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NC Gov.: 2 People Dead, "There Will Be More" As Helene Traverses State; Helene Batters Georgia With Damaging Winds, Torrential Rain; Life-Threatening Storm Surge, Winds & Rains Still A Danger In FL. Aired 11-11:30a ET

Aired September 27, 2024 - 11:00   ET

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

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[11:00:27]

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, good morning to you. You are live in the CNN Newsroom. I'm Pamela Brown in New York. And right now, Helene is battering the southeast as it pushes deeper into the region, from Atlanta to Asheville, from southern cities, they are experiencing devastating flooding. And even though the storm has weakened to a tropical storm since making landfall, officials say that it still poses a deadly threat to take it very seriously.

So far, six states have declared a state of emergency. Millions of people across the region are without power, and at least seven storm related deaths have been reported. At any minute now, we're going to hear from Governor Roy Cooper about the storm's impact in North Carolina. But first I want to bring in Isabel Rosales in Asheville, North Carolina. Isabel, we're getting these reports of catastrophic flooding there. What are you seeing?

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Pam, let's actually move the camera. You'll see it for yourself right here, the amount of debris that these floodwaters are just bringing into, what's, a road right here. Look at this. This is a metal propane tank of some sort. There was another one back there. Look at this, garbage bags back here, some sort of a metal container. It is just incredible what these floodwaters are dragging through the city of Asheville. And back there toward the gas station. You can see it's reaching the pumps. Pam?

BROWN: The Governor of North Carolina right now. Let's listen in.

GOV. ROY COOPER (D-NC): -- now is saving lives. Helene is causing life threatening flash flooding, numerous landslides and downed trees causing power outages. Flooding will continue through the weekend in some areas, and may even occur in areas that don't typically flood with the rain that they had already been experiencing before Helene's arrival, this is one of the worst storms in modern history for parts of Western North Carolina.

The end of the rain is not the end of the threat. This fierce storm will move out of our state in the next 24 hours, but the danger will not be over. Tropical storm force winds that border on hurricane strength are happening right now across Western North Carolina. Trees are falling, causing widespread power outages. As of this morning, there are over 879,000 estimated power outages across our state.

We're also currently aware of 290 closed roads. For the people in Western North Carolina, do not travel unless there is an emergency, because conditions are continuing to worsen. People in Western North Carolina should consider all roads closed unless you are seeking higher ground. For much of our state, there's also the continued potential for tornadoes with the storing system. They can quickly spin up with a little warning.

I urge people to stay informed. Listen to local radio, T.V. and local emergency response officials. Sadly, our hearts are heavy as we report two deaths, one in Catawba County due to a motor vehicle collision on a flooded roadway, and one in Charlotte due to a tree falling on home. There will be more. As we know, this storm is continuing across our state, we are working to try to prevent as many as we possibly can.

And in all parts of our state where there is flooding, remember, do not drive through flood waters. As I've said so many times, we've lost too many North Carolinians who've driven into flood waters. So turn around. Don't drown. The State Emergency Response team's efforts will continue to work with local officials and support impacted communities today and throughout the weekend. Our state search and rescue teams are being assisted from teams from more than a dozen other states. And I'm deeply grateful for their work to save lives.

Currently, we are aware of over 100 swift water rescues since the beginning of this event, but we know there will be many more. Our emergency management team here and in counties across the state are continuing to deploy resources strategically to save lives and to strengthen the response for counties and cities. Numerous evacuations have been ordered in areas likely to flood. If you're told to evacuate, please get out of the danger zone.

[11:05:10]

There are about 15 shelters available, and more will be added. Keep yourself informed as we bear the brunt of the storm to protect yourself and your families. We know North Carolinians are strong and our first responders are the best in the nation. I'm thankful for their hard work and for risking their lives to protect all North Carolinians.

Today, I'm joined by Emergency Management Director, Will Ray, our Secretary of the Department of Public Safety, Eddie Buffaloe, the Adjutant General of the North Carolina National Guard, Major General Todd Hunt, Chief Operating Officer of the North Carolina Department of Transportation, Chris Peoples, the Commander of the North Carolina State Highway Patrol, Colonel Freddy Johnson, FEMA Field Coordinating Officer Craig Levy, our sign language interpreters are Brian Tipton, and behind the scenes, our Spanish language interpreters are Yasmin Metivier and Erica Coogler. At this time, I'll ask Director Ray for his Update. Will?

WILL RAY, DIRECTOR, NC EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: Thank you, Governor Cooper -- Cooper and good morning everyone. North Carolina is currently experiencing the impacts of Helene, which will continue into Saturday. As we said yesterday, North Carolinians should remain informed. Have a plan in place to protect your family and should take this storm seriously.

The State Emergency Response Team remains fully activated today, and our operational priority continues to be on supporting our impacted local jurisdictions across the state. We continue to have our public sector, private sector, nonprofits and volunteer agencies here at the EOC and working in community -- communities across the state.

Since yesterday, we have seen life threatening flash flooding, landslides and downed trees, primarily across the foothills and mountains of North Carolina. Areas of our state, particularly in the West, have seen immense rainfall totals already. As we go into this afternoon, we will continue to see rainfall across the state, with weather conditions improving over the course of the afternoon and evening.

There remains a severe weather threat to Central and Eastern North Carolina, where tornadoes and heavy downpours are expected. For those that are in flood prone areas, please make sure you are informed that you have a plan of action to quickly evacuate if necessary, and that you are receiving information from reliable sources such as local emergency management offices and the National Weather Service.

With such significant rainfall, water levels and flooding in the North Carolina mountains can rapidly change and can create a substantial threat to life. Many counties in Western North Carolina have ordered evacuations to save lives. It is imperative that all residents in evacuation zones please leave and move to a safer location. Please avoid traveling if at all possible, particularly in the mountains and foothills.

If you must travel, please visit drivenc.gov, to check roadway status. This website is updated regularly by the Department of Transportation. As of this morning, as the governor said, there are over 290 roadways that are closed in our state from impacts of both --

BROWN: All right. We're just listening to officials there in North Carolina as they talk about all the damage we've seen so far from Helene in that state. We heard the Governor give a very clear warning that even though the storm is expected to move out over the next 24 hours, that the damage will continue with -- with record flooding. He said it was one of the worst storms in modern history for parts of North Carolina.

So far, he said at least two dead, but he believes that number will rise as Helene traverses the state. I want to go back to Isabel Rosales, because Isabel, you were right there, and you can really see the impact of Helene. Behind you, right before the -- the press conference, we saw a propane tank just floating by in the waters. How high is the water there?

ROSALES: Yes. It's incredible the amount of flood water. By the way, the Governor is totally right. Just because the rain leaves the area and we are starting to see that rain ease up, it doesn't mean the threat is over. This will continue to be a deeply impactful event here in this community for hours to come, because all of this flood water has to go back into, will go back into the rivers and the streams and continue to swell the bank.

So look right over here, just incredible imagery. This is a maybe a power pole right here, a metal barrel down that way. And by the way, Pam, inside this brick building, there is a man there that I saw him speaking on the phone, perhaps looking a little bit distressed, gave him the thumbs up. He said, he's OK, but I would think that he stuck in there. I -- I -- I -- I can't see how he'd be able to get -- well, there he is. I can't see how he'd be able to get out of there right now.

[11:10:00]

Yes, but at least he's got cover. I'm standing on higher ground here at a courtyard, so I can kind of look down and oversee what's happening. But it is just incredible. The Buncombe County had a press conference that they just wrapped up in the last hour. They said that this is going to be the most significant natural disaster that they have ever seen in Western North Carolina. In fact, they're com -- they're comparing it to the floods of 1916, an event that is known here historically, but nobody really has a memory of that.

That is the last time that they have seen something of this magnitude. Right now they're saying, please don't travel on these roads. They're saying, quote, consider all roads close because this is extremely dangerous, not to mention flash flooding that can unpredictably overwhelm somebody, especially somebody who's been driving. And the situation they're saying is only expected to get worse.

They have done here in Buncombe County, 50 water rescues and counting. This is still a very active situation. But again, it -- it's just incredible what's happening the combination of this rainfall, Wednesday, nothing to do with Helene, a totally different system, eight plus inches of rain falling. By the time that Helene is done here, they're expecting over 21 inches of rain.

So the ground has been saturated before we ever saw any impacts from Helene. And then there's the Swannanoa River, just a couple of blocks down that way, in that direction, that's normally two to four feet deep, while it's gone up over eight feet, and that's also expected to go to 20 feet. So you have all of these combinations, and not to mention the fact that Asheville is like at the bottom of this mountain range, right?

The Fire Rescue chief said that it's essentially a catch basin for all of this water, all of these factors leading to a very dangerous situation, catastrophic flooding, is what forecasters are calling for here, Pamela.

BROWN: Yes. I mean, just looking behind you, I mean you can look at the -- the stop sign and see how high the water is, several feet high, and all the debris going by you. It looked like you said, a power pole, a propane tank. And then the -- the resident there, it stuck in that building, seemingly, as the waters rise, very concerning for him. We hope he is OK. You stay safe too. Isabel, thank you for bringing us the latest there. We'll continue to cover this. We'll be right back.

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[11:17:02]

BROWN: Atlanta's Mayor telling CNN that he wants people to stay off the roads right now as the region expects more flooding. Helene roared into Metro Atlanta early this morning as a powerful tropical storm. And look right here. This is a video of a swift water rescue team getting a family and their pet to safety. More than two dozen people had to be rescued. I want to bring in CNN's Nick Valencia and Ryan Young. Ryan, let's go to you first. I mean, what -- what's going on where you are? It looks like you're standing right there in the thick of it, in the water?

RYAN YOUNG, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, this has been amazing to watch overnight as the waters come just from all over. There's a creek nearby, and it's obviously made an impact in this community. This is one of the communities where a rescue did need to happen overnight. You see that car right there at one point, the water was above that back wiper.

And even as I stand out here now, the water is starting to recede, but there are plenty of people who are stuck on the second floor waiting for this water to sort of go down and make its way out so they can start walking. So as I push my way through here, you have to understand, there were more than 25 rescues overnight. More than 10 inches of rain have dropped in the last 24 hours in Atlanta. This has made it very difficult, especially for rescue crews.

Atlanta Fire Department, doing a great job to get out there to save people. There's even a woman right here with her daughter who is trying to make the decision about taking her pet out. There's more than a dozen cars that have been destroyed because of all this rainfall and because of this flooding, those conversations that will go on and on. But this is something impacting the overnight spring. Pam?

BROWN: Yes, I mean, it's just so striking to see these rescue videos. You just saw a woman on the screen with a baby, you said, a woman with her dog. I mean, everyone's trying to get out as we see those waters there, that flooding, Nick. I want to go to you. What are you seeing?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, some pretty terrifying moments overnight. But there are a lot of residents here in Atlanta that are breathing that sigh of relief. You can see this creek here that Ryan was talking about, Peachtree Creek. You know, during intense rains, there's a lot of severe weather systems that come through here, and this creek does flood, but absolutely nothing like this.

And it's just in the last five years that officials have built this sort of reinforcement structure to keep the water from spilling into these neighborhoods. But it was really not enough for the overnight hours. You see this water flow. It was absolutely terrifying this morning for the owner of that white sedan. Angelina Madu (ph) was on her way back from Norcross bakery. She was working the overnight shift, and before you give her a hard time about being around the roads, a lot of Americans like her that just can't afford to miss a day of work, her employer didn't close work, even though they knew the storm was coming, and she tried to drive through this subdivision at 6:00 this -- 6:00 this morning.

It was dark. She didn't realize that it was covered and submerged in water. And before she knew it, her -- her car lost traction and wasn't able to grap -- grapple the roads, or grip to the roads, I should say, luckily, because this area has been so active, a lot of news crews have set up around here, one of them, a former colleague of ours, Bob Van Dillen. He was a meteorologist on HLN. He saw Angelina (ph) wave down for help. He gets into the water, wading in waist deep. There's video online. He actually was able to pull Angelina (ph) out of the water and rescue her.

[11:20:13]

She was reunited with her husband a couple of hours later. We were supposed to have her husband on air, but right now, they're just so shaking up. They're grateful. They're thanking Bob Van Dillen for saving their life. An absolutely remarkable story here, another one of those rescues that we've been talking about. There have been deaths across the state here. Still haven't been able to verify just how many deaths across the state of Georgia. But for how significant the impact was expected to be here, a lot of people here just thankful that it was not worse.

You have residents in the area that are coming out to look at this creek that is, you know, clearly -- swollen and swelled over and poured water into this area. But, you know, a lot of kids here smiles on their face. They're happy to be, you know, out of school and out school. But one of the local schools here, we understand, is underwater right now. So going back into this area, you could just see the impact that the water system, the water has had here in this area, about two to three feet of water in this area. There's other locations throughout that are suffering the same kind of damage.

But again, the drainage system here in the city not the best. So this water here, even though officials are thankful that the rain is stopped, it's probably going to take some time before these water levels get back to normal. Pamela?

BROWN: Yes. Oh my god. What -- what a story that was you told, though, Nick. We'll have to find that video you said was online. But we're so grateful that woman is OK and that our former colleagues stepped in to save her.

VALENCIA: Amen.

BROWN: I mean, wow, that -- that is scary, and I can't believe that, I mean, you know, that her employer wanted them to come to work today in a situation like this. That's another story. All right. Nick Valencia, thank you so much. Ryan Young, thank you as well.

And still ahead this hour, Hurricane Helene's landfall brought record storm surge to parts of Florida, and it doesn't look like this water is going anywhere anytime soon.

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[11:26:33]

BROWN: Well, from Tallahassee to Tampa Bay, much of Florida's Gulf Coast is dealing with Helene's aftermath. This morning, record storm surge has left entire communities underwater. Let's bring in CNN Carlos Suarez in Gulfport, Florida. What are you seeing there, Carlos?

CARLOS SUAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Pamela, good morning. So we are inside of a restaurant here in Gulfport that was basically destroyed by the strong surge and the intense kind of the -- the winds that we saw last night yesterday. So this is what it looks like right now. You can see exactly where everything inside this restaurant was just pushed up against each other because of the about six to eight feet of storm surge that pushed in here.

If you can go to your left here, I can show you just how close this restaurant is to the bay here, that part there yesterday began inching in closer to this area around 2 o'clock or 3 o'clock in the afternoon, and by about 8 o'clock and 9 o'clock at night, the water was probably about as high as that mark right there, where you see that kind of exposed wall right there. We spoke to the owner of this place just a few minutes ago, and she was telling us that they had just finished some repairs from last year's hurricane.

I've been here for three years now, covering three different hurricanes, and we've always come to Pinellas County here. In fact, we've always kind of seen this restaurant, because every single time a storm either threatens the area comes really close to it, or even in years past, where it's actually had a more of a direct impact, this place has always been damaged. And so we spoke to the owner, she told us, look, I've got about 20 employees. I'm going to try and reopen again. But here I am another year where I'm dealing with another hurricane, this one well offshore, did not have a direct impact in -- in Pinellas County, and yet, this is what it looks like.

She's not entirely sure just when they'll be able to reopen, but she's determined, Pam, to get this place back in order, because she says, I've been here for nearly 15 years, and this is my livelihood. She has her family and her friends are here, and she plans on rebuilding here. And that's kind of the sentiment we've heard from folks up and down this part of Gulfport. They know these hurricanes. They've weathered them before.

I think their biggest surprise is the fact that this last storm was so large, and even though it was so far west that we saw the kind of storm surge that we saw yesterday, Pam. We were in this very location for a good part of yesterday. And then late in the afternoon it was unsafe for us to stay here. The water from the bay just kept just surging in, and we had to seek higher ground. Pamela?

BROWN: Yes. It just shows you how powerful the storm was as it was near you, and it just turned that -- that grill upside down. And, you know, just to think about rebuilding, wow, that's -- that's inspiring that they have that, you know, motivation to take what has happened rebuild, knowing that it could very well happen again with another hurricane or powerful storm like Helene. Carlos, thank you so much.

[11:29:25]

We're also getting some new video into CNN of more water rescues, this time from Clearwater, Florida, as first responders work through waist deep water to get people to safety. We'll be right back.

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