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Category 5 Milton's Sustained Winds Explode to 175 MPH; Israel Remembers 1,200 People Killed in October 7th Terror Attacks; President Joe Biden Marks October 7 Attack With Candle-Lightning at White House; Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired October 07, 2024 - 14:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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[14:01:09]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: An historic flood that could be Florida's next catastrophe. Hurricane Milton is the third fastest rapidly intensifying storm in Atlantic history. The Category 5 monster could make a direct hit on the Tampa area on Wednesday. And we are minutes away from a new forecast.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel is facing a seven front war as it marks one year since the devastating October 7th attacks by Hamas. And Israel's Defense Minister says, quote, "everything is on the table as the country decides how to respond to last week's missile attack from Iran."

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: And a tough tackle sending a star quarterback to the sidelines. And what happened next, igniting controversy and questions about how the NFL handles concussions.

We're following these major developing stories and many more all coming in right here, the CNN News Central.

We're following breaking news this afternoon. Hurricane Milton is taking aim at Florida, threatening millions with dangerous storm surge, severe flooding and damaging winds. Right now, the storm is churning off the Gulf of Mexico as a Category 5 hurricane. And we've seen it explode in intensity just over the last 24 hours. Its winds now clocking in at 175 miles an hour.

KEILAR: Evacuation orders are now in place for five counties along the state's west coast as Milton is approaching there. And those who are in its path, many of them still in recovery mode from Hurricane Helene. Meteorologist Elisa Raffa is tracking the storm from the CNN Weather Center for us. Elisa, what is it doing right now?

ELISA RAFFA, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Exploding in intensity. It is really hard to put this into words. There are not that many storms that explode in intensity like this. With 175 miles per hour winds, Milton is the strongest storm, hurricane or typhoon. So far this year, globally, it is the strongest storm in the Gulf of Mexico since Rita in 2005. So again, just really smashing record books all morning when it comes to rapid intensification. A crystal clear eye symmetric budge saw donut shape here, just incredible. And it will kind of slice past the Yucatan Peninsula later on today.

But again, look at the growth here, we have seen the increase in wind speed, nearly 100 miles per hour in 24 hours, nearly tripling the definition for rapid intensification. Talk about over performing, just incredible to see this.

Okay, category five, it will scrape the Yucatan Peninsula at that intensity. Then it heads towards the Florida coast where it will wane in intensity some. But we're still looking at a major hurricane, a Category 3 or 4, as it heads towards this pink area here, that's the hurricane watch, the west Gulf coast here of Florida.

Again, it will take with it some of these destructive winds as it cuts across these very warm ocean temperatures the next two days. And then we're looking at that landfall sometime late on Wednesday with these very destructive winds. Really, we have to watch this closely, especially when it comes to that storm surge forecast for that Tampa Bay area. If that eye goes to the north of Tampa, that will bring in some of the worst storm surge that the area has ever seen. It kind of just funnels into the bay.

Right now. The forecast for Tampa as far as storm surge goes is 8 feet to 12 feet. That would be the most that the Tampa Bay area has seen. It would be more than they got in Helene just last week. Even down towards Fort Myers, looking at 5 feet to 10 feet of storm surge. Numbers like this when it comes to storm surge are unsurvivable. That's why there's so many evacuation orders in effect. Again, these were the numbers from Helene. And we know what damage that did. The record storm surge for St. Pete was six feet. We're already forecasting more than that. This will also come with some incredibly heavy rain. So a lot of details we still need to pan out the forecast, but we know Milton just keeps intensifying.

[14:05:05]

Boris, Brianna?

KEILAR: All right. Elisa, thank you for that update there. Milton will be the second major hurricane to hit Florida in less than two weeks, with several of those communities along the west coast of Florida still trying to recover from Helene's devastation. This right here is video from Longboat Key, Florida. This is just south of Milton's current forecasted landfall. Helene's storm surge sent water and sand into homes and onto streets there, as you can see. Joining us now is the Fire Chief for Longboat Key, Paul Dezzi.

Chief, thanks for being with us. You have urged residents. You did this yesterday. Leave as soon as possible, beat the Tuesday traffic. Are people heeding your warning? Are they doing this more than they did in the last hurricane a couple weeks ago?

PAUL DEZZI, FIRE CHIEF, LONGBOAT KEY, FLORIDA: I think they are. We went ahead and made sure that they knew about this early on to give them a chance to leave the island, this home of (inaudible), the 11- mile island. And we were devastated by Helene. And now, we have this Milton behind us. KEILAR: The fact that there's debris still from Helene, does that pose a specific threat when you're talking about wind and storm surge. Is that an additional threat?

DEZZI: That's a huge threat for us right now. We have 24-hours operation going on with the debris contractors and our landfills are open to where we can deliver all this debris. But that's a huge problem we're going to have.

We're telling residents, bring whatever they can back into their garage and don't put anything back out, any extra things back out onto the street with this storm surge coming on. And we're expecting it to be upwards of 12 feet. That's the worst we've ever seen. This is a worst case scenario that Longboat Key can have.

KEILAR: How do you deal with that, two major storms in two weeks?

DEZZI: Well, we hope our residents will listen to us when we tell them to leave the island, to evacuate to a shelter or go further east into the Sarasota or into manatee county area. We're just south of Tampa, so of course we're going to get that. We're on the dirty side of the storms. We are going to get damage out here. And in my opinion, it's going to be devastating.

KEILAR: I mean, what are you expecting when you say devastating and you look at the worst possibilities here? What are you worried about that it will look like?

DEZZI: Right. Well, our hope is that people did listen to us. We hope we don't have any injuries or deaths from that. We will do a complete search for victims when that does happen. But, you know, we have homes that are, on one level, the old Florida style type homes on the north end, which is the Manatee County side of the Longboat Key. And they were already devastated with flooding.

We have lost some homes from the flood. Some were moved off the foundation. And I think with this storm here coming on, I mean, Helene was not as large as this storm, so we are expecting more collapsed structures and homes that are destroyed.

KEILAR: Chief, tell us about the fire protection system because you also have this issue of the keys protection system being compromised after the last storm surge from a leak in the reserve tank's main? What is that going to mean for this time round?

DEZZI: So we receive our water from the Manatee County north of us. And so they'll be shutting their water off to the island tomorrow afternoon, actually tomorrow morning. And when that does happen, we then have to shut our bows off. The only water we'll have on the island for firefighting will be what we have in our storage tanks a couple million gallons of water. So people who do decide to stay here that are on high rises, that's our concern. They're not going to be able to flush the toilets. And a lot of times, what we find out is some of the residents will call us when we're not even on the island.

Fire and police protection leave this island when the winds are sustained at 45 miles an hour. And we go to a shelter. And then, you know, when we're able to come back to the island, then we'll do our operation. But as far as firefighting is concerned, our hope is that the people don't come back on this island or when they leave, they don't come back on. And, you know, one of the things that we're going to make sure that we do is prevent those people from coming back onto this island because we have two bridges, one on the other side that we have to maintain.

KEILAR: Yeah. Look, we know it's serious what you're facing. We wish you the best of luck. And we certainly hope that folks there in Longboat Key are heeding your warnings. Chief Dezzi, thanks for being with us.

DEZZI: Thank you.

KEILAR: Boris?

SANCHEZ: As we keep an eye on the forecast, there is growing consensus in the scientific community that the strength, size, and number of these storms are being fueled by climate change.

[14:10:01]

Let's discuss with Meteorologist Daniel Gilford. He leads the hurricane research at Climate Central. Thank you so much for being with us, Daniel. I specifically want to ask you about extreme rapid intensification

because this storm, Milton, strengthened by something like 95 miles an hour in fewer than 24 hours. How does that happen exactly?

DANIEL GILFORD, METEOROLOGIST AND ATMOSPHERIC SCIENTIST, CLIMATE CENTRAL: Yeah, that's right. So we know that hurricanes are a lot like the engine on your car. They need some sort of fuel to be able to spin in quickly. And so we know that what would happen with Milton is that it began to intensify rapidly over a very short period of time.

And the only way that can happen is if it's kind of quiet when it comes to, like, the winds around it. There isn't anything sort of ripping or tearing at the storm apart. But also, there is this extreme levels of high warm ocean temperatures that are underlying the storm that provide that fuel source for that hurricane to spin faster and faster. So we know that sea surface temperature is being quite warm for this time of year. Near record warmth that we're seeing in that area is contributing to the high intensification rates of the storm.

SANCHEZ: And so that record warmth of surface temperatures is directly a result of climate change. Is that right?

GILFORD: That's right. So we've been studying at climate central the extent to which these sea surface temperatures have been influenced by climate change. So we can use observations over the last 100 years and climate models to put together an idea of how sea surface temperatures would have been in a world without climate change.

And indeed, we find that the sea surface temperatures that we're seeing today were at least 100 times more likely to occur in our world with climate change than they would have been in a world without one. So we can say with strong certainty that human caused climate change has fueled the temperatures that the storm is experiencing as it's intensifying.

SANCHEZ: That is alarming given that projections have ocean water getting warmer and warmer as the years come. Daniel Gilford very much appreciate the analysis. Thank you.

GILFORD: Thank you for having me.

SANCHEZ: Of course. Still to come on CNN News Central, Israel, marking one year since the October 7th Hamas attacks. Will take you live to Tel Aviv right after this.

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[14:16:42]

KEILAR: A somber day of remembrance and anguish in Israel and across the world today. One year after the October 7th attacks by Hamas terrorists, the pain is still so real for the victims and their families. 1,200 people were killed in the deadliest day for Jewish people since the Holocaust. 250 people were taken hostage that day. And more than 100 are still believed to be in captivity.

SANCHEZ: These images are outside of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus home today where protesters sounded a two-minute siren urging him to bring their loved ones home.

CNN's Erin Burnett joins us now live in Tel Aviv. Erin, give us a sense of what's going on there now and how Israelis are coping on such a difficult day.

ERIN BURNETT, CNN ANCHOR: An incredible day of mourning, and grief, and anger that the Israeli government, in the view of so many here, has made a decision to go for a broader war as opposed to focusing on bringing those hostages home. When I spoke to you all just about an hour ago, I was at Hostage Square. There were several thousand people gathered there for this memorial which is ongoing, incredibly moving. Even as I was speaking to both of you, Boris and Brianna, there were people around me crying. And it is an incredible difficult moment for them.

And as I said, in the midst of so much outrage as now, it is full darkness. And there is that sitting on a knife's edge of waiting for Israel to strike back at Iran, which is an imminent and inevitable thing in the minds of everyone here. I'm here with Jim Sciutto. And as I was at that memorial tonight and, you know, had been actually spent the afternoon there. And then more and more people came in. As I said, Jim, several thousand people. You were at a memorial, I know, today for the Nova Music Festival, where so many young people were slaughtered as they tried to flee Hamas terrorists that morning.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: So many Israelis marking today as befits them, right? And the Nova, I was with the families earlier, like you, and, of course, you have families of hostages who are still thinking of those that are still left behind and how they're just coping with that pain. This was a very different event in that, of course, the Nova Music Festival. This was young people who were dancing, right? And they were listening to music and so on. And the memorial today was quite like that. It was trying to create some of that energy. There was live music. There were a whole host of things to help them through the pain as well. There were meditation sessions. They were painting. They were making bouquets of flowers, all these things to, I don't know, take their mind off it, but I think mark the occasion, give a sense of togetherness.

But I'll tell you, you know, you talk about the threat of war constantly hanging over everything here. As we were there, very quickly, that memorial emptied out because there was an air raid siren. And we looked up in the sky and saw the smoke trail of yet another interceptor intercepting an incoming missile, which we later found was a missile fired from Yemen. So, you know, even in those --

BURNETT: I mean, this entire city, there was a moment, you know, we should say to everyone, there is literally an app here in Israel where you can see for rocket mornings, the entire city of Tel Aviv where we was, were lit up with warnings. And those missiles today were from Yemen.

SCIUTTO: So here are the folks. They're trying to have a moment of peace, right?

[14:20:01]

And I saw a woman running from that air raid siren in tears, as one, you could perfectly understand, right? It brings back the worst memories of that worst day a year ago.

BURNETT: Yeah. And important also, Boris and Brianna, as Jim and I are here, I think, you know, this is a moment, you know, there's this empty table. 97 people who were taken on October 7th are still there. A third of them to a half of them are believed to possibly be dead. Others are suffering unimaginably 40 miles away from where their families are. To comprehend that, I think is important, and also that after 9/11, that unbelievable grief that as Americans we felt and here in Israel for that month after I witnessed, you witnessed, but there is no closure here.

SCIUTTO: No.

BURNETT: There is no closure. They don't know if their family -- if those hostages, or dead or alive. They don't know. They are waiting. And there is now a hot war with Iran, whatever words you want to use. There are 200 missiles coming in here. There's missiles going out. There's bombs being dropped country to country, a war on multiple fronts. And yet these hostages, they still don't know where they are.

SCIUTTO: We've been talking and folks back home in the U.S. and the U.S. administration concerned about a widening war in this region. The war has already widened. It is on multiple fronts. The war in Gaza continues. The war in Lebanon is expanding. There have been a strike since we've been here in Syria as well by Israel. There have been strikes in Yemen since we've been here. And now, the consideration of what is expected to be quite a formidable strike in retaliation for that missile strike we suffered through the other day here.

And I'll tell you something. There are disagreements in this country as there are in other countries, certainly over, for instance, ceasefire and hostage talks. I don't hear a lot of disagreement about striking back against Iran, even at an event like the Nova Film Festival -- the Nova Memorial --

BURNETT: And Boris and Brianna, I'll say, you know the mood, I agree with Jim, we'll send it back to you with this. It is hit them, hit them harder. And in that context, I just have to say, as we toss it back to you, 40 miles away where those hostages are suffering, two- thirds of the buildings are leveled. Tens of thousands of people have also been killed over the past year.

Now in Lebanon, civilians are fleeing. It is an incredible tragedy and a year of hell for so many that on this day, we are now taking a moment to realize as Israel could strike any moment, Boris and Brianna.

SANCHEZ: Yeah, it is heart wrenching and even more difficult to know that the end may not be in sight. Erin and Jim, from Tel Aviv, thank you both so much.

As people throughout Israel mourn, they are also, as noted, at war today. The IDF launched another airstrike on the Jabalia refugee camp in Gaza. Hospital officials say at least 10 people there were killed, at least 20 more injured, despite the IDF warning people to leave the area. The Israeli military also issuing new evacuation orders for northern and southern Gaza as it ramps up operations against Hamas in those locations.

Let's discuss with CNN Global Affairs Analyst Mark Esper. He served as Defense Secretary under President Trump. He also serves on the board or as a strategic advisor for a handful of aerospace and defense- related companies.

Secretary, thank you so much for sharing part of your afternoon with us. One year after October 7th and seeing activity in Gaza, what's going on with Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the looming response from Israel to Iran's attack, how do you assess what Israel has done since October 7th and what it means for the region's future?

MARK ESPER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Yeah. Good afternoon, Boris. Of course, it's a very sad and somber day for Israel and all the Jewish people, given what happened on October 7th a year ago today. And we got to keep that forefront of mind, at least for today. And, of course, as the ceremony has gone on today, they continue to be attacked by the Houthis in Yemen, by Gaza, Hamas in Gaza, and by Hezbollah. So it is unyielding, unending.

But I think to your question, if you step back and remove the casualties, the people killed, and murdered, and taken hostage, just the cold calculus of geopolitics at this point in time, Israel clearly has the upper hand. You have Hamas's leadership has been devastated. Except for Yahya Sinwar, 22 of 24 battalions have been decimated. Their underground tunnel network has been exposed and destroyed in many cases.

If you go north to Hezbollah, clearly, all of their leadership is mostly gone. Half of the rocket missile capacity, which was estimated pre-war at 150,000, is less than that now. And they are on their back hill. And, of course, Iran has proven itself to be quite feckless in its ballistic missile attacks, and its ability to motivate their proxies and really show credibility with them.

So geopolitically, the world has changed fundamentally in the region. It's important to note, though, I must say, however, that we have also seen the rise of antisemitism around the world over the past year, Boris. And we've seen, I think, a growing isolation by Israel with the rest of the international community unfortunately.

SANCHEZ: To your point, Secretary, about the cold calculus of geopolitics, I wonder how you think the U.S. relationship with Israel has changed and has evolved since October 7th in part because we know that President Biden hasn't spoken to Prime Minister Netanyahu since at least August, late August.

[14:25:17]

And you have these conflicting views. There was a 60 Minutes interview that set to air later tonight in which Vice President Harris insists that the U.S. still has sway over Israel's decision-making. And then you have former President Donald Trump, who earlier today in an interview with Hugh Hewitt, essentially says that Netanyahu is not listening to Biden at all, that the U.S. now has diminished its influence with Israel. What do you make of those remarks and how do you see the relationship since October 7th?

ESPER: Yeah, it's a great question. I think first and foremost, the relationship and affinity between our two peoples remains strong. And it's the foundation of everything between our two countries, our shared interests, our values, our histories. I think at the military level, I assume that that relationship is very strong as well. That was always my experience. And not just in Israel, but with our other partners and allies around the world.

But clearly at the political level, particularly personally, between Bibi Netanyahu and Joe Biden, it's frayed. The relationship has fallen apart. And part of it is personal, I assume, and part of it is clearly domestic politics, each of which is wrestling with their own politics in our country's different timelines, and schedules, and different situations. But that has frayed. And I would agree with those who say that Bibi Netanyahu is not listening to Joe Biden these days.

And the question is, is he playing out for what may happen on November 5th here in the United States? But clearly, I think you have to step back a little bit and recognize that Israel is a nation under threat. They feel that their existence is at stake here. As was noted up front, it's the greatest attack on Israel since the Holocaust. And they felt vulnerable or feeling vulnerable like never before. And so I think this all plays into these dynamics. But clearly, the relationship between Biden and Netanyahu is nowhere near where it used to be.

SANCHEZ: Secretary Mark Esper, we have to leave the conversation there. I do want to note for our viewers, we're looking at live images from Queens, New York. This is former President Trump attending a memorial dedicated to the victims of October 7th. He's there alongside Ben Shapiro, a conservative commentator, and other dignitaries. We're going to monitor for remarks from Trump. And we'll bring you those as we get them. We're going to take a quick break and we'll be right back.

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