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Ian Strengthens to Hurricane Again, Takes Aim at South Carolina; Cat 1 Hurricane Ian Nears Landfall in South Carolina; Putin Says, Annexed Ukrainian Regions Part of Russia Forever. Aired 10- 10:30a ET

Aired September 30, 2022 - 10:00   ET

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

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[10:00:00]

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: Goodness Lots of news this Friday. I'm Jim Sciutto. Welcome to our viewers here in the U.S. and around the world.

Right now, Hurricane Ian, back to hurricane strength, 85-mile-an-hour winds churning toward the South Carolina coast as category 1 storm. It is expected to make landfall, the eye of that storm, just before noon.

At the same time in Florida, floodwaters are beginning recede, rescues are underway. But, boy, what has been left behind, it is remarkable to see. 19 deaths counted so far in five different counties, just under 2 million people without power. And, Poppy, when you look at aerials, those homes are gone. They're gone.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: So much is gone for so many. In Fort Myers Beach, the damage is being described, when you see it with your own eyes, look at these pictures, as total devastation. This is a city that is impassable, officials say, even for bicycles, 90 percent of the island, 90 percent of Fort Myers Beach is destroyed.

And this morning, up and down Florida's western coast, people are still reeling for what is likely the largest natural disaster in the history of the state.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The biggest fear that you'll see all your personal effects gone or all over the place, and that is what happened.

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HARLOW: Also at this hour, the reopening process for some begins. Tampa International Airport and Walt Disney World will actually both reopen this hour.

We're also watching this, which is a very historic moment at the Supreme Court this morning as Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first black woman on the bench, is ceremonially sworn in by chief justice, John Roberts.

SCIUTTO: We are covering all angles this is morning, including of this dangerous storm.

We begin with CNN's Nick Valencia, he's on the next front to this in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Already those outside bands have hit. We know the rain has been falling, the wind has been blowing. What do you see right now and what do you expect in the coming hours?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Jim and Poppy. It blustery, soggy and cold is how we describe it. And the winds here, you could certainly feel the tropical storm force winds as they come ashore here. We're getting blown around pretty good every now and then.

It's just in the last couple of hours that things have really started to get -- see, as I mention that, a gust of wind just came. It has really been stating to get pretty bad here. The conditions are only expected to deteriorate throughout the day.

What's really concerning, the Orie County Emergency Management is -- what you're looking at behind here, the angry waves, here are those very aggressive waves crashing. High tide is at 11:15 until about noon. That's going to add six feet of water to the equation here, which is just going to be a mess for those low-lying areas.

I spoke just a short time ago with Thomas Bell with Emergency Management. He said there is already 2,500 people without power in the county mostly due to downed trees as those winds come ashore and those rain bands hit us.

You talk to residents here, though, you don't really get the sense of much panic or fear. They've been through this kind of thing before. In fact, the building that we're in, we're told, can stand winds of a category 4 storm.

If you go up and down the beach front, where we were earlier this morning, some businesses we spoke to say that they're planning on actually staying open, if you could believe it or not. That is what they said earlier this morning. Their plans may change as things get worse here.

But we're just sort of waiting for that impact to happen. Throughout the morning right now, the focus, as I mentioned is on storm surge and just really trying to keep people off the beach. Just a short time ago, we saw about five people here just off camera taking selfies and getting out. They were encouraged to get back in. Officials here have issued a double red flag warning, meaning no one is allowed in the water here. They're trying to keep people out of the ocean. But right now, it is just sort of wait and prepare.

Emergency operations center has been activated. Op Con1 is the status for the emergency managers and they're just waiting for the worst at this point. Jim and Poppy?

HARLOW: Nick Valencia, thank you to your team as you guys wait for the brunt of Ian. We appreciate it and stay safe.

Let's go our colleague, Miguel Marquez, on the ground in Charleston, South Carolina. Miguel, sorry, last hour, we had to interrupt you to get to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. High tide two hours away there, you're feeling it clearly?

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, this is the biggest concern. The high tide and whatever sort of water that storm pushes in as well, that storm surge. They're not exactly sure how those two things are going to work together. We had about an hour reprieve from wind and rain and now it is starting pick up again. From now, what is it, 10:00 A.M, through noon or 1:00, we expect it's going to be the worst.

I want to show you some of the bay here. We could see all the way out to the headlands a little while ago, and now, it's all fogged in, the clouds still moving very, very rapidly out to sea. What they're watching though are those tides.

[10:05:00]

This is an area along here. Let me show you this. This is the area, the south of the -- the south part of Charleston. It typically floods on a good day. It will flood. They expect to see floods now. What they're unsure of is where exactly that hurricane will come in and whether or not it will push more water up on to the land or if it will actually help and push water out to sea.

Right now, we see those clouds still moving everything out to sea. So, it is possible that we will catch a break and Charleston will catch a break but they're watching it very closely. They already have some street closures. They're at the highest state of emergency awareness right now and they have flash flood warnings in effect now. So, right now, wait and see, everybody stay home until it is over. Back to you guys.

SCIUTTO: Miguel and Poppy, I love to see the cameraman wipe the lens of the camera there, because it's one of those things. When it is raining, the lens gets wet. Sometimes you can't see, just like our correspondents get wet and our camera crew.

HARLOW: A reminder to thank everyone behind the cameras in this coverage, for sure, to them. And, Miguel, thanks, buddy. We'll get back to you soon. We will also be joined by the mayor of Charleston in just a few minutes to talk about the risk there.

In nearby Fort Myers Beach, the devastation is horrific. The mayor says buildings and homes there are were taken down to, look at that, concrete slabs or just completely flattened. Officials are pleading with the federal government, with Washington, D.C., to send more help.

These images show -- let's pull them up before and after scenes, okay? There is before, on the left-hand side of your screen, and after on the right-hand side, buildings wiped away or shifted off their foundations. And you can see roads now covered in sand, including Estero Boulevard. Reporter Gage Goulding from our affiliate, WBBH, filed this report from that road.

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GAGE GOULDING, WBBH REPORTER: This entire building is completely leveled. I mean look at this, just stilts remain from part of a build here on Fort Myers Beach and the sound of helicopters above the sky from the United States Coast Guard now fills the air. That is what walking down Estero Boulevard in Fort Myers Beach sounds like now, it's what it feels like now.

Many people I talk to here say this isn't what they call home. This isn't what they remember. Actually, some of them want to get off the island entirely.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not even sure. I really don't even know. I mean, we might just move off the beach and just -- that was the most horrific storm, hands down.

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SCIUTTO: In the city of Fort Myers, similar devastation as people return to, well, often just what remains of their home rather than their homes themselves.

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VERNON GUIRGUIS, HOME DAMAGED IN HURRICANE IAN: I lost everything last night, everything. Family is okay, dogs are okay, parents are okay. We lost everything we had. I've been in the house since 1987, pictures, memories, gone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: CNN's Randi Kaye is making her way now to Fort Myers Beach. And, Randi, I got to tell you, when I see these images, what it reminds me of is the aftermath of a tsunami, right? I mean, the water sweeps in and takes everything away with it. I wonder, you've been the ground, you've been right at the tip of the spear from the start. Tell us what is looks like.

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it feels exactly like that, Jim. That is the perfect analogy. Because I'll show you what we're seeing, we're pretty close to Fort Myers Beach. It is just on the other side. We actually tried to get in but we were pushed back for a moment.

But this is what happened. This is what the gulf did. It pushed the storm along with the gulf, pushed everything in the gulf on to dry land. So here you see Captain Tony's Fishing Adventures. There is actually another yacht behind it that is a 50-ton yacht. So, you can imagine just the force of this. And then you see the power lines. You can tell what the damage has been.

And then look at this, two cars just into a building here. This is on the main drag as you head across the bridge to Fort Myers Beach. This used to be a marina, I'm told. Be careful of the power lines. It used to be a marina, completely, the storm just chewed through it, as you can see.

And then as we go to this restaurant across right next door here, look up on the roof there. You could see the boat is on the roof of the restaurant. That is what this storm did. So, come over here to the restaurant and we'll show you what it did. I'm told by the people inside that this -- the water was up to the roof, so above this yellow area. That is how high the water was here. And then just look inside that restaurant, that is the kind of damage that you're seeing. And then if you even look around here further down the street, you could see what folks are dealing with. Look at this boat here just in the middle of the roof.

Excuse me, sir.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right now, you do not have my permission to film that boat, by the way. You're going to have my permission to film my boat.

KAYE: We won't film your boat, no worries.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you want to, we could talk about it.

KAYE: We're not going to film your boat.

And then if you look across the street, at that, that is a structure that we're told was on the other side of the road, and then it was carried over by the water.

[10:10:08]

So, certainly, quite a bit was going on here. As you could tell people -- there is a lot of frustration, a lot of anxiety, you can tell, by the residents here. Poppy and Jim?

SCIUTTO: Well, Randi, please get to safety because sometimes with those tensions it can pose a real risk. We've all been there. But we do appreciate you having there and take care of yourself.

HARLOW: All right. Let's go to our colleague, Chad Myers, in the CNN Weather Center. Chad, thanks so much for joining us. So, it was such a strong hurricane, then a tropical storm, now back to a cat 1 hurricane, and coming in Charleston two hours away to sort of coincide with high tide. What are we looking at here?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well the good news, if there is any for Charleston, is that hurricane hunters finally got to the storm. They had a little troubled taking off this morning. But they got to the storm and they found that it's still far enough offshore. That nine-foot Charleston Harbor is now a 7.5-foot.

Now, that's still flooding. That's still in the city. Don't get me wrong. But it's a foot-and-a-half lower than the original forecast called for just an hour ago. So, that is good news for them.

As bad news for Myrtle Beach, Myrtle's Inlet, for Litchfield Beach, and even for North Carolina if this continues to slide a little bit farther to the north. Right now, it is almost on an exact east-west line with Charleston, which means most of this four to seven won't be in Charleston, it will be farther to the north. And we're already seeing those showers and storms coming on shore. We had a marine warning for the Cape Hatteras area as possibilities of waterspouts coming on shore. That is where this is going now.

Winds are gusting 40 to 50 miles per hour. As it gets closer, those numbers will go up. Hurricane warnings are obviously still in effect. And as this comes onshore, it will bring that storm surge with it. Does it go to Little River? Does it go to Myrtle's Inlet? Does it go to Waccamaw River? We don't know yet because the plane is getting its bearings out there, telling the weather channel, the Hurricane Center, where this is actually going, where it is headed. Is it heading to the north, yes, it is, where all of this rain is going to be four to six inches of rainfall coming.

This is still going to be a fairly large event and we're not seeing the pressures drop, we're not seeing the winds go up. I suspect at 11:00, we'll still be at 85. But that plane has a lot of work to do. We'll see.

SCIUTTO: Three landfalls, as you keep emphasizing, Cuba and Florida and now the Carolinas, and that's a lot of people.

MYERS: There's Myrtle Beach. Earlier today, the water was way out here. And now, this water is getting very close to the dunes. And in some spots, like Surfside, maybe like Garden City, you could get through those dunes. It is a pretty low country. They call it low country for a reason.

SCIUTTO: Yes, it is flat. Chad Myers, thanks for being on top of it, as always.

HARLOW: Still to come, like we've been discussing, the city of Charleston no stranger to flooding. The mayor of Charleston is going to be join us next as the city prepares for the imminent landfall of Hurricane Ian.

Also ahead, emotional moments as residents in Florida return home and they look at their beloved homes filled with mud and with water, their personal belongings simply gone. CNN goes to isolated areas devastated by Hurricane Ian.

SCIUTTO: And leaders around the world weighing their next step as the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, moves to formally, and we should note, illegally annex four regions of Sovereign Ukraine, this after holding sham referenda there. His warning for how the battle in Ukraine will change, that is coming up.

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[10:15:00]

HARLOW: So right now, Hurricane Ian, it is a hurricane again. It is powering closer and closer to the South Carolina Coast, where officials are expecting up to seven feet of storm surge when it makes landfall there somewhere between Myrtle Beach and Charleston.

Let's bring in the mayor of Charleston, Mr. John Tecklenberg. Mr. Mayor, thank you very much for your time.

So, let me just begin with where our meteorologist, Chad Myers, left off, and that is -- so you've got up to seven feet of storm surge coupled with, sort of timing-wise, high tide. But maybe a little bit of good news that you guys certainly need, that tide is now projected to be 7.5 feet not 9. Does that make a meaningful difference for you?

MAYOR JOHN TECKLENBURG (D-CHARLESTON, SC): That makes a very meaningful difference. It means a difference of water breaching our low battery sea wall that is being elevated now, but we're not quite finished with it, and our hospital district will not be inundated just with that little difference. It is great news. So, I feel some blessings.

HARLOW: Some blessings for sure. That is great news. I mean, you talk about the hospitals and some patients that you obviously can't move out of the hospitals. We saw that roof ripped off of the ICU in Florida. So, the hope is nothing similar would happen for you guys. How vulnerable --

TECKLENBURG: Well, let me just say --

HARLOW: Yes, go ahead.

TECKLENBURG: -- the difference between a heavy tropical storm and a category 1 and a 3 and a 4 is exponential. Our hearts and prayers go out to all the folks in Florida who have been so tragically impacted. And I'm going to ask the citizens of the United States to come together and provide some relief to our brothers and sisters down in Florida.

HARLOW: So, can you tell people exactly how they can help individually? And then also is that a message or a request you're sending to the federal government, to Washington?

[10:20:01]

TECKLENBURG: Well, I know those requests have gone out and you all will be sharing ways that people could help. We do need to get -- let Ian pass by today in Charleston. We're very resilient here. We're prepared for the storm. We're going clean up tomorrow and we're going to be back in business. And we're going to be thinking about sending a team down there to Florida next week to try to help them out.

HARLOW: Wow, even with what you are guys are about to go through. That certainly says a lot. One of the --

TECKLENBURG: Absolutely.

HARLOW: One of the big concerns right now is that folks might try to still be out and about, might try to go secure their businesses, et cetera. What is your message to people in Charleston right now about staying home, especially for the next, you know, several 12 to 24 hours?

TECKLENBURG: Absolutely. Thanks for asking. So, the intensity of the storm obviously did not necessitate an evacuation order. So, we've asked all our citizens to stay in place, to stay home today, take the day off, stay safe. We have the most amazing first responders and they're ready to respond to anything. But if you want to show some love for your first responders today, stay home and don't put them to the test. They'll be there if you need them but let's give them a break. Show them some love. We're going to be ready for cleaning up when this thing passes later on today. This too shall pass.

HARLOW: Mayor, you know this all too well but many of our viewers don't, and that's that the sea levels in Charleston have risen by a foot over the last hundred years. And you have a city that experienced tidal flooding just twice a year back in the '70s. And the projection now is in 2045, you're going to have -- I was going to say you're going to have 180 projected title flooding events for per year by 2045. So, I assume you guys have already been preparing for what could come from this for a long time given that projection.

TECKLENBURG: Absolutely. We've (INAUDIBLE) right here in Charleston Harbor. Sea level rise is real, it is happening. We are preparing (INAUDIBLE) for it but it takes time. We're elevating our low batteries (INAUDIBLE) planning a perimeter protection for the entire city.

HARLOW: We're thinking about you. I love your city. I can't wait to come back. And we're just hoping for the best. Thank you, Mayor John Tecklenburg of Charleston.

TECKLENBURG: We'll be ready for you.

HARLOW: I will. I'll bring the kids. We'll bring the kids to those beautiful beaches. Good luck. Jim?

TECKLENBURG: Great. Thank you so much.

SCIUTTO: I hope they'll be ready for us too. It is a beautiful city.

Well, officials in Florida, you have already seen the worse of this, they're urging people to stay indoors and off the roads because of debris, downed power lines, other threats lingering in the wake of the storm. But many residents, they feel the need to see the damage for themselves, to try examine what remains of their homes and former lives, this after Hurricane Ian made landfall near category 5 strengths. We should note, officials keep telling us, don't go home yet, it is not safe.

HARLOW: That's right. And you have got entire communities along the Gulf Coast that have been leveled by this hurricane. This is footage from a CNN drone in Cape Coral. Our Bill Weir spoke to a homeowner there who remains optimistic despite wondering if her home is even salvageable.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I told Pat there is no way I'm walking in that filthy water. I said there is snakes, there's fire ants and alligators, and alligators and alligators.

BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: But this is too important.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm here now.

WEIR: You're here now.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I see this but it's absolutely amazing what that water could do.

WEIR: My goodness.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, I'd say it is done. What do you think?

WEIR: I -- so, I hate to say. I know you were so hopeful.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Like I said, there are people worse off than us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Imagine that, walking in your living room and seeing so much destroyed. I feel for those people. We'll continue to bring you their stories.

Still ahead, another major story we're watching this morning, the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has claimed this morning in a public ceremony that several Ukrainian territories are now, in his view, part of Russia, illegally annexing those regions. How the west is responding and does that mean escalation. Is worse to come? We're going to ask those questions, coming up.

[10:25:00]

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SCIUTTO: A warning today from the Kremlin, you might call it a line in the sand, as Russia illegally annexes four Ukraine territories. They are part of Ukraine, and, by the way, not even controlled most of them by Russia. And it is saying an attack on those regions will now be considered an attack on Russian territory.

Western governments have condemned the move. It is a violation, we should note, of international law.

[10:30:02]

But in a public ceremony today, Vladimir Putin says those territories are now part of Russia forever, his words.