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Various Impacts Of Hurricane Ida; Ways Drones Have Changed Media Coverage; Interruption Of A Live Report By A "Weather Dog;" Aired 4-4:10a ET

Aired September 02, 2021 - 04:00:00   ET

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


CARL AZUZ, CNN 10 ANCHOR: Hi, my name is Carl Azuz. It`s great to see you this Thursday as we get started on a new show. Here`s the sense of what

some communities are dealing with in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida. One, rescues continue several days after the storm hit. In southern Louisiana,

where Hurricane Ida made landfall on Sunday, a lot of people have been trapped by flooding or wreckage from the storm, and rescue crews haven`t

been able to get to some of the hardest hit areas yet. At least five deaths have been blamed on Hurricane Ida. Two, supplies are dwindling.

Officials in a parish southeast of New Orleans say water, groceries and medical supplies have been depleted and that they won`t be readily

available.

But some who have them as you see here, are sharing with neighbors. Three, the weather`s still a problem. It`s hot. Highs could hit 90 degrees

Fahrenheit in some parts of the region, but the National Weather Service says it will feel like more than 100 once you factor in the humidity and

many don`t have air conditioning. On Wednesday morning, the power was still out for almost 1 million homes and business in Louisiana, and more

than 36,000 in neighboring Mississippi. Officials say some power outages could last more than a month. To keep the lights and fans on, many people

are relying on generators but those are powered by gasoline and that`s another challenge.

Almost 13 percent of stations in Louisiana are reportedly out of gas, that includes more than half the stations in cities like New Orleans and Baton

Rouge and according to the website Gas Buddy, the number of actual outages may be higher than that because these figures don`t include the stations

that don`t have power and can`t serve customers. Gas supply problems in this region could contribute to higher prices across the U.S. But the

first thing on the minds of those returning home in southern Louisiana is how bad is the damage?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: When you get your first look at the town of Grand Isle, which sits on a barrier island on the southern tip of

Louisiana, you gasp. Utter devastation, colorful Gulf side homes destroyed, vehicles still under flood waters. Most importantly though,

there are no known deaths or injuries here, which is clear evidence how seriously evacuation orders were taken. Grand Isle is a peaceful,

beautiful place and that`s why it`s so emotionally wrenching right now to see it decimated like this.

It`s small, between 700 - 800 people live here year around. Most of the residents here are in the fishing industry, or the oil industry. Yes,

there is lots of damage during Katrina 16 years ago. Remember the eye of Katrina passed over Mississippi. This eye passed over Louisiana, only a

few miles to the west of this very town. Ricky Poki (ph) built this home with his family when he was 19 years old. He is now 58. He and his family

evacuated and he feared what he would find when he came back. His worst fears, now realized.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: With Katrina we had lost our front porches and the steps but the house was intact, roof was intact. Everything was intact.

TUCHMAN: His house, now like so many other homes unlivable.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I try to get a few things my wife is wanting me to get some wedding video and stuff from our wedding, and I`m trying to find that

right now.

TUCHMAN: I`m sorry for you guys.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.

TUCHMAN: How are you coping with it right now? Is it disbelief?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, we just -- we trust the Lord and as, you know, he gives and he takes away. So --

TUCHMAN: Ricky (ph) says he doesn`t plan to rebuild. After almost four decades living here, he says he and his wife will move to Kentucky where

they have family. Most residents have not yet come back here. They will face similar decisions to rebuild or not to rebuild on this wonderful, but

very vulnerable barrier island.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: 10 Second Trivia. Basaltic, andesitic, and rhyolitic all refer to what? Oceanic zones, Magma types, Prehistoric eras or Metal bands. These

are all types of magma, which becomes lava when they reach the Earth`s surface.

For decades, if camera operators wanted to get a shot from the air they needed to bring their equipment on a plane, a helicopter or a balloon.

More recently, drones have had a tremendous impact on how the media can record video and how they can get it without risking anything but the

equipment itself. Close ups of lava are just the tip of the iceberg.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is the fury of nature, captured by drone photography.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I hope I don`t lose this drone because the footage is insane.

JULIO CAVAJAL, DRONE CINEMATOGRAPHER: You have a lot of adrenaline. It`s like a bird and you can just fly it wherever you want.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s not just any drone. This is the cinematic world of First Person View, FPV. As far as drone shots go, you`re probably

familiar with these, where drones are piloted from the ground. With FPV, pilots fly from the drones point of view, watching live transmission from a

pair of goggles allowing shots to be more dynamic and fast-paced.

ELLIS VAN JASON, DRONE CINEMATOGRAPHER: You have more access. You`re actually floating. When you fly FPV, you observe, you explore nature from

a perspective which you cannot, not even with a helicopter.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Meet Ellis from Switzerland.

VAN JASON: So I mean, I just love it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And Julio from Costa Rica. From different sides of the world, they both share a passion for capturing cinematic FPV videos.

CAVAJAL: I would say the FPV actually allows you to keep that story flowing. They keep things (inaudible).

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In 2021, Julio filmed the erupting Pacaya Volcano in Guatemala. Following the rivers of flowing lava with his drone. In order

to capture these shots, he hiked up the mountain in the middle of the night and waited for first light at 5 am.

CAVAJAL: I stood right next to the flow of lava, 50 meters away. I was flying full speed with this drone. We wanted to make sure that it wasn`t

going to melt.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For Ellis, it took years to make it to the Angel Falls in Venezuela, the world`s tallest waterfall.

VAN JASON: Since FPV came out, I had told myself I have to go there.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To film these sequences, Ellis stood on a boat with a direct line of sight to his flight path.

VAN JASON: You had to keep the boat exactly in the middle of the river. (Inaudible) to the left, you have branches of trees, blocking my signal

makes it really hard if you go out three - four kilometers. So you had to exactly stay the same.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: While it may be easy to get lost in the memorizing footage, behind the scenes filming FPV is harder than it looks, a lot goes

into planning the journey. Ellis for example, has quite a bit of gear.

VAN JASON: Six drones. OK. At least that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The actual flight takes patience and nerves. It`s where all pilots must face their biggest fear.

CAVAJAL: I would -- I would say, like, (inaudible).

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. Losing their drones.

VAN JASON: You work to compete. You -- you went for the ultimate dive. You just lost your drone. Of course, you lost the footage as well and you

lost $1,000.

CAVAJAL: All I think about is, oh, please come back home. Please don`t (inaudible) so I was super happy.

VAN JASON: Yes. Every flight is a celebration.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For both Julio and Ellis, their FPV work provides opportunities to be creative and flex their technical skills.

VAN JASON: I spent probably 1,400 hours on just the technicality of FPV drones. You understand the technical components and you understand the

limitation. You know how far you can go.

CAVAJAL: (Inaudible) that`s it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: From the tops of the Dolomite Mountains, the volcanoes of Costa Rica, the coastlines of the Faroe Islands, to the

ancient Mayan ruins of Guatemala, creativity, technical know how and adrenaline come together to create the ultimate visual experience.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: Meteorologist Anthony Farnell at Global News Toronto knows how to stay focused. He was on air live recently when, what`s up dog? His pet,

who`s name is storm just wondered onto the set and Farnell barely missed a beat.

ANTHONY FARNELL, METEOROLOGIST FOR GLOBAL NEWS, TORONTO: Yes, Storm is in the building getting some treats, walking on thin air.

AZUZ: Farnell and Storm just kept on doing what they were doing as if this happens everyday. What a way to "weather" the "high pressure" or at least

put up a "front". When the unexpected "precipitates", when it`s raining "cats and dogs" or at least "dawgs" in the studio. Farnell didn`t need to

"pant" to keep his "cool", he just stayed "doggedly" determined get "bark" to the forecast. I`m Carl Azuz. We`re giving a shout out today to

Duchesne High School. It is located in Duchesne, Utah. They did the one thing you can do to get a shout out. They subscribed and left a comment at

Youtube.com/cnn10.

END