WEBVTT - Hurricane Dorian September 6th, 9am Search and Rescue Mode 0:00:00.840 --> 0:00:03.280 I'm Rory O'Neill, and for more than twenty years I've 0:00:03.320 --> 0:00:07.120 been a radio reporter in Florida covering rocket launches, Florida 0:00:07.200 --> 0:00:10.880 Man and yes, hurricanes, lots and lots of hurricanes. So 0:00:10.920 --> 0:00:14.240 here's what we know about Hurricane Dorian right now. It 0:00:14.320 --> 0:00:17.120 did wipe out the northern Bahamas, it brushed the eastern 0:00:17.200 --> 0:00:20.040 coast of Florida, and it's hit in the Carolinas as 0:00:20.040 --> 0:00:22.480 a Category one storm and is pulling off the coast. 0:00:22.880 --> 0:00:26.520 Soon it will be Canada's problem, but Nova Scotia in particular, 0:00:26.560 --> 0:00:29.040 and by then it should be an extra tropical storm 0:00:29.040 --> 0:00:31.840 and not caused too much damage. So now attention turns 0:00:31.880 --> 0:00:34.920 to the Bahamas, which is still in search and rescue mode, 0:00:34.920 --> 0:00:38.239 not recovery mode just yet. The US Coastguard among the 0:00:38.240 --> 0:00:42.199 first agencies to respond. Yesterday, there was little pockets, i 0:00:42.240 --> 0:00:45.480 would say, of devastation. You had some places that looked 0:00:45.479 --> 0:00:49.160 like they had seen small parts of the storm, and 0:00:49.280 --> 0:00:52.839 other places where you had homes that were completely leveled 0:00:52.880 --> 0:00:56.360 and still floated as of yesterday. Today, we were tasked 0:00:56.360 --> 0:01:01.240 with trying to find smaller islands that were kind of 0:01:01.280 --> 0:01:04.959 out of touch. They got some coordinates from another helicopter. 0:01:05.520 --> 0:01:08.000 We came across the island and they were about fifty 0:01:08.040 --> 0:01:11.920 people on the island. It was completely devastated. All the 0:01:11.959 --> 0:01:16.320 homes were completely flattened, vegetation gone, and when we got 0:01:16.360 --> 0:01:20.600 there they were there had already been about ten or 0:01:20.600 --> 0:01:24.160 fifteen people met invact and when we got there there 0:01:24.200 --> 0:01:30.680 were ten people roughly with varying injuries um, some possible fractures, 0:01:30.840 --> 0:01:34.560 some people so that their homes had fallen on them. UM. 0:01:34.600 --> 0:01:37.880 So our main priority was getting the most injured out. 0:01:38.240 --> 0:01:41.480 And that's the problem when places are really just decimated. 0:01:41.600 --> 0:01:44.440 You were working from the ground up. In one case. 0:01:44.520 --> 0:01:46.360 You know they're trying to make rescues, but they can't 0:01:46.400 --> 0:01:50.520 even see. They're limited to daytime operations because there's no electricity, 0:01:50.520 --> 0:01:53.520 and when there's no electricity, there's no light head of 0:01:53.520 --> 0:01:56.520 public works. And the Bahamas was on ABC's Good Morning 0:01:56.560 --> 0:02:00.280 America for Life, but it's dark to community gets she 0:02:00.440 --> 0:02:03.200 was down. Um, we don't know what it's going on 0:02:03.320 --> 0:02:06.720 right now. There's a Florida lawmaker named Chevron Jones. He's 0:02:06.760 --> 0:02:09.799 Bahamian and he was able to contact a cousin who 0:02:09.840 --> 0:02:12.120 was actually part of the search and rescue effort. He 0:02:12.160 --> 0:02:14.880 actually posted the phone call, he recorded it and put 0:02:14.960 --> 0:02:17.520 it on Twitter. Search and rescue is still going on 0:02:17.600 --> 0:02:20.040 with trying to still trying to account for for folks, 0:02:20.040 --> 0:02:23.799 for families. Um, we're just the airplanes that are going 0:02:23.800 --> 0:02:27.280 in and carrying you know, food and water and emergency supplies, 0:02:27.639 --> 0:02:29.440 you know, to keep you know, to keep them going, 0:02:30.000 --> 0:02:31.920 you know, while we get all of the people that 0:02:32.040 --> 0:02:33.960 really really need to get out of there out. So 0:02:34.040 --> 0:02:36.920 there's a lot of injured people. Um, we're just trying 0:02:36.919 --> 0:02:39.399 to you know, we're doing roachations right now getting them out, 0:02:39.520 --> 0:02:43.040 and you're exactly right. I think next week will be 0:02:43.080 --> 0:02:45.560 a better time. You know, at least the emergency effort 0:02:45.639 --> 0:02:47.760 should have died down. But right now some of the 0:02:47.760 --> 0:02:50.480 first people going in are members of an urban search 0:02:50.520 --> 0:02:53.079 and rescue team that's based out of the city of Miami. 0:02:53.200 --> 0:02:56.280 The city dipping into its own resources, they'll pick up 0:02:56.280 --> 0:02:58.400 the tab for this project. He said. You know, the 0:02:58.400 --> 0:03:01.200 Bahamas is so close there, their neighbors, and they couldn't 0:03:01.240 --> 0:03:05.400 really resist helping. When we see suffering, We've experienced it firsthand, 0:03:05.440 --> 0:03:07.400 and that in essence is frustrating for us, but we 0:03:07.440 --> 0:03:11.200 also recognize that the response is important, and we have 0:03:11.320 --> 0:03:13.880 to do whatever we can in order to support, especially 0:03:13.919 --> 0:03:17.120 a community that's so close to us now in Broward County, 0:03:17.200 --> 0:03:20.000 that's where Fort Lauderdale is, and other big cities like Parkland. 0:03:20.440 --> 0:03:22.720 They're gonna take in a lot of these Bahamian people 0:03:22.720 --> 0:03:25.400 who now have nowhere else to go, and so you're 0:03:25.400 --> 0:03:29.240 bringing in adults, trying to find them housing and even jobs. 0:03:29.280 --> 0:03:32.320 Perhaps they're actually foreign citizens, so there's a whole set 0:03:32.360 --> 0:03:35.960 of issues there. Now. The school superintendent in Broward County, 0:03:36.040 --> 0:03:38.400 Robert Runs, says they're actually getting ready to take in 0:03:38.480 --> 0:03:41.600 some of the kids who are gonna need to learn reading, writing, 0:03:41.600 --> 0:03:46.640 and arithmetic. I think we have a moral responsibility at 0:03:46.680 --> 0:03:49.520 this moment, given the fact that we have been spared 0:03:49.560 --> 0:03:53.040 the worst of the hurricane, to help our families, our 0:03:53.120 --> 0:03:56.119 friends that are in the Bahamas. But all that's part 0:03:56.160 --> 0:03:59.040 of the long term recovery. At the moment, it's still 0:03:59.080 --> 0:04:01.680 search and rescue a bote. Now there are supplies being 0:04:01.680 --> 0:04:04.680 brought to the islands by cruise ships. They're discouraging private 0:04:04.720 --> 0:04:07.400 boat owners from making the trip because well, really they 0:04:07.400 --> 0:04:09.560 could just get in the way. The storm has kicked 0:04:09.600 --> 0:04:12.640 up so much debris caused so much new debris it 0:04:12.680 --> 0:04:15.160 actually shifts the sands, and they have to make sure 0:04:15.520 --> 0:04:19.000 port markers are accurate, and the port markers and Booey's 0:04:19.040 --> 0:04:21.960 that didn't get blown away have to be reset. So 0:04:22.200 --> 0:04:25.080 the Coast Guard wants private boats to stay out of 0:04:25.080 --> 0:04:29.120 the way unless they've gotten specific permission to go inside. 0:04:29.160 --> 0:04:32.480 So the recovery effort is just beginning. Lots and lots 0:04:32.520 --> 0:04:34.800 of money is going to be needed. So how do 0:04:34.839 --> 0:04:37.880 we get here? Is this Hurricane Dorian all part of 0:04:38.160 --> 0:04:41.040 global warming or is it just a fluke. Well, it's 0:04:41.080 --> 0:04:43.200 the second year in a row we've had a landfall 0:04:43.279 --> 0:04:46.599 by a Category five hurricane. That's pretty rare. It's also 0:04:46.640 --> 0:04:50.880 the most powerful Cat five storm ever recorded in that 0:04:50.960 --> 0:04:54.680 part of the Atlantic, so it is a history making storm. 0:04:54.760 --> 0:04:57.599 Phil Klotzbock used to work with the late Dr William 0:04:57.600 --> 0:05:01.960 Gray at Colorado State University. Actually hurricane experts, yes, based 0:05:02.000 --> 0:05:05.880 in Colorado, but they're hurricane experts and Phil and Phil 0:05:06.000 --> 0:05:08.119 is part of the team that releases one of those 0:05:08.360 --> 0:05:11.520 annual hurricane predictions like is it going to be busy 0:05:11.600 --> 0:05:14.320 this year, is in an active season? Etcetera, etcetera. You know, 0:05:14.320 --> 0:05:16.760 there are more of these forecasts coming out every year, 0:05:16.760 --> 0:05:20.640 but Dr Gray started back in the nineteen eighties. Bill 0:05:20.680 --> 0:05:24.360 says these forecasts are important and they can help communities 0:05:24.400 --> 0:05:27.480 like the Bahamas no if it's going to be extra busy. 0:05:27.800 --> 0:05:29.080 You know, the thing we always say with all the 0:05:29.080 --> 0:05:31.480 seasonal forecast is it's, you know, our best estimate at 0:05:31.480 --> 0:05:33.720 any particular time of how active this season is going 0:05:33.760 --> 0:05:35.440 to be. But we can't say where the storms are 0:05:35.480 --> 0:05:37.760 going to go, and so obviously you just need to 0:05:37.760 --> 0:05:40.359 be prepared the same for every hurricane season. You know, 0:05:40.400 --> 0:05:42.359 hopefully it won't be as bad as last year's was, 0:05:42.440 --> 0:05:44.560 but you know, even if we only get one significant 0:05:44.600 --> 0:05:47.479 hurricane all year, you know that that significant hurricane hits you, 0:05:47.520 --> 0:05:50.280 it's an active season for you. I usually interview Phil 0:05:50.360 --> 0:05:52.719 once or twice this season, and it's funny that he 0:05:52.760 --> 0:05:55.679 can recall numbers and dates and years and which storm 0:05:55.680 --> 0:05:58.760 and which letter and I can't remember lunch yesterday. You know, 0:05:58.800 --> 0:06:01.599 it's funny. So Dr A like when we when we 0:06:01.640 --> 0:06:03.560 first met it, we just talking about baseball statistics, and 0:06:03.600 --> 0:06:05.800 remember he used to rattle off the stats of all 0:06:05.800 --> 0:06:07.440 the hurricane seasons and I was like, how does you 0:06:07.480 --> 0:06:09.200 know this stuff? But then once you will with it 0:06:09.240 --> 0:06:10.800 every day, you know, it just kind of becoming like 0:06:10.920 --> 0:06:14.240 it's like baseball stats, like you know, Ted Williams in four. 0:06:15.200 --> 0:06:16.919 So we don't know how bad it really is. And 0:06:16.960 --> 0:06:19.919 the Bahamas yet, Yeah, there's been some helicopter footage that 0:06:20.000 --> 0:06:23.760 shows communities wiped out and that death toll is continuing 0:06:23.800 --> 0:06:27.240 to climb. But the cost of rebuilding is really unknown 0:06:27.279 --> 0:06:30.320 as the environmental impact is still being measured. We've seen 0:06:30.640 --> 0:06:34.160 video of oil tanks and chemical tanks just spilled open, 0:06:34.200 --> 0:06:36.440 so we don't know the damage it's being done on 0:06:36.600 --> 0:06:39.440 the water, in the water under the water, let alone 0:06:39.480 --> 0:06:42.200 the foliage that just looks like it's been ripped away 0:06:42.200 --> 0:06:44.680 and we'll have to be replanted. So the cost of 0:06:44.720 --> 0:06:47.159 rebuilding all this is one thing. And then what do 0:06:47.200 --> 0:06:49.240 you rebuild? Do you make it like it was before 0:06:49.680 --> 0:06:51.919 it didn't look very hurricane improof then? And do we 0:06:51.960 --> 0:06:54.960 get more of these Cat five storms? And how should 0:06:54.960 --> 0:06:58.080 we make these things be sturdier for the future. And 0:06:58.120 --> 0:07:01.000 that's called mitigation. That an important point that we try 0:07:01.040 --> 0:07:03.200 to emphasize as you know, mitigation and trying to take 0:07:03.200 --> 0:07:07.960 proactive measures um because since we've seen huge increases in 0:07:08.040 --> 0:07:11.920 damage um and yet we've seen no increasing landfalls. And 0:07:11.920 --> 0:07:13.800 that's just because we have more people and more stuff, 0:07:13.840 --> 0:07:16.520 which because what happened in the Bahamas really could have 0:07:16.560 --> 0:07:19.640 happened to Florida. The initial forecast, yes, that one the 0:07:19.680 --> 0:07:23.960 President drew the sharpie around allegedly. Uh that initial forecast 0:07:24.040 --> 0:07:27.360 did have Dorian coming right through Florida like a steam engine, 0:07:27.760 --> 0:07:30.240 right through the heart of Orlando over Labor Day weekend. 0:07:30.320 --> 0:07:33.480 Imagine that all the tours and a Cat five storms 0:07:33.560 --> 0:07:36.840 storming and rolling overhead for days because it was a 0:07:36.880 --> 0:07:40.520 slow mover. Well, luckily that didn't happen. But the problem 0:07:40.520 --> 0:07:43.760 with mitigation is a big one. Those expensive high rises. 0:07:43.800 --> 0:07:46.040 Everybody wants to live on the coast, but no one 0:07:46.080 --> 0:07:48.760 wants to pay for it, especially insurance companies that seem 0:07:48.840 --> 0:07:51.120 to pay for it over and over and over again. 0:07:51.560 --> 0:07:54.080 And that bill somehow gets shifted down to the taxpayers 0:07:54.120 --> 0:07:56.760 through FEMA, which has to pay for it over and 0:07:56.880 --> 0:07:59.880 over and over again. So the relief efforts are underway 0:07:59.880 --> 0:08:02.440 in Bahamas. It's gonna take a long time. It looks 0:08:02.480 --> 0:08:04.880 like Florida missed the worst of it. It will cost 0:08:04.920 --> 0:08:06.840 tens of millions of dollars to clean up all the 0:08:06.920 --> 0:08:10.200 damage along the whole Florida coastline. And we're still not 0:08:10.240 --> 0:08:13.000 sure of what the storm reports will be from the Carolinas, 0:08:13.000 --> 0:08:15.240 but they'll need to be cleaned up to and we're 0:08:15.240 --> 0:08:18.880 all gonna pitch in through tax dollars and through insurance premiums. 0:08:18.920 --> 0:08:21.400 But that's the way the system works, because we'll also 0:08:21.440 --> 0:08:25.160 pay for it through our generous contributions charities, churches, and 0:08:25.240 --> 0:08:27.880 the human spirit. I'm Rory O'Neill.