[Leyla Santiago, Cnn Correspondent:] on this island. So really there are a lot of people who are still asking for rescues from police officers. Police officers that I have talked to hear who say, A, communication is down so they don't have much to go on as far as radio, and at this point they believe it is too dangerous just to begin assessing the damage here. But, man, I tell you, as we step out for the first time to get a glimpse of this storm, when people say this is historic it is easy to see why. When people say this is catastrophic, the pictures certainly tell you why. These businesses have just been pounded, pounded by these winds and the rain that is now coming down as Maria continues to make her way through.
[John Berman, Cnn Anchor:] All right. Leyla Santiago, outside for the first time in sometime in San Juan giving us our first look of the impact of the the impact of Hurricane Maria. Leyla, stand by for on moment. I want to bring in Chad Myers right now to get a sense of the path of the storm. Chad, you know, obviously, Leyla it was still windy there but it really didn't look nearly as bad as before. It didn't look like the brunt of the storm had moved past her. Is that true?
[Chad Myers, Ams Meteorologist:] It is true. And there's a Venturi effect that goes on there or anywhere, where there are tall buildings. For a while we had the wind coming from the wrong direction, blowing everything in one direction and now it has shifted so that building kind of acting as a buffer. Let me get to what I'm talking about. For most of the morning hours the waves and winds are coming this direction and then for San Juan they're coming this direction, but now I believe we can't tell you because the radar in San Juan went out immediately upon impact with the eyewall. So I believe somewhere right here is the eye because we watch it there, watch it there, watch it there, so now the wind is coming in this direction so likely blocked by many of the buildings there in San Juan. And I think when we get out into the areas that aren't concrete the damage is going to be unbelievable. You are going to look at the buildings and say, was that a house? Because these structures that were just made of wood are not going to stand up to 145 miles per hour. And Leyla didn't get 145 there in San Juan, but if you get toward the El Conquistador or down near Palmas del Mar-a-Lago where our Nick Paton Walsh was all morning long, they did get winds of 135 to 145. And so that's the area that is truly going to see the devastation where you're not even going to be able to tell where the power pole was supposed to be. What pole they were supposed to be on because the poles are down, the lines are down. And all the lines are down. This is the reason why we're talking about months to put the power back in some spots. Weeks or months to get water back. And it's like, you know, I have been there a number of times with Anderson Cooper. When you lose water and power, it's like camping. And we had the opportunity to get on an airplane five days later and fly home. There's 3.5 million people that will be without water to wash their hands or wash themselves, or to cook with, and then power to even keep themselves cooler with air conditioners or a fan for weeks and months at a time. You're not going to get 3.5 million people out of there. They're going to be sitting there living this nightmare for so very long Now the forecast does change a little bit overnight. The storm did slightly jog left, and left I mean left of where we were yesterday. Not a lot. 50 miles. But I don't want this thing to keep moving west 50 miles every 12 hours, let me run the model, because then all of a sudden we're going to run into the U.S. So for now it is still a fish storm after it gets off the coast here of San Juan and Puerto Rico. It'll still affect the Dominican Republic with wind here. There's the there's the wind field in about three hours. But for now it's a fish storm but I don't want you to take your eyes off this thing anywhere along the east coast, maybe not Florida, but anywhere along the east coast north of there, this thing may not be done yet. You know, we don't know. Models are good for about 48 hours. We're talking seven days away, guys.
[Poppy Harlow, Cnn Anchor:] Wow.
[Berman:] You've done a pretty good job over the last few weeks, though, Chad, so I think we should all keep an eye on that very, very closely. Chad, you stand by, I want to go back to Leyla Leyla Santiago in San Juan. And one of the things we've seen, Leyla, on Chad's map is rainfall. You know, 12 inches of rain or so in the last several hours in Puerto Rico. You've shown us some of the wind damage. Are you getting any sense of the impact of the water, the rainfalls had?
[Santiago:] Where we are right now and let me kind of put this in context. The coast the northern coast is this way, the rest of the island this way. And we are certainly starting to feel the rain come down more so on this end than I would say when Maria first started coming in. Certainly, you know, I was almost sort of blown away right here when those winds were coming in and now this rain is heavy. I will tell you when we were inside the hotel, they're already putting trashcans out from some of the leaking of this hotel and already they are going through towels as some of the water makes its way through despite whatever protection they have managed to put in place in the last few hours. I'll step out of the way so you can get a better sense of the rain and the wind that is still in place here in San Juan, Puerto Rico. I'll be more specific for those familiar with this area. This is Condavo. And so some of these buildings that have already had the wind tear through, that have no windows, that have no doors are now, to your point, John, going to have the rain come inside. These are apartment complexes. These are buildings. The good news is I don't see people out here. Again, last check, 11,000 in shelters right now. Power we are running in this hotel on a generator. 60 percent of the island without power. And the governor has already said by the time Maria makes her way through this island of 3.5 million people, he expects it will be 100 percent without power. So yes, I want to reiterate, sort of recap here, we are still feeling winds. We are still seeing rain. But now for the first time we are seeing the damage that we had to steer clear of for a little while for safety purposes. So if you are in Puerto Rico, I understand that what I'm doing right now is dangerous. I'm doing this so that you can see what is outside. Anyone who was in Maria's path, you can see sort of the power of Mother Nature here as she makes her way through this island.
[Harlow:] Stay with us, if you can, Leyla. And thank you to you and your entire crew out there bringing us these shots, showing us the first images that we're seeing of the damage. Look, these are 3.5 million American citizens that, as Chad said, may be without power for months, cannot just get on a plane necessarily and go somewhere else. And this also comes on top of the situation I think we have Leyla, still, do we? That Puerto Rico is in, Leyla. $70 billion in debt. I mean, when you talk about rebuilding, when you talk about the homes that will have been totally wiped away, as Chad said, this is just adding insult to injury in an already very, very difficult position for the entire island.
[Santiago:] Right. I do want to point out that before the storm came in, as you mentioned, this is U.S. territory, so there was a state of emergency declared not only on the island but also from a federal level. So there is aid here from the United States. But to your point, there is an economic crisis that has been looming over this island long before this storm even formed in the Atlantic. And so when they talk about rebuilding here, when the governor says, hey, hunker down because we are going to rebuild, how is this island going to rebuild when it's $70 billion in debt? When the power system lacks maintenance and is vulnerable because of that financial instability, because of that economic storm that is looming over this island? That's a big concern as I talked to people yesterday who still didn't have power after Irma passed and now they are dealing with Maria. This is not a matter of days without power. This is not likely not a matter of weeks. For many of the people of Puerto Rico this could be a matter of months before power is restored given that Irma excuse me, Maria is having a direct impact on some of these power plants that are so vulnerable right now Poppy.
[Berman:] All right. Leyla, stand by if you can. We'll let you get a quick break, dry off for a moment. We are going to take a quick break, but again a category 4 storm right now is hitting Puerto Rico at this moment. The most devastating storm that island has ever seen according to the governor. Our reporters are sending in their dispatches as quickly as they can, as soon as we they can get their communications up. We're hoping for a look of the damage outside the cities right now. Again, we are warned, it could be horrific. Stay with us.