Return to Transcripts main page

Live From...

Charley A Cat. 4, Moves Toward Fort Myers, Fla.; PGA Championship; Greek Athletes In Doping Scandal

Aired August 13, 2004 - 13:30   ET

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

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


FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Here's what's happening now in the news. Hurricane Charley has made its move. The center of the storm is now forecast to come ashore over Charlotte Harbor near Fort Myers.
Weather problems already extend up the southeast coast along the Atlantic. The remnants of Tropical Storm Bonnie spawned tornadoes in North Carolina. South Carolina's governor has called for a voluntary evacuation along low-lying areas along his state's coast. Hurricane Charley is expected to move up the southeastern seaboard tomorrow after crossing Florida.

In Northern California, officials report a wildfire near Shasta Lake slowed down overnight because the winds died down. The 7,500- acre blaze is only half contained and may pick up as the day gets warmer. It has destroyed at least 67 homes.

And food lovers everywhere are mourning the woman who made French cuisine an accessible art. Julia Child died in her sleep yesterday, just days before her 92nd birthday. Child took her first cooking lesson in her 30s and went on to become the original celebrity chef.

Keeping you informed, CNN, the most trusted name in news.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: We have been getting updated forecasts for Hurricane Charley. Instead of heading for Tampa, it has now turned toward Fort Myers. The storm has cleared out after passing west of the Florida Keys this morning. Not too many problems there to report, but it could be a different story along Florida's west coast.

Folks in Tampa were expecting the worst. Now it looks like they may get somewhat less than that. Keith Oppenheim joining us from there with the latest on the situation there. Looks pretty calm, Keith.

KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it hasn't been that bad. But as you have been reporting, the strength of the storm is a great concern, even if it veers a bit to the south. Let me just show you a little bit about where I'm at.

These are some steps that lead down to a channel right next to our hotel. And we have noticed the subtle power of the hurricane as it has moved the water here in the channel up about half a foot over the last few hours, just a sign of the system moving water into the bay and into this channel. As we look across the channel, you can see downtown Tampa. That's the Convention Center across the way. The big issue in an area like this is going to be storm surge. Now, as you were indicating that this is now being reported to be a Category 4 storm, even if it moves to the south of here, the storm surge could still be a significant problem right here in downtown Tampa.

Now, the original reports we had were concerns of between 10 and 13 feet. I'm not sure exactly what the storm surge here will be, but I think it's fair to say that the anxiety about the strength of this storm has gone up while the positioning of this storm has made people feel perhaps a little bit more relaxed.

But I think it's safe to say, if this storm makes landfall anywhere near Tampa and St. Pete, there's going to be a significant amount of flooding -- Miles?

O'BRIEN: Keith Oppenheim in downtown Tampa, thanks -- Fred?

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks a lot, Miles.

Well, moments ago, we reported that Charley was a hurricane Category 3. But now, Orelon Sidney in the Weather Center has the latest updates for us.

ORELON SIDNEY, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Thanks a lot. It looks like indeed breaking news for us, because we are now reporting that this is a Category 4 storm. It looks like it is continuing to move towards Fort Myers. The wind speed is still about 20 miles an hour in forward direction. And that's something I did want to point out to you.

If you have winds, let's say they are 131 miles an hour, across this storm, as it moves northward, the speed on the right-hand side of the forward motion is going to be added to the wind speed.

So, let's say -- let's just say, because I don't have the official reports of the actual winds, but 131 would make it Category 4 -- let's say it's 131, add 20 miles an hour to that, you get 151-mile- an-hour winds on this side. Of course, you have to subtract 20 miles an hour from this side, but nobody is over here. We're over here, and that's going to be certainly a big problem as the storm continues to make its way towards Fort Myers, once again.

Tornado watch, you can see, has now been extended -- extends from Orlando to the southern portion of the state. That's in effect until 5:00 p.m. this afternoon. There will be more. Look at some of the lightning data that we're starting to get in now across Lake Okeechobee, continuing northward almost to Interstate 4.

These low-lying areas from St. Petersburg down to Port Charlotte are going to be in trouble, especially if the storm comes in at an angle something about like 30 degrees, because that area then will be probably under water, depending -- or cut off from land anyway -- depending on the angle that the storm moves in.

Look at some of the very latest information we have no rainfall. Not a lot of rainfall, yet. This is the rainfall accumulation now since early this morning. Starting to inch our way towards a half an inch in some locations.

Look at this. Even in the east along Interstate 95, starting to inch up some rain amount here, greater than one inch in some very localized thunderstorms.

Just want to emphasize to you, not only hurricane-force winds -- flooding, tornadoes. This is going to be a real problem for much of the State of Florida for this afternoon.

We again updated this now from a Category 3 to a Category 4. Look at the kind of damage that we can receive. Hang on just a moment, I'm getting some new information from Dave Tennant (ph). Just a second.

OK, 162 knot flight level wind. We have to convert that to miles per hour. This is your miles per hour. Hold on just a moment. I want to make sure I get this right. That would be 162-mile-per-hour winds at flight level; 70% of that is extrapolated down to the surface, and that would make our flight level winds, our surface winds then in the Category 4.

So, 162-mile-an-hour flight level wind. They fly into the storm well above 10,000 feet. Generally the stronger the storm is, the higher they'll fly in. So, they take the wind speed there and they extrapolate it down to the surface and estimate the surface wind speed. The surface estimated wind speed then would put this at a Category 4 -- Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: All right, this is pretty serious now. Thanks very much...

SIDNEY: You're welcome.

WHITFIELD: ... Orelon Sidney.

Well, some folks are clearing out of Fort Myers ahead of Hurricane Charley, understanding the gravity of the situation. I want to get the situation report now from Lauri McMahon. She's with the Iona-McGregor Fire Department and joins us on the telephone.

And Lauri, give me a sense right now. Now we know it to be a Category 4. How concerned are you about your very low-lying area?

LAURI MCMAHON, IONA/MCGREGOR FIRE DEPARTMENT: Well, we're very concerned, because we suspect and are concerned that only a small number of people have evacuated and heeded our warning.

And this is really the worst case scenario we can have right now, where we really had a small storm coming in that was supposed to go north of us and people weren't really concerned about it. And now, it's taken a direct turn and has intensified and, unfortunately, we're concerned that there are numerous and probably hundreds that are in great danger from the storm. WHITFIELD: And explain to me why you are so concerned, the type of residents you're dealing with. Many of them are, you know, year- round residents, many snowbirds, and the majority of whom are older citizens, correct?

MCMAHON: Exactly. And several of those special-needs people that have not taken the warning and are trying to ride out the storm and not understanding the intensity and the danger of the storm, putting themselves in imminent danger.

WHITFIELD: And so, what can you all do at this juncture to try to secure safety for them?

MCMAHON: Well, we have suggested that they head to shelters. Unfortunately, a shelter very close in our area has only 13 people was our last count for that shelter. And people still do have some time to get to, for instance, Tanglewood Elementary or to Jermaine (ph) or Alico Arena. And we suggest highly that they get with someone and they get to a shelter.

WHITFIELD: But aren't your shelters in that area subjected to the same adversities as any other structure in that low-lying community?

MCMAHON: Well, they're a little bit farther in. Example, for Jermaine (ph) and Alico, they're further in east, so they are not in the flood zone that we are in our district. And a lot of our district are smaller homes and mobile homes, which will be destroyed by these kinds of winds.

WHITFIELD: All right, Lauri McMahon from the Iona-McGregor Fire Department. Thanks very much for allowing us to check in with you...

MCMAHON: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: ... maintain some touching base with you throughout the day -- Miles?

O'BRIEN: All right, well people have fled their homes by the hundreds of thousands. Where are they going? With that part of the story, we turn it over to CNN's Ed Lavendera who, as it turns out, is very far north of where the trouble lies with Charley, in Dunedin, Florida.

Hello, Ed, how are you?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm doing well, Miles. You know, it was a little while ago the Governor's Office here in the State of Florida held a briefing. And you know, you really heard the urgency in their voice as they were urging people to continue the evacuation.

But beyond that, what you heard -- the urgency that you heard is that you have a very short amount of time to do it. And that's what really they have been trying to get to people. And we do understand that people are still taking advantage of these shelters. There have been almost 190 shelters now opened up statewide. Some 16,000 people were here in Dunedin, Florida, which is in the county just west of the Tampa area.

And we're about a mile away from the ocean here, but this is still a very secure place. One of the higher grounds -- higher points in this area. And so, that's why you're having several hundred people here show up.

Many of the people who have been evacuated, as we have been reporting, are from the low-lying areas, coastal areas, and in the mobile home communities throughout the southwestern coast of Florida.

But right now, what they're urging people is to build that intensity and the urgency to get to these shelters, because now people are starting to run out of time to get to them. And with the storm barely now a little further south of where we are, as you heard in the previous report as well, is that they really want to get people into these places.

There's not a lot to do here quite honestly. A lot of people are just reading and passing the time and doing crossword puzzles, but this is definitely the safest place to be for a majority of these people -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Nevertheless, as word gets out of what we've been reporting, that it's headed now toward Fort Myers and that part of the world, do you expect people are going to start make their way to the exits? Is there -- are they going to wait for official word, or they going to just wait for reports like we're giving right now?

LAVANDERA: You know, I think what happens in a lot of these cases is sometimes they don't really believe what we say sometimes until that very last possible moment. We have seen people moving inland and following the orders up to a certain point.

But you still have, you know, that other segment of the population that wants to hold on as long as they possibly can and figure out what the storm is going to do, and that's what emergency officials in this area are worried about.

You know, these emergency plans that they have in this area, there hasn't been a direct hit from a hurricane in this area in more than 80 years. They have the emergency plans. They are confident in their plans. But a lot of the evacuation routes haven't been put to the full-on test, and they're worried to see how that's going to play out, especially once the storm starts.

O'BRIEN: Ed Lavandera, thanks very much. It's amazing the scenes we see. We see people in hallways of shelters like this, and we see people out swimming in other live shots. It's incredible, the full range.

(WEATHER REPORT) O'BRIEN: You heard it here first right here on CNN. It's now a Category 4 storm. That's a very serious storm, folks, and we want you to heed all the warnings.

And as we mentioned a few moments ago, this could be one of the worst possible scenarios, in the sense that folks to the south of Tampa didn't really hunker down and evacuate as they did in Tampa, as the predictions indicated.

So, if you're in that part of the world right now, please, by all means, seek high ground. Back with more in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Whistling Straits was supposed to be a gauntlet of a golf course, but the numbers would be far and few between. And so far, the world's top players are whistling their way down the fairways, carding birdie after birdie at the PGA Championship, fairway, except for one very familiar name.

CNN sports reporter Patrick Snell joins us now with a live report.

We know that Phil Mickelson has done pretty good, and he's after his second major of the year, isn't he?

PATRICK SNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. Welcome back to Whistling Straits. Thanks very much. Where the rain is starting to come down.

I'm joined by Lorin Anderson, who's managing editor of "Golf" magazine.

Lorin, day two here, how challenging is it? The course is set up to be tough today, isn't it?

LORIN ANDERSON, "GOLF MAGAZINE": Yes, they've moved the tees back that they pushed up a little bit yesterday. There's a little bit of wind this afternoon. As we can see now, a little bit of rain coming down. They're not expecting heavy winds, but the course is set up to its full distance of about 7,500 yards, and certainly very challenging.

SNELL: Ernie Els, Phil Mickelson, two of the hottest players of the year. Els still hasn't won a major this year. Mickelson took the Masters of course, but could have added more? How big a part to play are these two going to have, do you feel?

ANDERSON: Well, I mean, we have had three majors this year, and neither one has finished out of the top 10 in any of the majors so far.

And I think with Ernie in particular, what you're seeing is a guy who is feeding off his own expectations right now. He knows he should have won at least one of them so far this year. And yesterday, 66, I think he was signaling to the rest of the field that he's ready to take one before the year ends.

SNELL: Of course, Tiger Woods, we need to bring in Tiger Woods. he's due to start in about an hour's time. It's a huge day for him. The unthinkable from his point of view, is it possible he might not make the cut?

ANDERSON: Yes, a couple of things happening for Tiger. First of all, if he misses the cut, it would be his first missed cut in about 130 starts, I believe. And also if he misses the cut there's a better chance he may lose his No. 1 ranking in the world rankings for the first time in five years.

SNELL: OK, what will that do to confidence and his stature in the game, do you feel? He's pretty precarious at the moment.

ANDERSON: Yes, I mean, he keeps talking a good game. He feels like his game is close and he's played well in a lot of the regular tour events this year, but he just has not played well in any of the majors. And I don't know if that's because he's expecting more of himself in the big events or he just has had some big breaks. But again, yesterday a very poor start for Tiger Woods.

SNELL: Let's take a quick recap of the leaderboard. We have Phil Mickelson, who's currently at 6 under par. But in the early lead, we do have Briny Baird at eight under par through 17. Tell us more about Briny Baird.

ANDERSON: Yes, Briny Baird, you know, he has not won on tour yet, but he's been out here a few years, solid player, won a couple million dollars last year, had some good finishes. Interesting, his father played out on the tour for many years, Butch Baird. So, he comes from a golfing pedigree, and certainly been around the game long enough to make a run this week.

SNELL: Now what do you think the chances are of another first- time major here. It's not even impossible, is it?

ANDERSON: Absolutely not. I mean, we've had nine first-time winners in a row since Tiger's last victory. So you know, these guys are all so good. We saw the scores yesterday. So many players playing well, anything can happen.

SNELL: OK, Lorin. Many thanks for talking to us. I'll send it back to CNN Center.

WHITFIELD: All right, Patrick Snell, thanks very much.

Well, more on a now Category 4 hurricane, Charley, when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Let's bring you up to date on what is now a Category 4 hurricane. There are only five categories. This is a very serious hurricane, equivalent to Hurricane Hugo, if you recall that one.

You are looking at live datastream coming from the Federal Aviation Administration, as well as the National Weather Service.

Obviously, what you're seeing there is the storm, Hurricane Charley, as it bears down on the southwestern coast of Florida. Those little blue dots are aircraft that are being routed all around that giant hurricane to stay out of harm's way.

Clearly, if you have anybody who is trying to travel to or fro to this part of the world today, it's not going to happen.

On the ground, serious problems as well. One of the big concerns is that all of the forecasts we have been telling you about up to this moment have been focusing on the Tampa Bay area. The storm not only has strengthened, but it has taken a bit of a right turn heading more toward the Fort Myers area, which is an area that has not had a massive evacuation requests, invitations, whatever, orders over the past couple of days.

So, we are watching it. If you are in that part of the world, by all means, now is a good time to get out of harm's way -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Well, far from the American coast, let's go to the Greek coast, where they are celebrating there, and already the opening ceremonies for the Olympic Games is under way in Athens, Greece.

CNN's Michael Holmes is there and joins us with a live report.

And there you have that beautiful Acropolis over your left shoulder.

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is beautiful, too, Fredricka.

Yes, the Acropolis behind me. The Parthenon, of course, the main temple on the Acropolis. That opening ceremony is under way now. It has been every bit as spectacular as was promised. They indeed flooded the main stadium and had a boat coming really across the center where a lot of the athletic events are going to be held.

Four-thousand people are taking part in this opening ceremony, and many of them are out there right now, just some of the -- as we speak, some of the dignitaries, the president of Greece, the president of Athens 2004 taking center stage. It's been an amazing trip, a journey to get here.

Of course, Athens, the ancient home of the Olympics and also the home of the modern Olympics, which began back in 1896. They've been waiting a long time for this night to come, and it has arrived. A very joyous moment for all Greeks, as the Olympics -- the catch cry, Fredricka, is, welcome home, and indeed that's what we're watching unfold at the moment.

Sadly, though, we are watching unfold, too, a real controversy here. Two of Greece's best known athletes, perhaps their best known athletes are in all sorts of trouble at the moment. This is the sprinter Costas Kenteris and Katerina Thanou. They both are medalists from the Sydney Games, household names here, revered in Greece, and were expected to be taking part in these Games, but they were called up to do drug tests, they didn't show up, and then a bizarre sequence of events. Apparently leaving their coach's home together, they had a motorcycle accident. No other vehicle involved. They're in-hospital now.

Their injuries are said to be minor, but they have been given until Monday to show up and take that drug test. Of course, innocent until proven otherwise, but a really bizarre few days regarding these two stars of the Olympics in terms of the Greek team -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Michael Holmes in Athens, thanks very much, for the beginning of the Summer Games.

And when we come right back, more on a now Category 4 hurricane. It's called Charley, and it's threatening the west coast of Florida and beyond. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com


Aired August 13, 2004 - 13:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Here's what's happening now in the news. Hurricane Charley has made its move. The center of the storm is now forecast to come ashore over Charlotte Harbor near Fort Myers.
Weather problems already extend up the southeast coast along the Atlantic. The remnants of Tropical Storm Bonnie spawned tornadoes in North Carolina. South Carolina's governor has called for a voluntary evacuation along low-lying areas along his state's coast. Hurricane Charley is expected to move up the southeastern seaboard tomorrow after crossing Florida.

In Northern California, officials report a wildfire near Shasta Lake slowed down overnight because the winds died down. The 7,500- acre blaze is only half contained and may pick up as the day gets warmer. It has destroyed at least 67 homes.

And food lovers everywhere are mourning the woman who made French cuisine an accessible art. Julia Child died in her sleep yesterday, just days before her 92nd birthday. Child took her first cooking lesson in her 30s and went on to become the original celebrity chef.

Keeping you informed, CNN, the most trusted name in news.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: We have been getting updated forecasts for Hurricane Charley. Instead of heading for Tampa, it has now turned toward Fort Myers. The storm has cleared out after passing west of the Florida Keys this morning. Not too many problems there to report, but it could be a different story along Florida's west coast.

Folks in Tampa were expecting the worst. Now it looks like they may get somewhat less than that. Keith Oppenheim joining us from there with the latest on the situation there. Looks pretty calm, Keith.

KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it hasn't been that bad. But as you have been reporting, the strength of the storm is a great concern, even if it veers a bit to the south. Let me just show you a little bit about where I'm at.

These are some steps that lead down to a channel right next to our hotel. And we have noticed the subtle power of the hurricane as it has moved the water here in the channel up about half a foot over the last few hours, just a sign of the system moving water into the bay and into this channel. As we look across the channel, you can see downtown Tampa. That's the Convention Center across the way. The big issue in an area like this is going to be storm surge. Now, as you were indicating that this is now being reported to be a Category 4 storm, even if it moves to the south of here, the storm surge could still be a significant problem right here in downtown Tampa.

Now, the original reports we had were concerns of between 10 and 13 feet. I'm not sure exactly what the storm surge here will be, but I think it's fair to say that the anxiety about the strength of this storm has gone up while the positioning of this storm has made people feel perhaps a little bit more relaxed.

But I think it's safe to say, if this storm makes landfall anywhere near Tampa and St. Pete, there's going to be a significant amount of flooding -- Miles?

O'BRIEN: Keith Oppenheim in downtown Tampa, thanks -- Fred?

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks a lot, Miles.

Well, moments ago, we reported that Charley was a hurricane Category 3. But now, Orelon Sidney in the Weather Center has the latest updates for us.

ORELON SIDNEY, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Thanks a lot. It looks like indeed breaking news for us, because we are now reporting that this is a Category 4 storm. It looks like it is continuing to move towards Fort Myers. The wind speed is still about 20 miles an hour in forward direction. And that's something I did want to point out to you.

If you have winds, let's say they are 131 miles an hour, across this storm, as it moves northward, the speed on the right-hand side of the forward motion is going to be added to the wind speed.

So, let's say -- let's just say, because I don't have the official reports of the actual winds, but 131 would make it Category 4 -- let's say it's 131, add 20 miles an hour to that, you get 151-mile- an-hour winds on this side. Of course, you have to subtract 20 miles an hour from this side, but nobody is over here. We're over here, and that's going to be certainly a big problem as the storm continues to make its way towards Fort Myers, once again.

Tornado watch, you can see, has now been extended -- extends from Orlando to the southern portion of the state. That's in effect until 5:00 p.m. this afternoon. There will be more. Look at some of the lightning data that we're starting to get in now across Lake Okeechobee, continuing northward almost to Interstate 4.

These low-lying areas from St. Petersburg down to Port Charlotte are going to be in trouble, especially if the storm comes in at an angle something about like 30 degrees, because that area then will be probably under water, depending -- or cut off from land anyway -- depending on the angle that the storm moves in.

Look at some of the very latest information we have no rainfall. Not a lot of rainfall, yet. This is the rainfall accumulation now since early this morning. Starting to inch our way towards a half an inch in some locations.

Look at this. Even in the east along Interstate 95, starting to inch up some rain amount here, greater than one inch in some very localized thunderstorms.

Just want to emphasize to you, not only hurricane-force winds -- flooding, tornadoes. This is going to be a real problem for much of the State of Florida for this afternoon.

We again updated this now from a Category 3 to a Category 4. Look at the kind of damage that we can receive. Hang on just a moment, I'm getting some new information from Dave Tennant (ph). Just a second.

OK, 162 knot flight level wind. We have to convert that to miles per hour. This is your miles per hour. Hold on just a moment. I want to make sure I get this right. That would be 162-mile-per-hour winds at flight level; 70% of that is extrapolated down to the surface, and that would make our flight level winds, our surface winds then in the Category 4.

So, 162-mile-an-hour flight level wind. They fly into the storm well above 10,000 feet. Generally the stronger the storm is, the higher they'll fly in. So, they take the wind speed there and they extrapolate it down to the surface and estimate the surface wind speed. The surface estimated wind speed then would put this at a Category 4 -- Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: All right, this is pretty serious now. Thanks very much...

SIDNEY: You're welcome.

WHITFIELD: ... Orelon Sidney.

Well, some folks are clearing out of Fort Myers ahead of Hurricane Charley, understanding the gravity of the situation. I want to get the situation report now from Lauri McMahon. She's with the Iona-McGregor Fire Department and joins us on the telephone.

And Lauri, give me a sense right now. Now we know it to be a Category 4. How concerned are you about your very low-lying area?

LAURI MCMAHON, IONA/MCGREGOR FIRE DEPARTMENT: Well, we're very concerned, because we suspect and are concerned that only a small number of people have evacuated and heeded our warning.

And this is really the worst case scenario we can have right now, where we really had a small storm coming in that was supposed to go north of us and people weren't really concerned about it. And now, it's taken a direct turn and has intensified and, unfortunately, we're concerned that there are numerous and probably hundreds that are in great danger from the storm. WHITFIELD: And explain to me why you are so concerned, the type of residents you're dealing with. Many of them are, you know, year- round residents, many snowbirds, and the majority of whom are older citizens, correct?

MCMAHON: Exactly. And several of those special-needs people that have not taken the warning and are trying to ride out the storm and not understanding the intensity and the danger of the storm, putting themselves in imminent danger.

WHITFIELD: And so, what can you all do at this juncture to try to secure safety for them?

MCMAHON: Well, we have suggested that they head to shelters. Unfortunately, a shelter very close in our area has only 13 people was our last count for that shelter. And people still do have some time to get to, for instance, Tanglewood Elementary or to Jermaine (ph) or Alico Arena. And we suggest highly that they get with someone and they get to a shelter.

WHITFIELD: But aren't your shelters in that area subjected to the same adversities as any other structure in that low-lying community?

MCMAHON: Well, they're a little bit farther in. Example, for Jermaine (ph) and Alico, they're further in east, so they are not in the flood zone that we are in our district. And a lot of our district are smaller homes and mobile homes, which will be destroyed by these kinds of winds.

WHITFIELD: All right, Lauri McMahon from the Iona-McGregor Fire Department. Thanks very much for allowing us to check in with you...

MCMAHON: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: ... maintain some touching base with you throughout the day -- Miles?

O'BRIEN: All right, well people have fled their homes by the hundreds of thousands. Where are they going? With that part of the story, we turn it over to CNN's Ed Lavendera who, as it turns out, is very far north of where the trouble lies with Charley, in Dunedin, Florida.

Hello, Ed, how are you?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm doing well, Miles. You know, it was a little while ago the Governor's Office here in the State of Florida held a briefing. And you know, you really heard the urgency in their voice as they were urging people to continue the evacuation.

But beyond that, what you heard -- the urgency that you heard is that you have a very short amount of time to do it. And that's what really they have been trying to get to people. And we do understand that people are still taking advantage of these shelters. There have been almost 190 shelters now opened up statewide. Some 16,000 people were here in Dunedin, Florida, which is in the county just west of the Tampa area.

And we're about a mile away from the ocean here, but this is still a very secure place. One of the higher grounds -- higher points in this area. And so, that's why you're having several hundred people here show up.

Many of the people who have been evacuated, as we have been reporting, are from the low-lying areas, coastal areas, and in the mobile home communities throughout the southwestern coast of Florida.

But right now, what they're urging people is to build that intensity and the urgency to get to these shelters, because now people are starting to run out of time to get to them. And with the storm barely now a little further south of where we are, as you heard in the previous report as well, is that they really want to get people into these places.

There's not a lot to do here quite honestly. A lot of people are just reading and passing the time and doing crossword puzzles, but this is definitely the safest place to be for a majority of these people -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Nevertheless, as word gets out of what we've been reporting, that it's headed now toward Fort Myers and that part of the world, do you expect people are going to start make their way to the exits? Is there -- are they going to wait for official word, or they going to just wait for reports like we're giving right now?

LAVANDERA: You know, I think what happens in a lot of these cases is sometimes they don't really believe what we say sometimes until that very last possible moment. We have seen people moving inland and following the orders up to a certain point.

But you still have, you know, that other segment of the population that wants to hold on as long as they possibly can and figure out what the storm is going to do, and that's what emergency officials in this area are worried about.

You know, these emergency plans that they have in this area, there hasn't been a direct hit from a hurricane in this area in more than 80 years. They have the emergency plans. They are confident in their plans. But a lot of the evacuation routes haven't been put to the full-on test, and they're worried to see how that's going to play out, especially once the storm starts.

O'BRIEN: Ed Lavandera, thanks very much. It's amazing the scenes we see. We see people in hallways of shelters like this, and we see people out swimming in other live shots. It's incredible, the full range.

(WEATHER REPORT) O'BRIEN: You heard it here first right here on CNN. It's now a Category 4 storm. That's a very serious storm, folks, and we want you to heed all the warnings.

And as we mentioned a few moments ago, this could be one of the worst possible scenarios, in the sense that folks to the south of Tampa didn't really hunker down and evacuate as they did in Tampa, as the predictions indicated.

So, if you're in that part of the world right now, please, by all means, seek high ground. Back with more in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Whistling Straits was supposed to be a gauntlet of a golf course, but the numbers would be far and few between. And so far, the world's top players are whistling their way down the fairways, carding birdie after birdie at the PGA Championship, fairway, except for one very familiar name.

CNN sports reporter Patrick Snell joins us now with a live report.

We know that Phil Mickelson has done pretty good, and he's after his second major of the year, isn't he?

PATRICK SNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. Welcome back to Whistling Straits. Thanks very much. Where the rain is starting to come down.

I'm joined by Lorin Anderson, who's managing editor of "Golf" magazine.

Lorin, day two here, how challenging is it? The course is set up to be tough today, isn't it?

LORIN ANDERSON, "GOLF MAGAZINE": Yes, they've moved the tees back that they pushed up a little bit yesterday. There's a little bit of wind this afternoon. As we can see now, a little bit of rain coming down. They're not expecting heavy winds, but the course is set up to its full distance of about 7,500 yards, and certainly very challenging.

SNELL: Ernie Els, Phil Mickelson, two of the hottest players of the year. Els still hasn't won a major this year. Mickelson took the Masters of course, but could have added more? How big a part to play are these two going to have, do you feel?

ANDERSON: Well, I mean, we have had three majors this year, and neither one has finished out of the top 10 in any of the majors so far.

And I think with Ernie in particular, what you're seeing is a guy who is feeding off his own expectations right now. He knows he should have won at least one of them so far this year. And yesterday, 66, I think he was signaling to the rest of the field that he's ready to take one before the year ends.

SNELL: Of course, Tiger Woods, we need to bring in Tiger Woods. he's due to start in about an hour's time. It's a huge day for him. The unthinkable from his point of view, is it possible he might not make the cut?

ANDERSON: Yes, a couple of things happening for Tiger. First of all, if he misses the cut, it would be his first missed cut in about 130 starts, I believe. And also if he misses the cut there's a better chance he may lose his No. 1 ranking in the world rankings for the first time in five years.

SNELL: OK, what will that do to confidence and his stature in the game, do you feel? He's pretty precarious at the moment.

ANDERSON: Yes, I mean, he keeps talking a good game. He feels like his game is close and he's played well in a lot of the regular tour events this year, but he just has not played well in any of the majors. And I don't know if that's because he's expecting more of himself in the big events or he just has had some big breaks. But again, yesterday a very poor start for Tiger Woods.

SNELL: Let's take a quick recap of the leaderboard. We have Phil Mickelson, who's currently at 6 under par. But in the early lead, we do have Briny Baird at eight under par through 17. Tell us more about Briny Baird.

ANDERSON: Yes, Briny Baird, you know, he has not won on tour yet, but he's been out here a few years, solid player, won a couple million dollars last year, had some good finishes. Interesting, his father played out on the tour for many years, Butch Baird. So, he comes from a golfing pedigree, and certainly been around the game long enough to make a run this week.

SNELL: Now what do you think the chances are of another first- time major here. It's not even impossible, is it?

ANDERSON: Absolutely not. I mean, we've had nine first-time winners in a row since Tiger's last victory. So you know, these guys are all so good. We saw the scores yesterday. So many players playing well, anything can happen.

SNELL: OK, Lorin. Many thanks for talking to us. I'll send it back to CNN Center.

WHITFIELD: All right, Patrick Snell, thanks very much.

Well, more on a now Category 4 hurricane, Charley, when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Let's bring you up to date on what is now a Category 4 hurricane. There are only five categories. This is a very serious hurricane, equivalent to Hurricane Hugo, if you recall that one.

You are looking at live datastream coming from the Federal Aviation Administration, as well as the National Weather Service.

Obviously, what you're seeing there is the storm, Hurricane Charley, as it bears down on the southwestern coast of Florida. Those little blue dots are aircraft that are being routed all around that giant hurricane to stay out of harm's way.

Clearly, if you have anybody who is trying to travel to or fro to this part of the world today, it's not going to happen.

On the ground, serious problems as well. One of the big concerns is that all of the forecasts we have been telling you about up to this moment have been focusing on the Tampa Bay area. The storm not only has strengthened, but it has taken a bit of a right turn heading more toward the Fort Myers area, which is an area that has not had a massive evacuation requests, invitations, whatever, orders over the past couple of days.

So, we are watching it. If you are in that part of the world, by all means, now is a good time to get out of harm's way -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Well, far from the American coast, let's go to the Greek coast, where they are celebrating there, and already the opening ceremonies for the Olympic Games is under way in Athens, Greece.

CNN's Michael Holmes is there and joins us with a live report.

And there you have that beautiful Acropolis over your left shoulder.

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is beautiful, too, Fredricka.

Yes, the Acropolis behind me. The Parthenon, of course, the main temple on the Acropolis. That opening ceremony is under way now. It has been every bit as spectacular as was promised. They indeed flooded the main stadium and had a boat coming really across the center where a lot of the athletic events are going to be held.

Four-thousand people are taking part in this opening ceremony, and many of them are out there right now, just some of the -- as we speak, some of the dignitaries, the president of Greece, the president of Athens 2004 taking center stage. It's been an amazing trip, a journey to get here.

Of course, Athens, the ancient home of the Olympics and also the home of the modern Olympics, which began back in 1896. They've been waiting a long time for this night to come, and it has arrived. A very joyous moment for all Greeks, as the Olympics -- the catch cry, Fredricka, is, welcome home, and indeed that's what we're watching unfold at the moment.

Sadly, though, we are watching unfold, too, a real controversy here. Two of Greece's best known athletes, perhaps their best known athletes are in all sorts of trouble at the moment. This is the sprinter Costas Kenteris and Katerina Thanou. They both are medalists from the Sydney Games, household names here, revered in Greece, and were expected to be taking part in these Games, but they were called up to do drug tests, they didn't show up, and then a bizarre sequence of events. Apparently leaving their coach's home together, they had a motorcycle accident. No other vehicle involved. They're in-hospital now.

Their injuries are said to be minor, but they have been given until Monday to show up and take that drug test. Of course, innocent until proven otherwise, but a really bizarre few days regarding these two stars of the Olympics in terms of the Greek team -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Michael Holmes in Athens, thanks very much, for the beginning of the Summer Games.

And when we come right back, more on a now Category 4 hurricane. It's called Charley, and it's threatening the west coast of Florida and beyond. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com