Return to Transcripts main page
CNN 10
Hurricane Dorian Barrels Across the Bahamas and Threatens the U.S. Southeast; CNN Hero Makes Saving Donkeys the Focus of His Life`s Work
Aired September 03, 2019 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CARL AZUZ, CNN 10 ANCHOR: As CNN 10 returns from a three day weekend, Hurricane Dorian is front and center on today`s show. I`m Carl Azuz.
Welcome to everyone watching around the world. When we produced today`s program, scientists weren`t sure when or if Hurricane Dorian would make
landfall in the mainland United States. Monday night the National Weather Service said it was an extremely dangerous Category 4 storm with wind
speeds of 145 miles per hour. It had weakened somewhat from when it hit the Bahamas on Sunday. At that time it was a Category 5 system, the
strongest classification with wind speeds of 180 miles per hour.
The independent island chain has seen a lot of hurricanes since record keeping began in the 1800s` but this is the first Category 5 storm known to
strike the Bahamas and it was still battering them last night. That`s one of the characteristics that make Hurricane Dorian unique. It`s been very
slow moving. As its eye the center of the storm passed over Grand Bahama Monday, Hurricane Dorian was moving at one mile per hour. You move at
three miles per hour when you`re walking. So this means the storm spends more time blasting buildings with its destructive winds and soaking land
with its drenching rain.
Forecasters said 24 to 30 inches of rain was possible in some parts of the Bahamas and that`s in addition to flooding from the storm surge, the rise
in sea water pushed ashore by hurricane winds. The damage was expected to be catastrophic. Another unusual thing about Dorian is that it`s been hard
to track. Last week meteorologists around the world expected the storm to meander west through the Atlantic and across the U.S. state of Florida. As
of last night, their models predicted it would turn north staying about 50 miles off Florida`s east coast but not actually making landfall. A CNN
meteorologist says this will still bring hurricane force winds, storm surge and heavy rain to the state. While its future is a mystery, Hurricane
Dorian`s path has been deadly.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hurricane Dorian unleashing its fury on the Bahamas. The record setting storm striking as a Category 5
hurricane leaving behind catastrophic destruction. Wind gusts spiking over 200 miles per hour become the most power storm to hit the islands. Dorian
shredding homes here and sending debris across neighborhoods.
HUBERT MINNIS, PRIME MINISTER OF BAHAMAS: This is probably the most saddened and worst day of my life to address the Bahamian people. We`re
facing a hurricane, Hurricane Dorian that one that we`re seeing in the history of the Bahamas.
OPPMANN: Heavy rains creating blinding conditions. Some towns submerged in flood waters. Dorian making landfall in the Abaco Islands on Sunday
leaving utter devastation.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Pray for us. Pray for Abaco please. I beg you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: People trying to make it to the other side where this white house is but some people - - the water just took them and those are
the only people that got to make if over there. Some people they didn`t get to make it.
OPPMANN: Those horrifying scenes playing again and again across the Bahamas.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s all (inaudible) roof.
OPPMANN: With the scale of destruction now coming to light haunting images showing Hurricane Dorian`s dangerous power as it now takes aim at the U.S.
Coast line. Patrick Oppmann, CNN, Freeport, Bahamas.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Tropical systems come in all shapes and sizes. You have tropical depressions, tropical storms and once it is strong enough to
become a hurricane, you have five categories, with Category 5 being the strongest. The states most frequently hit by a hurricane, Florida,
Louisiana and Texas. But as much as we know about hurricanes, forecasting them is still a challenge. Just as we name each storm, each storm has its
own personality. Like Katrina in 2005 which intensified rapidly overnight going from a Category 3 to a Category 5.
It became the fourth most intense hurricane on record as of that time, and the forecast track can change dramatically like Erika in 2015. Or a system
that can be viewed as relatively weak like a tropical storm could end up like Tropical Storm Allison in 2001, the remnants of the storm stalled over
southeast Texas dumping 35 inches of rain over Houston in just five days. The storm became the first non-hurricane to have its name retired.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: 10 Second Trivia. A female donkey is also known as a what? Jennet, mare, pen (ph), or nanny. A jennet or jenny is another term for a female
donkey.
Stubborn, stupid and dangerous or smart, playful and protective, Mark Meyers uses the last three adjectives to describe donkeys and he`s devoted
his life to rescuing them. Many donkeys in America are taken in by people that can`t care for them properly and they`re sometimes treated badly.
That`s why Myers started Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue and that`s why he`s a CNN Hero.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK MEYERS: Hey guys. Donkeys are like dogs. That`s some good stuff right there. They`re affectionate. They`re loyal, protective, they`re
amazing animals that nobody gets. I understand what they`re thinking. Of all the animals, they`re the most zen. They`re just in the moment.
They`re never put off their game but donkeys are misunderstood. Bugs Bunny turned into a donkey when he did something stupid. Pinocchio turned into a
donkey when he was overindulgent. Neither of those things are traits of donkeys but the public thinks that`s exactly what a donkey is.
They have literally built this country on their backs and then they got left behind. Poor guy. He`s got a mouth full of bad teeth. He`s in
several feet of filth. Domestic donkeys are faced with abuse, neglect and abandonment. This old girl here is Isabelle (ph) and this was Amy and I`s
first donkey ever. My beautiful wife Amy bought "Izzy" (ph) and we just fell in love with her. Yep (ph) and that lip will come right loose won`t
it. We had probably 25 donkeys when we decided that either we have a problem or we`re going to have to find a way to find homes for these
donkeys and that`s what birthed the Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue.
And so we created an adoption program so that more can come in and get saved. We have racked up over 13,000 donkeys rescued. We are the largest
donkey rescue in the world. As far as physically going out and saving donkeys. You are physically looking at every single individual animal and
every single pen that we have because that`s crucial that we catch any problem immediately. If it`s hoof trimming time we do that. Every year
every donkey gets a dental check. Long in the tooth. And then you - - of course the training which is the most important part. Up a little. Up a
little. Good job. We can`t just send a wild donkey into somebody`s home and think its all going to work out in the end.
So we have to have the trainers. We`re just going to brush the entire body so theirs no goosey spots where they`re not used to being touched. I think
our success is because we quite literally didn`t know what we were doing and we let the donkeys teach us and apparently that`s a pretty good plan.
This job is hard. I`ve pretty much broken most of my bones. I`ve been knocked unconscious. Emotionally is the harder part. I`m feeling the
love. The vision that I hold was to improve the plight of the American donkey and there`s so many donkeys in so many places that need so much
help. There`s nothing cuter than a baby donkey. We`re saving them. We`re improving their lives. That at the end of the day makes up for some of the
atrocities. This is cheap therapy. I know they have value. I know their contributions to our country. I want to see every donkey find its
happiness. It`s happy place. It`s peaceful place.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: 10 out of 10. Some football fans settle for pennants or jerseys. A guy in Oklahoma named Owen built a replica of Owen Field in his backyard.
It used to be a pasture. Not it`s 1/10th the size and almost the look of the home of the Oklahoma University Sooners. It took months for Owen
Pickered (ph) and his family to finish the project. He says it also took months for him to get permission to build it from his wife.
He`s probably "owen" her a debt of gratitude for being "game" and letting him carry the project to the "end zone". And hopefully the neighbors don`t
"pile on" and say this is "out of bounds". We`re sure Owen had to "field" a lot of questions about his "field of dreams" and that maybe why he didn`t
build it "Sooner". I`m Carl Azuz and we`re ending this "game" at the CNN 10 "yard" line ya`ll.
END
