Return to Transcripts main page

New Day

Sheriff Carmine Marceno is Interviewed about Lee County; Catastrophic Destruction in Fort Myers; Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) Press Briefing. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired September 29, 2022 - 08:30   ET

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

[08:30:00]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE, WKMG REPORTER IN KISSIMMEE, FLORIDA: And coming up. They said in the last two hours, they just couldn't take it anymore. They said water was coming up through the toilets, up through the sinks. Water was everywhere. Their cabinet doors were floating open. They said all of their furniture was floating. And so they got to the point that they had to climb out of a window as well. And she left with her smallest kids, ages three to 12, and those were the people that you saw earlier that were over standing in the parking lot that had just been rescued.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: And that's in Kissimmee. That's in the Orlando area. Central floor seeing flash flooding, freshwater flooding. The water rising inside the houses there.

This storm is not done. Hurricane Ian bearing down as a tropical storm now on Orlando. Its path will take it up the peninsula. There are very serious flood warnings there. Life threatening storm surge warnings on the Atlantic Coast after it heads back into the ocean as well.

This is CNN's special live coverage.

When we come back, we're going to be speaking to some people who rode out the storm on the coast.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, there goes the - there goes the bed! Holy cow!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:35:12]

BERMAN: I'm John Berman, live in Tampa.

I'm standing in the wind. Really the aftermath of what was Hurricane Ian, now bearing down on Orlando as a tropical storm, bringing winds but life-threatening flooding as well. We just heard from people who had to leave their homes in the Orlando area because of the freshwater flooding. The waters were rising so high.

It is clear this morning some of the worst damage was on the southwestern coast of Florida in the Fort Myers area.

Joining me now is the Lee County sheriff, Fort Myers is in Lee County, Carmine Marceno.

Sheriff, thank you so much for being with us.

Tell me what you and your people are seeing this morning.

SHERIFF CARMINE MARCENO, LEE COUNTY, FLORIDA: Good morning. Thanks for having me.

You know, we've got a long road ahead of us. We tracked the storm from the very first second. It was very unpredictable. It turned into. It came in through, you know, obviously, the Fort Myers area. It got hit with a strong category four, almost five, just a couple kilometers per hour underneath that five.

And, again, this is the beginning of the assessment. You know, I could tell you, we got hit very, very hard. There are places we can't even access to get to people, to see exactly what we have.

BERMAN: What kind of damage are you seeing?

MARCENO: We've got, I mean, trees down. We've had, you know, trailers floating. We have cars that have been, you know, taken - taken with water, just taken away. I mean structural damage. And are assessing as we speak.

You know, we - it's hard to tell exactly what you have until you're able to start to access these places. There are people that I know that did not evacuate. They're in their homes. They've tried to take cover. They've gone to the second floor and possibly even the attic because the water got so high here. With a surge of approximately 15 feet, give or take, you know, that's what's going to compromise structures and also that's the most deadly.

BERMAN: I spoke to a coast guard commander, Rear Admiral Brent McPherson (ph), who told me the Coast Guard is engaged in rooftop recues now, air rescues, taking people from rooftops in the Fort Myers area. Are you seeing that?

MARCENO: Oh, you know, I haven't personally seen that. I'm with my incident command center. I will tell you, though, I mean, our Governor DeSantis has done a great job. At every level people have come together here. They're deploying all assets and resources. The team here is working hard. And, again, this is the very beginning of an assessment. I mean we got crushed. We got hit very, very hard. So, we don't know exactly what we're staged (ph) with but we're going through in full force. And we do know the great state of Florida is going to prevail and we will get through this horrific event.

BERMAN: How many calls are you getting from people in need of rescue? MARCENO: As of last night, I knew that we had an extraordinary number of calls because again once it hit the sustained wind of 45 miles an hour, we pull resources off the street because it's no longer safe to respond. And that's the point we drive home before the storm is, look, once it hits 45 miles an hour, we need you to bee in your place because then we can't get to you.

As of right now, we are prioritizing calls and, you know, we - we're looking at roughly give or take a couple thousand calls that came through 911 of people that are in need and we just - some of them we can't access right now. So, we're utilizing all different types of tools to get them.

BERMAN: And what reports are you getting of fatalities?

MARCENO: Again, I don't know the exact numbers. It's very preliminary. I do know we have roughly five that are confirmed in the fatality scene (ph), five, but we have prepared - we don't know what that number is. And while people are pressing, you know, there's a lot of different rumors out there. But, again, I can't give a definitive number because I don't have that through assessment. The only think I know is that we're doing everything possible to mankind to make certain that we preserve and protect life.

BERMAN: Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno, I know you're out there working as hard as you can. Thank you for sharing what information you do have this morning. We wish you the best of luck.

MARCENO: Thank you so much. Thank you.

BERMAN: We're going to hear very shortly from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. This is his first public statement this morning. This could be some of our first official information, damage assessment, the fatality county and what they are facing as this storm continues to move up the peninsula.

This is CNN's special live coverage. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:43:57]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Right now we are awaiting a press conference from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, where we are expecting to hear the first from him today following this, the inundation of so much of his state. So much of his state without power. Obviously, a lot of questions about how Floridians fared through all of this.

I do want to get now to our Randi Kaye, who rode out this storm in some pretty rough conditions and is now there surveying the aftermath of it.

You're in Fort Myers. And we're getting a little sense of the destruction behind you. What are you seeing there, Randi?

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Good morning, Brianna. We are -- we're making our way to - to the Fort Myers area this morning because we wanted to see - because it was so hard it. We're finding communities like this, basically underwater. And this is - the water has actually receded quite a bit. We were just talking to a handful of neighbors here and they told us that they rode out the storm. They thought it was safer. They thought it was going to Tampa.

We talked to one man who rescued an 85-year-old woman on a boat because he was worried about her, he saw her car and knew that the water was coming up.

[08:45:03]

We spoke to both of them this morning. And she told us that she had been -- the water came up in ten seconds and was at shoulder height for her -- she's 85 years old -- and was able to get out after being tossed around by the furniture. She had bruises all over her.

But just, if you look at, you know, this is - this is what's gone on in here. We've gone into some of these trailer homes. There -- it's just thick with mud. People have lost their homes completely.

So far no word of any fatalities in this neighborhood, which is - which is very good news. But there is several hundred people who live here. So, some neighbors are going door to door.

But let me just show you - whoa, it's a little bit deeper over here. Let me just show you what else is over here. Look at this. Look at that power line. That's - that's how much destruction there was in this neighborhood.

You can see the power lines are down. This is a real situation here. The Cajun Navy was here trying to rescue some people. But there's water, there's wind and, again, a lot of them stayed because they thought that it was going the other way and then it hit in this area.

So, we did speak to a young couple who had just bought their home here, moved here about a year ago, and this is what they told us this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: So you weren't here during it?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No. We were going to stay but then all of our family members kept called us and tell us it would have been - it wouldn't have been a good idea. And we're actually glad we didn't stay. There's other people that did and their trailer is just as bad as our but they can't do much about it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They don't want to leave.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is the only home they have.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're - they're in there right now and they won't leave until they find another, you know, home and other transportation. So, they're stuck.

KAYE: I saw you were really emotional earlier.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am.

KAYE: What - tell me what -- what is that about?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's about Kelly (ph) working so hard for everything she's earned, you know? Being so hard working, honestly, doesn't matter. It just is destroyed and it's ruined. And then you have to start all over again. And, honestly, where do you start? How do you start in this?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE And that's the question this morning that a lot of people have, where do they start? How do they rebuild? Do they rebuild? How do you get out from under all this water and all this muck in a community like this? This is their livelihood. This -- people are -- they just don't know where to start. We've seen people in boats with their - with their dogs, with their animals, with their reptiles. They're trying to save everything they can. Luckily, most of them do appear to have survived the storm, Brianna.

KEILAR: Randi, it's devastating with what people are going through there and it's going to be months and months of rebuilding ahead for them.

Randi Kaye, thank you so much.

I do want to let folks know that we've gotten reports that a causeway in the Fort Myers area has partially collapsed. So, this is, obviously, a significant development here. We're going to be right back with more information on this. A causeway partially collapsing in the Fort Myers area.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:52:12]

BERMAN: All right, this is CNN's special live coverage of Ian, now a tropical storm hitting the Orlando area. We are waiting for a live news conference from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. This is his first chance to make a statement this morning and our first chance to get the official assessment, perhaps, of some of the damage done along the southwestern coast, and also the forecast as Ian does bear down on Florida with life-threatening flash flood warnings for the central and even northern part of the state.

As we are awaiting Ron DeSantis, the Florida governor, we're getting our first reports of what could be a major infrastructure failure off of Fort Myers, one of the hardest-hit areas. The Sanibel Causeway, which connects Fort Myers to Sanibel and Captiva Islands. A local reporter just filed this report from really what was that causeway.

Listen. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE, WBBH REPORTER: The first time in daylight that we are seeing this catastrophic and quite frankly historic site here on the Sanibel Causeway. The bridge connecting the mainland, Fort Myers, to the Sanibel and Captiva Islands.

I just want to step out and just let you take this in for a second. This is 50 feet -- approximately 50 to 60, maybe 65 feet of the bridge that has collapsed into the Gulf of Mexico during the Hurricane Ian that we experienced for the last 48 hours here. This is a monumental piece of the bridge. I don't know any other word than to say monumental piece of this bridge that collapsed.

And, Paul, can we zoom in here to this actual piece of roadway? This one here, you can still see the guard barrier, kind of the jersey barrier, if you will. And you see the center line. It's just laying in the Gulf. It's truly a breathtaking sight. Wherever we walked up here in the middle of the night, you know, it was kind of like one of those moments where you say, it can't be so, it can't be so. And, you know, we're being as safe as we can.

Paul, can you kind of look down here and just show where it crumbled in the sand and the concrete underneath this bridge that once held it up and carried travelers. You and me, your loved ones, and your friends and family and all of our friends that visit us to the beautiful islands of Sanibel. Now, it is entirely collapsed.

We'll go back this way. You know, now that we have some daylight, it's much more to take in. Let's look at this light post. It is about level to my eyes right now, but it is actually sitting about --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Devastating.

All right, let's go to Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida, briefing the press.

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL): Working with hospitals overnight who have been on generator power. We're in the process of evacuating two health care facilities to safer locations north.

[08:55:00]

We're also surging more medical personnel into the area.

As of 6:00 a.m. this morning, they have 2.02 million reported power outages. But outside of southwest Florida, we may have additional outages from central and northeast Florida impacts and people should anticipate that. If you look, there's 1.5 million outages in seven southwest Florida counties. Lee and Charlotte are basically off the grid at this point. Sarasota has a quarter of a million without power. Hillsborough, 222,000. Pinellas, 150,000. Manatee, 129,000.

The Charlotte and Lee reconnects are really going to likely have to be rebuilding of that infrastructure. And so there are linemen, there are crews that are on their way down right now, but that's going to be more than just connecting a power line back to a pole.

The other counties likely are not going to require the extent of the structural rebuild, but, of course, that's going to be assessed as the day goes on, but we do have a huge amounts of resources that are en route and are going to work to get people's power on as quickly as possible.

We've also had interruptions in communications as a result of the storm, particularly in southwest Florida. We have a hundred portable cell towers being deployed into the area. And those would be put up once it's fully safe to do so.

FDOT is on the ground, working on making sure that the roads and interstates are open. Alligator Alley on 75, across into Collier and into Lee County, is open, the traffic is flowing. I-75 south into Charlotte County is open and flowing. Portions of Lee County, they're still looking at. As you know, some of those areas, Cape Coral, city of Fort Myers, they got really, really inundated and really devastated by this storm. So, the hope is, is that all of 75 will be open. But most of it is open. And it gives us what we need to be able to continue to move supplies into the area.

We have a hundred engineers on site to do bridge inspections, and they work in teams of two, as they assess the damage, and they can ensure safety, then bridges can be safely reopened. Now, of course, we do have reports of structural damages to bridges, such as the bridge going on to Sanibel Island. And I anticipate there will likely be other bridges that have suffered damage. But once bridges are inspected and determined to be safe, they will be reopened as soon as possible. But we know Sanibel Causeway, and we also know Pine Island Bridge, those two are not passible and they are going to require structural rebuilds.

Right now, if you look in central Florida, you're looking at potential major flooding in Orange and Seminole Counties, St. John's River, all the way up potentially into northeast Florida and Jacksonville. The amount of water that's been rising and will likely continue to rise today, even as the storm is passing, is basically a 500-year flood event. And I know Seminole County has done evacuations. I know they've opened shelters. But we're going to see a lot of images about the destruction that was done in southwest Florida. And, obviously, we have massive assets there. But people should just understand, this storm is having broad impacts across the state. And some of the flooding you're going to see in areas hundreds of miles from where this made landfall are going to set records. And that's going to obviously be things that will need to be responded to.

We have, of course, massive amounts of food and water in the area. We're going to have probably close to 300 truckloads of food and water in the area today. Fortunately, most of our school districts will be able to reopen on Friday or Monday. You know, Lee County is in a very difficult situation, Charlotte, so we're going to work with them and see when they can get back on their feet, but the damage there has been just so extensive that it's a very difficult situation. We have received a major disaster declaration for nine counties, but

we do expect more - I just spoke with the president this morning. He offered support. I told him thanks for this, but because the storm has moved inland and caused a lot of potential damage in the center part of our state, that we were going to be asking for those counties to be expanded and included there. But for now, we have approval for Charlotte, Collier, Desoto, Hardy, Hillsborough, Lee, Manatee, Pinellas and Sarasota. That will allow individual Floridians to seek individual assistance from FEMA. And that will be something that, as you have people that have been displaced due to the catastrophic impacts of Hurricane Ian, you know, that's going to be something that's going to be necessary.

[09:00:09]