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Hurricane Matthew's Eyewall Within Miles of Florida Coast; Hurricane Matthew Batters Florida's East Coast. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired October 07, 2016 - 05:30   ET

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

[05:30:00] JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: That incredible amount of storm surge. The storm surge seven to nine feet. In some places, 11 feet -- that's above your head. That's why those coastal areas -- you had to get out because this was our worse fear is that this would come so close to the coast that that eye would actually touch the shore and that's where we would get the worst winds.

And so, hopefully, this storm will stay just off shore but I'll have to check that out, Chris, and look at the radar and see exactly where that eye is. Chad Myers will be able to tell us a lot more about that. But, like you said, it is a horrible combination of this wind, the storm surge, and the rain that this storm is bringing, Chris.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: The way it was explained to me, Jennifer, and maybe you can help us understand this a little bit better, is that the wind finishes off structures and situations. That the rain softens it up, the surge does damage, and then the wind can finish things off. Is that why there's such a concern for so many different types of outlying areas we have, like here in Jacksonville?

I'm 15 miles in the from the coast right now and have the St. Johns River right behind us which, obviously, feeds off the intercoastal and the ocean, and we're going to get another four feet of tide as it becomes high tide at about noon today and we're already up at the bank. So, once you get that extra surge, plus the rain that's coming down, and the wind, that combination effect winds up making all the difference?

GRAY: Yes. You know, it's scary because we always talk about the winds. We're talking about 100-plus mile an hour winds but so many more lives are lost because of the water, because of the surge, because of the flooding, because people didn't get out. And unfortunately, most of the deaths are because of the water. The wind, yes, it's going to knock over buildings that aren't sturdy, mobiles homes. It's going to take flying debris and turn it into projectiles so that's an unfortunate part about the wind. But when you combine that with the surge -- with the water -- that's what can make these storms so incredibly deadly, Chris.

CUOMO: All right, Jen, I don't want to get you soaked too early. We've got all day to go here. I'll check back with you in a little bit. Let me know what I need to know so I can bet back to you sooner.

Let's go to Chad Myers right now. Chad, in terms of what we're seeing as we get this latest advisory of gusts of 100 or so -- CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes.

CUOMO: -- at Cape Canaveral, and we see the eye at its closest point, so far, in the western wall, how does this square with what was expected?

MYERS: It squares because the storm now -- the outer eye wall just touched Cape Canaveral. That little part that Jennifer just talked about, how it juts out here. And if you look at a map of Florida you'll see that little point that sticks out. It's sticking out into the eye itself. So, the winds at Melbourne just coming in at 64; Vero Beach, 53; Orlando, 46; Daytona Beach, 58. So you see how the change -- how the delta between 64 and 100 is only about that eight miles that Cape Canaveral sticks out into the Gulf Stream.

And that's how it's happened all day long. We knew that the weather would be worse the farther you get off shore. But soon, if this storm continues on its track to the northwest, it won't be off shore any longer. So, New Smyrna, Daytona, and you, Chris Cuomo -- you are in for the eyewall if it continues on its track. If it turns slightly to the right, we stay out into the ocean.

Now, notice, Florida -- the coast is going to help us a little bit. See, if Florida went like this then we were -- we would definitely get the eyewall, no question, and significantly more damage. But Florida, itself, is helping us because the coast is doing this and the eye is doing this, paralleling the coast, itself. If we don't cross this, we're in great shape. We will -- we will take down the damage estimates by billions of dollars. If we stay out here we're absolutely fantastic, couldn't be better. That's best-case scenario.

I don't see that quite happening. I see this eyewall being right on that shore. There's Merritt Island, there's Cape Canaveral. They are sticking out and there is that eyewall that has just made landfall there. That is not considered landfall. Don't start quoting me on Twitter that saying that we made landfall. Landfall is when the center of the eye -- the center of the eye crosses land. I'm only talking about the eyewall. And Chris, you know what? The eyewall is way worse than the center because the center of an eye is calm. It's the eyewall that has the wind. Back to you.

CUOMO: Yes, that's a lesson that you only learn once, Chad, when you've experienced that center of the eye and you think it's over. And lo and behold, you have another whole wave to go. In terms of the duration, Chad -- in terms of the -- you know, that window of urgency and caution that people need to observe. As you said, Jacksonville -- the advisory shifted. We came here hoping we'd be able to stay up the whole time. Now, who knows. So, people are going to have to adjust as things adjust. What is that window of awareness?

[05:35:00] MYERS: Here's what happening, and I'll answer the question at the same time. The storm is staying in the Gulf Stream and the storm is becoming a wet hurricane. The amount of water that the hurricane is getting from the Gulf Stream, the power it's still generating from the Gulf Stream. The Gulf Stream is that warm water that's right through here. It's what people go fishing to. When you get on a fishing boat and you want to go charter fishing you go to the Gulf Stream. That's where the fish are, that's where the warm water is, that's where the power of this hurricane is coming from.

So, because this is going to be a wet hurricane for you, Chris, as the storm rolls up the coast this red area right through there, Cape Canaveral, that's wind gusts of 100 miles per hour. Watch the red circle. That's where the winds are going to be 100. If we stay a little bit offshore we're in good shape. But Daytona, you're going to get wind gusts of 100 here and that is noon. Palm Bay, same coast. Palm Coast, 12:00. On up here toward St. Augustine, that's 3:00.

And for you, Chris, your worst -- your closest approach to Jacksonville will be somewhere around 6:00 tonight and that's when that surge is going to push all of that water into the St. Johns River and I'm worried about that. There aren't that many cuts in the Outer Banks here -- (INAUDIBLE) Florida. But there's one cut and that's the St. Johns River. And all of this surge is going to want to go in one river and that's the St. Johns River.

And eventually, we get up into Georgia. That will be St. Simons and Savannah and Tybee. But for you, the worst you're going to see, believe it or not, is still 12 hours away.

CUOMO: Yes. I guess my biggest layman's concern right now is duration, Chad Myers. We're here in Jacksonville. We're just getting a taste. I'm not even near high tide yet and the St. Johns River behind us -- you know, this is a bridge city, Jacksonville. You need bridges to get a lot of the places you want to go. You know, it's already right up to the promenade here so duration is going to be a concern. Chad Myers, thank you very much. I'll be talking to you plenty this morning, brother. Thank you for the information. Alisyn, back to you in New York.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: OK, Chris, thanks so much. We want to check in with Nick Valencia. He is in West Palm Beach. That is the first place that felt the intensity of Hurricane Matthew but it has moved up the coast, Nick, away from you. So now what are you experiencing?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Alisyn, allow us to deliver some good news this morning. It appears that West Palm Beach has dodged a major bullet. We spoke to local authorities this morning. They are still waiting for the sun to come out to make a full assessment of the damage but so far, right now, no major reports of injuries, no significant damage. There are some downed trees -- things like this right here behind us, some downed powerlines. Thousands are still without power but it could have been much, much worse.

If you remember yesterday, Thursday morning, we were talking about West Palm Beach -- Palm Beach Island being in the eye of the storm -- in the crosshairs of Hurricane Matthew. That seems to have changed by Thursday night with the storm moving further north. Hurricane Matthew, which cost the lives of hundreds of people in the Caribbean, seems to have spared West Palm Beach for now -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: That is a relief, Nick. So, when it was at its worst -- when the outer bands were passing you or even that sort of inner -- that outer eyewall, what were you experiencing?

VALENCIA: Well, we saw it last night about 9:00 when we were on with Anderson Cooper. Just heavy rain, intense winds. Sustained mile per hour wind about 45 miles per hour. It was just constant, but it was an ebb and flow. You'd get some heavy rain, some heavy wind, and then it would -- a sign a relief and then that would come back. And it was just a pattern that continued all throughout the day.

We really thought that we were going to get hit hard in the overnight hours and it was a surprise to our crew when we woke up this morning for our reports that the power was still on. When we checked in with authorities they were saying a big sigh of relief here in West Palm Beach. It was going to be really bad here and, fortunately, that storm moved further north -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Nick, that is a relief for you and everyone there in West Palm Beach. Thanks so much for the status report from there. We'll check back.

Meanwhile joining us now is retired Army lieutenant general Russel Honore. General Honore, you'll remember, earned high praise for his handling of Hurricane Katrina. He knows the types of challenges facing emergency response teams this morning, as well as going forward. General, thanks so much for being with us.

LT. GENERAL RUSSELL L. HONORE, U.S. ARMY (RET.) (via telephone): And good morning.

CAMEROTA: General, what are your biggest concerns as you watch what's happening to the Florida coast right now?

HONORE: Well, thank God the daylight is about to come and the first responders will have a better view of what they're facing in terms of power lines done. It looks like the landfall will hit a lot of Florida during the daylight hours as opposed to coming at night. Thank God it missed Miami. That -- I couldn't sleep for three nights worried about it hitting Miami. Now it's avoided West Palm and that area, and it's getting into -- now you're looking at Jacksonville.

My concern is surge water getting in the canals. Many of those canals go in -- directly into subdivisions. And the rivers that run through Jacksonville -- that could be -- end up to look like New Orleans if the worst-case scenario plays out, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Oh, that I a scary vision. General, why were you so worried about Miami?

[05:40:00] HONORE: We have several million people there. It's very vulnerable. Over the years they've put a lot of manmade canals -- so people can go in and out of the subdivisions -- into the ocean. And it's just a nightmare scenario that one day, God forbid, one of them will hit Miami directly and it's going to be twice, three times as bad as Katrina was.

CAMEROTA: General, we had an emergency responder from Brevard County on with us who said that people who decided to stick it out are now calling 911 for help. And, basically, what they're telling these people is all we can do is take your name and address so that maybe afterwards we'll be able to find you. You know that experience well of the days after Hurricane Katrina and going and trying to find people. What's in store for these responders?

HONORE: Well, to try and get to -- I mean, the natural tendency of the first responders is to go out and find them and get them. The advice to people that still might be listening, preserve your cell phone. Use text, don't use dialing out to try to preserve your batteries and keep your phones working because if the first responders can communicate with you, they can come get you. But for the time being you're going to have to ride it out in highest part of your building and keep people together. If you've got people-- two or three people in three different houses they need to be together so they can help take care of one another in those isolated situations.

CAMEROTA: Those are excellent, lifesaving tips. General Honore, thanks so much for joining us with all of your experience this morning.

HONORE: Good morning.

CAMEROTA: OK, let's get back to Chris in Jacksonville where we hear the worst of it will be hitting -- all right, Chris -- we'll get back to Chris after a very short break -- where the worst will be hitting there at 6:00 p.m. tonight. So, there's a lot of Florida coast to cover as we watch these bands moving closer to the shore now. We'll be right back with NEW DAY.

[05:42:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:46:05] CAMEROTA: OK, we want to bring you up to speed now --

CUOMO: All right, we're --

CAMEROTA: -- on what's happening now. Chris, we're happy that we have your satellite back. We didn't know that you were going to be back with us because it down for a while, obviously, with all the wind.

So, let me just quickly recap for everyone where we are. If you look at the lower left of your screen you see there the satellite image and you can see there the outer eyewall that has now -- the western side of the eyewall that is touching Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral. That does not mean that this has made landfall. It is dancing up the coast there, Chris, as you can see. But it does mean the Kennedy Space Center is getting something like 115 mile per hour wind gusts. Chris, what are you feeling in Jacksonville?

CUOMO: I'm feeling urgency that every time you see our shot is up come to us right away because the shot is going to start going in and out a lot. We're getting hit right now by one of these outer feeder bands of rain so this is not the real deal that we're dealing with here in Jacksonville at all. Yes, the advisory has shifted. This is supposed to be a concentrated impact area but that's hours from now so you'll see, this is just a taste. We're still several hours away from high tide. There's going to be

another four feet of tidal action here on top of six to 10 feet of tide surge. And the St. Johns River behind us here, 15 miles inland from the ocean, is already just about at its bank capacity. So, you combine that with the wind which motivates the water, and then the rain which could be six to 10 inches, and that's why you get that combination effect that people are so worried about.

But as you were saying, Alisyn, we're just starting to see what Hurricane Matthew will be capable of. Some of these sections down south -- West Palm Beach and others in that area -- are better off than expected. But we have heard, at latest count, over 300,000 are without power. Now remember, that's going to be a lasting effect because crews cannot get out. We're getting gusts of 50, 80, 100 miles an hour at Cape Canaveral.

Emergency crews will not go out at steady winds above 50, it's too dangerous.So, you're going to have downed power lines, you're going to have people stranded. So, what do you do? Try to come together. Try to combine into safe spaces. Try to keep your community contact going. Reach out to emergency services, let them know where you are, and then wait as safely as you can.

We have hours and hours of this. Duration is the concern right now, Alisyn, as we have people stationed up and down the coast. As it swirls -- as Matthew continues its way up the coast, Alisyn, it will come in waves like we're experiencing right now. But again, in Jacksonville here, this is just a taste. Gusts may be at about 25-30 miles an hour and now a steady, heavier rain.

CAMEROTA: Yes, Chris, I -- those are good tips. It was very ominous to hear Gen. Honore and the other emergency responder down there that you talked to say if you decided to stay and you're calling 911 now -- and they are getting calls -- all we can do is take your name and address. We actually cannot come and get you right now.

But we do want to show you, Chris, because we were watching a live feed from our affiliate, a reporter named Sachelle Saunders, who was being battered around in Daytona and she seemed like she was losing her balance. These are live pictures from her camera right now that we're seeing on the right side of our screen. So, we want to check back in and see what was happening with her live shot and her coverage. So, let's play a moment of that for you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SACHELLE SAUNDERS, REPORTER, WKMG-TV, ORLANDO, FL: Yes, I don't know what to tell you guys. You can see what's happening right now. I'm holding myself up against a wall as the water and wind comes in from the ocean. As soon as I go to the other side of this wall then I'm safe from the wind. I'm doing this just to show you what it's like. I'm not sure what the miles per hour are but enough that if Iwasn't standing this way that it would kick me over. I'm going to send it back to you guys.

(END VIDEO CLIP) [05:50:10] CAMEROTA: Oh my gosh. So, Chris, with any luck -- we've

both covered hurricanes where you're in those 100 miles per hour winds that it looks like she's dealing with and it is, obviously, scary. And she was hanging onto the wall there for some balance. And you, you know, that's what -- luckily, the emergency responders told everybody to take cover but if people stayed behind those are the kinds of conditions that they're dealing with this morning.

CUOMO: Yes. I actually - I actually don't do that, Alisyn. I think the suggestion is not really worth it for people. I think it could be a little tempting. I know that people like to see what would it be like to be out in those conditions. This is more, for us, about making sure that as information has to get out and as situations change on the ground, very often authorities don't know until we tell them what we see. So, that's really our best service here.

So, let's get to Jennifer Gray right now. There are more intense effects down where you are. We've been hearing Cape Canaveral had gusts of over 100 miles an hour. What's the situation by you?

GRAY: Yes, we are just a few miles from Cape Canaveral and the winds are incredibly less than there are at Cape Canaveral, which is shocking because we are experiencing gusts of 65, 70 miles per hour. We're protected by a wall on the back side of our hotel. If I was out there I wouldn't be standing and, of course, it wouldn't be safe at all. But we are safe. We have pushed inland. We were on the coast yesterday. We had to inland.

In Brevard County, where we are just outside of Melbourne, emergency services are cut off so if you're in need there's no way for people to get to you. We do know that some of the shelters around town are at capacity, so that's good news. Look, there's one of those gusts right there. That's good news. It shows that -- (satellite down).

CUOMO: All right, Jennifer Gray's shot went down. You're going to see this all morning. You're going to see it with me, that's why we have a steady hand in Alisyn back in New York.

What happens with these hurricanes is what you see on your satellite screen. As it spins around everything changes. Right now, we're nowhere near the eye of Hurricane Matthew. It's hours from us. But these outer feeder bands, as they're called, are bringing rain with increased intensity. Still, the winds here, in my experience, maybe 25-30 miles an hour, but if you look at the live picture on the screen right now from the areas that are in a more concentrated impact area down south -- Daytona Beach coming up into Cape Canaveral. Look on your screen right now and you'll see what the intensity can be.

And remember, the wind is the flashy part. That's what gets everybody's attention. The big numbers, 100 miles an hour. That's how they categorize the hurricanes. Matthew, right now, category three. That means it can pack 120 mile an hour winds. But it's this trifecta. It's those winds, it's the storm surge which creates tidal action, right? So, you're going to have rivers like the St. Johns River behind me, come up over its banks, start saturating powerlines and ground, destabilizing structures -- (satellite down). CAMEROTA: All right, as Chris warned, the satellite does go down with all of these winds. So, what you're looking at right now is where the satellite image is. So just to update you, the bands of this powerful hurricane are now hitting Cape Canaveral and the Kennedy Space Center. We checked in with a spokesperson there who say that all of their heaviest equipment is, obviously, battened down and they think that they're going to be able to ride it down. But they are experiencing something like 115 mile per hour winds.

Our Jennifer Gray is close to there. She is in West Palm Bay. Jennifer, tell us what you're experiencing there.

GRAY: Yes, we just got knocked off the satellite because we had some of the strongest gusts of the night and that's why we aren't standing out there because a lot flying debris as well. We are protected behind this hotel wall but, still, all three of us -- our entire crew out here -- was almost knocked down because of that really strong gust. And that's what you're going to get with these bands, especially very close to the eyewall where we are. It's unpredictable. It is like a huge thunderstorm that's wrapping around and so those gusts will come without warning. And so, that's why it's so important just to be in a safe place. We're as safe as possible here, as well, so quite a ways inland.

But like I was saying before, all those emergency services in Brevard County where we are, they've been cut off. So, if you need something, unfortunately, they're not going to be able to get to you until after the storm. That's why it was so important for people to get out. Also, the shelters are at capacity so -- or some of the shelters are -- so that's good news that people did get to safety.

If you can hear that, Alisyn, the winds are howling out here. This is definitely the strongest that we've seen of the night, as well as the rain and the wind. That eyewall just very, very close. We're actually on the southwest corner of that eyewall now, so as it passes to the north conditions should improve here but, unfortunately, not the case up the coast, Alisyn.

[05:55:10] CAMEROTA: Jennifer, we can hear it and we can see it. We can see you being battered around and, of course, the flying debris is a big risk. So please take cover, be careful. We will be back with you very shortly and we'll bring you all an update after this very quick break.

[05:55:25] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:58:35] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN breaking news.

CUOMO: All right, to our viewers in the United States and around the world, this is NEW DAY. I'm Chris Cuomo in Jacksonville. We have Alisyn Camerota in New York, and we need here there because the shots are starting to go in and out because of the effects of Hurricane Matthew.

Now, the eye of it -- the outer wall -- the western edge of its eye is now just a few miles off the Eastern coast of Central Florida. The effects are starting to be felt more and more up and down the coast with bands of intensity. Here, gusts are picking up over 30 miles an hour. A tropical storm is 39 miles an hour. And this is just the beginning. Jacksonville is now expected to take the most concentrated hit of this storm as it makes it way, edging north and northwest up the eastern coast of Florida. But that isn't for many hours from now so duration of effect of Hurricane Matthew is now in play.

Over 300,000 people are without power. Many of them will not have that power restored for some time because emergency services can't get out. Winds are gusting over 70, 80, 100 miles an hour in places, specifically Cape Canaveral, so you can't get crews on the roads over 50 miles an hour. We have local authorities worried about downed powerlines and people being stranded. They're being cautioned to stay together where it's safe. To stay in contact with each other so you can help emergency responders and first responders find where people are when they can get out.

Jennifer Gray is in Palm Bay in Central Florida near Melbourne. Much more intense effects there. Jennifer, what's the situation now?