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Ian Leaves Catastrophic Destruction Across Florida; Category 1 Storm Now Heading to South Carolina; At Least 19 Deaths In Florida Amid Massive Destruction; Police: 23 Killed, 36 Wounded In Kabul Suicide Attack; Biden Issues Major Disaster Declaration For Florida. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired September 30, 2022 - 02:00   ET

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

[02:00:00]

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello. Welcome to viewers joining us from the United States and all around the world. I'm Kristie Lu Stout.

Rescue crews are scrambling to reach Florida residents stranded by powerful hurricane Ian as it makes a menacing approach towards South Carolina.

The National Hurricane Center says the Category 1 storm has regained some strength and is now expected to make landfall in Myrtle Beach in the coming hours.

In Florida, the hurricane has killed at least 19 people, but that is an early figure. The U.S. president has warned that the loss of life could be substantial. Hundreds of people have already been rescued. Millions are without power.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL): Some of the damage was, you know, almost indescribable. To see a house just sitting in the middle of the Estero Bay, literally must have gotten picked up, flown because of the massive wind speed and the storm surge, and deposited in a body of water. There were cars floating in the middle of the water. Some of the homes were total losses.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: The governor has called the storm surge in Sanibel "biblical." Its mayor says emergency crews are trying to get help to those who need it. The barrier island, a vacation spot, was cut off when the hurricane took down part of the causeway to the mainland.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR HOLLY SMITH, SANIBEL, FLORIDA: My first priority was getting on the island for search and rescue as there were significant number of people that remained on the island during the catastrophic weather event that we faced. Right now, you know, it is important for us to just go ahead and say, okay, do you have food and water, are you okay, as we go to those next areas because it is going to take a few days for us to get to all of the places that there have been reports, and continue to get those reports coming in.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Over and over, we have been hearing from Florida residents who are shocked about how quickly hurricane Ian turned from bad to worse to life-threatening. Brian Todd has this report.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Up and down Florida's west coast, residents facing flooded homes, neighborhoods underwater, streets littered with abandoned cars, roofs torn off, boats wrecked, roads blocked by flooding and debris, after a stormy night of tearing winds, rushing water, and last-minute escapes as the Category 4 hurricane ripped through.

UNKNOWN: The house flooded. It just started to get deeper and deeper. And by the time we were walking out, we were mid-thigh in water.

TODD (voice-over): The Naples Fire Department carrying out water rescues even though some of their own stations were flooded. First responders even spotted on jet skis. Bill Hogan (ph) says the water reached two or three feet in his house. He thinks the boat on his lawn came from two blocks away.

BILL HOGAN (ph), RESIDENT OF FLORIDA: Which would give you some sense of, you know, of how much water was here. There was at least three feet of water throughout the whole street.

TODD (voice-over): Fort Myers among the hardest hit from the waterfront to downtown, to inland neighborhoods.

UNKNOWN: Pictures, memories, gone.

TODD (voice-over): Fort Myers Beach now a debris field. In Port Charlotte, flooding at a hospital's ICU.

UNKNOWN: We got people out of the ICU. The problem then ended up being water gushed down the stairwell, as you see there, and on to other floors.

[02:05:04]

TODD (voice-over): The causeway to Sanibel Island breached in several places. Anyone who stayed there now cut off from the only link to the mainland. More than 2.5 million customers lost power with repair crews just beginning to fan out. Officials warning residents that hazards remain.

CARMINE MARCENO, SHERIFF, LEE COUNTY, FLORIDA: There are things that could truly hurt you in the water. That can be electricity. That can be downed power lines.

UNKNOWN: Please stay out of the road unless it's an emergency.

TODD (voice-over): And it's not just the West Coast. Damage extending well into Central Florida. Orlando saw more than a foot of rain, prompting high water rescues.

UNKNOWN: Holy mackerel! This trailer here is actually underwater.

TODD (voice-over): And residents at a nursing home evacuated. In Kissimmee, trapped victims brought to safety with airboats. This family is saying they lost everything and were taken out a window. Another woman wishes she had evacuated before the storm.

UNKNOWN: I heard the neighbor screaming. I went to look out the window. Their car was submerged. So, we tried to get the vehicles out, but it was too late.

TODD (voice-over): Even in the east, Jacksonville and St. Augustine seen coastal flooding and strong winds.

(On camera): We've come across scenes like this with people tossing out their biggest possessions all over the city of Naples. City officials telling reporters that they believe the property damage to the city itself could go as high as $20 million. The damage to personal property like this could be as high as $200 million. And one city official saying that is a conservative estimate.

Brian Todd, CNN, Naples, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Meteorologist Karen Maginnis is tracking Ian's path and wind speed. She joins us now. And Karen, Ian is just tearing through the region very close to where home is for you. Where is it tracking now?

KAREN MAGINNIS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, we got our update from the National Hurricane Center, and I want to give you that since we made such an impression that perhaps you should stay and see what happens from the National Hurricane Center from the information as of 2:00 a.m. Very little has changed. It still has winds of 85 miles an hour.

Sometimes, we see kind of this lag. We did see it with the last update at 11:00 p.m. Eastern time. Most of the heavy, deep convection is still offshore. Most of what Charleston and the entire coast of South Carolina is experiencing its mostly light precipitation, but the winds have been gusty. I saw report of the past hour where the wind gust in Hilton head to about 41 miles an hour. So, there's this gradual uptick as far as the wind speeds are concerned.

Now, I think this is fascinating. We haven't really talked about these spaghetti models. But look at this, the majority of the now kind of aim in this region kind of splitting the difference between Charleston and Myrtle Beach. Now, this can change, as we well know. If you remember, Ian was supposed to make landfall right around Tampa. But no, it was much further south, so devastating there for so many people at one time. Almost three million people without power, downed trees, downed power lines, people's homes gone. Just devastating.

And now, we've got a third landfall. So, we had Puerto Rico, Florida, and now looks like this coastal region of North Carolina. Some of this rainfall is going to be very impressive. All the way from Charleston, to Myrtle Beach, Surfside, Murrells Inlet, Pawleys Island, Edisto, those are to be the areas that could see 5, 10, maybe 15 inches of rainfall.

All right, here's that cone. Don't focus on the cone because there are perturbations. I use that word a lot describing hurricanes. They have these very little jobs, but overall, there is a track. So, we just have to kind of narrow this down, but it is already so close to the coast. It's about 175 miles to the south, southeast of Charleston.

But this wind shield extending all the way from the central coast of North Carolina, to South Carolina, to the coast of Georgia, and even into Florida, it is so broad, everybody is going to be impacted. This is millions and millions of people. The rainfall is going to be devastating.

Make sure you have a plan for what to do if you get trapped or stranded in some areas. We saw that problem in Fort Myers, in Naples, in some of those areas that have been so devastating. But I'll be back in just about 20 minutes, Kristie, and we'll bring you another update. That's coming up.

LU STOUT: Yeah, you know, it's good to have all these models. As you point out, they can change in an instant. We appreciate that you're going to be back in 20 minutes. Karen Maginnis there, thank you.

Hurricane Ian is bearing down on the north and South Carolina coastlines. The governor of South Carolina says people need to be prepared right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. HENRY MCMASTER (R-SC): We know what's coming. So, we -- there's a little bit of wiggle room in exactly how strong the rains and how strong the wind will be. But the biggest variable is human reaction.

[02:10:00]

It's people failing to take the necessary precautions. That's the real danger that we have, human error.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Ian left Florida as a tropical storm, but soon regained strength out over the Atlantic to become a Category 1 hurricane again.

CNN's Nick Valencia is in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. He filed this report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Here in Myrtle Beach, residents are bracing for the impact from hurricane Ian. Right now, we are at Myrtle Beach State Park where the waves are already starting to look rough. You can see behind me, it's a lot more rough than it usually is. In fact, there is a double red flag warning in effect, meaning, the local officials here want no one in that water.

It's actually a surprise to not see anyone in the water. Usually, you see one or two surfers trying to test their limits. There is a hurricane warning in effect. There is some gust of winds probably around 20 to 25 miles per hour. It is a factor wind at this point. There is only a light drizzle with the major impact of the hurricane expected to come into the overnight and early morning hours.

A short time ago, I did speak to the Horry County Emergency Management. They tell me that are in wait and see mode, knowing that they are soon going to feel the impacts of the hurricane as I'm just getting hit by another gust of wind here.

We know that there is a potential for major flooding, especially along the coast. Right now, there is no mandatory evacuations as they just wait and see for the worst to come.

Nick Valencia, CNN, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Okay, I want to bring in storm chaser Aaron Smith, who is standing by in Pawleys Island, South Carolina, just north of Charleston, which is expecting a wallop. Aaron, thank you so much for joining us at this hour. As we have been reporting, Ian will likely hit South Carolina as a hurricane. Ahead of its arrival, can you describe the conditions, what you've been hearing, and what you've been seeing?

AARON SMITH, STORM CHASER: Yes, ma'am. This morning, not too bad. So far, a little gusty at times. Winds fairly calm at the moment. It is starting to rain a little heavier here. We are actually just off of Pawleys Island. We checked the island earlier. Some of the roads already had some water getting pushed over it, which isn't too surprising, pretty prone area. For now, it is not too bad just yet.

LU STOUT: It's not too bad just yet. As you pointed out, it is a prone area. This is an area that is a very vulnerable to coastal flooding. So, when Ian unleashes the storm surge, what is going to happen to the coast there in South Carolina?

SMITH: Well, that is the question, I guess, right? Up to seven feet is what they are calling for. Hopefully, it doesn't get quite that high. Pawleys Island got it really bad. Hurricane Matthew hit few years back now, 2016, I believe, Pawleys Island pretty hard. They have two, three feet of sand on the road. So, I think that might have been between three to five feet surge.

LU STOUT: Aaron, you are a storm chaser. This is a historic hurricane. Have you chased something like this before?

SMITH: Yes, definitely. Actually, we just came from Florida. We were down in Fort Charlotte, North Port, that area. So, obviously, this will be nothing compared to that, in South Carolina. Chased these for years (ph). I was in (INAUDIBLE) Island in 2020 for the landfall there. So, definitely.

LU STOUT: Yeah. And so, you know, you've ridden storms before, but can you describe where you are right now? You appear to be in a car. Were you hunkering down?

SMITH: Yeah.

LU STOUT: Where do you plan to hunker down? Where will you shelter when the storm hits?

SMITH: It kind of depends on the track. Be on the move. Right now, I am basically sitting beside a gas station, just in, went off of Pawleys Island. I had to drive up here to speak with you. So, right now, that's where we're sitting. If it does get bad enough, obviously, the plan will be just to move in a little bit further, just pretty much as soon as you start seeing the water come in.

LU STOUT: Yeah.

SMITH: But going to plan to cover that when it does.

LU STOUT: What kind of supplies do you have on hand? You have your food. You have your clean water. What do you have?

SMITH: We have it all. We got towels to stay dry, change our clothes, plenty of water, probably 60 bottles, food, got everything you need pretty much.

LU STOUT: Got it. Aaron Smith, thank you for joining us and bearing witness to the storm. But, please, you and your crew, stay safe. Safety is paramount. Please, my friend, take care. Stay well.

SMITH: Yes, ma'am. Thank you

LU STOUT: Hurricane Ian has left millions in the dark, including Florida's most vulnerable. What one organization is doing to help those most in need, straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:15:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Welcome back. Now, hurricane Ian is taking aim at the southeastern U.S. coast after cutting a deadly swath through Florida. It has left scenes of destruction with debris scattered across the disaster area. Homes are still submerged from the storm surge that engulfed parts of the state. At least 19 deaths have been connected to Ian. And officials confirmed at least 700 rescues statewide, but those numbers expected to rise. And more than two million homes and businesses are without power.

Ian is now turning over the Atlantic as a Category 1 storm. Forecasters say the storm is strengthening and is expected to make a second landfall in South Carolina in the coming hours.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN: (INAUDIBLE).

[02:20:00]

LU STOUT: Dramatic video of a water rescue there with Nassau County Marine Unit rescuing two people on a sailboat in a harbor in Northeastern Florida on Thursday evening. Authorities confirmed at least 700 rescues statewide, but those expected to rise.

Hurricane Ian has also brought extensive flooding to parts of Florida. In Kissimmee, officials are advising residents to shelter in first as first responders conduct rescue operations. One hospital in the area was surrounded by water, Thursday morning, and officials say rescuers couldn't get inside. They called it a worst-case scenario.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Joining me now in Fort Myers, Florida is Anna Jackson. She is the emergency coordinator for Project Hope, which deploys emergency response teams to disaster areas. Thank you so much for joining us this hour. First, give us the damage assessment. What have you and your team members seen on the ground there in Florida?

ANNA JACKSON, EMERGENCY COORDINATOR, PROJECT HOPE (via telephone): Thank you so much for having us. We really appreciate the chance to amplify the work that our organization is doing. So, we saw a tremendous amount of damage. There was a ton of flooding, lots of downed trees, downed power lines.

This evening, as we were trying to find accommodations, there was a ton of debris in the road, cars, boats, you know, the whole thing, and you can just get a sense, even though we haven't been able to make it to the most highly-impacted areas, we are definitely getting a pretty clear sense that the damage is extensive.

LU STOUT: So, you have seen downed trees, downed power lines, a lot of debris out there. I want to ask you about vulnerable communities because we know that Florida is home to many retirees, many senior citizens, including those with disabilities or pre-existing medical conditions. Are they a top priority for you?

JACKSON (via telephone): Yes, absolutely, 100%. That is a population that we feel is really important to assist in the situation, and you can imagine folks who maybe elderly or who have special needs, you know, forgetting medication or not having the medical supply that they need in order to stay healthy.

That is where we can step in. We are, you know, primarily working with a lot of partners on the ground who are in free clinics, who work with low-income folks with professional needs, elderly, et cetera, being able to work with those clinics and get information from them on what they need. The support of the community is crucial to the work that we are doing here.

LU STOUT: It is crucial. And the need is just so immense. You got millions of people without power. Many are stranded or displaced. How do you plan to help them?

JACKSON (via telephone): Yeah, you know, like I said, I touched on our partnership. That is really crucial to what we are doing here. What we started doing today is going to various shelters in the Fort Myers area, bringing some basic supplies, diapers, feminine hygiene products, things like that, things that folks don't think of to take with them when they are leaving in an emergency.

And while we are doing that, we were able to assess the damage, we were able to assess the systems in place, and strengthen those partnerships to be able to kind of zero in on what is the exact needs are going forward.

LU STOUT: Before the storm landfall, you had teams already in place. You had supplies on hand, bottled water, hygiene supplies, medicines, et cetera. How can we help? For viewers who are watching this right now and deeply concerned about the fate of millions of people, especially vulnerable populations, how can we help them?

JACKSON (via telephone): Yeah, I mean, as many organizations will tell you, donations are huge. If you go to www.projecthope.org, you will be able to see what our teams are doing on the ground now. That absolutely allows us to amplify the effect that we have in the areas. As you said, it is very much needed right now. It is very serious here. It's a tremendous amount. So, my biggest suggestion is to go to our website and see the ways that you can help.

LU STOUT: Anna Jackson of Project Hope, thank you for joining us here on CNN, and to you and your teams across Florida, thank you very much indeed for the important work that you are doing. Take care.

JACKSON (via telephone): Thank you so much.

LU STOUT: If you would like to safely and securely help people affected by hurricane Ian who maybe in need of shelter, food and water, you can go to cnn.com/impact. You'll find several ways. You can help.

Hurricane Ian is far from over. The storm is now setting its sights on South Carolina.

[02:25:00]

LU STOUT: After the break, CNN's Randi Kaye has a look at the damage in South Florida. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN: When the surge took out my sliding glass doors, I mean, within 10 seconds, the water was up to my armpits. And at that point, you know, I was just struggling to try and get out of the house.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Welcome back to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Kristie Lu Stout.

The death toll now stands at 19 from hurricane Ian in Florida.

[02:30:00]

LU STOUT: First light Thursday brought the first chance for many to assess the extent of Ian's destruction from Fort Myers to Orlando, entire communities have been left devastated. Countless cars and homes now sit in lakes of stagnant water. Power lines are down. Tap water is not safe to drink. And pleasure boats normally tied up at the marinas have been left high and dry in the middle of residential areas. The recovery costs here will be staggering.

The U.S. President, Joe Biden, set the federal emergency response in motion with a major disaster declaration on Thursday while visiting the Federal Emergency Management Agency headquarters. He said the preliminary reports from Florida are not good.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This could be the deadliest hurricane in Florida's history. The numbers of still -- are still unclear, but we're hearing early reports of what may be a substantial loss of life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STOUT: Now let's go to hard-hit Fort Myers, Florida, a community devastated by high winds and heavy flooding. Randi Kaye is in Lake County, Florida with the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): When Hurricane Ian hit, this woman was alone in her home.

GAIL SIMS, SURVIVED HURRICANE IAN: When the surge took out my sliding glass doors, I mean, within 10 seconds, the water was up to my armpits. And at that point, you know, it was just struggling to try and get out of the house.

KAYE: Gail Sims is 85 years old. She didn't evacuate her home in the River's Edge Mobile Home Community in North Fort Myers because she thought the hurricane was heading more toward Tampa. But when it didn't.

SIMS: I got clobbered with all the furniture and stuff that was floating in so that's how I got this. I got shoved into a wall. And anyway when I got front door open and there was a surge in it, it took me to the middle of the yard, you know fought to get back on the porch.

KAYE: Gail suffered some bumps and bruises but luckily, her neighbor, Tom Podgorny was just a few doors down riding out the storm with his family. When he saw Gail's car, he knew she may need his help.

What did you find when you went to Gail's house?

TOM PODGORNY, RESCUED NEIGHBOR DURING HURRICANE: I couldn't go at first because the river was coming across at 40 miles an hour. I found her on the front porch. It kind of in water in a chair shaking really bad, kind of hypothermic, calmed her down and then we made a loan slow walk in four feet of water to my house.

KAYE: At 85, how grateful are you that somebody came and rescued you?

SIMS: Yes. Tom's a blessing? Yes.

KAYE: A blessing?

SIMS: A blessing, yes.

KAYE: She told me you're a blessing.

PODGORNY: Well, she's a blessing. I don't know about me. She's a blessing.

KAYE: What made you go over and check on her?

PODGORMY: I love her. I mean, there's -- you know, there's a lot of great people on every street like this in America.

KAYE: Meanwhile, Tom and his family have their own story to tell.

PODGORNY: It was fine until some water started coming in the back from the river. And we were bailing until water start coming in the front. By then, we got five, six feet of water in the house, right?

KAYE: Was it scary?

MADELINE PODGORNY, SURVIVED HURRICANE IAN: Yes, it was a little scary. It was scary when it kind of crashed through the windows and the doors.

KAYE: The water?

MADELINE PODGORNY: Yes. It was like a big -- a big wave came through the windows and the doors.

KAYE: That sounds terrifying.

MADELINE PODGORNY: Yes, it was really terrifying.

KAYE: Another neighbor, Marvin Johnson, told me the water came up two feet in his house. He rode out the storm with his three dogs. How come you didn't evacuate?

MARVIN JOHNSON, SURVIVED HURRICANE IAN: Safer in the house. I will make you for a while.

KAYE: Throughout the day, a steady stream of neighbors checking on neighbors, and homeowners returning to assess the damage and take whatever they could save no matter how small.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We had to pick up our gecko, our -- my wife's leopard gecko. She's had it for 22 years so.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That thing used to be way over here.

KAYE: This couple had evacuated but took us inside their home to survey the damage.

SYDNEY VAN HORN, SURVIVED HURRICANE IAN: It's very flooded. It's ruined, completely ruined. The fridges are on the floor. The couches are turned upside down. The toilets are on the floor. There is water seeking in our cabinets. Everything's flooded, everything is ruined.

KAYE: They'd only been living here a year before the hurricane hit.

VAN HORN: It just gets destroyed and it's ruined. And then you have to start all over again. And honestly, where do you start? How do you start in this?

KAYE: Randi Kaye, CNN, Fort Myers, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STOUT: Just all of the devastation there in Fort Myers. Now let's go to our meteorologist Karen Maginnis who is tracking the trajectory of Hurricane Ian. Karen, this is a superlative storm and it still is.

KAREN MAGINNIS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It is. And we're trying to really nail down where this might make landfall. This has been taken such a circuitous route, if you remember it was supposed to make landfall, projected to make landfall around Tampa it didn't. So it is full of surprises.

[02:35:00]

It took almost 24 hours just to make its way across the Florida peninsula, but I want to show you right now what's going on. We're starting to pick up a little bit heavier rain bands, more so along the Georgia coastline in South Carolina though it is going to be picking up rather nicely going into the next few hours or so. Most of what we've seen has been light precipitation or just some light rainfall. We've seen some of the heaviest winds reported right around Hilton Head, South Carolina. Beautiful area. Every area along the coast of South Carolina is gorgeous. It's beautiful. But it's very, very vulnerable. It is a low country, and therefore, summertime rains can really flood this region.

In Charleston, it is very vulnerable. It's always been vulnerable. But it has charm. It has history, a lot of history. And a system like this is going to be devastating for Charleston. Here's his position, about 175 miles to the south southeast of Charleston. The entire coastline is under a hurricane warning. We know that somewhere along the South Carolina coast, this is going to make landfall, and maybe about the time, and Charleston Harbor about mid-day is when it's going to be high tide so there could be a storm surge of four to seven feet.

But not just South Carolina all the way up into North Carolina. As a matter of fact, computer models are saying on the order of five to 10 inches of rainfall but some areas could pick up 10 to 20. All right, here's the latest. 85 mile an hour winds gusts to 100 traveling to the north and northwest but that rain field is so broad. And look at some of the wind gusts, St. Simons, 48, talking about beautiful, wow that is one of these areas that is gorgeous, Savannah 38, Charleston 47 miles an hour. The rains increasing, the chances for flooding are increasing, the chances of you being isolated with no power is increasing. So, Kristie, we're advising everybody to have a plan to get out or to stay put and to stay safe. Make sure you've got your important documents, medications, everything is taken care of. Back to you.

STOUT: Good advice, Karen. You know this storm has caused already catastrophic damage in Florida. One fears what's going to happen next in South Carolina, another beautiful state.

MAGINNIS: You got it.

STOUT: Karen Maginnis, thank you for your reporting, and take care.

And if you would like to safely and securely help people affected by Hurricane Ian who may be in need of shelter, have food, and water, go to cnn.com/impact and you'll find there several ways you can help.

Moscow is hours away from starting the process of annexing occupied parts of Ukraine. And still ahead, a ceremony in Moscow on the heels of referendums widely slammed as bogus.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:42:44]

STOUT: Welcome back. Now police in Afghanistan say that 23 people were killed in explosion at an educational center in Kabul, 36 others were wounded. Now, CNN's Salma Abdelaziz is on the story. She joins us now live from London. And, Salma, again, this was an educational center so what more have you learned about who was targeted here, and the aftermath?

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, Kristie, this just happened a few hours ago in the early morning in Kabul so we're still getting information on what occurred. But what we understand, again, is in the early hours of this morning, a suicide attack took place at this education center. This is an education center for both boys and girls, women and men who are trying to take mock university exams. This education center administers these exams generally on Fridays ahead of real exams that are later on. And I know you have that social media video showing really disturbing aftermath, a really bloody scene after this blast took place.

Now, we don't know who the perpetrator of this attack is so far, no one has claimed responsibility yet, but there's a couple of things that we need to point out here. First of all, as you mentioned, it seems that predominantly -- one eyewitness rather said that predominantly what they saw -- this one eyewitness that CNN spoke to, what they saw is that many of those who were wounded, hurt, killed in this attack appear to have been young women. Now, was that intentional on the -- on the part of the attacker? Did he actually hit the part of the room where women were sitting versus the male part of the room? We don't know that yet. We don't know that at this stage. So that's something we need to find out more about.

The second part I want to point out here is that this is a predominantly Hazara community area where this blast took place. That is a minority group in Afghanistan. They have been targeted in the past many times, hundreds of them killed by ISIS. Again, we have no claim of responsibility, but a lot of worrying hallmarks here in this suicide attack, Kristie.

STOUT: Yes, very worrying when you have among the victim students, among them women and girls. Salma Abdelaziz, we thank you for your reporting.

The Kremlin is expected to hold a ceremony in the coming hours that would begin the process of annexing about 18 percent of Ukraine. The move comes after so-called referendums in four occupied territories in the east.

[02:45:04]

According to pro-Russian officials, voters overwhelmingly supported joining Russia, but reports from the ground suggest that the voting was often held at the point of a gun with armed soldiers taking ballot boxes door to door. And this video purports to show that. Although CNN has not verified the location of the referendums have been dismissed as illegal and a sham in much of the West. On Thursday, the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, condemned any annexation effort as a violation of everything the international community stands for. And U.S. President Joe Biden made it clear it is a non-starter for Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: The United States will never, never, never recognize Russia's claims on Ukraine's sovereign territory. The so-called referendum was a sham, an absolute sham. The results were manufactured in Moscow.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STOUT: Nada Bashir joins us from London with more. Nada, Russia is setting the stage for a land grab in Ukraine after these sham referendums.

NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER: Yes, absolutely, Kristie. This is a substantial escalation. And we already saw yesterday evening, President Putin signing in to force that so-called independence decree for the two regions, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, two of the four regions set to be annexed by the Russian Federation. And we are already seeing in Moscow, as we speak, preparations underway for what appears to be that ceremony. We are expecting later this afternoon signing into force the annexation of those four key regions, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Donetsk, and Luhansk. We're seeing posters and images being put up carrying the names of those four regions.

And, of course, as you laid out, this follows that sham referenda held in those four key regions, the results of which were announced earlier this weekend came as no surprise, a apparent overwhelming majority in favor of joining the Russian Federation. Much as we saw ahead of the annexation of Crimea back in 2014. So we have seen this before. But the concern now is how this transforms the situation on the ground, what impact this will have on the playing field, so to speak, because, of course, it was long fear that Russia would attempt a full annexation of these four key regions in southern and eastern Ukraine.

The concern now is that any Russian -- Ukrainian counter-offensive in these key regions will no longer be seen or framed by Moscow, by the Kremlin as just that. It will now be framed as a direct attack on Russian territory, essentially laying the framework and a pretext for Moscow to double down on its military pressure on the Ukrainian Armed Forces in those key regions. And, you know, we're already seeing those efforts by the Russian Armed Forces.

Just in the last hour or so, we've had confirmation from Ukrainian officials that at least 20 people and more than two dozen -- have been killed and more than two dozen people injured in an attack on a convoy leaving the city of Zaporizhzhia. So that was by the Russian Armed Forces, according to Ukrainian officials. So you can see the concern there. And of course, we've heard from President Zelenskyy warning this will essentially and any hope of potential talks or negotiations between Russia and Ukraine if that annexation does go ahead as expected.

STOUT: Yes, this is an escalation. Nada Bashir, thank you.

Coming up after the short break, the Biden administration clears the way for emergency federal assistance to Florida as the state deals with what could be the biggest natural disaster in its history.

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STOUT: At least 19 deaths have been reported so far from Hurricane Ian in Florida and we are now getting a firsthand look at the devastation left by this massive storm. From Fort Myers to Orlando, entire communities have been devastated. Countless cars and homes are sitting in lakes of stagnant water. Live power lines are down everywhere. And tap water is not safe to drink. Ian has been gathering strength out in the Atlantic. And is again a Category 1 hurricane, it is expected to make landfall near Charleston, South Carolina on Friday with a storm surge up to seven feet in places.

Now clean up in Florida is a gigantic task that will take weeks but getting back to normal will take much longer. And on Thursday, U.S. President Joe Biden set the federal emergency response in motion with a major disaster declaration for Florida. Kaitlan Collins has this report.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: After receiving a briefing at the FEMA headquarters, President Biden is warning that Hurricane Ian could be one of the deadliest storms to ever hit Florida, saying there are reports of potential substantial loss of life as those numbers are still coming in and not yet confirmed at this time as officials are really still surveying the damage on the ground.

And one of those officials is going to be the FEMA Administrator, Deanne Criswell, who is going to Florida on Friday to survey the damage with local officials herself. That comes after President Biden had this briefing at the FEMA headquarters where he talked about himself potentially visiting Florida, though the White House says that is not expected to happen anytime in the immediate future given, of course, the large footprint that comes alongside a presidential visit.

So instead, President Biden is doing what he can right now from afar. He declared and approved a major disaster declaration that helps free up federal resources to help Floridians who are dealing in the aftermath of this, not just those of course who potentially have lost their homes but have been displaced and need places to go.

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So that is going to be part of this effort as they are responding to this massive storm that has caused so much damage in the state of Florida. And President Biden says that the political differences he has with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis won't make a difference in his visit there. He talked about the multiple conversations they've had in recent days, saying that DeSantis actually praised the federal government's quick response to the hurricane efforts. Of course, that will be something that people will be watching closely if and when President Biden does visit Florida. Kaitlan Collins, CNN, the White House.

STOUT: And thank you for joining us. I'm Kristie Lu Stout. My colleague, Kim Brunhuber picks up our coverage of Ian after the break. You're watching CNN.

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