Updated
Summary
Maximum sustained winds were around 150 mph as it hit the southwest coast at the island of Cayo Costa near Fort Myers and Cape Coral. By wind speed Hurricane Ian is the fifth most powerful storm to ever hit the U.S. Only four other hurricanes have made landfall with sustained winds of more than 155mph. urricane Ian continued to batter the Florida peninsula with a catastrophic trifecta of high winds, heavy rain and historic storm surge. The storm surge along the west coast of Florida has peaked and is beginning to recede as the storm moves inland.
Transcript
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is storm surge. This is the ocean. Coming into Naples there is no delineation anymore. Between the Gulf of Mexico and Naples there`s the wind speed as I`m standing next to a building, which is somewhat protected. So I`ll take it looks like.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We both had to take a knee out there, you now, sighs blowing, debris flying around.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: About 90 percent of our city is without power now. The winds are extremely high, and the waters rising.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can see portions of trees, just clinging to I don`t know what they`re that have been flying around through the streets.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s a cinderblock wall. That was the entire width of this area came down.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And we`re on the back end now where the eyewall is coming through. We`ve had some of the strongest winds here so far.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEPHANIE RUHLE, MSNBC ANCHOR: Good evening, once again, I`m Stephanie Ruhle. We are continuing live coverage of Hurricane Ian, the Category 4 storm made landfall on Florida`s west coast this afternoon. And it is still battering the state with heavy rain and hurricane force winds.
Right now more than 2 million homes and businesses in the state of Florida are without power. Let`s get right to NBC meteorologist Michelle Grossman for the latest. Michelle, I know you just got the 11:00 p.m. update from the National Hurricane Center would you learn?
MICHELLE GROSSMAN, NBC METEOROLOGIST: You know, I`m going to look at it with you because it`s right off the presses. And we are still looking at a very strong storm that I can tell you we`re still looking at heavy, heavy rainfall. We`re looking at gusty winds, and we`re going to look at what we`re seeing in terms of Wednesday because we`re holding on to the strength.
But let`s look back for just a second because we saw wind speeds up to 135 miles per hour. This was a historical storm. It continues to be historical catastrophic, and we`re going to see some damage once that sun comes up tomorrow.
Rainfall totals nearly 20 inches in some spots we`re adding onto that. We could see up to 30 inches in some spots.
So here is the latest we are looking at a Category 1 storm that is the latest it was a Category 2 before this 11:00 advisory. The winds are now at 90 miles per hour. We`re looking at 70 miles south of Orlando, Florida, we`re going to have a tough night in Orlando because we`re looking at a heavy rain falling, the rain will be falling for hours and hours and we`re looking at that movement at eight miles per hour. So that is slow, not the three or four that we thought it would be. We thought it would be a very slow walking speed. This is still really slow though. It`s crawling across the peninsula of Florida.
You can see all this heavy rain, the brighter colors, the reds, the oranges, the yellows, that`s where we`re seeing the heaviest rain falling it`s not moving far but look how far it stretches to. So we`re taking up most of the peninsula of Florida and that`s what we`re going to see over the next day or so.
Category 1 storm that is the latest, the brighter colors the heaviest rain, and we do have a flood threat. That`s what we`re transitioning into. We still have some really gusty winds. We`re going to see damaging winds. We`re going to see some roofs shingles coming off. We`re going to see trees coming down with the ground being so wet, but we do have a flash flood warning that is dangerous.
Remember with hurricane, water kills the most people in hurricanes whether it`s freshwater from the sky, or it`s a salt water from the ocean from the storm surge. So this is something to take very seriously. We`re going to be talking about it today. Also Friday into Saturday, a flash flood emergency we don`t see that that often that includes Sebring. Also Arcadia heavy, heavy rain is falling. You need to get the highest, to the highest level of your house if you can. So we`re seeing roads turning into rivers. We`ve already seen that with Ali out and about and we`re going to continue to see that. Stephanie.
RUHLE: We`re going to go see Ali right now. Michelle, thank you. I want to turn to my very, very dear friend here at MSNBC Ali Velshi. Ali, I want you to know that this morning, before I even knew that you were officially down there in Florida. I was at mass with my daughter. I felt it in my bones. We prayed for you. My mother Louise Ruhle prayed for you. Of course I get to work and I knew that Ali Velshi Batphone that`s located at 30 Rock when there is a natural disaster anywhere. It rings and alleys there. I want to thank you for being there. I`m so, so glad that you`re safe. What`s it like there right now? I`ve been watching you all day.
ALI VELSHI, MSNBC HOST, “VELSHI”: It`s been mind-blowing. I mean, I`ve been covering hurricanes for a long time. And this was really a different thing than I`d ever seen before in part because where we are in Naples and most of its past by the way, I think our winds are about 40 miles an hour now.
You know the flooding is all gone. But I saw the storm surge. We`ve always talked about storm surges. We always talked about how water is sort of more dangerous than wind in a hurricane even though when you`re a kid you think of a hurricane is as mostly a wind thing. And we watched the Gulf of Mexico encroach on Naples Beach into this parking lot of Naples. The Gulf of Mexico is 25 feet that way. It all came over here and it started to engulf these cars. There were cars parked on the left and the right here. It picked them up it floated them away. And we watched the whole thing and then the water went back and you can see here this shouldn`t be a parking lot. It should be tarmac, but it`s actually all sand because this is the sand from Naples Beach and we saw it go away.
[23:05:01]
We saw the water drain away. But it had to be, I`m told officially it was six feet, it was definitely higher than six feet, because we know that there are carports across the way there that were — that were sort of all underwater.
So it was remarkable to actually see in that instant. Normally I hear the wind and it sounds like a freight train. And it`s in your bones, you can really sense a hurricane. This one, I could see the power of the water. And that`s what`s going to continue. It`s still a very big windstorm, it landed at 155 miles per hour. It`s in Central Florida, as Michelle was just saying, still is a very big storm.
But it`s a lot of water damage. You got 2 million people without power, Stephanie, in this state more to come because this this isn`t done yet. It was a remarkable thing to see. In the course of about four hours, I saw the whole thing come and go in southwestern Florida in a way I`ve never witnessed.
RUHLE: Then explain this to me. I was watching when those cars got washed away. It`s the Gulf of Mexico and Naples Beach is in front of you. And behind you is where the cars were. Where are they now? Where did they go? Is there a junkyard now half a mile down?
VELSHI: It`s hard to actually see. But they all got pushed to the end of the road here. There was I guess there was a high point there where they could they could do they could reach the ground. So they`re all got pushed. And a few hours ago a truck came in with a winch and started pulling some of them out of the way. So they`ve all been moved.
But it`s only because it`s dark. You can`t see them. It almost looks like a junkyard. They were all bobbing up and down bagging into each other. I will tell you, Stephanie, you know, my crew, we rent cars when we travel. Our cars are on the other side of the building. We definitely know one of them`s not there. And I haven`t been around to see where mine is. But you know if this happened over here, there was a mirror image on the other side of the building and I`m going to go look at my car in the morning.
RUHLE: OK, then this takes me to my next question. All those cars had to belong to people, where those people already evacuated and out of the area or those homes around you, or their people, they`re trapped inside with their cars gone.
VELSHI: Generally speaking, everybody here is here for a reason. Now, the reason might be that you had to get out of your home, because you only have a one story home or you were worried about being there. So you`ve come to a hotel where you can stay in, you know, second story or third story place.
Generally speaking, we`re in a residential area and I did see their big houses around here, well built houses, and I saw cars in people`s parking lots, they`d covered them with, you know, sometimes those car covers so that if something falls on, it doesn`t damage it. I don`t think anybody was prepared for the idea that the water was going to come in, lift your car and floated away.
So I don`t know what the percentage of people who evacuated Naples or anywhere up the strip on Western Florida is I know that police in Lee County, Fort Myers are trying to figure out who`s left behind because they don`t have internet. And they may not have cell signals so they don`t know who needs to be rescued.
This is Collier County and I know the authorities here have said that they`ve performed about 30 rescues so far of people who were trapped in their homes and couldn`t get out but they`ve sent out a message to say don`t call us unless you really need us because we`re dealing with Lee County where the calls are being rerouted to Collier County here to help them out because whatever has happened here, it`s a lot more serious up in Fort Myers.
RUHLE: Well, I`m glad you`re safe where you are. I`m going to check back in with you later in the hour. My dear friend, my partner, Ali Velshi. I want to turn now to our colleague Ellison Barber live in Tampa. Ellison, what are you seeing right now because we`re Ali is in Naples, kind of the worst is over but it is still raining where you are.
ELLISON BARBER, NBC NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, but it`s very light at this point. I mean, a lot of people in Tampa seem to be breathing a sigh of relief right now because the wind, the rain, all of it has really started to let up in the last couple of hours, four hours ago or so the winds were stronger the rain was heavier. But of course we saw the storm shift and the cone and the direct hit was no longer going to be Tampa.
And we have heard from the mayor even tonight saying well the night is still young. Here in the Tampa area they do feel like they dodged a bullet if you will. That being said for this county Hillsborough County, there is still a storm surge warning there is still a lot of concern amongst officials about people coming out and about particularly because it seems like right now things have steadied. They are worrying about people coming out to just look around and see what has happened and they`re saying please do not do that because when you do not know what has fallen.
There have been streetlights that have fallen. We saw a few hours ago with transformer blow nearby. There could be live power lines wires down on the ground, not to mention there`s still the risk of storm surge as well as flash flooding.
So they are hoping that things stay sort of how they are for the rest of the evening and that Tampa got lucky here but the night is still young so officials are trying to have a kind of optimistic — cautiously optimistic attitude right now hoping there This holds but also hoping people here don`t get too complacent because there are still a lot of other factors at play here. Stephen.
[23:10:07]
RUHLE: Still a serious situation. Ellison Barbara, thank you. Despite evacuation orders, thousands of people in Florida did not or could not leave their homes. One of those is Fort Myers resident Terry Mazany. He is spending tonight on the 22nd floor of a high rise building, along with his wife Lottie (ph), and his 91-year-old mother, Dolores.
Terry, I`m glad to hear that you your wife, your mother, you`re all safe. But tell us what the last 24 hours has been like for you. I know this is your first hurricane that you`ve experienced. I mean, the pictures you shared, dramatic.
TERRY MAZANY, FORT MYERS, FLORIDA RESIDENT: Thank you, Stephanie. It`s brutal. It`s kind of be surreal when daylight comes. We`re in the epicenter here, Lee County, Charlotte County, and those on the barrier islands. I just it`s just catastrophic. We`re 10 miles up Caloosahatchee River and we have eight feet of storm surge that is flooded our area.
You know, being a rookie for hurricanes, and I`ve always heard storm surge overstated. Not at all. I know now to be very afraid of hurricanes. It was the real deal. The forecasts were spot on. We had a week to have gotten out (INAUDIBLE) that I really admire the professionalism and the weather forecasting.
RUHLE: Terry, the pictures we`re looking at right now on our screen is the video you took earlier today. Right now as I said your mom Dolores, your wife, Lottie, you`re hunkered down in that building. If you wanted to leave, is there any way you could head to shelter right now? Are you stuck where you are?
MAZANY: No, we are trapped. There`s eight feet of water around us. We`re on a little island if you will. Just our condo building. There`s no way to get out. Elevators are shut down anyway. No way to get my mother down the stairs and all. So we had planned if we had to be hunkered down, but the storm was fickle it, it started relatively manageable. But the last 12 hours we have dealt with that freight train of 100 plus mile an hour winds roaring, shaking the building. Swing, got seasick at one point from the swing. Now it`s finally amazing.
RUHLE: You only moved to Fort Myers, just one year ago. Were you prepared for a storm like this?
MAZANY: Clearly not. I came here to work with their community foundation, Collaboratory, which is the region`s Community Foundation and tomorrow together at Collier and Charlotte Community Foundation`s will be the first responders for philanthropy that will funnel all of the generous donations of people trying to lend a hand when they see the devastating circumstances at daybreak.
But that was my intention here. I had no idea that we would be the bullseye. One of the most historic storms for Florida. Clearly would never happen to us, right.
RUHLE: You came from California, you know different kinds of natural disasters. I want to dig deeper into the first responders that you work with. In the coming days, they still are going to have an enormous amount of work. What do they need ahead?
MAZANY: Yes, exactly right. So it`s a combination of the law enforcement personnel, the public safety officers for the city and county which are extraordinarily well prepared. It`s Florida Power and Light, all of the utilities working in concert, they do a masterful job.
Then you`ve got all of those nonprofit organizations that provide food and shelter, transportation, medical systems. Those are the ones that they have no budget reserves to deal with us. And so that`s where individual charitable contributions make a big difference. And that`s where anybody considering that, always look to your community foundation because that type trusted resource. It knows where the needs are and the good actors for the nonprofit organizations that deliver vital supplies and services directly where they`re needed.
RUHLE: You`re on the 22nd floor. And you don`t have power. You have no way of getting out of that building. Do you?
[23:15:05]
MAZANY: No. No. We`re stuck.
RUHLE: Have you ever —
MAZANY: Absolutely.
RUHLE: But you have all the resources that you need. How`s your mom? She`s 91.
MAZANY: Yes. This is rough because she`s got dementia. And so she doesn`t quite know what`s going on. The good news is she forgets that she`s in the middle of a hurricane. So that`s the saving grace here. But we just went to bed early. And then daylight she does like to read and so I will pass upon.
RUHLE: How did you feel during the height of the storm today? What was going through your mind your heart? I`m just looking at those images thinking what could that have been like for you?
MAZANY: I was shocked. I`ve been in difficult situations before. This was just second deaths. And if I made the right call to stay, it would have been very challenging to move my mother, wife some other location. But we did have enough time, thanks to the forecast. But I just, you know, (INAUDIBLE) and then the unrelenting sound and the bang of the winds, just shaking the building nonstop for, you know, 10, 12 hours. That was definitely unnerving.
RUHLE: Terry, I am relieved that you are safe. I am grateful that you joined us this evening. Thank you so much.
MAZANY: Glad to share this perspective. Keep sharing that with the rest of the world. There`s going to be desperate needs here. People will see that tomorrow.
RUHLE: Thank you so much. Hurricane Ian now down to a Category 1 storm. That`s also an important reminder, right? We hear all the time mandatory evacuations. That`s not so easy. It`s expensive. It`s difficult for people who are older, for people who have medical needs. It`s easier said than done. Good to hear that that family is safe.
When we come back, a live report from Orlando where conditions are expected to get worse tonight, and we`ll be speaking to the commander Russel Honore, who led the response to Hurricane Katrina. He`ll share insights on what is next for communities that have been hit the hardest by the storm.
And later, we have a climatologist here to explain why these storms are only getting stronger. And what happens to zoo animals in the storm`s path. I`ve been thinking about the Tampa Zoo, SeaWorld the other theme parks all those animals. All those questions will be answered as THE 11TH HOUR is just getting underway on a very busy Wednesday night.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[23:21:51]
RUHLE: Some of the dramatic images from earlier today as the storm surge from Hurricane Ian made its way through Fort Myers. We are still tracking the storm tonight. People in the central part of the state are facing hurricane force winds and continued flooding.
Let`s head straight to Orlando where NBC correspondent Jesse Kirsch is tonight. Jesse, what did things look like a little farther in from the coast?
JESSE KIRSCH, NBC NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Stephanie, you can see we`re getting blasted with rain and wind. These gusts have been pummeling this part of the state for several hours. Now what you`re looking at here in Orlando is simply the warmup act, we`re still about 10 to 11 hours away from what will be the worst of what`s left of in hitting this part of the state.
And officials here are worried about potentially 90 mile per hour wind gusts. But the bigger threat is this, the rain. We are expecting as much as two feet possibly more than two feet of rain in parts of this area, which could lead to flash flooding. And that of course could be catastrophic for some residents.
We are in a low lying part of a driveway right now at our hotel and we are seeing the water quickly gathering overwhelming the drainage systems on the ground here. And again, everything you`re looking at is just the front end of this storm. Stephanie, things are going to get much worse here. And the hours ahead.
RUHLE: Jesse, thank you stay safe. Jesse Kirsch. I want to bring in Lieutenant General Russel Honore. He was the former commander of the Joint Task Force for Hurricane Katrina. He is a great American. He is a true patriot. I`m honored he`s with us tonight.
When we have storms like this, you are always the first man we call. Help us understand what kind of support do these communities need right now?
LT. GEN. RUSSEL HONORE, FORMER COMMANDER JOINT TASK FORCE KATRINA: Well, right now they will need support for people to help take care of their families. I mean, the first responders going out. I know, I heard earlier that the people at the state headquarters said civilians stay out in a way. But most of the people that will be saved at first light in the morning will be saved by neighbors. And that`s an organic thing. That will always happen, Stephanie.
So first light neighbors, you`re going to start helping neighbors as this water start to recede and as the winds go down, because as good as the government is, they can`t get to everybody that need to be rescued in that first 12 hours. And, you know, well position. The plan is good. The helicopters on the way. But most of the lives are going to be saved in the first 12 hours and is going to be neighbors helping neighbors.
So right now we just need good vibes and good wishes for this rain to stop and for the wind to stop and for the sun to come up because they`ll be saving each other`s what`s going to happen for that first 12 hours until all the teams can get in there with the destruction known as it`s been described on the roadways, and the byways and with the electrical lines down, Stephanie.
[23:25:00]
RUHLE: And once it`s safe for those rescue and relief crews to get out there? What are the rescues going to look like?
HONORE: Well, there`ll be organized search and rescue teams, some of them will have to come out of Miami with some of the stage. The National Guard`s over at (INAUDIBLE) or right there at Tampa. But what they will run into is the people that could not evacuate will be the ones that, unfortunately, don`t fare well. And Katrina, about 80 percent of the people who died of the 1,800 were elderly, poor, a disable for those categories. And it will home alone, Stephanie, most of those who died from the floodwaters of Katrina.
RUHLE: Russel, when you said that, I couldn`t help but think this is the state of Florida, that has an awful lot of people who are elderly, who are alone, who are disabled, and they`re on very limited incomes. Given that, how worried are you about what we could find in the coming days?
HONORE: I`m very worried. And in Florida, because of the known demographics and their well-organized preparedness in Florida, probably the best in the nation. Because in order to threaten the storm, they have a special organization that`s funded by the state that reach out to the elderly and the disabled.
But we`ll see how effective that outreach was because many of those who don`t leave in that category are in the poor neighborhoods. They`re not watching cable television, and they don`t have anybody calling them. So the worst case scenarios in terms of those who are most vulnerable, the vulnerable population is going to be in the poor neighborhoods, everybody equally will lose a roof. But you`ll find more people will lose their lives in the poor neighborhoods because their homes and not reinforced. They don`t have the reinforcement on their roofs. And many of them they live isolated, the elderly, disabled and the poor.
RUHLE: Then you think there are people who are just not aware, right? It`s easy for us to say on the television, it`s time to evacuate. But lots of people don`t have anywhere to go don`t have anyone to help them travel. Sometimes we forget that.
HONORE: We forget that. And we got to understand the people who live on subsistence pay from the government. The first is this Saturday. They`re out of money. And I`ve preached for a long time for the government but there`s things we could do better. We should move the dialysis patients to the dialysis center before the storm. We should move to pregnant women to the hospital before the storm. And we should preposition the ambulances and we should give people money to be available for them to evacuate before the storm. The elderly and the poor.
We know who poor. If you received money for women with infants who had children or you live in on a social security check, the government knows. Those people will not evacuate if you don`t have any money in their pocket. And they can`t pick their medicines up.
The downside of this you will have a big impact on the poor that many of them will not be able to recover because it public housing will never be reestablish. That is old record. You can come back here to Louisiana you`ll get IRA or you go back and look at Laura, public housing not done. You go to Puerto Rico, public housing done because of the bureaucracy and recovery.
This governor has done a good job getting the state ready. We`re going to see what he can do because recovery is a living hell and he`s going to have more in a biggest recovery job in the nation.
RUHLE: When Mother Nature hits the poorest are always hit the hardest. Lieutenant General Russel Honore, I`m grateful that you joined us tonight. I appreciate it.
HONORE: Great evening. The Cajun Navy is on site. The Cajun Navy is moving out right now for rescues.
RUHLE: God bless the Cajun Navy. Thank you, General. Coming up, former FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate is here on how difficult is going to be to get help to people who didn`t evacuate the exact kinds of people Russel Honore was just talking about.
And later, why this storm is moving so slowly and what makes that so dangerous when THE 11TH HOUR continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[23:34:09]
RUHLE: Parts of Florida are reeling from the devastating impact of dangerous hurricane Ian. And the Category 1 storm is still far from over. NBC meteorologist Michelle Grossman is here. Michelle, give us an update.
GROSSMAN: All right. Well, we`re looking at a Category 1 storm still really strong. We`re looking at gusty winds. We`re looking at heavy, heavy rainfall. That will be the theme as we go throughout the next couple of days.
So this storm was pretty much the worst case scenario. It was a very strong Category 4 storm, almost Category 5, it`s a huge storm and it`s moving so slowly. That`s part of the climate connection where there`s blocking patterns drops, usually pick them up, move them out. That`s not happening. The sort of a traffic jam in the atmosphere and that`s what we`re seeing here right now.
We`re seeing heavy rain at this hour where you see the brighter colors that is the heaviest rain. So winds at 90 miles per hour. It`s 70 miles south of Orlando, Florida. It`s moving north is at eight miles per hour.
[23:35:00]
North is at eight miles per hour. We do expect that forward speeds have slowed down a bit. So it`s probably across peninsula of Florida. This is what is happening right now. 21 million people at risk under tropical alerts whether it`s a watch warning, hurricane watch or hurricane warning.
Notice hurricane warning goes all across the state of Florida. We rarely if ever have seen that. There is that heavy rain falling right near Sebring, those darker colors that spin right there. And we`re going to see very, very heavy rainfall, it`s going to lead to flash flooding, life threatening flash flooding as we go throughout the next couple of hours. Also, Stephanie, watching the chance for tornadoes, we did just have a tornado warning. We do have a tornado watch now. Back to you.
RUHLE: Michelle, thank you. I want to go back to my partner Ali Velshi. He has been tracking this storm ever since it roared ashore hours ago in Naples, where he is right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: Take a look at all these cars now. I`ve been sort of focusing on these the last couple of hours. These cars were all nicely parked in rows on the left and the right. And they`re now all floating freely.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RUHLE: Ali, you and I spoke just a few minutes ago, it`s quiet where you are. The storm has passed you. But where do you go from here? What`s happening in that community now and when the sun comes up tomorrow?
VELSHI: Well, a lot of power outages, was no power. You can see behind us are no lights on anywhere around here. So that`s still not getting solved. The winds are dying down. They might be about 40 miles an hour now, which is about where the guys can get up in their cherry picker trucks and start fixing the wires. But that hasn`t started. That might happen tomorrow.
Collier County, which is where Naples is has just put out a request to people not to be on the roads. They`re saying about half the roads in the county are still underwater. So despite the fact that behind me, it looks like all the water is gone. It hasn`t drained from everywhere. So that remains a problem.
By the way, there`s water pulled out and there`s nothing but debris underneath here, which makes it dangerous driving what the police don`t want is cars getting stuck in the street and having to deal with that. So, they`re putting out the signal that don`t call for 911 unless you really need it. Don`t get out the street and start to explore. That`s where it goes at this point.
By morning, I think we`ll have been done with this wind. However, one thing that changed here is that at 3:20 this afternoon is when the high that — low tide was in place at — about 2:00 a.m. this morning, it`s going to be high tide again, which is part of what might be impeding the ability for these roads to completely drain.
So, this is going to be another rough night even here in Naples. And of course, as Michelle just said, for people elsewhere in Florida, they haven`t even seen the beginning of some of the storms that they`re going to get. Steph.
RUHLE: Further, where you sleeping tonight?
VELSHI: This place. This is a hotel and it`s got rooms on higher floors. So there`s no power, but we have beds.
RUHLE: No power, but hopefully you`ve got some power bars with you. Do you feel safe, I mean, Ali, you have covered sort of every natural disaster I can think of in the last 10 years, compared today to what you`ve seen before.
VELSHI: There was a lot of awe. Today I had a lot of including my team. We`ve all covered a lot of hurricanes, and a lot of awe in the power of the water and what it did, and being able to sort of visualize the way that it came in. And that what a storm surge looks like in real time and lifting those cars and moving them and things like this an 11,000 pound vehicle, just bobbing around.
It was one of those, you know, weather is an amazing thing. And it can be really destructive. And we need to understand it better. It was quite something to watch.
RUHLE: I want to show on our screen right now, Ali, some images from the flooding in St. Augustine earlier. Before I let you go, there you have it, filling actually these are live images, filling the streets. When saltwater gets into the foundation of buildings, what does it do?
VELSHI: Rust. That`s one of the main things whenever you look at a building structural failure, and they look at the beams and they want to know what the corrosion is iron rusts over time, but saltwater adds to that. I look in Florida at salt water all over the place. So people know that about their cars and their buildings. But this does cause extra problems. Usually in the small house it`s not a big issue, in buildings it becomes a bigger issue over time.
So, there going to be a lot of people. I mean, everybody on the west coast of Florida had their house flooded. That`s a fact. Everybody in here who had, you know, one story, the bottom story is flooded. These places are all built above their one story higher. The bottom is for a carport, which is very helpful in terms of a hurricane. You see that a lot in the Gulf Coast. But a lot of people don`t have that. A lot of people don`t have a two-story home, as he made a lot of building inspectors out here looking very closely at the damage that`s done. And of course there`s mold from water.
So there going to be some people whose homes are going to be uninhabitable, maybe not just for weeks but maybe for months.
RUHLE: So why insurance companies have such a hard time staying in business and operating in the state of Florida. Ali, stay safe. I will see you tomorrow morning. Please get some rest partner.
I want to bring in Wendy Goldberg. She owns the Sarasota Breakfast House in Sarasota, Florida.
[23:40:02]
Wendy, I`m glad that you are safe. Talk me through what the last 24 hours have been like for you. Because just a day ago, you were serving customers.
WENDY GOLDBERG, OWNER, SARATOSA BREAKFAST HOUSE: Wow, it was a little scary. For sure. I had a lot of people in my house because my home was built in 2018. So structurally, it`s all hurricane proof. It`s up to built to 200 mile an hour winds. So, some of my employees needed to come to my home because being in a mobile home and scared they`re going to lose their home and all that.
So, it was a little — it was definitely a little scary for sure. Watching all the trees fall all around my home was a little crazy too today. Yes, it was definitely an experience.
RUHLE: Well, I`m glad that your house is safe. What do you know about the restaurant? Have you been able to see it yet?
GOLDBERG: Believe it or not, we, first of all, we didn`t lose any electric at my home, thank God. But my daughter and I drove down to the restaurant to check the wall. And just like when Irma hit, it was standing solid. I just don`t even know how but it was. The streets were pretty clear driving down there. The winds are blowing real bad and there are power lines down.
So, I definitely don`t recommend anybody go out in the streets, that`s for sure. But the restaurant is pretty solid. So hopefully we`ll be open on Friday.
RUHLE: Wow, you think you can open back up on Friday? Are your employees home safe? Do they think they can get back to work or their cars OK?
GOLDBERG: Yes, when I was talking to my employees, most of them live — they don`t live downtown area, you know, it`s very expensive to live downtown. Most of them live, you know, pass Macintosh, east of Macintosh, and whatnot, which is higher ground and all my servers and my cooks all seem to be good to go. So we`re going to have to pick some fencing and put everything back in place and get the doors opens.
RUHLE: Spoken like a true Floridian, Wendy. You have — your business has survived. And you are hopefully going to be cracking eggs two days from now. Wendy Goldberg, thank you so much for joining us. I appreciate it.
GOLDBERG: Thank you.
RUHLE: There was much more of our special coverage of the historic hurricane Ian, one of the strongest storms to ever make landfall when THE 11TH HOUR continues.
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[23:47:08]
RUHLE: We`re good. Hurricane hunter Nick Undergood tweeted that bumpy ride right there was the roughest flight of his career. And remember his career as a hurricane hunter. The intensity of the hurricane Ian is raising big questions. What role did climate change play in creating this monstrous storm?
Michael Mann is the Presidential Distinguished Professor at the University of Pennsylvania`s Department of Earth and Environmental Science. He also wrote the book, “The New Climate War.”
Michael, this storm grew so rapidly, is there any doubt in your mind that climate change is to blame? Or at the very least supercharge this thing?
MICHAEL MANN, PRESIDENTIAL DISTINGUISHED PROFESSOR AT THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA`S DEPARTMENT OF EARTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE: Yes, thanks Stephanie, it`s good to be with you. And, you know, there is no question in my mind are really in the mind of most of the scientists who study these connections. It`s really not that complicated, the warmer the oceans, and the deeper those layers of warm water. And that`s one of the things that we`re seeing with the warming of the planet that heat penetrates deeper into the ocean.
So when the hurricane churns up those deeper waters, they`re still warm, they don`t dampen the hurricane as they used to. And so we`re seeing more intense storms, we`re seeing greater as you allude to rapid intensification, where the storms can balloon from a relatively weak tropical storm to a hurricane and then a major hurricane in just a matter of one or two days.
And that, of course, makes it more difficult to forecast the impacts of those storms. We have less lead time to react to them.
So all of these things are being impacted by climate change. And all of that is on top of sea level rise, melting ice, higher sea levels on which these storm surges are placed, giving us again, even larger amounts of coastal flooding.
RUHLE: Then, since we can`t dig into long term solutions, knowing that these weather systems are getting turbocharged so quickly, is there any immediate way to prevent it?
MANN: Well, no, we can prevent it from getting worse. And that`s some of the good news. One of the things that we`ve learned over the last decade or so in the science of climate change is that if we bring our carbon emissions down to zero, then the planet stops warming up, and these impacts stopped getting worse.
[23:50:00]
And so we have to stop digging the hole or in a hole, we have to stop digging. We have to, of course, you know, take steps to ensure the most resilience and sort of increasing our adaptive capacity building seawalls where appropriate, moving away from the coastlines, not building in flood prone regions. There are things we can try to do to minimize our exposure. But there`s no amount of adaptation or resilience that will allow us to deal with the worsening impacts. If we let this problem get worse, if we continue to burn fossil fuels, and warm up the planet warm up the oceans, raise sea levels, intensify these storms. That`s a cycle that we have to get out of. And we have to get out of it as quickly as possible.
RUHLE: And unfortunately, so many of these lacks zoning laws in these regions don`t change. Hurricanes come and they rebuild, and they rebuild again, in areas that simply shouldn`t be built upon. Michael Mann, thank you for your work. Thank you for sharing some important insights tonight. I appreciate it.
MANN: Thank you.
RUHLE: I want to share some of what people experienced as Hurricane Ian hit the hardest earlier today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There`s no choice now it`s late in the day, and yes, I screwed up. But I got to go do what I got to do with the reality that I have, which is get the hell out of that house.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s my home. It`s the only thing I have. I mean, my mom, you know, I mean, that goes then, what do you do?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am somebody who`s new to Florida just a few years ago, so I can write it out. And I`ll tell you never again. Once I hear that. I am going to get a car and get out of Florida.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RUHLE: And of course animals were impacted by the storm today. Among the many images going viral was this Florida flamingo. Florida flamingos riding out the storm in a bathroom. It is similar to an image from back in the days of Hurricane Andrew, which was 30 years ago.
So all day long, my team and I were thinking wondering worrying how the animals are being protected this time around. We`re going to bring in Chris Massaro from the Zoo of Tampa.
Chris, talk to you about the animals. They were really the first thing I thought of this morning. They had to feel this weather system coming. What did you do to protect them? Where are they all now?
CHRIS MASSARO, ZOOTAMPA: Yes, well, thank you for having me. As you can imagine, it`s a pretty big process to make sure all animals are safe at the zoo when a severe weather comes across, like what we had today. The great thing is we have a strong preparedness plan. You know, obviously living in Florida, you deal with hurricanes, you know, the impact is always potentially there every storm season. So we make sure we have that plan updated and ready to go every year so that we address the safety of every single animal that we care for at the zoo.
RUHLE: Well, those are your animals that are under your care. How devastating is the storm going to be for the state`s wildlife and strays? You got all sorts of animals in the state of Florida?
MASSARO: Yes, you know, Florida is one of the most unique places for wildlife, certainly in the country. You know, telling what the extent of the damage to the state will be some, you know, only time will tell certainly at the zoo. We did everything we could to make sure we planted prepared for it. It involves some relocation of animals around the park. And over the last several hours, we kind of experienced, you know, really the strongest winds and winds gusts we`ve experienced all day.
RUHLE: What`s that like for the animals, right? When the storm is hitting when it`s at its worst? What does it like for them? What do they do?
MASSARO: So the good thing is around, you know, for the most part around the park, we`ve got some strong concrete masonry buildings attached to their habitats. These are the buildings that these animals are comfortable and used to going into daily. So the majority of those animals are going into familiar places so they can feel, you know, at home and more comfortable.
Some of the animals we`ve had to relocate around, those are the animals we get a little bit more concerned with because they`re not, as you know, comfortable in new places. We got to keep an extra eye on them, make sure they stay calm and stress free through the night.
But certainly as the weather hits and kicks up, you know, tensions could run high. We`ve got a team that stays there that rides out the storm at the park to make sure they can address any concerns that arise. Certainly through the thick of the storm, that team is tucked down and waiting for the worst to pass and then they go out and make sure everybody`s all right.
[23:55:00]
Well, I`m glad to know that your animals are safe tonight. I appreciate the work that you do down in Florida. We hope the zoo will be up and running again very, very soon. Chris, thanks for joining us. Chris Massaro.
And on that note, I wish you all a very good and a very safe night from all of our colleagues across the networks of NBC News. Thanks for staying up late with us. I will see you at the end of tomorrow. But you stick around. Our breaking news coverage of powerful hurricane Ian continues now with my friend and colleague Alicia Menendez on the other side of the break.
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