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Hala Gorani Tonight
Interview With Mayor Linda Hudson Of Fort Pierce, Florida; Interview With Conservative M.P. Alistair Burt; Speculation On Outcome Of Tomorrow's British Parliament Vote; Dorian Devastates Northern Bahamas, Heads Toward Florida; Quiet At Lebanon Border After Weekend Clashes; "Numerous Fatalities" In California Boat Fire; Protesters & Police Return To Streets After Student Boycott; U.S. Prepares For Dangerous Hurricane Dorian. Aired 2-3p ET
Aired September 02, 2019 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:00:19]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN breaking news.
HALA GORANI, CNN HOST: Hello and welcome, I'm Hala Gorani.
Tonight, we're following two breaking stories: A Category 4 hurricane is closing in on the United States' east coast, and there is also this story,
a political showdown, shaping up right here in the U.K. Just last hour, we heard from the British prime minister, Boris Johnson. His Brexit message
is coming up in just a few minutes. He's also being challenged by members of his own party.
But we're going to start with Dorian, Hurricane Dorian. It is barreling down, very slowly this hour, on Florida. The northern Bahamas is getting
pummeled and the east coast of Florida is starting to feel the impact of the hurricane, with those outer bands -- you can see it there, on the
screen -- lashing to east coast of the United States and those portions of Florida.
It is creeping towards Florida as a Category 4 storm, after lingering, nearly stationary, over the northern Bahamas at a Category 5. Widespread
destruction, flooding and a total loss of power are reported there. Take a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI (voice-over): This video, showing just some of the fury of Dorian. The director of the National Hurricane Center in Miami calls it an
absolutely devastating, life-threatening situation for the Bahamas. Here is the Bahamian prime minister.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HUBERT MINNIS, PRIME MINISTER OF THE BAHAMAS: This is probably the most sad and worst day of my life, to address the Bahamian people. And I just
want to say that as a physician, I've been trained to withstand many things. But never anything like this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: The outer bands of the hurricane, as we are seeing on this animation here, buffeting South Florida. Hurricane warnings and mandatory
evacuations are in effect for large parts of Florida's eastern coast.
Miguel Marquez is live for us in Vero Beach, Florida. Talk to us about the situation where you are right now, Miguel.
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We are starting to feel it. This storm is still a very, very long way away. It's not meant to be close
to this area for about 24 hours now, but this is the Atlantic. This is Vero Beach, Florida. This is the Atlantic side, the barrier island side.
The waves, the sustained winds that we're already feeling are the very first effects. I mean, your heart goes out to those people in Bahamas, if
this is what we're already seeing here.
The situation on the ground, here, is great uncertainty. We have -- people here have no idea if it's going to hit land in this area, and how bad it
will be. There is a mandatory evacuation order for the barrier islands, here in Florida, so most people are moving inland, out of a complete
abundance of caution.
And there is great concern. They are moving patients out of hospitals. Those electronic scooters that are so popular in cities, have been ordered
up off the streets because they could turn into projectiles if it is bad enough.
Every precaution is being taken, not just in Florida but all the way up the coast. This storm, moving so slow, no one really has an idea of where it
will eventually land, what the effects will be. So a lot of uncertainty, a lot of fear.
But looking at those pictures of the Bahamas, it is a clue of what we are starting to see here. We're starting to feel another bit of rain come in.
We've had those rain bands come in, where it rains extraordinarily hard for a short time. The wind is now at a sustained pace, the rain, coming back
in.
This is only going to get worse for the next 24, 36 hours, people starting to batten down the hatches here and getting ready for whatever Dorian
brings -- Hala.
GORANI: And you're just getting the very outer bands of the hurricane. What evacuation orders are in place? And crucially, are people following
them?
MARQUEZ: In large part. We drove a large section of the barrier islands here. Along the Florida coast, you have barrier islands, all the way down.
I mean, this is what the ocean basically looks like, all the way down that way. It's a lot of vacation homes, it's a lot of hotels. For the most
part, they are boarded up, they are either closed and not accepting anybody coming in.
The bridges that take people from here to the mainland, at 45 knots, when that wind hits a sustained 45 knots, those bridges will shut in both
directions. So people, you know, whether they think they can survive or not in this hurricane, and whether or not it's a direct hit, even if it's
50 miles offshore, such intense winds and possibly tides.
[14:05:14]
There are predictions for a king tide, as they call it here, which means the moon and the earth are in the right position, that you have the highest
tides of the year. Those will coincide with that storm surge coming in. So you could get several feet, seven, eight, nine, 10 feet of storm surge
coming in here, and that could be very destructive to property and deadly for individuals as well -- Hala.
GORANI: All right, thank you. Miguel Marquez in Vero Beach, Florida.
Let's get a closer look at what's happening now and what could happen next. CNN meteorologist Jennifer Gray is standing by. And Miguel was mentioning
that this is a very slow-moving storm, Jennifer.
JENNIFER GRAY, CNN WEATHER CORRESPONDENT: Oh, yes. You could outwalk this storm, it is moving so slowly. It's only moving at about two kilometers
per hour, and even that may be a little bit generous. I think it's actually just sitting stationary, to be honest, at least the last couple of
frames have looked like that.
Still has winds of 240 kilometers per hour with gusts of 305. This is a dangerous Category 4 storm, the most powerful storm to hit the Bahamas for
sure. And it's just sitting there, right over Grand Bahama Island. This is one of the main islands in the Bahamas, and Freeport, one of those main
cities, is just getting blasted by this storm.
The inner eyewall, the most powerful portion of this storm, is impacting that city right now and you can see, this is a six-hour loop and it looks
like it is just standing still. It is unbelievable, to see this. It's very hard to watch, even knowing the devastation that's occurring.
These are the current wind gusts. And you could see, 44 kilometers per hour in West Palm Beach. Still a ways away, but still gusty conditions
across the coast of Florida.
And then it's all going to be depending on how close the storm gets to the coast, as what the impacts will be. Because this storm is expected to take
that northern turn by tomorrow, and it's supposed to pick up a little bit of forward speed as well. That'll determine a lot, as far as how close
this gets to the coast.
But we could still be talking about a major storm just offshore of the central portion of the coast in Florida, near Daytona Beach, Melbourne.
And this is going to eventually bend back to the north and east. We could see a landfall in, say, South Carolina, North Carolina.
We have the outer banks of North Carolina, that could have a landfall with 160 kilometer-per-hour winds. That's a very vulnerable part of North
Carolina because of those barrier islands, those outer banks. We could see a lot of beach erosion, storm surge. That area is very low-lying and very
vulnerable to storms, so that would be devastating in itself, even with a weaker storm impacting that portion of North Carolina.
You can see the hurricane watches and warnings in place, all up and down the Florida coast. A lot of the airports have been impacted by this as
well.
And there's that wind threat. We could see, even quite a ways inland, west of some of the major interstates that run right along that coast, 119 to
177 kilometers per hour, even pretty far west and even some of the major cities, like Orlando, 93 to 118 kilometer per hour winds. And we could see
storm surge all up and down the coast, one to three meters, which is quite a bit in Florida, a lot of it very low-lying -- Hala.
GORANI: Jennifer Gray, thanks very much for that update.
Linda Hudson is the mayor of Fort Pierce, Florida. She joins me now via Skype.
Mayor, what are your expectations for Fort Pierce at this hour? What are you telling your residents?
MAYOR LINDA HUDSON, FORT PIERCE, FLORIDA: Well, we have been telling our residents, for several days, to prepare for this storm. So my expectation
is that they have done that. And from everything that I can observe and our staff has observed, the residents are taking this very seriously. If
they were going to leave, they left. And if they were going to stay, they've got their supplies and they're boarded up and ready for this --
we're very experienced at hurricanes, unfortunately.
GORANI: And you have -- unfortunately. But you have experience, and you've set up --
HUDSON: Yes.
GORANI: -- in advance, some of these evacuation centers and shelters for people to ride out the storm, I understand. Yes.
HUDSON: We have. We have a special beach shelter, and we have a pet- friendly shelter and then we have three other shelters for the general population. And so -- and if we need to open more, we're ready to do that
too.
GORANI: Mm-hmm. And what is your biggest concern at this stage? At the stage -- at the stage when the storm hasn't hit yet, if you had --
HUDSON: Yes.
GORANI: -- one concern, what would it be?
HUDSON: Well, I would be concerned that people would let their guard down, and maybe think (ph) the worst is (ph) over, perhaps be a little complacent
and maybe get a little stir-crazy because we've been preparing and in kind of hurricane prep mode for a long time, and now this hurricane looks like
it's going to be one of the slowest on record. So there's more to go that we have to endure.
[14:10:18]
GORANI: Yes. And because it's slow-moving, it will rain a lot. Do you have concerns regarding flooding here?
HUDSON: Yes, we do. Because the state was already saturated by rains from last week. So that concerns me a great deal because our -- you know, most
of Florida is at sea level, and we have a lot of people in South Florida. And so the water can only hold so -- I mean, the land can only hold so much
water.
GORANI: Yes. What was it like, the last hurricane? The last time around? I mean, was there something you learned from the last hurricane that you're
applying to this one?
HUDSON: What I've learned is that every hurricane has its own personality. And so whereas Matthew dumped a lot of salt and caused a lot of devastation
on our landscaping and our utility (ph) establishment, and Irma was just a big storm and very, very -- caused a lot of flooding here in Fort Pierce.
So every hurricane has its own personality. We learn something from every hurricane, and we have an emergency operation center, here in St. Lucie
County, and they are a well-oiled machine. So I feel like we're in good hands. We've done the best we can.
GORANI: Right. And good luck to you. You certainly sound prepares, Mayor Linda Hudson, the mayor of Fort Pierce of Florida, thanks so much for
joining us.
(CROSSTALK)
HUDSON: Thank (ph) you (ph) very (ph) -- all right.
GORANI: All right. The prime minister of the Bahamas says the devastation there is, quote, "unprecedented." Dorian was at its full force when it
made landfall there, late Sunday night. It knocked out electricity, it sent cars tumbling, it wiped out entire homes. And although the hurricane
has weakened slightly since then, it remains extremely dangerous.
Many people are trapped because it's flooded around them. The country's minister of agriculture shared this video from his own house. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL PINTARD, MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE, BAHAMAS: And this is the water, by my back door and glass. That's came (ph) from the canal, that's -- that
has to be about 20 to 25 feet above sea level.
So this is what I'm facing at the moment. And I have neighbors that are in a far worse position than me and my family.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Unbelievable. Gosh, that is -- those are really high water levels. CNN is on the ground in the Bahamas but communication is spotty,
as you can imagine. Our Patrick Oppmann, we tried to hook up with him live. We weren't able to, but he sent us -- this is his last report from
Freeport on Grand Bahama Island. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the wind and the rain just will not stop. It has been hours of this, late last night, early this morning.
First, the power went out. And then it sounded like a jet engine running next to where we were sleeping.
My crew and I, Jay (ph) Garcia (ph) and Jose Armijo, we've actually come into a couple's apartment that has this amazing view, and we're sort of
squatting with them and they're running out the storm as well. And in the middle of the night, you can just hear this incredibly loud sound.
And let me show you this. This is something I've really never seen with a hurricane, because you usually can't be this close to the ocean. You see
the ocean out there, it didn't look like that a couple days ago. It is much higher today. And that doesn't make sense, except with a hurricane,
it pushes the water out and out and out. And it finally sort of creates a bulge of water.
But when the hurricane leaves, the danger won't be over. That water will have to go somewhere. And it'll just (INAUDIBLE), it'll rush in here, it
will probably top the barrier between where we are and the beach. Luckily, we're on the third floor. But it would seem very likely that there would
be extensive flooding here.
The Bahamian authorities said they expect up to 20 feet of storm surge once the hurricane leaves. And that is, as you know, the most deadliest part of
a hurricane. They say you hide from the wind and you run from the water. And in this case, many, many people will not be able to run from that storm
surge.
Another gust right there, this Dorian just is not done with the Bahamas. But when that storm surge does come in, and if it is 20 feet high, that
will cover most of this island. This water has already covered islands that were off the coast, that are much more low-lying. And there were
people who had said they were going to ride out the storm there; you just wonder how they are doing.
And as well, the people who are under the Category 5 eve of this hurricane, and have been there for hours. You can only imagine what that has been
like. Dorian has devastated parts of the Bahamas. And the sad thing is, this powerful storm is not done with the Bahamas just yet.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[14:15:09]
GORANI: And that was Patrick Oppmann, just a few hours ago, in the Bahamas. We'll try to reconnect with him and get you some live coverage on
what's going on in the Bahamas right now.
But as Jennifer Gray, our meteorologist, was saying, this storm is really sitting on top of the Bahamas. It is barely moving, and it is really
dumping a lot of rain and the winds are still very high there. You can see where Freeport is, that's where we hope to go live, during the course of
this hour, if we can get those coms back up.
Still to come tonight, a political hurricane, here in the U.K. Boris Johnson speaks out, ahead of a crucial day over Brexit. And he had a
strong message for members of his own party. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: Chances of a Brexit deal are getting better, but the U.K. will leave the European Union, come what may, on October 31st. That was the
message from the British prime minister, Boris Johnson, last hour.
He stood firm that he will not seek another extension. He also did not call for a general election, as some has speculated.
With Parliament reconvening, Tuesday, Mr. Johnson warned fellow Conservatives, members of his own party, not to side with the opposition
against a no-deal Brexit.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BORIS JOHNSON, PRIME MINISTER OF BRITAIN: But if there's one thing that can hold us back in these talks, it is the sense in Brussels that M.P.s may
find some way to cancel the referendum. Or that tomorrow, M.P.s will vote with Jeremy Corbyn, for yet another pointless delay.
I don't think they will. I hope that they won't. But if they do, they will plainly chop the legs out from under the U.K. position, and make any
further negotiation absolutely impossible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: A message, perhaps, to rebels in his own party? One of Mr. Johnson's predecessors has some choice words about the government and how
it's proceeding. Let's hear what Tony Blair thinks about all of this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TONY BLAIR, FORMER BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: Our government has been taken over by a gang of adventurers. But don't underestimate the appeal of
adventure after a long period of paralysis. The contrast with Theresa May is stark. And many are prepared, like him, to believe that, with belief,
it can be done. It will end.
Buoyed by the weakness of the opposition, the spending pledges rolling off the conveyor belt, as if it's (ph) only Brexit, which has liberated us from
austerity, posing as the saviors of the people, ready to steamroller over the recalcitrant out-of-touch elite.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Well, I'm joined now by Alistair Burt, one of the Conservatives who wants to keep the U.K. from crashing out of the European Union without
a deal.
[14:20:03]
Mr. Burt, thanks for joining us. Will you be one of the Tory rebels to side with the opposition against the government to try to block a no-deal?
ALISTAIR BURT, BRITISH MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT: The short answer is yes, but I wouldn't characterize it that way. I'm one of the Conservative members
of Parliament who believe that in the interest of their constituents, Parliament must consider whether or not it gives consent to a no-deal.
I want the government to reach a deal. I want the government to leave the E.U. with a deal. But what I don't want is, Parliament to be sidelines at
this crucial time, and not have the opportunity to vote and debate on a no- deal, if that is the situation the government has to present to us.
GORANI: Just so I'm clear, you would vote in favor of legislation, blocking --
BURT: Yes.
GORANI: -- a no-deal --
BURT: Yes, I would.
GORANI: -- and extending the date to January 31st?
BURT: The legislation -- proposed legislation's just been published. What it does is give the prime minister time, right through the European Council
to the 19th of October, to get a deal, to bring that back to the House of Commons. But provides a safety valve. If he can't, he's got to some back
to the House of Commons and say, "I can't get a deal," so the House can vote on it.
GORANI: But then you could be thrown out of the Conservative Party, essentially, for doing this.
BURT: Yes. The prime minister or Party sources have said that those who vote that way risk losing their position, and will not be able to stand
(ph) for the next election. That's a position I have to accept --
GORANI: Yes.
BURT: -- if I want to represent my constituents at this time.
GORANI: So this is actually a very -- you must have thought long and hard about doing something, really, that has consequences that are so grave for
you politically, for your career.
BURT: Yes. It has huge consequences. I've been a member of the Conservative Party for 50 years. I've been a member of Parliament for 32
years. I've never faced this situation.
But on the other hand, the country's never faced this situation. I want the country to get the best out of leaving the E.U. I didn't want us to
leave the E.U., but I accepted the result of the referendum. I have voted consistently to leave with the government's withdrawal agreement, which
Parliament didn't accept.
Many colleagues in the government now didn't vote for that withdrawal agreement . They have put us in the position that we're in today, not me.
And I find it rather galling that I'm the one who's labeled as a traitor to the party, and I'm the one who could have the whip removed. But I accept
it. I'm a grown-up, this is the rules of the game. I'm disappointed, but I will still continue to do my best for my constituents, as long as I can.
GORANI: And are other members of the Conservative Party going to follow you in voting in favor of this legislation, and therefore against the
government?
BURT: Yes. I'm fairly sure a number will. Whether enough will to get the legislation through, I don't know. But it's an indication of the
extraordinary state of British politics at the moment.
The prime minister was trying to characterize it, that we're siding with the opposition. I'm not siding with the opposition. I don't want the
opposition to take over the government, I don't want Jeremy Corbyn to be the prime minister.
I want Boris Johnson to succeed. But I want him to get a deal, and I do not believe that I and my colleagues are the stumbling block to getting a
deal, which is what he has set out to people. I don't think that's right.
GORANI: Did You ever think you'd, in your career, find yourself in a situation where you would vote, essentially, against a government that is a
conservative government in power?
BURT: I voted against the government from time to time --
GORANI: Yes?
BURT: -- on minor issues. I never thought I'd be in this position, and I'm sure a number of colleagues didn't expect to be either.
GORANI: Yes. What happens, do you think, for the U.K. now? If this legislation passes, do you think that the government is going to -- because
Michael Gove floated the idea, that they might ignore the legislation, even if it becomes law.
BURT : I think that was very dangerous of him, to do so. Governments must exist by the rule of law, and I think that's been rather softened today by
a statement from Downing Street.
I think what the public want to see is, their government in control and in charge. But the majority of my constituents, I think, want to leave the
E.U., which I accept, but they want to leave well. They've got businesses to run, they've got deadlines to keep, they work just in time .
I've got farming and food industry in my constituency. They're affected by potential new tariffs. They don't know what's going to happen in just a
few weeks' time. So they want certainty, but I think they want to leave with a deal and I want to give them every chance of leaving with a deal. I
want to encourage the government to reach that deal.
GORANI: Do you think this government is acting undemocratically?
BURT: No, I don't. I think it's working within the constitution. But as you know, our constitution is very flexible --
GORANI: Yes.
BURT: -- it's not a written constitution. But it's at the edges of whether it's acting wisely. It's giving opposition and protestors a chance
to say that it's acting undemocratically, and to raise all sorts of things that shouldn't be raised. And I think the government has opened a door to
that, so I'd rather wish it hadn't done.
GORANI: Have you been contacted by officials from the Conservative Party, urging you? Have you received any kind of pressure to change your position
on this?
BURT: No, not yet. The prime minister and I are looking for a time to see each other. He was going to see a group, but wasn't able to find time in
his schedule to see a group. He's looking to see colleagues (ph), individuals (ph) -- I would, of course, always see the prime minister of
the United Kingdom if they asked to see me, of course I would.
But I think my mind's fairly fixed on this. I want to persuade him to keep going, to get a deal. And to persuade him that I'm not his problem.
[14:25:01]
GORANI: Yes.
BURT: I think the problem for the Conservative Party are those people who didn't vote for the deal, not those people, like me, who did.
GORANI: Yes. He said, at 10 Downing Street last hour, "Under no circumstances would I ask Brussels to delay Brexit." No circumstances.
What do you make of that?
BURT: But if the law requires him to do so, then he may be required to do so. But he doesn't have to. If he gets a deal and brings it back, he
won't have to ask for an extension. That's what I think we'd all like to see.
GORANI: Alistair Burt, thank you so much. Member of Parliament, member of the Conservative Party for now --
BURT: Thank you, Hala.
GORANI: -- we'll see what happens. Really appreciate you coming into the studio this evening.
Our international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson was there for Mr. Johnson's comments at 10 Downing Street, and he joins us, live -- Nic.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, Hala, I think you're right to -- clearly, to follow up on that question, of Boris Johnson
saying, "Under no circumstances" would he ask Brussels for an extension.
Because the very direct implication of that is, he is willing, if a law was put in front of him, telling him he couldn't do that, then he would be,
essentially, ignoring the law. So that seems to be the Implications or one of the things that he's said this evening.
The other one, very, very clearly, challenging those in his party like the M.P. you just interviewed, to back him. And saying that if they don't,
then that cuts off the legs of his negotiation. Then the clear implication is, from that, that despite saying, in the same speech, that he doesn't
want an election and you, the public, don't want an election, is very clearly setting a path for that.
So I think two things have emerged very, very clearly, here. The battle lines are drawn, they're entrenched on both sides. Tomorrow, there'll be a
vote and there's talk, down here among other correspondents, having -- being able to hear what they're learning from Downing Street this evening,
that if Boris Johnson were defeated tomorrow, then there will be the possibility of a snap election.
And the date that's being bandied around on this street by reporters this evening, that snap election would be the 14th of October. Difficult days.
And tomorrow, in particular, very difficult day ahead of us for the country.
GORANI: Nic Robertson, thanks very much.
In Germany, a far-right party has put in a very strong showing in elections in two ex-Eastern German states. The AfD, the far-right party, the
Alternative for Germany Party, came in second place in regional parliaments in Saxony and Brandenburg, you see the results there.
And here are the numbers from Brandenburg. The AfD has campaigned on anger of Chancellor Angela Merkel's migrant policy. Its co-leader predicts the
party will now have a say in Merkel's shaky coalition.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALEXANDER GAULAND, CO-LEADER, ALTERNATIVE FOR GERMANY PARTY (through translator): If the coalition talks end up with a three-party grouping,
then it is going to be very difficult for top-level CDU officials, especially in Saxony, where the CDU is very conservative. It will be very
difficult to explain why they don't want to talk to the AfD at any price.
I will be watching this totally at east, and with fascination. We have achieved an election result which does not permit ignoring us in the long
run. We decide the country's issues.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Well, the results prompted a congratulatory tweet from French far- right leader Marine Le Pen, who wrote, "Common sense is inexorably advancing in Europe," quote-unquote.
I want to show you some live pictures from Freeport in the Bahamas right now -- we were able to set that back up for you -- and still very windy and
a lot of rain. And we saw with our weather team, just why that still is the case of Bahama, because it's a slow-moving storm.
It's, in fact, crawling toward Florida, and just sitting on top of the Bahamas, which is the last thing that they need there, because we saw
images of destruction, we saw images of flooding as well, some pretty dramatic pictures coming to us from the Bahamas.
And we'll try to reconnect with our Patrick Oppmann there when we can.
[14:29:10]
Up next, a live report from Florida's east coast, where the winds are picking up ahead of Hurricane Dorian. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:30:40]
GORANI: Now, back to hurricane Dorian, which has devastated the Bahamas and continues to crawl closer to the U.S. East Coast. This is what the
arrival and departure board at the Fort Lauderdale, Florida airport looked like as flight after flight was cancelled. The airport closely -- sorry.
I should say, closed completely about two and a half hours ago along with one of the airports in Orlando and one in Palm Beach. Keep that in mind.
I can't imagine anyone's booking flights or planning on flying today to the East Coast of Florida. But just in case you are, a lot of these flights
have been cancelled for major airports in that part of the United States.
Leyla Santiago is in Fort Pierce, Florida. She joins us live with the very latest. What's the situation where you are, Leyla?
LEYLA SANTIAGO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, we've had some moments of sunshine like we see now and then some downpours here, so we're still
seeing people who are actually still so walking around, trying to get a glimpse of exactly what is happening outside, winds have picked up a little
bit, but really, nothing major.
And as I talk to people out here, a lot of folks who have decided to stay say that has just been a hard storm to predict. Remember, they are used to
hurricanes here. But people are saying, look, this one has gone here, then there, and so we're just going to, you know, be here to see how this shakes
out because anything could change at any minute.
But I will say one family I talked to was very aware of the fact that if this shifts just a little bit, it could have a big impact and it is that
right there that has officials really having a sense of urgency as they talk to residents and say, be careful, be prepared, there are mandatory
evacuations underway for all the barrier islands here. And so they have five shelters that are open for, for the general population, one special
needs.
And on the last update, the county administrator here said that they have about 500 people in those shelters at this hour. Also at this hour, this
is an area that has a storm surge tropical storm and a hurricane warning in effect, so a lot of folks are doing last-minute preparations as they ride
out the storm for the rest of the day here. Hala.
GORANI: All right. Leyla Santiago, thanks very much.
Well, as forecasters work to determine when and where Dorian will go, hurricane hunters have been flying their planes directly into the storm to
get some vital data.
Lieutenant Colonel Sean Cross is a pilot for the U.S. Air Force 53rd weather reconnaissance squadron, better known as the hurricane hunters and
he joins me now live.
By the way, I have a mild fear of flying, and just the idea of flying right into a hurricane, I find terrifying. But tell us what you've found when
you flew into Dorian.
LT. COL. SEAN CROSS, PILOT, U.S. AIR FORCE 53RD WEATHER RECONNAISSANCE SQUADRON: Thanks, Hala, for having us on, first off.
Dorian, well, you know, and I'm not bragging when I say this, Dorian is just like another day at the office for us. We treat all storms the same,
no matter how small or how strong and powerful they are, like Dorian. Dorian is very powerful. The eyewall stadium effect was incredible the
other night. Saturday night was the first I flew the storm. It was really spectacular to see. The first run in was during the day, the last three
were at night. We got an incredible light show with all the lightning going off inside the storm environment.
Pressure was intensifying slightly throughout the evening. We were right on the cusp of category five hurricane at that time. And as you all know
out there, yesterday, it was upgraded to a category five storm. So it's very, very powerful, and it's wreaking a lot of havoc down in the Bahamas
right now.
[14:35:12]
GORANI: And what plane do you -- do you fly in, into the storm with?
CROSS: We use the WC-130J built by Lockheed Martin out of Marietta, Georgia. It's a very good airframe. It's a standard C130 that's been --
the same standard airframe that's been used all these years. But the J model has been upgraded with more powerful engines and newer avionics.
It's a very powerful aircraft. And when we need power, we just push the throttle up and it's instant. It's a remarkable plane. It flexes very
well in the storm environment.
GORANI: And what data are you collecting and how does that data help scientists?
CROSS: It's a great question. One of the tools that we use is right here, it's the dropsonde, it's what gives our vertical measurement. It falls
about 2,500 feet per minute from the belly of the aircraft. It's collecting temperature pressure, winds, and humidity. We take all of that
information back to the aircraft in a data file, we send it along satellite to the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida, and that information is
used to help build the forecast models that you see out there.
And that cone that you see on television, we're increasing that forecast accuracy by 25 percent, so if we weren't out there doing our job, that cone
would be a lot wider.
GORANI: So, the images we're showing our viewers now are of a plane flying in the eye, I guess you can -- you can kind of fly safely in the eye,
right?
CROSS: Yes, ma'am. The eyewall penetration itself is the roughest part of our flight, but once you're in the eye, it's pretty calm. That's when
we're looking for that lowest center of pressure and we establish that by latitude and longitude.
You know, every storm is different, they all have their unique personality. But I'll tell this to everybody out there. You know, I'm a resident of
Gulf Coast, I've lived here my entire life, got 165 penetrations of major hurricanes. I will fly through a hurricane any day before I ride one out
on the ground. So that just ought to put it into context and perspective for everybody of how powerful and dangerous these storms really are.
GORANI: That is some great context. Thanks very much, Lieutenant Colonel Sean Cross, joining us --
CROSS: Thank you.
GORANI: -- from Biloxi, Mississippi. Appreciate it.
Now, from Mississippi to the Middle East where Israel and Hezbollah have their heavy guns pointed right at each other across the Lebanon border
after a weekend that saw Hezbollah lob anti-tank missiles at an Israeli base and then Israel respond with artillery attacks. It has been a
relatively quiet Monday. Still, though, tensions are high after what has been called the worst clashes between the two sides in four years.
Let's bring in CNN's Oren Liebermann from northern Israel and Ben Wedeman on the other side of the border in southern Lebanon.
Oren, right now, it seems as though both sides -- I mean, you're on the Israeli side. So talk to us about that, kind of right now in a position
where they're communicating that they're -- this chapter, perhaps, is over.
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: And that's very much what it looks like, in that sense, as you mentioned, the last time we saw fighting
like this was actually nearly five years ago and that, too, was limited in scope. It lasted a short period. It was certainly intense. But then it
came to a fairly quick conclusion and that's what we saw here.
It was yesterday afternoon about 4:15 in the afternoon when Hezbollah launched three anti-tank missiles, three or so anti-tank missiles at an
Israeli military base and the military vehicle. The Israeli military says there were no injuries. Israel's response was some hundred artillery
shells, as well as what they call very limited helicopter use.
But within two hours of those anti-tank missiles, Israel had lifted all the restrictions on civilians in northern Israel except for a few farmers
working right along the border, but that was a pretty strong indication that Israel felt this had come to a conclusion.
Crucially, what you have here is UNIFIL, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, they were in contact with both sides throughout. That
communication intensified as the situation intensified. And then it was Sunday night that they, essentially, gave the all clearance and said, calm
has been restored. And urged de-escalation on both sides, and that's what we've seen throughout the day, Hala.
GORANI: And Ben Wedeman in southern Lebanon, Hezbollah, still some fighting words coming from them just in the last few hours.
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, just about half an hour ago, Hezbollah secretary general, Hassan Nasrallah, finished a
televised speech in which he talked about the events of the last week, sort of listing what he sees as Hezbollah's accomplishments in this latest
confrontation with Israel.
He listed the fact that it appeared, at least from Hezbollah's perspective, that Israeli forces worried about some sort of Hezbollah reaction or
counterattack following last weekend's drone crashes in southern Beirut and a strike by Israeli aircraft on a facility south of Damascus, which led to
the death of two Hezbollah commanders there, that they were able to, essentially, create an element of fear among the Israeli population. And
he pointed to the fact that there were no Israeli forces on the border between Israel and Lebanon, that it appears that normal life came to an end
for Israelis in the northern part of the country.
[14:40:19]
He also went to say that, for instances, from now on, if any Israeli drones enter Lebanese air space, they could be targets. He said that there are no
more red lines between Hezbollah and Israel, that if Israel aggresses upon Lebanon, Hezbollah will respond, not just in the area along the border, but
also deep within Israel itself.
Nonetheless, he made it clear that if Israel does not aggress upon Lebanon, Hezbollah will not respond in kind. So, in a sense, he's laying out what
could happen in the future if there are Israeli attacks on Hezbollah, but if there are none, perhaps, calm will continue. Hala.
GORANI: Oren, last question about the timing of all this. This is just a few weeks before some important elections in Israel.
LIEBERMANN: Certainly, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who's in a very tough re-election campaign has always painted himself as Mr. Security.
And even if, officially, the campaign took a break for a few hours on Sunday, it is certainly back to campaign mode now.
And now, we're seeing what we're usually seeing and that is much more rhetoric flying across the Israel-Lebanon border than anything else.
Netanyahu, himself, has already put out a number of statements since this, essentially, or this round essentially came to its conclusion. He said the
person in the bunker, they're referring to Hassan Nasrallah, knows why he's in the bunker and Israel will act as necessary. He also said Israel will
continue to act against precision guided missiles that he says Iran has been trying to move into Lebanon, so the threats remain there.
But again, this is Netanyahu trying to build himself up as Mr. Security behind an election. Everything has to be viewed through that political
lens this close to September 17th.
GORANI: All right. Oren Liebermann, thank you very much. Ben Wedeman in southern Lebanon.
GORANI: When we come back, just a horrific story, a deadly fire on the ocean off the California coast. There was a fire on a boat. Dozens of
people are still missing. The latest on the search for survivors in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: The U.S. Coast Guard is searching for survivors from a dive boat that caught fire off the California coast this morning. Fire department
officials say more than 30 people are missing and that there have been multiple fatalities.
The coast guard says it rescued five crew members. They were above board, they were on deck and awake. Apparently, they jumped overboard when the
fire started but there were 34 passengers sleeping on the lower levels.
Nick Watt is following this story. He joins me now live from Oxnard, California. What's the latest on the -- on the search and rescue mission,
Nick?
[14:45:10]
NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, they say that they are still in response posture, which means they are still looking for survivors and
basically that means they are combing the shoreline of Santa Cruz looking for anybody who managed to get out of that boat alive.
Now, the boat was just 20 yards or so offshore when it sank. But as you mentioned, we've been told that the five crew members who managed to escape
managed to jump from the deck. They were already awake. They were up. They managed to jump to safety and they were rescued by a pleasure boat
that just happened to be in the area.
But 34 people were below decks. And, you know, we spoke to the coast guard earlier this morning. And even when firefighters got onto the scene, they
would extinguish the flames and then the fire would just kick right back up. They were wondering maybe that was because there was a lot of fuel on
board. They didn't know. But they could not get on to that boat to try and rescue anybody.
Now, the five people who were rescued, we have seen some of them coming ashore. One of them was on a stretcher. One of them had an injury to his
leg. Two others were wearing t-shirts, and shorts, and shoeless and looking, as you would expect, dazed, bewildered, and shocked.
So, at this point, we are maybe eight hours after this incident. We are still looking, out of the 39 people who were on that boat, 34 are still
unaccounted for. Hala?
GORANI: And is it -- I mean, what are -- what are rescuers saying? The people who were sleeping and below deck, is it possible some of them jumped
out, that they swam? You said it was only 20 yards from the shore, so there is still that possibility that some of these people have survived?
WATT: It is possible, but if you listen to the early scanner traffic, and also to the coast guard who spoke to us, it seems that those 34 people were
trapped below decks and the fire was raging. So the issue for them was not the 20 yards swim to shore. It was actually getting off the boat and that
boat has been burned down to the waterline. There is almost nothing left of it.
So, right now, hope, I would say, is fading to find any more people who have survived. Now, this boat have gone out Saturday morning from Santa
Barbara, this is, of course, a holiday weekend here in the United States, 39 people on board. We know only of five people who have managed to make
it out alive and the rescue operation is still ongoing. They are still hoping to find people, but I would say, Hala, that hope is fading pretty
fast.
GORANI: All right. Nick Watt, thanks so much. Live from Oxnard, California. Just absolutely terrible story there and these poor people
trapped below deck. Thanks so much.
Still ahead, protesters and police return to the streets of Hong Kong after a day of peaceful rallies. Why these months of protests are showing no
sign of ending, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: Protesters and police have returned to the streets of Hong Kong late Monday night after a day of peaceful rallies and a student boycott.
Now, this follows weekends --a weekend of very dramatic pictures and sometimes violent clashes. There were 159 arrests. And a warning from the
government, Hong Kong's secretary of security says protesters are now showing, quote, signs of terror.
Paula Hancocks is in Hong Kong.
[14:50:07]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It was supposed to be the first day back at school. But instead, what we saw in Hong Kong was
thousands of students that were boycotting their classes. We saw, in one university, also some secondary school students, showing their support for
the pro-democracy movement.
There have been hope several weeks ago that maybe going back to school would actually take some of these protesters off the streets of Hong Kong,
but clearly, that appears not to be the case. And we are seeing continuing protests even this Monday evening. They are not restricted to just the
weekends now.
We also have a report from Reuters news agency where they say that they have heard an audio recording of the chief executive of Hong Kong, Carrie
Lam, speaking to business leaders last week. And in that meeting, she said that if she had the choice, that she would quit. Also saying that she
caused unforgivable havoc by igniting this crisis. She is the one that tried to introduce this controversial extradition bill which is the reason
these protests started.
And also pointing out that she has very limited room to resolve the crisis because it has become a national security and a sovereignty issue for
china.
Now, CNN has reached out to Lam's office. They say that she did have two meetings last week, but they were of a private nature so they are unable to
comment on this. We also are attempting to contact China's Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office.
Now, if this does turn out to be accurate, then of course, it does play into what protesters have been saying all along, that they believe that
Beijing is pulling the strings when it comes to this crisis at this point.
Now, we have been seeing an increase in violence in these protests over recent days, certainly Saturday. We saw violence from the protesters and
we saw a fair bit of force as well from the police, both blaming the other for being more provocative and for overstepping the mark. But either way,
it is very clear that the violence in these protests is increasing.
Paula Hancocks, CNN, Hong Kong.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: And before we go, let's get more on our top story this hour, hurricane Dorian is leaving the northern Bahamas in a catastrophic state.
The storm is moving very slowly, basically hovering over the islands. That is making all of the rain, wind, and flooding even worse. Compounding the
problem for everyone there, as you can see from the images, the islands don't have electricity, some people are now homeless.
Dorian is expected to linger over the Bahamas throughout Monday night and trudge toward the southeastern coast of the U.S. in the coming days.
People in Florida are taking this dangerous hurricane very seriously, even though they have a lot of experience with hurricanes in Florida. There are
mandatory evacuations for many places along the southeast coast.
U.S. emergency officials are giving a news conference coming up at the top of the hour. We will bring you that when it happens.
Brian Todd is in the town of Stuart, Florida, with more on the preparations there. Brian, I see you're already getting soaked.
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We are, Hala, getting some of the outer bands of hurricane Dorian, just got a lot more violent here in the last
couple of minutes while we've been out at this park here in Stuart, Florida. This is on the central so-called central treasure coast of the
east coast of Florida.
You can see the violent tides coming in here. It is starting to get toward high tide here and some of the waves really slapping up against the seawall
here at this park.
And a lot of neighborhoods around here are low-lying like this park is. So you can see the storm surge and how it can affect some of the neighborhoods
here. They are worried about flooding here.
Also, I mean, what you can see out here, probably not much, but we are at the confluence of two large rivers, the St. Lucie River to your left and
the Indian River Lagoon to your right. And beyond that horizon there, we could see it a few minutes ago, we cannot see it now, there are barrier
islands, it's Hutchinson Island and Jupiter Island. Those are some of the danger areas.
They're starting to get the brunt of the storm right now. Those are under mandatory evacuation orders, but a lot of people have elected to stay
there. And now, officials worry that at this point here and after the storm, it's going to be difficult to get to them. The bridges are going to
be closed. First responders are not going to be able to get to them if periods like this and after the storm so they are worried, Hala, that some
of the people on these barrier islands back here, two of them, where 30,000 people live between the two islands, that they're going to be pretty much
isolated from here until this storm passes, Hala.
GORANI: Yes. And how long is the storm expected to stay over these parts of Florida? Specifically where you are.
TODD: It's going to be today, tomorrow, for much of tomorrow, you're going to see conditions like this in this part of Florida. Then it's going to
kind of twist its way north toward Jacksonville and that area along the Georgia border. So it's going to be -- you know, you're going to see
conditions like this here, Hala, for the next couple of days here in this part of Florida.
Look, they could be getting lucky here and not getting the brunt of it like the Bahamas did, so you do have to keep that in perspective. But flooding
here, storm surge still a real danger.
[14:55:07]
GORANI: And you mentioned that it would stay over Florida for many days. Now, there were models in the beginning that showed that the hurricane was
slamming, sort of, at a right angle against Florida. Here is the expectation that it will kind of hug the coast or are there concerns that
it could take another turn?
TODD: Look, they're always worried about what they call that wobble, that it might take that slight turn to the west, and if it does, this area is
going to see a lot worse than what you're seeing now, as bad as this is. So they are still mindful of that.
But as you mentioned, they are predicting it right now to kind of hug the coast with the eyewall 30 to 50 miles off. That will spare this area a lot
of damage. But again, you're going to get conditions like this. And look, between category one, tropical storm force here, you're going to get
pounded, no matter what, and these areas are going to be flooded. So, again, these people are not out of danger and they know it.
GORANI: All right. And evacuation orders hopefully people have heeded those.
TODD: Absolutely.
GORANI: All right. Thank you, Brian Todd, in Stuart, Florida, getting rained on. We have an extensive team of reporters fanned out across the
Florida east coast.
But also, of course, in the Bahamas and I promise that we were trying to get in touch with Patrick Oppmann, but the communication situation over
there is so terrible because the Bahamas really got a lashing. And as you can see from that model, the hurricane is still hovering on top of the
islands there.
I'm Hala Gorani. I will see you next time. Thanks for watching. After a quick break, it'll be "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS."
I want to leave you with this video just into CNN. It shows a time lapse of hurricane Dorian hitting the Bahamas.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
