Hurricane Florence Could Straddle U.S. East Coast for Days; Super Typhoon Mangkhut Bears Down on Philippines, Hong Kong And Macau; As Florence Approaches, Trump Claims Puerto Rico Unsung Success
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST: Hello and welcome, you're watching CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Becky Anderson for you in Abu Dhabi where it is 7:00 in the evening this hour. We are connecting you to two massive storm systems of awesome size and almost unimaginable power. One snarling right for America. The other rocketing towards Asia where soon a huge super typhoon will ram into the Philippines with winds roaring at more than 250 kilometers an hour. That is strong enough to rip roofs off houses as easy as you might peel open a can of beans. For the next few days it will be pounding and smashing its which along this path towards China. That's more than 1,000 kilometers. Now that is the Pacific. Now to the beast of an Atlantic storm closing in on the U.S. with catastrophic force. Hurricane Florence being dubbed the storm of a lifetime. Right now, she is tearing towards tens of millions of Americans on the country's east coast. What you are looking at here is a brand-new image or images from space as Florence spins her winds faster than 200 kilometers an hour. Speeds that, quite frankly, are going to hurt.</s>JEFF BYARD, FEMA: This is not going to be a glancing blow. This I this is going to be a Mike Tyson punch to the Carolina coast.</s>ANDERSON: Right. No one can cover this like CNN, connecting you to the danger zone there now. CNN's Brian Todd who is right by where the hurricane is likely to hit. And CNN's Matt Rivers in China's capital, Beijing for more on that typhoon. Let's kick off with you Brian. People rushing to get away, though it's not easy, correct?</s>BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right, Becky. We are standing at a place that represents for many people the last and somewhat desperate chance to get away from this hurricane, to get away from North Carolina's barrier islands. This is a ferry terminal. Ferries landing here a short time ago. This is Swan Quarter, North Carolina. This is a ferry coming in. This ferry just came in from Ocracoke Island. That's about 25 miles east of here. That island has about 900 people living on it permanently. It is only accessible by boat and that's under normal circumstances. The governor and others have ordered people to evacuate. But they cannot physically force people to evacuate, so they are strongly suggesting, saying that these barrier islands like Ocracoke are going to get clobbered and that you could be isolated on that island for several days if you do not get off. Plus, you could be in a situation where you could be maybe even out in the open and desperate with no shelter. We did see a few moments ago this ferry pulled in with dozens of cars leaving, people taking that chance to get off that island. Another ferry pulled into this terminal a short time later, dozens of cars got off. I estimate probably more than 50 people on both of those ferries got off. And then they are going to moor the ferries over here to ride out the storm. This is the only safe place where they can moor the ferries. Those two ferries are moored. This one will be moored in a short time, Becky. So, again, this is the last attempt for many to get off these barrier islands. And we think less than an hour, the final boat coming in from Ocracoke Island is going to come in here, and after that, nothing more. They're not going have ferries tomorrow, even though there is a full day tomorrow they could conceivably evacuate. They have to get the boots moored down. So, they are telling people, this is your last chance to get off that island. I just spoke to the commissioner of Hyde County, North Carolina. He lives on Ocracoke Island. He is staying there. He estimates that of the 900 or so people who live there permanently, he thinks about 200 have stayed. Those 200 people could be in for real isolation and they could be stranded in the days ahead, Becky. A fairy desperate situation here on the Carolina coast.</s>ANDERSON: Yes. Back to you shortly. Matt, I want to bring you in. I know that experts are predicting this super typhoon in the region where you are could impact as many as 43, 44 million people. What are people doing to get out of the way?</s>MATTHEW RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's interesting, Becky, because for all of the talk off the southeast coast of the United States right now, completely justified talk, this is an area of the world that is used to these kind of storms. As opposed to what we are seeing in the United States that doesn't get hit with those kind of storms nearly as often. So, you are not seeing same kind of evacuations here both in Southeast Asia and in southern China that you would necessarily see in the southeastern part of the United States. But that's not to diminish how strong the storm is. What's going to happen here is late Friday evening into Saturday morning this storm is going to hit the northern Philippines with tremendous force. Something equivalent to a category 4 hurricane to the United States. After that it goes south of Taiwan and then it heads towards Hong Kong and Macau in southern China. That some of the most densely populated areas in the world. We are talking incredibly high winds. We're talking lots of flooding. We're talking storm surge. So serious risks there. But there is good news in this sense in a number of different ways. Number one, you're talking about the northern part of the Philippines, not the southern part of the Philippines. So, it's going to hit the northern part, which is far less populated than, say, Manila, which is in the southern part of the country. That would be a bigger problem. And then you are talking about Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macao. Those are areas with very good infrastructure. They are used to riding out these kinds of storms. And so, if you are comparing what's going on in the United States, what's going on in Southeast Asia, these are generally speaking equivalent strength storms. They both can cause a ton of damage. But what you're seeing in Southeast Asia/southern China is places that are generally used to these kinds of things. That expect these kinds of storms this part of the year and I think that that's going to make all the difference. That said, you never know what's going to happen. These storms can change track. But generally speaking, the forecast gives people time to prepare and this is an area that has had to prepare before.</s>ANDERSON: Sure. Matt, thank you. Brian, let's get the satellite view then from space on Florence coming well right it you, of course. She's always been spinning pretty fast, but once she gets to where you are in terms of moving forward, she will be going slower than we take a walk on the beach. Letting her hang around for days, dumping huge amounts of water. What are the preparations then for the storm surges that you are currently seeing?</s>TODD: Well, Becky, people are boarding up their houses, they're getting out. But as far as preparing for a storm surge, preparing for a flood, it is hard to do that. You've got to try to get your vehicles out of the way. You've got to move whatever valuables you have to higher ground if you can. But a lot of people cannot do that. There are a lot of people we've talked to who are going to stay and ride this out. And some of them aren't too worried about the storm surge and the flooding. And we are trying to tell them, look, this is going to be very serious because this storm, as you mentioned, is going to slow down. It's going to hang over this area even when it makes landfall. You know, a lot of times these hurricanes move through quickly and after the initial hit sometimes you are out of the woods. But this is going to hang over this area. A ton of rainfall will come down. A lot of flooding in an area that has been saturated with recent rainfall.</s>ANDERSON: To both of you, for the time being, thank you. Well, just coming in as well, brand-new views of Florence. She could be as deadly as she is, well, some might scribe this as beautiful. Right now, we are getting new information coming into CNN's weather center about the storm speed, direction, the works. CNN's Chad Myers can tell us what that new information reveals. Chad, what have you got?</s>CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: This storm is slowing down slightly, and we expect that. We just don't want it to stop. If you stop a typhoon or a hurricane, all of a sudden you have days and days of rain, that rain in the same places. And even yesterday we were talking about a meter of rain possible in the Atlantic Ocean and over parts of the Carolinas. Two states, one called North Carolina, one called South Carolina. What happened over the overnight hours is the European model and the American model both agreed for the first time in history. Europe and America have agreed on models, at least. This here is a category 4 making towards Wilmington, North Carolina. Yesterday, both models were -- one was going up here, one the south. Well overnight hours really changed all of that. All of a sudden both models are turning to the left. Turning towards Myrtle Beach, which is a very populated area that really most of the people were not planning on evacuating. Well now they should be. Turning to the south, turning towards Charleston, probably not planning on evacuating. But if you put 20 inches of rain northeast of Charleston, northwest of Charleston, it's going to run into the ocean. Those rivers are going to flood and that's a real rub right now. It's all a part of a storm system that is running into high pressures to the north, high pressures to the west, and high pressures to the east, west, north, south. And all of a sudden, this low can't go anywhere. And it's going to sit there and spin for a few days and that's what's going to make it finally go away. There is your models. They all kind of agree now. So finally, we are in some agreement, but maybe we wouldn't want to be in agreement because we did want to see this move away. Right now, it's not going to move away.</s>ANDERSON: Yes, frightening stuff. Chad, thank you. Let's connect you to that life or death choice facing millions of American this hour. On one hand, stay home and hope for the best, or on the other, hit the road and get out of the way. If it seems like a no-brainer for those of us far away, well, as Martin Savage found out, it's not really that simple.</s>MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's the question everyone asks. Are you staying or going?</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am definitely leaving. It's going to be bad, no doubt, yes.</s>SAVIDGE: Dava Villapiano has also made up her mind.</s>DAVA VILLAPIANO, RESTAURANT OWNER: Oh, I'm going. I'm definitely going. I was here through Bertha and Fran and several others. But this is not the same kind of storm.</s>SAVIDGE: She owns the Silver Dollar bar and grill where the last of the boards are going up on the windows and the last of the food is coming out of the fridge.</s>VILLAPIANO: If it comes in as a 4, this could be, you know, the whole island could be decimated.</s>SAVIDGE: Carolina Beach is under a mandatory evacuation order and the order is simple. Leave. If you're here after 8:00 p.m. Wednesday, you're on your own. At the local gas station, you find folks who are definitely out of here.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you don't get out, you're going to be a casualty. Plain and simple.</s>SAVIDGE: And you find some who seem undecided.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I may change my mind. But right now, I am planning on riding it out.</s>SAVIDGE (on camera): So, I got a tip in town. As cliche as it sounds, on this particular street there is a whole group of neighbors that have banded together and apparently, they're going to stay. Are you staying or going?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now, we're headed out. I'm take the smarter route.</s>SAVIDGE: That is bad especially with the little one there?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, exactly. Sitting here without power for about five days doesn't seem like a great idea.</s>SAVIDGE (voice-over): But in a nearby garage I find friends Bill and Stan and they're staying. And they won't be alone. (on camera): How many people do you think are going to be staying?</s>BILL SKINNER, RESIDENT: Let's see. We have one, two, three, four, five, we have about five to six right in the cul-de-sac that are staying.</s>SAVIDGE: Wow. (voice-over): The guys laugh about it, but both say they are getting calls and texts from friends begging them to leave.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People are calling me saying, don't stay, don't stay. This is going to be a killer.</s>SAVIDGE: The pair have a brand-new generator and joke about a fridge full of beer. But there is a seriousness as to why they want to ride it out.</s>SKINNER: I want to protect what I have and stay with my neighbors and help out if I can on the island.</s>SAVIDGE: Back on the beach, I find Danielle Moody sitting all by herself at the water's edge. She moved here just 20 days ago. (on camera): What are you going to do?</s>DANIELLE MOODY, RESIDENT: You know, were going to seek shelter. We are going to go and stay with family inland.</s>SAVIDGE (voice-over): She and her fiance just finished building their dream home, and now have to leave it behind. She's here for a few last moments of peace.</s>MOODY: I just wanted to get one more glimpse of it.</s>SAVIDGE: She is going and worries a lot of what she is looking at may soon be gone.</s>ANDERSON: Martin Savidge reporting for you. The American President wants everyone to sleep easy. He thinks that right now his country is in as good as shape as it's ever been to take on a hurricane.</s>DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The safety of American people is my absolute highest priority. We are sparing no expense. We are totally prepared. We're ready. We're as ready as anybody's ever been.</s>ANDERSON: Well, consider this. Donald Trump also thinks how he dealt with hurricane Maria -- you are seeing the damage of that now -- in Puerto Rico was one of the best jobs he has ever done. Keeping in mind what you just heard, have a listen to this.</s>TRUMP: The job that FEMA and law enforcement and everybody did working along with the governor in Puerto Rico I think was tremendous. I think that Puerto Rico was an incredible unsung success.</s>ANDERSON: Really? Well, it is pretty hard to see how anyone would be able to get to that. The official death toll for hurricane Maria some 3,000 people. Well CNN's Stephen Collinson, reckoning the quote, a presidency already in crisis simply cannot afford the new hit of a botched response. Stephen, remarkable analyst and good friend of our show, with us from Washington. Can the President weather this, so to speak?</s>STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: I think he can if there is not a sort of succeeding political crisis that develops after the storm. In some ways, and it seems crass to say it when so many people's lives are on the line and their property, but this does represent an opportunity for President Trump to show some of the qualities of leadership that have been lacking over a very difficult political period. It also gets the whole issue of the Bob Woodward book, the op-ed by the anonymous official out of the headlines which have been damaging the President. The downside to this, of course, if there is any sign that his administration is deficient, that it doesn't handle this quite well, we know what can happen. We just need to look at President George W. Bush in 2005 with when his government was judged to have botched hurricane Katrina which came ashore in New Orleans in Louisiana. His presidency never recovered that and he admitted that after he left office. So, these are high-pressure times for Presidents to show leadership. Given what you mentioned about hurricane Maria and Puerto Rico and given some of the disorganization and dysfunction we've seen in the White House and government revealed over the last few weeks, I think you have to question how well prepared the White House and the President really are.</s>ANDERSON: Stephen, we've been hear from a U.S. senator on CNN today, that the White House took $10 million from FEMA, which of course is the emergency agency, and gave it to I.C.E. to help -- or to use, at least, in helping set up the centers to treat children and parents separated at the border. All this right before peak hurricane season. What do you make of that?</s>COLLINSON: I think it shows just how sort of dicey the politics of hurricanes and disasters can be. This is not the first time that an administration has raided the Federal Emergency Management Agency to finance programs elsewhere. The fact they did it for such a controversial issue, these shelters for the separations is making this even more difficult for the administration. And the fact, of course, this is sort of playing into the wider issue of the whole questions about Trump's leadership and his motivations. So, I think we are going to see this bubble up in the days ahead. And, you know, it just kind of raises new questions about exactly what is going on in this White House.</s>ANDERSON: I want to get our viewers a quick listen to Donald Trump, Stephen, describing this storm. Stand by.</s>TRUMP: They haven't seen anything like what's coming at us in 25, 30 years. Maybe ever. It's tremendously big and tremendously wet. Tremendous amounts of water.</s>ANDERSON: Yet, maybe the biggest in 30 years. Maybe ever. That's quite a difference, describing it as tremendously wet. I have to say there will be viewers who say that sounds quite simplistic for all the reporting and claims we see coming out of the White House regarding a lack of reading in, shall we say. Do you think the President truly grasps what's coming?</s>COLLINSON: Well he certainly seems to have an odd fascination often with the size of these storms and seems to focus as much on that as the emergency efforts that are gearing up before they come ashore. I mean, I think no politician can stop a storm, can stop it roaring ashore. The question is how well everything is coordinated afterwards. I think one of the problems that President Trump has had, basically -- and we saw it last year after the first storm that hit Texas and the storms that hit Puerto Rico and Florida -- is actually fulfilling that role of the President almost as a consoler in chief. And going down to talk to people and showing empathy. He doesn't find that very easy. And he also finds any criticism of his role impossible to accept. That's why he gets into rather bizarre conversations as he did yesterday about Puerto Rico and what a great job he did.</s>ANDERSON: Well, more of Stephen's analysis on the website. Where you say, Stephen, quote, the President's refusal to ever admit a mistake and to hype his own perceived achievements strike a jarring note. More on that at CNN.com. Mr. Collinson, Thank you. Still to come, the European parliament takes an unprecedented step to punish a member state for cracking down on democratic institutions. We'll see why Hungary calls it, quote, petty revenge.