm correct.

What is the past week or so been like for you, personally?

CHARLES DAVY, MANAGING DIRECTOR, AFGHANAID: Morning, Robyn.

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DAVY: Yes, I did make it out on Monday morning. I was one of the lucky ones. And I'd say the past week has been absolutely hectic, frantic. We've been trying to evacuate two other of our international colleagues, who, I'm thankful to say, one left last night. And hopefully, one will be leaving this morning now.

Also, we have been dealing a lot with the national staff there, encouraging them to stay home and stay away from -- away from the -- the violence but also, to try and continue the work that they can from home.

We've organized for essential staff to go back into the office in Kabul this morning. And they will be resuming -- resuming work gradually, I hope.

We have also, of course, been dealing with our programs in the provinces, as the Taliban have made approaches, for us to resume working. And, at the moment, we're doing that gradually and cautiously but trying to do it in -- in concert with the other NGOs in the country to make sure that we are abiding by appropriate principles.

And you know, we're all working together with the Taliban with one message.

CURNOW: So -- so you are putting into place a framework or preparing to have to do business with the Taliban. I know that aid agencies have had to do this in the past; particularly, in the more remote areas.

How -- how -- how is the prospect of that going to pan out, particularly if you have got, say, female members on your staff?

DAVY: Well, we're going to have to work with and find out what that is, at the moment. As -- as you say, we've worked with the Taliban in the past in the areas where they've controlled.

Over the past several years, of course, they've had a shadow government in place with governors and commissioners for health and education and NGOs and companies. So we have always had to keep them informed in order to ensure the safety and access of our staff.

And to a certain degree, therefore, those relationships already exist. In terms of how -- how and when women can continue to work, which, I want to make the point that this is absolutely critical because, in order to deliver assistance and services to families, women being the center of the family and only women being able to work with women, our women have to be able to get out and do that work.

And it's a message that we are all trying to get across consistently. At the moment, in some provinces, they are saying, well, let's wait and see for further direction. In other provinces, they are saying women can work, appropriately dressed and with a -- a male family member to escort them.

But we are still trying to figure out what that might mean across the country, what kind of area is required -- you know, moving out of what kind of area do they -- are they going to require a man to travel with them?

CURNOW: So certainly, very, very uncertain times, to put it mildly.

As you reflect on the last 10 days or so, what is the one moment that -- that sticks out to you?

DAVY: I think most particularly, I mean, what I have been asked about a lot has been my own experience of the evacuation. You know, I -- I really I am very grateful that I managed to get out when I did.

We made an early call on -- on -- on Monday morning that one of our staff members would go.

And then, as the events unfolded during the day, we -- we decided the other international staff would leave, really, because of the vacuum that was being created between the government falling and police and military leaving their posts and the Taliban moving in.

We were concerned about looting and criminality that might develop in that vacuum. And so, that experience was something that -- that stands out and I'll remember for a long time, I think.

But very grateful for the way it was managed by the British troops and, you know, it's -- it's meant that I've been able to focus on some -- to some degree, on -- on the broader picture for the organization over the past week. And now, we're going to have to deal with all financial issues with the -- with the money being locked up.

CURNOW: So that's another -- another logistical issue that you are going to have to overcome. But either way, congratulations for getting out. You are one of the lucky ones. And -- and good luck with your work on the ground from Afghanaid. Charles Davy, thank you for joining us. Best wishes to all of your people there still in Afghanistan. DAVY: Thank you very much.

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CURNOW: So emergency workers are also trying to ramp up operations in Haiti in the aftermath of that devastating earthquake there. But CNN is now getting word their focus will likely change in the coming days. That's a story we are following, too. We'll explain after this break.

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CURNOW: Mexico is picking up the pieces after a one-two punch from hurricane Grace. The storm made its second landfall on Saturday morning, killing at least eight people. Grace plowed into Mexico's East Coast with winds of more than 120 miles an hour.

Forecasters predict up to 18 inches of rain, along with flooding and mudslides throughout the weekend. Well, Grace quickly weakened after making landfall but its remnants are still battering several Mexican states. The storm first hit the country on Thursday along the Yucatan Peninsula.

It's been more than a week since that devastating earthquake struck Haiti. But in some areas, survivors are still bidding final goodbye to the loved ones they lost. This was a funeral held for four members of the same family on Saturday. The victims included a 90-year-old woman and three children. The grief was just too much for some mourners who collapsed during the ceremony. The earthquake struck August 14th, killing more than 2,100 people.

And thousands of people are waiting to be airlifted from Afghanistan. Coming up, the chaotic mission to save as many people as possible. It also has, though, some tender moments of human connection. We have that, next.

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CURNOW: Welcome back to CNN.

Hundreds of people who evacuated from Afghanistan in recent days have begun arriving in the U.S. at Dulles International Airport near Washington. Joyful reunions as weary passengers are met by loved ones. More than 26,000 people have now been airlifted to safety.

But tens of thousands are still waiting. Oren Liebermann explains how U.S. troops in Kabul are trying to help them get through the traumatic ordeal by often making tender human connections, take a look.

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LIEBERMANN (voice-over): Kabul has become a tale of two cities. Outside the gated walls of the airport, panic, despair. Inside the compound, there is what so many Afghans feared was lost, a measure of hope.

There are 5,800 troops at Hamid Karzai International Airport, some for security of the most important real estate in the country right now.

But for many others, this is a humanitarian mission. The military has come with food, water and medical supplies. Here, something as simple as water, large, clear plastic bottles, something that's small, has an impact on those fleeing for their lives, especially after hours of waiting in the summer heat of Afghanistan.

A father passes his child to a Marine for medical help. The Marines say the infant was treated and reunited with family at the airport.

LT. GEN. MARK HERTLING, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Having prepared and partially executed a NEO, a non-combatant evacuation operation like what we're seeing right now, it is the toughest mission the military does.

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HERTLING: So many challenges that require continuous adaptation to changing circumstances.

LIEBERMANN: Here, another child passed to Marines, a picture that underscores how important Afghans feel it is to leave the country they once knew.

Powerful images like this have helped define this evacuation effort, pictures of the crowd and pictures of the people.

It is a difficult mission, one the White House acknowledged is a dangerous one, under pressure from the clock, the environment and the enemy. But it is one that presses on and brings some hope, maybe even some happiness to those who have known days of fear.

LIEBERMANN: The U.S. Air Force says it's putting about 400 people on each flight out of Kabul International Airport on average now, more than double the number from just a couple of days go.

That pace will need to continue if the U.S. military hits the numbers it's looking for, that 5,000 to 7,000 per day to get them out, to evacuate them from Kabul.

For all the trials and tribulations, for all the challenges, the logistical difficulties, the issues and the problems and the criticism of this evacuation, it is U.S. troops on the ground there making this happen.

Marines, soldiers and others, not only doing the security at the perimeter of the airport but helping with the processing, the medical and all the other work that it takes to get tens of thousands of people out.

Not only U.S. citizens but Afghan interpreters and their families who are trying to flee the country and others. It is U.S. troops there in Kabul who are at spear of that effort -- Oren Liebermann, CNN, at the Pentagon.

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CURNOW: I'm Robyn Curnow. Stay right here, more CNN after the break.