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Powerful Quake Hits Japan; Two Weeks till Iowa Caucuses; Texas Continues to Send Migrants to other Cities; IDF Says There's No Happy New Year Until Hostages are Home; US. Sinks Three Houthi Boats. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired January 01, 2024 - 06:30   ET

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

[06:30:00]

MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: Appearance, which was quite telling because it was quite short, brief. He was very serious. And he - he just wanted to let people know that he was across it. But we haven't heard from him since. Presumably he's having the same struggles getting information right now.

HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you know, the Japanese prime minister, Fumio Kishida (ph), is trying to confirm information is what he's been telling the country. Of course, he is the - the leader of Japan, so at this moment in time he has to be able to confirm just the extent of damage, who needs evacuating out of Ishikawa prefecture and subsequent areas that might be affected by the tsunamis and, again, the very powerful earthquakes, Max.

FOSTER: OK. Hanako Montgomery, thank you.

Derek Van Dam, our meteorologist, of course, tracking all of this for us as well.

I don't know if you heard the interview I had our tsunami expert -

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS CERTIFIED METEOROLOGIST: I did.

FOSTER: But he was suggesting that it is much more unpredictable than some of the other experts we've been speaking to have been suggesting because of the enclosed nature of the sea.

VAN DAM: Yes.

FOSTER: And you were talking about the seabed and how it's particularly worrying.

VAN DAM: Yes. Yes, that's right. I mean just look at a broad map of the area, right, Max? You've got the Korean peninsula to the west. You've got Russia to the north. You've got Japan, all enclosing the Sea of Japan. And where that earthquake, the magnitude 7.5, occurred, that water is going to propagate all -- in all directions. And instead of having an entire Pacific Ocean to absorb that energy, it's going to be bounced around, sloshed around across the Sea of Japan, or the East China Sea, depending on where you're located. And I just want to bring up the video of the water pushing up the

canal because that was particularly interesting to me. What you're seeing there is what we're trying to stress home to people is that a tsunami is not necessarily one wave that takes out infrastructure or reaches the coastline. It is a series of waves. It is a surge of water. And sometimes the crest tines (ph), that's the wave crest between the highest waves to the second highest waves can be anywhere from 5 minutes to upwards of an hour.

So, the threat is not over, especially for the near shoreline near the epicenter and also across that Sea of Japan, or East China Sea, depending on where you're located. So, that's really important. Just think about what happens during an underwater earthquake. It literally can cause a displacement of the ocean or the sea. And so that displacement is transpired into a wave at the surface.

And that expert, Max, that you were talking about, I heard him speak about this because I haven't seen this information, but hearing it from the expert himself, the offshore buoys were registering a 1 meter tsunami. And that transpires to a larger wave once it reaches the coastline. It's all about the bathymetry, which is the shape of the coastline that can alter that wave height as it gets closer and closer to the coast, because as that nature of the shoreline edges closer and closer towards where people live, the population density, that water has nowhere to go but up. And that can cause larger waves. And that is why the Japan Meteorological Agency, for instance, and its initial suggestion around this potential tsunami wave of upwards of 16 feet or 5 meters. That is why they have issued a major tsunami warning. That is for the Ishikawa prefecture, right there, that shading of purple we have highlighted near that little peninsula that sticks out on the west side of the country of Japan. Yes, that is significant because it hasn't been issued since that devastating tsunami that occurred in 2011 claiming over 20,000 people's lives.

So, we have seen reports of official tsunami wave heights of roughly 5 feet or 1.2 meters. That's in the Ishikawa prefecture as well. But the potential still exists, Max, for large tsunami waves to occur basin- wide, that is across the Sea of Japan or East China Sea, because of the nature of this shallow earthquake and how powerful it was.

Max.

FOSTER: Yes, I was just reading here that the chief cabinet secretary saying the power converter, the Shika Nuclear Power Plant, in the prefecture, has been affected but no major results.

We were also hearing, weren't we, from our expert that the seawalls that have been built too protect these power plants aren't actually that effective, which is worrying, isn't it, but I guess we just have to see how it plays out. And this idea that the water will be washing in and out that you were talking about, this could go on for a day or so.

VAN DAM: Yes, that water ha to go somewhere, right? So, as far as it goes inland, if it does create destruction in that coastline, the immediate coastline, it has to rush out as well. So, it's going to take that debris along with it.

[06:35:02]

And if there are - I haven't had an opportunity to look for the locations of those nuclear power plants on the west side of Japan, but keep in mind, the east coastline, this is where we have the majority of our earthquakes and the tsunami threats. So, to see this occur on the west side of the country, on the west side of Honshu, this is significant because maybe it's catching people off guard, maybe it's impacting coastlines that haven't experienced this for some time. And so the threat there can't be underestimated. And, you know, when we just talk about the earthquake alone, we're talking over 50 million people feeling some sort of shaking from this, especially near the epicenter. But we've also had reports of severe to violent shaking far away from the epicenter as well. In fact, they were feeling shaking as far east as Tokyo. And we can expect these aftershocks to continue. In fact, this number continues to go up since the original 7.5 earthquake. We've already had 15 aftershocks of 2.5 magnitude or higher. And so the threat there from an already destabilized structure, let's say the buildings that have already caused -- had some damage from the original earthquake, to have aftershocks impacting it could easily take that building down.

Max.

FOSTER: Derek, back with you as you get more. Thank you so much for joining us with our coverage of the 7.5 magnitude earthquake in Japan. It does continue in just a moment.

But first a look at the race for the White House as the candidates enter the final stretch until the all-important Iowa caucuses.

Stay with us.

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[06:40:04]

FOSTER: We continue to follow the breaking news out of Japan. A massive 7.5 magnitude earthquake hitting off the western coast overnight. It was shallow. This is brand new video of a fire that started in Wajima, Japan, following the quake. We'll continue to follow updates from Japan as they come in, but they're coming in incredibly slowly because of the crisis they're dealing with and the problems with communication there.

But we're going to turn now to the race for the white house. Just two weeks to go until the Iowa caucuses, and the Republican candidates are hoping to start the new year with the support locked down for them.

CNN's Eva McKend joins us live.

And, Eva, today marks the beginning of the final sprint to Iowa. Ron DeSantis rang in the new year with supporters. What did you learn?

EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Max, good morning to you. This is just two weeks away from Iowa caucus day. It's really the first major political contest of the season after nearly a year on the campaign trail for a lot of these candidates. This will allow the nation to see if GOP hopefuls can chip away at former President Donald Trump's frontrunner status and change expectations here.

Governor DeSantis, he gave a New Year's Eve address where he told supporters he was ready to spend the next few days out working his opponents.

Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL), 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: All we have to do is work hard. We have the - I mean the way I view the choice in this primary, Donald Trump is running on his issues. Nikki Haley is running on her donors' issues. I'm the only one running on your issues.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCKEND: And Governor DeSantis has really gone all in on Iowa, leaning hard on the evangelical community there, thinking he can make inroads with that constituency. He's going to spend the next several days campaigning in Iowa.

Meanwhile, Nikki Haley, who is doing quite well in New Hampshire, now just about 15 points behind former President Donald Trump in the granite state, she's going to spend the next few days campaigning there, Max.

FOSTER: Yes, what are you learning about her strategy? Is it going to shift a bit running up to the election date?

MCKEND: Yes, so, from being on the ground with her the last few weeks, Max, she's really leaning heavily into this electability argument. And it shows. From the type of voters that show up to her rallies, often moderates, independents, people who are ready to move on from Trump. Her pitch, core to her pitch is that she can beat President Biden in a general election and is the best person in the field situated to do so. So, I expect here, in the closing days, before we get to Iowa, where she has said she has to do well, but not necessarily win. More hope for her in New Hampshire where she has said that electability is so key. And I expect that to continue to be really core to her pitch to voters, Max.

FOSTER: You're going to be very busy, Eva, this year. Thank you so much for joining us.

Another big issue in the election, of course, coming up, Texas' Republican Governor Greg Abbott continuing to send hundreds of migrants to cities run by Democrats. Officials say a plane carrying more than 350 asylum seekers arrived at an airport near Chicago on Sunday morning.

CNN's Camila Bernal has more on the migrant crisis in the U.S.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A breaking point at the U.S./Mexico border as preliminary homeland security statistics show authorities encountered more than 225,000 migrants so far in December. The highest monthly total recorded in more than 20 years. And from the border to cities all over the U.S., struggling to keep up. Because this welcome comes at a cost.

MAYOR MIKE JOHNSTON, DENVER: When you're talking about 10 percent of the budget to allocate for cities on this, that's unsustainable. When we have every single hotel room in the city full of migrants that have arrived, that's unsustainable.

BERNAL: For months Texas Governor Greg Abbott has bussed thousands of migrants to these cities led by Democrats, resulting in turmoil and straining resources.

MAYOR BRANDON JOHNSON, CHICAGO: And at one point in the summer we had 25, 30 buses showing up every single day without any coordination or any notification. He is now sending buses outside of the city of Chicago, in some instances 100 miles away, where people are being dropped off. They're being told that they are in the city of Chicago. Literally dropped off in the middle of nowhere. I find that to be inhumane and unconscionable.

BERNAL: Some smaller municipalities have passed ordinances to try to stop the drop-offs. While the mayors of Chicago, Denver, and New York City are asking the federal government for help.

[06:45:04]

MAYOR ERIC ADAMS, NEW YORK CITY: I think much more could be done and with all of our national leaders from a decompression strategy, to making sure the cost is not falling on the laps of everyday taxpayers in our cities.

BERNAL: They are also demanding for coordinated drop offs with exact times and locations to dedicate the appropriate resources.

JOHNSTON: What we need is everyone that gets paroled into this country should have the ability to work as soon as they enter, they should have federal dollars to help support them in the cities that they arrive in, and we should have a coordinated national plan for where those folks arrive.

BERNAL: In a statement, a spokesperson for Abbott accused the Democrat mayors of hypocrisy, saying, "they're now going to extreme lengths to avoid fulfilling their self-declared sanctuary city promises." The statement also said the mayors "should call on their party leader to finally do his job and secure the border. Something that he continues refusing to do."

But some activists believe the crisis at the border takes Republicans, Democrats and all levels of government to solve. PEDRO RIOS, AMERICAN FRIENDS SERVICE COMMITTEE: And if the governments

are not doing that, then most (INAUDIBLE) people will see is, people will be further traumatized and harmed and likely we will see more people die as a result of the inability of governments to really address the humanitarian needs that asylum seekers have.

BERNAL: And the Biden administration has acknowledged these requests from the mayors, saying that the president asked Congress for funding and for resources when it comes to the border and securing the border, specifically law enforcement, but also for funding for those cities that are hosting these migrants and also for work permits. We have seen some bipartisan efforts in Congress to try to address this. But the bottom line is that Congress has not found a permanent solution for this.

Camila Bernal, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: WE are also following breaking news out of Japan for you this morning. A 7.5 magnitude earthquake on the western shoreline. It doesn't normally happen there. More ahead on the tsunami warnings and dozens of aftershocks.

Plus, rockets intercepted over Israel. A live report from Tel Aviv, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:50:37]

FOSTER: Good morning.

We are watching these - there's been an earthquake off the western coast of Japan, which isn't where they normally happen. It's normally on the east. And that has triggered tsunamis. We have reports of them, you know, arriving at a meter high, very high for a tsunami going into that western coast. We're particularly concerned about one warning of a wave coming in at 5 meters high, possibly 5 to 6 meters according to a tsunami expert we were speaking to. We're not getting much information right now because communications are obviously down. The power stations had to be closed down to protect them. So, we're not getting much information. But we have been hearing from experts how they are particularly concerned because of the nature of the sea and how it's enclosed and how the waves could effectively be rising up and out of Japan in particular. But you can also see how Koreans are affected and also Russia.

We'll bring you as much detail as we can throughout the morning.

But in Israel, 2024 begins with more rocket attacks. At least 12 rockets intercepted. Sirens were heard across the southern and central Israel region as the military wing of Hamas claimed it bombarded Tel Aviv with 90 rockets at midnight. The IDF says there's no happy new year until all 129 hostages are home.

Elliott Gotkine live in Tel Aviv with more.

I'm wondering what government can do to reassure the families of those hostages at this time.

ELLIOTT GOTKINE, JOURNALIST: Max, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu actually met with the families last week, and in additional comments he made in a news conference on Saturday evening, he seemed to suggest that another deal is doable. Certainly he said that Israel will not leave anyone behind and that this is one of the core war objectives of Israel, first, of course, to destroy Hamas militarily so it can never repeat those terrorist attacks of October the 7th, and, second, to bring all of those hostages home.

Now, more than 100 people are still in captivity in the Gaza Strip after being abducted on October the 7th. And we did hear and see from "Axios" reporting the other day about Hamas telling Qatari mediators that in principal they have agreed to resume talks that could lead to up to 40 of those 100 plus hostages being released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners being held in Israeli jails, in exchange also, of course, for a pause in fighting of up to a month in length.

So, things do seem to be moving in the direction of talks that could lead to another truce and hostages being released, but it's still far from a done deal, even that they will get to the situation of having talks, let alone agreeing on another truce that could see some or all of those hostages freed, Max.

FOSTER: Yes, some interesting words as well coming from Netanyahu I think yesterday, wasn't there. We're learning that the IDF bringing to draw down the number of soldiers in Gaza as well. They're effectively preparing, aren't they, for a prolonged fight.

GOTKINE: Israel has said all along that this is a complicated war, that it won't be done and dusted quickly. And that we've heard from Prime Minister Netanyahu on Saturday evening, but also echoing comments from the chief of the general staff and others in the war cabinet that this war will go on for months. It will take months in order for Israel to achieve its objectives, but about 20,000 soldiers are now going to be able to go back to their families and back to their jobs.

Max.

FOSTER: OK, Elliott, thank you for joining us with the latest on Israel there and Gaza.

Meanwhile, U.S. helicopters repelled an attack by Houthi rebels in the Red Sea on Sunday, sinking three boats and killing all those on board. It is the first time since the war broke out in Gaza that the U.S. has killed members of the Iranian-backed group, which had been targeting vessels in the region to show support for Hamas.

CNN's Kevin Liptak has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: U.S. Central Command says two Navy helicopters shot and sank a Houthi rebel boat in the Red Sea this weekend. This is the first instance of a direct confrontation between the U.S. and the Houthis since the October 7th terror attacks. And this has been a source of growing concern within the Biden administration, the sense that this conflict could widen further.

Now, the way the incident unfolded is that a commercial vessel that was transiting the Red Sea came under attack from the Houthi rebels in the boats.

[06:55:02]

They sent out a distress call to the U.S. military, which sent these helicopters. When the Houthis fired on those helicopters, the U.S. fired back, sinking the boats and killing all of those aboard.

And it's a significant moment because it is the first time that the U.S. has killed a member of the Houthi rebel group since the conflict in Israel began.

The U.S. has been watching this situation very closely. This -- transiting the Red Sea are these commercial vessels. It's a key commercial route. Merchant boats, commercial vessels all sort of coming under fire from the Houthis. And this is something that the U.S. has trying to prevent by gathering a coalition of about 20 countries to beef up security in the region.

The vessel that was fired upon this weekend was owned by Maersk. In fact, that group had just resumed transiting the Red Sea when this happened. Now, they say, they will wait 48 hours before making a decision on whether they will go back to the Red Sea moving forward.

President Biden is, of course, watching this very closely as the new year begins. His secretary of state, Antony Blinken, will be traveling to the Middle East, including Israel, next week. At the top of his discussions will be these conversations with the Israelis about shifting to a lower intensity phase of the conflict. That is something that the United States wants to see happen very soon. But this will certainly be a top issue for President Biden as he enters 2024.

Kevin Liptak, CNN, traveling with President Biden in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Also watching our breaking news coverage of the 7.5 magnitude earthquake in Japan. New information coming in all the time, particularly around the tsunamis. A major tsunami warning has come in and, just look at that, that's what we're dealing with right now there. Our crews are live in Tokyo. Do stay with us.

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