♪ ♪ ♪ >> hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from the united states and all around the world. i'm kristie lu -- rescue crews strangling to rescue those stranded -- the national hurricane center says that the category one storm has regained some strength and is now expected to make landfall near myrtle beach in the coming hours.

in florida, the hurricane has killed at least 19 people with that is an early figure. the u.s. president has warned that the loss of life could be substantial. hundreds of people have already been rescued, millions are without power. >> some of the damage was almost indescribable to see a house just sitting in the middle of a sterile bay. literally must have gotten picked up, flown because of the massive wind speed, the storm surge, and deposited in a body of water. there were cars floating in the middle of the water. some of the homes were total losses. >> the governor has called the storm surge and santa belle biblical. it's america's emergency crews are still trying to get help to those who need it. the barrier islands of vacation spot was cut off when the hurricane took down part of the causeway to the mainland.

>> our first priority was getting on the island for search and rescue. as there were significant number of people that remain on the island. during the catastrophic weather event that we faced. right now, you know it is important for us to just go ahead and say okay, do you have food and water. are you okay? as we go to those annexed areas. because it is going to take a few days to get us to all the places that they have been reports. and continue to get those reports coming in. >> over and over, we have been hearing from florida residents who were shot by how quickly hurricane ian turned from that to worse, to life-threatening. brian todd has this report. >> up and down florida's west coast, residents facing flooded homes, neighborhoods underwater. just let it without fans and cars. roofs torn off. both correct. roads blocked by flooding and debris. after a stormy night of tearing winds, rushing water and

last-minute escapes as a category four hurricane ripped through. >> all of a sudden, we flooded. >> the house flooded, it just started going deeper and deeper. by the time we were walking, out we were mid-thigh in water. >> the naples fire department carrying out water rescues even though some of their own stations were flooded. first responders even spotted on jet skis. bill hogan said the water which two or three feet in his house. he thinks the boat on his lawn came from two blocks away. >> they should give you some sense of how much water was here. was at least three feet of water throughout the whole street. >> fort myers among the hardest hit, from the waterfronts, to downtown, to inland neighborhoods. >> pictures, memories, gone. >> fort myers beach, now a debris field. import charlotte, thought it at a hospital icu. >> we got people out of the icu. the problem then ended up being that this water gushed down the stairwell as we see there.

and on to other floors. >> the causeway to santa belle island, breached in several places. anyone who stayed there now cut off from the only length to the mainland. >> more than 2.5 million customers lost power with repair crews just beginning to fan out. officials warning residents that hazards remain. >> there are things that could truly hurt you in the water that could be electricity, there could be put down power lines. >> please stay out of the road unless it's an emergency. >> and it's not just the west coast, damage extending well into central florida. orlando saw more than a foot of rain. prompting high water rescues. >> holy mackerel! this trailer here is actually underwater. >> and residents at a nosing home evacuated. and to, semi truck to victims brought to safety with airboats. this family saying that they lost everything and were taken out a window. another woman wishes she had evacuated before the storm. >> i heard the neighbor screaming. i want to look out the window, the car was submerged. so we tried to get the vehicles

out. but it was too late. >> even in the, east of jacksonville, st. augustine, st. coastal flooding and strong winds. >> we come across scenes like this with people tossing out their biggest possessions all over the city of naples, city officials telling reporters that they believe the property damage to the city itself could go as high as $20 million. the damage to personal property like this could be as high as $200 million. and one city official saying that is a conservative estimate. brian todd, cnn, naples, florida. >> meteorologist karen mcinnis is tracking in track. and karen joins us now, it's getting very close to where home is for you. where is it tracking now? >> yes, we got our update from the national hurricane center. and i want to give you that since we made such an impression that perhaps you should stay and see what happens from the national hurricane center as i'm information of 2 am. very little has changed. it still has winds of 85 miles an hour.

sometimes we see kind of this lag. we did see it with the last update at 11 pm eastern time. most of the have a deep convection is still offshore, most of what charleston and the entire coast of south carolina is experiencing its mostly light precipitation but the winds have been gusty. i saw reports of the past hour where the wind gust in hilton head to about 41 miles an hour. so there's this gradual uptick as far as the wind speeds are concerned. now i think this is fascinating. we haven't really talked about these spaghetti models but look at this, the majority of the now kind of rains in this region kind of splitting the difference between charleston and myrtle beach. now these can change as we all know if you remember ian was supposed to make landfall right around tampa. but no, it was much further south, so devastating there for so many people at one time almost 3 million people without power, down, trees downed power

lines, people's homes gone. just devastating. and now we've got a third landfall. so we had puerto rico, florida, and now looks like this coastal region of north carolina. some of this rainfall will be very impressive all the way from charleston, to myrtle beach, surfside, maros and, let's police island, at the snow, those look to be the areas that could see five, ten, maybe 15 inches of rainfall. all right, here's that cone. don't focus on the cone because there are -- perturbation to describe hurricanes. they have these very little jobs, but there is a track. we just have to kind of narrow this down because already so close to the coast. it's about 175 miles to the south, south, east of charleston. but this wind shield extending all the way from the central coast to north carolina, to south carolina, to the coast of georgia, and even into florida.

it is so broad, everybody is going to be impacted. this is millions and millions of people in the rainfall is going to be devastating. make sure you have a plan for what to do if you get trapped or stranded in some areas. we saw that problem in fort, in naples, in some of those areas that had been so devastating. but i'll be back at this about 20 minutes, kristie, and we'll bring you another update. that's coming up. >> yeah, it's good to have all of these models, as you point, out it can change in an instant. we appreciate you will be back in 20 minutes. karen mcinnis, thank you. >> hurricane ian is bearing down on the north and south carolina coastlines. the governor of south carolina says people need to be prepared right now. >> we know what's coming. so there's a little bit of wiggle room and exactly how strong the rains, and how strong the winds will be. but the biggest variable is human reaction. it's people failing to take the

necessary precautions. that's the real danger that we have is human error. >> even left florida as a tropical storm but soon regained strength out over the atlantic to become a category one hurricane again. cnn's nick valencia is in myrtle beach, south carolina. he filed this report. >> here in myrtle beach, residents are bracing for that impact from hurricane ian. right now where at myrtle beach de park where the waves are starting to look more rough than it usually is. in fact, there is a double red flag warning in effect. meaning the local officials here want no one in the water. it's surprising you don't see anyone in the water. usually you see one or two surfers trying to test their limits. there is a hurricane warning in effect, some gusts of winds. probably around some 20 to 25 miles per hour. it is a factor wind to this point. there's only a light drizzle. major hurricane expected to come in the early night and morning hours.

shortly ago, i did speak to emergency management. they tell me that they are in wait and see mode. knowing that they are soon gonna see the impacts of the hurricane. i'm just getting hit by another gust of wind here. we know that there is going to be a potential for major flooding. especially along the coast. right now there is no mandatory evacuations as they just wait and see for the worst to come. nick valencia, cnn. myrtle beach, south carolina. >> okay i want to bring in storm chaser aaron smith who is standing by in hollies allen,, south carolina just north of charleston, which is expecting a wall. allen, thank you so much joining us at this hour. ian will likely hit south carolina as a hurricane, ahead of his arrival. can you describe the conditions, what you have been hearing, what you've been seeing? >> yes ma'am. this morning not too bad, so far, little gusty at times. the winds are fairly calm at the moment. it is starting to rain a little heavier here. we are sitting just off of pawleys island.

we checked out the island earlier. some of the roads already had some water getting pushed out, which isn't too surprising. it's a pretty flood-prone area. for, now it's not too bad just yet. >> it's not too bad just yet. as you pointed, out it is a prone area, this is an area that is very vulnerable to coastal flooding someone ian unleashed this storm surge, what is going to happen to the coast there in south carolina? >> that's the question i guess, right? up to seven feet is what they are calling for. hopefully it doesn't get quite that high. police island got it really that, hurricane matthew, couple few years back now in 2016, i believe, hit the island pretty hard. they had 2 to 3 feet of sad lots in the road. so i think that might have been between 3 to 5 feet surge. >> aaron, you are a snow storm chaser, have you chase something like this before? >> yes, definitely. i actually just came from

florida, we were down in port charlotte, north port, that area. obviously this will be nothing compared to that then south carolina. and chasing this, i was on island 2024 landfall there. so definitely. >> yeah and so you've written storm before, but can you describe where you are right now. do you appear to be in a car, where are you hunkering down, where do you plan to hunker down? where will you shelter when the storm hit? >> kind of depends on the track, can be on the move right now, i am basically sitting beside a gas station just inland off of pawleys island, had to drive up here you know to speak with you. so right now that's where we are sitting. but if it does get bad enough, obviously the plan would be just to move in a little bit further. just pretty much out soon as we start seeing the water come in. but we're gonna plan to cover that when it does. >> and what kind of supplies you have on hand? do you have your food, clean water, what do you have?

>> we have it all. you got your towels, stays, dry change of, clothes plenty of water, probably 60 to 70 so bottles. food, got everything you need pretty much. >> got. it aaron smith, think you for joining us a and bearing witness, plays you and your crew stay safe. safety is paramount, please my friend, take care, stay well. >> yes ma'am, thank you. >> hurricane ian has left millions in the dark including florida's most vulnerable. what one organization is doing to help those most in need straight ahead. >> can replace your windshield ...and recalibrate your safety system. >> c customer: and they recycld my old glass. >> tech: donon't wait. schedule today. >> singers: ♪ safelite repapai, safelite replace. ♪ these folks don't have time e to go to the post office they use stamps.com all the services of the post office only cheaper get a 4-week trial plus postage and a digital scale.com go to stamps.com/tv and ner go to the post office again.

is on now! cool off with this hot deal on blendjet 2. it packs the power of a big blender on the go, and it crushes right through ice. just drop in your favorite ingredients,

even frozen fruit, and make a smoothie any time, anywhere. blendjet cleans itself. just add a drop of soap, water, and blend. recharge quickly with any usb port. order now on blendjet.com and kick off the new year right!

>> welcome back, hurricane ian

is taking aim at the southeastern u.s. coast after cutting a deadly swath through florida. it is what scenes of destruction with debris scattered across the disaster area. homes are still submerged from this storm surge that and got parts of the state. at least 19 deaths have been connected to ian, and officials confirm at least 700 rescues statewide, but those numbers expected to rise. and more than 2 million homes and businesses are without power. it is now turning over the atlantic as a category one storm. forecasters say the storm is strengthening and is expected to make a second landfall in south carolina, in the coming hours. >> hold, on hold on, hold on! [noise] [noise] >> dramatic video of a water rescue, this

marine unit rescued two people on a sailboat and egg harbor and northeastern florida, thursday evening. authorities confirms at least 700 rescues statewide but those numbers expected to rise. those hurricane and it's brought extensive flooding to parts of florida. and kissimmee, officials are advising residents to shelter in place as for spotters conduct rescue operations. one hospital in the area it was surrounded by water thursday morning. and officials say rescuers couldn't get inside. they called it a worst-case scenario. >> joining me now in fort myers, florida, is anna jackson. she is the emergency coordinator for project hope, which deploys emergency response teams to disaster areas. thank you so much for joining us this hour. first, give us the damage assessment, what did you and your team members see on the ground there in florida? >> yeah, thank you so much for having us. we really appreciate the chance

to come and amplify the work. our organization is doing. we saw a tremendous amount of damage, there was a ton of flooding, lot of knocked down trees, knocked power lines. this evening as we were trying to find a accommodations. there was a ton of debris in the road, cars, boats, you know the whole thing. and you can just get a sense he window we haven't been able to make it to the most highly impacted areas, we were definitely getting a pretty clear sense at. but the damage is expensive. >> you see down trees, downed power, lines a lot of debris out >>. there i want to ask you about vulnerable communities. we know that florida is home to very many retirees, many senior citizens, including those with disabilities, or pre-existing medical conditions. are they a top priority for you? >> yes absolutely. 100%, that is the population that we feel is very important

to assist in the situation. and you can imagine just folks who may be elderly, or do have special needs, you know getting medication, or not having the medical needs in order to stay healthy. so hopefully that's gonna where we can step in, and primarily working with a lot of partners on the ground who are free and terrible clinics. who work with wall income folks, folks with special needs, elderly et cetera. being able to work with those clinics and get information from them on what they need in order to best support the community as crucial for the work that we are doing here. >> it's crucial and the need is to so ems, you've got millions of people without power. many are stranded or displaced. how do you plan to help them? >> yeah. like i said, i touched on our partnerships, that's really crucial to what we are doing here. what we started doing today is

going to bury shelters in the fort myers area, bringing some basic supplies. diapers, feminine hygiene products, things like that. folks don't think of to check with them when they are leaving, in an emergency. as well we are doing that, being able to assess the damage, assess the systems in place, and strengthen those partnerships to be able to kind of zero in on what the exact needs are going forward. >> yet even before this made landfall, you have teams already in place, you had supplies on hand. bottled water, hygiene supplies, medicines, et cetera, how can we help? per fewest who are watching this right now and deeply concerned about the fate of millions of people, especially those who are vulnerable populations. how can we help them? >> yeah i mean as many organizations will tell, you

donations are huge. if you go to w w w. product hope,. org. you'll see what our teams are able to do on the ground. and absolutely allows us to amplify the effect that we have on the area. that's very much needed right. now it's a very serious here. and this just this tremendous amount of money so my biggest gestion is to go to our website. and see the ways that you can help. >> anna jackson, project hope, joining us here on cnn, four teams and across florida. thank you very much for the important work that you are doing. take care. >> awesome, thank you so much! >> and if you would like to safely and securely help people affected by hurricane ian who may be in need of shelter, food, and water, you can go to cnn.impact/com. you can have several ways to help, far from over, the storm is now setting its sights on south carolina. after the break, cnn's randi

kaye has a look at the damage in south florida. when they surge took out my sliding glass doors i made it was intense against the water was up to my armpits and at that point it was a struggling to try to get out of the house. . cnn.com/impact. cnn.com/impact. ♪ out your name? ♪ ♪ youou know that i've falling♪ ♪ and i don't know what to say ♪ ♪ oh, i ♪ dude ♪ i want to be with you everywhere. ♪ from bolt to blazer, equinox to silverado, chevy evs are for everyone, everywhere. we'll make a new bet around every two seconds. not only on the game, but on the game of life. betting that le is just a swipe away. ♪ being on picking up that curious hitch hiker carrying a bowling bag. ♪

and tting that he doesn't turn out to be a corn hole prodigy. ♪ every moment is life is a bet, but life doesn't up to $1000 back in free bets if you don't win. so bet on america's #1 sportsbook, fanduel, and make every moment more. (classical piano music) - in terms of the hate crimes. i think there is so much more work to be done to make that choice, to continue to love.

( ♪ ) the most fun we have on the gator is just ripping around the property. it's a spring time tradition. as much as we've got going on, it's all about... ...the legacy that we're going to leave behind for our... ...500 mother cows. woman: yeah, who needs tv when you have... man: ...decoys and the dogs. as a first-generation farmer... ...we wear a lot of hats. to be honest, we wouldn't be in ranching without it. there are millions of ways to make the most of your land. learn how to make the most of yours at deere.com.

♪ ♪ ♪ >> welcome back to our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm kristie lu stout. the death toll now stands at 19 from hurricane ian in florida. first like thursday brought the

first chance for money to assess the extent of instruction from fort myers to orlando. entire communities have been left devastated. countless cars and homes now sit and likes a stagnant water. power lines are down, tap water is not safe to drink. and pleasure about normally tied up at the marina haven't been left high and dry in the middle of presidential areas of a recovery caused here will be staggering. the u.s. president, joe biden, set the emergency federal response in motion with a major disaster declaration on thursday while visiting the federal emergency management agency headquarters. he said the preliminary reports from florida are not good. >> this could be the deadliest hurricane in florida's history. the numbers are still unclear but we are hearing early reports of what may be substantial loss of life. >> now let's go to hard-hit

fort myers florida. a community devastated by high winds and heavy flooding. randi kaye is there in florida with the latest. >> when hurricane in hit, this woman was alone in her home. >> when the search took up my sliding glass doors, it was within ten seconds that the water was up to my armpits. at that point, it was just struggling to try to get out of the house. >> gail sims is 85 years old. she did not evacuate her home and the rivers edge mobile home community because she thought the hurricane was heading more towards tampa but when it didn't -- >> we got clobbered with all the furniture and stuff that was floating. that's how i got this, i got shoved into a wall. anyway, when i got the front door open, and there was a surge, it took me to the middle of the yard. i fought to get back on the porch. >> gail suffered some bumps and bruises, but luckily, her

neighbor, tom podgormy, was just a few doors down riding down the storm with her family, when he saw gail's car, he knew she may need help. >> what did you find when you want to gail's house? >> i could not go out first because the river was coming across at 40 miles per hour. i found her on the front porch, kind of in water in a chair, shaking really bad, kind of hypothermic, calmed her down. and then we made a long slow walk into four feet of water into my house. >> you are 85, how grateful are you that somebody came to rescue you? >> tom is a blessing. >> blessing? >> a blessing, yeah. >> she told me you were a blessing. >> well, she is a blessing. i don't know about me, but she is a blessing. >> what made you go check on her? >> i love her. there are a lot of great people on every street like this in america.

meanwhile, tomlin's family had their own story. >> tell >> it was fine until some water coming in from the back of the river, and we were bailing until water started coming in the front. by then, we got 5 to 6 feet of water in the house. >> was it scary? >> yeah, it was a little scary. it was scary when it kind of crashed the window and the door's. >> water? >> yeah, it was like a big wave came through in the door's. >> so it was terrifying? >> yeah, it was really terrifying. >> another neighbor, marvin johnson, said the water came up to feet in this house. he rode out the storm with his three dogs. >> how come you didn't evacuate? >> it was safer in the house. >> throughout the day, a steady stream of neighbors checking on neighbors and homeowners returning to assess the damage and take whatever they could save, no matter how small. >> we had to pick up our gecko, my wife's leopard gecko, she's had for 22 years. >> that thing used to be way over here -- >> this couple had evacuated but took us inside their home to survey the damage.

>> it's very flooded, completely ruined, the fridge is on the floor, the cars are turned upside down. the toilets are on the floor. there is water leaking in the cabinets. everything is flooded, everything is ruined. >> they have only been living here a year before the hurricane hit. >> it's just destroyed and ruined, and then you have to start all over again. honestly, where do you start? how do you start in this? >> randi kaye, cnn, fort myers, florida. >> just all out devastation there in fort myers. let's go to our meteorologist, karen maginnis, tracking the trajectory of hurricane ian. karen, this is a storm, still is. >> it is, and we are really trying to nail down where this might make landfall. this has been taken such a securities roof, wrote. you spoke to make landfall projected to make landfall tampa, it didn't. it is full of surprises. it took almost 24 hours just to

make its way across the florida peninsula. but i want to show you right now what is going on. we are starting to pick up a little bit heavier rain bands. more so along the georgia coastline, the south carolina although it is going to be picking up. rather nicely going into the next few hours or so. most of what we have seen has been light precipitation, light rain fall, we have seen some of the heaviest winds reported right around hilton head. south carolina, beautiful area. every area around the coast and south carolina is gorgeous. it's beautiful. but it is very very vulnerable. it is low country, and therefore summertime rains can really flood this region. in charleston, it is very vulnerable. it is always been vulnerable. but it has charm, it is history, a lot of history! and a system like this is going to be devastating for charleston. here is its position about 175 miles to the south, southeast

of charleston. the entire coastline is under a hurricane warning. we know that somewhere along the south carolina coast, this is going to make landfall. and maybe about the time in charleston harbor, about midday is when it's going to be high tide. so there could be a storm surge of 4 to 7 feet. but not just south carolina, all the way up into north carolina. as a matter of fact, computer models are saying on the order of 5 to 10 inches of rainfall, but some areas could pick up 10 to 12, 20. gus to 100, traveling to the north and northwest. but that rain field is so broad and look at some of the wind. gus thank assignments, 40, a talk about beautiful, wow! these are one of these areas that is gorgeous. savannah, 38. charleston, 47 miles an hour. the rains increasing. the chances for flooding are increasing. the chances of you being

isolated with no power is increasing. so kristie, we are advising everybody to have a plan. get out, or to stay put. to stay safe, make sure you've got your important documents. , the medications, everything that is taken care of. back to you. >> great advice karen. the storm has caused already catastrophic damage in florida when fears was gonna happen next in south carolina. another beautiful day. thank you for your reporting, karen maginnis. if you would like to safely and securely help people affected by hurricane eta who may be in need of shelter, food, water, go to cnn.com/impact. you will find there several ways you can help. moscow is hours away from starting the process up annexing occupied parts of ukraine. and still ahead, a ceremony in moscow on the heels of referendums widely slammed as

bogus. go to stamps.com/tv and never go to the e post office again.

is on now! cool off with this hot deal on blendjet 2. it packs the power of a big blender on the go, and it crushes right through ice. just drop in your favorite ingredients, even frozen fruit, and make a smoothie any time, anywhere. blendjet cleans itself. just add a drop of soap, water, and blend. recharge quickly with any usb port. order now on blendjet.com and kick off the new year right!

>> welcome back. police in afghanistan say that 23 people were killed an explosion at an educational center at kabul, 36 others were wounded. cnn's reporter is live from london, and salma, again this was an education center. what more have you learned about who was targeted here,

and the aftermath? >> so kristie, this just happened a few hours ago. in the early morning in kabul, so we are still getting information on what occurred. but what we understand again, in the early hours of this morning, a suicide attack took place at this education center. this is an education center for both boys and girls, women and men, who are trying to take a mock university exams. this education center and ministers these exams generally on fridays ahead of real exams that are later on and i know you have that social media video showing really disturbing aftermath. really bloody scene after this blast took place. now we don't know who the perpetrator of this attack is so far. no one has claimed responsibility yet. but there is a couple of things that we need to point out here. first of, all as we mentioned, it seems that predominantly, one eyewitness rather, so that predominantly, what they, saw this one eyewitness that cnn spoke to. what they saw is that many of

those who were wounded, hurt, killed, in this attack, appears to have been young women. now was that intentional on the part of the attacker? did he actually hit the part of the room where women are sitting versus the middle part of the room? we don't know that yet, we don't know that at this stage. so that is something that we need to find out more about. the second part i want to point out here is that this is a predominantly hazard white community area where this blast took place. that is a minority group in afghanistan, they have been targeted in the past many times, hundreds of them killed by isis, again we have no claim of responsibility. but a lot of worrying hallmarks here in this suicide attack risk. >> very worrying among the students, women, girls, salma abdelaziz, we thank you for your reporting. >> the kremlin is expected to hold a ceremony in the coming hours that's would begin the process of annexing about 18% of ukraine. the move comes after so-called

referendums and for occupied territories in the east. according to pro russian officials, voters overwhelmingly supported joining russia. but reports from the ground suggest that the voting was often held at the point of a gun. with armed soldiers taken ballot boxes door to door and this video, reports to show that. although cnn has not verified the location of the referendums have been dismissed as illegal, a sham, it much of the west. on thursday, the u.s. secretary general antonio guterres condemned any annexation effort as a violation of everything the international community stands for. u.s. president joe biden made it clear, it is a nonstarter for washington. >> the united states will never, never, never recognize russia's claims on ukraine. the sovereign territory. this so-called referendum was a sham. an absolute sham. the results were manufactured in moscow.

>> not a beshear joins me now from russia, the land grant and, ukraine after the sham referendums. >> absolutely, chris, say this is a substantial escalation and we already saw yesterday evening president putin signing in to force, so called independent decree for the two regions. zaporizhzhia, kherson, two of the fort reasons said to be annexed by the russian federation. we are already seeing in moscow as we speak, preparations are underway for what appears to be that ceremony. we are expecting later this afternoon signing into fourth and exhibition of all of this walking regions. kherson, donetsk, and luhansk, we are seeing posters and images being put up and carrying the names of those four regions. and of course, as you laid out, this follows that sham referendum held in this fort cabbages. the result of which were announced earlier this week. it came as no surprise, a parent overwhelming majority of

favor joining the russian federation much as we saw ahead of the annexation of crimea. back in 2014. so we have seen this before. but the concern now is how this transforms the situation on the ground. what impact this will have on the playing field. so to speak, because of course, it was a long fear that russia would attempt fall annexation of these four key regions and southern, any sent ukraine, the concern now is that any ukrainian counter offensive in these key regions will no longer be seen or frames by moscow, by the kremlin, as just that. it will now be framed as a direct attack on russian territory. essentially laying the framework and the pretext for moscow to double down on its military pressure on the ukrainian armed forces in those key regions. and we've already seen those efforts by the russian armed forces just in the last hour or so. we've had confirmation from ukrainian officials that at least 20 people and more than two dozen have been killed,

more than two dozen people injured in an attack on a convoy leaving the city of zaporizhzhia. so that was by russian armed forces according to ukrainian officials. so you could say they concern their. and of course we've heard from president zelenskyy, warning this will essentially and any hope potential talks on negotiations between russia and ukraine. if that annexation does go ahead as expected. >> this is an escalation, nada bashir, thunk. you >> after a short, break the biden administration clears the way for emergency federal assistance to florida as the state deals with what could be the biggest natural disaster and history.

peaceful state. full plate. wait, are you my blind date? dancing crew. trip for two. nail the final interview.

buy or lease? masterpiece. inside joke. artichoke. game with doug. brand new mug. come here, kid. gimme a hug. the more you want to do, the more we want to do. boosters designed for covid-19 variants are now available. brought to you by pfizer & biontech. (vo) the older. the physically challenged. the last to be chosen.

shelter dogs with special needs face a far longer road to adoption. but subaru knows even the toughest roads can lead to the most amazing places. that's why subaru and our retailers created national make a dog's day... to help all underdogs find homes. subaru. more than a car company.

>> at least 19 deaths have been

reported so far from hurricane ian and florida. we are now getting a firsthand look at the devastation. left by this massive storm from fort myers to orlando, entire communities have been devastated. countless cars and homes are sitting in lakes of stagnant water. live power lines are down everywhere. the tap water is not safe to drink. ian has been gathering strength out in the atlantic and is again a category one hurricane, it is expected to make landfall and charleston carolina, on friday, with a storm surge, up to seven feet in places. i cleanup in florida is a gigantic task. that will take weeks. but getting back to normal will take much longer. and on thursday, u.s. president joe biden said the federal emergency response in motion with a major disaster declaration for florida. kaitlan collins has this report.

>> after receiving a briefing at the fema headquarters, president biden is why that hurricane and could be one of the deadliest storms to ever hit florida saying there are reports that potential substantial loss of life is those numbers are still coming in. not yet confirmed at this time. officials are really still surveying the damage on the ground. one of those officials are gonna be the who is going to florida on friday to survey the damage with local officials herself. that comes after president biden had this briefing at the fema headquarters where he talked about himself, potentially visiting florida, though the white house says that is not expected to happen anytime in the immediate future given of course a large footprint that comes alongside a presidential visit. so instead, president biden is doing what he can right now from afar. he declared and approved a major disaster declaration. that's helped free up federal resources to help floridians who are dealing in the aftermath of this, not just those of course who potentially have lost their homes, but have been displaced, and need places to go.

so that is going to be part of this effort as they are responding to this massive storm that is caused so much damage in the state of florida and president biden says that the political differences he has to florida governor ron desantis won't make a difference in his visit there. he talked about the multiple conversations they've had in recent days. saying that the desantis actually pays the federal government's quick response to the hurricane efforts. of course that will be something that he will be watching closely, if and when president biden does visit florida. kaitlan collins, cnn, the white house. >> and thank you for joining us. i'm kristie kristie lu stout my colleague will pick up coverage after the break. you are watching cnn. >> tech: when you have auto glass damage... choose safelite. we can come to you and replace your windshield. >> grandkid: here you go!!

>> tech: wow, thank you!u! >> customer and grandkids: bye!! >> tech: bye! don't wait, schedule now. >> singegers: ♪ safelite repai, safelite replace. ♪ is on now! cool off with this hot deal on blendjet 2. it pac the power a big blender on the go, and it crushes a biright through ice.o, just drop in your favorite ingredients, even frozen fruit, and make a smoothie any time, anywhere. blendjet cleans itself. just add a drop of soap, water, and blend. recharge quickly with any usb port. order now on blendjet.com and kick off the new year right!

♪ ♪ 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, including tb. before and during treatment, your doctor should check for infections and do blood tests. tell your doctor if you've had hepatitis b or c, have flu-like symptoms, or are prone to infections. do not take with medicines that prevent blood clots. serious, sometimes fatal infections, lymphoma, lung, skin and other cancers, serious heart-related events, and blood clots can happen. people 50 and older with heart disease risk factors have an increased risk of serious heart-related events or death with jak inhibitors.

this is the moment. but we've only just begun. speak with your doctor about cibinqo today. an innovation from pfizer. kevin: i've fought wildfires for twenty years. here's the reality we face every day. this is a crisis.

we need more firefighters, more equipment, better forest management to prevent wildfires and reduce toxic smoke. and we need to reduce the tailpipe emissions that are driving changes to our climate. that's why cal fire firefighters, the american lung association, and the california democratic party support prop 30. prevent fires. cut emissions. and cleaner air. yes on 30.