hello, and welcome to our viewers in the united states. and around the. world i'm john. vause with the cnn center in atlanta. almost nine hours now since hurricane eta made landfall in southwest florida. and this monster storm continues to cause widespread flooding. and storm surges in 12 feet high in places. tonight, -- statewide. like trustees outed more than 2 million homes and businesses, and the power grid so badly damaged parts there are concerns it may need to be rebuilt. ian arrived at the state went just shy of a category five. it's since been downgraded to a category 1, but still remains very dangerous. authorities warning the worst

may yet be to come. ian is now slowly moving into central florida, with winds around 90 miles or 145 kilometers per hour. time lapse video shows water levels rising on the streets of fort myers, south of where it made landfall. the national hurricane center said the storm surge on florida's west coast has likely peaked, and is now starting to recede. but that will take time. and for now, levels remain high. the governor of florida warned of the dangers ahead. >> overwhelmingly, it's been that surge that has been the biggest issue. and the flooding that is resulted, as a result of that. in some areas, we think it's hit 12 feet. this has been a big storm, and it's done a lot of damage as it is. it's going to continue to move through the state of florida. you're going to see hurricane-force winds in places in central florida, perhaps. clearly a very strong tropical storm. >> cnn meteorologist pedram

javaheri should be staying with us for the hours ahead, tracking its path, while storm surge, so, pedram, over to you. >> yeah, we're watching a storm system that as you noted, nine hours overland. still maintaining category 1 intensity. still very symmetrical, and still producing an incredible amount of rain and went. the central and interior portion of florida, as it gradually shift across this region, i would be surprised we have another seven or eight hours before it reemerges back out of the eastern shores of the state of florida. by want to show you exactly what's in store for the coming hours here. because we know, of course, the incredible amount of rainfall in store will be an incredible concern. but the system not over yet. we do expect this to come ashore, possibly back over water as a tropical storm, impacting areas of the carolinas, georgia border as early as friday morning. but look, at the rainfall it has left behind here. as much as 15 to 20 inches. in some cases, widespread. and again, the wraparound flow behind the system will produce another round of possibly maybe 5 to 10 more inches before it's all said and done. so, just about every single

weather office across the heart of florida underneath flood alerts. a large majority of them underneath flood warnings, meaning flooding is imminent or occurring with the excessive rainfall amount. of course, a lot of this happening in the dark as we lost extensive power across the res region as well. but john, these wind speeds of 120, 140 miles per hour. observed, this time yesterday, we're talk about the system making landfall as a category 4, low-end category 4, about 130 mile per hour winds. but once you shift from one scale to another, the exponential increase in damage left behind, which is really going to make it devastating appearance here in the morning when we see the sun come back up across on these areas. 250 time increase when you increase from one category to the next, from 3 to 4. so, these increases we saw right at landfall is really want to make it for it entirely devastating landfall on these communities as the system moves across. notice, about 2 million customers in the dark across the central southwestern parts of the state of florida.

and the system will gradually make its way back over open waters. there is some indication that will try to strengthen. now, will it make it back up to category 1 hurricane? it's entirely possible. i don't know they'll have enough time to do that. but it's gonna have winds of maybe 55 to 65 miles per hour that moves back over it makes another landfall across the state of georgia. but a concern moving forward here will be excessive rainfall. we've discussed the winds. the moderates have come down, john, when you see these winds are potentially gonna be 50 to maybe 80 miles per hour a few spots, well away from where it made landfall. a lot of trees, a lot of additional power lines will still come doubt. so, you're still seeing power right now. this is a system here that certainly could bring quite a lot of activity towards the region of eastern florida once it arrives here. notice, it's about 70 miles south of orlando right now. but if you see some of our live shots from orlando, the intensity of the rain and the intensity of the winds will be get really pick up here in the coming hours as the system moves south of un into areas of eastern florida. john? >> pedram, thank you for that. so we're seven hours away from sunrise. we'll get a better idea what's

happening. let's go to gloria palomino, live in, tampa were 100 year long -- hundred year long streak continues. but officials are warning the worst is yet to come. >> that's right, john. but people here in tampa talk about the air being somewhat lucky, because it has yet to be directly impacted by our hurricane. days ago, we thought the hurricane was going to hit hard right here in tampa. now, tampa seems to have miss the eye of the hurricane. the worst has been missed by the area here as that storm clawed its way towards the west. and here in tampa, we are seeing several thousands of people reporting power outages. more than 450,000 people remain without power at this hour. hurricane in continues to move across the entire state, causing massive destruction and flooding in the area. >> >> hurricane ian slamming

florida gulf coast with near hurricane-force strength, causing life-threatening flooding. >> overwhelmingly it's been that surge that has been the biggest issue, and flooding. >> the monster storm making landfall with winds of 150 miles per hour. >> i've been here since the mid 70s. this is actually by far the worst storm i've ever seen. >> i can tell you, i'm looking at the businesses downtown that are all flooded, windows blown out. >> even before the worst of the storm hit, people in fort myers already seeing massive flooding. >> the storm surge is very significant. we're actually seeing cars and boats float down the street. >> hurricane force winds bringing down power lines. ahead of the storm, long lines on interstates as residents scramble to evacuate. some choosing to stay behind and ride it out. >> were ten and a half feet above sea level right now. and the water is coming into our house right now.

>> governor ron desantis submitted a request for a major disaster declaration for all 67 counties. which allows the federal government to send funds for cleanup. and we're nowhere near beginning the cleanup effort here in tampa, even as the hurricane was downgraded to a category 1. that still carrying 90 mile per hours winds. we've been feeling the effect of the winds here all night. in fact, we moved up here to higher ground just to get out of the way. tampa police warning people about being out on the street. we saw a couple of traffic lights crashing down onto the street. so, still very much a dangerous situation out there. and public officials asking people to stay put as hurricane ian continues its destructive path across the state, john? >> gloria, thank you. gloria pazmino live for us in tampa. you talked about those powerful

winds, and cnn's randi kaye was in punta gorda on the back side of this hurricane whipped through with incredible ferocity. there is a reporter. i am on the first floor of this hurricane garage. we came downstairs, just to show you what it's like down here. i see a stop sign that has been pushed over. i'm hearing myself in my ear, i will do my best to describe to you what i'm hearing. the wind is incredible out here right now, we did have the eye passover and it was very calm. there is no rain but right now, we are getting the worst of it. if you look down the street, if you come over here terry, you can see there's a little bit of the -- wrapped around the power line there. there's a tree down. and then on the other side, there's that stop sign. that has completely fallen. these winds, we're told, are on the other side. they came on the other side of the eye.

so, we are experiencing this. we're told this is going to last for several hours -- >> and hours before it made landfall in florida, a team of scientists and -- from noaa flew into the eye the storm, getting crucial information in part to forecast the hurricanes pass. a member of the team posted video on twitter of what he described as the worst flight into a storm he's ever had. >> there goes the signs. there goes the beds. holy cow. >> joining us now is robert rogers, who is on that flight. he was a meteorologist, lead meteorologist with those hurricane research division. rob, thank you for being with us. >> thank you for having me. >> so, even chasing storms for a while. now what is your experience like on that flight? and what does that say to you about the storm in particular? >> so, yeah, i've been doing this for about 25 years or so, and this one, every storm is

different. they have their own signature to it and i would certainly agree this is one of the referee flights i've been. on but to me what was unique about this one was the nature of the turbulence we hit. normally, you go through an eye wall, hit up and downdrafts, which is really turbulent. but this one, in addition to, that we had a lot of side to side motion. so, for me at least, that was very unusual. and so, you know, that makes it rank up there with probably one of the roughest flights i've ever had. what it says about the storm itself is, you know, this was a storm that was very -- it's a monster. it made landfall a few hours ago in florida. it's causing a lot of damage. and, you know, it's a tragedy for sure. and we were actually sampling the storm and the hours leading up to the landfall. we can see that it was definitely getting stronger. basically that eyewall, where the strongest winds were, it was contracting. as we were in the -- as we flew into the eyewall, we are trying to orbit in the eye, and the eyewall with sort of collapsing on a.

so, you know, it's a little harrowing at times. but, you know, the greatest respect for our flight crews at no, they're the best in the world. so, it was a great mission with a lot of flight. >> and one of your colleagues actually posted images of the eye of the storm. these are the photographs. you can see it's all lit. up this was at 8000 feet. and the light you're seeing is actually from a lightning strike. were you surprised at the amount of lightning in the eye? because usually when you're in the eye, it's sort of an area of calm? >> well, so the eye itself as an area of combat. the eye will around it, that's where the winds are the strongest in the rain is the heaviest. so, you do see, sometimes you will see lightning in the eyewall. and usually when you see that, it's indication that the storm is intensifying. you know, lightning is just an indication a very strong upper motion. and so, when you get that, again, that's when to get these intensifying. storms and so, we did see a lot of lightning in this one. to be honest, i was not looking a lot out the window at that point. i was focusing on the data we

were looking at. but i could see a lot, out of the corner of my eye, a lot of flashes. it was at nighttime, so it very much lit up, you know, the window next to me. so, again, that's just an indication that the storm was intensifying, which indeed it was. >> you and your colleagues launched an experimental research joan, when the most advanced so far, to gather information from the storm. how did that work out? and was there any sort of realtime information that came in that really caught your attention? >> yes, so, we, my colleagues and i released a drone for the first time for this type of drone in particular, called -- . it was a great success in terms of the data that it collected. it's a drone which launched from a plane, and then you can actually control it from the plane that we were on. and we are able to track it as it's flying down. sampling in regions of the storm that really know the main aircraft can safely fly, i would never do that, especially after today. but, you know, the drone was able to stay airborne for almost two hours. and his flying, essentially --

first of all, it flew in the eye itself. and then determine the exact position of the center. and then went out into the eyewall. it was orbiting around the eyewall at different altitudes, first of 5000 feet, then at 4000 feet, i think, then it got down as low as i think 500 feet and 200 feet. it was collecting, you know, wind measurements and, you know, information that can really help us get a better understanding of how strong the storm was. ultimately, i think will lead to some tremendous breakthroughs in the research that we can do at this air sea interface in islands that no aircraft never go to. so, you know that -- was >> any -- for you that came in? >> yeah, so, from the drone itself we are ill-to see winds of over 200 miles an hour at about 2000 feet above the surface. we also, you know, we're getting information in realtime from other instruments on the aircraft too. which basically was confirming, you know, next the extreme wind speeds were seeing in the storm today. and the drone was cecertainly important part of that observation. >> while, we w wish you all the

best for future flights. i hope they will be as rough, but i suspect they may be. appreciate you being with us robert, we really appreciate it. >> thank you very much for having me. >> still to come here on cnn, it's the storm surge. ian's worst it seems may be caused by storm surge, but it until we know how bad and how widespread. ♪ you see that? that's when i realized i'm ready to start my own place. yeah, i'm really excited. alright, that sounds great. so i'm making plans for right now. ♪ like going back to my roots and opening my own restaurant. ♪ start your plan today with a northwestern mutual financial advisor and spend your life living. ♪

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they're waiting for first flight in florida to assess the damage from those powerful hurricanes in the state's history. ian continues towards catastrophic flooding, and powerful, gusty winds causing damage across wide areas. hurricane ian was a storm category 4 when it made landfall wednesday near fort myers. it has since weakened to category 1, but remains

extremely dangerous. florida's governor reports storm surges up to 12 feet in parts. and is in slowly pushes inland, flash flood warnings have been issued across southwest florida. more than 2 million homes and businesses are without power. meteorologist derek van damme is in bradenton,, with more on ian's devastating impact. >> we're going close to ten hours of tropical storm force winds. hurricane ian has re-written in history books across the southwestern florida peninsula as one of the strongest storms to reach this store -- shoreline. i'm in bradenton, and we are part of the nearly 2 million customers haven't plunged into darkness. that's one of my greatest concerns for people, as the storm slowly marches across the state with its powerful winds and extremely heavy rain and dangerous conditions, as that people will have to endure this weather, this onslaught, in the darkness of night. very scary moments for people here, to say the least.

as a meteorologist, i witnessed something i have never seen before in my entire career. it is called reverse storm surge. the wind was so intense here early this morning that it actually pushed out the water from the river, from the manatee river, that's behind me here. some of these sailboats were actually sitting on their key eagles in the bradenton harbor. absolutely incredible. we actually had a moment as well where our communications and our electricity was disrupted because transformers were blowing behind us in the distance, sending sparks well into the sky. we also drove down from the city streets here, and saw debris getting lofted into the area. some of these heavy violent gusts that continue to move through. we've got a another few hours of some these intense wind. but not a major threat going forward, of course, is the inland flooding, with some locations already receiving 19 inches of rain. that's 2 to 3 months worth of rainfall for these locations. and it's not done yet, as the

storm emerges off the east coast of the florida peninsula. i'm cnn meteorologist derek van dam from bradenton, florida. >> thank, you derek. this county, just south of the city of naples -- 12 foot storm. search right, now powers out from the 250,000 homes and businesses. a mandatory curfew has been in place for one or two hours now, since 10 pm local time, and will be left by 6 am. -- castro is a commissioner for -- county, he joins us now for on the line from marco island. commissioner, thank you for being with us. >> thanks for having me, john. it's been a day. and we've got a lot ahead. of us >> is their -- sense of damage especially caused by that storm surge? >> as italy, and this hurricane was all about storm surge. everybody was kind of focus on where the i was going to land. but as your previous meteorologist will tell you, a lot of people were reporting that whoever was just south of that i, sort of in that dirty part of the storm, was going to

get some horrific storm surge. and we got every inch of it. you know, we lived through irma here in 2017. and a lot of storm surge was predicted. but at the last minute, that storm change quite a bit. and it left as a storm surge. but it gave people a little bit of a false sense of security -- meteorologists were kind of overestimate when that was not the case. well, the storm did all of the wrong things. i think, maybe all the right things that caused all the wrong problems. this storm came at us, and the storm search was catastrophic. so, although we had gusty winds, you know, we did not get the winds that, you know, folks in fort myers and northward got. it was pretty gusty here. but it was all about the water. you know, irma back in 2017 was all about the wind. and we had a lot of. damage but, this storm surge is something, just like you meteorologists said, unlike anything i've ever seen. and the flooding here on marco island, a big part of the

district where i'm a commissioner was hit extremely hard. and to levels that we have never seen before. >> i wasn't looking at some images coming from naples, florida. even the fire department, where the ambulance services are, they've been flooded as well. and just an idea of how extensive the flooding help from the storm surge has been. but the candid the did issue a mandatory evacuation order for some areas. is there any idea how many residents did not follow that? how many residents decide to ride out the storm? and is their concern for their safety given the storm surge? >> folks around, hear when there's a mandatory evacuation, they take it seriously. but you have a lot of seasonal people. you have people here, i mean, i'm sure you saw some of the video footage where, you know, people are partying down on key west as the waves are crashing over the top. they think it's sort of funny. you know, we get a lot of those seasonal folks here who have never lived through a hurricane. and initially, it does not seem that. that's the thing they're going to write it out. but the hurricane authority and whatnot -- i will say, john, that's the exception and not the rule. but those exceptions are what

our first responders have to respond to when those folks realize that they are in over their head. we had a lot of heroic actions today. today, the entire county, by our first responders. and also, we were helping leak county, as they had reported, you know, by their staff, because when they started to become overwhelmed, and, you know, we have the staff because we had a significant evacuation here, we are helping out our sister county with a lot of rescues and helping a lot of folks stay behind that probably should have. >> yeah, it's that time where everyone has to pull together. one of these problems it seems right now is the power. more than 250,000 residents in collier county are in the dark. >> [laughs] >> including yourself, right? >> right, that's not unlike what happened here a lot of times. what i would tell you is since we have such an aggressive evacuation here, yes, there is a lot of people without power. they just do not know it yet. because they are --

. getting a handle on, bringing power back to places that is a priority, our hospitals, you know, places where we have a high population of people who maybe did not evacuate. or they were not in an area that had to evacuate. you know, we will not know the extent of the number and the time it's going to take until probably until tomorrow. or maybe even a couple of days. i am literally landlocked here in marco island, because the water is so high. there are no passable roads here on. marco the storm surge did such damage here. and the water is still standing. and it seawater. so it's not rain. but it's, you know, wind combined with a very very unique and aggressive storm. surge so, we can't even get on the real estate. so we can't, and neither can our utility companies and our county staff. so, you know, it's going to take a bit to analyze what exactly we need to do, and the extent of the damage. >> i guess that's the point. because it's going to be a

while before it's safe to venture out. it's dark right now, so you cannot do anything anyway. so, this is gonna be a much longer process. an assessment, recovery, and rebuilding that we've seen in the past. at least it seems that way to me. >> absolutely, and you know, john, what are just so much incredible horrific damage. much like if you have a fire or a tornado, it's just -- when we've had hurricanes here, the wind does incredible damage as. well but, you know, you have roofs and things like that. and you know, that is not things to be taken lightly. but water is something that, you know, we've got utilities all over the county. and you know, when we have a 12 foot storm surge, and electrical boxes are sitting in water, it is the extent of the damage because of standing water and especially seawater from the gulf. you know, the level of the damage, and those are things that can be repaired. we have a lot of replacement that i belieieve is ahead of us. and, you know, a lot of expense

because of the damage from the storm surge. >> commissioner locastro, i should also mention your retired air force colonel as well, thank you for your time, we appreciate it. >> i appreciate, it we've got a lot to do, and still to do. it >> coming up on our coverage of hurricane ian, after this sht break. you're watching cnn. no way can i miss her big debut. with your booster, i think you'll be there. for every twirl. i got a shot so my sister won't get sick. way to go, big bro! so while we're here... ...flu shot, as well? let's do it. when you need to talk vaccinations, our pharmacists are here. ♪ ♪

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32 minutes. past the hour welcome back our viewers in the united states in around the. world i'm john vause at the cnn center. hurricane ian continues to move slowly across florida, with gusty powerful winds and heavy rain wreaking havoc across the state, gutting trees, flooding homes and businesses. florida's governor says the storm surge from ian hit 12 feet in places.

but, forecasters now say search levels have likely peaked in western florida, and are starting to recede. officials are urging people to remain cautious as water levels remain high. -- receiving calls from help form residents trapped in their home by rising. water many homes and businesses remain without water electricity, and the state governor is in the southeastern united's declared states of emergency ahead of eons arrival. >> we still have water on the streets. we have downed power lines. and it's a dangerous situation. we've already had several citizens that have have had to have been retrieved. and right now, we just want people to stay inside. we will let them know when it is safe to go back out. >> all flights from jacksonville airport in florida now canceled on thursday because of hurricane ian. let's go back now to cnn's pedram javaheri on where ian's right now. it's still a category one, right? >> it is still a category 1, john. it's maintain an intensity from

almost ten hours overland. and we think another six, seven hours before really immersion over the atlantic ocean. of course, it made landfall as a category 4, 150 miles per hour sustained winds, with at 1.150 file-mile-per-hour winds, make it the strongest storm to impact the western peninsula of florida since charlie back in 2004. with the same when seat, this system far larger in its scope. the system sitting 80 miles south of orlando. areas of concern right now, melbourne, winter haven, kind of feeling the brunt of the system as it cruises right past you, producing gusts that are up to 115 miles per hour. only moving at about eight miles per hour. typically, these tropical systems, you see the moving at about 15 miles per hour or so. it's gone across the state in a speedy fashion. but this one, really got to leave its mark behind when it comes to what it is going to cause as far as wind damage. of course, the incredible amount of rainfall in store. notice already over 2 million customers, of course customers typically account for 3 to 4

people, so can essentially multiply that number by three or four to get a gauge of how many people are in the dark tonight across a large area across the state of florida. we've been enhancing the models, taking you through the early morning hours. there is the center of the. storm you believe it will reemerge over the atlantic sometime as early as eight in the morning across the east coast of florida, near the space coast. and depending on where it crosses land, it's more of a southern trajectory, it will have more time over water before you can possibly strengthen and come back ashore. but more northern trajectory will certainly limit its ability to strengthen back up to our hurricane. some models do show it has the potential to try and spin up and get very close to hurricane force before it makes another landfall there across portions of georgia, and also south carolina border. not far from, savannah, georgia on friday morning. but there goes, the guidance brings it up to 65 miles per hour, just about nine miles shy of a category one hurricane. and brings it ashore across south carolina. as a result, as many as 17 million people from parts of florida, stretching to parts of the carolina under hurricane

watches, hurricane warnings in advance of the system because it is far from over when it comes to the next round of impacts across the east coast of florida. that said, look at this, the last 24 hours. upwards of 7000 plus flights have been impacted across the u.s. as a result of kind of domino effect of what's been happening across portions of southwest florida. and the amount of rainfall the system has weaponized pretty workable as well, john. color contours here just in the last 24 hours, it's about 140 mile stretch of land and water that has seen ten plus inches, some areas closing in on 20 inches of rainfall. and again, the system is a little bit more than halfway across the state of florida. so, additional rounds of rainfall expected before it is all said and done with. and that is really gonna be the biggest concern here with the significant area florida underneath flood alerts because of the system. >> it isn't over yet, pedram, thank you. ahead of the huge storm surge, even seem like a tsunami, sucking huge amount of water

for beaches and storm lines. leaving tampa almost dry before the water came surging back. cnn's callous -- reports now from tampa. the rain and wind out here in tampa has not let up. and this is how the hillsborough bay has looked for a good part of the day. you can see just how much of a river bed is exposed. hurricane ian has been pulling water from the bay, and a nearby river out into the gulf of mexico. our meteorologist tell us that even during high tide, the water was going out. emergency officials are worried that when all of that water comes back in, the forecast is calling for a storm surge of anywhere between 4 to 6 feet and 12 to 15 inches of rain. that's why presidents closest to the bay have been evacuated. folks have been out here the entire day taking photos and recording videos of that rare sight. that is something that emergency officials are trying to discourage. the city does expect some of that serious flooding to take place as hurricane ian moves

through. carlos suarez, cnn, tampa. carlos suarez, cnn, tampa. when we come back, western leaders are increasingly sususpicious out the leaks of a gas pipeline in the baltic sea. is it sabotage, but many are still looking seriously at russia. at bath fitter, every quality bath starts with quality people. our consultants help you choose from hundreds of bath options so we fit your style. our installers complete your work in as little as a day so we fit yourchedule. our manufacturing team customrafts your bath so we fit your standds, and it's guaranteed for life. when you can trust the people who create your new bath, it just fits. bath fitter. visit bathfitter.com to book your free consultation.

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♪ ♪ ♪ welcome back. right now, hurricane eta is hammering florida with destructive winds, torrential rain, and record-breaking storm surges. it is now a category one storm as it moves inland. the rising floodwaters have left sun residents trapped in their. home storm warnings are now extended up the east coast, covering georgia as well as the carolinas. this time lapse video shows flooding on sanibel island in southwest florida. ian has actually completely submerged within 30 minutes.

now, cnn's brian todd near st. petersburg, where flooding and wind damage around the only concerns for some homes. here in largo, florida, just north of st. petersburg, we got a tip that there was a house that suffered significant damage in a fire. we pulled up to the house, in the front, we observed that most of the structure looked actually kind of intact in the front, with the exception of a blown out window. then, i walked around to the side into the back. and this is what we found. this house damage in a fire wednesday morning or afternoon. just devastation throughout the house. you see the pool back there, just in the foreground here, just look at the extent of this devastation. we can kind of bring you over this way. our photojournalist wayne moss and i will take you through these rooms here, through this window. look at that. just complete devastation from this fire. one of the neighbors who sent us a video of the fire while it was burning, a very dramatic video, said that the fire started when a power lines

snapped off a transformer across the street. and it was just a devastating fire at the height of the storm. we did talk to the owner. the house has been in the family for about 50 years. the owner just inherited it, came back in a trial renovate the house. and then this happens. he says it is fully insured. but again, how much of this is recover bull, that's anyone's guess at this point. we also traveled around to other areas around st. petersburg. and here in the town of largo, we went to a neighborhood of manufactured homes, found the roots rift all of two houses. so, just fanning out and getting a sense of the devastation here in the st. petersburg area. this is just the beginning of that kind of assessment. brian todd, cnn, largo, florida. ♪ ♪ ♪ the u.s. embassy in moscow is urging americans to leave russia immediately, while they are still options to do so. the security alert comes after president vladimir putin announced the partial

mobilization of russian men to fight in ukraine. the alert warns that russian authorities have arrested u.s. citizens who have participate in demonstrations, and may conscript june nationals for military service. meantime, the lines of many trying to flee russia are going by the day. police border guard has said 50,000 russians have entered finland since the partial model is a shunt was announced a week. a russian state media warns that draft papers will be handed to all eligible men trying to leave russia for georgia. cnn's melissa bell has the. details to the safety of georgia, they have walked. or cycled, carrying what they can in their tens of thousands. not ukrainians fleeing the war, but russians flee the draft. >> [speaking non-english] >> i came because we don't know what to expect, says danish. the country has no plan, and we can see that. the feeling of uncertainty is

our biggest fear. dennis says he walked for six days to get to the lars crossing. others are stuck in their cars on the other side. the line of traffic at a virtual standstill, and getting longer every day. many abandoning their cars altogether. like this man, who walked the final 20 kilometers to get across the border. he will not show his face because of the wife and three children he had to leave behind. the war in ukraine, he says, is not black and white. but the draft is. >> [speaking non-english] >> if it does not concern us today, it will tomorrow, he says. on tv they tell us this is being done to defend our country. but on the other hand, it turns out, we just grab somebody else's land. they are students, matt features, marketing managers. many of them not even eligible for the draft a 300,000 men with military experience, but fearful of where it will lead. >> all because we cannot trust our government anymore, because

they speak a lot of lies every time. and we already hear that there will not be any mobilization at all. but six months later, we hear. and what will go on in another six months? i do not know. and i do not want to find out. >> georgia's first few steps into georgia determine but also filled with sadness. and the fear he says that he may be walking away from his motherland for good. melissa bell, cnn, on the georgia russian border. un security officials say russian navy ships have moved into the vicinity -- of the northeast pipelines. that's according to new western officials. it's unclear if chips had anything to do with two explosions believed responsible for leaks in the nord stream pipeline. last, week russian submarines were not seen in the area. this was according to the same source. denmark says an investigation

could take a few weeks into what caused the explosion. but western leaders say sabotage is the most likely scenario. the former cia director saying one step further saying russia is the probable culprit. >> while, i think all of the signs point to some type of sabotage, at least. these pipelines are only about 200 feet or so of water. russia does have an undersea capability that could easily lay explosive devices by those pipelines. and i do think it's a signal to europe that russia could reach beyond ukraine's borders. so, who knows what he might be planning next. but i think this is clearly a of sabotage of some sort. and russia is certainly the most likely suspect. >> two sources now tell cnn the u.s. wore the europeans over the summer that gas pipelines could be targeted. the kremlin dismissing any accusations says quote, stupid and absurd. the pipeline was an operation at the time. although they still had natural pressurized gas. our coverage of hurricane ian

will continue after a short break. an update is just ahead. plus, we'll tell you how the biden administration is responding to the disaster. ♪ ♪ this is the moment. for a treatment for moderate-to-severe eczema. cibinqo — fda approved. 100% steroid free. not an injection, cibinqo is a once-daily pill for adults who didn't respond to previous treatments. and cibinqo helps provide clearer skin and less itch. cibinqo can lower your ability to fight infections,

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winning rapper and actor giddyup known for's 90s hits gangsters paradise has died aged 59 according to his friend and manager. the cause of death he rose to fame in the los angeles wrap seem he was on mtv when it played music. gangster paradise became one of

the most popular rap songs of all time. this past july the song reached a milestone, one billion views on youtube. a 30s in florida are waiting for daylight to assess the impact of one of the most powerful hurricanes in the states history which continues to unleash catastrophic flooding and wind damage in iris. hurricane in was a strong category four when it made landfall in fort myers and it remains extremely dangerous. florida's governor says storm surges were up to 12 feet in some parts. flash flood warnings have been issued across southwest florida, more than 2 million businesses gnomes of lost power. the white house is preparing to help. on wednesday president joe biden spoke with the mayor of fort myers and pledged some support. this is governor ron desantis urging president apply.

cnn's phil mattingly has the details. >> white house officials are keenly aware of the scale of the disaster that they were confronting in florida required a significant amount of federal support, something, they've done with over the course of president biden over 18 months in office. the situation would be no different no matter how catastrophic it was gonna be. the president signing an emergency declaration law and order, unlocking thousands of gallons of oil, propane, millions of meals, throughout florida and even alabama waiting for what was coming. the president even before the storm saying this. my message >> my message is being absolutely clear is that we are an alert and an action for any request to florida has made for temporary systems, emergency assistance, long term assistance that i've made. >> it's not just resources it's also personnel.

the president has been on the phone with the governor, with mayors throughout the state that was targeted by this hurricane. it looked like they were gonna get hit by the hurricane at the get of it eventually by the hurricane. more than 1300 emergency personnel were already on the ground. hundreds more could arrive search and rescue teams are a rubber riding. the federal government is probably the best position to handle storms and crises of this scale. the biden administration at least to the lead off to the hurricane knew full well what was developing in a best to get in front of that how they respond to in the next couple of days will be critical. something to white house officials make clear they understand and know well. phil mattingly, cnn, the white house. thank you for watching cnn newsroom i'm john vaususe. we broke witith breaking news of the hurricane ian after very shshort break. 24 hour protection. prilosec otc one pill, , 24 hours, zero heartburn.

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