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100+ Mph Winds, Record-Breaking Surge As Ian Nears Landfall; 470,000 Customers Without Power As Hurricane Ian Slams Florida; Bradenton Waste Water Treatment Plant At Risk Of Overflowing. Aired 2- 2:30p ET

Aired September 28, 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]

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks for joining us this hour, I'm Erica Hill. Welcome to "CNN NEWSROOM." Alisyn and Victor are off.

At any moment, Hurricane Ian is expected to officially make landfall, the wind, the rain, and the water, however, are already on shore. All signs show this will be the strongest recorded storm to ever hit the west coast of Florida.

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HILL: You can see those pictures from a short time ago in Pine Island, Florida. 155-mile-per-hour winds right now are what we're seeing with Ian. That is just shy of a Category 5 hurricane. And forecasts are predicting an unheard-of storm surge as high as 18 feet. Imagine 18 feet of water. Naples, already seeing a record-breaking surge of more than five feet. The storm's outer bands also spawned several tornadoes in southern Florida, some two and a half million Floridians are now under some kind of evacuation order. And for those who did not leave, the only choice now is to hunker down.

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HILL: We have a team of correspondents and meteorologists on the ground across the region in Florida covering all of this. Let's begin with CNN's Bill Weir who was near the water. You're -- Bill, you're there in Punta Gorda. It looks like maybe a tiny break for you but we know that's not going to last, Bill.

BILL WEIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT & ANCHOR: Yes, we rebased on over to our -- to our hotel, frankly. We're going to ride this thing out tonight. It's intensifying enough. We're going to stop our exploratory journalism around Punta Gorda right now and try to stay safe. But yes, it's picking up. It's there -- these gusts that will take you literally the wind out here and make it hard to stand up and then a little bit of a calm as it starts to whip its way closer and closer here. This town as we've been talking about all day, very familiar with hurricanes, at least anybody over the age of 18 because, in 2004, Hurricane Charley completely changed the landscape and the mindset around here. And so this is a real test for a new fortified Punta Gorda. We'll see fingers-crossed what survives. That storm laid waste to about 11,000 homes and 300 businesses costing $3,000,000,000 and 15 lives. It's why they don't name Hurricane Charley anymore. They retired that name. I'm guessing they're going to retire Ian after this if this continues.

But I don't know, maybe a good quarter mile that way -- half mile that way is the Gulf of Mexico. And we're in a spot that, according to projections, could see nine feet of storm surge. We're really hopeful that that is -- that -- it won't come anywhere near that because no one would really know what to do in that situation. Nine feet here would be filled the lobby of this hotel and we can write it out in stairwells. But then, you know, dealing with the aftermath of that, you can just imagine the cascade of headaches that come with that much standing water. Who knows how long?

The other big difference between Charley and Ian is. Charley was fast and tight, small, blow through here -- I don't -- 20 -- 22 miles an hour, this one's half that speed. So it's going to stay here. Ian is going to plague these people for longer than anybody would like right now. But it really will come down, I think to successful evacuations. Those who heeded the warnings may determine the mortality cost at the end of this whole thing because even for people who are veterans, conks, you know, harden concert live down in the Keys have never seen a storm surge over 15 feet. It just has never happened. So we're sort of bracing, hoping for the best, and just waiting for the developments as they come.

HILL: Yes. Well, I'm glad that you and your team have moved to a safer location, Bill, continue to keep us posted. Randi Kaye, also in Punta Gorda. Randi, where you are, what are you seeing at this hour?

RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR & CORRESPONDENT: Erica, we are downtown Punta Gorda and we are feeling certainly feels like hurricane force winds, anything above 75 miles per hour. Certainly, the wind has picked up. We are expecting that the eye or at least the eyewall will pass over very quickly. We're told that between 2:00 and 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time will be the worst for us. We are certainly -- feels like we're in the thick of it.

If you look out that way, that is where Charlotte Harbor, is in the distance and that is where Hurricane Charley hit to pass through in 2004. And then came here and pretty much-flattened downtown Punta Gorda. So that was a wind event. This right now feels like a wind event but this is going to be a huge storm surge. At least that's what they're predicting anything up to 18 feet. So we're certainly concerned, that's why we moved from the Peace River and Charlotte Harbor over here to some higher ground.

[14:05:03]

But the winds are certainly kicking up. They have high water vehicles and search and rescue teams on standby here because there is quite a bit of concern. There are evacuations underway. Maybe as many as 200,000 people evacuated. It's just unclear because there's no way of checking, but that was the mandatory order for the coastal communities and the barrier islands, Erica.

HILL: And you would hope that -- we would all hope that most people listened to that, heeded that order. Randi, stay with us. We are just getting an update on Ian's path, CNN meteorologist Jennifer Gray joining us now from the Severe Weather Center. So, Jennifer, where is Ian now? What is that latest update?

JENNIFER GRAY, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, Ian hasn't officially made landfall yet but the storm is getting closer. Half of the eye has to cross over land for it to be an official landfall. The National Hurricane Center will call it as it does. But I'll show you exactly where it is. This is Sanibel Island right here. So, it's crossing over Sanibel Island, Captiva, this is Pine Island, that's that video you showed earlier. So, this is where we have seen the worst of the storm.

Now if you look at the wind direction going in this direction, Fort Myers right here is pretty much in the worst location you can be as far as storm surge is concerned because all of that water is just pushing on shore. Now as the storm moves inland just a little bit, they are still going to get pounded with storm surge so it is not over yet. The water will still rise. The water will still come. Right around this eye wall right here where you're seeing the yellows, the reds, that's where the most intense wind is going to be. That's where the most intense rain is going to be. So even once this eye crosses over, makes landfall, we still have the backside of the storm to go so we're only halfway there.

The storm is moving very slowly so it is going to rain for hours. It is going to be very windy for hours. We've already had wind gusts topping 120 miles per hour around Captiva. We have seen wind gusts very close or topping 100 miles per hour for Fort Myer. So, we are still -- we are in the brunt of the storm. We are within the eyewall. The eyewall is making landfall right now. The storm hasn't quite made landfall yet but it will very soon. So, you can see the current wind gusts right there. We're already seeing very strong wind gusts even well away from the center of the storm. Now as it crosses the state, it will start to weaken just a little bit. It will tear up a little bit.

But, Erica, we have a lot of rain with this storm. We're talking about more than two feet of rain potentially could fall across the center portion of the state. So not only do you have the potential for eight to 10 feet of storm surge, you have the potential for two feet of floodwaters. So, we're going to talk about a lot of water across Florida, a lot of rain -- a lot of flooding from rain and a lot of flooding from storm surge, Erica.

HILL: Yes. There's a lot to keep track of and as you point out, Jen, it's going to last for a very long time. Stay with us.

GRAY: Yes. HILL: I want to bring Bill Weir and Randi Kaye back in. They're both feeling the brunt of this and Punta Gorda. I know they each have some questions for you. Bill, I'm going to start with you. Based on what you're seeing, right? And you've talked so much about the comparisons people are trying to make with Charley and perhaps why those are not accurate when it comes to Ian. Bill, anything you want to ask Jennifer right now, especially based on this latest update?

WEIR: Yes, Jen, a couple of things. I saw on e-mail traffic that it was -- they were starting to see seven-foot water levels in Naples, which would shatter the old record of four feet. I don't know if that's accurate. But also, just help us understand what a storm surge looks like. There's an awful lot of new Floridians who have moved down here in the last couple of years. This is their first experience and they may picture it like a tsunami, is it one big wave, does -- do the waves get steadily higher? Explain the physics of that surge.

GRAY: OK. So basically, storm surge is this push of water that's going to come in. Not like a tsunami, this is going to happen a little bit more gradual. This area shaded in red is where we're forecasting that nine to 10-foot storm surge.

So, I'll give you an idea of what that looks like. So normal sea level, you're going to have that storm surge on top of that. So, four feet, you're definitely going to flood a home along the coast. And we're talking about in Florida several blocks in. Once you add nine to 12 feet of storm surge, that's enough to push a house off the foundation. So, we're talking about catastrophic damage for those areas that receive 10 feet of storm surge.

It's incredibly dangerous. More than half of the hurricane deaths are related to storm surge, and you can add another 25 percent or so with flooding. And so, most of the deaths within a hurricane happen because of the water it's not the wind. So, the storm surge is going to push all of that water in and then once the storm passes by and the winds change direction, the water -- the water is going to slowly push out. So you can imagine it being the steady rise and then a steady fall as the hurricane moves away.

[14:10:02]

HILL: And that just really does give you a sense. I think we still have Randi with us too. Randi, was there anything specific you wanted to ask Jen, especially based on what you're seeing there?

KAYE: Yes, I wanted to ask about the eye wall, Jennifer, because I know when they're -- when the eye itself comes across, we can experience some kind of clearing, but how wide? (AUDIO GAP)

HILL: I'm not sure if you can hear Randi, but I think she was asking about how wide this eye is. Because we were talking earlier this morning, I heard Chad talking earlier this morning about how the eye had sort of shrunk a little bit. Where do we stand at this point?

GRAY: Right. So, the eye is about 35 miles across, so that's a -- that's a pretty significant span. So once the eye crosses -- this one, you can see some of it it's filling in a little bit so you may not have quite the clearing that you would imagine with an eye. I'm sure points -- parts of it, we could see some clearing, sometimes you report sunny skies, within the eye of a storm, you can -- you hear reports of silence, you know, after the winds are so loud and everything once the eye crosses, it's almost an eerie quiet. So, you may experience some of that.

What's super wild about it is that the most devastating and the scariest part of a storm is right around the eye within that eyewall that we've been talking about. And then you have this calm inside the eye. And then Randi and Bill will both be dealing with the backside of this eye once that eye wall comes towards them as well. So, looking at the trajectory where they are, you can see Bill and Randi are right here where that arrow is pointing. If this continues on a path, say north and east, they could very well be in the eye of the storm within the next couple of hours, so it'll be interesting to see what you experience during that time.

HILL: Yes, and we'll continue to check in with them. Bill and Randi, stay safe. Jennifer, thank you as always. We'll keep checking in with you as well in the weather center.

I want to go now to the Tampa Bay area. Storm surge of four to six feet is expected in that area. CNN's Brian Todd is in St. Petersburg. Brian, what are you experiencing?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Erica, we've gone through periods of intense rain pounding us from all different sides, even sideways. Right now, this is an intense wind event. As you can see and feel right around me, we just got slammed with a burst of wind coming in this direction, right toward the camera. You know, we've talked about the storm surge. In other areas, it's going to be higher than it will be here. This could get maybe four to seven feet of storm surge, which is not as bad as some areas but it's still going to be very bad.

Now, what we've experienced in the last hour or so, we're going to show you just to our -- to your right, this is -- well, as we really getting hit with a band of wind right here. This is a negative storm surge. That's it. You can see these water levels are lower than they normally are, but that's deceptive. These water levels are going to come back and the storm surge does threaten to push this water into these parks and into the inland areas of St Petersburg.

These barriers, these jetties behind me are going to really be put to the test. They were put there to protect the marinas, to protect the inland areas, and to protect the coastline. You still got that very vulnerable. Even though you don't see the flooding here in this park, you very well could in the next several hours. You've got debris flying off the trees, flying off the buildings right now because right now, as I mentioned in St. Petersburg, this is a wind event for the moment. But again, this could get 15 inches or more of rainfall here so people here are very, very concerned about flooding because these areas of the waterfront around St. Petersburg are basically right by the water. And there's really not much elevation at all.

We've been tracking following first responders around St. Petersburg as they've had reports of downed power lines. They have -- we've been told by officials here that they've had uprooted trees because the water was already saturated before this storm hit. So, a lot of uprooted trees are knocking out power lines. Several people have been losing power in this area. That will probably continue on into the evening until the storm passes.

So, you know the period of danger really is right now. They've got to pull first responders off the streets. We were following fire trucks and police earlier but right now, as of maybe about a half hour ago, officials telling us they've got to pull the first responders off the streets. It's just too dangerous for them to respond to anything like that.

HILL: Yes. They need them to stay safe. They will certainly be needed, of course, in the hours and days after this storm. Brian Todd, appreciate it. You stay safe as well, my friend.

And we want to show you some of the images as we're getting more images as you see the impact of the storm. These pictures out of Naples, Florida, you can see the extent of the flooding there. You get a sense of the wind just by looking at where the palm trees are in this picture holding on as this wind slams into the area. But look at all the water there in the streets as well. New footage shows to the Naples pier getting hit by the storm surge earlier today. Just gives you a sense of the force of that water. City officials telling residents who did not evacuate, they need to shelter in place. There is ultimately an emergency curfew currently in effect.

[14:15:04]

More than 470,000 customers are already without power across the state of Florida. Collier County, which includes the city of Naples and Marco Island, one of the hardest hit areas so far. Collier County Commissioner Rick LoCastro joining me now on the phone. Um, so, Rick, can you just give us a sense? Set the scene for us at this moment, what you're seeing right now in terms of the impact of Ian.

RICK LOCASTRO, COMMISSIONER, COLLIER FLORIDA: Well, Erica, I can tell I'm your previous caller records have been broken on Naples because I'm staring out the window right now at my house. I live on a canal, much like almost everybody else on Marco. And about three inches of water, once it comes over the steps, I'm going to have water in my house at about 30 minutes, so -- and same with the front. My front street is several feet deep, and it's about a foot away from flooding my garage. So, you know, we're sort of stuck here on an island -- on an island in this house.

But there's -- you know, there's quite a few others. I'm a retired Air Force colonel, and as a county commissioner, you know, I'm not going to jump in a car and drive to Orlando and sit in a hotel while my constituents here are suffering, so. And I've ridden out these things before, but I'm here to tell you, I rode out Hurricane Irma here on Marco. Irma was a wind event, this is no water event. This one's quite a bit different.

I think a lot of people got an education that was storm moves just a few miles one way or another or (INAUDIBLE). It does set a lot of dynamics when it comes to storm surge and wind and whatnot. So we did get some wind, some rain, but I can tell you not as much as Irma, I mean that was a freight train. But the water that we got that came you know, over our sea walls and instead of flooded Marco, it receded fairly quickly. So it was a water event, but this is catastrophic.

Um, you know, Marco Island and Naples, which are big piles of Capri, port of the island, these are all the lowest lying most picturesque areas of Southwest Florida. But the trade-off is you know you get to enjoy some beautiful sunsets. But, you know, once every few years, you know, we run the risk of something like this.

But we did a really great job in the county of preparing. But -- I mean, you can't stop the water, you can't stop the wind but you know, we got a lot of people out of town, we have an incredible emergency center so you know I'm going to get wet here instead of my house. But it's not -- it's not a fatal situation. And I'm still be able -- I'm still able to direct the traffic from here.

HILL: OK.

LOCASTRO: But it's definitely a catastrophic event for Marco Island, Naples, and the entire surrounding Collier County community.

HILL: And so just to be clear, for people are watching, as you said, at the very beginning, the reason you're still there and that you're in your home is, of course, because you are a county official, you need to be there. Is it your sense that most of your neighbors did, though heed that order, that warning to leave?

LOCASTRO: You know, it's a mixed bag. As a -- as a retired for us and having served in some pretty horrific places, I'm very connected to the first responders that are here on the island, they told me I mean, I have walkie-talkie connection with about 400 Key citizens and keys first responders and county staff. So I'm in a little bit of a different position in the sense that, you know, I've been through some of these things before, even as a base commander that had hurricanes hit his base, and so I would recommend it for every elected official.

But the important to is once this storm subsides, then we're not done, then we have to go into quick repair mode and so, you know, I want to be here for that. I felt like -- that was very advantageous and instrumental for me when I was here during Irma. And then my house didn't get flooded, it came very close. But then the waters receded very quickly and then you know, we got to work in and up the island and put people back together.

HILL: Right.

LOCASTRO: But it was mostly a wind incident, so lots of roofs, lots of trees that were down. That's why I can tell you, I'm looking at every single neighbor and they haven't lost one tile, I don't see one tree on the ground, other than just, you know, palm fronds and things like that, but not actual trees. But what I see is a level of water that I don't believe Marco Island has ever seen before. Like I said, it's just inches from coming over my top step on the front and the back of my house. And I think it's not unlike a lot of other people who are actuated are going to come back to find that they had several feet of water in their house.

HILL: In their houses.

LOCASTRO: So it is -- it is going to be a horrific situation and quite a bit different than what Marco has gone through and, and Naples in that previous hurricane.

HILL: Yes. And this is just beginning. We know on so many levels. This is a slow-moving storm. It is a massive storm. It's going to be with you for some time, Rick, we're just about out of time but really quickly, please tell me that you do have a place that's a little bit higher up in your home that you can go as this water is going to be coming up.

LOCASTRO: Yes, it's called my dining room table and I'll save my house.

HILL: Excellent.

LOCASTRO: Well, it fits into Collier. You know, now we have -- we have some options. You know, the big thing here is we have a high tide that's coming in about an hour and so that's the thing that has me most concerned. There was already at the highest-level during Irma when it got to the highest level, it get to the highest level right before low tide and then the waters slowly you know held their position and receded.

[14:20:08]

From what I hear is one tide type kicks in, which is in about an hour. The water as I'm looking at it right now could be as much as three feet higher due to the high tide surge. You know, it's obviously going to be something serious with --

HILL: Yes.

LOCASTRO: you know (INAUDIBLE) or I wouldn't have stayed here.

HILL: Right.

LOCASTRO: But you know, we're a lot of good for the folks that are here and to get our plan ready to, you know, circle the wagons after the storm passes. But we're still not at --

HILL: Right. We -- look, we appreciate that experience you definitely have and I know you're calling on that. But you know, we are thinking of you. Stay safe. Keep us posted as well because we know just how powerful and how forceful these waters can be. Commissioner Rick LoCastro, appreciate that. We'll check in with you.

And we're going to continue our live coverage here of Hurricane Ian, the storm now slamming into Southwest Florida, as you can see and hear. This video you're seeing right now, this is a flooding video from Fort Myers Beach. We'll have much more on the other side of this break. Stay with us.

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[14:25:27]

HILL: Hurricane Ian at this hour barreling into Florida. In Bradenton, which is just south of Tampa, the city warning its wastewater treatment plant is now in danger of overflowing. That's where we find CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam. So, Derek, you're there. There are these warnings about the -- about the wastewater treatment plant. I understand you've also been hearing some transformers exploding.

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Erica, yes, that happened moments ago just directly behind us. The Transformers blew out, knocking out communication to some of my teams and the lights flashing and also some of the familiar sounds of a hurricane. We've done this so many times, the alarms inside of the building surrounding this particular area. We, Erica, are on the verge of a historic landfall here in the western coastline of the Florida peninsula. And we are currently in an ongoing disaster. The winds here are gusting hurricane force, and it is -- we know where the storm is going.

I want to talk about what's happening at the Manatee River, that's just over my left shoulder. It's too dangerous for us to go to that particular location. But Brian Todd is to my North, about 40 miles to my north in Tampa Bay, he saw what was called a negative surge, the water pushing out from the strong powerful northeasterly winds. That same thing happened here on the manistee -- on the Manatee River just over my shoulder because of that incredible force of the wind.

But just to the south of the eye of the storm, it is a completely different scenario playing out. That is why these types of storms are a game of miles. It really matters where that eyewall makes landfall because as that push of surge of water comes in right up into Naples, right into Fort Meyers, Port Charlotte, Venice, those areas right now getting hit hardest with that storm surge. And we have all seen the visuals of the inundation of some of those populated areas.

Remember, water seeks its own level. There is nowhere to hide from an impending push of storm surge. And we have seen proof of that today. This is a historic storm that is going to go down in the rest -- records books. And what we're experiencing here in Bradenton is nothing short of frightening from the transformers blowing behind me to the potential of storm surge coming up these city streets. We're preparing for the worst as the eyewall approaches this area.

HILL: All right, Derek, we know you continue to keep us updated. Stay safe. You and your team stay safe. Thank you.

First responders services in many areas temporarily suspended, including in Punta Gorda. The city says emergency services there we'll resume once it's safe. These are some live pictures. Where are these pictures from, guys? These are live pictures from Port Charlotte. A little harder to see in these here but that just gives you a sense too of the power of the storm. You can see in the lower left corner of your screen just above that breaking news banner, those appear to me to be palm trees. And that is always a good indication of what the conditions are like. You look at the way they are just being pushed with that wind. And you can see that water moving across your screen. You can see it pushing through that area. That gives you some sense of the power of this storm. And again, this is a storm that is going to last for some time.

Bill Truex is with us now on the phone. He's the commissioner of Charlotte County. And, Bill, first of all, can you give us a sense of what you're seeing, what you're experiencing in terms of the storm where you are right now?

BILL TRUEX, COMMISSIONER, CHARLOTTE COUNTY, FLORIDA: Significant wind beyond really understanding I think. I'm in the western part of the county, and I believe where I am is going to be on the western wall, so I don't know that there will be a reprieve where I am. But I can tell you here, we're seeing downed tree limbs and the oak trees, debris flying everywhere. I happen to have hurricane windows and shutters that I have some of them open so that I can still see what's going on. But this is -- this is a magnitude in this part of the county we did not see with Charley and certainly didn't see with Irma.

HILL: You talked about -- we've talked so much and we've heard so much from folks on the ground about Charley and Irma today. I know a lot of changes were made after Charley. You learned something from every storm. But this is so big. It is moving so slowly. Are you confident that some of the changes in the preparations that those will hold given the size -- the size of Ian?

TRUEX: From a structural perspective, I think the buildings will hold up to the winds that have been adjusted to the building code.