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Tropical Storm Hilary Lashes Southern California; Ecuador Heading for a Presidential Runoff Vote; Fans Celebrate Spain's Victory Over England at Women's World Cup; Denmark & The Netherlands to Send F-16 Jets to Ukraine; Electric Scooters Gaining Popularity in India; Italy's Clam Industry Threatened by Rise in Blue Crabs. Aired 12- 12:45a ET

Aired August 21, 2023 - 00:00   ET

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

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello and welcome. Coming to you live from Studio Four at the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Michael Holmes. Appreciate your company.

[00:00:35]

Coming up on CNN NEWSROOM, some 9 million people under flash flood warnings in Los Angeles at this hour. We're tracking Tropical Storm Hilary, now battering California after making landfall in Mexico.

Down to a runoff in Ecuador between an ex-president's ally and the son of a banana tycoon.

Also --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(CROWD CHEERING)

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HOLMES: The fans go wild, Spain wins the Women's World Cup for the first time, despite a tumultuous year for the team.

ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Michael Holmes.

HOLMES: And we begin here in the U.S. as Southern California faces the first tropical storm to hit the state in more than two decades.

Tropical Storm Hilary has been lashing San Diego and Los Angeles with powerful winds and record-breaking rainfall. More than 9 million people in downtown L.A. and surrounding areas are under flash flood warnings.

Thousands of flights also canceled or delayed on Sunday.

There's also a state of emergency in Nevada, which is feeling the effects of Hilary as the storm moves South. North, rather. It made landfall in Mexico in the Baja California Peninsula early on Sunday, causing widespread flooding and power outages. At least one person there was killed when their vehicle was swept away in the floodwaters.

For the latest, let's go over to CNN meteorologist Karen Maginnis. It's starting to make its way in. Tell us what you're seeing.

KAREN MAGINNIS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, it is -- This is so epic. This is so historic, and earth-shattering.

It's hard to wrap your head around the idea that this portion of the United States and South -- Southern California, portions of Arizona could be so drenched by a year -- year and a half's worth of precipitation. It's hard to imagine that that has happened, but it has.

The mountains have really borne the brunt of this, where some areas have received just about a third of a meter of rainfall, and the rain keeps coming down.

Right now, it has winds associated with it at 75 kilometers per hour, or about 45 miles an hour. But look at some of these rainfall totals. In Riverside County on top of San Gabriel, the San Jacinto Mountain, eight and a half inches of rainfall.

These are areas that only see fractions of an inch of precipitation. Even for Los Angeles, they set a record. One and a half plus inches of rainfall. It's not finished yet, because essentially, Tropical Storm Hilary is just kind of parked across the Los Angeles area, but it is racing very quickly towards the North.

So, it's going to spread that broad shield of wet weather all the way up into Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. It is staggering to think that this system that was such a massive hurricane lost so much energy but is still capable of propelling all that moisture further to the North.

All right. So here's Los Angeles. Here's San Diego. Where you see these red boxes, essentially extending from Los Angeles, Ventura County, San Bernardino County, Orange County into Southern Nevada.

You're looking at staggering amounts of rainfall. We've already seen in a lot of areas the forecast verify some areas have already seen about ten inches of rainfall.

There is more in store, because orographically, that rainfall lifts, and it gets wrung out across the mountains. It has to go someplace, and there it is.

Southern California, you're still in trouble going into Monday. But, it's going to gradually taper off throughout the day and then make its way towards Montana and Idaho.

Now, there's a big ridge of high pressure out here. The circulation around that is clockwise. There's an area of low pressure here. That's Hilary, Tropical Storm Hilary. So everything is filtering up underneath that ridge of high pressure. And that's why it is so staggering.

Now, just to give you some idea, the tropics are acting up. When we come back at the top of the hour, I'll tell you about what's happening here near Puerto Rico, Hispaniola. There is a tropical system developing there, and we'll update you on that situation.

Back to you.

HOLMES: Can't get my head around ten inches. That's, what, about 25 centimeters. That is a ton of rain. My goodness, me.

[00:05:04]

MAGINNIS: It is.

HOLMES: Karen, good to see you, my friend. We'll check in with you next hour.

Meanwhile, officials in San Bernardino County have declared a local emergency as the storm moves farther inland. In a statement late on Sunday, they said the area could face serious losses once the full impact of Hilary is felt.

CNN's Josh Campbell is there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A major focus of concern for authorities here in Southern California is where we are standing. We're at the base of the San Bernardino Mountains, and this area now under mandatory evacuation.

The sign here over my shoulders tells the whole story. You can see on that sign, "Mud and Debris Flows Possible." And that's because this area was recently subjected to major wildfire burns. That causing the scarring that you can see.

This is part of this creek bed here, but this type of scarring fire all over this region.

The reason why this is so concerning is because this, once the water starts flowing here, potential flash floods, that just unleashes the ability for that water to flow rapidly, without any type of obstruction.

Now, we heard throughout the day from fire department officials including from the battalion chief in San Bernardino, who talked about why this area is of such great concern and why it's so unpredictable about where this flooding will go.

MIKE MCCLINTOCK, BATTALION CHIEF, SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY FIRE DEPARTMENT: The biggest areas of concerns for us is some of our burn- scar areas, the El Dorado and the Apple Fire that burned a few years ago. And really, we've seen pretty significant mud flow and water flow in this last year, which is pretty wet. If we ask you to evacuate, we don't take that lightly. We're asking

you based on predictions and concerns. And we want to get out sooner, rather than later. The last thing we want to do is if we have significant rain is you try to leave last-minute, and then be overtaken by floodwaters.

CAMPBELL: Now for fire officials in San Bernardino County. It is very much all-hands-on-deck. That is because officials here have some 20,000 square miles that they covered. This is the largest, geographically speaking, county in the United States.

And so fire officials are on alert. They've been preparing for the storm for days. We're told they've now moved from prepared mode to response mode, waiting to see just where this flooding will actually take place.

Josh Campbell, CNN, San Bernardino County, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: All right, let's talk more about conditions farther South in San Diego. I'm joined by the city's mayor, Todd Gloria.

And, Mr. Mayor, thanks so much for being available. You said earlier on CNN that, you know, San Diego isn't built for this kind of rainfall, you said. So what's been the impact of it so far?

MAYOR TODD GLORIA (D), SAN DIEGO: Well, we've experienced flooding across the city in mostly predictable areas, where we typically have this problem. But as you were mentioning in reporting, this is a tremendous amount of rain in a very short period of time and during a time of year when we don't typically receive rain.

This is the desert Southwest. We don't get a lot of rain generally, and this is unusual.

So, we've had flooding. We've had downed trees. We have some power outages, stuff that is certainly inconvenient, but stuff we believe we can manage and we can have repaired by tomorrow.

HOLMES: Yes, I know that you had a lot of preparations that were required and put into place. How have they done? How have they worked? And do you have any needs now?

GLORIA: Well, I'll tell you, we in Southern California are familiar with national disasters, and particularly, earthquakes and wildfires. Now, those two instances never give you much of a heads up. In this particular case, we had many multiple days of awareness that this was headed our way. We were able to make use of that time to, I think, minimize the damage to private property across our city.

With regards to needs, I mean, I think in about three hours, we expect the rain event to end, and then we can assess at that point. I believe our public works employees are going to have their hands full tomorrow, cleaning up across our city. HOLMES: We -- we've been talking a lot about, you know, just how

extraordinary this storm is. And you know, on the East Coast and Florida and so on, you get your hurricanes, but California isn't used to this.

How surprised were you to -- to know that a hurricane was headed your way with this much rain? I mean, just give us a sense of just how unusual it is for your part of the world.

GLORIA: Extremely unusual. I'm a native San Diegan. This is my first experience with this. And I think that's true for most of my residents here.

And I will tell you, that's a part of why I'm really proud of San Diegans. Because we have not had an experience with this, but folks took it seriously. They stayed home. Many of our businesses and tourist attractions have stepped down today and potentially tomorrow, as well, allowing our public safety, our first responders to have the space to do their work.

So, extremely unusual, but folks really took this seriously, and I'm grateful.

HOLMES: I'm curious, too. And I know this was dealt with, but just so people know, like many other cities, San Diego has its homeless population. How have they been catered for?

GLORIA: Well, what we did was activate our inclement weather shelter system. That's hundreds of additional beds over and above the thousands that we provide on any given night in our city.

[00:10:04]

We also relocated some of our what we call safe-sleeping sites. These are areas where there's sanctioned encampments outdoors. Those folks are also brought in.

So, basically, in just a couple of days, we were able to stand up hundreds of beds and invite folks to come off the streets. The truth of the matter is, though, as we did our outreach for those days leading up to this rain event, most of our outreach was rebuffed. A lot of these folks did not come indoors.

And so right now, I know that we have some more lifeguards out in the San Diego River, responding to some folks who are caught in the rising tides. And that's unfortunate, but that's what we're having to deal with right now.

HOLMES: Mayor Todd Gloria out there in San Diego, really appreciate it. Good luck with the hours to come. Thanks so much.

GLORIA: Thank you.

HOLMES: Well, along with Hilary, some parts of Southern California were also rattled by an earthquake on Sunday. Some on social media jokingly calling it the hurricane -- quake. It was 5.1 magnitude. It happened near the city of Ojai, Northwest of Los Angeles. At least ten aftershocks followed. Vibrations felt at least for 80 kilometers away.

At last check, the Ventura County Sheriff's office said there was no reports of any significant damage.

Ecuador's presidential election is heading for a runoff. Preliminary results indicate leftist Luisa Gonzalez and businessman Daniel Noboa will face each other in a final vote in October.

Now this comes over Ecuadorian voters cast ballots Sunday in the South American country's presidential and legislative elections, with tens of thousands of soldiers on guard.

Tensions rose dramatically after one of the candidates, a legislator and former investigative journalist, was gunned down at a campaign rally, you'll remember, earlier this month. One of his friends, another investigative journalist, took his place on the ballot. He cast his vote Sunday, wearing a helmet and armored vest, surrounded by heavily-armed guards.

Ecuador is in the grip of murderous drug gangs, which have carried out brazen killings, extortion, and other crimes, rocking a country that not so long ago was heralded for its stability. Not surprisingly, security and corruption among the main issues.

CNN's Rafael Romo is tracking the vote, as well as the presidential runoff in Guatemala, as well. He joins me now.

Let's start with Ecuador. What's your read on how the vote has gone and what comes next with the country? I mean, it's -- it's incredible seeing a candidate come in, surrounded as he was and wearing all that kit.

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Let me first tell you, Michael, it's been a fascinating day for politics in Latin America. What happened in Ecuador is very interesting, because Noboa was not among the leading candidates in the polls only a few weeks ago.

Nobody thought that he would make it this hard, much less go to the second round.

Listen, he's 35. He was the youngest of all candidates, constitutionally. In Ecuador, you must be at least 35 to run for president, so he barely made it based on age alone.

There were other candidates, with more experience, had more support, according to the polls. And he is the one who makes it.

Who is he? He is a businessman. His family has a banana export business. And his father -- listen to this -- tried to run for the presidency three times unsuccessfully. He was also a member of the assembly.

So he comes from a political dynasty, so to speak. So he's not totally out of his comfort zone. But it is very interesting that he's going against a candidate who, in the polls, Luisa Gonzalez had dominated for months. So, very interesting race that's going to happen.

HOLMES: And, in Guatemala, you had an anti-corruption candidate win who, you know, really campaigned on this. But what sort of establishment head winds is he up against?

ROMO: You mentioned the key word here, "establishment." Everybody thought that Sandra Torres, the candidate of the establishment, was going to win.

And, Michael, the government has done everything in its power to get rid of the opposition. They got rid of three candidates before the first round of election, in June. Then, they were trying to get rid of the candidate who won, Bernardo Arevalo.

They tried to disqualify his party. They were not successful.

And Guatemalans went out to the votes. And they said, we're not going to take it. We are going to get this guy and make him our next president.

Now, there is a big time, a long time between now and the day he takes office itself. Not until January. So it's going to be a tricky time for Guatemala, in the meantime.

HOLMES: Yes. Yes, exactly. Rafael, always good to have you here, my friend. Thanks so much.

Rafael Romo there.

Will Freeman is a fellow for Latin American studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. He joins me now.

[00:15:04]

Will, let's just start with a broad quick view of both elections. And in particular, Ecuador and Guatemala. They're both small countries. Why do they matter regionally? And to powers like the U.S.?

WILL FREEMAN, FELLOW FOR LATIN AMERICA STUDIES, COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS: Well, there are really small countries, geopolitically significant, especially for the United States. For one reason, migration.

In recent months, Ecuador has become one of the top center countries for migrants, asylum seekers reaching the U.S.-Mexico border. Guatemala has also been in that position, but for several years.

So they're both countries that contribute to the migration crisis. On top of that, their locations make them significant. But they matter because it's one of the most proximate countries to the U.S. in Latin America. All migrants traveling from South America have to pass through Guatemala. Many of them do.

And in Ecuador's case, because of narcotrafficking. HOLMES: Right.

FREEMAN: It's sandwiched between the two largest producers of coca in the world.

HOLMES: OK.

FREEMAN: So it is a really great way to use the country's matter.

HOLMES: Absolutely. Absolutely. OK, let's talk Ecuador election then. It's going to be a runoff, which we knew. But whoever wins that runoff, what did they have to take on?

You wrote in "The New York Times," and I just want to quote from it. You said, "It is clear that the nation's intense political polarization will not help solve its crisis of violence."

So what does the path forward look like politically and socially for Ecuador?

FREEMAN: I wish I could see it more clearly myself. What I'm afraid is that the results we're seeing from this first round of elections in Ecuador suggest that the polarization is only going to continue.

On the one hand, we have the top vote-getter is Luisa Gonzalez, from the left populist movement of ex-president Rafael Correa.

On the other hand, we have a conservative congressman. He's the son of Ecuador's richest man. These two candidates really look like the same sort of division that we've been seeing in Ecuadoran politics for years. Conservative oligarchs on one hand, and left populists on the other.

As long as that polarization, that division, stays inflamed, I'm afraid that we're not going to see a unified response on crime. Although we could hope that whoever makes it into the presidency, after the October 15th runoff does have that as his or her top priority.

HOLMES: Yes. Yes, and when it comes to the Guatemala vote, and I'm going to quote you again. Because you've been writing some great stuff.

Here's the quote: "There is a pervasive feeling everywhere you go that the country is hurdling towards an inflection point. And afterwards, anything for good or ill could happen."

And you wrote that after being on the ground there with voters. I mean, even with that result pretty much locked in, can you see politically motivated challenges to the result? What's going to be -- what's going to be the big challenge?

FREEMAN: I am worried about that. I mean, as you said, this is a historic moment in Guatemala. We know that even -- it could be even more confident of that after tonight. Anti-corruption candidate Bernardo Arevalo appears to have won by a

20-point margin over his establishment conservative competitor, Sandra Torres. Twenty-point margin.

I mean, that's something you don't see in elections almost in any part of the world. At least not in America.

So what it looks like going forward, it does seem that Arevalo will have some serious challenges from day one, even before he can take office.

His competitor, Torres, has already cried fraud in the days leading up to the election. There are criminal cases, completely politically- biased, fabricated criminal cases against his political party that could really hamstring his plans in the legislature.

And again, that's all assuming that he could even take office.

So it's a hopeful night for Guatemala. There's been a groundswell of support for this anti-corruption champion. But it will be a very tough road ahead.

HOLMES: And, as I said, you actually traveled to, you know, his party's meeting with the grass roots. I mean, you were in the countryside, boots on the ground. How did you judge the temperature of those voters you heard from? Their faith, or otherwise, in the system.

FREEMAN: You know, I think after -- as a result of one corrupt government after another in Guatemala. Expectations, hopes for what this state can do are almost on the ground. I mean, they're -- they're really truly low.

So everyone's looking to Arevalo as someone who might just be able to make marginal improvements. That's what struck me, when I was talking with farmers, when I was talking with student activists. They wanted a decent president. They wanted a president who didn't rob and steal.

They saw that in Arevalo. They saw someone who might achieve that.

So, I mean, as I said, and once -- as I said, it will be a tough road ahead for him. But also because expectations are so low, I think that voters will, you know, continue to reward him, continue to have faith in him. Even if the first few months or years are difficult.

HOLMES: And then these elections, how do they play into the broader Latin America political sphere and direction these days?

FREEMAN: Right. Well, I think in both cases, you see a center-left or left becoming stronger. We've seen a number of elections in the region in recent years moving in that direction.

[00:20:00]

But they're two very different lefts. So in Ecuador, these are leftist followers of an ex-president who was a populist who spends wildly, who abused democratic checks and balances. In Guatemala, we're seeing the emergence of a much more democratic

left, a left that's very respectful of checks and balances. That wants to work within institutions, not break them.

So I think that we're seeing, you know, kind of two different flavors or currents, as you will, within this broader left turn in Latin America.

HOLMES: Yes, yes. Great analysis. Will Freeman, really appreciate you making the time. Thanks so much.

FREEMAN: Thanks for having me on.

HOLMES: Still to come on the program, from turmoil to titles. Spain overcome a mountain of challenges to capture their first Women's World Cup. How they triumphed over England in the final. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: All right. Euphoria across Spain as the country celebrates its first championship at the Women's World Cup.

Spain earning a one-nil victory in the final. On Sunday outlasting pre-match favorites and reigning European champions England. Pretty hefty crowd, don't you think.

It was a hard-fought win for Spain, who overcame internal disputes, a lack of playoff experience, and challenging opponents throughout the tournament.

Now, Spain also recorded more goals than any other team in the competition, which proved to be the highest-scoring Women's World Cup of all time.

CNN's Amanda Davies reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AMANDA DAVIES, CNN WORLD SPORT: A tournament that has rocked the world has come to a close.

A few weeks that has signaled the start of a new world order. Not only for women's football, but women's sport as a whole. And has crowned a new world champion in Spain.

It was a final showpiece event that had everything you would've asked for, a magical atmosphere. Some moments of sheer brilliance, and ultimately, tears of joy and heartbreak.

DAVIES (voice-over): Spain did deserve the win. They had the better of possession, the better of the chances. They stuck to their game plan, and it was that single goal from Olga Carmona that made the difference.

It could've been two, had England's Maria Earps not saved from Jenny Hermoso on the penalty spot.

England had only been down for seven minutes in this tournament before that goal. Like their opponents, they have overcome some adversity and some battles to get to this point. They were not going to give up their best chance of getting their hands on that trophy easily.

[00:25:00]

Alex Greenwood was left bloodied. Both sets of players, many of them were left strewn on the pitch, having given it their all.

But Spain are the side who have scored more goals than any other in this tournament. It's their players who have been stealing the headlines, dominating in their domestic and European leagues.

In the last 12 months, they have been crowned under 17 Women's World Cup champions. Under 20 Women's World Cup champions. And now, they have the biggest prize of all.

DAVIES: You suspect this victory will not end the questions about the unrest in the camp, the disquiet over the coaching methods of Jorge Vilda. If anything, it might well make them louder.

But for now, for Spain and their fans, it is their celebrations that will be heard louder than all. And boy, do they deserve this moment.

Amanda Davies, CNN, Sydney, Australia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: And we'll have much more World Cup coverage on CNN WORLD SPORT. That's in about 15 minutes also from the hour.

Still, in the sporting world, though, tennis superstar Novak Djokovic has made a triumphant return to the United States.

Playing in his first tournament since 2021, the 36-year-old has won the Cincinnati Open after a marathon final against Carlos Alcaraz. He rallied from a set down and saved a championship point to beat the world No. 1 just a month after losing to him at Wimbledon.

Djokovic called Sunday's match one of the toughest and most exciting of his career.

For months, Ukraine has begged Western allies to send fighter jets, saying they'll make a huge difference on the battlefield against Russia. Well, soon that request will be granted. We'll have that and more when we come back.

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HOLMES: Ukraine's urgent pleas for F-16 fighter jets are finally being answered. Denmark, pledging to donate 19 of the U.S.-made jets. And the Netherlands offering some from its fleet, though we don't know how many as of now. Visiting Denmark on Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy

praised the decision as historic. He says the aircraft will not only provide air cover for troops fighting in the counteroffensive, but they'll also provide a much-needed emotional boost.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): F-16 will certainly give a new burst of confidence and motivation for both our warriors and civilians. I am sure they will get new results for Ukraine and the whole of Europe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[00:30:11]

HOLMES: CNN chief international security correspondent Nick Paton Walsh has more now on when Ukraine can expect to see those jets.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: It seems like the last 48 hours have opened discussion as to when exactly Ukraine would get F-16s, maybe yielding some increase in public commitments by NATO allies here.

WALSH (voice-over): Remember, we heard in the last few days how Ukraine's air force spokesperson said they would not be receiving F- 16s until next year.

Now, in a trip to Denmark and the Netherlands, Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has been receiving fairly watertight pledges from leaders there as to what he will get.

Denmark have said they will surprise 19 F-16s. That's kind of the clearest indication we've had yet from a NATO member. They will deliver these high-tech U.S.-supplied jets to Ukraine.

Likely six this year, potentially on the back end of this year, and then more in the years to come. Not everything they need right now, but the ambition of this project is extraordinary.

In the Netherlands, also as Zelenskyy visited, they have said that they have 42 F-16s, but they haven't said how many of those they will hand over to Ukraine. Ukraine obviously would like to have all of them.

WALSH: But this is a marked change from 48 hours ago, where frankly, it wasn't clear at all when F-16s would arrive in Ukraine. A reminder of why they need them.

Their troops, on the frontlines --

WALSH (voice-over): -- in the Southern counteroffensive, are suffering from Russian air superiority, from half-metric-ton bombs that Russians drop at will on their advancing troops, on their troops' position. And that is really slowing down the capacity of Ukraine to achieve gains in its counteroffensive.

WALSH: Indeed, what F-16s might be able to do is to interdict those Russian jets. But more widely, for Ukrainians here in Zaporizhzhia, we've heard four or five air sirens so far today.

The ability to perhaps challenge Russian superiority in the air to deliver missiles and hit civilian targets on a nightly basis than we've currently seen. So no doubt at all in Ukraine's mind. They urgently need F-16s right now.

But they aren't going to get it. They're going to have to wait, probably, until January with the back end of this year to see the first trickle in.

That is because the complex mechanism requires Ukrainian pilots to be trained by European allies, with U.S. sign-off. And then the jets, which heard from Denmark and the Netherlands now are coming their way would also require U.S. approval to be passed on.

But it is because they are good stuff. They are high technology. They will be useful for Ukraine indeed. But they will require a lot of maintenance, and a lot of support to keep going.

But still, like we saw with the supply of Leopard armored tanks in the past months, when NATO puts its mind to answering a very direct and public and, at times, angry Ukrainian demand, they're able to do that. And so we are, perhaps, seeing this possibly formulated with the F- 16s, but their arrival will be way later than Ukrainian troops on the front line dying daily would like to see.

Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Now in Canada, officials say that they're finally turning a corner with those wildfires racing through the Western province of British Columbia.

A local fire chief said, in his words, things are finally looking better around the city of West Kelowna. He said no more homes have been lost in the last day or so. And it's now possible to start talking about recovery.

About 500 firefighters have been battling the McDougall Creek Fire from the ground and from the air. And, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he's sending Canadian armed forces to the region to assist.

More than 1,000 people are still unaccounted for after the wildfire disaster on Maui. That's the latest estimate from Hawaii Governor Josh Green.

He says it will take search-and-rescue teams several weeks to go through all of the rubble. And he's warning families to brace themselves, saying the fires burned so hot, and the damage was so extensive the remains of some victims might never be found.

Later today, U.S. President Joe Biden is going to travel to Maui to survey the devastation for himself.

Still to come on the program, India's future is electric. CNN takes you to an electric scooter manufacturer seeing a surge in demand as more people go green.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:36:36]

HOLMES: India is trying to radically change its environmental footprint. And they're doing it two wheels at the time.

Thanks to government subsidies and local production, electric scooters are quickly becoming more and more popular in the country. And some analysts say that it could do wonders to help India move away from fossil fuels.

CNN's Ivan Watson reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Even on a good day, the traffic in New Delhi can be pretty overwhelming. But here in the capital of the world's most populous country, dramatic change is in the air and on busy streets.

Seemingly overnight, iconic Indian vehicles like the humble rickshaw have suddenly gone electric.

WATSON: India is in the midst of a revolution, a transition towards adopting electric vehicles. This transformation is being led by small vehicles. Scooters, motorcycles and vehicles like this.

WATSON (voice-over): Two-wheel vehicles vastly outnumber cars on India's roads. With more than 15 million units sold last year, experts say this country is home to one of the biggest two-wheeled vehicle markets in the world.

TARUN MEHTA, CEO & CO-FOUNDER, ATHER ENERGY: In Indian context, the largest use of petrol, it still (ph) is in India. The largest emissions are still (ph) in India.

WATSON (voice-over): Tarun Mehta is the CEO of Ather Energy. He and Swapnil Jain launched this start-up in 2013. At this factory outside Bangalore, they manufacture electric scooters.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One scooter rolls out every 90 seconds.

WATSON: This is just one of at least ten companies producing two-wheel electric vehicles in India today. The management here say they're not selling any of their scooters overseas for export yet, because they just don't need to.

WATSON (voice-over): Ather says its sales have skyrocketed, from just 200 scooters a month in 2020 to more than 15,000 a month today. Electric scooters can cost 30 percent more than traditional gas-

powered scooters, says Ather Energy. And yet, it looks like Indian consumers are flocking to this new technology.

BRAJESH CHHIBBER, PARTNER, MCKINSEY & COMPANY: We predict that the total two-wheeler market by the year 2030 will be around 25 million units. And out of that, close to 60 or 70 percent of units sold will be electric.

WATSON (voice-over): India is home to many of the world's most polluted cities. But experts agree that the mass electrification of India's vehicles could be a game-changer for the environment.

ANUMITA ROYCHOWDHURY, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, CENTRE FOR SCIENCE AND ENVIRONMENT: If we can marry the two, combine the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) transition and the decarbonization of electricity, there is really a win-win. And we are going to have enormous environmental and health benefits.

WATSON (voice-over): India is on the road to a monumental change in its transport industry. A process that will hopefully take pressure off of our planets embattled climate.

Ivan Watson, CNN, New Delhi.

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HOLMES: A good idea.

Well, Russia's first lunar mission in decades has ended with a lunar crash. Russia's space agency says the Lunar 25 spacecraft collided with the moon's surface, as they put it, after communications were lost on Saturday afternoon.

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A special commission will now investigate what happened, although officials say preliminary calculations indicate the lander switched its orbit before the collision.

This was supposed to be Russia's first moon landing in 47 years.

A sharp rise in the population of blue crabs in the waters around Italy is threatening the country's clam industry. And now fishermen fear their entire livelihoods could be affected by the creatures. And are calling on officials for help.

Here's CNN's Barbie Nadeau.

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BARBIE LATZA NADEAU, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Scores of fishermen, out on a hunt. The prey is in these shallow waters of the Scardovari Lagoon in Italy, South of Venice.

It's not a shark or a whale but a smaller kind of predator. GIANLUCA TRAVAGLIA, MUSSELS AND CLAMS FARMER (through translator): The

blue crabs are eating everything. This stretch of lagoon is becoming a desert. Even my fellow fishermen tell me that they can't catch anything anymore. They can't even lower their nets anymore, because the crabs swim into the nets and break them.

NADEAU (voice-over): Blue crabs are native to the Atlantic Ocean. They are not newcomers to Italy, but they are growing rapidly in number. And are consuming Italy's prized shellfish, like mussels, oysters, and clams.

Their source of livelihood under attack, the fishermen fear a bleak future.

EMMANUELE ROSSETTI, BIOLOGIST (through translator): I am sure that after December, the fishermen of our consortium will no longer have any products to sell. In December, we will see the complete end of the cultivation of clams and mussels in this area.

NADEAU (voice-over): The fishermen demanded compensation for their loss. And the government set aside 2.9 million euros, or $3.2 million, to fund a fishing campaign against the blue crabs.

CRISTIAN FARABOTTIN, FISHERMAN: What we carry out against the blue crab is not a ruthless hunt, but a massive capture. Because currently, this area sees almost exclusively the presence of these crustations.

NADEAU (voice-over): In other parts of the word, blue crabs are expensive and are in high demand for their taste and nutritional value. So this restauranteur is taking advantage of the price dip in Italy to buy and serve them up.

ALESSANDRO FACCIOLI, RESTAURANTEUR (through translator): With the blue crab, you could prepare many foods. From appetizers, to first courses, to second courses. We're still thinking about how to use it as a dessert.

NADEAU (voice-over): To coin a phrase, here in these waters, one man's pest is another man's profit.

Barbie Latza Nadeau, CNN, Rome.

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HOLMES: Crab dessert. Not sure about that.

Thanks for spending part of your day with me. I'm Michael Holmes. You can follow me on Instagram, X and Threads, @HolmesCNN. WORLD SPORT coming your way next, and Laila Harrak with more news.

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