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Tropical Storm Hilary Batters Southern California with Rain and Flooding; President Biden Heads to Hawaii; Trump Skips Fist GOP Debate; Ukraine to Get F-16 Fighter Jets. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired August 21, 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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ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN HOST: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church. Just ahead on "CNN Newsroom," strong winds, mudslides, and flood warnings in effect this hour as Tropical Storm Hilary batters Southern California.

A busy week ahead in U.S. politics, the first GOP primary debate without the front runner, and Donald Trump set to turn himself in to authorities in Georgia. What it all means for the party and for the former president.

Plus, two countries step up to provide F-16s to Ukraine in their fight against Russia. We'll have a live report.

And thanks for being with us. So, we begin in Southern California, which is facing 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 nine million people in downtown L.A. and surrounding areas are under flash flood warnings. Thousands of flights were also cancelled or delayed in the U.S. Sunday, many due to the storm.

This is what Hilary unleashed on Mexico's Baja, California Peninsula, where it made landfall early Sunday. At least one person was killed when their vehicle was swept away in the floodwaters. Amid the storm, a 5.1 magnitude earthquake also rattled Southern California. The epicenter was in Ojai, between Santa Barbara and Ventura, and there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.

So, let's turn now into our meteorologist Karen Maginnis. So, Karen, what is the latest on all of this and how long will Tropical Storm Hilary continue lashing Southern California?

KAREN MAGINNIS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, I'm sure that they would wish it goodbye, but we have seen about 24 hours where the rainfall has been extremely heavy across this region, and we've seen all kinds of images coming out of Southern California. Debris flows, roads that have crumbled literally, some power outages have been reported. We also just got report that came in from the Santa Clara River area

that's just to the north of Los Angeles in the transverse ranges which run from the west to the east. They had water rescue there in the river. They rescued two people; another person is unaccounted for. So that lets you know just how powerful all of this rainfall has been.

And the computer models did a pretty good job of it. We're showing that image. That is a boulder on the Imperial -- in Imperial County. This is just to the east of San Diego. It was a large boulder. You can see the size of the utility truck there, small in comparison.

And then the flood waters that were raging in the vicinity of Palm Springs. A lot of this area saw multiples of what they would see normally for the month of August, which is nearly nothing in a lot of these areas. And then all of sudden just seeing two, four, six inches of rainfall is staggering, is catastrophic.

So, what happens? As we mentioned, we got another update from the National Hurricane Center. Right now, winds at 40 miles an hour. So, it's weakening. It's weakening rapidly, but there's still that broad shield of moisture that still is moving up from the south across Southern California, will move into the Great Basin and move into Washington and Oregon and Idaho.

Look at some of these rainfall totals, Mt. San Jacinto, we saw over eight and a half inches of rainfall and that's a 24-hour total. Chances are it's going to be over a foot in a lot of these areas. Downtown Los Angeles an inch and a half. Now, in the east, inch and a half. That's not a lot of rainfall. A lot of areas can handle that. But in California, it is a different story. The ground just cannot absorb that quickly.

Here are the flood warnings out across Southern California that extend towards Nevada, but that moisture plume extends all the way up into Washington and Oregon, but for Southern California, Rosemary, it looks like a bit. It begins to taper off and then we start to see maybe some breaks in the sunshine coming up by Monday afternoon. But the damage is still there. Some people still need to be very cautious.

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CHURCH: We appreciate those warnings. Karen Maginnis, bringing us all those details. Thank you.

Well in Palm Springs, police say they have made at least three swift water rescues so far due to unprecedented rainfall and flooding. All three main roadways into the city were shut down ahead of the storm to prevent incidents like this, drivers potentially getting stuck on washed out roads. CNN's Stephanie Elam is in Palm Springs with more.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're really starting to feel the effects of Hilary here in Palm Springs. We've seen the amount of rain falling pick up and we're also feeling the winds starting to increase as well. And what we've noticed with that winds are that the water is starting to hit and it's starting to go down the street. And this is a major thoroughfare in and out of Palm Springs that will

take you out to Interstate 10. And what I've been doing as I've been standing here is watching that the water is rolling downhill and that is the exact reason why they have closed off this road because of the fact that is a road that they know is prone to flooding and they don't want anyone on this road right now and into the evening as we see more effects of Hilary.

But we are already starting to see mudslides. We're already starting to see some of this cascading earth, not a full on mudslide, but happening off the side of some of the highways and this is why they're asking people to stay home. Many of us getting alerts on our phones now since we are all based in Los Angeles, telling us to beware of localized flooding within L.A. County as well.

Overall, though, here in Palm Springs, they're asking people to just stay put unless they're trying to flee some water or some danger, otherwise just stay put. Los Angeles County, they say that they're prepared for this. They've already staged some vehicles that are high water vehicles in different parts of Southern California to help get people out if they need to.

So, lots of preparations have been taken, and now it's the time that people just have to stay put and ride this storm out if they can because as you can see, Hilary is really starting to make her impact felt here. Back to you.

CHURCH: And for more, I'm joined by Alexander Tardy, Warning Coordination Meteorologist Manager for the National Weather Service in San Diego. Thank you so much for being with us.

ALEXANDER TARDY, U.S. NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN SAN DIEGO: Thanks for having us on.

CHURCH: So, let's start with this historic tropical storm, Hilary, that has taken many in Southern California by surprise. Some driving through flooded areas, despite signs warning not to do that. What is your best advice to Californians as they deal with this very unusual weather?

TARDY: Yeah, this is unusual anytime of the year, but certainly in August. It's been a long time since a tropical storm with actual intensity with wind speeds over 40 miles per hour made landfall in Southern California -- 1939 was the last time. So, we're seeing a lot of unusual activity with the heavy rain and the wind flooding.

And in desert areas, we're seeing about a year's worth of rain in one day. So especially during the nighttime and the early morning hours until we can assess how bad the roads are and where the damage is, it's just not safe to travel in those areas.

CHURCH: And how long do you expect these bad weather conditions to last in the region and how much damage do you think people would expect from this? So, what do you expect from this?

TARDY: Yeah. Fortunately, the brunt of Tropical Cyclone Hilary has left Southern California. It's now racing up into the Sierra Nevada. But we're still seeing windy conditions with gusts 40, 50 miles per hour. We're still seeing some light rain across the area. Some of the mountain slopes in the images that were shown there received 10 inches of rain in the surrounding mountains of Palm Springs. And even in down in Palm Springs, locations have three to four inches of rain. That's just way too much rain.

So, the rivers are going to continue to run high. We're going to find some roads that are damaged tomorrow morning, either covered with mud or even eroded from the heavy rain and the runoff.

CHURCH: And Southern California also dealt with a magnitude 5.1 earthquake and multiple aftershocks. Is there any link at all to the tropical storm and the earthquake or is this purely coincidental do you think?

TARDY: Yeah, we had a little bit of everything on Sunday, including even big surf and swell into Orange County. I don't think there's a link between the earthquake that happened up by Oxnard north of L.A. and the heavy rain. That said, you know, a lot of places, including L.A., San Diego, had record daily rainfall.

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And in some cases, we were close to all-time records for August with the rain that we saw today. It was quite a remarkable day in Southern California.

CHURCH: Yeah, okay. We're just hoping everyone heeds the warning, stay home, do not drive in water. It can be treacherous. Alexander Tardy, thank you so much for joining us. Appreciate it.

TARDY: Thank you.

CHURCH: Well, President Joe Biden will travel to Hawaii today to get a firsthand look at the damage from the deadly wildfires in Maui. The search to find and identify victims of the wildfires has been painstaking and slow. Hawaii's governor says the process will still take several weeks as an army of search and rescue teams along with dogs begins to go through larger buildings. The governor warned the devastation in some areas is so extensive some remains may never be found.

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JOSH GREEN, GOVERNOR OF HAWAII: More than a thousand are unaccounted for, about 1,050. It will take several weeks still. Some of the challenges are going to be extraordinary. Because of the temperature of the fire, the remains of those who have died in some cases may be impossible to recover meaningfully. So, there are going to be people that are lost forever.

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CHURCH: Ahead of his visit, President Biden sent his condolences and says he is dedicated to giving Maui everything it needs to recover. Well, former U.S. President Donald Trump is now confirming he won't be

taking part in the first Republican primary debate set for this week. Trump made the announcement on his social media platform saying the public already knows who he is. But despite his post, and adviser told CNN Trump could still decide to participate in a later primary debate.

And this comes as Trump is expected to surrender to the Fulton County jail in Georgia at the end of this week. These images give you a sense of the security already in place on the streets around the building. He and 18 others are facing charges stemming from Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in the state.

Joining me now, Ron Brownstein is a CNN senior political analyst and a senior editor at "The Atlantic." Appreciate you joining us.

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Hi Rosemary.

CHURCH: So, Ron, Georgia authorities at the Fulton County jail here in Atlanta are preparing for the surrender of former U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday or perhaps Friday. What might the impact of this historic moment be in the wake of his fourth indictment, but perhaps his biggest challenge because as things stand right now, he will not be able to pardon himself if re-elected president in 2024.

BRWONSTEIN: Yeah, look, this obviously has implications that go beyond the election because of the reasons you just cited, that he cannot make this go away even if he is re-elected as president, though certainly there'll be legal challenges to the case in that circumstance. The mold is cut. I mean, we know that in the Republican primary context, Trump has been able to convince most GOP voters to see all of these indictments the way he wants them to see it, as a deep state attack that is really aimed at them through silencing him.

You know, the question of what this looks like if he becomes a Republican nominee and actually gets to the general election, I think is very different. You know, we have a lot of polls that show warning lights for him in terms of how the public is responding to that. The overall picture is somewhat muted now because voters are indeed reluctant at this point to say they want four more years of Joe Biden as well.

But when you have a majority of independents consistently saying they believe he committed a crime or that his actions threaten democracy, that is a warning signal for Republicans if they go forward with him as the nominee and certainly, he has an enormous lead right now.

CHURCH: Yeah. And let's talk about that because despite Trump's historic fourth indictment, polls show him way ahead of all the other GOP presidential contenders, most of those rivals avoiding any criticism of Trump despite his 91 charges, but that's not helping their low support numbers is it and now, of course, eight of them will participate in Wednesday's first GOP debate without the frontrunner even bothering to turn up.

It's an opportunity for someone to differentiate themselves without being attacked by Trump but is this about winning for many of them or are most of them auditioning to be Trump's vice president?

BROWNSTEIN: I'll tell you, you know, I'm just like many other political reporters. I'm just back from Iowa last week at the state fair. And there is a sense, I think, even among voters, certainly among activists, that some of the other candidates are indeed auditioning to be vice president or cabinet members.

[02:15:00]

Let's give them the benefit of the doubt and assume they are actually running for the office that they say they're running for. It's pretty clear from all of this polling that what they are doing is not working by and large with the exceptions of -- or people like Chris Christie and Asa Hutchinson and Will Hurd on the periphery of the race.

The Republicans are making the same fundamental choice as the other candidates did in 2016. They are not going after Trump in any real systematic way, and they are hoping somehow something happens to cause his support to melt away, and they will be there to pick up his voters if they are not, you know, tarred as someone who challenged him too hard.

It's not working. I mean, he has as big a lead as we have ever seen in pre-primary polling and this is a critical moment. He has made a -- Trump has made a decision that, you know, in a cold, hard political calculus, probably makes sense that he has nothing to gain from getting on a stage with candidates who are this far behind him. It's now up to the other candidates, really, if the ball is in their court, to make him regret and reconsider that decision.

CHURCH: So, on the other side of the political equation, President Joe Biden has been touting his Bidenomics, and while most economists agree that the U.S. economy is in a good place considering challenges like the pandemic, supply chain issues and gas prices, a whole lot more of course, but polls show that most Americans are not convinced. Why have Democrats and the President failed to sell that positive message of a recovering economy?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, you know, historically there is a lag between economic improvement and voters' perceptions changing. So that's kind of a given as a baseline. Other presidents have had the same problem. But I think there are two additional factors that are really a play here. One is that inflation has clouded out -- eclipsed a lot of the other positive news, which is really tied to a surge in investment in new plants and facilities, a lot of new manufacturing jobs and low unemployment.

Inflation is something that people feel every day. And I was wondering, even though inflation is slowing down, that doesn't mean prices are going down. I mean, you know, for many Americans, particularly on more limited incomes, there is a continuing sense that things cost more than they did when Joe Biden became president, which also means they cost more than they did when Donald Trump was president. I think that is a big factor.

And the other are doubts about Biden himself, you know? I mean, there's no question that we have seen consistently in polling that a majority of Americans are concerned that he is too old for another term. Now, having said all of that, I think the belief in the Biden campaign is that rather than counting on kind of national shifts in perception, that their job is much more targeted and limited.

It's using the enormous budget they will have to improve perceptions of his performance in the economy in the six or seven states that are almost certain to decide the winner in 2024. And as you may know, they have announced today they are starting their advertising in those states historically early.

CHURCH: Ron Brownstein, always a pleasure to get your analysis. Many thanks.

BROWNSTEIN: Thanks for having me.

CHURCH: For months, Ukraine has begged Western allies to send fighter jets saying they will make a huge difference on the battlefield against Russia. Their request will soon be granted. That's next.

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CHURCH: More now on our top story. We are tracking Tropical Storm Hilary as it moves through California. It is the first tropical storm to hit the state since 1997, and officials in Southern California are warning residents to stay indoors and not attempt to drive. Forecasters expect the storm will weaken as it moves further inland toward Nevada. Hilary has already dumped record amounts of rainfall in parts of Los Angeles and surrounding areas making for dangerous and potentially life-threatening flooding.

Russia's defense ministry says it thwarted two Ukrainian drone attacks over the Moscow region. Officials say air defense forces jammed one drone with quote, "electronic warfare capabilities" and somehow destroyed the other. There were no reported casualties. State media say one airport in Moscow suspended flights temporarily for safety reasons.

And Ukraine's urgent pleas for F-16 fighter jets are finally being answered. Denmark is pledging to donate 19 of the U.S.-made jets, and the Netherlands is offering some from its fleet, though we don't know how many. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky praised the decision as historic, saying the planes will provide air cover for troops fighting in the counteroffensive and a strong confidence boost.

Well, CNN correspondent Clare Sebastian joins me now live from London. Good morning to you, Claire. So, Ukraine has, of course, longing for (inaudible) the importance of obtaining these F-16s viewed as essential to counter Russia's threat in the skies and on the ground. So, how will this work and what's the timeline for receiving these fighter jets?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Rosemary, you're right. It's been a long sort of preamble to get to this point from the U.S. basically saying no in January this year to then in May approving the idea of training happening to now finally having a firm commitment from the Netherlands and Denmark to actually provide those planes, of course, with the U.S. having green-lighted this.

The training, according to the Ukrainian defense minister has now started. U.S. officials telling CNN that instructional materials have now been approved for transfer to Ukraine. That sort of kicks off the process. It is not going to be short. It's not going to enter service in the coming months in Ukraine. It will likely be towards the end of the first quarter next year, which is something Ukrainian officials have already trailed.

[02:24:57]

But listen to the Danish prime minister just explaining how this is going to work and how it will come in installments essentially.

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METTE FREDERIKSEN, DANISH PRIME MINISTER: We have seen it today, more than 70 people from Ukraine is now on the ground here in (inaudible) preparing for training. The screening is going on now. The training will soon be starting and hopefully around New Year, the first group of planes will be leaving Denmark going to Ukraine, around six, and then hopefully next year eight more planes are leaving Denmark for Ukraine and then the year after five planes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SEBASTIAN: The reason why it's important to listen closely to that is because F-16s are very sensitive. There's a reason why we've had this long preamble. It involves a lot of intensive engagement from NATO countries, from training to maintenance to upgrading infrastructure. In Ukraine, there was some concern at the beginning of the year that Ukraine might not have long enough runways, for example, at some of its regional airports to handle these planes.

And I think for NATO countries, you know, there are pains to emphasize that this is not just about the current conflict. This is about a multi-year process to upgrade Ukraine's military. But I think looking at the battlefield, it is clear that whenever these planes do make it, they will certainly help make a difference. Russia still has air superiority. Rosemary?

CHURCH: All right. Thanks to Claire Sebastian joining us live from London. We have much more ahead on Tropical Storm Hilary as it unleashes record-breaking rainfall across Southern California. We'll check in with the CNN Weather Center for the latest on the storm's path.

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[02:30:32] ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. Updating our top story, tropical storm Hilary is moving across Southern California, unleashing strong winds and record breaking rainfall. Authorities are warning of potentially catastrophic flooding across the region.

More than 9 million people in and around Los Angeles are under flash flood warnings. In some areas, mud and debris are flowing through the streets, and authorities are urging residents to stay off the roads. Hilary made landfall early on Sunday in Mexico on the Baja California Peninsula, causing widespread flooding and power outages. At least one person there was killed when their vehicle was swept away in the floodwaters.

Amid the storm chaos, Southern California was also hit by a 5.1 magnitude earthquake on Sunday. At least 10 aftershocks have followed. But no injuries or major damage have been reported so far. So let's check in with CNN meteorologist Karen Maginnis. Good to see you Karen. What is the latest on tropical storm Hilary as it continues to lash Southern California.

KAREN MAGINNIS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good to see you as well, Rosemary. Still a broad shield of rainfall that is still drenching California, where, at this time of year, they rarely see more than just a small fraction of the precipitation. For the entire month, some areas see nothing. So to see one, three, six inches of rainfall is staggering.

Right now, 40-mile-per-hour winds, it is barely a tropical storm. You go down one more mile-per-hour and we're looking at, essentially, a remnant area of low pressure that is going to track much further towards the North. So, this really was so powerful, the computer models really had a good grasp on what this was going to do, or capable of doing.

And we have seen the mud debris, the rocks, the infrastructure that has been affected, the roads that have collapsed, the homes that have been flooded. There have been water rescues, one at the Santa Clara River, there were three people that had to be rescued, and they rescued two, one is still unaccounted for. There you can see just the volume of the water, that's in the Palm Springs area. Look at the size of this boulder, compared to the size of the utility truck.

They are saying that still on some of these interstates, that there is rock debris, and all kinds of flooding that is taking place, so even though we go into tomorrow and it eases up, it is not going to be all over. Some of the mountains saw in excess of eight inches of rainfall with it still raining, so we could see more than a foot in some of these areas.

And there are flood warnings out across much of Southern California which is under a state of emergency. Because of ,now, tropical storm Hilary. As I've mentioned, all of that is going to be making its way more towards the North and into portions of Montana, Washington, Idaho and into Oregon. But we will keep you updated. We have another update at the top of the hour, Rosemary. CHURCH: We appreciate that. Karen Maginnis joining us there. Thank you. In Eastern Washington state, evacuation orders are in place, as two wildfires burn across Spokane county. The flames have consumed more than 20,000 acres, and left at least two people dead. Officials say, the fires burning since Friday are just 10 percent contained.

Problematic weather was said to be hindering efforts by firefighters to battle the blazes. And in Canada, officials say, they are turning a corner with the wildfires fires racing through the Western province of British Columbia. A local fire chief says that things are finally looking better around the city of West Kelowna.

He says no more homes have been lost in the last day or so, and it is now possible to start talking about recovery. And about 500 firefighters have been battling the McDougal Creek fire from the ground and air. And Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says that he is sending Canadian armed forces to the region to assist.

Ecuador's troubled presidential election is heading for a runoff, we will profile the final candidates after Sunday's preliminary vote, and we will explain why the South American nation is facing an escalating crisis. Back with that and more in just a moment.

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CHURCH: We are watching tropical storm Hilary as it moves through California. Right now Los Angeles county is under a flash flood warning until 3:00 a.m. Pacific Time. The national weather service warns that flash flooding is already occurring in the area.

Rescuers are doing their best to try and find those stranded or trapped by floodwaters. The Ventura County fire department rescued two people trapped in the Santa Clara River on Sunday. They are asking everyone to stay away from bodies of water.

Ecuador's presidential election is heading for a runoff. Preliminary results indicate that leftist Louisa Gonzales and businessman Daniel Noboa will face each other in a second, and deciding, round in October. And it comes after one of the candidates, a legislator and former investigative journalist, was gunned down at a campaign rally earlier this month and, as Rafael Romo explains it, starkly illustrates Ecuador's escalating drug and political violence.

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RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Pollsters didn't see it coming. Daniel Noboa was not among the leading candidates in the weeks before Sunday's first round, but after a solid performance during the presidential debate held exactly a week before the election, voters gave the 35-year-old businessman and former member of the Ecuadorian national assembly, the right to go to the second round.

Daniel Noboa is the son of Alvaro Noboa, who was also a member of the assembly and ran unsuccessfully for president three times. He will face Louisa Gonzales, the protege of former Ecuadorian fire brand president Rafael Correa, a leftist who governed the South American country for 10 years, starting in 2007.

After her win, Gonzales said Ecuador urgently needs peace, jobs and security, and repeated what she had said during her campaign, that a return to the policies of Korea would allow the country to get out of the wave of insecurity that has made it one of the most violent in the region. In his first remarks, after winning the chance to go to the second round, Noboa emphasized his platform focuses on security for Ecuador and employment.

[02:40:13]

He is hoping to rule a country that has been shaken by multiple acts of political violence. On August ninth, Fernando Villavicencio, the 59-year-old investigative journalist and former lawmaker, was gunned down when he was leading a rally in Quito, the capital.

And then on Thursday, Noboa himself said his own campaign was attacked as the candidate traveled with his entourage into the city of Duran in Guayas province. Hundreds of inmates have died in the last year during clashes inside of prisons between local drug gangs with the government seemingly unable to put an end to the violence.

Ecuadorians will again go to the polls on October 15th to choose a president between the two winners of this Sunday's presidential election. Rafael Ramos. CNN. Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: And to Guatemala's presidential election, where progressive candidate Bernardo Arevalo says, the people have spoken loudly in his apparent victory. With more than 99 percent of the ballots counted, he leads former first lady, Sandra Torres, 58 percent to 37 percent. Arevalo campaigned on curbing corruption and tackling malnutrition. Guatemala's current president congratulated him and called for a smooth transition of power.

Thank you so much for joining us, I am Rosemary Church, for our international viewers, WORLD SPORT is up next. And for our viewers here in the United States and in Canada, I will be back with more CNN NEWSROOM after a short break. Do stay with us.

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[02:45:32]

CHURCH: Welcome back to our viewers in North America. I am Rosemary Church, and we are following the latest on tropical storm Hilary, as it batters Southern California and moves towards Nevada. Officials say some areas will see a year's worth of rain in just a day or two. Flash flood warnings are up across the region.

Forecasters with a warning in the path of the storm to be prepared for catastrophic and life-threatening floods. Now this is what Hilary unleashed on Mexico's Baja California Peninsula, where it made landfall early on Sunday. At least one person was killed when their vehicle was swept away in the floodwaters. And as the storm was moving in, a 5.1 magnitude earthquake also rattled Southern California.

The epicenter was in Ojai, between Santa Barbara and Ventura. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries. In San Bernardino county, some residents are now under a shelter in place order, due to roads blocked by mud and debris. The county has declared a local emergency warning there could be 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're standing, we're at the base of the San Bernardino mountains. This area, now under mandatory evacuation, the sign here over my shoulder tells the whole story. You can see on that sign. Mud and debris flows possible.

That is because this area was recently subjected to major wildfire burns. That causing this scarring that you can see, this is part of this creek bed here. But this type of scarring from fire all over the region. And the reason why this is so concerning is because 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 the fire department officials, including the battalion chief in San Bernardino talking about why this area is of such great concern and why it is so unpredictable about where this flooding will go.

MIKE MCCLINTOCK, BATTALION CHIEF, SAN BERNARDINO CO. FIRE DEPT.: The biggest areas of concern for us are some of our burn scarred areas, the El Dorado and Apple fire that were burning a few years ago. And we have seen pretty significant mud flow and water flow in this last year which was pretty wet.

And if we asked you to evacuate, we don't take that lightly. We're asking you based on predictions and concerns, and we want you to get out sooner rather than later. The last thing we want you to do if we have significant rains, as you try to leave at the 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 cover. This is the largest, geographically speaking, county in the United States. So fire officials are on alert, they've been preparing for this storm for days.

We are told they 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) CHURCH: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has reportedly overseen a naval test of strategic cruise missiles. According to state media, he watched as a patrol ship staged a missile launching drill to confirm its combat function. He also inspected the ship which he praised for maintaining, quote, "High mobility and mighty striking power." State media did not specify when the test took place.

In the meantime, South Korea and U.S. forces have kicked off their large-scale joint military drills. The annual event is aimed at bolstering their defense capabilities against North Korea's evolving threats. CNN's Paula Hancocks joins us now, live from Seoul. Good to see you Paula. What is the latest on these joint military drills, and the reaction from North Korea?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rosemary, these drills are expected to last 10 days. They will start today, this Monday they have started, and they will go through until the end of the month. The Ulchi-Freedom Guardian is what they are called. We are being told by officials that well over 30 different drills will be taking place.

There will be live drills, field drills and also simulated drills as well. So, a real combination. Now we know that these are the kind of exercises that anger Pyongyang, and the fact that they have had that Kim Jong Un inspecting the cruise missile launch shows how much it does irritate them, even though we don't have a date of when that happened.

[02:50:13]

The fact that they released that information and the photos of him watching the cruise missile launches from that ship, certainly shows that this could well be seen as a response to the start of the military drills. Now, we also know, according to South Korea police, they announced this on Sunday, that there have been some hacking attempts on these drills as well.

This is from the U.S. forces Korea drills. We understand there was one attempt in the first half of this year in February, when potentially malicious email attacks were sent out to employees of domestic companies that were involved in these drills. And also as early as last month, in July of this year, we understand that there were emails sent out pretending to be for members of the U.S. army.

Now we have been told by police that they didn't manage to cause any damage, no military related information was taken because they did have security checks in place. But it just shows, once again, how Pyongyang views these military exercises, and they have long said that they believe that they are a dress rehearsal to an invasion.

From the U.S. South Korean side, they said that they are defensive in nature and are necessary to maintain readiness, but it is a fact that we have seen a lot more military drills between the U.S. and South Korea this year and last year than we had seen for some time.

Once again, North Korea showing its displeasure at these drills that will be going on for the next 10 days and we know that the intelligence agency here in Seoul has already, at the end of last week, warned that there could potentially be a launch, maybe an intercontinental ballistic missile launch.

They say that they have witnessed preparations related to a launch. That there have been vehicle movements around missile production facilities and they are on the lookout for that, Rosemary.

CHURCH: And Paula, how was that trilateral Camp David Summit? A game changer in the region.

CAMPBELL: Well this is another reason that the intelligence agency, through lawmakers, had warned that there could be some imminent launch, because of that summit as well. This was the end of last week with the leaders of the U.S., South Korea and Japan, meeting at Camp David in the United States, to talk about North Korea, of course, but also a growing threat from China.

Now they did agree on a number of things, there's going to be an annual summit, there's a three-way hotline that's being worked out, there will be more military exercises trilaterally, and also, they are looking to share real-time intelligence especially when it comes to things like North Korean missile launches, Rosemary.

CHURCH: All right. Thanks to Paula Hancocks, in Seoul for that report. Euphoria across Spain as the country celebrates its first championship win at the women's world cup. Spain earned a 1-0 victory in the final on Sunday, outlasting pre-match favorites and reigning European champions, England.

It was a hard fought win for Spain, who overcame internal disputes, a lack of playoff experience and challenging opponents throughout the tournament. Spain also recorded more goals than any other team in this competition, which proved to be the highest scoring women's world cup of all time. CNN's Amanda Davies has more.

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AMANDA DAVIES, CNN HOST: 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, a showpiece event that had everything you would have asked for. A magical atmosphere, with some moments of sheer brilliance and ultimately tears of joy and heartbreak.

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 have been two, had England's Mary Earps not saved from Jenny Hermosa on the penalty spot. England had only been down for seven minutes in this tournament before that goal.

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

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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.

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.

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CHURCH: Tennis superstar, Novak Djokovic, has made a triumphant return to the United States, playing in his first American tournament, since 2021. The 36-year-old won the Cincinnati Open after a marathon final against Carlos Alvarez. He rallied from a set down and saved a champion point to beat the world number one, just a month after losing to him in Wimbledon. Djokovic calls Sunday's match one of the toughest and most exciting of his career.

And finally this hour some positive news for the NFL's New England Patriots. Their rookie quarterback Isaiah Bolden is now out of the hospital after he was injured and taken off the field at Saturday's preseason game against the Green Bay Packers in Wisconsin. The team says Bolden had feeling in all of his extremities but was taken to a local hospital for tests and observation.

Thank you so much for your company. I'm Rosemary Church. I will be back with more CNN NEWSROOM after this short break.

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