1 00:00:00,880 --> 00:00:03,320 Speaker 1: Jersey and Amanda jam Nation. 2 00:00:03,600 --> 00:00:06,359 Speaker 2: Well. More than a million residents in Florida are desperately 3 00:00:06,400 --> 00:00:10,639 Speaker 2: trying to escape Hurricane Milton. It's been downgraded from a 4 00:00:10,680 --> 00:00:13,160 Speaker 2: Category five to a category four, but it poses even 5 00:00:13,200 --> 00:00:16,160 Speaker 2: more danger as it continues to grow in size ahead 6 00:00:16,160 --> 00:00:19,040 Speaker 2: of its projected landfall in around twenty four hours. This 7 00:00:19,160 --> 00:00:22,640 Speaker 2: comes just two weeks after Hurricane Helene swept through the area. 8 00:00:22,800 --> 00:00:25,599 Speaker 2: Channel seven's US Bureau chief David Woywood, is on the 9 00:00:25,600 --> 00:00:28,000 Speaker 2: ground at Treasure Island in Florida and joins US Now. 10 00:00:28,120 --> 00:00:32,199 Speaker 1: Hello, David, good morning guys. How are you good to have. 11 00:00:32,200 --> 00:00:32,960 Speaker 3: You back on the show. 12 00:00:33,040 --> 00:00:36,280 Speaker 2: David, Yeah, what a terrifying scene. Talk us through what's happening. 13 00:00:37,640 --> 00:00:39,960 Speaker 1: Yeah, well we are. We're on Treasure Island right now. 14 00:00:40,000 --> 00:00:42,240 Speaker 1: So this is one of the barrier islands to Tampa 15 00:00:42,320 --> 00:00:44,440 Speaker 1: City there, so it's going to be one of the 16 00:00:44,479 --> 00:00:48,400 Speaker 1: first places that actually gets impacted by Milton when it 17 00:00:48,600 --> 00:00:53,320 Speaker 1: roars ashore in as you say, twenty four hours or so. So, yes, 18 00:00:53,360 --> 00:00:56,080 Speaker 1: it's tracking at about a category four at the moment. 19 00:00:56,080 --> 00:00:59,240 Speaker 1: It has been downgraded, but the fury is it could 20 00:00:59,320 --> 00:01:02,080 Speaker 1: still go back up to a category five over the 21 00:01:02,120 --> 00:01:05,280 Speaker 1: next twenty four hours or so, and then of course 22 00:01:05,319 --> 00:01:07,040 Speaker 1: all the damage that has already been done. We're just 23 00:01:07,120 --> 00:01:09,760 Speaker 1: driving through communities right now, and I'm looking at street 24 00:01:09,800 --> 00:01:11,920 Speaker 1: after street, block after block of these homes that have 25 00:01:12,000 --> 00:01:14,720 Speaker 1: just absolutely been gutted by the storm surge and wins 26 00:01:14,720 --> 00:01:18,640 Speaker 1: from Hurricane Helen. So these guys have already lost absolutely everything. 27 00:01:18,720 --> 00:01:21,319 Speaker 1: It is currently a ghost town because the entire place 28 00:01:21,360 --> 00:01:24,640 Speaker 1: had to be evacuated once again, and they're just about 29 00:01:24,959 --> 00:01:27,840 Speaker 1: to lose again the very little that they had left. 30 00:01:27,959 --> 00:01:30,520 Speaker 3: And while that storm goes on, a social media storm 31 00:01:30,640 --> 00:01:32,720 Speaker 3: is going on as well, which seems to be coming 32 00:01:32,800 --> 00:01:35,520 Speaker 3: up on my feed that all the aid that they're 33 00:01:35,720 --> 00:01:38,960 Speaker 3: giving they're giving that to illegal immigrants instead of the 34 00:01:39,720 --> 00:01:43,039 Speaker 3: victims of the storm. Cell that seems to be. 35 00:01:43,040 --> 00:01:46,640 Speaker 1: Yes, this is the yeah. No, sorry, I was sorry 36 00:01:46,680 --> 00:01:50,000 Speaker 1: to interrupt. Yes. It's become a real part now of 37 00:01:50,040 --> 00:01:52,760 Speaker 1: this storm. It's really sort of swayed into that political 38 00:01:52,840 --> 00:01:55,280 Speaker 1: territory now. And Donald Trump and his team have been 39 00:01:55,360 --> 00:01:57,880 Speaker 1: very vocal on this, and they have been making these claims. Now, 40 00:01:57,920 --> 00:02:03,240 Speaker 1: these are claims that have been hit back by Republican governors. 41 00:02:03,600 --> 00:02:06,480 Speaker 1: Republican governors in these states that have actually been hit 42 00:02:06,600 --> 00:02:08,839 Speaker 1: as well. And we've heard from Kamala Harris and Joe 43 00:02:08,840 --> 00:02:10,920 Speaker 1: Biden as well, and they have said so they've had 44 00:02:10,960 --> 00:02:13,760 Speaker 1: a very good relationship, and that every resource is now 45 00:02:13,800 --> 00:02:16,800 Speaker 1: being thrown at FEMA, that is the National Emergency Agency 46 00:02:17,280 --> 00:02:20,520 Speaker 1: and all of those organizations that are helping people on 47 00:02:20,560 --> 00:02:23,360 Speaker 1: the ground. So in fact, that has been called out 48 00:02:23,400 --> 00:02:26,960 Speaker 1: for being incorrect. Still it hasn't stopped Donald Trump and 49 00:02:27,080 --> 00:02:30,120 Speaker 1: his team from pushing that narrative. And as you point out, 50 00:02:30,200 --> 00:02:32,200 Speaker 1: you're seeing it on your social media feed. I can 51 00:02:32,200 --> 00:02:34,400 Speaker 1: tell you that a lot of people here in Florida 52 00:02:34,440 --> 00:02:36,400 Speaker 1: they're seeing it on their social media feed too. And 53 00:02:36,440 --> 00:02:38,360 Speaker 1: a place where there is a little bit of an 54 00:02:38,400 --> 00:02:41,720 Speaker 1: information vacuum at the moment, it's sort of taken center stage. 55 00:02:41,960 --> 00:02:44,560 Speaker 2: And also, this is the hottest that the Gulf of 56 00:02:44,560 --> 00:02:48,280 Speaker 2: Mexico has ever been and even a regular storm amps 57 00:02:48,360 --> 00:02:51,000 Speaker 2: up into hurricane territory when it goes over the heat 58 00:02:51,200 --> 00:02:53,640 Speaker 2: of the Gulf of Mexico. That water is now so warm. 59 00:02:53,639 --> 00:02:55,960 Speaker 2: We're only a month away from the election and it 60 00:02:55,960 --> 00:02:58,120 Speaker 2: seems we're talking about eating cats and dogs and climate 61 00:02:58,200 --> 00:02:59,600 Speaker 2: change isn't even being discussed. 62 00:03:01,240 --> 00:03:03,239 Speaker 1: Yeah, it's been pushed right to the background. There's a 63 00:03:03,240 --> 00:03:06,519 Speaker 1: lot of personality politics at the moment are certainly cats 64 00:03:06,520 --> 00:03:09,280 Speaker 1: and dogs and whatever else has been thrown around over 65 00:03:09,320 --> 00:03:12,200 Speaker 1: the past few weeks as well. I reckon that this 66 00:03:12,240 --> 00:03:15,960 Speaker 1: could even be the October surprise as well. How you know, 67 00:03:16,120 --> 00:03:20,800 Speaker 1: both sides now respond to this emergency disaster, and this 68 00:03:20,880 --> 00:03:22,440 Speaker 1: is going to be huge. As you pointed out, it's 69 00:03:22,440 --> 00:03:26,880 Speaker 1: growing inside as those hours go on. Now it's going 70 00:03:26,960 --> 00:03:28,960 Speaker 1: to be a huge moment for this election. We are 71 00:03:29,000 --> 00:03:32,960 Speaker 1: now under four weeks until Americans actually go to the polls. 72 00:03:33,320 --> 00:03:37,680 Speaker 1: Early voting has already started, so if they're going to 73 00:03:37,680 --> 00:03:40,640 Speaker 1: be voting on how they want their government to respond 74 00:03:40,720 --> 00:03:44,520 Speaker 1: in situations like this, it could, you know, be quite influential. 75 00:03:45,240 --> 00:03:48,320 Speaker 2: I saw some tiktoks of people in Florida in floods 76 00:03:48,320 --> 00:03:51,640 Speaker 2: of tears because the governor DeSantis isn't even taking calls 77 00:03:51,640 --> 00:03:54,520 Speaker 2: from the White House, and he claims that they've politicized it. 78 00:03:54,800 --> 00:03:57,280 Speaker 2: They're saying, you're politicizing it, and meanwhile people are saying, 79 00:03:57,280 --> 00:03:58,720 Speaker 2: can somebody help us please? 80 00:04:00,320 --> 00:04:02,680 Speaker 1: Yeah. So we've heard from Kamala Harris today. She's actually 81 00:04:02,720 --> 00:04:05,360 Speaker 1: been on the view of the Daytime TV show that 82 00:04:05,520 --> 00:04:08,320 Speaker 1: was put to her, and she said that she has 83 00:04:08,360 --> 00:04:10,560 Speaker 1: made several attempts to try and get in touch with 84 00:04:10,640 --> 00:04:15,320 Speaker 1: Governor DeSantis and that hasn't happened for whatever reason up 85 00:04:15,400 --> 00:04:18,520 Speaker 1: until this point. We've also heard from Joe Biden today. 86 00:04:18,520 --> 00:04:20,760 Speaker 1: He said that he managed to speak to him and 87 00:04:20,800 --> 00:04:24,120 Speaker 1: he has praised to Santus and his response here. So 88 00:04:24,760 --> 00:04:27,159 Speaker 1: it's not actually what's happening on the ground that seems 89 00:04:27,160 --> 00:04:29,440 Speaker 1: to be the problem. It's the politics around it, and 90 00:04:29,440 --> 00:04:32,520 Speaker 1: it's the message that's being sold around that man. 91 00:04:33,080 --> 00:04:36,880 Speaker 3: That's the thing with politics. What a mess? What a mess? Well, Dave, 92 00:04:37,080 --> 00:04:39,479 Speaker 3: you've explained it all to us. Thank you for joining us, 93 00:04:39,680 --> 00:04:42,040 Speaker 3: and we'll check you out on Channel seven News tonight. 94 00:04:42,279 --> 00:04:44,719 Speaker 3: You'll be giving you some more details now and throughout 95 00:04:44,760 --> 00:04:45,520 Speaker 3: the day as well. 96 00:04:46,880 --> 00:04:48,760 Speaker 1: We will do. Thanks guys, talk soon. 97 00:04:48,880 --> 00:04:52,200 Speaker 3: Thanks to seven years US Bureau Chief Dave Woyward. 98 00:04:52,200 --> 00:04:54,480 Speaker 2: There and in the midst of all that, more than 99 00:04:54,480 --> 00:04:58,320 Speaker 2: a million residents are desperately trying to escape this new hurricane, 100 00:04:58,360 --> 00:04:59,560 Speaker 2: weeks after the last one. 101 00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:02,320 Speaker 3: People are believing that the thing about the money for 102 00:05:02,360 --> 00:05:03,680 Speaker 3: the legal immigrants. 103 00:05:03,680 --> 00:05:06,760 Speaker 2: This is this. In this post truth world, Donald Trump 104 00:05:06,839 --> 00:05:08,920 Speaker 2: could say anything and people will believe it.