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CNN Live Sunday

Cuba Faces Brunt of Hurricane Michelle

Aired November 04, 2001 - 15:24   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.
DONNA KELLEY, CNN ANCHOR: Cuba is bracing for the arrival of Hurricane Michelle. The Category Four storm has maximum sustained winds of 135 miles per hour. Residents in Cuba stocking up on food and water. In the meantime, the Florida Keys under a mandatory evacuation order. The islands are now under a hurricane warning.

Our Brad Huffines, our meteorologist, joining us here to bring us the latest on Hurricane Michelle.

BRAD HUFFINES, CNN METEOROLOGIST: The situation is very touchy, Donna because of a mandatory hurricane evacuation order. And right now in the Keys we're seeing tropical storm-force winds, which is usually when evacuation orders are lifted and people are asked to stay exactly where they are, because it's dangerous to drive in tropical storm-force winds.

Let me show you what is the latest right now on Hurricane Michelle, as the storm continues to move northeast at around 13 miles an hour now. The winds are at 135 miles an hour. This is a Category Four hurricane.

This is hitting Cuba right now with the same strength that Hurricane Andrew hit south Florida. That's why we've been watching this storm so very carefully. Watching hurricanes is kind of like watching a game of poker. You have to see which way the cards are laid on the table.

It looks like as of right now, this storm is going to continue that northeastward track toward the Bahamas. Missing most of South Florida with hurricane-force winds, brushing by with hopefully no more than tropical storm-force winds.

Winds right now, wind gusts from Miami down through the Keys anywhere from 30 miles per hour in and around Miami, to 30 and 40, even some wind gusts near 50 miles an hour down toward the Florida Keys. A hurricane warning still in effect for the Florida Keys, also for the west half of Cuba and for the Bahamas mainly for tomorrow because that storm will move across parts of Cuba and move into the Bahamas by later tomorrow.

Here's the forecast track. The storm should continue that track right now to the northeast, cross Cuba. In fact, it's moving landfall right now. By 7:00 p.m. tonight it's going to be leaving the coast of Cuba, entering the Bahamas near the Grand Bahama Island by 7:00 p.m. tomorrow -- scratch that, 7:00 a.m. tomorrow -- then be through the Bahamas by 7:00 p.m., heading out into open water. And finally, this storm will be a memory.

But as of right now, it looks as if the strongest hit is going to be Cuba. Heavy rains, gusty winds from Miami to Key West. And we're asking folks just to stay put there because of the heavy rains.

Donna, in some of these wind squalls, you can see wind gusts, even in Miami, up to 40, 50 miles an hour. So there is still some danger there, but thankfully no real hurricane danger eminently because of this storm.

KELLEY: OK, Brad, thanks very much. Will Hurricane Michelle turn up more trouble, though, for mainland Florida?

CNN's John Zarrella covering the story from Hollywood Beach on Florida's Atlantic coast. And he has the latest for us on preparations there.

How are you, John?

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: How are you doing, Donna?

Well, you really don't need hurricane-force winds to do damage here on Hollywood Beach or any of the beaches here in Broward County. You can see off here to my right anyway, this is low tide. You can see the waves really pounding in already. You can see how much of the beaches have been eroded away already.

Now we expect that the closest approach to South Florida from Hurricane Michelle will be some time tomorrow during the afternoon hours or early morning hours. And that would be, oh, about one to two feet of storm surge possibly in this area, only about one to three feet of rainfall.

And now all of this beach erosion didn't just start with Hurricane Michelle. It started about a week ago, when you had this big high pressure system to the north of us, pumping an onshore flow. Some areas have experienced 40 to 60 yards of beach already washed away. More beach going be washed away in the next day or two before all of this lets up.

The Broward County officials here calling it severe erosion. They've moved lifeguards stands up far away from the beach. We have a lot of people, though, milling around, walking the beach right now. Winds gusting, oh, probably about 25, 30 miles per hour. We might see some tropical storm-force winds here again tomorrow late morning, early afternoon, as Michelle makes its closest approach. Unless, of course, the storm should take a jog to the north.

Now down in the Keys, in Marathon in the Keys, because of the concern as a precautionary measure at the hospital down there, they evacuated about 10 special needs patients, put them on a C-130 -- U.S. Air Force C-130, evacuating them out of the Florida Keys, out of Fisherman's Hospital there. Again, that is just a precautionary measure. But what we're seeing here in the Hollywood Beach area is some gusty winds sustained about 25, 30 miles an hour, not tropical storm- force. Could, again, reach that later tomorrow. But right now, the biggest concern here is the continuation of really serious beach erosion, all up and down the Broward County beaches -- Donna.

KELLEY: OK, John Zarrella in Hollywood Beach, thanks. We'll see you soon.

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