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Erin Burnett Outfront

Growing Fears Dam Will Burst Amid Race To Find Survivors In Nepal; Trump: Renaming Lake Ontario To Lake America "Effective Immediately"'; Report: Ballroom Construction Was Factor In Marine One Close Call. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired August 27, 2026 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:00:21]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next:

Breaking news, fears of a second catastrophe. A dam on the China-Nepal border about to collapse as the death toll is rising tonight. I'll talk to a rescue worker on the ground and two American sisters who are looking for their parents.

Plus, Lake America. Trump signing an executive order to rename Lake Ontario. Are the Pacific or Atlantic Oceans really next? Senator Mark Kelly weighs in.

And is Trump's own ballroom construction to blame for a dangerous close call with his Marine One helicopter and a passenger plane?

Let's go OUTFRONT.

(MUSIC)

KEILAR: Good evening. I'm Brianna Keilar, in for Erin Burnett.

OUTFRONT tonight, the breaking news. Fears growing of a second catastrophe after the deadly flooding in China and Nepal that has claimed roughly 400 lives so far. Thirteen hundred people are still missing. That includes 90 Americans, numbers that could grow.

The Chinese government now warning that a dam made of rock, mud and debris near the China-Nepal border has a, quote, high risk of breaching. This is an image of that dam created by a landslide during the flash flood in Nepal. You can see the trees and the debris blocking that river.

Those trees used to be on the hillside. The concern right now is that as the river continues to flow and fill up the newly formed lake, that lake will eventually bust through that dam. And there's also a concern about heavy rain in the hours and days to come.

And tonight we have new video that shows the power of this surging floodwater. What you're looking at is an enormous boulder being swept downstream, it's estimated that water there that you're looking at was traveling at a speed of 120 miles per hour. That means it traveled nearly 14 miles in just under seven minutes. And the raging floodwaters consumed everything in its path -- trees,

roads, homes, vehicles, countless people also swept away as they just had no time to react. And at this hour, teams of rescuers from across the globe are descending on this area, helping to dig through the thick mud, looking for any signs of life.

Drones also now scouring the riverbanks, trying to locate the missing. But it is a Herculean task. That mud, it stretches for as far as the eye can see.

Hanako Montgomery is OUTFRONT live in Kathmandu, Nepal.

And Hanako, how tense is it on the ground now that there's this looming threat of a dam breaching?

HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Brianna. I mean, extremely tense, right? I mean, authorities are warning of a potential second flood surge that could be potentially catastrophic.

And we're still seeing rescue operators trying to get to survivors, trying to find any individuals who might need rescuing. So while that is ongoing, they do have to grapple with the reality that we could see a second disaster potentially in the coming hours and days if that dam is again broken.

And, Brianna, we've been here since Thursday local time. And already the devastation that we've been seeing has been absolutely monumental and, of course, extremely devastating for the many lives who are lost here and, of course, the many who are still trying to find their loved ones.

Take a look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MONTGOMERY (voice-over): This is the moment floodwaters tore through Nepal's valleys.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my God. Oh, my God.

MONTGOMERY (voice-over): A furious wall of water, mud, and debris swallowing everything in its path, forcing Nepali workers to run for their lives.

The flash flood rushed through communities along the Nepal-China border, submerging homes, ripping through roads and vital infrastructure. Even bridges were no match for the water's force. Some were torn clean in two, severing roads and cutting off some of the worst-hit areas.

The destruction stretches for miles. Homes sit buried beneath thick layers of mud, while entire communities were ripped apart by a torrent that left almost nothing in its path.

MONTGOMERY: We're just driving to one of the worst affected areas right now, which is a couple hours northwest of the capital, Kathmandu, and we're taking the main highway. This is where a lot of supplies go towards the capital, but you can see there are hardly any cars on the road, which goes to show just how badly damaged this highway is because of the massive flooding we've seen.

So I'm walking down one of the main roads in Nepal and this entire place used to be covered in mud.

[19:05:01]

They've cleared part of it now.

And I want to show you some of the damage that we've been seeing. This house -- I mean, it's first floor is completely submerged in floodwater. You can see some of the windows and doors just caked in mud. This house over here -- I mean, it's walls have completely collapsed. It's unlivable.

And down here is a gas station and again just completely inaccessible and totally destroyed by this flood water and the mud and debris that it brought with it.

Now, the Nepali government has said that several hundred people have been confirmed dead, several hundred more still missing. And they are afraid that the death toll could take up in the coming hours and days as they are still trying to find any remaining survivors. And this village that we're currently in is actually several dozen kilometers away from the worst of the damage. So, you can imagine if you get higher up in the Himalayan mountains, just how many people have lost their homes, their livelihoods and their loved ones.

MONTGOMERY (voice-over): But the nightmare may not be over yet. Nepali authorities are warning of another potential flood surge as water levels rise in a newly formed lake.

Those along the Bhotekoshi River have been urged to remain alert with fears that another disaster could be just hours away.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MONTGOMERY: And, Brianna, on Thursday we were trying to get further up the mountains to see just how awful the devastation was. But the roads were literally blocked off or partially collapsed in parts, so we couldn't get any further. So, you can imagine how difficult it's been to find survivors, to find any remaining bodies that might be trapped underneath the mud and the debris.

Now we will be trying again today to get further up that mountain. Also, I do need to note that connectivity is a huge, huge issue for those survivors. A lot of electricity has been knocked out, so it's very difficult to even get in touch with people who might need rescue.

So, Brianna, a very tense situation on the ground here. Again, we try to find as many survivors as possible over the next 24 hours.

Back to you.

KEILAR: Hanako, thank you very much.

And OUTFRONT now, Pradeep Bhatt. He is on the ground in Nepal in the zone that has been impacted by these floodwaters. He works with the All Hands and Hearts humanitarian organization.

Pradeep, thank you so much for taking some time for us here.

We know you're very busy helping out. We're looking at some of the photos that you shared with us of the devastation caused by this catastrophic flash flooding. Tell us what you're seeing on the ground in a place that you've been before.

PRADEEP BHATT, LEADING NEPAL DISASTER RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL HANDS & HEARTS: I have pretty good image of this area, how it used to look like after the earthquake and now after the flood. It's really overwhelming for me. Whenever I see like Trishuli Bazaar, Trishuli market area, it's all flooded like everywhere you cannot see anything there.

All the buildings are washed out and just muddy. This mud is spread everywhere, which is really overwhelming like -- yeah, this is -- this is the situation right now on ground.

KEILAR: Yeah, it's inundated with mud and that is what people have been up against there. What have you heard from locals about what they witnessed and what they went through during the flooding?

BHATT: I worked in this area and that's why I know quite a few people from the area and the masons that I worked with back in 2016, 2017 and that time also, we were really worried about those people and that's why I called my friends, my coworkers from that time and one of the guy say that he has never seen anything like this before.

It was -- it was really overwhelming, like people, they were looking for their loved ones, like the kids were in the schools and their loved ones were near the area and everyone was really worried about their loved ones. Like I cannot really explain in words, what it really means to me and to this organization that we worked in this area and like we know this area very well. Yeah.

KEILAR: You're very familiar with it. You know the people. And based on what you've seen, we are getting word of some of the numbers of those who have died and those who are missing.

How much worse are you fearing that those casualty numbers could get?

[19:10:05]

BHATT: It's really saddening. I know the numbers are getting higher and higher, 350. plus people have already died and there is somewhere I heard the news that like 400 plus people are still missing. So, I think looking at the situation right now, I think the numbers are going to be higher, much higher.

KEILAR: And Chinese authorities say there's a high risk. That's what they're calling it, a high risk that a dam that was actually created by the landslide could itself breach and then cause even more flooding. The flood zone area is also at risk of monsoon-related storms. How much more difficult will that make relief efforts? How aware are people of that on the ground and are they taking precautions?

BHATT: Precaution wise, I don't know how the people on ground -- they will be able to take the precautions like the resources this country have. We have really limited resources and the people on the ground, they are trying as they need to go into the mud to take out the people. That's the situation right now.

And I wish and I hope and I pray that the weather will support us and there will not be any rain in coming days so that the rescue work will be easier for the authorities. And yeah, I'm really hoping and praying for the country and for the reason right now.

KEILAR: Pradeep Bhatt, thank you so much. Thank you for the work that you're doing there on the ground and for taking the time to speak with us about what you're seeing.

BHATT: Thank you, ma'am. Thank you.

KEILAR: OUTFRONT now, Ashna and Shreya Ahuja. Their parents, Deepak and Madhu Ahuja, are among the 90 Americans who are missing tonight. They had traveled from their home state of Texas to go on a pilgrimage to Mount Kailash, which is a sacred spiritual site for many. This is a once-in-a-lifetime trip. And they were last seen in Tibet traveling toward Kathmandu and ultimately Delhi.

Ashna and Shreya, thank you so much for being with us. I know you are -- have been at your aunt's, your mother's sister's home, your mother's whole family is there with you and your sister anxiously awaiting word. What is the latest that you know?

ASHNA AHUJA, DAUGHTER OF AMERICANS MISSING AFTER FLASH FLOOD: First, thank you for having us. The latest honestly hasn't changed too much in the past two days. We are still reaching out to both officials at the Beijing Embassy, Kathmandu Embassy, and speaking to people on the ground there to see what the efforts are looking like to rescue and save our parents, hopefully, but haven't heard too much concrete information in the past day.

KEILAR: Yeah, the connectivity is very tough, right? We're hearing that from our reporter on the ground.

A. AHUJA: Yes.

KEILAR: Shreya, throughout this trip, your parents have been in constant contact with both of you. They've been telling you where they were, letting you know they were okay. But again, that connectivity is an issue. Tell us about when you last spoke to them and what they told you.

SHREYA AHUJA, DAUGHTER OF AMERICANS MISSING AFTER FLASH FLOOD: Yeah, I was fortunate enough to speak with them last -- a few hours before they reached the border crossing. So, that was 7:30 p.m., August 25th, my time, 7:30 a.m. for them August 26th. They were in Saga, China. They had just finished the pilgrimage. They were feeling really proud of themselves for having completed it.

They were -- they had just met the religious spiritual leader who. leads the trek and felt very blessed at getting to meet him in person and they were ready to come home. They hung up with me after saying that hey, our tour group is going to head out to the border crossing. Given that it was nighttime, I went to sleep shortly after and thought nothing of it.

KEILAR: And, Ashna, Chinese authorities, they're now warning about the risk. They're concerned about the possibility of this dam breaking that could lead to more flooding in that port area, the same area where your parents were last seen.

Talk to us about your concerns about that and what you're hearing from officials about that.

A. AHUJA: It's definitely a terrifying situation, I think. We know that the people on the ground are doing their best efforts and we hope that they stay safe as they continue to do so. And for all of us waiting for family members occurrences and whereabouts, we hope that they have been found and are at a hospital and are safe, as the weather continues to change in the region.

[19:15:11]

KEILAR: Shreya, it is amazing to hear you talk about them being so proud of finishing what was quite a feat for them, this pilgrimage. It's incredibly meaningful to them. As you said, they'd waited so long to make this pilgrimage as they're celebrating your dad's 60th.

We have a picture of him at Lake Manasarovar, which is at the base of Mount Kailash. You can see him here. He's actually meditating.

Tell us a little bit about -- just more about this this experience and. What it meant for them to be seeking this out together.

S. AHUJA: I mean, this was definitely a testament of my mom supporting my dad and all his hopes and dreams he wanted to do this trip before or you know, right when he turned 60, he didn't know how his body would change as he grew older and it's a pretty tough track. So, they want -- he wanted to get it done. It was his bucket list dream.

And she was a little nervous about it. She didn't know if she could do it, but she really, really wanted to support him and make sure that he got the best 60th birthday possible. And that was her filming that video. She was -- she could see how happy he was just being there at the lake.

KEILAR: It's a beautiful video. We are thinking of you. We are thinking of your parents and obviously there are a lot of people right now we've been hearing that they have been located after there's been some connectivity issues.

So, our hopes are with you for the best outcome here and we hope that you stay in touch with us. We hope the best for you.

S. AHUYA: Thank you so much.

A. AHUJA: We appreciate it.

KEILAR: Thanks for being with us tonight.

OUTFRONT next, we have more on our breaking news, a special report on how the rapid melting of the world's glaciers is creating this risk of more disasters like the one that we're seeing in Nepal.

Plus, President Trump takes his feud with Canada to a new level.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're going to be changing the name of Lake Ontario, effective immediately, to Lake America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: -- responds next.

And a special report on the front lines of Trump's immigration crackdown now unfolding at America's airports.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:21:59]

KEILAR: Tonight, President Trump signing an executive order that he says will immediately change the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America. And now he's thrown around the idea of renaming the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, too.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We're going to be changing the name of Lake Ontario effective immediately to Lake America. That's going to take place right now, as I sign the order, the lake change, the Lake of America was something I've been thinking about for a long time, actually.

As you know, we took something called the Gulf of Mexico, and we changed it, and now it's very routinely the Gulf of America. So, if you think about it, we have a gulf, and we have a lake. Now all we need is an ocean. So maybe we'll have to change the name of the Atlantic and/or the Pacific. Maybe we'll change them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney quickly hit back, saying it will be, quote, Lake Ontario, then, now, and always.

OUTFRONT now, Democratic Senator Mark Kelly. He is on both the Senate Armed Services and Intel Committees.

Senator, the president renaming Lake Ontario to Lake America, threatening to rename the oceans as well. What's the effect of this?

SEN. MARK KELLY (D-AZ): I mean, nothing. I mean, it's so ridiculous.

Brianna, the number one job of a leader is to improve people's lives. He said there in the Oval Office he has spent a lot of time thinking about this. How does changing the name of a lake help the American people?

They can't afford their lives right now. Because of his actions, the price of energy, specifically gas and diesel, has been jacked up. substantially. People can't afford to put gas in their car. They can't afford rent. They can't afford food. And it's all because of this guy refuses to even try to do the job.

KEILAR: You've been clear about the importance of Canada as a strong American ally. You've been informed, certainly, by your time in the military. The president sees Canada like this. Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Canada treats us very badly. I would say that of all countries, as you know, we have President Xi coming in a couple of weeks. We have a lot of -- we deal with a lot of people. People, oftentimes, they'll ask me, who's the worst to deal with on trade? And I said, that's easy. Canada. They are the worst to trade. And they feel entitled, and just we can't have that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Is he being tougher on Canada than he is on China? What's the effect of this?

KELLY: Well, he seems to always be tougher on our allies than he does on our adversaries. He sucks up to dictators around the world, especially Putin and Russia. He needs to read a book. He really does.

He needs to understand history and the historical significance of how having these alliances have protected us and made us stronger and helped us build the biggest economy in the world, and we've got the strongest military. And he's dismantling that right in front of everybody, because I don't think he understands the role that the United States has on the world stage or he doesn't care. He spends a lot of time on stupid things like the naming of lakes and gulfs. He spends a lot of time on trying to make himself richer, his family. The corruption that this administration is participating in is unprecedented.

And he seems to spend little time on improving people's lives. Hey, we've got about another two years, and this is going to be hopefully over and done for good. I just worry about the damage he's going to be doing between now and 2028.

KEILAR: Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker was quick to troll Trump over the lake name change. He posted an image of the Trump Tower in Chicago, and he said, quote, "Effective immediately, Trump Tower is renamed to Natalie Tower. Natalie, of course, referring to Natalie Harp, who's Trump's ever-present executive assistant."

Is there a point where Democrats can miss a chance to focus on the affordability issue? You're talking a lot about it when it comes to tariffs, when they're going for that trolly low-hanging fruit.

KELLY: Hey, everybody's got to do their own thing here. I mean, I take my job very seriously in the United States Senate. I had a career in the United States Navy. I spent 15 years at NASA. No job I have had before this one has the impact of helping the American people. So I take it incredibly seriously.

I wish this administration. would as well, would come to us and work with us. Instead, he's focused on himself, his family, and his rich friends, giving the biggest tax cut this country's ever seen to billionaires and multimillionaires and leaving the rest of America behind.

KEILAR: The president, separate topic here, but he also just disclosed another 1,000-plus stock transactions for the month of June. This included the purchase and sale of stock in energy companies that are directly affected by his war with Iran. And the filing also shows that he bought and sold stock in multiple U.S. defense contractors as Iran negotiations were ongoing.

The White House has denied that Trump has any influence over these investments, that his portfolio is, quote, "independently managed by third-party financial institutions".

But do you think that he's personally benefiting from his war, and how should he be handling this?

KELLY: Of course he is. He should, like all other presidents, he should have put all of his assets into a blind trust. I did that for me before I went into the -- or while I got into the Senate after I was sworn in.

So, I've got my assets in a blind trust. I have a public schedule. I don't take corporate PAC money. There's very few people -- I might be the only one or maybe one of a handful of people that do that in the United States Congress.

This president does the opposite. He looks for every opportunity. How does he grab the next buck? Where can he -- what trade can he make? What deal did the US government just make that the public doesn't know about and he could possibly benefit from?

He's trying to sell information to Wall Street at a subscription price of $100,000 a month, inside information. He thinks this is a fair thing to do so he gets richer while people -- half of America right now are having a hard time affording food. And this president is becoming richer to the tune of billions of dollars.

He doesn't care about the American people. He doesn't care about our country. He cares about himself and his family and his friends.

KEILAR: Before you go here, according to "The Washington Post", CIA Director John Ratcliffe, he made this unannounced trip to Russia this week, and it was preceded by fresh U.S. intel that the Kremlin sees the U.S. as weakened by the Iran war. CNN has reported recent U.S. and Western intel assessments that indicate Putin could try to test NATO's resolve with a limited attack of sorts on an allied country here within the next few years.

How much do you think Trump's war with Iran has emboldened Putin?

KELLY: Well, I mean, Putin knows that we're not able to help the Ukrainians out with interceptors for Patriots and other interceptor rounds because what we expended in the Middle East, I mean, that's pretty evident. So, you know, he knows that Ukraine is weaker now at a time when they really had some momentum. The innovation that they've brought to the battlefield in terms of drone warfare and then extended that deep into Russia, hitting Russian targets beyond 1,000 kilometers. It is quite impressive.

[19:30:00]

This was an opportunity for them to really gain some ground here. But because Donald Trump decided to go to war against the Iranians without a strategic goal, without a plan, without a timeline, without a way out, now he's stuck. Yes, sure, that helps the Russians. And by the way, the Russians are helping the Iranians. The North Koreans are helping the Russians, and the Russians are sending technology to North Korea.

So, all of this adds up to a situation that makes us here in the United States less safe. I hope the American people see what's going on here, because these folks, and it's not only the president and the people in the White House, it's Republicans in Congress that have emboldened him that have resulted in this what I think is pretty catastrophic situation for American national security.

KEILAR: Senator Mark Kelly, thank you so much for taking the time with us tonight.

KELLY: Thank you, Brianna.

KEILAR: OUTFRONT next, breaking news, new and incredible stories of survival emerging after this deadly flash flood, including how four people were able to make it to safety as their bus was being swept away.

Plus, Trump opening up a new front in his immigration crackdown, America's airports.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I will say four or six guys came out of nowhere and, like, in blank clothes and pushed me to a wall.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:36:06]

KEILAR: Breaking news, new video just into CNN of the cataclysmic flash flood tearing through Nepal. A wave of water, ice, and rock traveled nearly 14 miles in just six minutes. thrashing villages at up to 120 miles per hour.

And tonight, experts warning Nepal is a powder keg for climate disasters as thousands of Himalayan glaciers melt at a rapid and dangerous rate.

Bill Weir is OUTFRONT.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: The pain of losing Earth's ice comes in many forms. As glaciers everywhere deflate by the year with no consistent winters to rebuild them, there is the slow- motion march towards water scarcity.

Exhibit A, the American Southwest. No longer enough snow and ice in the Rocky Mountains, so the nation's biggest reservoirs are crashing.

But then there is the sudden button that comes when once-frozen landscapes come crashing down in an instant and at massive scale. A CNN satellite analysis shows a chunk of ice around 2,000 feet wide sheared off bringing along the surrounding mountainside as it tumbled 7,000 vertical feet. This cascade of water, pulverized ice and rock came roaring down the valley and covered over 14 miles in under seven minutes, an average speed of 120 miles an hour.

This was the Gyirong Port, a major border crossing that handled a third of the trade between China and Nepal, and here it is now -- the police station and customs office completely buried in mud. It vividly shows how communities built in the steepest places are the most vulnerable, even as those places like the Hindu Kush, the Alps, and Pyrenees warm faster than average.

Since 2021, three major GLOFs, or glacial lake outburst floods, have taken hundreds of lives in the Himalayas. In the Alps, the picturesque town of Blatten was flattened when a chunk of the birch glacier broke off and melting permafrost this summer has the residents of Kandersteg, Switzerland, worried that the rock formation above them could fall any day.

And Alaska's capital of Juneau now lives with the threat of as the nearby Mendenhall Glacier thaws at an ever faster rate.

But this disaster on one of the highest borders in the world is just beginning. Officials worry there is another barrier lake built by landslide debris that's holding more water by the hour just as tsunami rains are on the way.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WEIR: And, Brianna, it's the speed of the melt that's just accelerated in the last decade or so. That melting has sped up by 50 percent.

KEILAR: Yeah, it's huge, so fast. Bill, thank you for that.

OUTFRONT now, a beloved longtime member of the CNN family, Sugam Pokharel, who is our director of news and video at CNN International. Sugam was born and raised in Nepal before he came to the U.S. 21 years ago, and his grandparents, his entire extended family and close friends are still there, and he returns to Nepal every year to visit them.

Sugam, thank you for taking time for us here. Thank goodness that your family is safe. But unfortunately, I know you have many friends in Nepal who you cannot reach, including some that you met over a decade ago while you were working at CNN's New Delhi bureau.

Tell us who you're still trying to contact at this point.

SUGAM POKHAREL, CNN DIRECTOR OF INTERNATIONAL NEWS, VIDEO; BORN & RAISED IN NEPAL: Thank you for having me, Brianna.

Yes, unfortunately, I do have some friends who are still missing, and I'm planning to travel to Nepal in December, and I had been looking forward to meeting some of them while I'm there.

[19:40:03]

And it just reminded me a few hours ago that one of the friends missing actually help CNN with our coverage of the devastating earthquake in Nepal in 2015. So this is just, you know -- this feels especially personal and difficult for me.

And couple of friends that are missing are working for this Korean hydropower project and we're hearing that a lot of these hydropower stations have been completely destroyed and many people working there are unaccounted for. So, this is incredibly heartbreaking and worrying, especially not knowing what has happened to them. So, I'm hoping we'll get some good news soon and that they are safe.

KEILAR: Yeah, especially we've been talking about this, the connectivity issues. So hopefully that is resolving something and you can hear from people, but that's the uncertainty you're living with here.

Your village, Palungtar, it's only a few thousand people. This is outside of the worst-hit area, which we see here in red as we're looking at this map. But I know there's about 30 people from your village who were on a bus. They were visiting a religious site when the flood struck.

Tell us what you've heard about that. Have you heard from anyone who was on that bus?

KEILAR: Yes, another sad news, 30 people from my village were on a bus on a religious pilgrimage, mostly elderly people. The bus was swept away by the flood, and four of them managed to jump out of the bus. And I spoke to one of them today after he was rescued by the army, and

he said the bus was completely covered by water, and since he was standing by the door he was able to just jump out of the bus and he got lucky that he was pushed on the side by the water and since he was injured he couldn't walk so he basically crawled up a hill to get to the top for safety and one body from the bus had been found dozens of miles down the river and the rest we have not been able to get in touch with. And some of these people, my dad went to school with and really just hoping for a miracle here.

KEILAR: Yeah, and at this point in time, this is a critical moment, right? What are your greatest concerns here in the days ahead?

POKHAREL: Well, I have been -- I have been speaking to some people who survived and their main concern is the Chinese authorities are warning that there could be a second round of flooding. And they're saying, well, what do we do now? We don't have our homes anymore, but do we shelter where we are staying right now or do we go to like a higher altitude, essentially climb a hill and shelter in a forest and they don't know what to do.

And obviously the issues about food and medical supplies and water and all of that. And the locals are very disappointed that they didn't receive any warnings before -- before it happened. Then Nepal doesn't have advanced, you know, advanced warning mechanisms, but you know they're saying even one minute of warning could have saved. You know you know lots of lives and they're asking, well, will we receive a warning if it happens again? So, that's the -- that's their main concern.

And you know the problem right now is is not the water that has gone down is the -- is the -- is the mud, is the -- is these floods. And like these places I've been to so many times and the green lush fields are just like flattened out and they just look like a desert now.

And, you know, another concern they have is there are so many people dead around them, but the security forces are picking the bodies, but there are so many livestock, so many dead animals, cows, water buffaloes, goats, all of that, and they're going to start rotting soon. And so, there's a concern of an epidemic as well.

And the last thing I will say that's the concern of the people living there. But the concern of people living in Kathmandu, the capital is the major highway connecting Kathmandu where the goods come in is totally stopped right now because the government had stopped it because they worry that the highway is going to get flooded.

And already there is a, you know, cooking gas shortage in Kathmandu and the cooking gas. It comes in trucks from India and if the blockage continues for longer, then the people in Kathmandu and other areas are also going to start feeling the pain soon.

KEILAR: Yeah. Sugam, thank you so much for speaking with us and for covering what is such a difficult story for you personally and doing it in such an important and sensitive way as we're trying to figure out all that is going on there. [19:45:09]

We really appreciate it.

POKHAREL: Okay. Thank you, Brianna.

KEILAR: OUTFRONT next, the focus of Trump's immigration crackdown is now shifting to America's airports, targeting people who thought they were allowed to be in the U.S. We have a special report next.

And is Trump's ballroom the reason why his Marine One helicopter got too close to a passenger jet?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Tonight, the Trump administration ratcheting up immigration operations at airports across the country, now targeting a growing number of people who thought they were allowed to be here in the U.S.

Shimon Prokupecz is OUTFRONT.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We all know this is unfair, though.

INDIRA VITIA, DETAINED BY ICE: It is unfair, and you know that.

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): We were with Indira Vitia the day she went to have an electronic monitor placed on her ankle.

[19:50:08]

It was days after she was released from ICE detention.

PROKUPECZ: I saw how upset you were when you came out.

VITIA: You see a monitor and you see you're looking at the person that is a criminal. And I'm not a criminal.

PROKUPECZ (voice-over): Vitia is seeking asylum in the United States. She and her wife left Venezuela seven years ago. And in that time, she says she's done everything the U.S. government has asked of her.

Then one day, coming home from a business trip.

VITIA: -- I was getting into the jet bridge, four, six guys came out of nowhere and like in plain clothes and pushed me to a wall. At this point I saw that I was being assaulted. I asked am I being detained, so they handcuffed me.

PROKUPECZ (voice-over): The 47-year-old and her wife live with their dogs in Indianapolis where she has worked her way up from a warehouse assistant to her corporate role. As part of her asylum application, which was filed in 2019, immigration officials previously told her, quote, "You may remain in the US until your asylum application is decided." She's still waiting to be called for an interview.

After her arrest at Atlanta's airport, it would be hours before anyone heard from her.

VITIA: I was begging to call, to call my wife, to let her know what was happening. They finally allowed me to have that call. They said I had three -- five minutes, so I called my wife first. Quick one, the toughest call I had to make in my entire life.

PROKUPECZ (voice-over): She was taken to a detention center in Lumpkin, Georgia, where she stayed for 21 days. The experience changed her.

VITIA: When we got there, there was the most inhumane treatment. They let us in the room that I will say was about 50 degrees. I was in T- shirt. They finally moved me to a cell at 11:00 a.m. the next day. So, it was 14 hours in that hostile environment at 50 degrees and they finally 3:00 a.m. Someone came to the door and I beg if they can give me a jacket, which they finally did.

PROKUPECZ: Did they ever ask you if you wanted to wave and just leave?

VITIA: They say we pay you 2,600 if you leave. Do you want to voluntary departure?

PROKUPECZ: What did you do? How did you get through it?

VITIA: What kept me sane? The love of my community. I talked to my girls daily, and they were -- I'm sorry -- they were reading the letters that all of my co-workers had for me. And that's what kept me sane, because I thought that I was going to lose my mind.

I'm a rule follower. I always have been. I have done everything that the government has asked me to do. And anyway, I was detained like a -- like a criminal.

I'm broken. That's how I feel.

PROKUPECZ (voice-over): After nearly a month and dozens of letters, friends and coworkers sent to the judge, Vitia was released.

VITIA: Those centers are there for breaking down. And you decide to go. Even if your life is in danger, if you go to your country. but you'd rather be out of those centers.

PROKUPECZ (voice-over): What happened to Vitia is playing out all across the country, as the Trump administration ratchets up immigration operations at airports.

JORGE GAVILANES, IMMIGRATION ATTORNEY, PARTNER AT KUCK BAXTER: We've been describing the immigration system as broken for decades. Now it's just complete chaos.

PROKUPECZ (voice-over): The Department of Homeland Security tells CNN, to be clear, they say a pending application does not confer legal status in the United States.

GAVILANES: In fact, the government has given them a work permit to work, get a driver's license, and do whatever they need to do to take care of themselves while their application is pending. But now the same government is telling them, oh, no, you're not allowed to be here. which is contradictory.

PROKUPECZ: These ramped-up operations across U.S. airports by ICE officers even got an American citizen caught up.

JOHN PHILLIPS, DETAINED BY ICE: I was just living my life, kind of living in my little white guy world. Three guys jump out at me. I said, I'm an American citizen. Now that this has happened, holy smokes, we have an agency of our government who is completely unfettered and unaccountable to anybody?

PROKUPECZ (voice-over): Phillips was released after ICE realized he was the wrong person.

For Vitia, she's still grappling with what happened to her.

VITIA: I won't let them -- they -- give them the credit to keep me broken. I will rebuild myself, and it will for sure grow up -- grow up stronger.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PROKUPECZ: And Brianna, Indy told me that she was certainly afraid to speak out and to go public, but she felt it was important to bring her story so people could know what's going on.

And also just fear -- the fear that hundreds of thousands of other asylum seekers are now potentially the target of the Trump administration for removal and certainly many more could face what she has now faced, just some terrible times for her in those weeks at that detention center.

KEILAR: Yeah, she says she feels broken.

Shimon, thank you so much for that important report.

OUTFRONT next, a new report reveals Trump's ballroom played a role in a close call involving his helicopter, Marine One.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Breaking news, a new report from the NTSB revealing construction on President Trump's ballroom may have contributed to a close call with his helicopter. On August 4th, Marine One took off from the Ellipse instead of the South Lawn because of the ballroom construction, but that location is not ideal when it comes to communicating with air traffic controllers. According to the report, when taking off from the Ellipse location, not all of the radio transmissions from Marine One can be heard by air traffic control.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MARINE ONE: National Tower, Marine One, proceeding as briefed.

TOWER: Marine One, you said your proceeding is briefed?

MARINE ONE: National Tower, that's Marine One, proceeding as briefed.

TOWER: Okay, no three minutes, Roger, proceed as briefed.

MARINE ONE: Marine One, visual traffic.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: The White House says that it is working with the FAA to ensure the president's continued safety.

And thank you so much for joining us tonight.

"AC360" starts now.