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Idalia Forecast To Become Category 4 Hurricane; Officials: Idalia Could be Once-in a-Lifetime Event; Idalia Pounds Western Cuba; Interview with Sheriff Mike Prendergast. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired August 30, 2023 - 01:00   ET

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

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[01:00:40]

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPOINDENT: For our viewers in the United States and around the world, I'm Omar Jimenez live in New York. Right now all eyes are on Florida. We're tracking hurricane Idalia that's expected to make landfall along Florida's Big Bend coast in the next few hours with life threatening storm surge of 12 to 16 feet, that's high enough to reach the second floor of an average building.

Idalia is now officially a category two storm with maximum sustained winds of 110 miles an hour. But it's forecast to reach category four by landfall, which would mean winds potentially more than 130 miles per hour, extremely warm water in the Gulf of Mexico has helped fuel the storm. Its outer bands have been lashing Western Florida with heavy rain, causing coastal flooding in some areas.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is urging everyone in evacuation zones to leave as soon as possible. But for some, it may already be too late. DeSantis says first responders will not be able to get to people in hard hit areas like the Big Bend until after the storm has passed.

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GOV. RON DESANTIS (R) FLORIDA: This is going to be something that will that will leave significant impacts and particularly in this part of the state. You really got to go back to the late 1800s to find a storm of this magnitude that will enter where this one looks like it's going to enter tomorrow. So, we don't really have a historical analog in anybody's memory. So it's likely to cause a lot of damage. And that's just the reality. So be prepared for that.

JIMENEZ: Let's bring in meteorologist Karen Mcginnis at the CNN Weather Center. I mean, Karen, it's been on the verge of, of course, crossing officially into a major hurricane even though it's forecast to eventually get there. What are you seeing right now at this point?

KAREN MCGINNIS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: There was an audible sound coming out of our weather office when this latest update came in. National Hurricane Center is sending out these advisors at the top of every hour. This one came in we were fully expecting this to be category three. It's not. It's still category two is one mile an hour different than being a category three.

110 miles per hour moving towards the north, at 16 miles per hour. What got our attention is that it's moving at 16 miles an hour. It is slowed down. That is not good news. We've watched this going from just being a mass of thunderstorms to having a clearly defined eye. And the more clearly we can see that eye the more it tells us it is ramping up. It's becoming a mature hurricane.

It's now positioned just about 115 miles to the south of Cedar Key. It is on task to move into that Big Bend area. Where will it make landfall? Meaning where will the eye cross land? Well, as we all know, it's just not that one point, is this entire area because this hurricane is so broad. It is still impacting Tampa. It's still impacting Naples, Florida, and Coral Gables, Florida with heavy rainfall.

There's a tornado watch until 6:00 for this west coast of the peninsula of Florida, and rightfully so here you can see some of the bands filling in right around this hurricane that are producing some of those bands that produce some tornadic activity or are capable of doing that.

Here is the center of Hurricane Idalia. And now we're looking at that push of water not coming right now getting the rain bands, but as we see that storm surge, now the inclusion is 12 to 16 feet in these very low lying areas. Cedar Key has about a five foot elevation. Even for Tallahassee, Apalachicola. These are very low lying areas.

The Big Bend area is not heavily populated, like a Tampa, like Naples, Florida, or Gainesville. This is a very rural area but people still have livelihoods. They have businesses. They want to protect those things. This has been hard for people to recognize this could be a category for when it makes landfall later on this morning. Omar, back to you.

JIMENEZ: It's a scary sight and something that a lot of people could potentially be waking up to especially if they decided to stay in the area which again was against what many officials have been urging. Karen Mcginnis, thank you. We'll stay close to you there.

[01:05:10]

I want to bring in CNN's Gloria Pazmin. She's been covering the storm from Clearwater, Florida. Gloria, I can see the winds whipping up behind you. I mean, just give us a sense of what you are seeing right now where you are.

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONENT: Well, Omar, I have to tell you it is literally two minute by minute changes here. Just about five minutes ago, the rain had slightly led up but as you can see now it is coming down in sheets and the wind is whipping around. The trees behind me you can see how quickly they are moving. The wind here is strong and the rain when it starts to fall. It really there is a lot of water that is moving in this storm.

Now the hurricane is continuing to gather strength and speed as it moves towards the coast of Florida on the western part, as the weather team was describing there. We are expecting that conditions here are going to continue to worsen by the hour.

We are in Clearwater Beach. This is a part of Pinellas County, and there's a mandatory evacuation zone for this area.

Now Omar, I just want to give you a lay of the land here. Directly in front of us is the ocean is about a half a mile before you get to the water. It's a pitch dark that way, which is where why we're not showing you. But here behind me is land, it's inland and that is the direction where people were headed.

In earlier today I spoke to a man who lives in the area who told me he was not going to evacuate. He told me he was going to ride it out at home. But he said he was comfortable doing so because he lives in this direction away from that ocean.

So we've been talking about the possibility of storm surge all night. And that is what we are worried about here as the storm continues to move in. And the storm surge comes in that is where we may see a lot of the damage, a lot of potential for property loss and possibly loss of lives because that water can be so dangerous and catastrophic when it moves in, it comes in really fast and there's nowhere to go.

So in the next several hours, we're going to be looking to see if any of that water starts coming in our direction. Anywhere from four to seven feet is what we are expecting to see here in terms of the storm surge. In terms of if we travel a little bit up north, that's where the storm is expected to make landfall and have a direct hit in the area of Cedar Key just about is what we are expecting. That is about two hours north of here. But as you can see, conditions here are worsening. And we are certainly feeling the strength of this hurricane as it approaches the western coast of Florida. Omar.

JIMENEZ: And Gloria, it's you know, it's a hurricane it's only expected to intensify Of course, as we get into the morning hours. We've been watching it it's on the border of crossing into that major hurricane says of category three forecast to be a category four, by the time it hits the coasts.

And I'm curious for you. I know you said that one man you spoke to did decide to stay because he felt he was safer further inland. Did you -- have you gotten a sense from people in that area that they are actually heeding the warnings from officials and not just for the folks that live inland but for the folks that live right along the water? Are they actually heed those warnings to evacuate or do they feel like they are going to take the risk here?

PAZMINO: Well look, earlier today while the sun was still out. There were a lot of people that were walking the beach, even some people that were braving the waves and I did speak to a couple that lives right here in this area. And in fact, Omar, if I can show you this a tower that is directly behind me here. It's a residential tower and I believe you can make out many of these apartments are dark, showing that there's likely people who are not there right now or who did get out of town. But there are a few apartments that still have the lights on. Likely

meaning that there are people in them right now the couple I spoke to this morning that they were going to write it out here and they live in this apartment building. So there are definitely people in this immediate area who have not gotten out.

Now there are a lot of resorts and hotels in this area in addition to the residential buildings, and people who were here were told to evacuate by 11:00 this morning. For people who were guests at this hotel where we are now, they had to go. The hotel told them they needed to go. So, if you were traveling in this area, chances are you have already made it out.

[01:10:02]

But as you can tell behind me, there are definitely people who are still in this apartment building. Now, the loss of power is a big issue that we are watching out for in the next several hours. The governor said earlier today he expects that to be a problem across the region as the storm moves in loss of power, it could take several hours, if not longer, perhaps days depending on the area to restore that power. So that could be a problem, especially for people who are dependent on electricity. Omar.

JIMENEZ: Well, Gloria, great reporting. Please stay safe. As we know the impacts of these storms can change pretty quickly hour to hour. We'll come back and check in with you as this storm progresses.

And for everyone else, Florida's Big Bend is expected to see some of the worst impacts of the storm. And joining us from there is Mandy Lemmermen, the Public Information Officer of the Dixie County Emergency Management and Cross City, Florida. That's right in the hurricane's path, and it's a little bit further north than where we were just speaking to our reporter Gloria Pazmino.

So, right off the bat, Mandy, I just want to ask, what are you most concerned with at this hour, in the early morning hours right now, as the storm continues to get closer to making landfall?

MANDY LEMMERMEN, PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER, DIALO COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: Well, for us, we're fixing to start getting the first true bands of the winds come in, that is slowly going to creep up with the -- what we look at shutting trucks down off the roads, just as our ambulances and our fire trucks and even our law enforcement, and that's 45 mile per hour, sustained winds, and that's not wind gusts, that's when it starts getting to 45. Sustained winds, and it's going to slowly creep up from there to up to the 80s and 90s. And stay there for a good few hours. And that's where we get really concerned because that's when we can no longer start answering emergency calls and going out on the roads.

So we'll have to stay in shoulder in place. And we have to take emergency calls and just triage from there our most critical to the least critical and once the storm moves out and out of our path, and we can actually start getting our trucks back on the road, we're going to have we know a large influx of calls. So that's number one. Our main concern followed then by the storm surge just going to follow

as the other storm moves closer on the land and hits our coastal communities. So that's the two biggest things where we're really stressing right now about and making sure we're just ready to get boots on the ground as soon as we can once the storm moves on.

JIMENEZ: And Mandy, you can't see it on the screen. But we're -- we've been showing a little bit of the map of around the Florida area and where the forecasts are for storm surges. And where you are, you guys are forecast according to the National Hurricane Center to get some of the heaviest storm surge in the range of potentially 12 to 16 feet. And just lay it out for us.

LEMMERMEN: Yes.

JIMENEZ: I mean, look, I know you're experienced in dealing with storms. But lay it out for our viewers and for folks who may be watching. What is the difference in dealing with storm surge versus maybe just the heavy winds and rain that we of course, and you all are of course going to see here?

LEMMERMEN: Yes, and we just got them new totals of up to 16 feet of storm surge. And Ferdowsi (ph) has been the highest they've predicted yet. The closest we've ever came to a storm surge like that on our coastal communities was back with Hermine and we got maybe four foot, five foot in some places and we're low laying in our communities down on the coast of Swanee and Horseshoe and Gina, and back during Hermine forefoot was devastating. We had a lot of major damage to residents and commercial structures.

So, for us with a storm surge of a potential of 16 foot is just total, you know, catastrophe and devastation and there's no way people that stay down there it can survive that unless they get the elevated ground above that. And so we're really concerned what we will find in the morning once it moves on for those that we've got word that did not evacuate. And we do have someone that we know is down there that was just adamant they didn't want to, you know, evacuate.

And when we talk about storm surge we're talking about on a normal dry ground where tide (ph) is at its normal. You're standing there looking out on the gulf and then you can add 15 or now 16 foot potentially to that of water. And you got to think that's moving with winds pushing and waves on top of that.

So it's definitely going to be a game changer for you know, as we move forward and change the layout of our beautiful coastal communities with a lot of destruction, so.

JIMENEZ: Yes. And you know, the thing is with the timing of this, a lot of people are going to be waking up to it. very different situation than what they saw when they went to bed which was a lot more calm.

LEMMERMEN: Absolutely.

[01:15:04]

JIMENEZ: And you know that can be very misleading ahead of major storms and hurricanes like. Mandy Lemmermen, thank you so much. Please keep us posted. Please stay safe and if you have anything you want to get out to us, please reach out and we'll get out that message to help some of the folks in your area.

LEMMERMEN: Absolutely. Thank you guys.

JIMENEZ: Of course. We're going to continue our coverage of Hurricane Idalia as Florida officials are warning that inland counties in the state could take the brunt of the powerful storm. I'll speak to one county official, next.

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JIMENEZ: Back to our breaking news coverage this hour. Florida is bracing for Idalia as it turns toward the state expecting to make landfall as an extremely dangerous category four hurricane. The powerful storm has been packing winds of 110 miles per hour over the Gulf of Mexico. A tornado watch is in effect for more than 7 million people.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center is warning of life threatening storm surge for some parts, with the storms outer bands already causing flooding in some coastal areas of Florida. The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, is urging residents to take the storm seriously and evacuate.

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DEANNE CRISWELL, FEMA ADMINISTRATOR: I encourage all Floridians to take this storm seriously. This storm is very strong and is expected to strengthen to a major hurricane by the time it makes landfall due to high surface temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico. This means heavy winds, high winds, heavy rain and a forecasted 12 foot storm surge.

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JIMENEZ: Still, as we often see it in situations like this, some Floridians living in or near the path of this hurricane have chosen to stay put. CNN's Brian Todd has the details.

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BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): Idalia's first winds lashing Key West as much of Florida braces for direct impact.

KEN WELCH, MAYOR OF ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA: Time is running short to make sure you are prepared for this storm.

TODD: As coastal waters rise, authorities warning of a life threatening storm surge along the Big Bend area of Florida's Gulf Coast. DESANTIS: Storm surge could reach 10 to 15 feet in some areas of the Big Bend that is life threatening storm surge, that a storm surge that if you're there while that hits it's going to be very difficult to survive that.

TODD: The Tampa Bay area as well.

SHERIFF CHAD CHRONISTER, HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY: There's going to be some flooding and is going to be worse. We have a king tide. We have four to six inches of rain in a short amount of time.

TODD: Mandatory or voluntary evacuation orders issued for parts of at least 22 counties, including coastal and low lying areas.

JIMMY PATRONIS, FLROIDA CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER: Don't be stubborn, take the effort and evacuate to a safe shelter where there is the type of resources you might need.

TODD: But not all residents are sure they want to leave. Why not evacuate at this point?

JOHN HARGAN, ST. MARKS, FLORIDA RESIDENT: My home is here. My boat is here. My life is here.

TODD: The Coast Guard preparing rescue helicopters and boats authorities marshalling power line repair crews and high water rescue teams.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We do have high rescue vehicles. But there's going to be a point where we can't come get you when you call so make those decisions now

TODD: Already some high water spotted along the Gulf like in Fort Meyers. Homes being boarded up, dozens of school districts closing. Tampa airport suspending flights. Some stores already seeing empty shelves and homeowners filling sandbags.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Going to hit the grocery store on the way home and hopefully we'll get through it OK.

TODD: Helen Pantuzo (ph) of Tampa is getting sandbags, buttoning up her house and loading up on ice, food, water and candles. Officials also suggest having a flashlight and a radio, charging your phone, gassing up your car and checking your cash and prescriptions. One more suggestion --

PATRONIS: Take pictures of the inside of your house. So you can make a photographic inventory of what you're entitled to if you have to file an insurance claim. It's that simple.

TODD (on camera): I asked a local emergency management official here in Wakulla, County what he would tell residents in the town of St. Mark's where we are in places nearby. What do you would tell those people who decided to stay and ride out the storm? He had a one word answer he said don't. But he did also say that if you do elect to stay and ride out the storm, make sure you have at least three to four days worth of provisions. Brian Todd, CNN, St. Mark's Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JIMENEZ: Now it's not just about coastal communities here. In Linz, Florida counties are also preparing to get hammered by hurricane Idalia. Shayne Morgan is the Emergency Management Director for Columbia County, Florida. He's with us live from Lake City. So good to see you.

And break down that difference for us. Because I think a lot of people get caught up in where this is going to hit how this is going to hit coastal communities. But many inland counties especially where you are in forecast to be in the direct path of this hurricane are still bracing for some major impacts here.

SHAYNE MORGAN, EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT DIRECTOR, COLUMBIA COUNTY, FLORIDA: That's absolutely right. And thank you for having me, Omar, appreciate it very much. Yes, the difference is a lot of times when we have storms as they come on to shore, whether it be the Atlantic shore or the Gulf shore, we'll experience the impacts from the outer bands or the outside of the hurricane.

Whereas this is a case where we've been having to prepare as if we're going to be in the direct hit of the hurricane, which is a position that we've been taking the last several days as we've gotten ready to brace ourselves from the effects of Idalia as she's making her way through the golf right now.

JIMENEZ: And you know, I've covered many of these types of hurricanes. I'm not out there and this one and one thing that I -- that I've noticed when you're further inland is of course you're dealing with some of the saltwater storm surge, I guess is the way to say it as it comes in from some of the storm but also from the surrounding freshwater bodies of water. Those get flooded. Those overflow as well and can sometimes create a compound issue in the aftermath of the initial impacts of this hurricane.

How do you prepare for something like this where you could see threats or risks from a variety of different factors?

MORGAN: And that's where it comes in with getting the information from our partner agencies.

[01:25:04]

From the National Weather Service, from the Southeast River Forecast Center finding out what threat we have from any given storm. Because if the rain is severe enough on us inland counties, I remember one several years ago, might have been after Irma, the names just kind of blur together.

But our interstate highways, our roadways, our major arterial roadways, they were shut down because there was water that was keeping the roads flooded. And so, we were having to find alternate routes. So was getting that message out to the public, that is equally important so that they understand what the real life consequences are of the event that we're experiencing at any given time.

JIMENEZ: And what do you tell folks right now? I mean, look, it's one -- it's 1:25 in the morning there locally. And a lot of people in theory would be asleep, but have gone, gone to bed, or expecting a wake up, I should say to a different picture than what they saw them what they -- when they went to bed. What do you say to folks who might be waking up to that different picture? What do you do from that moment?

MORGAN: But what we do is, as we've led up to it, our messaging has been that if you feel unsafe in your home that you're in, make sure to reach out to family members to friends, find some place that you can stay to ride the storm out. Don't try to say in your home if you feel unsafe.

We have not issued mandatory evacuations for our residents. But we have been encouraging them to find alternate locations to go. I have five shelters that we've opened up within our county, and I have a total of 87 folks that are taking advantage of those shelters and a saying in them as we move through the nighttime hours potentially starting to see the winds pick up towards 4:00 this morning. And then the rain moving in not long after that.

So it's all about the messaging what we're telling the public, which is find places where you can be safe. If you're not feeling safe in your home, find some money that you can stay with or go to one of our shelters.

JIMENEZ: Yes. Shayne Morgan, thank you. I really appreciate your time. Please stay safe. And we'll continue to monitor as this hurricane develops.

MORGAN: Omar, thank you so much for having me this evening.

JIMENEZ: Of course. Now coming up for us right after a quick break. The coming storm, this ominous view from a beach near Tampa on Tuesday as Hurricane Idalia bears down on Florida's west coast. Those were the omens of what was to come. We'll go back live to the area ahead of a potentially catastrophic impact.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sunday it was like it's coming. And now it's like get out. It's mandatory. I don't know if I want to leave or not though. I don't know where to go.

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[01:32:03]

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right now, you can feel the pressure dropping in your belly and it feels like the hand of death. (END VIDEO CLIP)

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN ANCHOR: A significant, significant impact -- that is how Florida's governor is describing one of the worst weather threats the state's Big Bend coast in decades. Hurricane Idalia is expected to pack sustained winds greater than 130 miles per hour when it makes landfall as a Category 4 storm in the coming hours.

This is video from Cedar Key, Florida, north of Tampa, which is likely to take a severe impact. Many coastal residents have heeded the official warnings and have evacuated inland or out of state.

But for those who have stayed, officials say they will be on their own, with no help available until the storm passes. Idalia is forecast to slam into Florida's West Coast somewhere south of the state capital, Tallahassee.

Meteorologists say it still could wiggle a bit, but the gulf storm surge which could hit 16 feet has already become a major hazard for hundreds of miles around.

Let's go back now to the coast at Clearwater, Florida near Tampa, where CNN's Gloria Pazmino is under hurricane and storm surge warnings and a tornado watch. A lot of threats there for residents and folks like yourself to keep track of. What are you seeing there and what is the latest?

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Omar, it is really minute to minute here. And right now it is simply raining sideways. There is no other way to describe it. Conditions here have been worsening with every passing hour. The wind is whipping everything around.

Hurricane Idalia off in the Gulf of Mexico still gathering strength and speed forecasted to make landfall as a dangerous Category 4 hurricane that could bring catastrophic levels of storm surge. \

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAZMINO: Western Florida is bracing for a monster storm.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are going to see hurricane-force gusts in the wind and possibly some tornadoes.

PAZMINO: Hurricane Idalia churning through the Gulf and gaining strength as it takes aim at the Sunshine State.

MIKE BOYLAN, CRYSTAL RIVER, FLORIDA RESIDENT: All that water pushes and has nowhere to go, so yes. It is going to be bad for a lot of folks.

PAZMINO: The storm expected to bring heavy downpours and life- threatening winds of up to 150 miles per hour, capable of causing widespread damage.

GOVERNOR RON DESANTIS (R-FL): It is going to be a significant, significant impact to that region of Florida. PAZMINO: More than half the counties in Florida are under a state of

emergency and mandatory evacuations have been issued for several counties along the western coast.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That storm surge is just unbelievable. Please evacuate. You're about to run out of time.

PAZMINO: Some areas along the Gulf Coast could see storm surge of up to 15 feet high. Like Cedar Key, a coastal city about 130 miles north of Tampa, and dead center of Hurricane Idalia's expected path. Several homes and businesses there are now boarded up.

[01:35:00}

ERIC JUNGKLAUS, CEDAR KEY RESTAURANT OWNER: A lot of older structures may have some issues standing up to the high winds, and, of course, this tidal surge that we are really fearing.

PAZMINO: Tampa International Airport has shut down and crews are securing boarding bridges. 5,500 members of the National Guard are standing by ready to help those in need.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PAZMINO: So there is several officials including the National Guard who are standing by to help. Also, thousands of linemen for the power utilities in order to get to work if the power goes off. We are expecting that to happen across several parts of the state.

And Omar, we have been talking about where we are here in Pinellas County. This is an area where there is a mandatory evacuation zone.

But I want to show you this residential tower that is right here behind me. I spoke to a couple earlier this morning who was walking around the area here. They told me they live in this tower and that they were going to ride out the storm here.

You can see a lot of the apartments are dark, but some of the apartments still have the lights on. The power is still on in this area, but that may go out as the hours go on and the storm continues to increase and conditions continue to worsen.

So, that is going to be something we are going to be watching for here in addition to the storm surge. That is the primary area of concern here. Anywhere from 4 to 7 feet of water is what is expected in this area.

The ocean is in this direction. If it starts to move inland, all of this residential and hotel property is going to be in the way, and that is catastrophic levels of water as mentioned, likely to create a lot of damage and potential loss of life, Omar.

JIMENEZ: Gloria Pazmino live in Clearwater, Florida, thank you.

Let's take a look at the wider area now. I want to bring in meteorologist Karen Maginnis who has been tracking the storm for us. Karen, what are you seeing? Again, it has been hovering on that

potential major hurricane status, and we are waiting to see how that goes. What is the latest on your end?

KAREN MAGINNIS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, fortunately we are getting updates from the National Hurricane Center at the top of every hour, which is good news.

However, that is not going to stop this train from rolling on in to this Big Bend area. I want to point out just how large this hurricane system is all the way cutting across to Tallahassee, all the way down towards southwest Florida. This entire zone right here is seeing heavy rainfall.

But worse than that is the storm surge. The storm surge is the big killer. And now we have also got a tornado watch. There is a potential for tornadic activity. It wouldn't be surprising to see.

We will get another update coming up probably in the next 20 minutes or so. There was an audible gasp in our weather department when this category 2 hurricane was not a category 3.

But what really got our attention is that it slowed down. That is terrible, because that suggests that it is getting stronger. We did not see an eye on this until about 5:00, 6:00 this afternoon.

So here we are during the early morning hours expected to make landfall sometime around 8:00 in the morning, where? Well, it is making its way towards the north, but is expected to make kind of a curve towards the northeast.

That is just a random line that I have drawn, might it go further this way? It does not matter where this hurricane makes landfall, specifically where the eye crosses the coast, because what's the danger is, is that storm surge.

You heard, this is low lying area, I checked the elevations for Cedar Key, for Steinhatchee, for Apalachicola, and it is not significant. So, that water is going to move very far inland. It's going to be this catastrophic.

People who have stayed in this area, it is not very densely populated, it's rural, it's beautiful wildlife management areas. They have springs there, you can paddleboard with manatees. It is a very enjoyable community.

The power is going to go out. You're going to have a storm surge across this region. It is going to be very, very difficult post hurricane landfall.

So Category 2 right now, and you can see, right there it goes from 2 to 4 right at landfall, maybe around 8:00 a.m. So somewhere in there, National Hurricane Center says we might see this at a Category 4 as it strengthens right before it makes landfall.

But I want to point out another thing. Here is Georgia. Right around here is Savannah. There is Brunswick. Category 1 hurricane?

The folks in the midlands of South Carolina and in coastal areas could see severe flooding as a strong tropical storm.

[01:39:58]

MAGINNIS: A lot going on with this system, not just impacting Florida. But we will keep you updated -- updates at the top of the hour, Omar.

JIMENEZ: Karen Maginnis, thank you. We'll keep an eye out for that.

Coming up for us, thousands without power in parts of Cuba after Idalia pounced the western part of the island nation. We will have a report from Havana in just a few moments.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JIMENEZ: We're keeping a close eye this hour on Hurricane Idalia which is expected to slam ashore in the coming hours on Florida's western coast as an extremely dangerous Category 4 hurricane. That means life- threatening winds in excess of 130 miles per hour.

Now, forecasters are predicting a historic flood storm surge as high as 16 feet. Right now, Idalia is a Category 2 storm which means sustained wind speeds up to 110 miles per hour. But it's gaining strength as it moves closer to Florida's shoreline.

Despite the grim warnings of a once-in-a-lifetime storm, some people are ignoring officials' pleas to evacuate.

[01:44:57]

JIMENEZ: Authorities in some areas say emergency services have been stopped. And those who stay behind will be on their own for many hours.

Now, before it moved into the Gulf of Mexico, Idalia pounded parts of Cuba. Cuban weather officials say the storm dumped more than four inches of rain on the western edge of the island Flooding homes and businesses and knocking out power to more than half of the westernmost province.

CNN's Patrick Oppmann has more from Havana.

PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hurricane Idalia may have hit Cuba with only a glancing blow but it still caused quite a bit of pain.

The storm moved across western Cuba first as a tropical storm. Then it turned into a Category 1 hurricane.

Even though it skirted the farthest western point of Cuba we still felt heavy rains here in Havana.

At this point there are still hundreds of thousands of people across the western portion of the island that are without power. Thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes and, of course, returning to homes that have been under water that have their roads blocked by heavy flooding, where there are power lines, where there are trees down. That will take some time.

The Cuban government says they are beginning the process of restoring power to this province that was the hardest-hit in the west, province of Pinar del Rio.

But of course this is an area that is still recovering from last year's devastation caused by Hurricane Ian. So now they have this new hurricane damage on top of what they suffered last year.

And of course this is an island with a lack of resources and even though this is not as strong a storm that Floridians are facing, much stronger hurricane is heading and expected to soon hit Florida. Still, here in Cuba, the damage from Hurricane Idalia will be felt for some time to come.

Patrick Oppmann, CNN -- Havana.

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JIMENEZ: Patrick, thank you.

We're going to take a short break. Much more of our coverage of Hurricane Idalia in just a moment.

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JIMENEZ: Hurricane Idalia is now expected to hit the Gulf Coast of Florida as an extremely dangerous Category 4 hurricane. That is according to the National Hurricane Center. It is due to make landfall in Florida's Big Bend region Wednesday morning.

Idalia is expected to hit the region with life-threatening winds and catastrophic storm surges up to 16 feet high in some places. Officials in coastal regions say some of those storm surges will be non survivable.

Florida's governor says the time to evacuate is quickly running out, if it hasn't already. Officials earlier urging people in the path of the hurricane to leave immediately.

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KEVIN GUTHRIE, FDEM DIRECTOR: If you have not evacuated, you need to do that right now. You need to drop what you are doing, you need to go to your room, pack up, pack your things, and get to safety.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: Now Citrus County is in the path of the hurricane. They are bracing for the worst. People there have been lining up to get sandbags to help protect their homes against potential floodwaters.

So joining me now is Mike Prendergast, the sheriff of Citrus County. So sheriff, thanks for joining us for starters.

But lay out for us what is your biggest concern especially in these early morning hours?

SHERIFF MIKE PRENDERGAST, CITRUS COUNTY, FLORIDA: Well, as the storm continues to March towards the north and make its ultimate landfall a little bit north of us. We still have quite a few folks that are in Evacuation Zone A. And they have been lulled in the past into some sorts of complacency because the calm before the storm of course, is out there, and we dealt with a lot of that this morning. Actually, yesterday morning, as the storm was approaching.

And now, with it still -- with the eyewall south of our county, the water is being sucked out of Kings Bay. It is being sucked out of (INAUDIBLE) and everything out into the Gulf, and it's feeding this very intense storm that will continue to rapidly intensify as it moves northward towards ultimate landfall, where it's going to become a Category 4 hurricane in a matter of a few hours before the sun comes up, later this morning.

And we have got about 2,000 folks on the Zone A evacuation zone for us and a good number of them did board up their homes, take their boats out of the water, and go to inland areas to get away from the storm surge.

But when the stormwater comes back in after the hurricane passes through our north, and all of that southwest water gets pushed up into our bay, folks are going to run out of places to go, and run as fast as they can to get out of the storm surge that's going to be coming racing in like a Nascar race in a matter of a couple of hours.

JIMENEZ: Those are the compound factors here. Of course, you have the wind, you have the rain, but then of course, the storm surge as we know is the most dangerous part of these storms. It has traditionally been what has caused the most fatalities.

And you touched on it a little bit but do you get the sense that people have actually listened to evacuation orders? And if they haven't, do you have a sense of why?

PRENDERGAST: Well, I think a great many people did listen to our evacuation orders. We pushed that evacuation order out very early on Monday, and told folks that we wanted them to adhere to the mandatory evacuation order, starting at one pm on Monday, and we saw a good many people board up their homes, board up their businesses, and transport as much equipment and personal belongings outside of the impact zone as the storm was bearing down on us.

But there are still quite a few folks that are out there. I have been around quite a few times in the hours of darkness tonight into the western areas of our county.

And we go from the barge canal up here in (INAUDIBLE) all the way down to the Chassell Woods River, down to the south of the county where we border Hernandez County. And traditionally, these areas do flood when we've got a moon and some

extremely high tides. And we have had reports of water over the roadways and to some of the areas where folks -- that is the only place -- the only way they could evacuate.

[01:54:53]

PRENDERGAST: And if those roads become closed due to high water, we just can't go out there and rescue them so, we would have to wait until the storm fully passes and the tide recedes a little bit before we could go out and do any water rescues for those folks that are out there on the extreme west side of Citrus County.

JIMENEZ: And Sheriff, got a few more seconds here, but just quickly, what is your top priority once the morning progresses, and once the sun, so to speak, comes out in a few hours, though we probably won't see the sun?

PRENDERGAST: We probably won't see the sun until well into the mid morning to the late afternoon as the storm continues to move north.

And our top priority is going to be on disaster assessment and absolutely getting out there and starting a recovery operation, so that we can save people's lives and get them to return back to whatever state of normalcy we're going to have after this very intense storm passes by and creates more storm surge than probably what we have seen in the history of Citrus County, which is over 136 years old.

JIMENEZ: Yes. Well, Sheriff Mike Prendergast, thank you for your efforts in advance. Please stay safe. And good luck to you and your community.

PRENDERGAST: Thank you, please continue to pray for all those folks up in the northern part of the state, because they are in a very dangerous situation with up to 16 foot of storm surge heading their way. And unfortunately a lot of folks up there probably didn't heed the warning to get out of the storm's path.

JIMENEZ: Of course, of course, and we're going to continue to monitor that for folks watching at home.

I'm Omar Jimenez. We'll be back with much more on Hurricane Idalia in just a moment.

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