Florida Braces for Hurricane; Hurricane Irma's Path
WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Hello, I'm Wolf Blitzer. We begin with breaking news right now. Bracing for impact on what's being called a nuclear Hurricane Irma. Closing in on Florida after devastating parts of the Caribbean. The state's governor now telling folks there, get out now because he won't be able to save them when the storm strikes. We'll speak to the governor shortly. Plus, new concerns about the state running out of gas, evacuating hospitals and the elderly in the safety of nuclear power plants. We'll take you there live. And just a short time from now, President Trump holding a news conference over at the White House. You're looking at live pictures. He's expected to talk about the hurricane, but also he'll deal with the arrangement that he worked out with the Democrats that has left his own party shell shocked and furious.</s>ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.</s>BLITZER: Let's get to the breaking news. Hurricane Irma, already one of the most powerful Atlantic storms in history and it's heading for Florida. Moments ago, the president expressed confidence in the state's preparations.</s>DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're very concerned. We are working very hard. We have tremendous groups of talented people there. We think we're as well prepared as you can possibly be.</s>BLITZER: Right now, Hurricane Irma is ripping through the northern Caribbean hitting island after island and leaving at least six people dead. Most of those deaths are in St. Martin. Here, you can see some of the damage. Homes and businesses flattened by the immense power of Hurricane Irma. It is decimating, by the way, the island of Bermuda. The prime minister there is now saying it is now barely habitable. In Puerto Rico, more than 1 million people are without power and 10s of thousands have no running water. Right now, in Florida, it's bracing for a direct hit from the storm of size of Texas. Our meteorologist Chad Myers is tracking all of this all for us. So, Chad, where is Hurricane Irma right now and will it make a direct hit on the United States?</s>CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It is north of the Dominican Republic and yes. I know you're not used to getting a direct answer from all of the politicians you talk to. But my answer is, yes, it absolutely hits the U.S. Does it hit Florida, Georgia, or the Carolinas first? That's where we don't yet know. The storm is 175 miles per hour. It's moving to the northwest. We already have hurricane warnings for the Turks and Caicos and now hurricane watches for the Keys, all the way up to about Fort Pierce, and almost down to on the other side of about Cape Coral. Now, I know those aren't exact points, but you get the idea. You can see the pink. You say, why? Why would we do a hurricane watch? It's a timing thing, 48 hours, 72 hours, 36 hours? All about when the watches and warnings are posted. So, warnings absolutely will be posted tomorrow as that thing moves our way. A large storm not losing any power whatsoever with a direct impact in the center of the cone right near Miami, Florida. The worst possible case scenario moving over Ocean Reef and Key Largo all the way almost to Tavernier. There are people in the Keys that are refusing to evacuate. I can't imagine that. This bubble of water, this surge may be 18 feet high, Wolf. The Keys are, like, eight to 10 feet high. I know there's one spot in Key Largo about 16 feet high. That's it. The water will completely over-wash the Keys if it's a direct hit. And then, you get very, very close, such a populated area, from Key Biscayne, right through Miami proper, all the way up into, oh, gosh, I don't even know if you want to call a Fort Piece or do you want to call it Jupiter? It still could be on land right there. A little bit offshore and then back on land. Now, obviously, if there's a cone, it can go one way or the other. If it comes back out here, people in Florida go, whew, yes, we got missed. The problem is it's still 160 miles per hour right here because it never hit any land. And where's it going? Into the Carolinas, Georgia, somewhere up there. It's going to turn left eventually. So, yes, someone gets hit. Is it here, here, here or possibly there? I'm not sure exactly where the worst-case scenario is. There's 10s of billions of dollars of damage no matter where it hits. You have to take precautions, no matter where you are. Here's the European model. Where does it go? Right through and north of Key Largo, right into Key Biscayne. There's a wild bird sanctuary right there. A national park right there. Up through Fort Lauderdale, West Palm and finally offshore, doing damage with 140 mile-per-hour winds here. That's an EF-3 or almost four tornado, on the ground for hours, that's 40 miles wide. I mean, think of the damage that would do in Oklahoma. Think of what it would do in downtowns like all those from Fort Lauderdale all the way north but including Miami as well. There is the American model slightly better. Tens of billions of dollars less damage and also with the potential for a less loss of life. But, Wolf, I don't understand. When you tell people to mandatorily evacuate, that that doesn't mean anything to them.</s>BLITZER: I don't understand that either. But here's the question. Why the difference between the European model, which projects a direct hit on Miami and Fort Lauderdale, going up to Palm Beach County, as opposed to the U.S. Model. And which one has a better track record?</s>MYERS: It's hard to answer that question. The European model is a four-dimensional the model. It means it moves its data points ahead in time four dimensionally. So, it's time, space. It's up-down, east-west, north-south, vertical and time. The U.S. model only does the three. They take all the same time. The model runs at 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. That's it, period. They don't take -- they don't care about anything else. So, it's a little bit of a difference how they put it in there. But I'm going to tell you. If you talk about 40 miles, 72 hours away, I mean, those models are exact. The problem is, you know, we have a major city in the way. And if that was -- let's say -- let's say we're talking about anywhere in the continental U.S. in Texas. And you have 40 miles one way or the other with 72 hours' notice. If it wasn't Houston, wasn't Corpus Christi, that's a win. And that's where we were with Harvey. The models have really won. We finally have this down to a good science. And 40 miles, I know it makes a huge difference to Miami and Fort Lauderdale and the like. But in the grand scheme of things, 72 hours out. They're almost exactly the same.</s>BLITZER: Yes, if people are told to evacuate, they've got to evacuate. They've got to listen to the authorities. Chad, stand by. We're going to get back to you. As this hurricane is racing towards Florida, officials are bracing for the worst. Mandatory evacuations for the Florida Keys, the low-lying parts of Miami, Dade County as well as Broward County. That's where Fort Lauderdale is. But there are also deep concerns about gas shortages, price gouging, water supplies. CNN's Rosa Flores is joining us now from Miami Beach. Rosa, so what's happening there where you are?</s>ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, Wolf, there is a lot of worry. There is a lot of stress. As residents patch up their homes with pieces of plywood, grab their kids, jump in the car and then hope for the best as they head north. You talked about price gouging. You talk about gas shortages. That is a huge worry as folks start to see the interstates bumper to bumper heading out of this southern part of Florida. Now, when it comes to evacuations, as you mentioned, Miami-Dade is under a mandatory evacuation for a few areas. Zone A which is along the coast. Multiple areas, including this island that you might see here to my right which is on the south side. And then, there's also the barrier islands where I'm standing right now in Miami beach. All of these areas including areas where people live in mobile homes. Those under a mandatory evacuation. Our friends to the south, in Monroe County, according to the governor, more than 31,000 people already evacuated headed north. Our friends to the north in Broward County. Anyone living in a low- lying area. Anyone living in a mobile home. Anyone living east of U.S.-1 which includes Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, Pompano Beach, Deerfield Beach, all of those folks are encouraged and are under mandatory evacuation to leave north. And that is the only way out of the peninsula, Wolf. As you know, you can't go east. You can't go west. You have to go north. Now, when it comes to price gouging, the state attorney, here in Miami-Dade County, has activated a hotline for people to report price gouging, because, of course, in these dire times, there's always people who are going to try to take advantage of others. And the message from Florida is, don't do it because you're going to get caught and get punished -- Wolf.</s>BLITZER: All right, Rosa, stand by. Rosa Flores in Miami Beach for us, under evacuation orders at least big chunks of it. The Florida Governor Rick Scott says getting enough fuel into a state is one of his top priorities right now. He's joining us live. Governor, I know you're very busy. Thanks very much for joining us, updating viewers. So, first of all, this issue of fuel, which is sensitive. People are ling up in long lines to get gas for their cars. What are you able to do about that?</s>GOV. RICK SCOTT (R), FLORIDA (via telephone): Well, last night, I had a call with the retailers of gas stations to say, what can I do? This morning, I did the major oil companies. And then, I've done the carriers that take the fuel from basically the -- our ports to their saying, what can I do? So, now, what we're doing is providing escorts to the carriers, so they can get in and out fast. They can get to the stations. They get back to get more gas from the ports as fast as we can. We're working to make sure that as many vessels can get into our ports as possible, so we have as much fuel as possible. We are -- we are getting some (ph) waivers of some federal regulations. I</s>BLITZER: We certainly do. And at what point, Governor, do you make those interstates all one way heading north, for example? We see the traffic is enormous heading north. Not much traffic heading south. At what point do you make that decision to move, to move all of those lanes into the same direction?</s>SCOTT: So, what we do first, Wolf, is we're tracking this everywhere, highway patrol, the Department of Transportation. We have cameras around the state. We have law enforcement pushing. The first thing we do is we add the shoulder. And so -- but we're -- we've got to keep everybody safe. It depends on how fast the traffic is going because we've got to keep everybody safe first. We will do everything we can to make sure people are able to evacuate. I tell people, if you don't -- if there's any reason you're in an evacuation zone and you don't -- you don't -- you don't have the gas. You can't get out. We have a state-wide hot line and we can -- we will get you out. I told that with the Keys that already had their mandatory evacuation. I told that to every place around the state. We will get you out. But you cannot wait. You cannot wait to get out.</s>BLITZER: Yes.</s>SCOTT: I'm all -- Wolf, I'm also looking for more volunteers. I need a total of 17,000 volunteers. I have -- I have a little less than 10,000 people signed up, that have volunteered for our shelters for food distribution. I need more volunteer. You can go to VolunteerFlorida.org and volunteer. But, right now, by goal is to keep everybody safe.</s>BLITZER: Yes. Well, that's critically important. Chad Myers, our Meteorologist, Governor, has a question for you. Chad, go ahead.</s>MYERS: Governor, hello. We met in Pensacola last year with the flood there.</s>SCOTT: Yes.</s>MYERS: We both witnessed how much water can damage a neighborhood. Well, this isn't a neighborhood. This is a city. What if Miami gets a 15-food storm surge? Fort Lauderdale, all the way up into Broward County? What does the city look like with 15 feet of water in it?</s>SCOTT: Oh. Here's what people are not thinking about. This is bigger in size, much bigger than Andrew. Andrew was, you know, a horrible storm. It's -- it packs more wind. But the real difference is the risk of storm surge. The storm surge can come in. It can come in a long way and it can cover your house. So, you have got to listen. You know, the National Hurricane Center has some storm surge models now. We're using those models county by county. That's part of how we're deciding the evacuation route, our evacuation areas. So, you've got to listen. If they tell you that your area should be evacuated, one thing they're thinking about is how big will the storm surge be? The other thing I'm trying to get people to understand is, it looks -- it looks great right now and everybody is -- believes the path is going to be up the east coast. The cone's not just on the east coast. The cone's partially on the west coast. So, all the southern part of the state has to continue to watch out for this thing. If there's a little wobble to the west, it impacts the west part of the -- our state. So, we're focused on this. But this storm surge is my biggest concern right now besides the fuel. That people don't understand the risk of this storm surge.</s>MYERS: Wolf.</s>BLITZER: You know, Governor, there's two nuclear power plants, as you know, in your state right now, potentially in very, very serious danger. What are you doing to make sure they are not in danger?</s>SCOTT: I've been talking to Solar Power Light (ph) which owns these. They will -- they will both be shut down. They'll -- it's about a 30- hour process. They'll start to shut down as soon as the category one winds start. We're working to make sure we have evacuation routes open for people to get out and get back to them. But they will be completely shut down before the storm hits. And then they -- and they will not reopen until afterwards. So the -- they are -- they are in -- and both in a place where their power that they need to restart and to make sure it's safe is high. So I've been talking to Florida Power and Light and they are very comfortable right now that even with the winds, even with the storm surge, both of these plants will be safe.</s>BLITZER: One final question -- I know you've got to run -- governor, before I let you go. Which model do you suspect is more accurate, the European model, which shows a direct hit on Miami and the millions of people of Miami-Dade County and Broward County and Palm Beach County, or the American model, which has this hurricane hitting slightly off the coast, the eastern coast of Florida?</s>SCOTT: Well, as you -- you know, look, I'm an optimist. I hope -- I hope it continues -- I hope it goes far east and doesn't get any closer than Matthew did last year. But I -- here's what I tell everybody. I love my state. I love every citizen here, every visitor. I want everybody to be safe. So don't take a chance. Don't be an optimist with this. Be prepared. Maybe we'll get lucky and it will go further east, but it could -- it could just as well go west.</s>BLITZER: We're going to be in very close touch with you, Governor Rick Scott of Florida. Good luck to you. Good luck to all the wonderful people down in your beautiful state of Florida. We're hoping, hoping, for the best. But as you are reminding everyone, everyone has to prepare for the worst. And if you want to volunteer to help out the governor, you listened -- you heard what he had to say. Governor Rick Scott, we'll stay in very close touch with you. Chad, we're about to get more tape any moment now from the president of the United States. He's over at the White House meeting with the emir of Kuwait, but also speaking about Hurricane Irma. The picture that the governor just presented is very bleak.</s>MYERS: It is. And I think it's very important. He said, don't be an optimist. I mean, we have seen so many times -- and I admit, you know, hey, it's going to hit, it's going to hit and then it turns right or it turns left. Ah, it's not going to hit this time. This isn't, Wolf --</s>BLITZER: All right, hold on, Chad, for a moment. The president's speaking now. Let's listen in.</s>TRUMP: The emir of Kuwait is a most special person</s>BLITZER: I think we've got some technical problems over there. We're going to cue that tape. That was just shot moments ago. The president meeting with the emir of Kuwait. They're about to have a joint news conference as well. We'll have live coverage. I think we've fixed the audio. Nope. Looks like they're still trying to cue up the audio. This is a pool tape that comes in from -- from the reporters over at the White House. The camera crews. They're going to get that ready. We'll have excellent -- we'll play that as soon as we get it cued up appropriately. So stand by for that. Let's wait for a moment. Chad, you and I were talking about this worst-case scenario, this Hurricane Irma hitting about 3 million people potentially right in Miami-Dade County and then millions more up further north in Broward and Palm Beach Counties. That's the worst- case scenario. That is clearly what they're bracing for.</s>MYERS: Sure. No question, Wolf. If the storm runs up through Key Largo, up Card Sound Road, into Homestead and into Miami, that's the worst possible scenario. Onshore flow making significant flooding that the governor was talking about. I think the surge is 15 feet. He thinks it's closer to 10. I guess he's being the optimist compared to me being the pessimist or somewhere in between. I want you away from that water. You need to be away from the water. Northern central Keys, middle Keys, you've got to get out of there. There's just -- there's no reason to stay there. If the water goes over your island and then finally back to the north. I just talked to a guy on Twitter, Ryan Mowi (ph). He's a doctor. And he said that, look, he looked at the models and he looked at the population and 16 million people will have wind over 75 miles per hour. That means 8 million people won't have power? I mean, that's got to be close.</s>BLITZER: Yes, it's an awful, awful situation. Stand by. We've got a lot more coming up. The brand new forecast from the European model coming in very soon. We'll update you on that. Its track record lately has been excellent. We'll also speaking live with the mayor of Miami Beach about the urgent evacuations underway there, and why he's calling this a, quote, "nuclear hurricane." And President Trump getting ready to hold a joint news conference moments from now. He's expected to discuss the storm. Also the fury from his own Republican Party after he stunned everyone by cutting a deal with the Democratic leadership. This is CNN's special live coverage.