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Titanic-bound Sub Experienced a Catastrophic Implosion; Indian PM and U.S. President Gathered at the State Dinner, Part of the Former's State Visit; Former President Barack Obama Speaks on Relations with Autocratic Leaders; Pres. Julius Maada Bio Faces Samura Kamara In Sunday Votes; Over 495,000 People Impacted By Floods In India; Storm Moving Over Eastern Caribbean Sea. Aired 2-2:45a ET

Aired June 23, 2023 - 02:00   ET

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

[02:00:00]

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KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to all of you watching us around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber.

Ahead on "CNN Newsroom." A catastrophic implosion, a multinational search for a missing submersible and the five people on board comes to an end not far from the bow of the Titanic.

Pomp and pageantry as the leader of the world's most populous nation is welcomed at the White House. India's prime minister touts ties with Washington despite stark differences on some issues.

And Ukrainian missiles damage a key supply route linking Crimea with southern Ukraine.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from CNN Center, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Kim Brunhuber.

BRUNHUBER: The missing submersible is now located in pieces at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. The search for survivors suddenly and abruptly is over. The focus now shifting to what went wrong and when.

Debris from the craft was first located on Thursday morning, leaving officials to determine it suffered a quote "catastrophic implosion." All five people on board were killed in the tragedy and it's not clear yet if their remains can be recovered.

CNN's Miguel Marquez has more on what we're learning.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REAR ADM. JOHN MAUGER, U.S. COAST GUARD: The debris field is consistent with a catastrophic implosion of the vessel.

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN SR. U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A catastrophic implosion. Five crew members aboard the Titan submersible, gone. The vessel, torn to pieces by extreme pressure. PAUL HANKINS, DIRECTOR, U.S. NAVY SALVAGE OPERATIONS AND OCEAN

ENGINEERING: We found five different major pieces of debris that told us that it was the remains of the Titan.

MARQUEZ (voice-over): The destruction of the vessel so great debris found in two different areas just in front of the Titanic, the wreckage they hope to view.

The debris, 1600 feet from the Titanic's bow and consistent with where it would have fallen if there was an implosion as the sub was descending to the great ship on Sunday.

CARL HARTSFIELD, WOODS HOLE OCEANOGRAPHIC INSTITUTION: 200 plus meters from the bow and consistent with the location of last communication for an implosion in the water column and the size of the debris field is consistent with that implosion in the water column.

MARQUEZ (voice-over): OceanGate, the company that owns the now- destroyed vessel, saying in a statement, these men were true explorers who shared a distinct spirit of adventure and a deep passion for exploring and protecting the world's oceans. Our hearts are with these five souls and every member of their families during this tragic time.

All indications so far, the implosion happened shortly after the Titan lost contact with its mothership an hour and 45 minutes into what was expected to be around a nine hour dive.

MAUGER: We've had sonar buoys in the water nearly continuously, and have not detected any catastrophic events.

MARQUEZ (voice-over): Colin Taylor was aboard the Titan last year, knew the OceanGate founder and P.H. Nardule, and says everyone on board would have known the risk they were taking.

COLIN TAYLOR, WENT ON TITAN SUBMERSIBLE LAST YEAR: You know when you get into it that it's not without risk. This is not for the faint hearted.

MARQUEZ (on-camera): There was such hope for a miracle and it came to such a tragic end. The question, now what, officials say that they will continue to survey the debris field to see if they can recover anything from it and possibly if they can recover remains of the victims but given the catastrophic event that may be impossible. Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: For more on this, I'm joined by Frank Owen, who's a retired submarine commander in the Australian Navy and he is in Canberra. Thanks so much for being here with us. So in that report, we kept hearing the word implosion. I imagine that's absolutely the absolute worst case scenario for any type of deep water submersible. Can you explain what that means and what happens physically to a submersible?

FRANK OWEN, RETIRED SUBMARINE COMMANDER, AUSTRALIAN NAVY: Thank you, Kim. What it means is that -- Well, obviously, the force of the pressure on the outside exceeds the capability of the pressure vessel. And what happens then is that there's an almost instantaneous inrush of that pressure, which is 400 or 380 times what we are experiencing here.

The human brain doesn't have enough time to process the difference -- distance, if you like, or the interval between the actual implosion and when the body is almost vaporized.

[02:05:10]

I hear and I expect there will be no ability to recover any remains, in all the previous implosions that I'm aware of, and that particularly includes the Argentinian ARA San Juan and the Indonesian Nanggala. There were no remains discovered there.

So it is absolutely violent, and when they say catastrophic, there's no other word to describe it.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah. And so, whatever happened would have happened extremely quickly. How small of a problem can lead to an implosion like that?

OWEN: It's that small weakness. It's not gonna be a tiny little crack that lets in a jet of water. It's when the -- this material and in this case it was of course carbon fiber, it wasn't steel.

So there wouldn't have been any bulging or anything else that might be happening with the metal. And particularly with the metal that actually has some elasticity in it, it would just wait and wait and then just go.

So this is one of the aspects of engineering using these composite materials. And this, I won't pretend to start providing any more explanation on composites like that, but it is a picture of them that they are different. They behave very differently to metals.

BRUNHUBER: You're an expert in submarine escape and rescue. I mean, given the fact that authorities were alerted to the sound of an explosion so early on, are you surprised that so many resources were devoted to a rescue that they would have known was highly unlikely?

OWEN: Well, it's a, yes, it's a strong clue, but the problem is you want to keep the, without being sort of harsh about it, you want to keep the rescuers and the searchers motivated.

Because the last thing you want to discover after the time at which any life-support might have expired is that you're actually confronted with somebody here in Australia that's not discovered, discussed with me something like the Marie Celeste just floating slightly below the surface and never seen by anybody because the search wasn't good enough.

So there was an indication, very, very likely to be the implosion, but it was not definitive and they didn't want to set the hands down that bearing only to discover it's wrong. And therefore they needed to wait until these heavy resources actually had time to mobilize and get down to the site and then get under the water, come down to where it was likely that they were and that's where they found it. And it's fortunate that they were in basically a smooth meadow.

BRUNHUBER: In terms of that recovery then of the debris, how hard will it be given what you said about this implosion? How hard will it be to find debris that might provide answers as to what happened here and what specifically will they be looking for?

OWEN: Well, they'll be looking for any of the components that are in large enough pieces. It went shattered everything into tiny little pieces, they'll still be quite large. The challenge will be having a big enough, there are say shopping basket or whatever to pick it up because you'll be gathering lots and lots of remnants.

And they are fortunate based on that meadow, that smooth meadow that they were in as opposed to being in the debris field which is elsewhere around the wreck, that anything they see is likely to be bring.

BRUNHUBER: Finally, we only have 30 seconds left, but we are hearing about so many people who raise safety questions, alarm bells, red flags and so on. This industry is self-regulated. What more could be done to make this type of exploration safer, do you think?

OWEN: I think it's very difficult. There's no mandated requirement to certify for anybody. But industries who own and operate submersibles usually have some corporate responsibilities to their own stakeholders to manage their own risk.

And the way they do it is by getting an independent expert to validate the design and ensure that design complies with all the lessons they've learned from other similar systems around the world.

[02:10:10]

And they can do it quickly as they did for the Australian Rescue System in 1995 when it was designed, built and certified and tested in 23 weeks.

BRUNHUBER: Alright, we'll have to leave it there. We really appreciate your expertise on this tragedy. Frank Owen, thank you so much.

OWEN: Thank you, Kim.

BRUNHUBER: India's prime minister was honored at the White House Thursday night with a lavish state dinner, one of the few that President Biden has offered to a visiting head of state. About 400 guests and dignitaries were on hand as the president lifted a glass of ginger ale and offered a simple toast to the Indian leader.

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JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: Toast to our partnership, to our people, to the possibilities that lie ahead, to great friends, to great nations, and to great powers. Cheers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: The visit comes at a pivotal time. Biden has made it clear he sees India as a counterweight to China's growing influence. And on Thursday, he and the prime minister announced new trade and defense agreements meant to shore up relations between the two democracies.

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Earlier, Biden welcomed the Prime Minister with a military honor guard on the White House lawn. The tradition dates back to the Truman administration and is reserved only for official state visitors.

Now Modi was also given the rare privilege of addressing a joint meeting at Congress where he got an enthusiastic reception except for a small group of Democrats who boycotted the speech.

CNN's Manu Raju has the details.

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MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Capitol Hill on Thursday, giving the rare honor of a foreign leader to address a joint meeting of Congress, meaning House members and senators sitting in the chamber of the House listening to Modi's speech, where he stressed the common bonds between Americans and Indians and about the alliance between the two countries, particularly amid the threat from China, something that the United States sees as essential with the partnership with India, which is one reason why President Joe Biden has given Modi a red carpet treatment as he has come to the United States, well, everything from a state dinner to meeting with the press, as well as a private audience with the president and the prime minister of India.

But when addressing the United States Congress earlier today on Thursday, Modi made clear that he believes that the United States alliance and relationship with India is essential, and that he believes it will continue to grow in the years ahead.

NARENDRA MODI, INDIAN PRIME MINISTER: We come from different circumstances and history, but we are united by a common vision and by a common destiny. When our partnership progress, economic resilience increases, innovation grows. Science flourishes, knowledge advances, humanity benefits. Our seas and skies are safer. Democracy will shine brighter, and the world will be better placed.

RAJU: Now, Modi on Capitol Hill was greeted by congressional leaders, including Speaker McCarthy, who escorted him into the House. Later, he met with other congressional leaders, including Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, as well as Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell.

But there were some members of the Progressive Caucus in the House who refused to attend Modi's speech. That included Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, others who had criticized Modi over concerns that India is backsliding on some key democratic ideals, such as freedom of the press, as well as silencing some political opponents in India. Modi was asked about this at the White House. He pushed back on the

notion that India is no longer a democratic country amid concerns of his heavy-handed approach that his critics say has essentially caused the country to backslide on some of those democratic ideals. But nevertheless, the United States sees India, the world's largest democracy, as an essential partner amid the growing threats from China.

Manu Raju, CNN, Capitol Hill.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Prime Minister Modi and ethnic minority issues in India were a big part of the conversation when CNN's Christiane Amanpour sat down with former U.S. President Barack Obama for an exclusive in-depth interview about the state of democracy around the world. Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: President Biden, a man who you know extremely well, has made the defense of democracy the sort of centerpiece of his administration.

[02:15:01]

It just so happens that right now there's also not just, you know, threats to democracy by dictatorships and autocrats, but also illiberal democracy as well. He has called the President of China a dictator and they're sticking with it. He's also hosting, as we speak, the prime minister of India, Modi, who is considered autocratic or at least a liberal Democrat. What is the point, I guess, or how should a president engage with those kinds of leaders, either in the naming of them or in the dealing with them?

BARACK OBAMA, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: Look, it's complicated. The president of the United States has a lot of equities. And when I was president, I would deal with figures, in some cases who were allies, who, you know, if you pressed me in private, do they run their governments and their political parties in ways that I would say are ideally democratic? I'd have to say no.

AMANPOUR: Do you want to name names?

OBAMA: No, of course not. But you had to do business with them because they're important for national security reasons. There are a range of economic interests. You know, I dealt with China to get the Paris Accords done. I dealt with Modi to get the Paris Accords done because I think climate change is something that transcends, you know, any particular momentary issues. It's a problem that humanity has got to deal with over the next several decades in a serious way.

I do think that it is appropriate for the President of the United States, where he or she can, to uphold those principles and to challenge, whether behind closed doors or in public trends that are troubling. And so, unless concerned about labels than I'm concerned about, you know, specific practices. You know, I think it is important for the President of the United States to say that if you have Uighurs in China who are being placed in mass camps and "reeducated", quote unquote, that's a problem. That's a challenge to all of us, and we have to pay attention to it.

I think it is true that if the President meets with Prime Minister Modi, then the protection of the Muslim minority in a majority Hindu India, that's something worth mentioning. And by the way, if I had a conversation with Prime Minister Modi, who I know well, part of my argument would be that if you do not protect the rights of ethnic minorities in India, then there is a strong possibility India at some point starts pulling apart.

And we've seen what happens when you start getting those kinds of large internal conflicts. So that would be contrary to the interests not just of Muslim India, but also Hindu India. So I think it's important to be able to talk about these things honestly. You're never going to have -- things that are never going to be as clean as you like, because the world is complicated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: And you can see Christiane Amanpour's full interview with Barack Obama, a CNN Exclusive. Coming up at 1.00 PM in New York, that's at 6 in the evening in London.

Ukraine is pushing back against criticism that its counteroffensive is doing too little, too slowly. Kyiv's response to its critics when we come back. Stay with us.

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BRUNHUBER: Ukraine's air defenses are claiming success in the latest wave of Russian missile attacks. In the past hour, Ukraine said it shot down all 13 missiles targeting an airfield in the western part of the country. The missiles were reportedly fired by Russian strategic bombers.

Meanwhile, Russia is denying Ukraine's accusation that it is considering what Kyiv called a terrorist attack on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. The Kremlin is calling Ukraine's allegations a lie. President Zelenskyy spelled out details about the alleged plan on Thursday. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Now our intelligence has received information that Russia is considering the scenario of a terrorist attack at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, a terrorist act with the release of radiation. They have prepared everything for this. Unfortunately, I have repeatedly had to remind that radiation has no state borders and who it will hit is determined only by the wind direction. (END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Meanwhile, Ukraine is shoring up its power grid ahead of possible new waves of Russian strikes this winter. Officials say they want to make the system more resilient to military attacks, which Russia regularly conducted last winter.

Meanwhile, Ukraine is pushing back against criticism that its counteroffensive isn't showing results, while Russia is pledging to fix a key bridge to Crimea, which has apparently been hit by Ukrainian missiles. More details now from CNN's Matthew Chance.

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MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On Russian state television, news of the latest Ukrainian strike, punching through a key bridge to Crimea.

A military supply route, the anchor says, which Ukraine hit with missiles to cut off. Instead of hiding the bad news, Russia is using it to bolster support.

The Kremlin-appointed governor of occupied Kherson was quickly at the scene to condemn the attack and blame the West.

It's another senseless act by the Kyiv regime at the behest of London, he says, but it will make no difference to the result of the special military operation, what Russia calls its war.

Along the vast front lines in Ukraine. A much anticipated counteroffensive is seeing fierce but limited fighting.

Some Ukrainian officials are pushing back hard, though, on Western assessments to CNN that expectations are not being met.

One senior Ukrainian official telling CNN, it's still way too early to assess the overall trajectory of what the official says were shaping operations. The real counteroffensive, the official told CNN, has not even begun yet in earnest.

Still, the Russian military is taking credit for holding Ukrainian forces back.

Releasing dramatic images of what they say are enemy positions being pounded and characterizing the Ukrainian push as unsuccessful. The Kremlin, though, is sounding an unusual note of caution.

Ukraine's offensive potential has not yet been exhausted, the Russian president warns his defense officials. Its strategic reserves, he says, have not all been activated. It is a recognition of what Ukrainian officials also insist. This battle may be slow, but it is far from over. Matthew Chance, CNN, Kyiv.

(END VIDEOTAPE) BRUNHUBER: Alright, still ahead more on our top story, the Titan submersible disaster and the families now mourning the loss of their loved ones.

[02:25:01]

And voters in Sierra Leone head to the polls this weekend to choose their next leader. What's at stake? That's ahead on "CNN Newsroom." Please stay with us.

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BRUNHUBER: Welcome back to all of you watching us around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is "CNN Newsroom."

U.S. officials say all five people on the Titan submersible were killed when it experienced a catastrophic implosion on Sunday. U.S. Navy detected an acoustic sound consistent with an implosion at that time. Although it was not considered definitive, they immediately told commanders leading the search.

Now what followed was a huge, days-long international effort involving numerous ships and aircraft. The submersible have been diving to the wreck of the Titanic, some 13,000 feet deep or nearly four kilometers on the floor of the North Atlantic Ocean. That's where search teams found evidence of the implosion on Thursday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAUGER: This is an incredibly unforgiving environment down there on the seafloor. And the debris is consistent with a catastrophic implosion of the vessel. And so we'll continue to work and continue to search the area down there. But I don't have an answer for prospects at this time.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Families and friends of the five victims are now dealing with the tremendous loss of loved ones. The men on board were fathers, sons, explorers, and industry leaders.

CNN's Paula Newton has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL AURIER NARGEOLET, MADE 30 DIVES TO THE TITANIC: The 24th of July 1987 was my first dive to the Titanic with two team members and it was an unforgettable moment.

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): That was Paul-Aurier Nargeolet, a 77-year-old Frenchman who made more than 30 dives to the Titanic, earning him the nickname Mr. Titanic.

David Gallo is Nargeolet's close friend, colleague and an oceanographer himself. DAVID GALLO, OCEANOGRAPHER AND FRIEND OF NARGEOLET: I'm sure he did

everything he could or would do everything he could do. make sure that they had every chance of surviving whatever it was.

NEWTON (voice-over): For Stockton Rush, the chief executive of the firm behind the dive, who was also on board, the experience of those involved was always crucial to the mission.

STOCKTON RUSH, OCEANGATE CEO: There are five individuals can go on each dive. Three of those are what we call mission specialists. So those are the folks who help finance the mission, but they are also active participants. So why we're not a fan of the tourist term is because these are crew members.

NEWTON (voice-over): One of those crew members is the British billionaire and explorer Hamish Harding. Part of two record-breaking trips to the South Pole, he also held a world record for the fastest circumnavigation of the globe via both poles.

[02:30:00]

Last year, he went into space with Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin company.

HAMISH HARDING, BRITISH BUSINESSMAN: I've always wanted to do this. And the share experience of looking out of the window is something I'm looking forward to.

NEWTON (voiceover): In a post on social media before the dive, he described feeling proud to be part of the Titan's expedition.

Also, onboard, Shahzada Dawood, who comes from one of Pakistan's richest families and lived in the UK with his wife and two children. He had taken his son, Suleman, just 19 years old, along with him. A family statement asked for privacy and prayers when the sub went missing.

A search that was called impossible, now over. The Titan and the five people on board now lie at the bottom of the ocean. Paula Newton, CNN, Halifax.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: The director of the film, "Titanic," James Cameron, is himself a deep sea explorer with more than 30 trips to the Titanic wreckage. He spoke to CNN about the sub's faithful expedition. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAMES CAMERON, DIRECTOR, "TITANIC": I think there is a great, almost surreal irony here, which is Titanic sank because the captain took it full steam into an ice field at night on a moonless night with very poor visibility after he had been repeatedly warned by telegram, by marconigram, by radio during the day that that's what was ahead of him. And so, I think we are also seeing a parallel here with unheeded warnings about a sub that was not certified where there -- the entire deep submergence community actually -- or not the entire community but a large number of them got together to write a letter to OceanGate, the company, and say we believe that this could lead to a catastrophe.

We didn't remember the lessons of Titanic. These guys at OceanGate didn't because the arrogance and hubris that sent that ship to its doom is exactly the same thing that sent those people in that sub to their fate.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: And officials will now try to figure out exactly what happened and how to prevent it from happening again.

Spanish emergency forces rescued more than 200 migrants near the Canary Islands, Thursday, one day after a migrant boat sank in the same area. A group says they fear more than 30 migrants died when their inflatable dinghy sank. The Canary Islands have become the main destination for migrants trying to get to Spain from West Africa. The UN estimates nearly 600 people died last year trying to reach the Canaries.

Millions in Sierra Leone are expected to head to the polls on Saturday to choose the next leader. The incumbent, Julius Maada Bio is seeking a second and final term in office. He was elected in 2018 after defeating Samura Kamara of the main opposition party in a runoff election.

And in Sunday's election, Kamara is once again Bio's biggest challenger. Now, it all comes as Sierra Leone is caught in an economic crisis with inflation and unemployment soaring, and the country's currency plunging in value. Our Stephanie Busari has the latest.

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STEPHANIE BUSARI, CNN JOURNALIST (voiceover): These Sierra Leonians are calling out for change, as the West African state heads to the polls to elect a new president on June 24th. Among the issues citizens are battling are the soaring cost of living and massive unemployment, with inflation sitting at around 37 percent in April, according to the IMF.

AMINATA FANTA KOROMA, OPPOSITION PARTY MEMBER: The country just (INAUDIBLE) and we don't see any prospects. These things are coming down. The country is under inflation. It's very high. Everything is very high.

BUSARI (voiceover): Around 3.3 million, less than half the population, are registered to vote in this, the fifth election since the end of the country's brutal decade-long civil war 21 years ago. Anger at the current state of the country spilling over in August last year, with more than 20 people killed in anti-government protests across Sierra Leone. Incumbent president Julius Maada Bio's view of those protests.

JULIUS MAADA BIO, PRESIDENT OF SIERRA LEONE: This was not a protest against the high cost of living. The chant of the insurrectionists was for a violent overthrow of a democratically elected government. BUSARI (voiceover): Former Sierra Leonian child soldier turned author and human rights activist Ishmael Beah says the mood in the country is not hopeful.

ISHMAEL BEAH, AUTHOR & HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST: Even as we head towards the election, the security situation has got intense in the way you have more presence of armed police, armed military, and they're basically patrolling the streets as if going to an election is also like going to war.

BUSARI (voiceover): Among the 12 candidates challenging Maada Bio in the general election, is the leader of the opposition All Peoples Congress Party, Samura Kamara.

SAMURA KAMARA, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I want to call all Sierra Leoneans to come out and vote on the 24th, come rain, come sunshine, come the usual barrage of bullets, or come anything else to protect their votes.

[02:35:17]

BUSARI (voiceover): The 72-year-old former cabinet minister is facing trial on corruption charges, which he denies. If convicted, Kamara would be barred from holding public office. He appeared before court in April, but the cases been adjourned until after the general election.

59-year-old Maada Bio seen here dancing in the rain on the campaign trail, has promised if reelected, to feed the nation and create half a million jobs for young people in five years. For the people of a country that has faced so much tragedy, its future is by no means decided. Stephanie Busari, CNN, Lagos.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Brazil's highest electoral court is deciding the political future of Jair Bolsonaro. The trial of the former Brazilian president kicked off Thursday. He is accused of abusing his political power last year when he publicly vented unfounded attacks on the country's electoral system to foreign diplomats. Bolsonaro has belittled the trial and said the charges aren't unjustified. If convicted, he could be ineligible to run for public office for up to eight years. Bolsonaro lost last year's election by a narrow margin to current President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Severe flooding is affecting hundreds of thousands of people in Asia. Just ahead, a look at the disaster unfolding across Northeastern India. Plus, is your city the most livable city in the world? Well, we'll find out which one is at the top of a new list after the break. That's coming up. Please stay with us.

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BRUNHUBER: Thursday set a heat record in Beijing for the month of June. The Chinese capital reached 40.1 degrees Celsius. But Beijing wasn't alone. Several other locations across Northern China also hit record highs for June. Now, few cities even set records for any month of the year. And temperatures are expected to remain well above average over the weekend.

Half a million villages in India are suffering from severe weather of a different kind, dangerous flooding. CNN Meteorologist Chad Myers has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST (voiceover): A risky walk through a flooded road. These women and their children trek barefoot across worn-out bridges and away from their homes. They're running from flooding in Northeastern India, that disaster officials say has affected at least 780 villages and up to 120,000 people.

Some of them are farmers. Hectares of farmland that once kept them afloat are now underwater. Their houses, schools, and belongings too.

[02:40:01]

JYOTISH RAJBONGSHI, ASSAM RESIDENT (TEXT): I have no one to help me. My wife and I are now alone. I am sick and if I go to my house, which is flooded, I will fall down. The flood water has damaged my home and most of my belongings.

MYERS (voiceover): Some managed to save their livestock, hens, goats, and cows. Assam state has set up 31 relief camps to house over 2000 displaced people, including over 400 children.

MANOJ RAJBONGSHI, ASSAM RESIDENT (TEXT): At least 200 to 300 people are there staying in makeshift tents here.

MYERS (voiceover): Flooding in Assam this time of year is not uncommon. Humanitarian organizations say nearly 2000 people died between June and September last year due to monsoon flooding across India. Chad Myers, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Tropical Storm Bret has weakened slightly as it continues over to Eastern Caribbean. It's now barring the Windward Islands with heavy rains and strong winds. The National Hurricane Center says Bret has now winds of 95 kilometers per hour.

Tropical storm warnings are in effect for Dominica, Saint Lucia, Martinique, Barbados, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Bret is expected to weaken more in the coming days. And hot on its heels, Tropical Storm Cindy has now formed not far behind it.

Oh, have a look. That was the crazy scene in the U.S. State of Colorado, Wednesday night. Nearly one hundred people attending an outdoor concert were injured by the pelting hail. Authorities say at least seven people were taken to hospital. Former One Direction star Louis Tomlinson was scheduled to play but he never took the stage because of the weather. Well, this year's list of the most livable cities has just been released. And on the top of the list, yet again, is Vienna. Living up to its nickname of the city of dreams. Vienna hailed on to the first place by winning praise for its stand of culture, and entertainment, and impeccable education and health services.

All of those factors, plus stability infrastructure, and environment are used by the Economist Intelligence Unit to rank a city's livability. The Austrian capital is followed closely by Copenhagen, Denmark, which stayed in the second place position. Australia's Melbourne and Sydney took third and fourth place with Vancouver running out the top five cities.

All right. Thanks so much for watching, I'm Kim Brunhuber. Stay tuned. I'll be back with more news in 15 minutes. "WORLD SPORT" is next.

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