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After The Storm, Florida Assesses The Damage; CNN Hero Gordon Storey Found Meaningful Way to Give Back to Military Heroes and His Community at the Same Time; Iconic Vegas Hotel Demolished in Spectacular Fashion. Aired 4-4:10a ET
Aired October 11, 2024 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
COY WIRE, CNN 10 ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I`m Coy Wire. It`s Friyay. Thank you for taking some time to get caught up on the news and current events
from around the world right here with me on CNN 10.
And I do hope all our viewers in the Southeast United States are safe. We`ve seen two awful storms hit that region just in the past couple of
weeks.
And we will start with the latest on Hurricane Milton`s impact in Florida. The storm made landfall near Siesta Key on the Gulf Coast as a powerful
Category 3 storm with winds of 120 miles per hour before weakening to a Category 1 as it traveled across the state.
Milton did a lot of damage as it roared in from the Gulf of Mexico, dropping more than 18 inches of rain on St. Petersburg alone, about three
months of the city`s rainfall in just one day. The winds were so strong, they tore apart the roof of St. Pete`s Tropicana Field, where first
responders were planning to shelter. A crane there was toppled onto nearby buildings as well.
While storm surges did not reach predicted record heights, they still swept away boats and cars while flooding homes. After the storm passed, water
rescues took place in Orange County, where Orlando is located. People there were trapped in their homes by several feet of water. In Hillsborough
County, unprecedented flooding closed major roadways and affected an assisted living facility had to be evacuated. A sinkhole there in the
southern part of the county cut off one community after it destroyed a main road.
Some of the major damage being assessed now is from tornadoes that touched down even before landfall due to Milton`s strong outer band winds. There
were reports of more than a dozen tornadoes that ripped through some areas. Those tornadoes led to multiple fatalities in St. Lucie County.
Millions of homes and businesses found themselves without electricity in the storm`s wake and flash flooding emergencies remained in place for
populated centers like Tampa and St. Petersburg.
Officials warned that the threat was not over. Strong winds along the coast mean that water will be moving back inland, continuing the flood threat for
many residents in the state. Our thoughts are with all of you who`ve been affected.
Now Milton is the fifth hurricane to make landfall in the U.S. this year. CNN`s Elisa Raffa is here now to give us a look at some of the history
behind the naming of these hurricanes.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELISA RAFFA, CNN WEATHER ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: What`s in a name? Well for hurricanes it can be a lot and there are key reasons they`re named in
the first place. Here`s a list of 21 of them for the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season.
It goes through every letter of the alphabet except Q, U, X, Y, and Z because how many names can you think of that begin with the letter X? A
tropical wave officially gets a name when its organized center of circulation packs winds of 39 miles per hour making it a tropical storm.
There are six lists of names in rotation. The names used this year will be used again in 2030. If a storm is so impactful that it will be remembered
for years to come, the name is retired and no longer used. There will never be another hurricane Katrina, Irma, Maria, or Ian.
The last time this current list was used was in 2018. Florence had soaked the Carolinas in record rain and Michael slammed the Florida Panhandle as
one of the strongest U.S. landfalls on record. Both names are retired and replaced with Francine and Milton which make their debut this year.
I names, they`re notorious for being retired. Of 96 names retired since 1954, 14 begin with the letter I. That`s more than any other letter.
This year the forecast calls for up to 25 named storms meaning we could simply run out of names. This only happened twice, once in 2005 and again
in 2020. The World Meteorological Organization used to resort to using the Greek alphabet but now there`s a backup list of names starting again at A.
The World Meteorological Organization maintains and updates the naming system that started in 1953. The practice of naming started years before
that to help media report on storms and to engage public interest as warnings were issued.
At first it was arbitrary. Names were pegged for locations impacted. When meteorologists started to use more organized alphabetical lists, they only
used women`s names. It wasn`t until 1979 that men`s names were added to the list.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WIRE: Ten-second trivia.
The profile of General George Washington appears on what United States Military Medal of Distinction?
Medal of Honor, Purple Heart, Bronze Star or Military Valor?
Answer is Purple Heart. This medal is awarded by the president to those wounded or killed in service.
Military members can go through some extreme situations during their service. Some that affect them for the rest of their lives and there`s no
question that many are in need of support when they return home.
Veteran and CNN hero Gordon Storey knows those struggles all too well and after experiencing the mental health benefits of volunteering, he came up
with a meaningful way to uplift those around him. Storey founded the "Dyess We Care Team," helping thousands of service members connect to their
communities through service projects.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GORDON STOREY, FOUNDER, DYESS WE CARE TEAM: Good morning everybody. Thank you for coming out and sacrificing a little of your off-duty time.
I am Master Sergeant Gordon Storey and I am the program director of the "Dyess We Care Team."
We paint houses and maybe a little bit of repair work. There are so many studies out there that talk about what volunteering does for the mind, the
body, you know, everything. A lot of times these young airmen, they`re separated from their families, their friends, so having some outreach into
the community is very crucial to an airman`s overall mental health.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I like this green. I already had PTSD from my time being in Afghanistan but after losing my husband, symptoms really started
popping up and honestly it is this that helped me get through my grief.
STOREY: Suicide has always been something that the military has struggled with. So if you can get people into social groupings, it breaks that social
isolation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you deploy six times in the military, you develop a very certain type of mindset. It becomes harder and harder to turn that
switch off and they`ve got to the point of, what the heck am I doing here? The We Care Team, they`re a big reason why I`m still standing here today.
STOREY: I think what I feel most proud about is when I see the friendships and the connectivity, people that would have never met each other.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WIRE: Today`s story, getting a 10 out of 10, a Vegas site that`s dynamite. More than 2,000 pounds of explosives took down the 67-year-old Tropicana
Resort in a planned implosion this week. The historic casino closed in April and demolition began shortly after, leading to this week`s eye-
popping show.
CNN`s Channon Hodge gives us a better look at the farewell event and fills us in on what`ll take its place. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHANNON HODGE, CNN PRODUCER: After 67 years on the Las Vegas Strip, the historic Tropicana Hotel was demolished. The Tropicana Hotel first opened
its doors in 1957 as the most expensive hotel ever built in Vegas.
ARIK KNOWLES, TROPICANA GENERAL MANAGER: So tonight, we bid farewell to this chapter of the Tropicana Las Vegas. And let`s not think of it as an
ending, but as a beginning of something even greater.
HODGE: The landmark hotel was imploded to make room for a new Major League Baseball Stadium for the athletics. The team is relocating from Oakland.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WIRE: Thank you, Channon.
All right, shout-out today is going to all the superstars at Charleston Charter School for Math and Science in Charleston, South Carolina. Rise up.
Thank you for spending part of your day with us. And thanks to all of you for your shout-out requests on our CNN 10 YouTube comments section. Cue
that Friday music now there.
I hope your weekend is filled with a whole bunch of awesome. Go on out and make someone smile. Remember, you are more powerful than you know.
I`m Coy. It`s been a blessing to spend this week with you.
END
