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At Least Five Deaths from Hurricane Florence; Typhoon Mangkhut Slams into Philippines. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired September 15, 2018 - 03:00   ET

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


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ANNA COREN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Anna Coren in Hong Kong, where a powerful typhoon is threatening 4 million people in the Northern Philippines.

GEORGE HOWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Anna, much more, of course, from Hong Kong here throughout the hour.

But first, let's start here in the United States, here in North Carolina, with tropical storm Florence and what a mess it is right now. Here in Wilmington, we are certainly in the middle of this storm and the dirty side of this storm, as we're feeling the effects.

We know this has proven to be a deadly storm. We know that this storm ended up claiming the lives of a mother and infant, killed in their home when a tree fell down. Rescuers tried to rescue them but were unable to do so.

We also know that a man died when trying to connect a cord due to electricity. This has proven to be a deadly storm. And when you consider how big this storm is right now, again, it's covering the entire southeast part of the United States right there, North Carolina, South Carolina and could affect many other parts as it continues on its track.

This is a massive storm system; there are so many people who decided to leave. Those people wondering when they can come back. Rescue officials, of course, need time and space to assess the damage and then determine when people can safely return.

This is a major storm that we're following. Our correspondents throughout the region are on this story. And we have our Derek Van Dam following the story live in Carolina Beach, North Carolina.

Derek, one person there telling CNN, we have this quote, saying, this day in that city was worse for him than the other day. Tell us about what you're seeing and experiencing.

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: If I can just assume, George, that you've tossed to it me because, at the moment, I've lost communications with you. As you can imagine, cell phone service here is very sketchy. It goes in. It goes out. This is very difficult to communicate, not only with our headquarters

in Atlanta but with any emergency personnel here. Everyone is completely cut off from communication and the electricity as well.

Really, this has just been 36 hours of hell for people here. And very, very difficult conditions. We had a false sense of security earlier when the eye came through this region. The center of Hurricane Florence moved over Wilmington and Carolina Beach and Wrightsville Beach and that caused for the calm of the storm right in the center of the hurricane.

But people came out, inspected their properties, inspected the damage and then, all of the sudden, the back side of the storm came, knocked everybody around. And as you can see, we're getting battered pretty badly right now.

We have a lot of threats going forward here. We have the potential for tornadoes tonight. We know that's a real threat because the land and ocean interaction around hurricanes causes these little brief spinups. And sometimes these tornadoes will not last very long, 10, 15 minutes. But they come up quickly and they strike hard.

Also, the torrential rain. We know that's been an issue as well with over 23 inches of rain reported in Morehead City. Where we are located, we've had over a foot of rain already and it's starting to pile up very quickly.

There was about two feet of beach erosion that took place. And this is a community that relies so heavily on its beaches because the tourism sector here relies on that. But without the two feet that has been washed away, that will have to be rebuilt before people can come and enjoy the beaches here, obviously the least of their concerns.

What about the damage?

Well, there has been walls that have been collapsed; there have been roofs that have been taken off of buildings. Trees have been toppled. Electrical poles have been knocked over. Hence the reason we have no electricity.

When we were walking in the strongest part of the storm earlier today, I should say on Friday, we had transformers blowing up all around us. It created almost a fireworks display in front of our eyes. Quite a vivid and dramatic sight.

Emergency personnel here know there is limited communication on the island where I'm located. And they're begging and asking the residents who decided to ride out the storm only to reach out to them if they're in dire need of help.

Otherwise, keep the available phone lines open for people who actually have a serious problem concerning them at the moment. George, lots of concerns here. Again, my communications are down. I can not hear the Atlanta bureau at the moment. So I'm going to toss it back to you in Wilmington. I hope you're staying dry and safe. HOWELL: Derek Van Dam live for us in Carolina Beach, North Carolina. Derek, that's the way it goes. Look, when you're out covering a storm like this, there will be a couple of technical hits. You'll lose audio from time to time. But again, we're doing our very best to stay out here in the middle of this big thing and bring people the --

[03:05:00]

HOWELL: -- information about what's happening. And so far so good.

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HOWELL: And we're in that very side of the storm, that northeastern quadrant, where you have the trains of storms and the possibility for tornadoes throughout.

Let's now bring in Lieutenant Mitchell Ruslander. We understand with Swift Water Rescue.

And we know that these are going to be very busy times for you, Mr. Ruslander. Tell us about what your expectations are for the work you have to do in the next 12 to 24 hours.

LT. MITCHELL RUSLANDER, SWIFT WATER RESCUE: The expectations have nowhere close to the work that I have coming to me. That was only since I've gotten here yesterday evening. It's just way more than I expected.

HOWELL: And when you talk about that, explain to us what is the bigger factor of this storm.

Was it the storm surge?

Is it the flooding that's been associated with the storm?

What are you seeing?

RUSLANDER: I'm seeing a little bit of everything, yes. But the absolute worst is the flooding. It's like the part of (INAUDIBLE) I'm in tonight, high tide came in at midnight, it rose up an additional 12 feet from the already 3 feet of flooding there was.

So we tried all day, trying to get everybody else as quickly as possible that still remains to stay. But we still get calls to constantly keep getting more and more people out. So it's definitely -- it's definitely tough.

HOWELL: You know, Mitchell, a lot of people, they see what you do. They respect and really greatly appreciate the risks that people take, people like you take, you know, to help people in need.

But look, there are many people who are watching us right now, people who left, wondering when they can come back.

What would you tell them, as far as making sure that the coast is clear, that things are safe -- [03:10:00]

HOWELL: -- enough for them to return?

RUSLANDER: I would honestly say just play it by ear and continue to keep an eye on the storm. Just because, you know, once the hurricane is over with, people will think it's OK to return home.

That's not necessarily true. You have the aftermath to come in, the more rain. It's going take several days for all this water to go away.

HOWELL: Mitchell, what have you seen so far as far as the rescues that have been in play?

RUSLANDER: With the storm coming, it definitely affected a lot of people so quick. I don't think a lot of people down here that were affected thought it was actually going to be that bad.

Like I said, it came to a point when we were out all night last night, actually even cutting holes in people's roofs, trying to remove them because the water level rose so high so quick. It's just dangerously quick. And you never know how quick it's going to move or what it's going to do. You need to get out while you can.

HOWELL: Mitchell, one other question for you. Again, with Swift Water Rescue, you've seen plenty of this. But look, this storm sitting right now overhead, it's dumping plenty of rain, dumping plenty of water, in rivers, in low-lying communities.

Is there a concern, you know, about when the storm passes on, that water's got to go somewhere and the flooding along rivers, et cetera?

RUSLANDER: Absolutely, yes. The biggest concern is that it's just going to sit and it's an unknown period of time how long it's actually going to sit. A lot of the main routes in and out of the smaller counties around here are definitely way overflooded. Definitely got to keep an eye on it and, like I said, play it safe. It changes so quick.

Some of these roads instantly flood quickly. The part I was in earlier on Riverbend, where it was a foot and a half of water and, an hour and a half later, we're talking about waist deep. It comes quickly and moves quickly. Definitely need to keep an eye on it and do what you need to do.

HOWELL: Mitchell Ruslander, on the phone with us, with Swift Water Rescue. Thank you again for taking time with us here on CNN. We appreciate all that you do. And, of course, we now you'll be busy the next several days ahead.

Looking at rescue work is very important, especially over the next 24 to 48 hours. Our own Dianne Gallagher followed a team along to basically chronicle the work that they do and found herself in an unpredictable, unexpected situation. Take a look.

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DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, situations like this really do illustrate just the kind of danger that these first responders take on when they come out to do these rescues.

We were embedded with the North Carolina National Guard. We were in a vehicle just like this one here with a different paint job on. It's called an LMTV. You can see the area with the canvas over it. It's empty except for some seats there.

We were sitting, myself; my producer, Jay; my photographer, Mark; with a member of the North Carolina National Guard back there. We were on our way to rescue three people who were trapped by floodwaters.

Now look, the neighborhood we were in was extremely flooded. The water was very high. And it appears one portion of it, the road had washed out in a certain area. And so the back wheels of this type of vehicle here ran off the side. It caused the vehicle to kind of dip down. We started taking water on in that back area where we were sitting.

Now look, the National Guard, they train for stuff just like this. They are trained. They did everything they needed to do. They got us out. They made sure we were wearing our life jackets, that we have flotation devices.

But we didn't end up needing all of that because there happened to be a boat with some teenagers from the New Bern area nearby. They came over. They got us and our crew out, our news crew out. And they were able to help some of the members of the National Guard as well.

Now they stayed around. They ended up getting their vehicle out and the three people who we were originally going to rescue, they did get rescued. But again, we cannot stress the danger that some of these first responders are putting their lives in when they go out on rescues.

I think we take it for granted sometimes because they're all so successful for the most part. And it's scary for them. Almost every first responder I've spoken to has talked about some sort of frightening horror story they dealt with over the past two days here in the Craven County area because there is so much water and there are so many rescues being done.

More than 300 rescues at this point in this just immediate area because of Hurricane Florence. So everybody in this situation is OK. Our situation is not the story. But the story is the fact that, look, know the risks that these people are taking when --

[03:15:00]

GALLAGHER: -- they're coming to get people after these hurricanes in these conditions.

(END VIDEOTAPE) HOWELL: Our Dianne Gallagher again, following the situation there, found herself in an unexpected situation. Very glad that she is OK and that the rescuers are OK as well.

Again, CNN following two major storms on opposite sides of the globe. Here, of course, on the U.S. East Coast and this major storm affecting the Philippines this hour. Our Anna Coren is following that story in Hong Kong. We'll be back right after the break with that.

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HOWELL: Welcome back to our breaking news coverage. I'm George Howell live in Wilmington, North Carolina. Still feeling the effects of tropical storm Florence, right now here in Wilmington, we remain under a tornado watch at least through 7:00 am Eastern time.

And if you look here at the map, you can see this big blob over the southeast U.S. certainly affecting the state of South Carolina in the coming hours.

This will be a multi-day event. We know it's bringing a great deal of rain, very strong winds associated with it. Here at the Wilmington airport, we understand there was a report of a wind gust at one point of 105 miles per hour, a record-breaking wind gust.

So you get a sense of how strong this storm is. We also know this has proven to be a deadly storm. At least five people killed as a result of Florence, including a mother, an infant. We know that --

[03:20:00]

HOWELL: -- rescue workers there took time to pray after they tried to save the victims.

We know many people are also without power. At least a million customers without power and some 20,000 people are staying here in the state of North Carolina alone. We continue to follow the situation here, the strong winds, the rains associated with this storm here on the U.S. East Coast.

But there is another major storm affecting the Philippines on the other side of the globe and that's where my colleague, Anna Coren, is now live in Hong Kong, picking up our coverage from there -- Anna.

COREN: Thank you, George. Typhoon Mangkhut is moving away from the Northern Philippines but the heavy wind and rain will stick around a bit longer. Thousands of families have been evacuated from coastal areas.

Local media report military aircraft have been deployed to the Northern Philippines for evacuations and to bring supplies. The storm is now headed to South China and will likely gain strength before it arrives here.

We are now learning there are confirmed deaths in the Philippines. Alexandra Field is there.

Alex, what can you tell us?

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That word now coming from national risk disaster management officials, who say there are two deaths in the Cordillera region, where 51 landslide incidents have been reported. These are deaths of two first responders. No further details about the deaths or what led to them.

But they are again saying it happened in the region where they can now report dozens of incidents of landslides.

This is something that was anticipated. This was a big concern for emergency management officials, that there could be landslides. This is a very mountainous region. With the heavy rain that came overnight, this was certainly a risk factor that many were anticipating.

And it has been difficult to get a clear picture of what kind of damage has been brought by the super typhoon that made its way across the northern part of the Philippines overnight. That's because of the remoteness of some of these areas.

It's also because of the fact that communication has been so difficult as a result of downed phone lines. There are also power outages to contend with. So officials and responders been working to reach areas that they believe would be hard-hit. We have just within the last few minutes had that latest update.

The first reported deaths linked to this super typhoon. Again, two people apparently killed in the Cordillera region and according to officials, they were among the first responders there.

COREN: When you sadly look at the pictures of the flooding and the extensive damage, the winds, as you say, Alex, this was anticipated. And for all we know, there could be more deaths. That toll could very well rise. We'll wait for obviously authorities for that.

Alex, obviously, where the Philippines is located in the Pacific Ocean, it is pummeled by typhoons.

How does Typhoon Mangkhut compare to other typhoons?

FIELD: This is not the strongest super typhoon to hit the Philippines. It is not as strong as Haiyan was. A deadly, deadly typhoon that much of the world remembers, 6,000 people killed from that storm.

But this was an intense typhoon and it was the strongest one to hit North Luzon since 2016. There were warnings, though, and that's why thousands of people were able to evacuate. But emergency responders and risk management officials knew they were going to be contending with a number of different risk factors.

You had those incredibly high speed winds that caused structural damage. That means debris in roadways that create infrastructure problems. You also have the risk of flash floods.

Right now we know they are closely monitoring the possibility of storm surge along the northwest coast that can lead to deadly flooding. So that's a major area of concern. When you're talking about the mountainous region that this is, certainly we could anticipate that there could be further reports of landslides. Those are certainly often deadly events in the aftermath of storms like the one that came through here for about 12 hours, starting in the overnight hours.

COREN: Alex Field, we appreciate the update. Many thanks for that.

George, it's back to you in North Carolina, where you're tracking obviously that huge storm system.

HOWELL: And, Anna, one thing certainly there and even here, rescues will be important. Certainly rescues important over the next 24 to 48 hours. And one group that is certainly involved in that work, the Cajun Navy. We spoke earlier to Todd Terrell about his work with the Cajun Navy. Here's what he had to say.

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TODD TERRELL, CAJUN NAVY: We'll have a long day tomorrow. I'm not sure what we'll wake up to. There's a lot of tree damage and trees down. We'll wake up in the morning and we'll have water and trees down everywhere.

HOWELL: You know, Todd --

[03:25:00]

HOWELL: -- one thing that officials are doing, certainly here. In the Wilmington area. They're asking people to stay off the roads, especially overnight. There's a curfew. They want to make sure people stay off the roads. We have been out there. We have seen the downed trees and the flooding. Associated from this storm.

Talk to people. People who are watching right now. Who may have left who want to get back into their homes. And talk to the people who maybe listening on. People who may need rescue.

TERRELL: If you haven't left, just stay in place. The water is terrible. You have to worry about downed power lines and putting the rescuers in trouble to get you. Just stay in place. Listen to the weather authority. (INAUDIBLE).

HOWELL: How do you guys coordinate with officials on the ground?

It's so important to make sure that there is that -- are you still there?

(CROSSTALK) HOWELL: It's important to make sure that communication is there between agencies.

TERRELL: It sure is. The first thing we do is go into an area we think the weather will be bad. And give the local authority. We tell them we're coming and who we are. Needs and wants. We tell them the equipment we have. Boats or trailers, four wheelers, chain saws. We try to work together with the local authorities.

We don't want to duplicate assets and go into an area where authorities are already there. We want to help.

HOWELL: Todd, assess this particular storm. We're talking about millions of people who are affected. This will be a multi-day event. It will bring plenty of flooding and we have still have to find out exactly how much water will be filling into the various rivers.

How bad is this one and how much work do you suspect you have ahead?

TERRELL: This could have been a lot worse. It slowed down pretty good. That happened to a lot of people. Once it slowed down, they thought it wasn't going to be as bad. But it has been really bad. And I think the worst is yet to come.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: Todd Terrell there, speaking to us about the rescues that are so important, rescues that will be in play for the next certainly 24 to 48 hours as this storm continues to progress over the southeastern part of the U.S.

Our breaking news coverage continues on both sides of the globe. Of course here on the U.S. East Coast and across the Philippines, where a major storm is being felt. Stay with us. CNN breaking news coverage right after this.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): This is CNN breaking news.

COREN: Welcome back to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Anna Coren in Hong Kong.

HOWELL: And I'm George Howell, live in Wilmington, North Carolina. And we begin here in the United States, bringing you up to date on the latest on tropical storm Florence, no longer a full-blown hurricane but still very powerful. Certainly still very dangerous.

And you can see from the satellite, it is very slow moving. And that's the problem with this system. It's not leaving quickly. It keeps dumping a great deal of rainfall throughout the area. Take a look at this. A local TV station flooded out. The staff had to leave because of the storm.

And this has proven to be a deadly storm. We know that at least five deaths are attributed to this storm. The damage here across the Carolinas extensive. It will be costly. It will take time.

Also just in this area around us, we've seen roofs torn off. We've seen 100-year-old trees ripped out of the ground. Tonight, we understand nearly a million customers are without electricity and we know some 20,000 people are staying in shelters here in the U.S. state of North Carolina alone.

First responders in this area know that they are in for around-the- clock work. A lot of work ahead of them. Tropical storm Florence won't quit. And by the time the system finally moves out, this area will have been hit with record rainfall and a great deal of flooding.

People thought they could ride the storm out. Many of them, though, calling 9-1-1. It is very important to see the work these rescuers are doing and, again, they have a lot of work ahead of them.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In a matter of seconds my house was flooded up to the waist and now it's up to the chest and we're stuck in the attic. There's four of us.

HOWELL (voice-over): Trapped and waiting for help as waters continue to rise. Tropical storm Florence is becoming more life threatening.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My husband (INAUDIBLE) yelling for help. And he tried to go outside (INAUDIBLE). But then the water got up like above his chest. And he had to come back inside. And it's the worst feeling in the world. (INAUDIBLE) You can't do anything.

HOWELL (voice-over): Emergency crews across the Carolinas are working to rescue as many people as they can from catastrophic flooding, worsening by the hour.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Rain and that flooding equals danger. That means we have to have patience.

HOWELL (voice-over): In the meantime flying debris downed power lines and uprooted trees show the force of Florence battering the Carolina coast for more than 24 hours.

Here in Wilmington, North Carolina, a family of three was trapped when a tree crushed their home. Crews worked to save them. Some firefighters even prayed outside but the storm claimed the lives of a mother and her infant.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This loss of life is devastating.

HOWELL (voice-over): The tragedy adds to the death toll officials warn may worsen. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This will be a very trying period. This is something that we have not had before.

HOWELL (voice-over): Powerful, slow and relentless, the deadly storm is inching further inland, promising days of severe flooding.

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HOWELL: And right now here in Wilmington, we are under a tornado watch under the dirty side of this storm, that northeastern quadrant. A lot to monitor for sure this night. Stay with us. Our breaking news continues as we track Florence.

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HOWELL: Welcome back. I'm George Howell live in Wilmington, North Carolina, following tropical storm Florence as it inches its way inland at a very slow pace. And that slow pace is causing widespread flooding from the endless rainfall.

Officials are concerned the impact of all that water, that it could be catastrophic over the next several days before all this is finally over. Keep in mind, Florence was once a category 4 hurricane. So it's bringing onshore a great deal of storm surge and it's leaving behind dangerous piles of debris.

We've driven throughout, seen the streets here in Wilmington. We've seen these beautiful trees, 100-year-old trees, that have been toppled from all the rain and so much wind.

We also know this has proven to be a deadly storm. At least five people died --

[03:40:00]

HOWELL: -- as a result of this storm and hundreds of people who didn't follow the warnings to evacuate or were unable to leave. They had to be rescued from the rapidly rising waters.

Also, more than 900,000 customers are without electricity and no clear idea of exactly when that electricity will be back on, including us here as we cover the storm, save for a few generators that are keeping us going.

For a look now at other news that we're following this hour, our Anna Coren picks things up from Hong Kong -- Anna.

COREN: Thank you, George. The center of Typhoon Mangkhut is moving off the Philippines but the

country is still bearing the brunt of the storm. Officials have confirmed two deaths and evacuations by military aircraft are under way. Let's go live to the Philippines, where Alexandra Field is standing by live in Santiago City.

Alex, any more details on the two fatalities?

And are there concerns there will be more?

FIELD: We do know that these are first responders who were found in the Cordillera region which is a mountainous region. It's a place where dozens of landslides have been reported. Certainly there is a lot of concern there could continue to be landslides.

This, of course, happens when you have these heavy and sustained rains. As a precaution, we know that several major roadways in that region have been shut down. That is, of course, to avoid more tragedy right now.

We're starting to learn a little bit more about the impact that this super typhoon had when it made landfall overnight in the Philippines. Emergency management officials are saying they have more information about what happened in the northeast. That's an area of North Luzon that was raising a lot of concern. It was a place that was considered to be heavily at risk for impact from this typhoon.

We are now hearing from officials that they have made contact, established communication with part of that region. They've discovered about a thousand houses that were damaged there.

Anna, to put this in perspective, that's certainly something that would be expected in an event like this. Just two years ago, when another super typhoon slammed into North Luzon, you had tens of thousands of buildings that were damaged when all was said and done.

So we should continue to receive these kinds of reports. Now in the northwest, there are also continuing concerns about storm surge. That's where they're concerned about surge of about three meters. So there is risk of flooding there.

A lot of things for officials and first responders to watch right now and certainly for people in this region. They need to know that, while the super typhoon has moved off the Philippines and lost some strength as it did that, that there are continued concerns and certainly risk factors for everyone in the region.

COREN: Alex, we certainly appreciate you bringing us up to date on the very latest. Alexandra Field there in Santiago City.

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[03:45:00]

COREN: Well, one remarkable woman is braving Florence's wrath in South Carolina, all to help out some of the state's most vulnerable population. Her story and more coming up after the break.

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HOWELL: Welcome back to our continuing --

[03:50:00]

HOWELL: -- live coverage of tropical storm Florence. I'm George Howell in Wilmington, North Carolina.

This storm has weakened from a full-blown hurricane to a very strong, still very powerful. You can see from the radar loop, it is a big blob. And it's moving in but at a snail's pace.

The storm also has proven to be a deadly storm. We know at least five people across the region have been killed. Also, a million customers without electricity. The recovery is going to be a slow, long process, an expensive process as well.

First responders have identified hundreds of people in need of rescue from the rising water. And we know that some 20,000 people are staying in shelters here in the state of North Carolina alone.

Florence is not a hurricane anymore, though it is still incredibly dangerous for people here in the Carolinas. My colleague, Nick Watt, has been following the storm from North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and explains why it's such a serious threat there.

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NICK WATT, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): We are on what is known as the Grand Strand, a 60 mile stretch of beach in the Carolinas that is normally sun kissed and welcomes 14 million visitors a year. Hurricane Florence has changed all that now.

We are still a little ways away from high tide here and the water is already coming up and up this beach. The fear here is that onshore winds, this could be a deadly combination of onshore wind, high tide in the middle of the night and a storm surge.

This town has flooded before. Hurricane Hugo back in '89 destroyed all of the homes along the beachfront here, that is a fear. Listen, this house has been rebuilt, up on stilts but there are houses behind not on stilts.

And since 1989 a lot more people have moved to this area. There are a lot more people that could be impacted now. Over 400,000 people have been evacuated from the coast of South Carolina, expecting Florence to come.

Here in North Myrtle Beach, 85 percent of people left. Maybe 2,000 or so hunkered down, hoping for the best. They told us that -- one guy told me, when it was downgraded from a 3 to a 2, I decided to stay.

But listen, the winds may be not as strong as feared. But this storm is still carrying so much water and moving so slowly and dumping all that fresh water inland. And then as I mentioned we have the threat of the ocean -- Nick Watt, CNN, North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: Nick Watt, thank you so much.

Now thousands of people evacuated ahead of the storm, though many were forced to leave their pets behind. Some shelters wouldn't allow pets.

Earlier, I spoke to Crystal Webb in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Crystal chose to ride the storm out from her home and is now on a mission to help those animals that were left behind. Take a listen.

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CRYSTAL WEBB, ANIMAL LOVER: One of the main reasons I stayed behind, when I stayed behind with Matthew, I became aware of just how many people, when they evacuate, they just leave their animals to fend for themselves. And these animals needed rescue.

So you know, I took that chance just to put my faith in and said I'm going to be OK, I'm going to be here. And before the storm, I was out looking. You know, I was getting messages from people all around, saying, hey, we've heard there is a dog at this address or there is a couple of dogs at this address or, you know.

And people have left their dogs in pens or chained up. These dogs don't have a chance of survival, especially when the water starts to rise. They'll drown. If we can't get to them, they're, you know, nobody is going to help them if we don't.

HOWELL: You know, Crystal, a moment ago we were just talking about risks, the risks that people take associated with these storms, certainly a risk to stay and hunker down through a storm.

But also, you know, because you care, right?

Because you care to make sure that these animals are protected, given these strong storms that come through.

WEBB: Well, it is a risk. And it's something that you take, you know. I do rescues throughout the year and any rescue is going to be a risk. I have been injured doing rescues before.

But, you know, it's worth it. When you save that dog and you know that that dog shows you that love, you bond with that dog because he is showing you appreciation for saving him -- because animals know when they've been rescued and they're going to show you that love, that appreciation.

And they never forget you. I have seen dogs a year or two after I've rescued them and they act like, you know, I was their long lost friend and just happy to see me. But they never forget.

[03:55:00]

WEBB: And it's worth it. It really is. You know, I put my heart and soul into it.

And as soon as this storm will let up or when curfew lets up, if the weather permits, I'll be back out there and, you know, just doing what I can. If I can only help one, to me, it's worth it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: One good thing about during these storms, you find incredible people doing amazing things.

Of course, our coverage continues next hour. You're watching our breaking news coverage, the storm hitting the U.S. East Coast. I'm George Howell live in Wilmington, North Carolina.

COREN: And I'm Anna Coren in Hong Kong. As George said, our breaking news coverage picks up after this quick break.