Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
CNN International: At Least 16 People Dead From Powerful Hurricane; Obama Begins Campaign Blitz For Harris In Pennsylvania; Iran, Russia Strengthening Ties Amid Middle East War. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired October 11, 2024 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
Zelenskyy; Antony Blinken, Boeing, Medecins Sans Frontieres, Jabalia>
[11:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ERICA HILL, HOST, "CNN NEWSROOM": Welcome to our viewers around the world. I'm Erica Hill in New York.
Ahead on CNN Newsroom this hour, the aftermath of Hurricane Milton, communities reeling, some of them still under water, in the wake of that massive storm. We are live in Florida. Medical facilities in Gaza running out of resources. "Doctors Without Borders" joins us with an unfiltered look inside northern Gaza's remaining hospitals. And the emotional, important work of this year's Nobel Peace Prize winner recognized at a critical moment.
We begin this hour with Floridians who are picking up the pieces where they can. Millions of customers in the state are still without power, and search efforts are still continuing. At least 16 confirmed deaths have now been linked to Hurricane Milton, and the governor does warn that number may rise. First responders working to rescue some residents still at this hour, so many who experienced the storm are left feeling not only increasingly vulnerable, but traumatized.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was absolutely devastating, only because we just went through Ian, and the same exact thing happened with the tornadoes. So, to see the -- and it actually ripped the concrete right out of the ground.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Never, never have I experienced --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- damage or the amount of tornadoes that came through this area --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- and it was the most frightening thing I've ever lived through. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just don't want people to have to come back to this. It's what a shame. I pray to God Mother Nature would save us and preserve us. But, none of us were killed. Nobody died.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: CNN's Isabel Rosales has been following the ongoing search and recovery efforts. Take a listen to what the Hillsborough County Sheriff told CNN just moments ago.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We are in Valrico of Hillsborough County on yet another airboat with the sheriff, Chad Chronister. This is the --
CHAD CHRONISTER, HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY SHERIFF: Yeah. Yeah.
ROSALES: -- Alafia River, sir. I know that this is an area that typically floods. But, have you seen anything like this?
CHRONISTER: Not like this. Remember, to put things in perspective, we're a mile away from the Alafia River, and this water is at least six feet deep, and it's still rising. We just did a rescue from that house over here to the left, right here, the grayish one.
ROSALES: Yeah.
CHRONISTER: The water is just -- great job. The house is built up, but the water is just getting ready to get into the house. We got flagged down from the owner, saying, can you please help me, help me? Went over there and rescued her six cats and her seven birds.
ROSALES: And that person is OK.
CHRONISTER: And she is OK. The parents got out last night and we got them out this morning.
ROSALES: Do you have a grasp yet of the extent of the homes that are impacted? How many more people might need help?
CHRONISTER: We don't. This is early. This is just starting to come into play here. So, we're in the helicopter now, assessing how widespread this damage is, and trying to predict where the water is going to crest. We're at six feet deep. We have some people who believe that it might get as high as 20 feet.
ROSALES: And actually, I do have some data, thanks to our meteorologist Derek Van Dam, that peak crest for the Alafia River is expected tonight. So, that's 25 and a half feet, is what they're expecting that crest to be. That is major flood stage. Sir, yesterday, when we were talking, you got emotional --
CHRONISTER: Yeah.
ROSALES: -- seeing all these people who had lost their homes. That's over in the university area, upstate area. What else have you seen, the loss that people are experiencing, even days on after Milton has passed?
CHRONISTER: And that's heart-wrenching, right? The water will come in. The water will leave. And then this -- these poor people will have to deal with the aftermath. Once again, what's next steps forward for them? They've lost their cars. They've lost their homes. But, at the end of the day, I get it. It is material items. We will rescue all the pets and keep them and themselves safe. But, I -- it's hard for me not to imagine the heartbreak that comes along with next steps. Where do those people go that don't have family? They don't have friends. They don't have the money to get a hotel. What happens to them?
ROSALES: And sir, I can imagine you guys are being stretched right now with the number of rescues, so many rescues that you guys are conducting. Are you getting the support that you need at every stage, state and federal?
CHRONISTER: We are, and that's the great thing. We have another 500 deputies that have been deployed to this area to help us out, fish and wildlife. The governor has been fantastic about, hey, I'm sending it to you. So, we have other sheriffs from other areas that weren't impacted. I was on the phone with them till late last night, and they're either here or on the way. So, we want to make sure if there is one person that needs save, one person that needs rescue, we have the ability to do so.
[11:05:00]
ROSALES: I imagine that this is exhausting for you guys, for your men and women out there. Any idea of when? Because so many people are thinking about recovery, turning the page, repairing their homes, but clearly, we're still at a stage in some areas where it's life or death and rescues. Any idea when that will end?
CHRONISTER: That's a great question. Don't know if this river continues. We're a mile away from the river flooding, and we're at six feet. What happens if we get that 20, 25 feet and it continues to go? This -- these emergency calls for help are going to be more widespread.
ROSALES: And sir, when we're seeing flood levels at this stage, even going above stop signs, can you talk about the dangers that your deputies could be experiencing out on the waters, if it's not from just debris from Helene? We know they're skaters. What else are you guys seeing in the waters?
CHRONISTER: Yeah. You're exactly right. It's not just the wildlife. It's just not the obstacles. Like, when we came in and our sergeant here had to give us a little more gas. We were riding over someone's fence. There is -- there are fences under water. There is a lot of dangers and obstructions that we can't see because it's hidden under the cover of water, and it becomes very dangerous.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HILL: What a picture that paints of the challenges so many are facing.
CNN's Ivan Rodriguez also tracking the aftermath of Milton. And Ivan, you're live in Fort Pierce, Florida at this hour. What are you seeing there on the ground?
IVAN RODRIGUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Erica, here in Fort Pierce, 24 hours ago, people were taking a look at that damage for the first time, a lot of that devastation we're still sitting here on the ground. To my left, you'll find this semi that was toppled over by those strong winds from the tornadoes we saw here in the area of Fort Pierce, this wheel here from the front part of it, just over my head. To give you a bird's eye view of it, you'll be able to see the truck that I'm standing by on one side of the road. Across the street, you'll see another semi. That trailer's metal smashed in, and these are images, Erica, that we're seeing across this neighborhood.
We drove through a lot of these streets and saw RVs toppled in front of homes and their driveways, old oak trees, massive oak trees snapped in half, power lines down, so much debris. Residents were able, over the last 24 hours so far, to clean up some of those roads so that they could access their homes, but also electric crews to be able to work on that power restoration. We're learning a little bit more about those tornadoes. We know that at least nine touched down here in this county, three of them within 25 minutes, and all of this is hours before landfall from Hurricane Milton.
HILL: Wow. It is just something. I'm just looking at some of these images as well. Ivan, appreciate it. Thank you.
Also with me this hour, CNN Meteorologist Derek Van Dam. Derek, we had just heard in Isabel's report there. I know the two of you have been talking about when some of these rivers are going to crest. There is still so much water in this area for many people. It's hard to believe, but a lot of this is really just beginning in terms of that water.
DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It will take several days for the water to completely crest and then exit into either the Gulf of Mexico or the Atlantic Ocean side, depending on who has seen the flooding right now, about where Isabel is located.
Yeah. They're in major flood stage. And they're one of about a dozen or so river gages that we found that are currently under major flood stage, as we speak, all because of the result of the heavy rain that fell from Hurricane Milton, which, by the way, is a sheared out, disorganized low pressure. We call it a post-tropical cyclone, and it is south of Bermuda, and it's not going to impact land for its foreseeable future. But, we still have some rough waves to contend with. In fact, we focus in on the Florida Atlantic coastline, where it exited yesterday, about 24 to 36 hours ago. There is still some dangerous rip currents, large waves, perhaps some minor coastal erosion.
But, when we talk about the rain that fell, it was really north of that center point where the eye made landfall. Remember, Siesta Key was a landfall point, and it sliced right through the central parts of the peninsula, the northern portions. This is where we saw the heaviest rain from Hillsborough County through Orlando, all the way to Daytona Beach, 10 inches plus, some areas receiving more than that. And this is the latest river gages that we look at here at the CNN Weather Center. And you can see those shades of purple, Hillsborough County, stretching into the interior of Florida. There are, again, 12 river gages right now that are under major flood stage.
Now, the showstopper certainly was the tornadoes that dropped from the sky. These typically are not your large EF3 tornadoes that you would see in Tornado Alley, like Oklahoma or perhaps into Nebraska. But, that's kind of the type of tornadoes that we saw with very supercell- type structures and causing a lot of damage, and unfortunately, the fatalities that we saw in some of the eastern communities of Florida, well away from where the center actually made landfall.
[11:10:00]
So, we put so much context and concern about the eyewall, where we get the strongest winds and also the greatest storm surge potential. But, really what unfolded with this was not only the flooding rain, but the tornado threat, and this -- the tornado outbreak that occurred on the eastern side of the state, well in advance and well away from the eyewall.
One thing is for sure, we've got days, if not weeks, before we restore the power. And Erica, we really, really narrowly missed a serious disaster for Tampa Bay, because this system made landfall just to the south of that area.
HILL: Yeah. Absolutely. As bad as it is, it could have been truly so much worth. Derek, appreciate it.
DAM: That's right.
HILL: Just over three weeks to go now until the U.S. presidential election, and Democrats are bringing out some of their biggest names for this final stretch. On Thursday, former President Barack Obama began campaigning for Harris, kicking things off in Pennsylvania. At a rally in Pittsburgh, he didn't hold back when it came to his criticism of former President Donald Trump, and he also warned black men, this is not the time to sit out an election.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, 44TH U.S. PRESIDENT: I noticed this especially with some men who seem to think Trump's behavior, the bullying and the putting people down is a sign of strength. And I am here to tell you, that is not what real strength is. It never has been.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: My colleague Kevin Liptak joins me now from the White House. The former President really not holding back, especially when it came -- comes to the other former President. Where else are we going to see him focusing at the beginning of this battleground sprint? KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, certainly, the former President very focused on this key voting bloc of black men. They really do believe that if anyone can convince that particular group to come out and vote for Kamala Harris, it is Barack Obama, and you saw him do that yesterday in Pittsburgh, really narrowing down, saying, in his words, that he had been getting reports from the campaign and from Democrats that black men were not supporting Harris in the way that he thinks they should be, and he says that he had a problem with that. He said that, if they have an issue with a woman President, that they basically need to get over it, because Donald Trump, in his words, was going to do nothing for them.
And you really saw him kind of abrade Donald Trump in that speech that he delivered, saying that he was not someone that could relate to people in any kind of meaningful way. He said that Donald Trump had never changed a diaper, changed attire, and he really went after him for some of this hurricane misinformation that he has been spreading, saying that it was dangerous.
And I've been covering Obama for a while now. I don't think I've ever seen him quite that upset and emotional, particularly on this issue of the hurricane lies essentially that Trump has been saying. So, this is quite a personal issue, I think, for Obama. We saw him at that rally, but he also visited a campaign office before he took the stage, and he really talked in forceful terms about the necessity of supporting Harris when it comes to black men, and it does give you a sense of how worried the campaign is about this particular voting bloc. They have looked at polls that show that black men have not supported Harris in the ways that they were supporting Biden or in the ways that they were supporting Obama himself. And so, you will see him more and more on the campaign trail.
He is set to hit all of the battleground states in the weeks before the election. In a way, he is repaying a favor that Kamala Harris put towards him back in 2008. She traveled all the way to Iowa to knock on doors ahead of the Iowa caucus for Barack Obama. So, this is something of a full circle moment, but we will be seeing a lot of Obama in the lead-up to Election Day.
HILL: All right. Kevin, appreciate it. Thank you.
Still to come this hour, as Iran braces for a threatened Israeli attack and retaliation, it is now strengthening ties with a longtime U.S. foe. Why this meeting with Vladimir Putin is making headlines? And then doctors in northern Gaza warning of a catastrophic situation, as fuel is running out at hospitals now under evacuation orders. We'll speak with a medical aid group on the ground in Gaza, just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:15:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HILL: Amid multiple wars in the Middle East and a looming threat of an Israeli attack on Iran, the Iranian President is now forging stronger ties with Russia. Masoud Pezeshkian meeting with Vladimir Putin for the first time today on the sidelines of a summit in Turkmenistan. Now, Putin says Russia and Iran are actively working together on international affairs, saying they share a very close worldview. Iran has been bracing for an Israeli attack in retaliation for last week's ballistic missile strikes. A source, though, tells the U.S. that -- or tells us that Israel's security cabinet has not yet reached a decision at this point.
CNN's Fred Pleitgen is live at this hour in Tehran. So, Fred, first of all, this meeting between the presidents of Russia and Iran, this is the first time that they are meeting. Do we know what came out of that meeting?
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, the first time they're meeting face-to-face, and of course, Masoud Pezeshkian, the President of Iran, still fairly new in office. And essentially, what you said is absolutely correct. Both of them are calling for forging even closer ties than Iran and Russia already have. Those ties have been growing a lot closer over the past couple of months, as on the one hand, Russia has continuously isolated or increasingly isolated by Europe and by the United States on the international stage, and the Iranians, of course, facing that standoff with Israel in the greater Middle Eastern region.
So, certainly, those two countries now much more reliant on one another economically, and then, of course, also in the military technical sphere as well. The Russians, for instance, have been accused by the United States and by Ukraine of using Iranian drones on the battlefield in Ukraine, and also now Iranian-provided short-range ballistic missiles, even though the Iranians still continue to deny that they ever gave that kind of technology to the Russians. Masoud Pezeshkian today said that both Russia and Iran should support one another on the international stage. I want to listen in to some what he had to say during that meeting with Vladimir Putin.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MASOUD PEZESHKIAN, IRANIAN PRESIDENT (Interpreted): We have many opportunities now. We should help each other in many areas. Our viewpoints and positions in the world are much closer to each other than to those of others. The situation in the region is in turmoil now, and the United States and the European countries do not want the situation to return to calm, which would allow us to continue ties in a calm environment.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PLEITGEN: So, Masoud Pezeshkian there also, of course, blasting the United States and European countries as well. But, we do see increasing ties between Russia and Iran, and both those leaders saying that those ties will only strengthen as time goes on, Erica.
HILL: Fred, as I mentioned, at this point, the reporting is that Israel's security cabinet has not yet reached a decision on what retaliation would look like. But, there does seem to be this real gap between American and Israeli positions on how to respond to Iran. Is there a sense that there will be some sort of a resolution or decision soon?
PLEITGEN: It's very difficult to say, but you're absolutely right, just for the public things that we've heard from the Biden administration. President Biden has said that he certainly doesn't want the Israelis to strike any nuclear facilities here in Iran, and the U.S. has also made clear that they don't want the Israelis to strike any energy facilities here in Iran as well. And of course, all that would mean for oil and gas prices around the world.
[11:20:00]
The Iranians themselves have put out some pretty harsh threats against the Israelis, also saying that if Iranian energy facilities are targeted, Iran could then move from targeting only military facilities in Israel to targeting energy facilities, for instance, as well. And today, I was at Friday prayers, the main Friday prayers here in Tehran, and some of the prayer goers that we spoke to afterwards also told Israel to back off. Let's listen in.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (Interpreted): They will see a very harsh response from the IRGC, the army and the people of Iran. Be sure that this will happen.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (Interpreted): Israel has experienced this before, and if they repeat this experience, they will definitely be destroyed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (Interpreted): They are brutally overseeing the bloodshed of innocent children which is taking place, and both America and Israel have a share in this crime. They should overthrow the leadership of their countries.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PLEITGEN: So, that was some of the folks that we spoke to earlier today at those main Friday prayers in Tehran, and really the whole standoff right now between Iran and Israel, but also the whole situation between Israel and Hezbollah was certainly left, right and center at those Friday prayers. In fact, there was a big poster of the slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who, of course, was killed in an Israeli airstrike, sort of overlooking those entire Friday prayers. So, you can see it definitely plays a big role here, and certainly the Iranians right now bracing for what the Israelis say will be a strong response. Erica.
HILL: Yeah. Absolutely. Frederick Pleitgen live in Tehran at this hour. Thank you.
The United Nations is sounding the alarm after its peacekeeping positions in southern Lebanon were hit in separate incidents on Thursday and Friday, leaving four peacekeepers injured. And it comes as 22 people were reported killed in the biggest Israeli attack on central Beirut in nearly two decades.
As CNN's Ben Wedeman reports, parts of southern Lebanon have now been turned into rubble.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You have to walk carefully through the rubble, all that remains of three buildings in Tyre demolished by Israeli bombs. Neighbors say the bombing killed at least five people, including women and children.
WEDEMAN: The Arabic spokesman for the Israeli military will occasionally over Twitter or X put out evacuation orders for specific buildings in Beirut before they're struck. Here in Tyre, there have been no warnings.
WEDEMAN (voice-over): For 35 years, Beha (ph) has run a small clothing shop next door, now in shambles. History is repeating itself, she says. A three-storey building fell over our heads during the 1982 Israeli invasion. This ancient city is just 12 miles or 19 kilometers from the border with Israel. Most of the residents have fled north. Those who stayed behind live under constant threat. It was terrifying. The missile hit and it collapsed, says 70-year-old Makdad (ph), describing another Israeli strike that destroyed multiple homes in Tyre's old city. For more than half a century, every generation has witnessed destruction and death. We're used to it, says Makdad's neighbor Yousif (ph). We're used to wars. We've seen wars.
Going back to the days of the Phoenicians, Tyre has looked to the sea, now a forbidden zone. Israel has warned people to stay off the beaches and fishermen not to take their boats out. So, in Tyre's port, Abu Ibrahim sits and smokes his water pipe. We go to sea so we can eat, he tells me. Now, we can't. How can we eat? An old man deprived of his sea.
Ben Wedeman, CNN, Tyre, southern Lebanon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:25:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HILL: Welcome back. You're watching CNN Newsroom. I'm Erica Hill in New York. Let's take a look at some of the international headlines we're following today.
Ukraine's President meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican on Friday. Volodymyr Zelenskyy is visiting European allies, as he works to sell his victory plan, his blueprint for winning the war against Russia. Important to note, the details of that plan have yet to be made public. Following their meeting, Mr. Zelenskyy said he and the Pope spoke about bringing Ukrainians home, who had been taken captive by Russia.
The U.S. Secretary of State says that U.S. is working very hard through deterrence and through diplomacy to prevent a wider conflict in the Middle East. Speaking at a gathering of Asian leaders in Laos on Friday, Antony Blinken emphasized the need for a diplomatic solution in Lebanon. His words coming amid intensified Israeli airstrikes, as well as an Israeli ground incursion in the south of the country.
Happening right now, a judge in the state of Texas is deciding whether to accept Boeing's guilty plea agreement to fraud charges. Now, this stems from its role in two fatal crashes which killed 346 people. The previously agreed upon deal between Boeing and federal prosecutors includes fines and oversight for the planemaker. The victims' families call the agreement a sweetheart deal, and are asking that it be thrown out.
A UN inquiry is accusing Israel of carrying out a concerted policy of destroying the healthcare system in Gaza, saying its continued attacks constitute the crime of extermination. That report says Israeli forces have deliberately killed and tortured medical personnel and relentlessly attacked medical facilities, blocking food, fuel and medicine for reaching hospitals. Israel denies the allegations, calling them outrageous.
Three hospitals in northern Gaza, meantime, are under evacuation orders right now. Doctors, though, say they're critically ill patients, including many of them who are children, could die if they tried to move them. The hospitals also warned they are running out of fuel, and say it is a catastrophic situation. Medecins Sans Frontieres, also known as "Doctors Without Borders", says Israel's evacuation orders are turning Gaza into an "unliveable wasteland".
I'm joined now by Anna Halford, a project coordinator with MSF. She is joining us from Deir al Balah in Gaza with me on the phone. First of all, appreciate you joining us. Can you just give me a sense at this hour, what is the current situation in those hospitals in northern Gaza?
ANNA HALFORD, PROJECT COORDINATOR, MSF GAZA (VIA TELEPHONE): It's -- in principle, it's very difficult for us to say because we don't have -- we're not up there ourselves. We have colleagues who are in northern Gaza at this point, who are either trapped or who have recently got to safety from the Jabalia area. We also have colleagues and ex-colleagues who have been working in those hospitals. We have a contact inside allowed a hospital, and the situation is, as you just described in the intro, running out of fuel, running out of medication, which has already been in short supply for quite some time, trying to do their very best for the patients who are still coming in, in response to attacks, airstrikes, shootings and so on, and who are turning up needing emergency care.
So, maintaining the electricity supply in such hospitals, maintaining the care when there are not enough medical staff around, who also have to think of their own safety, and who, in many cases, have fled with their families when that was still possible,
HILL: Given the picture that you painted and what we had just heard too, just one of the hospitals warning there was, and this was hours ago, frankly, less than 24 hours of fuel left, put in perspective for us, for people who may not be familiar with just how key fuel is to keeping these hospitals running, what that could mean for the patients, if they, in fact, run out of fuel.
[11:30:00]
HALFORD (VIA TELEPHONE): Running out of fuel means that you can't maintain an electricity supply. These are not hospitals. These are not places that have a hugely reliable public electricity grid system. And after a year of war, there has been considerable damage to the infrastructure anyway. So, running out of a generator, which nearly all hospitals will have backups and backup of backups, generators, it is that important. It means that you can't keep monitoring equipment on. It means that you cannot keep ventilators on. A lot of injuries that you see in conflict will make -- will need ventilators to keep the patient in a stable condition and so on. Without oxygen, without ventilators, you are either obliged to keep a patient alive by manually oxygenating them, or they will die.
HILL: As we heard these three hospitals specifically right now that are under evacuation orders in northern Gaza, one of the major concerns is understandably for these critically ill patients. Doctors concerned that they could die, a number of them children, if they try to move them. Even if a patient is able to get out, can you just walk us through how difficult it is an operation like that, if they are able to evacuate patients? And then, the question, of course, I think many people have is, evacuate them where? Where do they go?
HALFORD (VIA TELEPHONE): Exactly. So, again, evacuating a patient who is sufficiently, critically ill to be on a ventilator, they are unstable, by very definition, moving them -- moving away from monitoring equipment, the medical care required to accompany such a person, even if you do have access to safe routes and an ambulance, which is functional (inaudible) generators, there isn't fuel for ambulances either. There are many people being transported by hand, by cart, by trailer, behind a motorbike. These are not situations that are optimal, let me say, for transporting any patient, let alone one who is critically ill or injured.
And there has been an attempt, a UN-led attempt to evacuate some patients from one hospital. They were unable to complete that movement yesterday. They were unable to get safely within reach of the hospital in order to carry out that evacuation. And so, that's very frustrating for all of us in the medical community and the humanitarian community, because we are all very aware of the potential for these patients to -- for further suffer.
HILL: You also mentioned the challenges that the medical staff are facing, the challenges that your colleagues are facing, some of them trapped, some of them -- some have left, as you noted, with their families. Others are not able to. What are you hearing from them?
HALFORD (VIA TELEPHONE): We're hearing about a situation where a very large number of people are trapped or unable to move because of the number of people within their charge, the number of people within their responsibility, and to organize the movement of those people when there is no transport. So, I'm talking -- imagine that you have 30 people within the care of yourself and your spouse. There are orphan children who do not belong to you, technically, but they belonged to extended members of family who have died. You have elderly people whose mobility is already restricted. How do you move those people under a bombing or a shelling situation along roads without any transport to a place where that is also receiving airstrikes?
The choice that people perceive themselves to have, even if officially there are evacuation routes, is incredibly narrow. So, we have five colleagues who are -- they describe themselves as trapped within Jabalia. We are exceptionally worried for them.
HILL: Anna Halford, we really appreciate you taking the time and bringing us what is really important information from inside Gaza, which is increasingly difficult to get. Thank you.
We are also closely monitoring efforts in Florida in the wake of Hurricane Milton. Urgent search and rescue efforts still underway there. The storm, we do know, has claimed at least 16 lives. Florida's governor anticipates that there will, in fact, be more deaths ultimately reported linked to this storm. We do know too there have been a number of rescues, first responders making those life-saving rescues, as many as 1,000 people have now been rescued.
CNN's Bill Weir also has a closer look at the damage across the street and what it could mean ahead for this very long road to recovery.
[11:35:00]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As Earth overheats, these are the kinds of storms that take lives and livelihoods. But as families reel in private grief, it's the material loss that is so obvious everywhere in Pinellas County. From the tower construction crane that crashed down on neighboring buildings, to Tropicana Field, peeled like an orange by Milton's winds. The Tampa Bay Rays already have plans in the works to build a new stadium, with taxpayers kicking in hundreds of millions of dollars. But, what happens now is anyone's guess, especially after the loss of entire neighborhoods, retirees and working-class American dreamers.
SANDY DAUGHTRY, PINELLAS COUNTY RESIDENT: I'm just really concerned for all these people. It's just devastating. It's like World War III or something.
WEIR (voice-over): Sandy Daughtry hid in a closet during landfall and the day after rides her bike through the mingled wreckage of back-to- back hurricanes, praying for neighbors she knows now have nothing.
WEIR: Long after all of these pieces of people's lives have been picked up, what will remain in Florida is a massive insurance crisis. In just the last couple of years, dozens of different carriers have gone insolvent or stopped accepting new customers or have been placed on state watch lists. So, as a result, flood insurance for a home like this can be over $20,000 a year, way more than the mortgage. So, most of these families had no coverage at all. There are so many folks are uninsured, right?
DAUGHTRY: Yes. Yes. I know. That's why I just -- like, it breaks my heart. I'm riding through here just like my heart is just shattered. I just can't even -- it's just unbelievable. Really.
WEIR: What do you think becomes of communities like this?
DAUGHTRY: I don't know. I really don't. I'm hearing a lot of people saying they're going to leave the state and head back up north, but I don't know if that'll happen, maybe a mass exodus or something.
WEIR: Do you connect any -- all of this to a changing climate, a warmer planet?
DAUGHTRY: I don't -- I'm not sure. I couldn't answer. I can't really answer that.
WEIR: Really?
DAUGHTRY: I just -- maybe it's just a 100-year cycle or some kind of a cycle that we go through.
WEIR: Even though all the scientists are telling you this is what climate change looks like?
DAUGHTRY: Well, yeah. Well, that's the point. I'm not sure all the scientists are in agreement.
WEIR: They are. I can tell you they are.
DAUGHTRY: That's why I'm kind of like --
WEIR: I'm here to tell you, they are.
DAUGHTRY: Yeah.
WEIR: 99 percent of them absolutely agree. You can ask anybody at NASA.
DAUGHTRY: Well, I can definitely tell you our beaches are eroding. In my lifetime, all the beaches have -- I've seen the water come up a lot --
WEIR: Yeah.
DAUGHTRY: -- higher than it ever has before. So --
WEIR: Thank you so much.
DAUGHTRY: -- thank you all for talking and --
WEIR: Yeah. Thank you for talking with us. Really, you're a great neighbor. If there is a heaven, you're getting in.
DAUGHTRY: And that's -- honestly, that's what I do. I ride around and just pray for people and just pray. I just -- it's just -- WEIR: You're a first prayer responder. That's --
DAUGHTRY: Yes. Amen.
WEIR: That's very sweet. All right. Good luck to you.
DAUGHTRY: Thanks, you all.
WEIR: Thank you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HILL: FEMA, the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency, is rapidly spending its disaster funding at this point because of the response to both Milton and Helene, which of course, was just two weeks ago. These back-to-back major hurricanes come on top of what's already been a disaster-filled year in the U.S., tornadoes, wildfires, floods, all requiring that response.
Joining me now is Katharine Hayhoe. She is the Chief Scientist of the Nature Conservancy, and a Distinguished Professor at Texas Tech University. Excuse me. It's great to have you with us. I'm just looking at this new sort of quick -- quickly issued report from World Weather Attribution, which is a network of scientists. And so, they look into the role of climate change in different weather events, and they believe that climate change boosted the winds in Milton by 10 percent. So, otherwise, it would have made landfalls as a Category 2 instead of a 3, that extreme rapid intensification we were talking about for so many days when it jumped to a Category 5 because of the warmer water there in the Gulf, and also said that they believe climate change led to 20 percent to 30 percent more rain in this storm.
Do any of those numbers surprise you?
KATHARINE HAYHOE, CLIMATE SCIENTIST: Not at all. In fact, we saw the very same numbers with Hurricane Helene just two weeks ago, where their attribution scientists estimated that more than 50 percent of the rain that fell in some places, including in the mountains of North and South Carolina and Tennessee, was due to a warming climate. So, we know we've always had hurricanes and floods and droughts and storms, but we know that the warmer this planet gets, the more it is super sizing the events. Hurricanes are ratcheting up from a tropical storm to a Category 3, 4 or 5 overnight. They're dropping a lot more rain. Storm surge is worse because of rising sea levels, and all of this is putting us at risk.
HILL: It was interesting, I'm not sure if you could hear, but we had a report just before our interview with my colleague Bill Weir, and he was speaking with a woman there in Florida who was going around, seeing the damage around her neighbors, and when he asked her specifically if she thought it was related to climate change, she brought up the fact she wasn't sure if all the scientists agree.
[11:40:00] There has been for some time in this country, and frankly, in other countries as well, a denialism about the realities of climate change. Have you noticed any of that start to change as we're seeing these more severe storms?
HAYHOE: So, scientists have known since the 1850s that digging up and burning coal back then, and oil and gas today, produces carbon pollution that is building up in the atmosphere, wrapping an extra blanket around the planet. We've known that since the 1850s. When did people start to say, oh, maybe it's just a natural cycle? They didn't start to say that until just about 30 or 40 years ago. Why? Because that was when we started to see that the impacts of climate change were happening now instead of in the future, and that meant we had to do something about it. So, all of this, I'm not sure it was manufactured by the fossil fuel industry and by others who have the most to lose from climate action that will keep the rest of us safe and live to -- lead us to a better world.
So, what Bill did was really perfect, because nine out of 10 Americans, as of a poll last year, so I'm sure that number is higher now, nine out of 10 Americans have been personally affected by how climate change is super sizing our weather events, what I call global weirding, but only two thirds of them make the connection to human- caused climate change. And research shows that when we say scientists agree, which we do, overwhelmingly, that is very effective in helping people understand that it's real, it's us, it's serious, and there are solutions if we act now.
HILL: You have a great TED talk, which I would encourage everybody to watch from 2018, which is just as relevant today, and the title, I believe, is to the effect of the most important thing you can do to fight climate change is actually talk about it. That talking about climate change in a way that is relatable for people personally can have a big difference. Are we talking about climate change correctly to actually make a difference?
HAYHOE: Well, first of all, we're not talking about it enough. Two thirds of people living in the United States don't hear somebody else talk about it, even once in a while. And around the world, there is only a handful of countries where more than half of the people hear conversations about climate change on a regular basis. Most of those are centered around Sweden, around Northern Europe, and then Australia also just makes it over that bar, but the rest of us are not.
Now, when we say conversations, I'm not talking about ice sheets, polar bears and ocean circulation. We need to help people understand how the people and places and things they care about today that they love are being affected. Heart conversations, I think of them as rather than head conversations. And we need to engage people's hands. What can we do to make a difference?
So, that's why I did my TED talk. That's why I have a weekly newsletter called Talking Climate that shares good news, not so good news, and something you can do every week. And that's why Bill, who we just heard from, wrote a wonderful book called "Life as We Know It (Can Be): Stories of People, Climate, and Hope in a Changing World", but also the hope that climate action could truly bring us a better, safer future.
HILL: So, it's about meeting people where they are.
HAYHOE: Absolutely. I haven't met a single person in thousands of conversations I've had. And I would add, I live in Texas, where I haven't been able to identify something they cared about, that I could connect to how climate change is affecting it, and bring in a positive, constructive solution that they would be on board on that. It was consistent with their values. That's the important thing. Like you just said, meeting people where they rather than where we want them to be.
HILL: It also helps when the conversation does involve solutions, because I think oftentimes it feels like an overwhelming conversation, because it is a global problem, and one person feels they can't solve it, but looking at bite-sized pieces where there are solutions is a great place to start.
Katharine Hayhoe, really appreciate you being with us today. Thank you.
HAYHOE: Thank you.
HILL: Just ahead, the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to a group from Japan, an award that has been decades in the making.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:45:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HILL: Welcome back. A big honor for survivors in Japan, as the Nobel Peace Prize was announced earlier today in Norway.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JORGEN WATNE FRYDNES, NORWEGIAN POLITICIAN: This grassroots movement of atomic bomb survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki, also known as "hibakusha," is receiving the Peace Prize for its efforts to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons, and for demonstrating through witness testimony that nuclear weapons must never be used again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: CNN's Melissa Bell joins me now from Paris. And Melissa, in terms of this organization, really a grassroots organization, what more can you tell us about it?
MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Created in the 1950s by survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and bear in mind, Erica, that next year, it will be 80 years since the atom bombs were dropped on those Japanese cities, these survivors and children of survivors had created this group to try and make, as the committee in Oslo explained earlier today, the Nobel Committee, the question of nuclear weapons and warfare and their use a taboo. And the reason for this announcement and this award, I think in the
context where coming up to its announcement, Erica, there was a lot of speculation about whether it might be a UN body involved in the Middle East working with Palestinians or Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who might get the Nobel Peace Prize, or indeed, the organization that had been led by Alexei Navalny, the Russian dissident before he died. So much speculation about who might get this very prestigious prize. In the end, this relatively unknown group, unknown outside of Japan and unknown until today. Have a listen, Erica, to the reaction of the group as the news came in and they listened to the announcement from Oslo.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOSHIYUKI MIMAKI, CO-CHAIR OF THE NIHON HIDANKYO (Interpreted): What? Nihon Hidankyo? How did Nihon Hidankyo? It can't be real. It can't be real.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BELL: So, a lot of emotion there from the group itself. And of course, it is a huge honor for them. And what the Nobel Peace Committee -- the Nobel Peace Prize Committee explained was that the reason for the award was that this was a time when the need for that nuclear taboo that this group has been working for decades to try and bring the world to see was being rolled back. Countries are not just rearming but upgrading their weapons, nuclear weapons system. There are growing threats to the use of nuclear weapons once again, and it was explained an important gesture and symbol and moment to remind the world of the important battle of this particular group of survivors, Erica.
HILL: Yes, certainly, contributing to that a very important conversation. It's also remarkable, as you noted, nearly 80 years ago, of course, that those bombs were dropped in Japan, which also means that this group of survivors, they are aging, and a number of them so much older that to do this now, before more of them are lost, also has a significance to it.
BELL: I think that's right. It was probably the last chance any of them had to get this award. There had, by the way, also been calls this year that there should be no award given at all, given that this is a year where conflict around the world has increased so much, almost double what it was in 2009 compared to, according to some estimates, more than 50 conflicts raging around the world. And some have suggested that this was a year, there were 19 years in the past, including during World War II, when the Nobel Peace Prize simply wasn't awarded to anyone. And this, it was argued, was a good case for that, this particular year, with so much warfare and bloodshed going on around the world.
[11:50:00]
But, this particular survivors, in the end, as you say, Erica, the last chance for them probably to be recognized at a time when, again, nuclear warfare is threatening once more. Erica.
HILL: It certainly is. Melissa Bell, appreciate it. Thank you.
And we'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HILL: Elon Musk unveiling more of his vision for the future of autonomous cars. The Tesla CEO showing off his Cybercab robotaxi on Thursday as part of the "We, Robot" event in Los Angeles. The self- driving vehicle has no steering wheel, no pedals. Musk rode in the futuristic vehicle during the event, which was live streamed to millions of viewers on, where else, X. He also introduced the, I would call it a Robovan, but I've learned I mispronounced it. It's the Robovan, which he said is capable of carrying up to 20 people. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOICE OF ELON MUSK, CEO, TESLA: What happens if you need a vehicle that is bigger than a model Y? The Robovan. The Robovan is -- this is -- we're going to make this, and it's going to look like that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: Musk said the Cybercab should be in production by 2026. We'll be watching. Five years ago, of course, he said Tesla's robotaxi would be available in a year. So, we'll see if it may take a little bit longer.
An intense solar storm making the northern lights visible much further south than usual. People up and down the eastern United States really getting a stunning light show. These images captured in New Jersey. And even when auroras can't be seen with the naked eye, it's the photos of the night sky that can really capture those intense colors, as you see here. Further up the coast in Maine, a woman captured this video, those curtains of color. Those appear when the Sun's energy interacts with the Earth's atmosphere. And in between Maine and New Jersey and Massachusetts, meteorologists say that Thursday's weather was actually perfect for the light show. These stunning images have been seen throughout the week in Canada, England, Germany and Finland. Maybe you were lucky enough to see some of it yourself.
One more thing before we go. Nintendo is known for its beloved characters and hours of childhood, and frankly, a lot of adult entertainment, because the adults like to play the games too. But, now a new museum in Japan is celebrating the company's history with interactive displays and other nostalgic fun.
Here is CNN's Hanako Montgomery with a bit of a tour.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): That is the sound that brings childhood memories to millions. Nintendo opens its very first museum, giving people the chance to explore Mario's world and guiding visitors through the company's 135-year history. FERNANDO PATINO, MEXICAN TOURIST: When I was a little boy, I imagined like, wow, I'm going to be a game programmer someday. But, in Mexico, it was like, where? Do you know? It is something super new even in these days.
[11:55:00]
But, the music of the game says the thing that I like the most. I think it was very creative.
PENG MINGDA, NINTENDO FAN (Interpreted): The characters are really cute and the games are pretty good. They always put new ideas into the games, which I really like.
MONTGOMERY (voice-over): From adorable characters like Toad to interactive games, and even a burger-themed restaurant, the museum also features a massive hall with almost every product ever released by the company. Nintendo fans can now enjoy an interactive experience with their favorite characters.
MINGDA (Interpreted): Zelda.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Link
PATINO: Mario, Zelda, (inaudible).
MINGDA (Interpreted): "The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild."
MONTGOMERY (voice-over): And you may encounter another fan favorite, a Poke Lid with an original Pikachu design featuring a Gameboy is also on display. But, visiting this highly anticipated museum is not as easy as it sounds. Visitors have to sign up for a lottery ticket system at least three months in advance. Even with the wait, fans are excited to be a part of Nintendo for a few hours.
MINGDA (interpreted): I think they've added a new route for us to find out more about Nintendo, not just the goods, but also the history of Nintendo in the past. It feels like we've gained another tool.
MONTGOMERY (voice-over): Hanako Montgomery, CNN, Tokyo.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HILL: Thanks so much for joining me on this Friday. I'm Erica Hill in New York. Hope you enjoy your weekend. Be sure to stay with CNN. One World is up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
