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Hurricane Michael's Eyewall Hitting Shore in Florida; Florida Governor Talks Hurricane Michael; Florida Sen. Bill Nelson Talks Hurricane Michael. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired October 10, 2018 - 13:30   ET

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


[13:30:00] JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: And you can just see the damage that will be done as this passes through, with these winds of 145 miles an hour or, in some cases, even greater. The hurricane-force winds extend about 45 miles from the core. The tropical-storm-force winds even beyond that. This is a very big storm. The impact will be felt all over the gulf coast. Again, the Florida panhandle has never seen a storm as powerful as this. No storm in recorded history has ever made landfall with wind speeds as high as this.

I want to go over to Destin and get a sense of where things stand there. That's about 40 miles west of where I am now. Erica Hill is there -- Erica?

ERICA HILL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, I just got off the phone with Captain Nick, of the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office. He's been on patrol all morning. They're working 12-hour shifts. He said they're still getting calls for people needing help and wanting transportation to shelters. And he's going to do that as long as they can. He also told me he had just come from a rescue of a man who was living on his boat that was tethered in the bay. It broke loose. Captain Nick, who I spoke to, happened to be driving down the roadway. They found him on his boat that had washed up there, trying to shelter himself waiting for help. They were able to get him. He's OK.

In terms of where folks are being taken, he says he knows of at least three bus loads that have been taking to people to shelters at a church. He couldn't give many the exact numbers, but he was giving me a sense of how many people they had on those three different bus loads.

And he's also concerned about some misinformation that's getting out. He' said there were reports that certain bridges had been closed. As you know, across the state, the state makes the decision to close bridges, John. And once you hit 40 miles an hour, you can be pretty sure that that's going to happen. But he wanted to confirm that, at this hour, in Okaloosa County, there have not been any bridges closed. He said he was concerned that there had been some reports out.

That said, he doesn't want anybody on the roads. He doesn't want anybody out and about. It is time to stay where you are, as we heard earlier this morning from the governor. This is not a storm that you want to be out and about. Another county official telling us a short time ago, after the storm,

you need to stay inside because of the damage. You're seeing the debris already flying around, John, and that is, of course, a major concern.

Also dealing with the power outages to come. The mayor telling me he is pretty sure the power will be out by later this afternoon. Noting that, because they also haven't had a real significant storm in the area in a while, the way that the trees had grown up, is actually going to be more of an issue when it comes to power lines. He says that's another reason why he's pretty confident that will be power loss in the very near future -- John?

BERMAN: I think it's a safe bet there will be a power loss. We lost power here, Erica, about an hour ago. I don't think it's going to come back for some time. I say that as we watch continuing debris flying through this parking lot behind me in Panama City Beach.

Erica Hill, in Destin, thank you very much.

I want to go to Brian Todd who is also in Panama City Beach.

Brian, I haven't seen anything like this in the last several hours. This is as bad as it's been. Give us a sense of where things stand where you are?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, it is every bit as bad here. I mean the violence that you're looking at, with this storm just rocking these trees and power lines, is just amazing to look at. Look at the powerlines behind me. And we're just getting another incredible burst of wind here, as this storm starts to make landfall. Look at these trees. I mean these pine trees look like they're about to snap. I have got to always watch for flying debris, because it could be coming at us from any direction at any second. But if you see the violence with which those trees are shaking, it really is a fearsome sight. This house here behind me could be in some danger with some falling trees and debris.

Power lines obviously are an issue. The last count we heard was 100,000- some without power. But that's obviously changing by the minute. You see power lines rocking here, and you have heard transformers blow in this area.

An interesting thing, John, the sheriff of Walton County, Michael Atkinson, tweeted a moment ago. I was funny to look at the tweet but it was out of sheer frustration. He said, "We have people who cannot exercise good sense. You may have a constitutional right to be an idiot, but you don't have a constitutional right to endanger everyone else."

He's referring to people who are walking around the street, driving around and are on the beaches. We are just a few feet away from a covered structure so I could run in at any second. People cannot be out in this stuff right now. It is incredibly dangerous.

Again, look at these pictures. These palm trees, normally very sturdy, are really rocking right now. And let's get another quick shot if we can. Look at that burst of wind and what it's doing to those trees over there. That is -- look at that. These trees could just snap at any second.

John, I'll toss it back to you.

[13:35:02] BERMAN: All right, Brian.

Yes, we're seeing extraordinary images like that all around. And like Brian was saying there, we're doing our best to stay as safe as we can. And when we look around, it's just to make sure that there are no pieces of debris flying through. I believe we're in a place where we are protected by a wall, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to be careful and look around. Again, the winds speeds are picking up, as strong as they've been. Rain like razor blades on your face.

CNN's special live coverage of Hurricane Michael continues right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: All right, John Berman, in Panama City Beach, Florida.

Again, the winds here are as strong as we have seen them. You can see the water collecting all around me, as this rain continues to fall. They expect nearly a foot of rain here by the time this is all over. The wind speed about a mile inland is the main cause of concern. Expecting 145-mile-per-hour sustained winds, gusts perhaps higher than that. On the coast, which is about a mile away, the concern is storm surge, which could be nine to 14 feet in some places.

I want to bring in Gary Tuchman.

Gary, you'll forgive me if you can hear me, I don't know where you're located so tell people where you are and what you're seeing.

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CRRESPONDENT: John, I'm east of you in a little town called Sopchoppy, Florida. S-O-P-C-H-O-P-P-Y. It's an Indian word for river. The population here is only 500 and we don't know anyone who's still here. The winds are just starting to pick up here because we're east of you. That's where the worst part of this hurricane will be. The wind is from the east and the rains are trying to come time fully for the first --

(AUDIO PROBLEM)

BERMAN: All right, Gary Tuchman, who is in Sopchoppy, Florida. I think I'm saying that right. There's a reason I wasn't sure where Gary is, because I didn't know how to pronounce the town where he is. We lost his audio.

East of here, near where he is, that's the area where the greatest concern over storm surge is. The way these hurricanes work is that east of the center, east of the center of the eyewall is the area where they see the greatest storm surge. So if the eyewall passes over where I am in Panama City, we could see the most ferocious winds. And we are right now, at least it seems that way. But east of here, the winds may not be as strong but the storm surge threat will be that much greater.

Controller, can you say one more time where you want me to go?

All right. All right, great.

I now want to go to Jennifer Gray in our Weather Center.

And, Jennifer, I've been waiting to hear from you for the last several minutes, because I want to know how much longer we have to wait until this eyewall passes over us? What are you seeing?

[13:39:57] JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: You're in it right now, John. You're in the eyewall. And I am shocked that you are still on the air. It's absolutely incredible. We have had wind gusts over 100 miles an hour in Panama City and the storm has made landfall just to the west of Mexico Beach. You can see the center of the storm make landfall right there. And so it is a strong category 4. It actually strengthened just as it made landfall. It now has windstorms of 154 miles an hour. A cat 5 is 157. And when they assess this storm and actually look at the damage, they could say this was, indeed, a category 5. All that doesn't matter, because this is an incredibly strong storm, one of the strongest storms we have ever experienced in the history of these records being kept, since back in the 1800s.

John Berman, you were asking how long you're going to be in it. You're in the strongest part of the storm. This ring right around the eye, with the orange and red colors right there, you're still going to be in it for I would say a good two more hours. You're going to be experiencing these incredibly strong winds. We have had winds of 100- mile-per-hour sustained winds in Panama City. And 116-mile-per-hour gusts have been reported in Panama City Beach. We have also had 129- mile-per-hour gust at the Tyndall Air Force Base, which is right here, and they're experiencing the eye of the storm. So 130 at Tyndall Air Force Base, 129 at Panama City airport. So the Air Force base is experiencing that eye. They're getting clearing. They are experiencing calm winds right now, but when the backside of that storm comes, they will be smacked with 100-plus-mile-per-hour winds once again as the storm continues to barrel to the north.

So, John, there you have it. You're going to be in it for the next couple of hours, as this storm has made landfall just to the northwest of Mexico Beach.

BERMAN: All right, made landfall just to the northwest of Mexico Beach, which is a little bit east of where I am in Panama City.

I'm out of the camera shot right now, because I hope people can see what I'm seeing, which is this railing. This railing, which is cemented to the ground here, is bending over. This wind is pushing that metal railing over, and I don't think it's going to be able to stand up much more. I expect in the next 10 to 15 minutes, you'll be able to see that, the force of this wind.

Oh, my, it is really blowing hard here at this moment. Jennifer Gray saying in Panama City, where I am, clearly 100-mile-per-hour gusts. Clearly greater than that. You can see it right now as the wind just bears down on that metal railing, pushing it over and the debris that's flying into it. That is what's happening to things that are bolted down. There it goes. Wow.

The wind at this point is insistently at this fierce, fierce level. I have stepped even closer to the building so I have a little bit more protection. It is blowing so hard now it's even hard to hear. You know what? I'm going to hold my microphone out as close to the window as I can so you can hear it.

I don't know if that actually worked, but just the roar, the roar of this wind as it plows through, as it blows through. And the force of it against the railings like that. And you can see the trees blowing out over there as well. I'll step a little bit out here again so you can see me with that metal railing continuing to bend there.

But the storm did make landfall, as Jennifer Gray said, a little bit east of where I am near Mexico Beach. That means the storm surge will be even east of that. That's a vulnerable area, a low-lying area. The storm surge there, we may not know for some time how bad that is, because it isn't quite as populated and because the immediate threat that they will be suffering over the next several minutes.

Guys, I got some direction from the control. One more time?

All right, Wolf.

All right, let's go back to Wolf in Washington.

Wolf, I'm doing the best I can communicating. It's not so easy with this much rain. The water gets everywhere. The wind is so loud, it's hard to hear much of anything. But you can get a sense of the power of this storm as it just begins to make landfall on the gulf coast.

[13:45:00] WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, it's an awful, awful situation.

John Berman, you're doing amazing work for us. Our viewers will be relieved once you get inside and get some safety over there. They're very, very nervous about you, and Dianne Gallagher, all of our reporters.

Let me bring in the governor of Florida, Rick Scott, right now who's watching all of this unfold.

Governor, we're hearing it's 155 miles an hour, it's made landfall, 157 would be a category 5 storm, what's the latest information, Governor, that you're hearing?

RICK SCOTT, (R), FLORIDA GOVERNOR (via telephone): Well, first off, I hope your reporter is safe.

You know, my biggest concern is everybody that -- the people that chose not to evacuate, I spent time the last few days going up and down the coast getting people to evacuate. But this is a horrible, horrible storm, 150-plus-miles-an-hour. I think people don't realize, the storm surge, whether it's 15 feet or 14 feet, it's all deadly. I'm concerned people are not taking that into consideration. We can't respond, we can't help anybody who chose not to evacuate. They have to hunker down and take care of themselves. But we have over 1,000 people ready in rescue teams. We have 3500 National Guard. I just got a briefing from the Coast Guard, which will be coming from Mobile and one from the Clearwater area to help with water rescue. We have 19,000 people that are already prepositioned to get the power back on. But I am scared to death for the people who chose not to evacuate. This is just a horrendous storm. And look at on your monitor and you can just see the wind, the rain and what it's doing to that railing.

BLITZER: Yes, that railing, that metal railing, Governor, good aye eye, it's gone. It looks like it's completely served and that becomes an extremely dangerous situation.

What are your gravest fears right now over the next several hours?

SCOTT: Well, right now, I'm just praying that people got to safety. We know, as an example, I was in Franklin County yesterday and we know one of the barrier islands, 50 people decided to stay, even though the locals declared a mandatory evacuation. The law enforcement went to visit each one of them. We sent out a text alert to every one of them and some of them still decided to stay. So I'm worried about them every second. And I hope there's no children there, who didn't have the choice on their own to make these decisions. I'm just praying for them. And as soon as this passes, we will be out there doing everything we can to rescue everybody. This is a very resilient state. We have been through a lot of storms. I have been through, just as governor, a lot of storms. This is a resilient group of people. We will take care of each other.

BLITZER: It's an awful, awful situation. And I assume you're anticipating that millions of Floridians will shortly be without power if not already?

SCOTT: Wolf, absolutely. That's why, what I have done over the last few years, is I have pushed our utilities, to say I want every one of you to have a mutual agreement with other utilities so you can preposition people, you can share assets, so you're not waiting to try and get things as quickly as you can. You preposition this, you get ready before the storm happens so you can get the power back on. Many, many people are dependent on power. If you're on certain kinds of health care machines, you have to have power. I want these people to be safe. We've opened up 54 shelters. We have thousands of people in our shelters. I'm sure we're going to have more people in our shelters as this passes. I want this power back on as quickly as possible. That's my expectation.

BLITZER: As you know, Governor, there's a lot of seniors who live in Florida, there are nursing homes, and if they lose power, that potentially could be the end.

SCOTT: Wolf, we have reached out to all the health care facilities. We told them our expectations. Your job is to take care of these patients. You're responsible for these patients. If you need any help, we'll provide you that help. I have talked to a couple of hospitals in the Panama City area that are concerned right now. So we're working with them to make sure, as soon as this passes, if they need to do any evacuations, we can get that done quickly.

I have talked to the president today. I have talked to Kirstjen Nielsen, the secretary of Homeland Security. I have talked to Brock Long, who runs FEMA. We have their southeast administrator down here. We're working to make sure -- my job is to get local, federal and state resources all to cooperate, to keep people alive, and make sure after this happens to recover anybody that has a problem and get people back to a normal life as quickly as possible.

BLITZER: I know you got to run back. You've got a lot going on, Governor. We're grateful for your time. Any final thought you want to share with our viewers right now?

[13:50:04] SCOTT: Well, pray for us.

BLITZER: We will certainly do that.

Governor, thank you so much.

Governor Rick Scott, the governor of Florida.

Let's take another quick break, resume our special coverage right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: We're continuing our special coverage of Hurricane Michael. It's making landfall right now at 155 miles per hour, a category 4. Category 5 would be 157 miles an hour.

Joining us on the phone right now, Senator Bill Nelson, of Florida.

I know you're monitoring this very closely, Senator. What's the latest information you're getting?

SEN. BILL NELSON, (D), FLORIDA (via telephone): Well, Wolf, the toughest area is going to get it on the right side or the east side of the eyewall. And that's going to be to the east of Tallahassee. There, the huge winds combined with 12 to 13 foot of water. By the way, I've met with the secretary of the Air Force today. I'm in Washington in the airport going back to the panhandle. I came here for the vote on our big water bill, which is critical to Florida. And the secretary of the Air Force knows. They completely evacuated Tyndall Air Force Base, which is where we train our F-22 pilots. From the Tyndall Air Force Base to the east, all the way to Apalachicola to Alligator Point, they're going to get a wall of water that's going to be 12 to 13 feet above high tide. So you're talking about substantial damage combined with the wind.

[13:55:02] BLITZER: This is the worst hurricane since they started recording these hurricanes that hit the Florida panhandle, is that right? NELSON: Yes. Nobody remembers a category 5 in the Florida panhandle.

It may be a hundred years ago. But we had a couple of hurricanes in the 1990s but they were category 2 and 3 in the panhandle. By the way, you can see the difference between our building codes. The old structures, even on a category 2, they were just demolished right along the beach. But the new building codes, they stood up. But when you get up to 155 to 157 miles an hour, then that remind me of downtown Homestead, Florida, after Hurricane Andrew. When I flew over that in a helicopter, there was nothing left except the bank building and one old Florida cracker house that had been built in the 1920s to withstand the wind. Everything else was leveled. That's what we're looking at. Those winds are around 155.

BLITZER: Yes, it's a monster storm.

Senator, thanks so much for joining us. We'll stay in close touch with you.

John Berman is in Panama City Beach, Florida, for us. We'll get back to John, all of our reporters right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:00:11] BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, there.