FEMA Administrator: Lee County Was Ground Zero For Ian's Impact

>>> OUR COVERAGE OF TROPICAL >>> OUR COVERAGE OF TROPICAL STORM IAN CONTINUES, WE HAVE A LIVE PICTURE HERE OUT OF JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA, WHERE YOU CAN SEE THE WINDS ARE STILL HIGH. THE CAMERA IS SHAKING A BIT. THE STORM, TROPICAL STORM LEVEL RIGHT NOW IS OVER ORLANDO. HEADED NORTH THROUGHOUT THE END OF THE DAY. BUT THE BIGGEST ISSUE IS WHAT HURRICANE IAN LEFT IN ITS WAKE. THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST POWERFUL HURRICANES TO BE RECORDED IN U.S. HISTORY. AND IT HIT SOUTHWEST FLORIDA AT A VERY STRONG CATEGORY 4 LEVEL. LET’S GO STRAIGHT TO FEMA ADMINISTRATOR,

DEANNE CRISWELL, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR BEING ON. I WOULD LIKE TO START WITH THE MOST IMPORTANT THING HERE, WHICH IS HUMAN LIFE, AND WE ARE HEARING FROM THE LEAD COUNTY SHERIFF IN THE FORT MYERS, FLORIDA, AREA SAYING JUST MOMENTS AGO THAT CASUALTIES COULD BE IN THE HUNDREDS. CAN YOU TELL US ANYTHING MORE ABOUT THAT? WHAT DO YOU KNOW? >> YEAH, GOOD MORNING, MIKA, WHAT I KNOW RIGHT NOW ISEE COUNTY WAS BASICALLY GROUND ZERO FOR THE IMPACTS THAT WERE SEEN FROM HURRICANE IAN. AND WE KNOW THAT WE ARE GOING TO HAVE CATASTROPHIC IMPACTS TO THAT

AREA. MY HEART GOES OUT RIGHT NOW TO EVERYBODY IN LEE COUNTY AS WELL AS PEOPLE THAT ARE IN THE STORM’S PATH. WE HAVE A FEW REPORTS OF SOME FATALITIES.

WE KNOW FROM THE SHERIFF AND OTHER REPORTS THAT THEY EXPECT THE NUMBER TO GO UP. WE HAVE HAD SEARCH AND RESCUE TEAMS OUT SINCE 4:00 THIS MORNING GOING THROUGH THE COUNTY NOW TRYING TO DETERMINE WHERE PEOPLE ARE, WHO NEEDS TO BE RESCUED SO WE CAN SAVE THE MOST LIVES THAT WE CAN. >> ADMINISTRATOR CRISWELL, THANK YOU FOR BEING WITH US THIS MORNING. CAN YOU TELL US WHAT

HAPPENS NOW, THE SUN IS OFFICIALLY UP AS OF ONE MINUTE AGO, WHAT IS YOUR NEXT MOVE, HOW QUICKLY WILL YOU BE OUT ASSESSING THE DAMAGE. >> OUR CREWS WERE WORKING THROUGH THE NIGHT AS INDIVIDUALS WERE CALLING 911 TO REPORT THAT THEY WERE BEING TRAPPED OR THAT THEY NEEDED HELP BEING RESCUED. OUR TEAMS WORKED WITH THE STATE AND LOCAL OFFICIALS TO ASSESS AND PRIORITIZE WHERE THE HIGHEST AREA OF NEED WAS AND SO THE SEARCH AND RESCUE TEAMS THAT WENT OUT AT 4:00 THIS MORNING, THEY’RE GOING TO WHERE THE LOCAL OFFICIALS HAD SAID THEIR GREATEST NEED WAS.

I WOULD SAY THAT WHAT WE DID IS FLEW SOME FLIGHTS TOGETHER, IMAGERY BEFORE THE STORM. AS SOON AS IT’S SAFE FOR THEM TO FLY. THEY’RE GOING TO GATHER POST STORM IMAGERY, SO WE CAN DEFINE WHERE THE GREATEST IMPACTS ARE, AND GET BOOTS ON THE GROUND IN THE AREAS OF GREATEST NEED. OUR PRIORITY IS LICHFE SAFETY. WE WANT TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE CREWS TO SUPPORT PEOPLE THAT NEED HELP BEING RESCUED. WE’RE GOING TO CONTINUE THROUGHOUT THE DAY, ALL THE WHILE PREPARING FOR WHAT MAY HAPPEN ON THE EASTERN COAST OF FLORIDA TODAY. >> MS. CRISWELL IN

LEE COUNTY, AND COLLIER COUNTY, FLORIDA, FORT MYERS, NAPLES AREA, THE SUN IS ABOUT TO COME UP. COULD YOU PLEASE FOR THOSE WHO STILL HAVE POWER WHO MIGHT BE WATCHING OR LISTENING, COULD YOU TALK ABOUT THE DANGERS OF THE DAY AFTER. THERE ARE A LOT OF WIRES DOWN, I ASSUME, PLACES LIKE THAT. PEOPLE ARE GOING TO WANT TO VENTURE OUT OF VENTURE VENTURE OUT OF WHERE THEY ARE, ESCAPE FROM WHERE THEY ARE. COULD YOU PLEASE TALK ABOUT DANGERS OF THE MORNING AFTER. >> IT’S IMPORTANT FOR PEOPLE TO STAY VIGILANT AND LISTEN TO THEIR LOCAL OFFICIALS. WE

TALK A LOT ABOUT THE DANGERS OF WATER AND STORM SURGE AND THE INTENSE RAINFALL THAT WE WERE GOING TO SEE, BUT THIS WATER IS EQUALLY IF NOT MORE DANGEROUS AFTER THE STORM. THERE IS DEBRIS IN THE WATER. THERE’S HAZARDOUS CHEMICALS THAT MAY HAVE BEEN DUMPED INTO THIS WATER. THERE’S POTENTIAL OF DOWNED POWER LINES AND EVEN IF THEIR NOT DOWN KNOW, WE DON’T KNOW IF THEY’RE STABLE OR MIGHT ENERGIZE THE WATER. PEOPLE NEED TO BE EXTREMELY CAREFUL. I WOULD SAY THERE’S NO WATER THAT’S SACH TOFE TO WADE THROUGH RIGHT NOW. THERE’S STILL A LOT OF VIOLENT

MOVEMENT IN THE WATER AS WELL AS THE DEBRIS, AND SO PEOPLE JUST NEED TO TAKE EXTREME CAUTION AS THEY ARE VENTURING OUTSIDE OF THEIR HOME TODAY. >> MS. CRISWELL, I’M CURIOUS ABOUT YOU SAY THAT LEE COUNTY IS GROUND ZERO FOR THIS HURRICANE. HOW WIDE AN AREA IS THAT? HOW POPULATED IS IT? AND I KNOW WE ONLY HAVE YOU FOR A SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME. WHAT CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT HOW HOSPITALS ARE HOLDING UP IN THE AREA? >> YEAH, WE KNOW THAT THERE’S A FEW HOSPITALS. THERE’S NINE HOSPITALS THAT WE ARE FOCUSED ON RIGHT NOW

IN LEE COUNTY. THE REPORTS THAT I HAVE THIS MORNING IS THAT LEE COUNTY’S WATER HAS BEEN DISRUPTED AND SO WE’RE FOCUSED ON A COUPLE OF THINGS. WE’RE SUPPORTING THE STATE IN ASSESSING WHAT THE EXTENT OF THAT DAMAGE IS, HOW QUICKLY IT CAN BE REPAIRED AND WHETHER WE’RE GOING TO HAVE TO DO ADDITIONAL EVACUATIONS IF WE CAN’T GET IT REPAIRED QUICKLY ENOUGH. SO IT’S A FOCUS AREA, BUT THAT’S JUST ONE SPOT, RIGHT. WE KNOW THAT THERE WERE IMPACTS ALONG THE WESTERN COAST, AND SO I DON’T WANT TO MAKE IT SOUND LIKE WE’RE JUST FOCUSED THERE. WE

KNOW THERE’S IMPACTS ACROSS THE WESTERN COAST, AND WE’RE FOCUSED ON ALL OF THE AREAS THAT WERE IN THE PATH OF THE STORM. >> OKAY. AND YOU SAID THERE’S A HOSPITAL THAT MAY NEED TO BE EVACUATED OR WHAT WAS THAT SPECIFICALLY? >> WE KNOW THERE’S NINE HOSPITALS IN LEE COUNTY THAT THE STATE IS LOOKING AT RIGHT NOW TO DETERMINE WHETHER OR NOT WE’RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO GET OT WATER RESTORED TO THEM, OR WHETHER OR NOT THEY’RE GOING TO HAVE TO BE EVACUATED. >> THEY HAVE NO WATER. >> CORRECT. >> OKAY. AND WHAT ARE YOU

HEARING ABOUT CASUALTIES IN OTHER AREAS IN SOUTHWEST FLORIDA AT THIS POINT? >> I THINK WHAT WE’RE HEARING THROUGH THE NIGHT, NOT A LOT YET, BUT I THINK AS SOON AS DAYLIGHT COMES AND THE FIRST RESPONDERS CONTINUE TO GET OUT THERE, WE’RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO GET MORE INFORMATION. THESE NUMBERS ARE GOING TO BE VERY DYNAMIC THROUGHOUT THE DAY TODAY.