CARVING A PATH OF DESTRUCTION ACROSS THE STATES OF FLORIDA AND
GEORGIA.
GEORGIA. I WANT TO GET YOU CAUGHT UP ON
THE LATEST.
THE LATEST. THE STORM IS NOW RACING TOWARD
THE CAROLINAS WHERE IT IS
THREATENING TO UNLEASH EVEN MORE
DESTRUCTIVE WINDS AND RAIN.
AT LEAST TWO PEOPLE ARE ALREADY
ANNOUNCED DEAD.
ANNOUNCED DEAD. ONE MAN IN GREENSBORO, FLORIDA
AND AN 11-YEAR-OLD IN LAKE
SEMINOLE, GEORGIA.
SEMINOLE, GEORGIA. MORE THAN 850,000 PEOPLE ARE
WITHOUT POWER ACROSS FLORIDA,
GEORGIA, ALABAMA AND THE
CAROLINAS.
CAROLINAS. WE’VE GOT AN INCREDIBLE TEAM OF
REPORTERS.
REPORTERS. SINCE YESTERDAY, ACROSS THE
REGION, IN THE HARDEST HIT
AREAS.
AREAS. I WANT TO GO FIRST TO NBC’S
KERRY SANDERS LIVE IN PANAMA
CITY BEACH WHICH IS 20 MILES
FROM WHERE THE STORM MADE
LANDFALL.
LANDFALL. KERRY, WALK US THROUGH THE LAST
24 HOURS.
24 HOURS. WHEN YOU AND I SPOKE YESTERDAY
AFTERNOON AT 1:00 P.M., YOU WERE
STANDING ON THE PATIO OF YOUR
HOTEL.
HOTEL. YOUR BASEBALL HELMET FLEW OFF
YOUR HEAD.
YOUR HEAD. YOU COULDN’T EVEN MAKE IT INSIDE
WITHOUT THE ASSISTANCE FROM
ANOTHER GUY.
ANOTHER GUY. YOU HAVE COVERED COUNTLESS
STORMS IN YOUR CAREER.
DRAW SOME COMPARISONS FOR US.
>> WELL, 150-PLUS-MILE-AN-HOUR
WINDS ARE NOTHING TO BE TOYED
WITH.
WITH. SO YOU SAW WHAT HAPPENED TO ME
THERE.
THERE. THE HELMET GOING AIRBORNE.
JIM CANTORE FROM THE WEATHER
CHANNEL THANKFULLY NEARBY.
HE AND I HAVE COVERED STORMS
SIDE BY SIDE FOR MANY, MANY
YEARS.
YEARS. I’M THANKFUL HE WAS THERE TO GET
ME FROM TUMBLING DOWN AND
POSSIBLY GOING INTO A SWIMMING
POOL.
POOL. SO I’M OKAY.
NOT SURE I’D STAND OUT THERE
AGAIN LIKE THAT.
LET’S TALK ABOUT THE REAL POWER
OF THE HURRICANE THAT I THINK IS
PERHAPS VISIBLE RIGHT HERE.
LET ME GO TO A WIDE PICTURE
FIRST OF ALL.
IF YOU LOOK AT THIS WIDE PICTURE
OF THE MARINA HERE THIS IS
CALLED THE LEGENDARY MARINA.
YOU CAN SEE THE DAMAGE THAT
HAPPENED.
HAPPENED. IT’S POSSIBLE THAT THERE WAS A
TORNADO.
TORNADO. YOU DO KNOW THAT TORNADOES SPIN
OUT OF THE HURRICANES.
AS WE COME BACK TO THIS CAMERA.
JUST TAKE A LOOK HERE.
WE’RE TALKING ABOUT JUST
MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN DAMAGE TO
THE BOATS HERE.
THIS IS ALL THE TWISTED MANGLED
WRECKAGE OF WHAT HAPPENED WHEN
MICHAEL MADE HIS WAY INTO THIS
AREA.
AREA. AND IT JUST GOES ON AND ON AND
ON.
ON. WHAT YOU CAN’T TELL ON TV IS THE
STENCH OUT HERE OF THE FUEL, THE
GASOLINE AND THE DIESEL AND THE
OILS THAT HAVE SPILLED HERE.
IT’S GOING TO TAKE SOME TIME TO
CLEAN THIS UP.
BUT THE REAL CONCERN OF COURSE
ARE PEOPLE’S HOMES.
AND NOT TOO FAR AWAY, WE SPOKE
TO A RESIDENT WHO WENT THROUGH
THIS HURRICANE AND 70-YEAR-OLD
WHO TOLD ME AN AMAZING STORY OF
HER BEING ALONE IN THE HOUSE
WITH HER TWO DOGS AND AS THE
STORM CAME ASHORE, TORNADOS WERE
COMING DOWN AROUND HER HOUSE,
SHE WAS HOLDING ON TO THE FRENCH
DOORS WITH BOTH HANDS.
THEY WERE RATTLING.
AS HER ROOF WAS PEELING BACK.
SHE SURVIVED BUT NOT WITHOUT
TREES COMING DOWN.
POWER POLES COMING DOWN.
AND EVENTUALLY WHEN THOSE DOORS
THAT SHE COULD NO LONGER HOLD,
SHE MADE HER WAY INTO A HALLWAY
AND SAT ON A CHAIR WITH HER TWO
DOGS AND SURVIVED.
BUT WHAT SHE WENT THROUGH IS A
REAL EXPLANATION OF WHY WHEN THE
AUTHORITIES SAY EVACUATE, PLEASE
EVACUATE.
EVACUATE. IT’S REMARKABLE SHE SURVIVED.
THOSE STORIES WILL BE REPEATED
OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN.
STEPHANIE.
STEPHANIE. >> MY GOODNESS, KERRY, I’M SO
GLAD YOU’RE SAFE AND THANK YOU
FOR YOUR EXTRAORDINARY
REPORTING.
REPORTING. LIVE NOW TO NBC’S GABE GUTIERREZ
WHO’S IN APRIL LASHALACHICOLA, F
THE FLOODWATERS WERE 7 1/2 FEET
DEEP JUST HOURS AFTER THE STORM
HIT.
HIT. HOW ARE THINGS LOOKING NOW?
>> GOOD MORNING.
WE SAW SOME OF THAT STORM SURGE
THAT FLOODED PART OF THE
HISTORIC DOWNTOWN.
HISTORIC DOWNTOWN. BEHIND ME YOU CAN SEE WHAT WE’RE
REALLY STARTING TO SEE FOR QUITE
EIGHT BIT OVERNIGHT INTO THIS
MORNING.
MORNING. ALL THESE TOPPLED TREES AND
POWER LINES IS MAKING IT
DIFFICULT TO GET AROUND.
THE MAIN ROAD IN AND OUT OF
APALACHICOLA, U.S. 98, THAT’S
BLOCKED BY ALL THIS DEBRIS.
IT UPROOTED THIS MAJOR TREE.
THIS TREE ACTUALLY HAS A CONCEDE
RING AROUND IT, SO IT WAS EVEN
HARDER FOR IT TO BE UPROOTED.
THIS IS SOMETHING WE’VE BEEN
SEEING OVER AND OVER AGAIN THE
LAST COUPLE OF HOURS AS WE’VE
BEEN DRIVING AROUND.
ALL THIS DEBRIS PRETTY MUCH ALL
OVER THE ROAD.
HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE
ARE WITHOUT POWER IN FLORIDA.
IT COULD BE DAYS AND IN SOME
CASES EVEN WEEKS BEFORE IT’S
FULLY RESTORED.
FULLY RESTORED. OF COURSE, THE EYE OF THE STORM
HIT TO OUR WEST.
IN MEXICO BEACH.
THAT WAS WHERE WE’RE SEEING
IMAGES OF SOME OF THE WORST
DEVASTATION.
DEVASTATION. HERE IN APALACHICOLA, WHAT WE’RE
MOSTLY SEEING IS A LOT OF THIS.
FIRST RESPONDERS ARE GOING TO
DIFFERENT AREAS TO ASSESS THE
DAMAGE THIS MORNING.
THEY’RE CHECKING ON SOME OF THE
FURTHEST FAR FLUNG AREAS TO SEE
IF EVERYBODY MADE IT OUT OKAY.
WE HAVEN’T HEARD OF ANY INJURIES
HERE THANKFULLY.
HERE THANKFULLY. AGAIN, THIS IS PART OF THE
PANHANDLE WILL REALLY HAD NEVER
SEEN SOMETHING LIKE THIS,
SOMETHING SO POWERFUL.
FOR SOME PEOPLE, HIT THEM
UNEXPECTEDLY, AS WE’VE BEEN
TALKING WITH PEOPLE THROUGHOUT
THE EVENING AND INTO THIS
MORNING.
MORNING. >> THIS THING CAME HARD AND
FAST.
FAST. GABE, THANK YOU.
NOW, LET’S HEAD TO GEORGIA,
WHERE NBC’S TAMMY LITNER IS
STANDING BY.
STANDING BY. AN 11-YEAR-OLD PASSED AWAY
NEARBY WHERE YOU ARE IN GEORGIA.
WHAT CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THAT?
WHAT IS THE SCENE LIKE AS THIS
TROPICAL STORM IS MOVING OUT?
>> THAT’S RIGHT, STEF, SO SAD.
IT HAPPENED ABOUT AN HOUR AWAY
FROM WHERE WE ARE.
THE WINDS WERE SO STRONG, IT
ACTUALLY PICKED UP A CARPORT AND
THREW IT INTO THE HOUSE WHERE
THAT 11-YEAR-OLD WAS.
WE’RE IN DOWNTOWN ALBANY RIGHT
NOW.
NOW. WHERE A MASSIVE AMOUNT OF
BUSINESSES WERE DESTROYED.
WINDOWS BLOWN OUT.
ROOFS RIPPED OFF OF THE
BUSINESSES.
BUSINESSES. FIRST RESPONDERS HAD BEEN GOING
OUT ALL NIGHT SINCE ABOUT 10:30
LAST NIGHT, RESPONDING TO CALLS.
WE’VE BEEN IN CONSTANT
COMMUNICATION WITH COUNTY
OFFICIALS.
OFFICIALS. THEY SAID THEY HAVE JUST BEEN
INUNDATED WITH CALLS.
THEY’VE ACTUALLY HAD A VERY HARD
TIME GETTING OUT, RESPONDING TO
A LOT OF THOSE CALLS, BECAUSE
THE ROADS ARE BLOCKED.
POWER LINES DOWN.
TREES DOWN.
TREES DOWN. THEY’VE GOT ABOUT 275,000
PEOPLE, HOUSE, ACROSS THE STATE
OF GEORGIA, WITHOUT POWER.
PRESIDENT TRUMP HAS DECLARED A
STATE OF EMERGENCY HERE IN
GEORGIA.
GEORGIA. IF YOU TAKE A LOOK BEHIND ME,
THIS JUST GIVES YOU A REALLY
GOOD IDEA OF THE POWER OF SOME
OF THE WINDS HERE, STEPHANIE.
THIS IS FROM A ROOF THAT’S NOT
EVEN ON THIS BLOCK.
IT’S SOMEWHERE ELSE.
SO THAT’S JUST HOW POWERFUL
THESE WINDS WERE.
AND RESCUE CREWS ARE JUST NOW