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Parts Of Florida Under Mandatory Evacuation As Hurricane Nears; Mass Exodus, Arrests As Putin Calls Up 300K Russian Reservists; Markets Rattled After British Pound Sinks To Record Low. Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired September 26, 2022 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:00]

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ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Hello everyone. I'm Alisyn Camerota. Welcome to CNN NEWSROOM. Victor is off today.

Hurricane Ian is heading towards Florida and could pack 111-mile-per- hour winds when it makes landfall. The effects of the storm are expected to start hitting Florida tomorrow. And right now, people in the Tampa area are being ordered to get out.

A mandatory evacuation began moments ago for parts of Hillsborough County, which includes Tampa. Weather experts say it's been 100 years since that city was directly hit by a hurricane.

And With time running out, lines for water gas, and sandbags are getting longer. No matter where Ian makes landfall, FEMA and state officials say all of Florida will feel some level of impact. Predictions include a huge storm surge, inland flooding, and even possible tornadoes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CATHIE PERKINS, PINELLAS COUNTY DIRECTOR OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: The bad piece of news we got this morning is that this storm is trending to slow down which means it potentially could sit on top of us for 47 hours.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: CNN meteorologist Tom Sater is in the weather center for us. So, Tom, show us the path right now.

TOM SATER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, that's a big concern what you just mentioned sitting on top of us for so long because the system could slow down. Alisyn, the 2:00 p.m. advisories come in. The pressures dropping a little bit means it's getting stronger. The winds are up from 80 to 85 miles per hour waiting for an Ian to form. It's about 220 miles from the western tip of Cuba, and it will ride right over that land.

But look where it is now. The warmest water is in the Atlantic. This is high-octane fuel. It underwent rapid intensification which we expected. That means within 24 hours, the winds increased by 35. And we're not even at the end of the 24.

Hurricane watch. Tampa area, just north of there -- just southward, that tells us this is what we're concerned about with hurricane force conditions in this area. Not so much to the south tropical storm watch in effect, as the system moves through typically they lose a little bit of a punch over a landmass not expecting it to.

Category 3 to a Category 4. This is where it's interesting. Do not pay attention to the numbers after four because if it moves in as a Cat 1, whatever, it's carrying the storm surge from a Category 4 toward you. The problem is the models now which were in disagreement are in agreement.

We want this to get an idea but we do not want the worst-case scenario where the American and European models place it right over Tampa Bay. The issue is the possibility of it stalling. Take a look at this. This is drier. This is a trough dropping down steering it and could turn it -- and it will turn it toward Florida but not fast enough. And it sits here for 36 to 48 hours shoving that storm surge well into every inlet every bay.

And then because the storm surge is keeping the rain from receding acting as a dam you're tossing about 10, 12 inches even maybe 15, 20 in some cases, it's disastrous. So, therefore, a five to 10-foot storm surge in and around this area. But it's the stalling process. Don't worry about the winds. This is about water coming in from the Gulf and from the sky above, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: OK. Tom Sater, thank you very much for helping us to understand that. So let's go now to Florida to see how people are preparing. CNN's Carlos Suarez is in Tampa. So, Carlos just moments ago, that mandatory evacuation went into effect. What are you seeing behind you there?

CARLOS SUAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Alisyn, as you said, that mandatory evacuation went in for a part of Hillsborough County in Tampa here. There's also another mandatory evacuation in neighboring Pinellas County. All of those folks are being asked to get to higher ground considering that their homes are right along the water.

The workout here, the storm preps are well underway. Folks have been here the entire day at this sandbag distribution site. They've been working, helping each other, trying to get as many bags done as possible, all in hopes of getting their homes ready for whatever impact we may get when it comes to Hurricane Ian.

Folks have been in line here for several hours and they're grabbing whatever they can. In some cases, they're walking into their car just because the wait to get into this parking lot is anywhere between two to three hours.

One of the folks out here that has to leave her home because of this storm is, Charlene. You are in Zone A. You're one of the about the 300,000 or so folks that are being told to get out. How's your day so far today?

CHARLENE CLEARY, HURRICANE EVACUEE: A little crazy. I mean, it's kind of we're used to it by now being a Floridian so we kind of have our protocol in place, we know to get -- you know non-perishables, get water, and get our sandbags which is what I'm here doing.

SUAREZ: Where are you going to go?

CLEARY: We're going to head to into Orlando. We have a reservation set up over on -- over in Orlando. That's pet friendly so we're taking our dogs with us.

[14:05:02]

SUAREZ: You made the decision to leave your car a few blocks away and then just walk because the wait has been that long.

CLEARY: Yes, it has. If you see, there's a line kind of going around, and it's probably a two-hour wait -- two to three-hour wait. And I just didn't think that it was worth it for me. I have to be back in time to pick up my kids from school. So I'm just going to be lugging these bags back and forth as soon as I'm done packing.

SUAREZ: How worried are you about the storm?

CLEARY: I mean, I think this one worries me a little more than usual. I don't know why. I just have a bad feeling about it. But I think our safest bet always is to just get out of town, you know.

SUAREZ: Charlene, thank you so much. And best of luck.

CLEARY: Thank you. Thank you.

SUAREZ: So, Alisyn, that's the story out here. Folks just getting ready for whatever impact we may get from Hurricane Ian.

CAMEROTA: I mean she's so right, the safest path is to get out of town so it's a good thing that she's going to do that. Carlos Suarez, thank you very much.

Joining us now is Jimmy Bujeda. He's the deputy director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management and the emergency response chief. Jimmy, thank you so much. I know how busy you are. So how are you and your team getting ready and getting into position at this hour?

JIMMY BUJEDA, CHIEF, FLORIDA EMERGENCY RESPONSE TEAM: Hello, Alisyn, thank you for having me here today. Currently, we're -- at the division, we're monitoring 376 active missions, working diligently to ensure that all these needs are met. These missions include providing meals, water, ambulance services, oxygen, and technical communications services statewide.

We have deployed several hundred shelter support staff in preparation for the storm and evacuations, especially the special needs hurricane shelters. And we've also set up two logistical staging areas to provide immediate direct assistance after the storm's long landfall.

CAMEROTA: So, Jimmy, listen, how do -- how are Floridians supposed to decide right now today if they should evacuate their homes or if they should get ready to shelter in place?

BUJEDA: Well, the first thing is, knowing your zone, knowing your -- knowing your home, knowing your zone. The easiest way to do that is to go to the floridadisaster.org. You'll be able to find a link there to find your address and to find out what zone you live in. Flood zones are labeled A through F with A being the first ones to need to evacuate all the way up through F being the last ones.

CAMEROTA: Obviously, hurricanes are a fact of life in Florida. You probably just heard that woman that Carlos was speaking to. They're sort of used to it but she said this one feels a little bit different. Because Floridians are used to it, do you worry that many will not heed the call to evacuate?

BUJEDA: Well, it's not that they won't heed the call, it's the taking the necessary preparations ahead of time. We do have a lot of new Floridians here first -- this is the first year having to suffer through a hurricane. So the thing is that we don't want people used to panic. You got plenty of time to prepare. Obviously, you know the lines are getting longer, the closer you are to a suspected impact zone.

However, you do have time to prepare, prepare your families, prepare your pets, and your loved ones. You have -- if you have family members who are living in Florida and other parts of Florida, also keep them in mind, check in with them, also have a communications plan with them for after the storm. That way you -- once the storm passes by, you have a way to reach them or a designated person outside of the state that each of you can reach and check in with each other.

CAMEROTA: Yes.

BUJEDA: What I also suggested, if you have some kind of a way to get a radio alerts, either through one of the radio -- weather radios you can purchase and that way they can blast out notifications to you.

CAMEROTA: That's all really good advice. And I hadn't considered that how many new Floridians there are. So many people have moved to that state. So this might be the first time that they're dealing with all this. So here's how the Pinellas County Sheriff framed the danger this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOB GUALTIERI, SHERIFF, PINELLAS COUNTY, FLORIDA SHERIFF'S OFFICE: When we issue that mandatory evacuation, what that means is, is that if you don't, and you call for help, we're not coming because we're not going to put our people in harm's way and put them in peril because you didn't listen to what we told you to do.

So nobody's coming and knocking on your doors. Nobody's coming and taking anybody out when it says mandatory. What that means is you need to do it. And if you don't do it, you're on your own. Please don't put yourselves in that situation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: So, Jimmy, what really does that mean? I mean, you're the chief of the emergency management -- emergency response team, so meaning on Wednesday, you really won't be able to attempt rescues.

BUJEDA: It's not that we won't be able to. It's we have to -- we have to manage life safety. We want to -- we want to help everybody that we can wherever there are considerations that we have to take into -- it to play.

[14:10:01]

When the storm surge that is expected comes in, roads get water covered up in water, we tried not to cross those. That's also another message I wanted to pass out to the Floridians. If you can't see the bottom of the road because of water, do not drive through there. You don't know what's under there, and if it's going to wash out or if it's still good or the integrity of the roadway.

But what -- again, that goes for first responders as well. You have a lot of heavy equipment. They can't draw through water that you know we can't see the roadway underneath.

CAMEROTA: OK. Jimmy, we hear that. Thank you very much for all the tips and all of the preparation advice. Really appreciate you taking the time to talk to us.

OK, meanwhile, CNN is uncovering new details about this phone call from the White House to one of the January 6 rioters during the Capitol attack. Who made that call? Plus Russia detaining more than 2000 anti-war protesters and more people are trying to flee the country. Will any of this turn the tide of the war? We explore that next.

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[14:15:30]

CAMEROTA: Thousands of people continue to protest across Russia against Putin's war in Ukraine. Even more, are fleeing the country. New Video shows hundreds of cars lining up to leave. Witnesses say they're waiting as long as 48 hours to cross into neighboring Georgia.

Finland is also reporting a record number of 16,000 Russians crossing the border this weekend alone. The Kremlin now admits mistakes, concerning those that they're mobilizing in some areas. CNN's Ben Wedeman joins us now from Kharkiv. So, Ben, tell us more about how Russians are now reacting to this war.

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, clearly this reaction probably took the writer -- the Kremlin by surprise. The Novaya Gazeta, which is a Russian newspaper initially published in Moscow, but since the war has moved to Latvia. They are reporting that more than 250,000 Russian men have left the country since Vladimir Putin announced this partial mobilization.

Now, Maxar Technologies has put out pictures from the border between Russia and Georgia. It shows that there's a line of cars 10 miles long, people waiting to get out. And as you mentioned, Finland is recording record numbers of Russians crossing over the border.

Essentially, any country into which Russians can go without visas, they are going and in huge numbers. And those who aren't going, many of them are protesting in the semi-Autonomous Republic of Dagestan in Russia. You have had days of protests there. You've had scuffles with police, people who do not want to be part of this so-called partial mobilization.

And as a result of this anger on the streets in Dagestan, the local head of the government has said that the mobilization -- the partial mobilization will be carried out strictly according to the criteria dictated by President Putin. But that doesn't seem to have assuaged the anger of many of the people there. And keep in mind. More than 2300 people have been arrested in Russia protesting against the mobilization, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Yes, it's fascinating to watch all this play out. Ben Wedeman, thank you for reporting there.

Joining us now is retired Air Force Colonel Cedric Leighton, a CNN military analyst, and Jill Dougherty, our former Moscow bureau chief. Colonel, when you try to mobilize tens of thousands of men who don't want to go, and their families don't want them to go, what happens on the battlefield when they get there?

CEDRIC LEIGHTON, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: It's not good, Alisyn. If you're going to be a commander that gets troops like this under your command, you can't trust them. They aren't trained. They don't know what they're doing. They don't know you know what your orders are. They don't understand them. They haven't worked with you. They're -- these are all factors that play into a really dismal situation for the Russian forces.

So the resistance that we're seeing is very important because it not only solidifies the problems that the Kremlin has but it also presents an advantage to Ukrainians in terms of the abilities of their military (INAUDIBLE) production military, even with this extra element of about 300,000 personnel.

CAMEROTA: Jill, let me just play another portion of some of these videos. This one is from Dagestan, this -- these are mothers who are confronting police officers. I mean, basically, according to our translation, what they're saying is why are you taking our children? Why did you attack? We weren't -- Russia was not attacked. We attacked Ukraine.

They're telling the police officers. And then they're chanting, I think at some point, no war. I mean, how significant is this the fact that they're willing to confront these police officers, and does this have any impact on the war? JILL DOUGHERTY, FORMER CNN MOSCOW BUREAU CHIEF: Well, that's the question. I mean, will it have any income? But, you know, I think it's really significant, not only the fact that they are actually out there protesting, but the fact that she said we invaded Ukraine, I mean, that is totally contrary to what President Putin and 24/7 propaganda is saying in Russia. So it's very interesting that she feels that way, that that's her opinion.

[14:20:04]

But I think, you know, remember that during the previous wars like in Chechnya, I remember these women still exist. There's a soldier's mother's committee, and they are very brave women who got out there. And sometimes they would even go into the battlefield areas to get their sons out. So this is what they're going to do more than for Russia is like. And I think these women are very, very brave.

Now, will it affect Putin? You know, I would have to say, very sadly, probably not that much. But the fact that the country is engulfed in so much chaos really is significant.

CAMEROTA: Yes, you can't arrest every mother in Russia. That's just there's just not enough jails in Russia for that. And so we'll see if they're able to have any impact. Colonel, meanwhile, here in the U.S., the National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, on the Sunday shows, talked about what the U.S. would do if Putin were to make good on some of his sort of veiled threats to use a nuclear weapons. So here's that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAKE SULLIVAN, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: If Russia crosses this line, there will be catastrophic consequences for Russia, the United States will respond decisively. Now, in private channels, we have spelled out in greater detail exactly what that would mean. But we want to be able to have the credibility of speaking directly to senior leadership in Russia, and laying out for them what the consequences would be, without getting into a rhetorical tit-for-tat publicly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: But, Colonel, what might that look like for the U.S. -- the U.S. -- to respond decisively?

LEIGHTON: Well, it could be a number of things, Alisyn, one of them would be to put our bomber force on alert as an example. Another thing is to put all the nuclear forces on alert and let the Russians know that you know we would respond or at least have the potential of responding to a Russian use of, let's say nuclear weapons. The other types of weapons of mass destruction that the Russians could use would include potentially chemical or biological weapons.

Any of those, nuclear, chemical, or biological would be a significant escalation of this war and it would almost inevitably result in direct NATO -- that'd be the U.S. involvement in some aspect of this combat. And it's -- I think the language that we hear from Jake Sullivan is pretty clear, pretty unambiguous, that they're wanting the Russians not to go there because we would not only put our forces on alert, but potentially use them, not necessarily our nuclear forces, but we would definitely use some force in order to prevent a major catastrophe.

CAMEROTA: Jill, how does this work in Russia? Are there people around Putin who can speak the truth to power? Are there people around him who are level-headed enough to say all of this and explain that it's getting, you know, even more out of control?

DOUGHERTY: I think there are fewer and fewer of those people. I mean, from what we understand, you know, ever since COVID, Putin has been isolated just because of COVID. Not to mention this situation right now, in which his own military, we understand, did not know until the last minute that a war was coming in Ukraine. So can they -- you know, can somebody come to him and tell him, you know, this is wrong and dangerous? I would say there are fewer people.

But don't forget, you know, with Putin as well, I think we have to take two positions. Number one, he could do it. He could use a nuclear weapon. But then on the other side, he could be using this again, to threaten the United States, threaten NATO, make them afraid of what he might do.

It's the old as we call it, you know, the madman theory. You -- if you don't know what the madman is going to do, maybe you tread a little more carefully. So he could be exploiting this as well. That's what we really don't know.

CAMEROTA: Cedric Leighton and Jill Dougherty, thank you both very much for your expertise with all of this.

All right, stocks are down again today and more economists think a recession is coming. We're live from the New York Stock Exchange. And what's the latest with Elon Musk and Twitter? Will he have to cough up billions? We have new details next.

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[14:29:04]

CAMEROTA: OK, right now, stocks are down more than 300 points at the moment after the British Pound crashed to a record low against the U.S. Dollar. At one point, the UK currency dropped by 4 percent. Wall Street had been bracing ahead of today's opening after the Dow closed Friday at its lowest level since 2020 amid fears of a recession. CNN's Matt Egan joins us live now from the New York Stock Exchange. So, Matt, how are investors feeling now?

MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Well, Alisyn, unfortunately, the mood here on Wall Street is gloomy, and it's getting gloomier. I think a big concern remains the same one that has rocked the stock market all year and that's that the Federal Reserve is going to put this inflation fire out.

But it's going to make such a mess that the economy goes into recession. And so that's why we're seeing the Dow down 370 points, about 1.2 percent. The Dow is on track to officially enter a bear market which is a 20 percent decline from previous highs. If the Dow closes down by more than 150 points, then it will join the S&P500 and NASDAQ in the bear market territory.