Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Sunday Morning

Hurricane Erin Bears Down on Bermuda

Aired September 09, 2001 - 08:06   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.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: For the latest on Hurricane Erin as it bears down on Bermuda, we are joined on the phone by Andy Newman. Now, he is the tourism official from Key West, Florida, who happens to be attending a tourism meeting in Bermuda.

Good morning to you Andy, excuse me.

ANDY NEWMAN, SOCIETY OF AMERICAN TRAVEL WRITERS: Good morning, Martin, from Bermuda.

SAVIDGE: Now, have you had a talk with your travel agent? You go from hurricane-prone Florida and go smack-dab into the path of Hurricane Erin.

NEWMAN: Well, you know, of course, we've been very lucky down in Florida and the Florida Keys and we haven't seen any storms this year. But, no, I'm actually scheduled to be here through Wednesday because we were at the Society of American Travel Writers convention, which actually wraps up today, but there are a couple of post-convention activities which I am scheduled to be here at.

SAVIDGE: Well, you may have a lot to write about, depending on how things work out. What is the mood? What is the sense of people there?

NEWMAN: I think the sense is fairly calm. At the hotel I'm at, obviously, a number of our convention constituents are a bit frustrated, obviously. Most of the flights have been canceled today here in Bermuda, but I don't see any type of, you know, unusual excitement. In fact, yesterday, of course, Bermuda went under a hurricane watch at what might have been 11:00 your time, and then the warning was issued at about 5:00 PM Bermuda time.

So, I didn't see a lot of boarding up that you might normally associate hurricanes with. The supermarkets seemed a little bit busier than normal, but I think that what we're expecting here in Bermuda, Martin, is, you know, some very strong tropical force winds, probably around 50 - 55 miles an hour, and probably some very heavy rain and some medium-level surf.

That's, of course, contingent on the storms present track. But, the storm, of course, moves a little bit more to the left and shifts more to the, you know, west/northwest, you know, then we're going to see much more serious conditions than that. SAVIDGE: Sure. Well, how is the weather now as you look out?

NEWMAN: You know, we've got some sun peeking through, but it's mostly overcast and the wind looks like it's in the 15 to 20 mile an hour range.

SAVIDGE: Now, being a veteran, as you look at the natives that live there, do they seem as serious about this as, perhaps, they should be?

NEWMAN: Well, you know, that's an interesting question. I was sort of surprised yesterday that I didn't see a little more activity, quite frankly. But, you know, it was funny, on Friday as I was going around the island with a taxi cab driver, I asked him, I said, "So, what do you think about this hurricane that's coming"?

And he says, "Oh, no, man, you know, this thing is going to go ahead and turn away and turn to the north."

So, I don't think that his forecast was accurate, but I think everybody is sort of taking in stride. The Emergency Management officials were on the TV last night and, you know, asking everybody to use some common sense and to go ahead and to finish up their hurricane preparations by first thing this morning.

You know, originally we thought that this storm was going to impact us probably tomorrow, and then late yesterday they were talking about 3:00 this afternoon. And now it seems like the storm will pass closest to Bermuda right around 6:00 to 9:00 at night, this evening.

SAVIDGE: All right, Andy, well, we wish you and all the people in Bermuda good luck. Andy Newman is a tourism official from Key West, Florida, now in the path of a hurricane bearing down on Bermuda.

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