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CNN Live Saturday
Hurricane Dennis Heading Toward Florida Panhandle; Police Seal Off Birmingham
Aired July 09, 2005 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Hurricane Dennis now barreling north in the Gulf, heading toward the Florida Panhandle. The latest on its path straight ahead. And thousands evacuate -- the thousands aboard -- board up as Dennis moves in. It is deja vu all over again.
And where has Dennis gone? Devastation has moved in. From Haiti north to Key West, Dennis is leaving its footprint.
It is Saturday, July 9, and you are watching CNN LIVE SATURDAY. And this is your hurricane headquarters. From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Carol Lin. In-depth coverage of Hurricane Dennis in just a moment, but first, stories making news right now.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrives in the Far East amid word that North Korea will rejoin talks on its nuclear program. That's the focus of Rice's four-nation trip, which began today in Beijing. The six-party talks, unsuccessful so far, will start again this month.
And police in London say three of the bombs that shook the city on Thursday exploded seconds apart. They say that new information suggests the bombs were triggered by timing devices. The deadly bus bomb exploded an hour later. The confirmed death toll remains at 49, as recovery workers struggle to remove remaining bodies.
And in Aruba today, a team of forensic divers joins the search for Natalee Holloway. The divers probed an underwater cavern for the teen from Alabama. The head of another search team from Texas says his group is planning to stop searching on Tuesday unless they find some sign of the missing teen.
Now to our top story. All eyes are on Dennis. It has just been upgraded to a category 3 as it closes in on the Gulf coast. Already, Dennis has caused a lot of damage and killed as many as 32 people. It made a glancing blow to the Keys and is headed for the Gulf coast.
Meteorologist Jacqui Jeras tracking Dennis. Jacqui, when and where is this storm going to hit here in the United States?
JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, it looks like tomorrow afternoon, and somewhere probably along the Florida Panhandle. It's getting just to the west of there, possibly. Still a little bit of margin of error here, but we think it'll probably be somewhere west of Pensacola. But keep in mind that could still change a little bit, but it looks like it's going to be maybe less than 24 hours when we see this reach the Gulf coast.
We have breaking information that just came in. Dennis is now once against a major hurricane. Hurricane hunters flew back into the storm, and they are now seeing winds maximum sustained of 115 miles per hour, so that easily puts it back into the category 3 status, where winds reach 111 to 130 miles per hour.
So we're already, a little earlier than expected, back to a major hurricane, so this likely will be a major hurricane when it makes landfall, possibly a strong category 3, I wouldn't be afraid to even say potentially a small category 4. So we could still see some very significant changes with Dennis over the next 24 hours, before it does reach the Gulf coast.
It's been battering parts of Florida all day long with heavy rains. We do have a tornado watch that remains in effect for the area, expecting rainfall totals of 4 to 8 inches here across central and southern parts of Florida between now and tomorrow.
And then we'll watch for the heaviest amounts as it makes its next landfall here along the Gulf coast, as much as 5 to 10 inches of rainfall on average, locally heavier amounts. So those of you that are going to be on the north and eastern part of the storm could see maybe upwards of a foot of rain, although it will be a very localized area.
When are you going to start to feel the effects on the northern Gulf coast here of Dennis? Well, this is our computer forecast model, and this is what it's predicting. Notice the yellow here. That's tropical storm-force winds, 39 miles per hour-plus. The orange here? This is hurricane-strength winds. That's 74 mile per hour-plus. And the dark red area, that's major hurricane status. That's where you're looking at 110, 111 mile per hour-plus.
So the hurricane-force winds around dawn tomorrow are going to be reaching the coastline and will be battering you throughout the morning hours, likely making landfall maybe mid to late afternoon tomorrow. And by about 9:00 o'clock tomorrow, the whole center should be onshore and the storm system should weaken by then. But in the meantime, we're on an upward trend back to major hurricane status -- Carol.
LIN: All right. Thanks very much, Jacqui Jeras, reporting live from the weather center.
Hurricane Dennis, a category 3 -- that's enough to cause damage to buildings, uproot trees. And you remember what happened in Pensacola last year, hard-hit by the last hurricane season, could bear the brunt of Dennis.
CNN's John Zarrella is live in Pensacola with a look at how people are preparing for this storm. John, it's headed your way right now.
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it sure is. And what we just heard from Jacqui Jeras out of the hurricane center to the information she passed on, not what the people here wanted to hear. They had certainly expected -- hoped, at least, that it would not reorganize and that it would come in maybe as a 2. Now they're looking at a storm that may be at least as powerful as Hurricane Ivan last year, and perhaps stronger than Hurricane Ivan. And yes, they are still digging out from that, blue tarps all over roofs.
You know, just a little while ago, we were saying that it had been very calm here, nothing moving, that calm before the storm. Well, now the wind has begun -- the breeze has begun to pick up just a little bit. But the folks are preparing here. As we drove into Pensacola today, the gasoline lines, cars were backed up 30, 40 deep at the gas stations that did have fuel. And many of them did. They had enough fuel to get folks topped off.
People were trying to get their gas cans filled, as well, so they could run those generators after the storm. And of course, a word of safety to anybody that plans to do that, Don't put the generator in your house or in your garage after the storm. Keep it outside.
And other people, you know, again, preparing, as well. They began boarding up here. A lot of that was going on. We saw cars and trucks stocked with plywood that they had bought from the home improvement stores today, heading home to make those final preparations, rushing those preparations to completion.
And now the county here, Escambia, is telling people, if you are planning to evacuate, the time to do it is now. Get out by midnight tonight. If you're planning to go to the shelters here -- and the shelters are filling up -- get there by midnight tonight because after that, the situation is expected to start going downhill fairly quickly, as we get through the overnight hours and into the morning hours.
So again here, very, very quiet. You might see over my shoulder the I-10 bridge, the one that was washed out last year by Ivan. Very few cars passing across that main east-west artery through Florida into Alabama and Mississippi. So people here, after Ivan last year, have definitely heeded the warnings. A lot of them have already left. And now even more reason, if anyone was thinking of staying, to get out of Dodge and start thinking about getting out pretty quickly because this is going to be a big one coming this way -- Carol.
LIN: You bet. Ivan cost $13 billion in damage. Nothing to sneeze at at all. All right. Glad folks are at least preparing out there in Pensacola. Thanks, John.
Well, the Florida Keys were spared a direct hit from Dennis, but the tourist hotspot didn't escape unscathed. Reporter Jeff Weinsier of CNN affiliate WPLG takes a look at some of the worst damage.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEFF WEINSIER, WPLG-TV CORRESPONDENT: A different perspective. We're on the second floor of the Best Western, and I want to show you South Roosevelt Boulevard. You cannot tell where the Atlantic Ocean is. You cannot tell where the road is. And believe it or not, we see people every now and then driving by.
The winds continue to pound the area just north of the Key West airport. As far as damage goes, that Best Western sign is probably the worst damage that we have seen at this hotel. A little further down, you can see the storm surge that is coming over. It is flowing into a wooded area between the two hotels here. Where it's going, we have no idea. But it has been blowing like this since about 8:30 last night.
Throughout the area, there are downed trees, like that small palm over there, but there's even a more hazardous situation on U.S. 1, where we saw a tree across the entire road.
Some more damage, not really severe, at the Best Western, exit signs that have snapped off the roof. That tiki hut was once standing straight up, but when you have winds at 40, 50, 60, 70 miles an hour pounding you for 10 to 12 hours, you start to lean.
We are now at the back side of the Best Western, and all the storm surge you saw in the parking lot has created a brand-new river. All the storm surge is actually flowing into a lake behind the Best Western, but that lake is starting to fill up, and you can see it is now starting to flood.
We haven't had power here at the Best Western since about 11:00 o'clock last night, but the lines are all still up. We've seen some homes where shingles have blown off and the roofs have been damaged, but here at the Best Western, they're taking a direct hit and the metal roof, standing up just fine. A huge concern here, deadly missiles, as in heavy coconuts flying off palm trees.
How much water have we had here in the parking lot? Well, here's a good indication. This is all seaweed that has flown out of the Atlantic. We discovered even the wildlife wants to get out of this weather. Right there, last night, a snake trying to get into our motel room.
That's the very latest in Key West. I'm Jeff Weinsier. Back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: All right. Right now, the mayor of Key West joins me later this hour with an update on the damage there.
Now, before Key West, Dennis unleashed its fury on Cuba. Dennis, which was a category 4 storm at one point, battered much of the island nation last night. Homes were damaged. Thousands of people are still without power. Dennis is blamed now for killing 10 people there. Another 22 people are reported dead in Haiti. United Nations officials say at least 100 people are still missing.
Now, stay with CNN as Hurricane Dennis gets closer to making landfall. We have correspondents up and down the Gulf coast to bring you the very latest. Another live update is coming up later this hour. In the meantime, dangerous weather spinning off Hurricane Dennis is already making a mess along Florida's Gulf coast. So straight ahead this hour, a look at one neighborhood caught in the storm. Also, before the storm makes landfall, plans are already under way for clean-up, so we're going to check in as federal disaster officials prepare.
But first, new information about the London terrorist attacks and new fears in another British city when CNN LIVE SATURDAY returns.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: New security concerns in Britain today. Police are sealing off part of the country's second largest city, Birmingham. Intelligence indicates some kind of threat may be centered at the city's entertainment district, 100 miles away from London.
More developments also in the investigation into the bombings that terrorized mass transit passengers just two days ago. Our Jim Clancy is in London with the very latest there -- Jim.
JIM CLANCY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, we're live from King's Cross station, but really, this hour, a lot of activity's going on, as you noted, many miles away in Britain's second largest city, Birmingham. That is a city with a substantial population of immigrants, a substantial Muslim population, and a city tonight that is being evacuated, at least its city center.
This is a fairly large area, but it's a concentration of nightclubs and bars and restaurants. Police say they were acting on intelligence that they received after 8:00 o'clock at night. They sealed off the roads there. They asked bar, restaurant owners to search their premises, their establishments to see what they found.
We understand now they've conducted one controlled explosion aboard a passenger bus, but it was not -- repeat, it was not a suspicious device. Police in Birmingham stressing their situation there, according to their intelligence, does not relate their situation at all to what happened on Thursday here in London, when bombs ripped through mass transit buses and tube trains here, killing at least 49 people.
So we have a different situation that's developing there, one that is affecting, we should say, tens of thousands of people that are being told to go home, to leave clubs, restaurants and bars, even some hotel patrons that are having to leave their rooms and other people that are having to leave their homes. Not clear yet when they'll be able to return there, as police are continuing their search -- Carol.
LIN: Jim, in the meantime, developments in the London investigation. What is the significance of this theory or evidence pointing to timers having set off a majority of the bombs on Thursday?
CLANCY: Well, the significance -- first of all, they haven't ruled anything out. But the significance of this is they say they polled -- they interrogated, in their words, their electronics devices, like phone lines, electrical systems in the underground, and they can say that those three blasts, they now believe, happened, really, within moments of each other, within seconds of each other. They don't think that it's likely those were detonated, then, manually, but rather, they were detonated on timers to explode simultaneously.
That may help them in their investigation, certainly, because they can now suspect that those who carried out these blasts were not suicide bombers, they're still alive. They may still be in London. They may have tried to leave the country. They may be plotting to attack again. That's going to be the big priority, the big piece of evidence for them.
At the same time, they're trying to recover more bodies. They did recover some more bodies from the tube just below where we are, at King's Cross, this day. They did not tell us how many may have been recovered. They say, really, there it is tough going. This is one of the transport police earlier.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDY TROTTER, BRITISH TRANSPORT POLICE: We are facing particular challenges at Russell Square. The search was halted overnight because of the increasingly difficult conditions but resumed again early this morning. I visited the search teams there, and they are facing particularly difficult conditions.
It is extremely hot and very dusty, and it's a great challenge for them to continue their work to recover the remaining bodies from the train underground. This work will be slow, methodical and meticulous, and at the same time, the forensic recovery teams are working alongside them in order to ensure that no clues are lost.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CLANCY: No clues are lost, but many loved ones are never coming home. Many people are still missing, Carol, about two dozen. There are bouquets of flowers here at King's Cross station. There are messages of condolence to the victims of this and their families. There are also posters of the missing, begging for any information about loved ones who were believed to be in the area of any of the four blasts that rocked London on Thursday.
Meantime, the people of London still holding firm.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are Londoners. We only live up the road. And we are absolutely horrified at what has happened to innocent people. I find it just horrific what has happened. It's a massacre of innocent people! I'm sorry! I just find it just awful! But London -- but we will fight through.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CLANCY: In the words of Tony Blair, the people of this city have something inside them. In his words, it was a great resiliency. Carol, back to you.
LIN: And we're seeing much of that. Thank you very much. Jim Clancy, reporting live from London.
Well, the London attacks seemed to synchronized, many believe the bombings could have only been the work of a terrorist group like al Qaeda or one of its offshoots. Not only will the attacks have an impact on security measures, the attacks could also have implications for immigrants across Europe.
Our terrorism analyst, Peter Bergen, is joining me now from Washington. Peter, you actually have a very interesting theory about this, that the greatest threat to Americans in the war on terror is coming from one of its greatest allies, those -- the citizens of Great Britain. Explain that.
PETER BERGEN, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: Well, British citizens and European citizens in general. As you may remember, Carol, the 9/11 pilots got radicalized in Hamburg, in Germany. We've had British citizens trying to blow up American jets. Richard Reid, you may remember, the "shoe bomber," tried to bring down an American Airlines jet after 9/11 with a shoe bomb.
He had another colleague who also pled guilty recently to also trying to attack a transatlantic flight with a shoe bomb, also a British citizen. You may remember American journalist Danny Pearl, who worked for "The Wall Street Journal," was killed by -- or kidnapped and then murdered by a British citizen, Omar Sheikh (ph).
So we're seeing British citizens conducting acts of terrorism against Americans and also trying to come into the United States and trying to attack the United States.
I don't think that problems going to get better before -- I mean, I think it's going to get worse before it gets better. There's a lot of alienated British Muslims. And also, I'm -- the problem is not just British, it's European in general. We've seen with the attacks in Madrid that you've got serious terrorist cells in Spain. We've seen -- you know, we've seen people being recruited to go and fight in the Iraq war in France, groups of teenagers, and also recent arrests in Spain.
So you're seeing a much more radicalized, more alienated group of Muslims in Europe than you are -- there are no, really, domestic al Qaeda sleeper cells that we've seen any evidence of in this country.
LIN: Well, this could be worrisome because, you remember after the 9/11 attacks, I mean, President Bush had come out and said that these are people who do not know the benefits of living in a democracy. So you're saying that the greatest threat actually comes from Muslims who are living in a democratic society and still planning an attack. How do you explain this? And how many citizens are you actually talking about in Great Britain?
BERGEN: Well, the British government estimates that there are 10,000 sort of al Qaeda sympathizers or sympathizers for groups like al Qaeda. Of that, I'm sure only a readily small minority would engage in acts of terrorism. But that's a very different picture than you would get inside the United States. And also, I think you can draw the same kinds of numbers in other countries around Europe.
There are 20 million Muslims in Europe. A lot of them are treated as second-class citizens in the countries they come to. I think when Muslims come to this country, the American dream, in this instance, really works. They -- we haven't seen, really -- really, any evidence of -- except one case in Lodi, California, you may remember, Carol, of a guy who'd gone through some kind of training camp in Pakistan after 9/11. But it's really much more of a European thing.
And of course, it's not simply a European problem because Europeans can come into the United States relatively easily.
LIN: Right. Right. Free passage for British passports.
BERGEN: Yes. And in fact, also from Germany, Spain. I mean, we have a visa waiver program with European countries. I'm not suggesting we change it, but it's relatively easy to get a visa. I think there are some things we could perhaps improve in the program. Perhaps Department of Homeland Security officials could be posted to embassies around Europe to really have face-to-face interviews with people trying to come into this country who might fit some sort of profile or be suspicious.
LIN: Peter Bergen, thank you very much.
BERGEN: Thank you.
LIN: Now, Hurricane Dennis is taking aim at the Gulf coast. We are getting the very latest now from the Gulf Shores. We're going to go to Peter Viles, who is reporting in from Gulfport, Mississippi. Peter, this is also an area was very hard-hit during the 2004 hurricane season.
PETER VILES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It sure is. This would be the western edge of that impact zone we keep seeing, that big triangle going up along the Gulf. We're at the very western edge of that. And officials here are not expecting at this hour, not expecting hurricane-force winds.
That said, they have just recently in the past hour issued a mandatory evacuation order, Carol, for the low-lying portions of Harrison County. That includes Gulfport. It's not a hugely populated area with year-round residents. We're told it's about 1,400 residents. But it is a lot of hotels, motels and even a few casinos right along highway 90 again in Gulfport, Mississippi.
Again, though, just in the past hour, county officials here have issued a mandatory evacuation of low-lying areas near the Gulf. Residents of the areas have until 6:00 AM tomorrow morning to be out of the area. And we know for a fact that some of the hotels are already asking people checked into the hotels to leave right now before nightfall -- Carol. LIN: Peter, also reports that traffic has doubled on Mississippi roads. Are these people having any trouble getting out of the area? And where are they going to go to stay?
VILES: Well, they don't need to go too far north of here. They're telling them they need to go north of -- well, almost to I-10, north of some railroad tracks that are between the coast and I-10. They don't have to travel a great distance, maybe two or three miles at the most, just to get away from the coast. And it's not a huge number of people.
But since we've been here in Gulfport, which is a number of hours, first trying to find a place to stay, which has turned out to be somewhat difficult, but also just getting around town, the traffic has picked up. But it is not a serious traffic jam, at this hour, anyway. But again, this order just went out, so word is just getting around this part of the country.
LIN: Right. And we just reported to our audience as soon as we got the information that Hurricane Dennis has now been upgraded to a category 3, winds blowing at about 115 miles per hour, heading your way, Peter, at this point. Did people have much of a chance to at least batten down the hatches, board up their windows and prepare?
VILES: They definitely did. And Ivan, Carol, has given this region a real wake-up call, Ivan last September. And talking to people here, they don't think they're going to get hit direct already, or at least, they're hoping they're not going to hit directly. But that said, they say there has been more precautions taken, more boards going up on windows than they had seen in past storms. So this are is taking this storm very seriously.
LIN: All right. Peter Viles, thank you very much for bringing us that latest information. Just in, mandatory evacuations now on the low-lying areas around Gulfport Mississippi.
We are going to keep you updated throughout the night. We have, in fact, continuing coverage from the Gulf coast straight ahead. Millions of residents are boarding up and heading out, as well. And we are going to have live reports from Mobile, Alabama, Key West, Florida, plus the latest on Dennis' path in a live report from the National Hurricane Center straight ahead on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: All right. Well, far from the path of Hurricane Dennis, federal disaster officials in Washington are making preparations. We're going to hear from Kathleen Koch in just a moment, but we want to bring you the latest pictures of what Hurricane Dennis did in Key West, Florida. What you're looking at looks like a pretty serious situation, but it was really just a glancing blow, nothing compared to what hurricane strength it is now, a category 3 with 115-mile-per-hour winds.
So Key West, though it had some damage, didn't really fare as badly as what might happen in the Gulf Shores should Hurricane Dennis hit with full force at this point. We will keep track on that, of course, because things could change at any moment.
In the meantime, obviously, officials up in Washington are preparing for the worst. CNN's Kathleen Koch reports on what's going on there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Alix Matteson and her husband packed their bags and their twins and headed to a relative's home in Washington to escape Hurricane Dennis. They live in the Florida Keys, right on the water.
ALIX MATTESON, EVACUEE FROM FLORIDA: We were out for six months from Hurricane Ivan, and we moved back in the middle of March. So now we're evacuating again.
KOCH: Laura Johnson, too, has evacuation fatigue.
LAURA JOHNSON, FLORIDA EVACUEE: I'm pretty worried. And we just boarded up our windows. And it's just a repeat of Ivan.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Welcome to our video teleconference this afternoon on Hurricane Dennis.
KOCH: Across town, the Federal Emergency Management Agency conferenced with states in the storm's path to make sure everyone is ready.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The effort is going quite well, and also, the cooperation with our state partners and our advanced teams in the field.
MICHAEL BROWN, DIRECTOR, FEMA: We're in total response mode right now. We're moving in the supplies. We're moving in the Meals Ready to Eat, ice, water, cots, medical personnel.
KOCH: In nearby Maryland, the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration kept a watchful eye on Dennis' progress. That job will continue even as the storm moves on shore because of the possibility of deadly inland flooding.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Even people further inland, in the lower Mississippi Valley heading up -- and this storm will continue up to the lower Ohio River Valley -- people need to be aware because there will be heavy rain inland, and it could be very dangerous.
KOCH: The 2004 hurricane season marked the largest disaster response-and-recovery effort in FEMA's history. It spent more than $5 billion in Florida alone. But the head of FEMA insists those hurricanes have not hampered the agency's ability to respond this year.
BROWN: We still have a lot of recovery operations going on throughout the Southeast, so we already have some people and equipment down here. So the good news about last year's storm is it's really made us even better prepared for this year's storms. (END VIDEOTAPE)
KOCH: Still, FEMA officials know they have their work cut out for them, with forecasters predicting a hurricane season just as bad as last year's -- Carol.
LIN: All right. We'll keep our fingers crossed. Thank you very much, Kathleen Koch, for bringing us the latest preparations out of Washington.
In the meantime, it is a tropical destination described many times in song, Key West, Florida. We just showed you some of those pictures. It stood in Hurricane Dennis' path, and we're going to survey the damage left behind and talk live with the town's mayor.
Straight ahead, also ahead of the storm, how one community along the Gulf Coast is boarding up and strapping in for a rough 24 hours. You're watching CNN LIVE SATURDAY.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JERAS: I'm Jacqui Jeras in the CNN weather center. We just learned at the top of the hour that Hurricane Dennis has become a major hurricane with category three winds, and that means 115 miles per at this time. We're going to go right to Max Mayfield, director of the National Hurricane Center. And Max, what does this mean, that we've intensified so rapidly?
MAX MAYFIELD, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER: Jacqui, this has become a very dangerous hurricane. As you've said, we've upgraded to category 3 based on the Air Force and NOAA reconnaissance reports we've been getting. We're also in the process -- The folks behind me are in the process of putting out a special advisory, and increase the intensity forecast and put it up to a category four hurricane before it makes landfall.
Actually you can see on the satellite loop behind me, the last five hours really tells a story here. It's become much, much stronger than it has been since last night. Heading in the same general direction as Hurricane Ivan from last year. So people in that hurricane warning area really need to heed the advice of their officials.
JERAS: OK. You think category four. Tell people what that means.
HAYFIELD: It's category three now but we're forecasting it to be a category four, perhaps it would be easier to put that into perspective by comparing it with Ivan. We're forecasting it to become stronger than Hurricane Ivan, stronger than Frederick and stronger than Opal.
And that can mean structural damage. Very high storm surge values. In fact, on the track we have right now, it's over here. This area will be 12 to 14 feet of storm surge all way from Pensacola over towards the Destin area with other values six to eight feet over towards Apalachicola.
JERAS: Not news that people want to here. Max, quickly, have there been any changes in the track?
MAYFIELD: No, we haven't changed the track, but one thing I really want to emphasize if I can, Jacqui is not to just focus on that point. This is a hurricane, it's not a point, it's a large circulation, and the tropical storm force winds go out about 175 miles on the eastern side of this, so those storm force winds will be getting to the coast, in particularly around Apalachicola or so after midnight, and the conditions will go downhill after that.
JERAS: All right. Thanks very much. Max Mayfield, the Director of the National Hurricane Center. You heard it right here, category four likely now when it makes landfall. That is a very significant change. Hurricane Dennis, a category three now, 115 miles per hour. And we'll watch that continue to strengthen through the rest of the night and into tomorrow. And Carol, it looks like the best estimate still somewhere right within this area along the Gulf Coast over here probably tomorrow mid to late afternoon.
LIN: All right. We've already had a mandatory evacuation along the low-lying areas in Mississippi and with that storm surge, it looks like most first-floor residences will get flooded, and this is going to be strong enough to literally rip the roofs right off people's houses.
JERAS: Right. Absolutely. If you take a look at that satellite picture, then you can really see the significance intensification. We heard Max mention category four. The winds are between 131 to 155 miles per hour, and the storm surge bumps up between about 3 and 18 feet. And that's on average. If you are going to be on the north or east side of the storm, especially just to the east here, that's where you'll see the greatest storm surge and that's also where you're going to see some of those stronger winds.
Those winds come wrapping around and they push across that water and that just pushes it right up and moves it right over the coastline, not to mention the heavy rain that is going to be in there maybe 5 to 10 inches on average, but locally heavy amounts, a foot possibly up to 15 inches right within the path.
LIN: Good things those evacuations are under way, because those people won't get out anytime tomorrow afternoon.
JERAS: That's right. The sooner the better.
LIN: Thanks very much, Jacqui.
Well, as we just heard, the Alabama coast is right in the danger zone and many people are heeding an evacuation order and heading for higher grounds, but others are taking their chances, staying put, hoping for the best. Now forecasters warn Mobile may suffer a direct hit from Dennis. CNN's Dan Lothian is in that city and has this report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Boarding up and appealing to a higher power. Residents of Mobile, Alabama brace for Hurricane Dennis.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We think it's important and would like to put that emergency out. You need to pray. That's the only thing that will get us through this thing and at least calm our nerves and just keep things straight.
LOTHIAN: This restaurant's trademark shark has been removed from its rooftop perch. Employees are pitching in, places tables and chairs from the first floor into large containers and sending them to storage.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's hard to believe it's so pretty that such a bad storm is coming. Hopefully we have a business to come back to.
LOTHIAN: Anything that can blow away has been removed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You worry about some of the inventory that's left, we'll lose the coolers, probably my primary focus is the safety of the employees.
LOTHIAN: Owners say they have been hit by other hurricanes. Last year Ivan caused extensive damage.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right. They're getting closer and closer.
LOTHIAN: But the threat of more storms and more damage doesn't appear to dampen the desire to keep this business right where it is, on the water's edge.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know. That's a price you pay for living in paradise. South Alabama is absolutely beautiful and we're thankful to be here.
LOTHIAN (on camera): A mandatory evacuation order has been issued for Mobile and surrounding areas and more that 70 shelters are now open. Emergency officials are now considering imposing a curfew from tomorrow morning to tomorrow evening. Dan Lothian, CNN, Mobile, Alabama.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: All right. So how are state and federal officials helping residents prepare for this dangerous storm? Joining me right now on the telephone from Mobile is U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama. Senator Sessions, we just heard in Dan Lothian's piece of a mandatory evacuation. How has that gone in Mobile?
SEN. JEFF SESSIONS, (R) AL (on phone): I think it's gone well. People really moved out Friday, and they're still moving out. It's not too late today. We have to know that any area within our coastal front here could be the very hardest-hit of a hurricane that's getting stronger and stronger. LIN: Right, they're predicting at this point a 10 to 12-foot storm surge, winds in excess of 130 miles an hour, that is even stronger than Hurricane Ivan which slammed into the Gulf shores last year. Give us a perspective of what that will mean to your constituents.
SESSIONS: I flew all over Gulf shores last year when Ivan hit. It was stunning to me. Water was just then coming back to the Gulf, and it just washed in so deeply far inland, and it was just stunning how much damage was done on that beachfront. This could be even worse, and I think people need to take every precaution.
I'm real pleased -- I've been with the emergency management center here, the chiefs of police, the fire chiefs, the mayors, county commissioners, are all working with the federal officials to coordinate a very, very good plan. They've got a lot of experience in recent years they've had a lot of practice, and I think that we've got to be pleased with the great work that's being done, but this is a real threat.
LIN: You bet. So what is it that emergency management can do right now, or is it just a matter of riding out the storm and seeing what damage there is?
SESSIONS: Well what they have done so far is to take every effort to try to make sure that every person that is in danger can be moved out this area, reducing the number of people they may have to rescue, reducing the number of injuries and deaths that will occur. And they also have to plan how to respond in advance.
They have the right communication systems, the right equipment, the governor Riley, for example, has 500 national guardsmen moved nearby so that as soon as this storm has passed, they can help move in and provide security or other assistance, so it's that type of preplanning that can make so much difference.
LIN: Senator Sessions, it's got to be an emotional time as those people evacuate their homes and look back. It may well be the last time they see their homes if Dennis maintains what's forecasted to be the category four hurricane.
SESSIONS: That's a stunning development, a category four hurricane makes the hard stand up on the back of your neck. Homes literally can be gone, especially those on the water, and those who are not well-built structurally. So people need to take every precaution. It's still not too late to move on out.
LIN: Senator Jeff Sessions, thank you very much. Be safe out there.
SESSIONS: Thank you.
LIN: Well, while Alabama gets ready, key West, Florida, is already cleaning up. Up next, we'll survey the resort town and talk live with its mayor.
More powerful than heavy rains, straight line winds and even a tornado spawned from Dennis rip apart a Florida neighborhood.
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LIN: We are asking our viewers out there to be citizen journalists. If you are out there in hurricane country and you have got some pictures or video, send them to us at cnn.com/hurricane. We'll try to get them on the air.
In the meantime, Key West, Florida, was spared a direct hit from Hurricane Dennis. But the storm's outer bands were so powerful as it passed by today, they knocked out power, caused flooding and other minor damage today. Dennis right now a category three hurricane is predicted to grow even stronger to a category four in the next few hours. That's winds over 130 miles an hour before it makes landfall tomorrow, probably tomorrow afternoon.
Now, crews are already at work checking out the damage, restores electricity in Key West and the mayor of Key West, Jimmy Weekley, is joining me about telephone with the latest very latest on the situation there. Mr. Mayor, perhaps you guys got pretty lucky considering what's headed for the Mainland United states right now.
JIM WEEKLEY, MAYOR, KEY WEST, FLORIDA (on phone): We were very fortunate, Carol, you're right, we were lucky, and you know, we haven't had that much damage. We did have, you know, the south part of the island where the beaches are. As you showed earlier, there was a lot of flooding out there. And much of the damage was trees overturned and, you know, debris from different buildings and that type of thing, but there was no major property damage, and we're fortunate there was not any loss of life or any injury to any of our citizens.
LIN: Mr. Mayor, there's a report out there that the Key West fire department broke its own rule about not conducting any rescues during a hurricane hit and actually went out and helped free four women trapped in a house about 3:00 in the morning because of a fallen tree. Is that true?
WEEKLEY: That is correct. They went out -- once hurricane winds reach 45 miles per hour, they take all the emergency vehicles off the streets unless there's some life-threatening issue, and they felt this was life-threatening. One of the women I understand was 80 years old, and so they went out and rescued the three ladies that were staying in their house.
LIN: Hats off to the emergency responders, though. You can just imagine how terrified they were.
WEEKLEY: Yes, they always put their lives on the line to save lives of others, and we greatly appreciate them.
LIN: A local meteorologist said the winds pushed a vintage DC-3 plane about 300 yards down a tarmac at the city's airport??
WEEKLEY: Yeah, actually remember a few years ago there was an old Cuban DC plane that was hijacked and brought into Key West. That was the plane. It was sitting there at our airport, and it pushed it toward the weather station there at the airport.
LIN: That could have been a scene. Quite a sight.
WEEKLEY: It could have been, you're absolutely right.
LIN: Mr. Mayor, how long have you lived down there?
WEEKLEY: I'm third generation. I've been here a long time.
LIN: It's been described as a slice of paradise, but what risks are you taking? This hurricane season is predicted to be even worse than last year.
WEEKLEY: Carol, we've been extremely lucky over the years. We have not had a major hit from a hurricane sit 1919. We've had the bands from a lot of hurricanes and we've suffered damage, but we have not had the devastation that we've seen throughout Florida last year, and so we've been extremely, extremely lucky. A lot of people say it's because it's such a small island, it just can't find us. Maybe that's what it is. Whatever the reason, we'll take it.
LIN: You bet. Enough tourists sure do find you, Mayor Weekley. So you hang in there, and stay safe and good on for all your rescue workers for getting out there and helping those women. Thank you.
WEEKLEY: Appreciate it, Carol. Thank you very much.
LIN: Well, more damage to the north of Key West along Florida's Gulf Coast. A look at one neighborhood caught in the storm straight ahead.
But first, here ace Kyra Phillips with a preview of ON THE STORY.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN HOST: CNN's ON THE STORY with our correspondents taking you best hind the scenes to the story behind the story. We'll be talking about the London terror attacks with Christiane Amanpour. Our reporters in London will open their notebooks and give their personal accounts of what happened. Joe Johns has the latest on the political drama surrounding the U.S. Supreme Court. Barbara Starr was on the story and under fire from insurgents in Afghanistan. All coming up all ON THE STORY.
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LIN: All right. Some fresh pictures out of Panama City, Florida where folks are boarding up and getting ready for Hurricane Dennis. This is potentially essentially ground zero because Hurricane Dennis now a category three with winds of about 115 miles an hour may be upgraded to a category four by the time it makes landfall right around Panama City, if Hurricane Dennis stays on track. So far, more than 1 million people along the Gulf shores have been asked to evacuate their homes. After talking with some folks in the area and some of our correspondents, they are taking this very seriously.
The storm surge could hit some 13 feet with flooding at least a mile inland if Hurricane Dennis sustains the kind of strength that so far the National Weather Service is predicting. Now, as Hurricane Dennis moves northward, its outer reaches are scraping Florida's west coast. We have this report from the Sarasota area from reporter Don Germaise of CNN affiliate WFTS.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No injury, no loss of life, but some damage from the feeder bands we were talking about. We're going to pan around while I tell you the deputy fire chief for East Manatee County did tell me this appears is a tornado touchdown. One of the things is as they little girls heard it this morning, about six o'clock, there wasn't a lot of wind, but boom, one said it sounded like a bomb, an explosion.
This is the damage you see. They're cleaning up right now. Just how heavy were the winds? Let me show you what this grill looks like. It's got to be more than 100 pounds. It was blown all the way out here. That's one of the reasons when we tell you you have to clean up and clear your patio out when a hurricane's coming, that's it. As we walk up here, we see other evidence, because a straight line, this next lanigh (ph), this screened in porch,, also damaged. Look how it was blown apart over here. Absolutely incredible.
And if you pan a little bit further to the left, you'll see a tree, a couple trees actually, that have blown out of the ground, those are palm trees. So again indicative of extreme straight winds, very strong winds, and that's where we are right now. Near the Manatee River. We have been monitoring on storm chaser -- you can't see it now because of the light, but as you say, we had that first feeder band. It looks like there's more feeder bands on the way, about 50 to 100 miles away. These people are trying to clean up what they can before the next storms come in with more wind.
LIN: Our thanks to reporter Don Germaise of WFTS, our CNN affiliate. Remember you can go to cnn.com for more, including the predicted path of the storm, safety tips and images of the storm damage.
And remember, CNN is your hurricane headquarters. Up next, the debut of the all-new ON THE STORY where our correspondents tell you the story behind the stories of the week, including Christiane Amanpour on the London terror attacks. In the meantime. I'll be right back after that at eight p.m. with all-night coverage of Hurricane Dennis. We're going to have a special edition of CNN SATURDAY NIGHT with live coverage of Hurricane Dennis.
Our team of correspondents will bring you the latest on storm preps and damage assessments from all along the Gulf Coast, a major evacuation under way there. At 9:00, Larry King with one man's desperate fight as his wife lies in a coma. He's battling to save their unborn child before it's too late. I'll be back again at 10:00 Eastern for three hours of CNN SATURDAY NIGHT with complete coverage of hurricanes Dennis' path and impact.
And Jacqui Jeras has the latest on Dennis' movement right after the break.
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