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Isa Soares Tonight
Israel Security Cabinet to Vote on Iran Response; 3 Million Customers Without Power; Dramatic Moments from Hurricane Milton; Milton Causes Extensive Hurricane Damage Across Florida; Airports and Ports Closed After Hurricane Milton; Gov. DeSantis Speaks After Milton Rips Florida. Aired 2:00-3p ET
Aired October 10, 2024 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:00:00]
RICHARD QUEST, HOST, ISA SOARES TONIGHT: You're most welcome, ISA SOARES TONIGHT, I am Richard Quest in for Isa. Hurricane Milton no longer a
hurricane, but still packing ferocious storm winds and wreaking havoc, destructive heavy rain, multiple tornadoes, and there's still more to come.
The sartre survivors, first responders are looking through floodwaters and rubble, and the authorities say there's so much more damage to be searched.
And a new wave of air strikes at central Beirut, Israel's security cabinet has voted on a response to Iran's missile attack.
People trapped amid floodwaters with homes washed away and businesses destroyed. So far, we now know eight people have been killed by Hurricane
Milton. It's no longer in Florida. It's a post-tropical storm and yet, a hurricane or not, its path of destruction has left residents there facing
long and undoubtedly painful roads to recovery.
The first responders are working to rescue those surrounded by high water after record-breaking rainfall. More than a 100 people have been rescued
from Tampa Assisted Living Facility, I'll tell you about that in a second or three. Milton has been spawning what the hurricane director called
supercharged tornadoes, at least, nine of them rip through St. Lucie County, according three, in a span of just 25 minutes.
Now, that's where five people were killed, and officials say more than 100 homes damaged, if not destroyed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEITH PEARSON, SHERIFF, ST. LUCIE COUNTY, FLORIDA: That's an understatement that the roof were torn off. We're talking about entire
modular homes that were lifted off their foundation, you can't even recognize it, it's just a 12-foot pile of rubbish, and you know, I just
pray that these are seasonal homes and the residents who are up north are not there. Everything is replaceable. Life isn't.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: Now, this might be the clearest example of the storm's frightening power. The roof has been sheared off the Tropicana Field, the home of
baseball's Tampa Bay Rays. The damage across the stage is widespread, more than 3 million people are without power and finding gas continues to be a
challenge.
The website GasBuddy says about one in four gas stations have run out of fuel. Milton is moving away from Florida, the threat remains. Let's go to -
- before we go to that, I do need to take you to President Biden who is giving an address.
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Twinnies has run in the Tampa area overnight. Storm surge measurements are still being taken, but 38
tornadoes ripped through 13 counties, four deaths are reported thus far. It's too early to know the full account of the damage though. But we know
lifesaving measures did make a difference.
More than 80,000 people followed orders to safety issue -- to safety shelter last night, and we've had search and rescue teams at the ready for
any calls for help this morning. There are still very dangerous conditions in the state, and people should wait to be given all clear by the leaders
before they go out.
We know from previous hurricanes and it's often the case, that more lives are lost today following the storm than actually during the storm itself.
Vice President Harris and I have been in constant contact with the state and local officials who are offering everything they need. I must have
spoken to somewhere between 10 and 15 mayors and county executives and all the governors, and in fact, started this morning, we are getting direct
assessments from the storm and FEMA, Director Criswell as well.
Also Florida Governor DeSantis, whom I had the chance to speak. And the Vice President and I have just convened a meeting this morning with the
leaders of the Department of Homeland Security, Department of Defense, including Northcom Commander, whose responsibility is for providing defense
support to civilian authorities.
[14:05:00]
That apparently is going very well, as well as from a coast guard and from FEMA we've received reports. We're focused on what the American military
can do like no one else can, provide emergency support for communities in need, and were required by the governor and a federal -- and required by
the governor and affected states. I've spoken to all the governors, not today, all of them, but I've spoken to all of them thus far.
And how we can be ready to go in an instant when the call comes. At my direction, the Defense Secretary Austin has provided a range of
capabilities both to Florida for Hurricane Milton as well as the states impacted by Hurricane Helene. And the more capabilities are available, we
assess some freshly needs, we can get whatever they need.
The servicemen and women are on the ground responding to these disasters. Thank you. Thank you for your professionalism, your dedication to every
mission you're given, and you're repeating it again. This is a whole-of- government effort, it also includes the Department of Energy and Department of Transportation, Department of Health and Human Services, and the
Department of Housing and Urban Development, which has provided mortgage relief for impacted homeowners.
As directed, FEMA is going to open disaster recovery centers all across the impacted communities right away, so there's one-stop the residents can go
to, to learn about support they might need. And they'll be advertised where those places are. Three million people are without power, and more than 40
million power-line workers have come from around the country, from Canada to Florida to restore power across the state.
In addition to federal aviation, has authorized Florida Power and Light to fly large drones before other manned aircraft can get up in the sky to
quickly assess the damage on the ground, so ground crews can restore power as quickly as possible. The Coast Guard and the Army Corps of Engineers are
assessing how fast they can reopen the port of Tampa to get fuel, food, water and other basic goods flowing into the area again and quickly.
Additionally, Vice President Harris and I said yesterday and we'll say it again, anyone who seeks to take advantage of our fellow Americans'
desperation, whether you're a company engaging in price gouging or a citizen trying to scam your neighbors, we will go after you and we will
hold you accountable.
Now not only that, our fellow Americans are putting their lives on the line to do this dangerous work and receive death -- some received death
penalties yesterday as a result of reckless irresponsible and relentless disinformation and outright lies that continue to flow. Those who engage in
such lies are undermining confidence in the rescue and recovery work that's opening and ongoing as I speak or continuing.
These lies are also harmful to those who most need help. Lives are on the line, people are in desperate situations. Have the decency to tell them the
truth. So, let me say this to all the people impacted by Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton, despite that misinformation and lies, the truth is
we're providing the resources needed to rescue, recover and rebuild, and rebuild.
Let me close with this. I know recovery and rebuilding project can take a long and difficult time, but as long after the press and the cameras move
on, I promise you, you have to pick up the pieces still, I want you to know we'll do everything in our power to help you put pieces back together and
get all that you need. God bless you and may God bless our troops and our first responders who many -- in some cases risking their lives to help.
Thank you very much, I'll be reporting it again tomorrow. Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President, on FEMA funding, on FEMA funding, how much time does Congress have to act before FEMA or the SBA run out of
money?
BIDEN: That's a discussion now, and I don't want to give you or mislead you. I think in terms of the SBA, it's pretty right at the edge right now.
And I think the Congress should be coming back and moving on emergency needs immediately, and they're going to have to come back after the
election as well. Because this is going to be a long haul toe-for-toe rebuilding.
It's going to take several billion dollars. It's not going to be a matter of just a little bit. And we're providing now and make sure people have the
emergency relief they need. But dollar is just to be able to get a prescription filled to get a baby formula drugs. All the things, that's
$750 that you're talking about.
Mr. Trump and all those other people know it's a lie to suggest that's all they're going to get. That's bizarre. It's bizarre. They've got to stop
this. This -- I mean, they're being so damn un-American with the way they're talking about this stuff. But there's going to be a need for
significant amounts of money.
[14:10:00]
We're already underway at trying to calculate what the cost will be, because you don't want to mislead anybody. Want to make sure all the costs
are able to be covered.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Have you spoken to Speaker Johnson about coming back before the election to vote?
BIDEN: No, I haven't.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President, are you calling on Congress to come back early?
BIDEN: I think Congress should move as rapidly as they can, particularly on the most immediate need, which is small business.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But are you --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President, the Vice President said yesterday that FEMA has what it needs, so, if they're not resourced, they don't need --
that Congress does not need to come back right away --
BIDEN: FEMA has its needs. That's different than SBA.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, so SBA, they need to come back --
BIDEN: Yes, but they're going to need a lot more.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President, what did you -- what did Prime Minister Netanyahu tell you about his plans relating to retaliation --
BIDEN: He's coming over to help with the storm.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President, have you spoken with former President Trump at all --
BIDEN: Are you kidding me?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: About misinformation --
BIDEN: Mr. President Trump -- former President Trump, get a life, man and help these people.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, you both are accountable. You said you were going to hold those accountable.
BIDEN: Hold(ph) all accountable. You better -- first hold him accountable because you know the truth.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Wait, can you just be quick on former President Trump?
BIDEN: No!
QUEST: Interesting. That last sort of testy exchange which we couldn't fully hear, we'll have a listen back and exactly what was said then, but
that whatever happened in that last minute or so clearly irked President Biden as he walked off there, no, you talk to President Trump -- former
President Trump, he said in that briefing.
We got the TikTok, if you will, of what the federal government is doing for those affected by the hurricane. But on the bigger question of the
disinformation, the -- he said it's harmful to those who need help. He said the government was doing what it could to help rebuild. We will be there to
help you rebuild.
For these allegations of limited federal aid that President Trump, former President Trump and others were putting forward, he said, it's bizarre,
it's un-American way to talk about what's going on. Kevin Liptak with me in Washington. Two areas to talk to you about. Let's do if you will, first,
briefly, the significant bit which is actually what they're doing.
The amount of federal aid, state aid and whether they have the money from both the Small Business Administration and FEMA to carry on with it.
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, and President Biden says that while FEMA does have the money that it needs right now to carry out the
recovery efforts that are necessary in the immediate term, he says that Congress will need to come back to pass more money for the Small Business
Administration to help some of these communities rebuild.
And he said that he would call on the House Speaker Mike Johnson to bring lawmakers back to Washington to actually do that. Mike Johnson has resisted
that effort up until this point, but that is sort of a new development from the President there. But also, of course, very forcefully pushing back on
the former President Trump on these disinformation campaign that he says was un-American and he says that he should have the decency to just tell
the truth about what's going on, specifically about how much money people are eligible for if they are affected by the storm.
There has been a swirl of disinfo about only being able to receive $750, but the President in there, very clear that, that money is meant as a
bridge. It's meant to help people pay for prescriptions, for diapers, for baby formula, stuff that they really need in the immediate term, but that
there is a lot more money available to them should they need it.
And I think the big concern for President Biden is that people will hear that and just not apply for the money that they are eligible for. That this
will dissuade them from going to --
QUEST: I --
LIPTAK: The federal government and asking for the money that they need.
QUEST: Kevin, I'm grateful, thank you, sir, I'm grateful. I need to leave it there with you because I must get to Isabel Rosales who is in Tampa with
more on the water rescues that are underway there. Isabel, can you hear me?
ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Richard, I can hear you. hello!
QUEST: Hi, tell me what you're seeing and what you're doing. And also I didn't -- I saw you earlier on a watercraft of sort, but I never saw what
sort of craft it was. What was it? Was it a fun boat?
ROSALES: I have been on an airboat, I have been on something called a SHERP, which is an amphibious vehicle, and I will get to those rescues. But
first, Richard, let me show you something that's actually like good-natured happening right here, Florida just being Florida, you know, university
students right here, USF, the University of South Florida venturing out in these incredible floodwaters.
I mean, wow, do you see behind them over there?
QUEST: Yes --
[14:15:00]
ROSALES: Just how high these floodwaters are. There's cars over there, there's somebody in a pink shirt on the left over there. You can see just
how high these floodwaters have gone. This, Richard, is not an evacuation zone. We are in the university area, also called Upstate of Hillsborough
County, these people were not told to evacuate. This was unexpected from all of that heavy torrential rainfall from Hurricane Milton.
They had this flash-flooding happen overnight. So, right on down that way, that's where a neighborhood is located, and that is where we saw the
Hillsborough County Sheriff's office on one of those amphibious vehicles rescuing over 135 people out of an Assisted Living Facility. People who had
water rushing up to them up to their knees and were stuck there for hours in the cold.
It's a one story building, unable to get out. They were trapped. So, luckily, deputies were able to rescue them out of the way with that. I can
see that the rescue operations have wrapped up since then, Richard, for the most part and anyone who wants to get out, you see these families right
here waving in the background, this is what people are doing.
Again, in certain parts, the water is up to chest level. Right here, they're on a drier area. This is how they're getting out. I've seen parents
--
QUEST: Right --
ROSALES: Put their children over their shoulders, getting clothing and that's the situation they're dealt with now, Richard.
QUEST: And it's difficult. I mean, you were talking about earlier what -- how you've been getting around. I mean, some of that water is extremely
deep, other of it is arguably quite danger. I mean, you know, obviously, there it's safe, but in other parts there could be electricity that's still
there. This is going to take some time.
ROSALES: An incredible amount of time, and your heart just breaks, especially for those people in the Assisted Living Facility, and yes, --
QUEST: Yes --
ROSALES: And to your point, dangerous that you wouldn't see in the water. I mean, there could be sewage in here, I mean, here certainly, but you
know, large pieces of trees, stop signs underwater, things that you wouldn't see. And by the way, Richard, I do believe we have a sound-bite
from one of the residents of that Assisted Living Facility who walked me through what she experienced. Let's listen to that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, obviously, and dead obviously, and then I didn't realize it was flooded at first, and then heard a crash, and I had a
-- my -- I mean, refrigerator and a microwave on top of it, it just blew out. It's on the floor -- foot, I mean, it was coming up in my bed, to the
edge of my bed. I mean, it got on -- you know, it was terrible.
ROSALES: That sounds terrifying --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The water was so cold, man, it's just -- and I'm missing a shoe, my brace shoe and I don't know where it is, wind floating,
well, so --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROSALES: Yes, and I spoke again with the Hillsborough County Sheriff's office. They told me that they have conducted at least 200 rescues today
just in this area. So --
QUEST: Good Lord --
ROSALES: It might be a busy day for the sheriff's office --
QUEST: You -- and you clearly have some very busy hours ahead, I'm grateful for you being there. Thank you so much as always, Isabel, really
bringing us the moment --
ROSALES: Of course --
QUEST: Thank you --
ROSALES: Thanks Richard.
QUEST: Now, Milton has moved away from Florida, but Elisa Raffa with me. So, all right, one is tempted, Elisa, to say, well, no longer hurricane,
it's moved on. It's all over, well, the shouting, that's not the case.
ELISA RAFFA, METEOROLOGIST: Yes, I mean, we're still looking at storm surge along the east coast of Florida on the Atlantic. We still have some
wind-gusts up to 32 miles per hour in Hilton Head, 32 miles per hour in Jacksonville, there's been some damage reported around there, Orlando still
gusting to 26 miles per hour and we still have that threat of the ocean coming in-land.
That storm surge, still 3 to 5 feet from Daytona Beach up into parts of Georgia. So, still a threat of the storm surge, and of course, rip currents
too, you definitely don't want to be in the waters or at the beach at all today. We saw power outages too, more than 3 million customers without
power, Milton's wind-field was very wide, more than 250 miles at landfall.
So, that took all these damaging winds and just slashed the entire peninsula with it. So, power is surely a problem. When the storm was at its
peak, making landfall, we had wind-gust of 107 miles per hour in Venice, at Sarasota, 102 miles per hour, St. Petersburg also over 100 miles per hour.
Again, that's what takes out the power. The tornado problem has been prolific. Tornadoes in a hurricane-making landfall are common, but they are
typically much smaller, weaker, brief tornado is not this. This is a massive tornado that is incredibly destructive, and there were multiple of
them.
In fact, in Florida, they had the most amount of tornado warnings issued in one day for the state, 126 warnings were issued for spin-ups, you know, for
things that looked -- is rotating on radar that they needed to warn people about. It surpassed other hurricanes like Irma that happened in 2017 and by
a lot, number two is 69 warnings, and again, they surpassed that number by a lot.
[14:20:00]
The rainfall has been prolific, this is what Isabel has been dealing with all day, that flash urban flooding that you cannot evacuate for because it
can happen far in-land. Richard?
QUEST: I'm grateful to you. Thank you. We'll watch -- you'll be continuing to watch very closely. Now to Andy Hyatt, the town manager of Fort Myers
Beach on Florida's west coast. Andy, can you hear me?
ANDY HYATT, TOWN MANAGER, FORT MYERS BEACH, FLORIDA (via telephone): Yes, Richard, I can hear you.
QUEST: Oh, good, thank you, sir. Thank you for taking time. I mean, really simple question. What's the situation?
HYATT: Well, right now we're in a recovery mode. We were hit with about an 8 to 10 foot storm surge, left a lot of sand and debris around the town,
were 7 miles long and probably less than a mile at our widest point. So, it doesn't take much to mess up here. So, we haven't -- only one situation
where we had newly constructed house that collapsed and no one was injured, it was unoccupied, but we are slowly, but surely recovering today, a little
bit ahead of schedule actually.
QUEST: Now, would you say unbiased, well, this was on par with what you were expecting or better than what you were expecting?
HYATT: It seems to be on par with what we expected, just based on the fact that the history that we've had actually in the last 14 months, we've had
four hurricanes that have brushed by here, very similar to this. This was the strongest one that went by, and it deposited probably almost as much
sand as Helene did just two weeks ago.
QUEST: Right, I know this is a really tough to answer because you're just digging your way out of this. But Andy, how much more can -- of this can
communities like yours take? How many years of three or four of these sorts of storms, because this is going to become maybe not the norm, but
certainly more regular.
HYATT: I think what you do see an emotional toll being taken on some of the residents. You know, you try to offer some mental health counseling and
things like that just to make sure that everybody is in a good place. I know our population before Ian in September of 2022 was a little over
5,500, and just this year, our population is down 1,400 people. So, it attributed to some homes that have been destroyed and people didn't come
back.
And already, people just moving off. So, our population has dropped to, you know, somewhere around 3,200. And that's kind of indicative, I think of the
climate, if you will, that we're in with these type of storms.
QUEST: It's difficult to know what to do next, doesn't it, Andy?
HYATT: Absolutely, it is. You just -- you just hope for the best, you prepare --
QUEST: Yes --
HYATT: You communicate, you educate people will evacuate. We did a very good job getting that information out to our residents and they left --
QUEST: Right --
HYATT: They did great, now we're about to bring them back and let them back on the island. We just started to let them back today at noon,
actually.
QUEST: Andy, I hope the next time we speak, I am in Fort Myers Beach and I'm enjoying a drink and in much more pleasant circumstances. Thank you,
sir, I'm grateful for your time. This is CNN tonight, a rare strike in the heart of Beirut. We'll be in the Lebanese capital as we find out more on
what took place.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:25:00]
QUEST: Now, to Beirut where new Israeli strikes have given fears of mass casualties right in the heart of the Lebanese capital. A security source is
telling us an entire residential building has collapsed in a densely- populated neighborhood. Israeli Defense Forces say they are investigating. A separate incident closer to Israel's border is drawing international
outrage.
The U.N. Peacekeeping force for Lebanon says an Israeli tank fired on its headquarters wounding two peacekeepers. Italy, which has the peacekeepers
in Lebanon is furious. Its Defense Minister says it was not an accident, suggesting that the incident could be regarded as a war crime. Ben Wedeman
is with us from Beirut.
Firstly, this -- these explosions and this attack in central Beirut sounds like it's a further escalation.
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, this must have been in the last hour-and-a-half, approximately in two neighborhoods in
central Beirut, not the southern suburbs, which had been the target of so many Israeli strikes over the last few weeks. In one of them, it appears an
entire residential building has collapsed and they're talking about mass casualties.
At this point, the Ministry of Health is saying there's a preliminary death toll of 11 with 48 wounded there, fire trucks and ambulances cramming those
two areas, and it's important to keep in mind, Richard, that these are areas that people considered safe.
So, many of those who fled from the southern suburbs, from south Lebanon, from the Beqaa Valley have taken refuge in this -- these exact areas, the
parts of central Beirut that aren't associated in any way with Hezbollah, and therefore, this is -- certainly, this kind of strike in the heart of
Beirut raises fears and certainly increases the tensions that are already at a boiling point when it comes to this kind of strike.
And as I said, this death toll of 11 is preliminary at this point, and given the size of the building and the fact that it's utterly flattened,
the fear is that the death toll will continue to rise, Richard.
QUEST: Ben, I'm grateful. Thank you, Ben Wedeman, who is in -- one quick question to you, Ben, before I leave you. This attack in the center -- in
the center of Beirut, how far would that be roughly from say where you are? I mean, I'm trying to gauge -- I don't need to know sort of to the nearest
kilometer.
I'm trying to gauge the size of Beirut, the suburbs, the attack areas, that sort of idea.
WEDEMAN: Well, Richard, actually, I'm in Tyre, south Lebanon, so, it's a very long way away by Lebanese distances. But from the center of Beirut --
QUEST: Right --
WEDEMAN: I mean, from our office for instance --
QUEST: Yes --
WEDEMAN: It's perhaps a kilometer and a half, 2 kilometers. It really, it is in a very central, very densely-populated, normally very busy part of
Beirut.
QUEST: I know it well, Ben, I'm grateful to you, stay safe wherever, thank you. Nic Robertson is with me. Nic Robertson is in Tel Aviv where we're
talking about rescues of survivors of an Israeli airstrike that falls sort of their loved ones. The Palestinian Red Crescent, Nic, says 28 people were
killed in a school-turned shelter, it looks as though -- one witness says a strike happened as children were playing. Israel says it was terrorists.
What's your understanding?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: The video from the site looks really horrific. The school is reduced in many parts to rubble.
One of the residents inside the school is sort of venting to the camera, if you will, you know, you guys have been recording this for a year now. We
don't want your photographs, we don't want your memories.
We don't want Hamas, he says, all we really want is God, and if this suffering just keeps going on, he said, then just drop a nuclear bomb on us
and be done with it or find a solution. Look, I think what you saw in that school was a level of desperation, anxiety, accumulated stress being vented
by one person there who was looking for a couple of his cousins. But turn the chapter, turn the video to the hospital where the wounded and dead were
being bought in, and this is very, very gruesome and hard to watch video.
There was a tiny girl lying on her back on the floor in the hospital where all the other patients were around her, and she stood out because she was
so tiny, so frail. Her clothes were burned off. The doctor said she had third degree burns. She was peppered with all sorts of little pockmarks
from bits of flying debris and masonry. She was half covered in gray dust from the building.
And she's trying to reach out for doctor -- to the doctor, and she's saying, doctor, doctor, I love you. And she says -- he tells her -- that
the doctor says, it's OK. It's OK. What's the matter? What's the matter? And she says, doctor, am I going to die? Am I going to die? And he says,
no, you're going to be OK. You've got some injuries. You'll be OK. You'll survive.
You know, the image of that girl was just very harrowing and she was not one of the worst injured. It's perhaps the hardest part, so to see the
ambulances unloading the bodies and remains of people. And then, of course, the wife afterwards, who comes looking for her husband, and she tells
everyone his name. Where is he? Where is he? He's the rock in my life. He's the father of our three daughters, and she names her daughters. And then,
she sort of says, God is great, God is great. And quite literally faints in front of the crowd.
They're very harrowing images. And of course, this is the day when health officials in Gaza say more than 42,000 people were killed. But the IDF has
said very clearly that at that school, they believed there was a terrorist command and control center, that was in Central Gaza. Richard.
RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: Nic Robertson. I'm grateful. Thank you, sir.
And so, as you and I continue our evening conversation, death and destruction after Hurricane Milton ripped through Florida. I'll take you
there, and we'll hear from Florida officials who are working to restore the power and fuel supply. It's Isa Soares Tonight, without Isa Soares.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:35:00]
QUEST: So, to Florida and Manasota Key, which shows just how Hurricane Milton hit the state. House after house, and all you can see there, debris.
The responders are assessing the damage.
Across the West Coast, landfall was Siesta Key. Then it was a Category 3 storm. Now, as for St. Lucie County, well, the governor, Ron DeSantis, says
five people have died there. It was the tornadoes that caused the deaths. They swept through prior to Milton's arrival. At least eight have died in
Milton's path of destruction.
And the governor says the state is working to restore power to those millions of people who are in the dark. You heard from President Biden a
short moment ago saying just how many.
Our Carlos Suarez is with me from Fort Myers. Now, this is different and interesting because with hurricanes, we don't normally talk about tornadoes
in quite this way. So, what happened?
CARLOS SUAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Richard, that's exactly right. I'm from South Florida. I've worked my entire professional career in Florida
and so I've covered a number of hurricanes and I have never recalled covering a storm where the biggest concern ended up being the tornadoes.
And that just shows the intensity of these things and just kind of the uncertainty of all of this.
I mean, we're on the West Coast of Florida, on Fort Myers Beach. And most of the deaths happen on the East Coast of Florida, where a lot of these
tornadoes hit. We'll walk around real quick to show you some of the damage out here in Fort Myers Beach.
Now, to give you some context and perspective, some of this damage that you're taking a look at here was a result of Hurricane Ian, which made
landfall on here in Fort Myers Beach back in 2022. And so, a lot of these businesses have remained untouched. But as you can see, the sand, the
debris, the fencing that used to be outside of these businesses was all blown away by the storm surge out here.
We're talking about a storm surge. About five and a half feet of flooding because of this storm. That number, though, is a lot less than what was
expected. Because here, the biggest concern going into the storm was that we were looking at anywhere between eight to 12 feet of storm surge. And
while that part of Fort Myers Beach really hasn't been touched, I can tell you, having covered Hurricane Ian and the recovery, this out here was
rebuilt, and you can see what it looks like now.
Right now, construction crews are just trying to get some of these concrete barriers around. They're trying to get all of the sand and all of this
debris --
QUEST: Carlos --
SUAREZ: -- onto dump trucks so that folks can come back out.
QUEST: Carlos, I want to tap into that local knowledge that you have from there. How much more -- same question I asked earlier to one of our guests,
how much more can these communities, your communities, withstand year after year, multiple times in a year, this level of devastation and businesses
move away?
SUAREZ: You know, Richard, I've covered back-to-back hurricanes in the last couple of weeks, I've covered three hurricanes in Florida the last
three years, all of them along the West Coast. And I'll tell you, every time I ask that question of folks, they tell us that they're going to
rebuild. They say they understand that this comes with the price of living on the water.
And a lot of them tell us, we know these storms are getting more intense. The frequency is happening a lot. It's just -- they're more frequent,
they're more intense, they're larger in size. I'll tell you, the biggest threat to homeowners right now outside of these storms is just getting
homeowners insurance. It is insanely expensive to get coverage.
And the problem is, a lot of insurance companies just don't want to write policies because every single hurricane season, they have to pay out. And a
lot of them are deciding that they're just no longer going to do business in Florida. And so, for a lot of folks, it's a question of whether they can
afford to stay here. A lot of them say they want to rebuild, but at some point, you'd imagine, you'd think, that they would definitely move away.
Richard.
QUEST: Grateful for that insight. Grateful. Thank you. Jeremy Locke is with me. Co-founder of Aerial Recovery, a nonprofit relief effort in
Asheville. It's now near Sarasota. You are well familiar. This is well- trodden ground for you, literally and figuratively. So, what is your biggest problem now there?
JEREMY LOCKE, CO-FOUNDER, ARIAL RECOVERY: Yes, I think as we approach this storm, you know, it's the frequency, right? My nonprofit is not very big.
We're out of Nashville, Tennessee, and we're currently working up in North Carolina.
[14:40:00]
And it is interesting. These -- two of these storms in the two consecutive weeks, the devastation of damage has been farther inland, which is kind of
opposite what you normally see. So, the lack of communication, it's difficult to speak to first responders. It's difficult to speak to each
other. So, we go to the places that normally would be very devastated affected and we find that those aren't exactly the places that really need
the help. So, I think that -- just the awkwardness of these two storm systems has really been challenging.
QUEST: So, you got to get there is -- I mean, it's classic. You've got to get the resources in -- well, you've got to be ready. You've got to get the
resources, buy them wherever or donate it, you've then got to get them in, and you're doing so for people who are at a vulnerable, the most vulnerable
moment, aged, infirm, unwell. How do you do it?
LOCKE: Well, we do it with -- and it was spoken earlier with your other correspondent. The communities really gather together. And these states
come together and our volunteers and our core team really come together to help these people out in their greatest time of need.
And it is so important because with that vulnerability it does come dangerous in that. There are will come down and take advantage of them,
whether financially or there's also people that come down and take advantage of them physically, such as human traffickers. So, we have to be
on the guard, get help to the vulnerable as quickly as possible. And that's what we're trying to do at Aerial Recovery.
QUEST: Same question to you as I asked our correspondent, how much more can these communities take? And arguably, here's a tougher one though.
Here's a tougher one. Should we keep rebuilding beachside communities like this when we know they're going to get washed away every few years at the
cost of billions of dollars?
Now, I mean, obviously lives first, but if you're talking about macroplanning, does it make sense to build beachfront properties?
LOCKE: Well, that one is way out of my wheelhouse. But I will tell you that these are a very, very resilient people. If they can afford to build
where they want, I mean, that's kind of -- that's their right to do so. And we will go help people that are in danger. They don't know that it's coming
here.
Yes, it is far more likely to come to these locations, but they've got families. They've got businesses that have been in their families for
generations. So, we're going to come down and help them. And I don't care where people live. If they're hurt and need help, whether it's here in the
United States in Florida, or if it's over in the Middle East, we've been doing it for decades now. I'm a former U.S. Special forces guy. We'll go
help people wherever they need it.
QUEST: So, final question to you, sir. I mean, the work you're doing is phenomenal. And you do it for -- well, because it has to be done. You
obviously enjoy it as well. It must be an incredibly satisfying piece of your life to be helping people when they need it most.
LOCKE: Yes, and I'm really glad you asked that because part of my program -- I have a Heal the Heroes program. And myself and my operators that are
here on the ground, we spent a lot of time in the military or as first responders and we're trying to accomplish a mission overseas that isn't
necessarily our mission. And we see people that are vulnerable and affected by these terrible actions that are going on and we can't help them.
But now we get the ability to help the people. It's not just the mission. Our mission is the people, and it is extremely gratifying, very satisfying,
and it's such a pleasure for us to go out and help people in their greatest time of need.
QUEST: Jeremy, we need more people like you. Thank you, sir. I'm grateful for your taking the time. I'll let you get back to helping people instead
of talking to me.
As we continue tonight, three major airports in Milton's path are still closed. I'm going to talk to the man in charge of Tampa International
Airport.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:45:00]
QUEST: Across Tampa in Florida, teams are assessing damage. And the port staff, as you heard from President Biden a moment ago, they are port staff
and the Army Corps of Engineers are looking to get Tampa's port back open again the shipping channel, what needs to be cleared.
As for the port itself, it's the point of entry for much of the gas that goes to stations across the state and fuels the airport. At least three
airports in the storm's path are closed, that includes Tampa International. U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says he expects more airports
will be back to normal as we head to tomorrow.
John Tiliacos is the EVP of airport operations at Tampa, is with me now. So, I mean, here we go again, sir. Here we go again. When do you think you
can get things up and running?
JOHN TILIACOS, EXECUTIVE VP OF AIRPORT OPERATIONS, TAMPA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT: Well, good afternoon, Richard. Thanks for having me. Yes. So, we
suspended operations this past Tuesday at 9:00 a.m. in preparation for the arrival of the storm, we had to prep the airport and batten it down. And
now, that the storm has passed we are out conducting a full damage assessment of our terminal facilities, our airfield.
And our plan right now is to be up and running by 8:00 tomorrow morning.
QUEST: Sir, will you forgive me for interrupting you? I do need to go to Governor DeSantis, who's speaking at the moment. I apologize, sir.
GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL): -- significant impacts all across the state. So, just be prepared for that. That may mean mobile homes, even interior, other
structures that may not be hurricane proof that could create hazards, rivers, other bodies of water. As you have more rain and you have flooding
that could be an issue. And then you could have surge on the East Coast of Florida. You could have erosion. You can have different things with the
coast.
So, this is not just an event about the West Coast of Florida. That will be where the initial impacts and probably the most significant. But the
impacts will not be limited there.
So, here we are at the Florida Horse Park. We have staging areas around different parts of the state. And there are different sites that are doing
different things. I mean, for example, you go to, like, Lake City, you got a lot of the utility linemen there that are staged. We've had a lot of
people staged at the Tampa Bay area for utility and other things.
But this one right here is really good. I'm not saying Ocala is not going to have any impacts from the storm, but we fully anticipate be able to move
people where they need to go very quickly once the storm passes. And you have -- we have different partners that the state contracts with, they have
personnel. I think as you hear, as you see, they camp out here, this is where they are, and then they're able to respond.
We got massive amounts of equipment here, things land, air, sea vehicles, supplies, generators, equipment, bucket trucks, you name it. This stuff is
here. And so, this is just one of many sites that are ready to go.
You know, we spend -- the reason why we do state of emergency, we did it over the weekend, on Saturday. We knew the storm wasn't likely to hit until
middle of the week at the earliest because you want to start amassing these resources. And that's what we've done. I think it's been really, really
important.
So, on this property, you got over 2,000 pieces of equipment, including a lot of pumps, a lot of generators, light plants, display boards, restroom
trailers, laundry trailers, forklifts, air-conditioned units, electrical equipment, water hoses, bunk trailers, and rollback trucks. 400 personnel
here, including riggers, equipment operators, pump crews, and drivers. Fuel trucks are also here to be deployed as needed.
[14:50:00]
Florida DEM is currently in the process of completing 1,200 missions. So, so far, you're looking at deploying hundreds of thousands of shelf stabled
meals, hundreds of thousands of water bottles, hundreds of thousands of sandbags, a lot of tarps, and a lot of generators, and many other things.
And so, that is being resourced to the counties.
And then, of course, we also have staging areas that we'll do with our pods once the storm passes. We have utilized flood protection devices in areas
to protect against storm surge. We've now deployed more than 11,000 feet of those tiger dams. That's really important to protect hospitals, wastewater
facilities, and electrical infrastructures.
Of course, we've been outfitting counties for years now with Starlink internet. So, that's going to be available to be used as needed.
In terms of fuel, we amassed a lot of fuel before this particular emergency. We actually had it for Helene, didn't really need to use it for
that. We have 268,000 gallons of diesel, 110,000 gallons of regular gas on standby. That's just from the state. You know, you still have the fuel at
the ports that are being brought in. But then we also have another 1.2 million gallons of both diesel and gas that are currently en route to the
state.
Now, I know there's been a lot of lines at gas stations. You obviously have an inordinate demand for fuel, much more than would typically happen.
What's happening is, there's long lines, the gas stations run out of fuel. But the fuel supply is available, so then they ask for more fuel to be
brought. And so, what we're doing is we've authorized Florida Highway patrols to escort with the siren so they get there quicker, major fuel
trucks.
So, we've had 43 fuel trucks that have already been escorted by Florida Highway Patrol to deliver fuel to stations, particularly in the anticipated
impact area. We're also working with companies like Circle K, Gate, Racetrack, Wawa, Shell, and Walmart to ensure fuel trucks are working 24/7
to keep fuel delivered as it comes into our ports.
There's no longer fuel coming in to some of the West Coast ports like Tampa and Manatee, but they've got a lot --
QUEST: There we have the governor talking about that. Back to John at Tampa International Airport. Interesting, of course, discussing how fuel is
getting around. In terms of the airport, I'm assuming you obviously you've got to check for any structural damage, any runways or anything like that.
To your knowledge at the moment, is the infrastructure still all good?
TILIACOS: Yes, Richard, the -- for the most part, our infrastructure is in good shape. We do have some minor damage to the airport in terms of a
number of our jet bridges. Our fuel farm that we're currently working on. But nothing that is going to prevent from starting operations. As of right
now, nothing that's going to prevent us from starting up tomorrow morning. Again, we're still going through the assessment. I don't quite have a full
picture, but we're almost there.
QUEST: The - I suppose it's -- in a sense, I know it sounds somewhat perverted -- perverse, but it's easier to close down and shut the thing
down, than have sort of thousands of passengers sort of everywhere and anywhere, isn't it, at one level? But you are going to have some very
chaotic days ahead.
TILIACOS: Absolutely. You know, this has been an unprecedented storm for us. And I can tell you our travelers are very anxious to get back up in the
sky. Cargo shippers are very anxious to get their cargo moving. So, our mission is to get the airport reopened as quickly and as safely as we
possibly can.
QUEST: Same question to you as I've been asking other guests tonight. How much more can you take of this? How much more can Southern Florida? Because
if the experts are right, this is going to be, if not the norm, at least will become more frequent?
TILIACOS: Well, Richard, what I can tell you is, as an airport operator, what we do is we focus on the day-to-day operation of the airport and we
have a myriad of contingencies. You name the obstacle that gets thrown our way, whether it's an aircraft emergency landing, whether it's a hurricane,
whatever it is, we have a contingency, a backup plan for it. And that's what we do.
QUEST: I'm grateful to you, sir. Thank you for joining us. Thank you for joining us from Tampa. I wish you well in your reopening tomorrow.
TILIACOS: Thanks, Richard.
[14:55:00]
QUEST: It will be a tricky -- some interesting moments, I suspect, for you, but you're well up to the task. I'm grateful. Thank you.
And before I leave you tonight, just one quick thought I want to leave you with. I've tried to keep asking this question throughout tonight's program
about how much more can you take, and that is -- there's a reason for it. Because common sense says you don't continue to build communities next to
the beach, but they are communities, there where people have lived for decades if not centuries.
Businesses will have to be restructured. You heard President Biden said that money will be spent and it will be in the billions. But none of this
really addresses the bigger question, and I don't expect anybody wants to or will in the short-term. These storms are going to be more frequent.
They're going to be nastier, they're going to be longer, and there's going to be more expensive. And then, the rest of us, really, all just have to
decide, how much more of it do we really want to take?
And that's our report tonight. Isa will be back tomorrow. You'll be in safe hands. Stay with CNN. Jessica Dean, she's next in the CNN Newsroom. Because
the news never stops, neither do we. This is CNN.
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[15:00:00]
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