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First Move with Julia Chatterley
Authorities: Too Late to Evacuate Hurricane Milton; Hurricane Milton Closes In; Tornado Outbreak in Florida; Biden Sends Message of Support to Everyone in Milton's Path; Milton Barrels Toward Florida as Cat. 3 Hurricane; Biden and Netanyahu Hold "Direct" Call; Israel Expand Ground Offensive in Lebanon; Israel Orders Evacuation in Northern Gaza; Israel Vows to Retaliate Against Iran; Tornadoes Tear Through Parts of Florida; Biden Calls out Trump for Spreading Misinformation; Milton's Economic Impact; Time to Evacuate is Over; Indian Tycoon Ratan Tata Dies at Age 86. Aired 6-7p ET
Aired October 09, 2024 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[18:00:00]
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And let somebody know outside of your family, somebody outside the zone so they know where you were headed if you
don't get there. All of this is last-minute stuff, but do it while you have power, do it while you have light. Jake.
JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Tom Foreman, thank you so much. CNN's breaking news coverage of Hurricane Milton continues now with Wolf Blitzer
in The Situation Room.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now --
JESSICA DEAN, CNN ANCHOR: It is 1:00 a.m. in Tel Aviv, 6:00 a.m. in Beijing, and 6:00 p.m. here in New York. I'm Jessica Dean, in for Julia
Chatterley. And wherever you are in the world, this is your "First Move."
A warm welcome to "First Move." And here's today's need to know. Shelter in place. Authorities warn it is too late to evacuate from Hurricane Milton,
as heavy winds and tornadoes hammer Florida. President Biden and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speak in a, quote, "direct" phone call as
Israel threatens a deadly and surprising attack on Iran. And Indian tycoon Ratan Tata has died at the age of 86. All of that and plenty more coming
up.
But first, Florida is beginning to feel the wrath of Hurricane Milton, which is expected to make landfall near Sarasota in about two hours from
now. That is earlier than was previously forecast. That Category 3 storm could weaken, but it has doubled in size since yesterday, threatening to
bring destructive storm surges, intense winds, and dangerous flooding in the coming hours. And add to that, tornadoes in its outer bands, already
destroying homes in the Fort Myers area.
Of course, having just recovered from Hurricane Helene, Floridians are no strangers to storms, but Milton is simply massive. And it could become one
of the most destructive storms on record there. Elisa Raffa is joining us now from the CNN Weather Center. And, Elisa, I know you're tracking this as
we get ready for landfall. What are you seeing?
ELISA RAFFA, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It's still a major Category 3 hurricane. We still have winds at 120 miles per hour as this eye continues to get
closer to the Sarasota area, it's booking it north and east at 15 miles per hour.
This is the latest track that we got from the National Hurricane Center. You could see it maintains that major hurricane strength or pretty close to
it as it heads near or maybe just south of the Tampa Bay area this evening. We are been finding impacts across the entire peninsula, you know, all day.
But when it comes to the worst storm surge, that's going to be closest to the eye near the strongest wind. So, we've been watching this center line
very closely because that will matter for who gets the most storm surge.
Now, it has continued to nudge near and a little bit south of Tampa Bay. And the reason why that matters is because of the way Tampa Bay is shaped.
If the center of the eye goes just to the south of Tampa, offshore winds will come out of Tampa Bay, sending the worst of the surge to the south for
areas like Port Charlotte, Venice, Sarasota, that's where you'll have some of the worst of the surge.
So, in the latest forecast, the National Hurricane Center has nudged down the storm surge forecast for Tampa Bay to six to nine feet, but that would
still be near the records that they got in Helene two weeks ago, and they had so much damage from that.
Still looking at nine to 13 feet of storm surge from Anna Maria Island, Sarasota, Venice, down towards Fort Myers. Fort Myers at eight to 12 feet.
This is the storm surge that is, again, unsurvivable. And also, notice that it's the entire West Coast of Florida that gets this ocean push inland with
that storm surge from the strong winds.
Winds at 110 miles per hour or greater from Tampa down towards Sarasota and Venice, but hurricane force winds will stretch even to the east coast of
Florida with winds up to 110 miles per hour. That will cause widespread power outages. And it's because the storm is much wider than it was
yesterday, a tropical storm force winds stretch more than 300 miles across the storm, that is more than double the size that it was yesterday. OK. So,
it just got wider.
What those wider winds will do is impact more people. You have a much more far-reaching winds as far as those gusts go. We're finding gusts up to 60
miles per hour in Venice, St. Petersburg, 61 miles per hour. Again, the brunt of the winds really picking up as that eye gets closer. But we've had
these tornadoes all day. The outer bands have been nasty.
Remember, landfall means that eye coming on shore, you need a whole half of a hurricane to come through before that eye even gets there. And today,
what it's done is just bring some really nasty tornadoes that have been very large and dangerous, larger than what we typically see for a land
falling hurricane.
The tornado watch continues as we go through the evening until 9:00. We'll continue to find the heavy rain with this too, it's being exacerbated by
this front to the north as Milton continues to move inland. Some of the gusty winds will be exacerbated by that as well, and it gives it almost
kind of two dirty sides of the storm as it continues to move across the peninsula overnight tonight.
[18:05:00]
Rainfall totals could be up to a foot in some locations, that would cause some urban flash flooding well outside of the coast. Jessica.
DEAN: Just devastating. All right. Elisa Raffa, thank you so much for walking us through that. President Joe Biden speaking about the hurricane
in the past half hour and sent a message of support to everyone in its path.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: Within a few hours, Hurricane Milton is expected to make landfall in the West Coast of Florida -- the western coast
of Florida. Already, we're seeing impacts in the storm, including significant winds and heavy rain. And there's also been frequent and
widespread tornado warnings throughout the day, and they're continuing and expected to expand as Milton moves over land, including a few that have
already touched down in South Florida.
Currently, Milton is a Category 3, with wind speeds up to 120 miles per hour, but no one should be confused. It's still expected to be one of the
most and worst destructive hurricanes to hit Florida in over a century.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN: Boris Sanchez is in the Tampa Bay area. Boris, let's check in now with you. I know that the storm is supposed to make landfall in the next
couple of hours. Just tell us what you're seeing. It looks quite stormy where you are.
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Jessica. Yes, I'm standing out here facing Tampa Bay and conditions have deteriorated dramatically in the past
30 minutes or so. You are seeing very, very strong winds, very pounding heavy rain. It feels like pellets smacking onto your skin.
You typically can actually see the Tampa urban skyline behind me. Instead, it is just a mass of gray. Beyond that, you can see the waves are really
starting to get very strong earlier in the day, especially during low tide. We watched the water recede significantly. The wind, the easterly wind had
sort of took it back. Now, it's coming back in very strong. And, Jessica, that is one of the chief concerns from officials here in the Tampa area and
further south in Sarasota, where they are anticipating a 15-foot record storm surge, that would shatter the record that was said about two weeks
ago from Hurricane Helene.
That in this community is not only unprecedented, it could be devastating. They're warning of a significant potential for loss of life, obviously loss
of property. As we watch these very strong rains come down, you're not only looking at that very powerful storm surge, you're also talking about an
added foot or so of rainfall. The maximum rainfall began starting at about 2:00 p.m., that's going to go out throughout the evening.
Another thing that has officials concerned, Jessica, is the timing of this hurricane. We were anticipating a landfall that was set to be later in the
evening, that has since moved up. We're now looking at 8:00 to 8:30 p.m. This powerful Category 3 storm, at one point a Category 5, making landfall
here on the Gulf Coast of Florida, and the effects are being felt very far from the Gulf Coast.
Earlier this morning, about 200 miles away in Broward County, on the southeastern part of Florida, we're roughly in the southwest -- sort of
central west area of the state. There was a tornado that touched down, tornado warnings all across the street of the state, at least 90 of them in
the State of Florida. That is a record for a single day, and we are likely to see many more tornadoes touched down and far more dangerous conditions
as this storm finally makes landfall in a couple of hours. Jessica.
DEAN: Yes. It is just so extreme, Boris, and I know that officials were encouraging, telling everyone to evacuate and said to them, at some point,
first responders aren't going to be able to come out and get you. Have we arrived at that moment now?
SANCHEZ: Oh, hours ago. For those Barrier Islands along the Gulf Coast, including Anna Maria Island, Treasure Island, they're surrounded by water.
On one side you have the ocean, on the other side you have bay. And it is essentially at water level. So, it becomes very difficult for rescue
officials to get out there, especially when you hit a certain capacity of mile an hour winds. Once you get into 50, 60, 70-mile an hour winds, it is
just a very dangerous situation for rescue crews. They're putting themselves at risk.
Keep in mind, as I'm giving you those stats, we're looking at miles an hour, roughly from 130, 140 miles an hour coming in from this storm. So,
for folks that haven't left, what we're hearing from officials, just hunker down, stay in place, don't go running around outside, as we've seen some
people do, trying to take selfies in the storm, that is extremely dangerous and against good judgment. Jessica.
DEAN: Yes, there's no doubt about that. All right. Boris Sanchez, our thanks to you and the crew. Please stay safe. We really appreciate it.
[18:10:00]
Florida communities, as Boris just outlined, feeling the effects of Milton already, including that heavy rain, the tornadoes. Just two weeks ago,
Punta Gorda went up against Hurricane Helene. It is now once again in the path of a massive storm. This time, of course, Milton.
The city is particularly vulnerable to flooding. Punta Gorda is built on a series of canals with most of the homes right on the waterfront. And
officials were telling residents to evacuate earlier. They're now urging them to shelter in place since it is no longer safe to go outdoors.
Melissa Reichert is the assistant city manager of Punta Gorda. She joins us now. Melissa, I'm glad that you're safe. You're inside. I just -- first,
what is your message to constituents right now? And what should people know who are watching this from the outside what it's like for you and the
people who live in your town?
MELISSA REICHERT, ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER OF PUNTA GORDA, FLORIDA: Sure. What's really important right now is for people to stay off the road in the
City of Punta Gorda. We've already started to see some flooding. We're seeing debris flying around. It is not safe to be on the road. Actually,
when it reaches about 40 to 45 miles an hour, we will be pulling all of our emergency folks off of the road too.
So, it's really important that residents that didn't listen to the warnings to leave, that they just hunker down in their houses. And once those winds
get below that 40 to 45 mile an hour range, that's when we can send our crews out to rescue them if necessary. So, for now, they're basically stuck
where they're at.
DEAN: It is so incredible to watch these images come in, and we know, unfortunately, the worst is probably yet to come. I'm curious how you all
have recovered, or probably recovered is not the right word, started to recover from Helene, and now we have this. What has it been like for you
and your community?
REICHERT: We really didn't even scratch the surface of the recovery process. It was really just over a week ago that Helene had come through
our town and devastatingly damaged the downtown core and even out into some of the surrounding neighborhoods.
We're used to some title flooding in the core downtown, but this was a whole different level of flooding. And we were just starting to see the
debris and the personal items come out of homes be piled on the streets. Our debris hauler wasn't scheduled to start until about two weeks from now.
So, we had to call our city public works crew into action, and they actually started with just our regular sanitation trucks, picking up all
the big pieces of furniture. There was no way that we could get everything in time, but they worked as hard as they could to get as much of that
debris picked up over the last few days.
DEAN: Melissa, how long have you lived in Punta Gorda?
REICHERT: So, I've been there for about six years now. Been with the city for six years. We've had a house down there for about 14 years.
DEAN: So, just help me understand in context, have you ever seen anything like this?
REICHERT: I actually -- no. Not specifically like this where we're dealing with back-to-back storms. Ian was awful, that was a horrific hurricane
experience and our city suffered substantial damage from that. We still haven't even repaired some of the playgrounds and things, streetlights that
were damaged, decorative lights, all from Ian, still haven't been replaced. And now, here we are with our third hurricane in a short matter of time.
DEAN: Yes. It's really tough. And we're looking at images now while you're talking. And I know when I was introducing you, we talked about why your
community is particularly vulnerable to flooding. There's a lot of homes right there on canals, right?
REICHERT: Well, that's part of it. That's part of it. There are houses on a lot of canals, and that's what we saw with Helene. We saw a surge in the
canals, which is something we don't really experience. We'll see high tide once in a while, for instance, when the king tide comes in, the water will
come up over the docks, but we're not used to flooding in the backyards and flooding in the streets in those neighborhoods.
So, this was an experience that took a lot of people by surprise. And I think that's why we've had such good evacuation numbers with this
particular event, simply because people saw the power of water during that last storm.
DEAN: Yes, it is so, so powerful. And so, what happens now? You obviously are trying to follow the orders and also take care of people in that area.
Well, how do you see the next 48 hours playing out?
REICHERT: So, the next 48 hours, the time while the crews are off the road, while we're in the midst of the hurricane force winds and tropical
storm force winds, they'll be planning, and they have been planning for a while now, their strategy to get back into the community, get the roads
cleared, be able to have our public safety vehicles access the homes safely. That'll be their first priority as soon as they can get back out on
the roads again.
DEAN: All right. We are certainly wishing you all the best. Melissa Reichert, thank you so much for being here with us.
REICHERT: Thank you.
DEAN: We're going to have much more on Hurricane Milton through the hour here on CNN, including its potential economic impact and how portable flood
barriers can help limit property damage.
[18:15:00]
Plus, the leaders of the U.S. and Israel talk for the first time in weeks as Israel expands its ground operation in Lebanon. We're going to have the
latest from the Middle East. That's right after our break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DEAN: For the first time in weeks, the U.S. president has spoken to Israel's prime minister over the phone. It's the first time Joe Biden and
Benjamin Netanyahu have spoken since August. That talk lasted about a half hour. Vice President Kamala Harris also joining the call. And it comes amid
airstrikes, Hezbollah rocket fire, and an Israeli ground operation in Lebanon.
The White House saying the two leaders spoke about Israel's planned response to Iran's missile attack. The U.S. also says it's had urgent
discussions with Israel over the humanitarian situation in Northern Gaza and the need to comply with international law. Health officials say at
least 16 people have been killed in an attack on a hospital in the Jabalya refugee camp, and Israel has ordered new evacuations. Jeremy Diamond has
more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Civilians fleeing a war zone. Suddenly, sprayed with bullets. The Israeli military
ordered these people to leave Northern Gaza and move south, but the hail of bullets they faced now a testament to why so many are choosing not to
leave, or simply cannot.
Nine-year-old Dana is among those wounded in the attack. Her pink shirt smeared red with her own blood after she was shot in the neck. At the
hospital, her mother says an Israeli drone opened fire as they were fleeing south.
The quadcopter started shooting intensively, she says. Everyone was running. There were so many bullets. Even my children's backpacks were full
of bullets.
The Israeli military declined to comment. But the attack came as it ordered nearly all of Northern Gaza to evacuate, even as it says its renewed ground
offensive is focused on just one city, Jabalya.
But many are trapped like 15-year-old Zamzam (ph). For anyone who hears my voice, help us, try to get us out, she pleads. She says her mother was
killed by Israeli forces. I watched her take her last breaths, and I couldn't do anything, she cries.
[18:20:00]
Calls for help are flooding into Gaza's ambulance service. But this medic explains his team will be shot at if he tries to mount a rescue. The tanks
are there. They will fire at the cars. Just get to the street and I will reach you quickly, he promises.
Inside Kamal Adwan Hospital, a dire situation risks getting worse. As 17 people wounded in an Israeli strike pour into the hospital's emergency
room, the hospital's director says he's been given 24 hours to empty the hospital.
The Israeli army is now demanding that we evacuate these patients and move them elsewhere. This will endanger their lives, and it is a catastrophe for
these children.
Human rights groups now warning that the military sweeping evacuation orders risk forcing more than 400,000 people out of Northern Gaza and into
a humanitarian zone that is already overcrowded and under resourced.
Where do we go, this woman asks. In Southern Gaza there are assassinations, and in Western Gaza they are firing shells at people. Where do we go?
Gaza City, others say they will not leave.
I will die and not go to the south. I have 20 family members. I have children. Where do they want me to go? He says he would rather die than be
displaced for a sixth time.
Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Tel Aviv.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DEAN: Jeremy, thank you. And Israel is promising it will retaliate against Iran after last week's missile attack. The Israeli defense minister saying
the response will be deadly, precise, and surprising. But despite the threat of escalation, some Iranians are striking a defiant tone. Fred
Pleitgen is in Tehran with more on that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After Iran's massive missile strike targeting military installations inside
Israel's territory, Iran is now bracing for what the Israelis say will be a strong response. On Tehran's streets, some concern and a lot of defiance.
Everyone's mind is busy thinking of what might happen, this man says, and if Israel makes a move, we will certainly respond to it.
And this woman says, I am not concerned about war because I believe in my country and our leadership. I know if anything happens, nothing will
threaten the Iranian nation.
If there is a need to protect our soil and our land, like our fathers and brothers who participated in the eight-year war, we will go to war as well,
this man says. And you will see the result of the jihad that has been ordered.
If you want war, we are the masters of war, this poster in Revolution Square reads, both in Farsi and in Hebrew.
Iran's capital is also plastered with billboards pledging to stand by Hezbollah after the killing of the group's longtime leader, Hassan
Nasrallah.
PLEITGEN: The Islamic Republic of Iran and its leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, are making very clear that despite the current struggles of the
Hezbollah organization they will continue to support Hezbollah against Israel.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): Israel's government has vowed to hit Iran hard after last week's missile attack when the Revolutionary Guard used around
200 ballistic missiles, some hitting Tel Aviv and an air base inside the country, sparking fears of a wider conflict, possibly pitting the U.S. and
Iran directly against one another.
An Iranian member of parliament sending a warning to the U.S. The U.S. is aware of everything the Zionist regime does, he says. We would suggest
that, firstly, the U.S. stop the military help, stop the arms and the backing of the Zionist regime, and then, secondly, for the U.S. to force
Israel into a ceasefire.
But so far, the risk of escalation continues in a region already on edge.
Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Tehran.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DEAN: Fred, thank you. And coming up, Hurricane Milton approaching Florida with tornadoes tearing through the state. We'll have a live report for you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:25:00]
DEAN: Welcome back to "First Move" with a look at more international headlines this hour. A Turkish Airlines flight made an emergency landing
Wednesday after its captain died. The plane was headed from Seattle to Istanbul when the pilot lost consciousness. His co-pilot was forced to take
over safely landing at New York's John F. Kennedy Airport. Turkish Airlines says the pilot passed a routine health check just this past March.
North Korea is cutting off all roads and rail lines into South Korea. Pyongyang saying it's responding to South Korea's recent war exercises. The
North has been fortifying its border for months, setting tank traps and landmines. Rhetoric on the Korean peninsula has ramped up in recent months
with the two countries threatening to destroy one another.
The Nobel Prize for Chemistry has been awarded to a trio who used artificial intelligence to crack the code of almost all known proteins. The
first part of that prize is going to David Baker. He's a U.S. biochemist who pioneered ways to design proteins and predict their structures. He
shares the award with American John Jumper and Britain's Demis Hassabis. They're both part of Google's DeepMind A.I. Laboratory in the U.K. And they
developed a model to predict protein structures.
A reminder now of our top story today, people in Florida being told to shelter in place as Milton starts to lash the state's Gulf Coast. Milton is
now a Category 3 hurricane and landfall is expected in the Sarasota area just hours from now. With more of today's developments, here's Brian Todd.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHIEF JIM KILPATRICK, ST. PETE BEACH FIRE DEPARTMENT: When the winds pick up, it is not safe to be outside right now. You should be in a structure
that is able to withstand the storm. and be hunkering down.
JEANETTE NUNEZ, LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR OF FLORIDA: Many bridges are closed. Now, is not the time to be deciding what you're going to do. If you're
home, stay home, hunker down.
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Tonight, Florida bracing for impact as Hurricane Milton begins to come ashore. Milton's outer band
bringing multiple tornadoes today, with more likely to come as the storm gets closer to landfall in just a few hours.
The National Weather Service is warning that Milton could be one of the most destructive hurricanes to ever hit west Florida. Central Florida.
Millions have been urged to evacuate yesterday and early this morning. Long lines of cars and backed up traffic from the areas expected to be hit the
hardest, showing that many have been listening.
JARED PERDUE, SECRETARY, FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION: We were glad that people chose to leave seeing where they lived and we're
evacuating to get to safety.
TODD (voice-over): But even for those who decide to leave challenges on the way, more than 1,700 gas stations in Florida were already out of fuel
Wednesday morning, while others decided to stay home to ride out the storm.
[18:30:00]
BREEZE CALVILLO, FLORIDA RESIDEN SHELTERING IN PLACE: I would prefer to be at the house than to be stranded in the middle of the street somewhere
where that's just as dangerous.
TODD (voice-over): And even those who feel confident in their decision to stay admit there is only so much you can prepare for a storm like Milton.
TODD: What else is kind of having you and your family a little bit worried right now?
CHASE MCBRIDE, FLORIDA RESIDENT SHELTERING IN PLACE: Definitely a north move in the track. You know, if it keeps coming north, you know, we could
be in trouble.
TODD (voice-over): And officials reminding those who stay that when the worst of the storm hits, they will be on their own.
SHERIFF CHAD CHRONISTER, HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, FLORIDA: When you make that call for help, I can't imagine what you would feel when you ask for help
and it's too dangerous and helps not coming. Don't be that person.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DEAN: Meanwhile, President Biden is calling out Donald Trump and other Republicans for spreading misinformation about hurricane relief efforts.
Biden calling their statements, quote, "reckless and un-American." Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: They're saying that money needed for these crises are being diverted to migrants. What the heck are they talking about? Stop it. It's
outrageous. It's just not true. Now, the claims are getting even more bizarre. Marjorie Taylor Greene, the congresswoman from Georgia, is now
saying the federal government is literally controlling the weather. We're controlling the weather. It's beyond ridiculous. It's so stupid. It's got
to stop.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN: CNN spoke with one Florida resident who lives on a boat. He is a cancer and opioid survivor who lived through Helene less than two weeks
ago. And despite the mandatory evacuation orders, he says he had big reservations about leaving because his home is home.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOSEPH MALINOWSKI, HILLSBOROUGH BAY RESIDENT: I'm in a good situation. I really am. The only --
ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know you could be arrested if you don't leave, right? They said that. I heard them say that.
MALINOWSKI: Yes, that's why I'm -- you know, I'm trying to avoid going back to jail. So, that's why I'm telling them that I'm leaving. And if I
really feel like it's going to get that bad, I'll leave. But right now, I don't know what I'm doing. I'm going to go smoke a cigarette.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN: Isabel Rosales is standing by for us. And, Isabel, we saw you in that clip interviewing the man in the boat, Lieutenant Dan, I believe is
what he calls himself. You're there in Tampa. Have you gotten any update on him? And just more broadly, what are you seeing right now?
ROSALES: Jessica. Yes, he's sticking it out. He's in that boat. But I did also just speak here, in the last hour or so, with Tampa Mayor Jane Castor.
And I asked About that man in particular, and she said that her officers are going to baker act him if he doesn't get out of there and evacuate
because he's a danger to himself.
But then, in the same breath, she said that conditions out here might be too dangerous even for her officers to do that. So, the whole situation,
unclear as of the moment. But what we have been seeing here is conditions just getting worse and worse by the hour. Winds are beginning to pick up.
This rainfall is just relentless. Just smacking you in the face to the point where it hurts.
And a couple of blocks away from here, we actually moved away from the Hillsborough Bay just because conditions were getting a little dicey there.
We're going to see something interesting going on in the Tampa Bay, of which the Hillsborough Bay is connected to. And what we're going to see
happening there is a wild swinging of water levels, from low to high as wind directions change.
So, we're going to see something interesting called a storm reverse, or a counter storm surge. And that is when, depending on the wind direction, it
actually sucks all of the water out of the bay into the ocean. We saw that dramatically during Ian back in 2022, where people were standing in the
Tampa Bay at the exposed sea floor.
So, by Thursday, however, Thursday morning, tomorrow, the wind reverses yet again as a storm passes us. And then, what we're going to see is NOAA's
predicting water levels to rise six feet in six hours. The gist of this all is that even though this should be taking extremely seriously, the storm
surge, it is not the worst of what we once were anticipating, 10 to 15 feet of a storm surge above sea level, something that has been unprecedented.
And many people here were worried about that. Jessica.
DEAN: Yes, I'm sure they were. And obviously, Isabel, you did speak to that man who was going to ride it out, but it seems like, again, listening
to your and our other colleagues reporting, that a lot of people are taking this advice and evacuating.
ROSALES: Extremely seriously. Yes, yes. Just yesterday I was in Davis Islands. That's a neighborhood of Tampa on a manmade island. Actually, it's
the same spot where TGH, Tampa General Hospital is, the region's only level one trauma center. Those people took it seriously. They said the Helene was
a wakeup call. They had water in their homes, their stuff was ruined, their homes ruined.
So, I saw them shuddering, picking up their stuff, loading it in the car, and leaving it. It was eerily quiet in that area. So, clearly, we have a
dichotomy here of people who take it extremely seriously, and then folks who are just, you know, rolling the dice like that man on the boat, others
taking the time to take selfies and pictures and running over an evacuation zone A.
[18:35:00]
So, this is just what you're going to experience both sides of things of the spectrum and any storm to hit Florida.
DEAN: Well, certainly wishing those people health and safety as this happens. And of course, you and your crew as well, Isabel. Thank you so
much for that reporting.
Officials are worried not only about the safety of Florida residents as Milton approaches, but the economic impact of the massive storm as well,
including the threat to property and the impact of Florida's agriculture. Matt Egan reports on that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Hurricane Milton looks destined to make the record books as one of the most expensive storms in history. We were
talking about epic storm surge flooding and house toppling winds.
Now, first and foremost, of course, the primary concern is over the threat to human life, which is all too real. But the damage to property here could
be staggering. CoreLogic estimates that up to half a million homes in the Tampa and Sarasota metro areas are at risk from storm surge flooding here.
These homes have a reconstruction value of $123 billion. Just stunning figures that put an exclamation point on the fact that this storm is going
straight into a major population center.
And those estimates from CoreLogic, they assume that Milton makes landfall as a Category 3 storm. Of course, if this is a Category 4, the numbers go
even higher.
Now, this is not just a major population center, this is a major center of commerce as well. Moody's estimates that commercial buildings valued at
$1.1 trillion lie directly in the path of Milton and its ferocious winds. We're talking about tens of thousands of retail properties, apartment
buildings, industrial sites, office complexes, 5,000 hotels.
Oxford Economics estimates that 3 percent of the total U.S. economy lies in the path of this storm. And over the coming days, there will be assessments
done to determine just how much damage was done to Florida's economy and its businesses, not to mention the homes as well. Back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DEAN: Matt, thank you. And coming up after the break, it is time to shelter in place. The U.S. National Weather Service saying the time to
evacuate is over. As Category 3 Hurricane Milton reaches the doorstep of Florida. And after the break, we take a look at new technology being used
to protect life and property.
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[18:40:00]
DEAN: Recapping our top story. Hurricane Milton has begun to tear into Florida's West Coast. The National Weather Service says the time to
evacuate has now passed. The storm is now poised to become one of the most destructive and deadly on record. Milton and then Helene before it have
underscored the effects of climate change and they need to do more to protect buildings and other infrastructure from extreme weather events.
Tampa General Hospital has put up these temporary barriers to prevent flooding. It's called an AquaFence, Florida-based Savannah Trims also
designs and builds flood barriers and they come as fences, vault doors, or special protective glass. And joining us now is the company's president,
Gene Kennedy.
Gene, thank you so much for being here with us. I know this is got to be a crazy time for you, but help people understand about how these flood
barriers blood protection devices you create work.
GENE KENNEDY, PRESIDENT, SAVANNAH TRIMS, INC.: Well, there's a range of different devices. Over the years we've tried to gear towards what referred
to as passive, so you don't have to deploy anything.
I heard you mentioned about the Tampa General Hospital and you see what they deployed there, which is perfectly fine. But we have a system that is
actually the glazing system on the building is flood proof. So, you don't have to deploy anything. As well as a series of flood doors and flood
gates, you just hint them closed and it blocks all the water from coming in. So, it's a little bit more advanced now. And then -- like again, you
don't have to have the personnel to deploy them. So, the long-term costs, you know, are reduced to, you know, pretty much nothing at that point. So,
that's one of the trends that we're seeing now.
DEAN: Yes. And we mentioned too in our introduction to you, look, the -- these storms with climate change are just getting stronger. They're doing
things that are unprecedented. The water levels are at unprecedented rates. They're coming faster. Have you noticed that more people are asking for
this sort of thing, are more concerned than they used to be?
KENNEDY: It's a combination of yes to that question, but also the codes are requiring it more and more. Now, because FEMA keeps increasing the
flood maps and they keep increasing the pressure that you have to design to.
So, I actually coined the phrase engineering in motion simply because we have to engineer product now for more pressures, higher water levels, and
more items that, you know, will prevent not just the floodwaters, but also floating debris. The standard now calls for 1,000-pound log floating at
five to eight feet per second to not be able to penetrate through the structure.
So, all of these -- that's again, so we engineer these buildings per the requirement of the building within this location and it's code requirement,
you know, for the city that's sitting in, as well as the position, if it's sitting on the coast is what's called wave action. So, there's a lot of
factors that go into this. So, we engineer these -- our products for the building, for the requirements of the building based on FEMA, Army Corps of
Engineers, and what's called American Society of Civil Engineers' requirements for commercial flood protection.
DEAN: And we have some video, I think, of you testing your protective glass with a log kind of showing how tough it is. It is kind of remarkable
that sort of thing exists. And it sounds like that is what it's going to take to keep this water and debris out of these homes that are really in
the center of the storm.
KENNEDY: Well, it's a combination. What you see there was designed primary for commercial buildings, but that's where the standard is. The issue now
though, is that there's no real standard for homes. We're trying to work with the local and federal government to help create a standard or at least
bring the awareness that these items are available not just for commercial buildings. Because you see the damage to the homes and the small businesses
and the residences.
So, it's a problem that's just growing. So, we're trying to, you know, get more of our, you know, recognition out there that there's options available
that you can purchase to prevent this damage. You know, loss of property and loss of life. Yes.
DEAN: Yes. Because otherwise, I mean, we were just listening to my colleague reporting, that the water, you just think about a home and it's -
- and you mentioned it too, it's not just the water, which is so destructive on its own, but then it's all the debris that comes in as well.
It can be really hard to clean up after that.
KENNEDY: It's not just the debris, it's also what the water could be contaminated. You don't know what's in that water. So, it's a combination
of it. It could be toxic chemicals, it could be just anything that turned up from, you know, a local industrial plant or just asphalt pieces.
[18:45:00]
So, it's not just the debris, it's also the -- you know, the -- any toxic chemicals that may be in that water. Having this water in your home or in a
building is not good no matter how you twist it. Anything to prevent it obviously is a tremendous advantage.
DEAN: Right, right. And so, now, over the next -- as we see this make landfall, the next 48 hours, and then, you know, we see what destruction it
leaves behind, what are you anticipating as we kind of see and this storm moves on through what it does leave behind? What are you expecting to see?
KENNEDY: Well, we're expecting to see more, you know, obviously, damage, which we don't want to see, of course, but it's going to happen. So, we
just are seeing, you know, calls and damages from Hurricane Helena just passed through. We're doing a large project in Clearwater Beach, and we
went there Friday to -- for those to -- you know, dedicate this project, you know, to, you know, get it done as fast as possible, you know, for the
next storm.
And then, we saw all the damage and the disruption there. A lot of stores that were closed. You know, people cleaning out all the damage and have,
you know, piles of debris in the streets. So, whether it's commercial or residential or a home, it's a problem. And there's means to protect
yourself from this. It just needs more -- you know, it needs to be promoted more, I guess I should say, and more recognition.
So, we're trying to -- we're going to start trying to work with the county, state, and federal levels to put this out there. So, there's more
awareness.
DEAN: Right. And as you said, with the codes being what they are and climate change being what it is, that there's only more of this to come.
All right. Gene Kennedy, president of Savannah Trims, thank you for being with us. We appreciate it.
KENNEDY: Yes.
DEAN: Still ahead, one of India's most successful and visionary business leaders has died. We're going to take a look back at the life and career of
Ratan Tata. That's after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DEAN: Chinese social media influencers are playing on people's anxieties over exploding electronic devices, claiming, without any basis, that Apple
iPhones can be blown up remotely. So, far, Chinese censors have allowed this misinformation to spread, as Will Ripley reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On China's tightly-controlled social media, censors have allowed this 2011
video of an exploding iPhone to go viral, drawing misleading comparisons to the deadly attacks in Lebanon. Thousands of pagers and walkie-talkies
rigged with explosives.
[18:50:00]
Chinese social media influencers are using the 13-year-old video, spreading rumors about Apple iPhones -- suggesting without evidence ordinary iPhones
that haven't been tampered with can be remotely detonated making them deadly weapons.
CHRIS BODEN, YOUTUBER AND HOST @PHYSICSDUCK: You can't just make an iPhone blow up like that without putting explosives in it.
RIPLEY (voice-over): We tracked down the man behind the original viral video, American YouTuber Chris Boden. He says this iPhone was hooked up to
a high voltage machine.
BODEN: To make that little iPhone blow up, we had to have a power supply that was bigger than a refrigerator and weighs about half a ton.
RIPLEY (voice-over): Despite efforts from some Chinese state media to debunk online rumors, fears that iPhones could explode are spreading
quickly online. It's a very real threat, one user writes. Another says, if we want to protect our lives, we should use Chinese products.
Some influencers are encouraging users there's to switch to Chinese brands. Cyber nationalism in China creates fertile ground for false attacks on
foreign brands like Apple. These posts untouched by Beijing's army of online censors.
BOB BAER, FORMER CIA OFFICER: If you had one of these iPhones --
RIPLEY (voice-over): Former CIA operative, Bob Baer points out, iPhones are primarily assembled in China.
BAER: I mean, if the Chinese government were involved, they can rig any of these phones.
RIPLEY (voice-over): Baer says there's no evidence any phones are being weaponized.
BAER: Any phone with a chip is insecure. You can blow somebody up if you can put in a detonator and explosives.
RIPLEY: He also says there's plenty of easier ways to kill someone without getting a hold of their phone. He says it's actually impossible for a phone
to spontaneously explode without adding explosives. The most it could do was the battery overheat and catch fire.
But that's not stopping a host of conspiracy theories ever since the Lebanon attacks, especially in China, where one construction company has
already banned iPhones at work, saying employees could be fired if they bring an iPhone, even offering vouchers to buy a Chinese-made alternative.
Will Ripley, CNN, Taipei.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DEAN: Will, thank you. India is mourning the death of Ratan Tata, the former chairman of the conglomerate Tata Sons. He was one of India's best
known business leaders. He was also known for his extensive philanthropy. Lynda Kinkade takes a look back at his remarkable life.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LYNDA KINKADE, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Ratan Tata is best known for putting Indian business on the world stage.
The business icon, philanthropist, and former chairman of Tata and Sons, globalized India's most influential business group. Born in 1937 in Mumbai,
he studied architecture and civil engineering at Cornell University in New York, returning home as a potential successor to the family business. But
he got a humble start, shoveling limestone in a steel mill.
RATAN TATA, FORMER CHAIRMAN, TATA SONS: It was in the blast furnaces, near the furnace. Every nook and cranny of the disco works. It was terrible at
that time, but if I look back on it, it's been a very worthwhile experience.
KINKADE (voice-over): In 1991, he became chairman after the death of his uncle, J. R. D. Tata.
TATA: I have always been a nationalist and a believer in a new India. We just have to make it happen.
KINKADE (voice-over): He started making some gutsy acquisitions. Tata acquired European steel giant Corus, Tetley Tea, and British Luxury
automobile brand, Jaguar and Land Rover, shaking up the automotive industry.
TATA: When we acquired Jaguar and Land Rover, it was a company that produced the lowest cost car. What was it doing with the two premium
brands?
KINKADE (voice-over): Then Tata Engineering turned its focus to producing homegrown Indian cars, launching the Tata Nano in 2008. With a $3,000 price
tag, the Nano was the world's cheapest car.
TATA: This has been referred to as one man's dream.
KINKADE (voice-over): But violent protests marred the Nano's rollout, and it was later discontinued.
Another blow came in November 2008 when terrorists struck Mumbai, attacking a series of targets, including the historic Taj Mahal Palace and Tower
Hotel, owned by the Tata Group.
For three days and nights, Ratan Tata stood outside the hotel in solidarity with his staff and hundreds of guests who were under siege inside. In the
three years that followed the deadly attacks, Ratan Tata grew his company's revenue to more than $100 billion.
In 2012, he brought Starbucks to India after inking a partnership with the U.S. coffee giant. Tata dedicated much of his fortune to philanthropy.
[18:55:00]
TATA: The wealth we have created from our companies, it goes back into education, medical, alleviation of poverty or rural development.
KINKADE (voice-over): Ratan Tata's lasting impact on business and philanthropy both in India and the world will be his legacy.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DEAN: Let's take one last check now of our top story. Hurricane Milton is expected to make landfall in West Florida in about an hour from now.
Officials say the time to evacuate is over. Residents now just have to shelter in place if they have not done so already. Some areas of Florida
could end seeing a storm surge of more than 10 feet or three meters.
Officials also expect mass power outages. At least 11 confirmed tornadoes swept through parts of Florida Wednesday, including one that hit the Fort
Myers area. The National Weather Service issued a total of 90 tornado warnings. That is a Florida State record.
And that just about wraps up the show. Thank you so much for joining us. Stay with CNN for continuing coverage of Hurricane Milton.
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