Summary
Ian regains hurricane strength takes aim at South Carolina coast. Fort Myers, Florida hit with devastating storm surge. Florida Governor: Recovery from Ian could take years. Ginni Thomas meets with Jan. 6 Committee. Florida officials explain post-storm insurance process. First responders face disaster zone in Florida.
Transcript
LAWRENCE O`DONNELL, MSNBC HOST: Our coverage of Hurricane Ian continues on the 11th Hour with Stephanie Ruhle which starts now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JESSE KIRSCH, NBC NEWS CORRESPONDENT: So many scenes like this across the area downed power lines, down trees, their neighborhoods now under water. The biggest concern here was rainfall.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They`re also concerned about alligators. They`re concerned about snakes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Once the water came from the Gulf of Mexico down here it was a river.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You see that section of the Sanibel causeway just wiped out by Hurricane Ian.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`ve seen office buildings home after home after home if trees down and the boat sunk in the harbor.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whole towns decimated completely leveled.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is by far the worst storm I have ever witnessed. There`s just debris everywhere. My yard looks like a war zone.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This was a bad, one Ian was bad. So, it was tough on us, tough on a region where we actually dealing with this for many, many years to come.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEPHANIE RUHLE, MSNBC HOST: Good evening once again, I`m Stephanie Ruhle. Hurricane Ian is now threatening Georgia and the Carolinas and is expected to make another landfall just a few hours from now.
This is what Ian did to Southwest Florida after it slammed into the coast over 24 hours ago with totaling 150 mile per hour winds and catastrophic storm surge. At least 12 people have been reported to have been killed. The storm also brought epic rain and flooding to the central part of the state. Hundreds of people have been rescued. That work continues through the night. Over 2 million homes and businesses are still without power tonight.
Today, President Biden visited FEMA`s headquarters in Washington D.C. and said federal aid is on its way to Florida.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This could be the deadliest hurricane in Florida`s history and weather conditions allow it I`m going to be going to Florida.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you plan to mee with Governor DeSantis when you`re down there?
BIDEN: I`ll meet with anybody who`s around. The answer is yes, if he wants to meet.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RUHLE: Let`s go right to NBC Meteorologist, Michelle Grossman. I know Michelle that we got the 11 p.m. update from the National Weather Center just moments ago, what`d you learn?
MICHELLE GROSSMAN, NBC NEWS METEOROLOGIST: Hi there, Stephanie, great to see you. Well, it strengthened even further. So back to a Category 1 storm. And we`re looking at 80 mile per hour winds. It did weaken earlier this morning, tropical storm jumped into the Atlantic, gained some strength and we do expect it to make landfall third landfall as a Category 1 storm, sometime tomorrow afternoon.
So, let`s get to the latest as of that 11 o`clock advisory because we`re looking at a hurricane once again. We had a little break but once again we`re looking at the chance for life threatening storm surge, life- threatening flash flooding, some damaging winds that certainly could cause some power outages. It is currently 185 miles south of Charleston, South Carolina. It`s moving northeast at 10 miles per hour and we do expect it to pick up some speed as it goes throughout the next 12 hours.
We do have so many tropical alerts once again 14 million people still under some sort of tropical alert where you see the red that is a hurricane warning because we are expecting hurricane conditions sometime tomorrow along the South Carolina coast. Flood alerts once again, we saw all that water in Florida. This is a different system than it was in South Carolina -- in Florida. But we`re still looking at the chance for some flash flooding as we go throughout tomorrow as well.
Let`s take a look at the track because I do want to get you up to date. This did come in at 11 o`clock as well, Category 1 storm. Notice, it does make landfall as a Category 1 storm sometime tomorrow. It`s going to weaken rapidly as it makes landfall. We could see some tornadoes, severe weather as it does make landfall that is going to be concerned tomorrow afternoon into the evening hours later on Friday. And then it`s going to quickly, quickly weaken by Saturday but we`re so good to see lots of rain even extending into portions of the Mid-Atlantic Saturday and also Sunday. So, some impacts for you storm surge we`re concerned about that. We saw all the catastrophic damage in Florida.
So, we are expecting four-to-six-foot storm surge. What that is, is it`s a wall of saltwater. It`s a wall of water from the ocean that moves on to dry land so it`s fierce, it`s furious and it`s hard to outrun and it really just kind of takes everything away in its path as we saw in Florida. So, we`re looking dangerous surf rip currents and beach erosion as well. We`re looking at a lot of rainfall, we could see up to a foot of rain in some spots that certainly can cause some damage as well. Amounts generally four to eight but isolated amounts higher than that. Widespread flood threat does continue. This system has so much moisture, it`s going to continue to have so much moisture. So, we do have a flash flood risk where you see that pink there, that is a moderate risk. That`s the highest amount there.
So that includes Charlotte to Greenville, Myrtle Beach and also Charleston. And we`re going to watch that very closely as we go throughout tomorrow. Now, here`s your severe weather threat on top of this storm surge on top of that flash flooding. We do have a risk of tornadoes. We have a risk of winds gusting up to 60 miles per hour even up to 87. I saw in some spots.
[23:05:10]
South Carolina has a lot of trees that can come down quickly especially if that ground is saturated so we are concerned for more power outages. But notice the severe weather threat goes into the mid-Atlantic as well, even portions of Maryland. So Virginian beach we`re looking Rocky Mountain North Carolina, Kingston, Morehead City, Cape Hatteras Wilmington. You are in the mix to for some severe weather threats.
Winds that`s going to be a big story. Of course, it`s a hurricane. We always are concerned about the winds. We`re always concerned about the threat for power outages, downed trees, downed power lines, and look at Georgetown, 87 mile per hour wind gusts. That`s what`s expected there. Charleston 70 mile per hour. So, it`s going to be a tough day for many as we go throughout the next 12 hours.
Their future cash showing us that we do expect in the weekend as it finally moves inland once again, but still looking at that flood risk from South Carolina into West Virginia. That is tomorrow. Then we look towards the weekend. We have a time to do over the weekend. All the kids` sports. All the things we need to get done and we`re looking at still lots of rain in the mid-Atlantic even into the Northeast, 70s Saturday and Sunday. We are looking at the chance for some flooding rain.
RUHLE: Michelle Grossman thank you for that update. We appreciate it.
GROSSMAN: Sure.
RUHLE: This time last night, we saw drenching rains moving into the Orlando area. So, let`s check back in with NBC`s Jesse Kirsch who has been there all last night all day. And he`s still there now. Jesse, when we talk to you the storm was moving towards Orlando. The rain was heavy. What`s it been like today?
JESSE KIRSCH, NBC NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Stephanie, you saw all that rain coming overnight into this morning and it had to go somewhere. It ran out of places to drain. And we are in one of those communities. You can see behind me those yellow reflective signs. Those are street signs that are barely above water. And it has receded a little bit just inches over the last several hours that we`ve been out here. And even though the wind is largely gone, and it`s been pretty much dry out here all afternoon and evening. The water is still not fully receding in this neighborhood. This area alone, according to officials had around 30 people rescued today.
And that just gives you an idea this is just this one neighborhood. According to officials this evening, we`re still looking at upwards of 100,000 customers in this county without power. But thankfully it is cooled out, which means that people aren`t necessarily going to be relying on air conditioning in the same way that they may have if it were hotter in the aftermath of the storm. Thankfully, also officials are saying that it looks like water is running in all of these communities in this area, in the Orlando area. So, hopefully people are still getting access to clean drinking water even though they may be in the dark, may be trying to figure out food if food is spoiling at home.
And of course, when you have this kind of flooding situation, you do not want to go into those floodwaters to check the destruction that may have unfolded. And that is especially true here. Because we are in an area where beyond the debris, beyond the unquestionable things, the questionable things that you don`t know what you might be dealing with. If you were to wade into that, what we expect to be in these waters are alligators. And that is something you do not want to try contending with.
And Stephanie, I cannot stress enough when we showed you all that powerful rain last night when we were speaking with you, when you look at what we`re dealing with. In the aftermath here. This is more than 100 miles from where Ian first made landfall in the United States. And all of this was playing out even hours before the worst impact from the storm got to where we are. And that just speaks to the ferocious nature of Ian that it did this much damage so far from where it first had its greatest strength in the U.S. and even beyond its direct path. And as we continue to learn more about what happened on the west coast of Florida, I think this is a bit of a warning to show you this happened so far from the worst areas. I can only imagine how much more we`re going to be learning about Florida`s West Coast, Stephanie.
RUHLE: OK. Then if that standing water behind you, could be infested with alligators, snakes, who knows what else? What are people in all those houses doing? Are they trapped inside their houses?
KIRSCH: So, we know that there were rescues that were conducted in the area earlier. Officials tell us that about 30 people were evacuated. And by the way, I should add, these are -- include mobile homes over here. And that is one of the types of homes that officials were most worried about ahead of time, and they really were stressing for people who live in those kinds of homes to get to hardened shelters and we know that they did make evacuations from those kinds of homes and the hours leading up to Ian striking the Orlando area.
At this point we have not thankfully been seen anyone with flashlights or screaming for help. We know the boats were in there earlier in the daylight at this point. It`s certainly going to be more treacherous to try to wade through there. But I can tell you at least one man came by here earlier and said he was looking for a friend who lives in this area and he couldn`t get through to him. But obviously so many people are without power. And you can imagine they`re probably some cars are submerged. So, people may just not have been able to charge their phones and hopefully that`s what we`re dealing with here.
[23:10:04]
RUHLE: Jesse Kirsch, thank you for the update. Stay safe where you are.
Fort Myers, of course, is one of the hardest hit cities in all of Florida. Longtime residents there say it is the worst storm surge they had seen in their lives. Tara Calligan joins us. She`s a reporter at WGCU and NPR station in southwest Florida. She joins us from Fort Myers where she spent the day reporting where she lives, where she`s been for years. Talk to me about the last 24 hours. This is your community. Our people now coming back to their homes. What are they telling you?
TARA CALLIGAN, WGCU PUBLIC MEDIA REPORTER: Today, I was able to go to downtown Fort Myers and I attempted to get as close as I could to Sanibel obviously people because of the Sanibel causeway they are not allowed in any way shape or form to even attempt to get to the island or get off of the island.
I spoke with firefighters there, they were having people voted basically ferry from the island of Sanibel Captiva to Port Sanibel Marina, even citizens, anyone who had a boat, they were asking for help to get citizens off of the island. There is no way they`re able to get police cars, fire trucks, emergency vehicles on the island at this point. The only way you can access it would be by boat or by some kind of helicopter or plane. That`s the only way you can get to Sanibel at this point.
Residents have been telling me that it is catastrophic destruction. I was able to speak with some people getting off of some of the boats right from Captiva Island. I was probably the first person that they actually spoke to, to even recount what had happened to them the night prior. They`re terrified. They`re not sure what they`re going to do. They have no idea if they`ll ever be able to get back to see their homes again. It is -- I don`t want to use the word, unprecedented, but definitely unprecedented.
RUHLE: You know, we hear people say over and over again, they were told to evacuate. Why didn`t they evacuate if they didn`t, it`s their own fault. Can you remind our audience that Florida, Sanibel, it`s not easy to simply evacuate for a lot of people, for older people, for disabled people, for low-income people.
CALLIGAN: No, it definitely is not. I spoke with a woman who got right off one of those boats from Captiva. She lives by herself. She`s a widow. She - - on Captiva, it`s a lot of vacation homes. But she lives there, full time. She`d been there for 18 years. Completely alone. She was standing in the front lawn, and firefighters saw her and asked her she had 15 minutes to grab what she could and she has no idea when she`ll see her home. She also has nowhere to go at this point. That is where she lives. She doesn`t have any other resources in the area. So, imagine that. imagine being completely displaced from your home, having nowhere to go and an area that is severely impacted by the storm. Floodwaters, no power, difficult access to any kind of emergency services. It is unfathomable for these residents to try to go through this.
RUHLE: You know, we have been talking about the storm coming for days. But can you explain to us sort of the course of the storm kind of changed in the last day or so and that caught people off guard because in New York when we look at these images, right of Marinas that are filled with boats that now look like a boat graveyard, we`re wondering why didn`t people take them out of the water but there really wasn`t much time, was there?
CALLIGAN: There wasn`t. I mean, for a very long time, we thought that the storm was going to be tracking a bit more north of us. So, we were under a lot of you know, flood warnings, storm surge, heavy rain and wind. We did not anticipate that it was going to directly impact us the way that it did. I went to downtown Fort Myers, the city of Fort Myers Yacht Basin, where there are a lot of people who live year-round or part of the year on houseboats. Most of the docks are completely gone, boats completely sunk. A man rode out the storm on his houseboat with his dog. Halfway through, he had to abandon his boat, get in his car and try to get to a parking garage, about the second floor of a parking garage. He was chest deep in water. And that`s his home. His home is -- has -- he has no idea if it might sink, if he tries to remove it from where it`s a little bit stuck right now on the dock. I saw people in the water, on their house boats. I saw people who witnessed their boat completely sunk. And it`s just a different kind of community. They live there. They are a neighborhood in a sense. And completely wiped away. They did not anticipate this type of storm surge and they really didn`t anticipate that it was going to hit us so directly.
RUHLE: Is your house, OK?
CALLIGAN: I haven`t been to my home. I`ve actually -- I`m living at the station at the moment. We`ve been doing coverage today before the hurricane. Very long days, I think from what my roommate said that it is OK. I don`t think we have power. But I honestly don`t know what I`m going to be going home to.
RUHLE: Then I really, really, really thank you for being there. I want our audience to understand that. Tara Calligan, her coworkers at her station, her NPR station down there, she hasn`t even seen her house in the last three days. She doesn`t even know what she`s going home to. But she`s at work reporting, to help us understand what`s going on down there. I appreciate your work. Thank you so much.
[23:15:15]
CALLIGAN: Thank you, Stephanie.
RUHLE: I want to bring in, Nikki Fried, the Agriculture Commissioner for the State of Florida. Nikki, what 24 hours this has been for you, tell us what it`s been like?
NIKKI FRIED, FLORIDA AGRICULTURE COMMISSIONER: It`s just unfathomable. It is heartbreaking, hearing those stories. I mean, what you just reported on and hearing that she`s still at her station. But it`s been devastating. And as Commissioner of Agriculture, agriculture in the state of Florida is the second largest economic driver. And all for the last 24 hours, I`ve just been calling through all of our producers, all of our citrus industry, or our cattlemen, our nursery men, and of course, part of agriculture is also going to be part of the search and rescue teams. So just hearing these devastating stories of people who have now, you know, physically lived through this hurricane, it`s going to be a rough road for Floridians. But we`ve gotten through things like this before, and we are Florida strong, and we`ll get through it again.
RUHLE: Where is help needed the most right now?
FRIED: You know, right now, a lot of it is just people, please listen to your local authorities. You started seeing it the opening of your reporting, Stephanie, that that there`s still significant amounts of water that is out there. We`ve got a tremendous amount of rescue crews that are down in Lee County that are down the Southwest Florida that are now making its way at some point is going to be over to that central part of our state. But unfortunately, the main priorities are like the images that you`re seeing right now.
And so, if people are going out of their homes, that they don`t know what`s out there. Besides just that, as you heard alligators and snakes, but you also are going to have this debris. We`ve seen times are throughout the coverage throughout the day, that people are going out into motor vehicles and then being stuck. Now, you`re taking emergency vehicles and first responders who, God bless them, they are out there, around the clock saving lives at this very moment and have been there for almost 24 hours at this point.
But now you`re going to be taking crews off of those life-saving pictures out in southwest Florida, and putting them to other areas that could have been avoided. So, people need to really stay safe, need to stay, making sure that they`re being smart, making sure that they`re not putting their generators inside their homes. That`s something that now that you`re going to be without power from some period of time. I`ve been in contact with FPL, they`re making tremendous amount of progress. But as the storm continued to cross our state, even when they were starting to put power back in, in some parts, of course is going to be restoring in other areas, Fort Myers is going to be a complete rebuild. But then they had to move some of the crews up to the northern part of our state when you started seeing power outages and Duvall County, Brevard, which also took 30 inches of rain.
And so, this is going to be catastrophic. So, people just need to be patient. There is an incredible amount of resources that are on the ground. You have FEMA, you have people coming in from all across the country. We`re going to be getting through this. But people need to be patient, and then need to be smart.
RUHLE: But what does that mean, right? Is it safe enough to go back home? There are people who have lost their homes permanently? Where did they go? And what does the state do to help them?
FRIED: There`s a lot of different kinds of resources. Right now, we`re doing assessments, I was talking to individuals earlier today, that we`ve got RV camps that are starting to make its way to the Tallahassee Emergency Operations Center. So, we can start doing assessments of where they need to be at that point. There`s been constant indication with a lot of our motels and hotels that are structurally sound that people who go and temporarily live there. Of course, you know, a lot of people, you know, evacuated to Orlando, you know, as the storm was, you know, going up to Tampa, St. Pete, where we first thought the storm was coming. And even down to the Fort Myers. Naples area, people went to Orlando. And so, a lot of those hotels are now booked up with people.
People are starting to kind of go home to the southwest area. But it`s really important that if you`re starting to see a lot of standing water, turn around, do not try going through the water. And so, you`re going to have these times where people are going to be looking for friends. They`re going to be looking for support. FEMA trailers will at some point get to Florida. It`s making sure that there`s places for people to live. And then of course, part of the insurance claims and making sure that people can start to at least -- if not rebuild, replace, and try to reform their lives.
RUHLE: How about you in the governor communicating in normal times, politics divides you, you are not allies, right now are you two communicating and working together for Floridians?
FRIED: Now, I`ve been in contact with the governor of staff. We`ve been in the same Emergency Operations Center. And you`re absolutely correct. These are times when politics gets put aside. It`s Florida first. It has to be Florida first. We have the Department of Agriculture, tremendous amount of resources. We oversee the food and water distributions as well as the movement of livestock. Also pet rescues. We`ve our national call for veterinarians right now. And so, these are times when you know we put these politics aside we have to work together.
[23:20:04]
I`ve been on the phones with legislators, both Democrat, Republicans on phones with Senator Scott. And this is a time when you`re going to see the best of your elected officials --
RUHLE: They`re working together, how`s the governor`s office been?
FRIED: In my calls with a Chief of Staff, we again are just in constant communication, working with the Emergency Management Director, Kevin Guthrie. He and I are also in direct communication. And we`re going to figure this out and there`s definitely not going to be any stepping on toes. We know what our responsibilities are. And we`re going to go and do this together.
RUHLE: That is good news. We have got to work together to get through this. Nikki Fried, thank you for your work, get some rest. What a day this has been for you.
FRIED: Thanks.
RUHLE: When we come back, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas finally speaks ish to the January 6 Committee. What she told lawmakers is surprising for anyone but the wife of a court justice, it`s very shocking.
And later, we`ll talk to a member of the Cajun Navy who`s already made dozens of rescues today. What he`s seeing in the hardest hit areas of Florida tonight. The 11th Hour just getting underway on a Thursday night.
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[23:25:51]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did you speak with your husband about your beliefs of the election being stolen?
GINNI THOMAS: thank you for your question. I look forward to answering the members.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RUHLE: Right there, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas finally did take questions from the January 6 committee today. And Chairman Bennie Thompson says, Ginni Thomas is sticking to her misguided claim that the 2020 election was stolen. We`ll go one step further. It`s not misguided. It is a flat out lie. His committee is still figuring out when to hold its next hurricane delayed public hearing, members say it will not be next week but will happen before the election.
Joining me now to discuss, former federal prosecutor Glenn Kirschner. He has tried hundreds of cases in his 30-year career, including murder, organized crime and precedent setting cases. Glenn, what was the Committee hoping to hear from Ginni Thomas, we both know she wasn`t going to say anything.
GLENN KIRSCHNER, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: No, she wasn`t interested in being forthcoming and being candid. And, you know, I think it actually turned out worse than perhaps we had expected because in part, she was kind of a shill for her husband, she was a flat, saying things that we know we`ll never hear from Justice Thomas, because he`s not going to be asked to testify. So, she got to say whatever she wanted about how we never discussed cases, and we really didn`t discuss election fraud or, you know, and if people believe that, well, then there are any number of bridges for sale.
But then she also stuck with the big lie. She said, you know, she believes the election was stolen. And let`s remember, that`s in the face of 65 judges, including judges appointed by Donald Trump, who rejected these ridiculous attacks on the elections results. It`s in the face of Christopher Krebs at the Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, saying this was the most secure election in U.S. history. And it`s in the face of Bill Barr, Donald Trump`s own attorney general. Rarely do I cite him as authority as anything but even he said the election wasn`t stolen.
RUHLE: We`re moving on. Our goal every night is to make people better and smarter. Ginni Thomas continuing to push this nonsense lie is getting no more moments on this hour. So, let`s talk about the special master in the Trump documents case. He has now been overruled by the original judge, Judge Aileen Cannon. Can you explain this to us because from what it seems like her new ruling does not have reason or law on its side, but I don`t know what`s going on or who gets the final say.
KIRSCHNER: You know, I can`t make sense of this one, Steph, because Donald Trump demanded a special master to do a review of classified materials that he stole from the government and illegally concealed down at Mar-a-Lago. There really was no law supporting that a special master should be appointed to look for phantom privilege in documents that couldn`t possibly have privilege attached to them. And then he demanded Judge Dearie be that special master, and Judge Cannon and gave him everything he wanted. And now when Judge Dearie says, OK, I`ve been tasked with conducting this review, so I`m going to need some information. I`m going to need DOJ to certify that their inventory of what they seized is accurate. I`m going to need Donald Trump to do the same because he`s been spouting off this nonsense about the FBI planting documents. That`s a sensible request from a special master who is taking his responsibility seriously, and for Judge Cannon to swoop in and basically overrule Judge Dearie, who has been tasked with doing this review. You know, people said that Judge Dearie sort of put a -- put up or shut up order in place and now it feels like Judge Cannon said no, Donald Trump will not have to put up anything and Judge Dearie I`d kind of like you to shut up.
RUHLE: What is the rationale, right, with the exception of oh, Donald Trump wants me to slow play this and he needs more time. What is the legal rationale to delay this thing?
KIRSCHNER: There is no legal rationale, now apparently Donald Trump and his team wanted more time, they wanted to delay this process. And Judge Cannon gave it to them even though Judge Dearie, the one who`s responsible for conducting the review had a different timetable, a more expeditious timetable set out.
[23:30:17]
RUHLE: Well, who does the final word?
KIRSCHNER: Well, I think actually Judge Cannon, sadly has the final word. She appointed Judge Dearie for a limited purpose. And he has to report back to her what he`s intending to do. So, she has the final word unless and until one of these decisions she makes prompts the Department of Justice to again, try to get up to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. That appeal is still pending.
And here`s the good news, Steph. We know that the criminal investigation of Donald Trump vis-a-vis these documents has is moving forward because the 11th Circuit said it can move forward. So, a lot of this is window dressing. The important work is still moving forward.
RUHLE: She has the final say today, a mini win for DJT. Glenn Kirschner, always good to see you. Thanks for joining us tonight.
When we come back, we`re going to go back to the hurricane because damage estimates are just beginning to come in tonight and they`re staggering. The question is, how much will insurance companies cover of the 10s of billions in losses? We`re going to try to find out when the 11th Hour continues.
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[23:36:02]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIMMY PATRONIS, FLORIDA CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER: Additionally, insurance carriers will come in. We`ll probably have somewhere between 20 and 25 carriers going on. They`ll probably set up an Arby`s and they will start writing checks initially that will be living expense money. This will be the dollars just to help people go find a place to live, sustenance dollars. Then you`ll be signed up where adjusters will come and inspect the damage.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RUHLE: Sounds easy, but it is not so easy. A real estate data company estimates 28 to $47 billion in losses from that hurricane are expected. It is the costliest Florida storm since Hurricane Andrew back in 1992. Many hard-hit by the hurricane simply don`t have the insurance they`re going to need to rebuild. The New York Times reports in the counties whose residents were told to evacuate just 18.5% of homes have coverage through the National Flood Insurance Program. As our own Kerry Sanders has more on how Florida insurance companies are facing their own massive challenges. They can`t afford to stay in business.
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KERRY SANDERS, NBC NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Anyone with a mortgage in a flood zone is required to carry federal flood insurance, but wind damage is covered by your homeowner`s policy. In Florida, six insurance companies have claimed insolvency just this year. Homeowners complained those that are still in business here have jacked up premiums.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I`d say probably about a 30% increase for myself. Others I`ve seen them, you know, rise 50%, 100%. And some have just been canceled out together.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RUHLE: The hardest hit counties in the storm`s path experienced huge population booms in the last three decades. Joining us now to discuss Alex Harris, climate change and hurricane reporter for the Miami Herald and our dear friend David Jolly, a former Republican Congressman from the State of Florida who is fortunately safe in Pennsylvania tonight. Alex Jones, how complicated is insurance in Florida right now, is it that they are jacking their premiums? Or can they just not afford to stay in business, given the amount of storms and damage that state faces?
ALEX HARRIS, MIAMI HERALD CLIMATE CHANGES & HERALD REPORTER: Yeah, the insurance market is really tough in Florida right now. We have all of these companies going belly up and flipping their clients over to citizens, our state for an insurer of last resort, and that`s stressing people out. But also, I mean, these companies are forced to raise these rates because of things like fraudulent claims and assignment of benefit fraud. There`s a lot going on with financial market insurance right now. And Florida isn`t the only place struggling. But up until this week, one of the reasons we weren`t struggling was that we hadn`t had a storm. And now we expect that to be a domino that really sets off some crisis over here.
RUHLE: And David, you`ve been a beneficiary, the Florida real estate market has been hot, hot, hot. You`ve got pretty lacks zoning laws there. And things are built in all sorts of areas that maybe shouldn`t be. So how do you solve for this, especially the insurance problem? Is it the state that should get involved? These are private homes?
DAVID JOLLY, FORMER REPUBLICAN CONGRESSMAN FROM FLORIDA: Yeah, it`s a fascinating question, Stephanie, who bears the risk of a homeowner`s homeownership, if you will. And as Alex just mentioned, the homeowners or home insurance industry in the State of Florida is really collapsing. And without federal intervention to bear much of the loss of this storm, we would further see the collapse of the homeowner`s insurance industry in Florida.
So, what do you do? Who bears that risk? The reality is in flood zones, there is no private sector product to absorb the risk of a homeowner. So, the federal government has the National Flood Insurance Program, which in your earlier statement, only 13%, 15% of those in this -- in the strike zone had that. That`s because only 13% to 15% of mortgage companies required it for those areas. So, do we subsidize the risk of them rebuilding? That is the public policy question, right? Should people actually be able to build in areas where we know we have had in the last five years three major hurricanes, Michael, Irma and now Ian. Should private home builders be able to build homes in those areas, with the government subsidizing that risk? That`s a real policy question.
[23:40:15]
The one thing I would point out, though, Stephanie, is when we ask questions about floods and hurricanes, we also have to aggregate the risks of wildfires in the west of ice in the Midwest, of tornadoes and tornado alley, how do we handle natural disaster risk? Is that truly going to be a private sector risk product? Or is the government going to play a role in that?
RUHLE: Alex, let`s talk about the communities that were hardest hit. They were among the fastest growing in the state. Is that going to change after Ian? Think about all the people who moved to Florida in the last few years?
HARRIS: Right, Florida has seen an incredible population boom, especially after the pandemic, people really just wanted to come be in the state and Punta Gorda, one of the places where the eyewall came ashore was one of the fastest growing cities in the country in the last couple of years. So, we`ve seen a massive influx, which means there was a lot of people who`ve never experienced the storm, maybe didn`t realize the problems of going with the cheapest insurance you could possibly get, maybe didn`t realize if they were outside of flood zone, the importance of maybe just having flood insurance just in case something like this happens.
So, we`re expecting to see, you know, there`s a lot of people that are going to be lining up asking for a lot of money from the federal government, from their insurance companies, from charities, there`s going to be so many billions of dollars of damage here. But I have no doubt that people will rebuild back here. At Florida really has never learned not to build in places that are scary and dangerous and are going to get wall after year after year after year with storms. We see it everywhere. You mentioned Irma, all those neighborhoods are full backup. Mexico beach where Hurricane Michael came ashore a couple of years ago, all the way full again. This community is -- people do not shy away from them after they`re hit. In fact, they come back and they build taller houses, they build more, they build more dense. We are clustering our risks around the coast, despite the risks of climate change and stronger storms.
RUHLE: Well, that is also because real estate development is one of the most lucrative businesses in this country that has the most -- and one of the most tax-friendly businesses that get hooked up by our tax code year after year.
David, quickly before we go, Florida also has one of the highest percentages of senior citizens, people living with disabilities. Did Florida do a good enough job helping these vulnerable people in vulnerable communities` evacuee, they can`t just hop in their cars and drive?
JOLLY: Yeah, listen, Florida is very prepared for storms. And I think the risk of life would be much greater if we did not have such an experienced infrastructure in the state of Florida for storms. But I -- your question is a very good one because I got the question in the last 24 hours who doesn`t leave, who doesn`t evacuate? And the reality is there are a lot of reasons but the most important one is those without means, those without opportunity, those without the communication that sometimes we take for granted. Municipalities make public shelters available, but how do we make sure that people can get there? The economic disparity is a pressing question in moments like this, and I think it`s one that should be investigated coming out of Hurricane Ian.
RUHLE: Leaving is a privilege, we need to remember that. Mother Nature hits the poorest communities the hardest. Alex Harris, thank you so much for your work, really important reporting down there. David Jolly, I`m glad you and your family are safe.
When we come back, volunteers have been pouring into hurricane hit parts of Florida all day. It is where you see the best of humanity. As Mr. Rogers always said look for the helpers. We`re going to meet and one of them, a member of the Cajun Navy from Texas when the 11th Hour continues.
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[23:48:35]
RUHLE: Hurricane Ian`s record-breaking storm surge forced some brave firefighters in Naples, Florida to get creative with their rescue efforts. NBC`s Sam Brock is there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SAM BROCK, NBC NEWS CORRESPONDENT: A day after disaster in Naples, the first responders racing to help the city recover heartbreak.
(On camera): What are you sort of processing as you look at that?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s a lot to take in.
BROCK (voice-over): The seven plus feet of storm search doubling the previous record.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All the client`s files, all they`ve gotten done. They`re all wet.
BROCK: The storm hitting as Barona Lockwanidi (ph) was just days away from opening up a clothing store which she poured her life-savings into.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The whole town is rooting for us. And then see it go down really hurts.
BROCK: Naples City Manager estimating 200 million in private property damage what he called conservative as Naples Fire Department full of grit. After they found their trucks surrounded by all that water, firefighters got creative to connect with those in trouble.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They did their best. They went out on paddleboards they had a paddleboard rescue and they also went out on a little skiff.
BROCK: This small city in southwest Florida did suffer another loss in the 100 mile an hour winds. This iconic fishing pier broken by the winds and water.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For those who have to have lived here for a long-long time it`s the heart of Naples.
[23:50:06]
BROCK: But there is no doubt the battering won`t keep Naples down for long as its residents look to regroup despite the shock and pain of the last 24 hours.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We`re not giving up. This is our dream, and we`re going to fight and we`re going to do everything all over again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RUHLE: And as devastating as this storm has been, when we see disasters like this, there are all sorts of extraordinary first responders, volunteer groups who come to their aid. Earlier today, my colleague, Nicolle Wallace spoke to a member of Team Rubicon and got some thoughts on what they were seeing and doing in the aftermath.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our teams continue to move out, and frankly, they`re moving their way into these disaster zones. But I think what they`re describing which is flooding, it`s been damage and debris is just the tip of the iceberg, frankly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RUHLE: The tip of the iceberg, Team Rubicon will be there not just for weeks, but most likely months. Group of former veterans there to help people in rescue times but also try to rebuild those communities. During this segment, my hope, my goal was to speak to a member of the Cajun Navy. We might have him, Jay Carter on the phone. Do we have him? Oh, I`m so glad we do. Jay, I`m so glad you`re with us. You and your team from the Cajun Navy from Southeast Texas, you have been in Florida for the last 24 hours. Tell me what you`ve seen. What have you done?
JAY CARTER, CAJUN NAVY: We`ve been doing rescues. Since we got here, we left about four o`clock on Wednesday, came down stayed in Tampa. We left Tampa during the night when the storm was moving toward the east coast. We went down the west coastline and came in behind the storm and immediately started doing rescues.
RUHLE: It amazes me, you got there on Wednesday. Tell me where you were on Monday. Where were you on Saturday? Because you`re a group of volunteers that pulls together. How`s your infrastructure work?
CARTER: Well, we`ve actually -- we`ve responded to multiple deployments this year. We`re actually from Lafayette, Louisiana. Our organization was based out of there, but we have people from all over the country from Arizona, from Texas. I`m actually from Georgia. But we have responders from -- and volunteers from all over the country that come together to just help our neighbors when they`re in a terrible situation. Just try to give them hope. And show them that people do care about them. We were in Kentucky actually. And we were able to go home, pack our bags and prepare for this storm and then came into Florida.
RUHLE: How bad is it?
CARTER: It`s pretty bad. It`s pretty bad. I`ve been responding to storms for a while, natural disasters, from fires to tornadoes, to hurricanes, floods. And this was a pretty bad one, for sure.
RUHLE: I know you can`t give us details or numbers, but you said you`ve done a number of rescues already. Are there are a lot more people out there in need of rescue?
CARTER: Yes, there are. And not just the rescue portion. The rescue is a -- it`s a small piece of this, is a very important piece. Lives there -- when lives are in danger, there`s that immediate rescue. And that`s what everybody knows about. And that that portion is very, very important. But there`s a lot more to it. There`s support after the fact. People are losing their homes. They don`t have food and water. They don`t have the same normal life that they did before. And the pain from that disaster and what it calls in their life. You know, it just -- it`s a lasting thing. So, we want to be there throughout the entire process and help them as much as we can.
RUHLE: And we are so grateful that you are for people watching, if you want to support you can help by donating to the Cajun Navy, go to give.gocajunnavy.org. Jay Carter, thank you so much for everything you do. You`re an angel, my friend.
CARTER: Thank you guys for having me.
RUHLE: Coming up, other examples of how crisis can bring out the very best in people, when the 11th Hour continues.
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[23:58:36]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`ll stay here as long as I could, until I got here from my life and went across the street. But I literally watched my house disappear with everything in it, right before my eyes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RUHLE: The last thing before we go, so often right here on this show on normal nights, we talk about how divided and angry this country is. But not in times of crisis. Not nights like this, when unthinkable tragedy strikes and nothing seems fair, on this show we like to follow the advice of the great Fred Rogers and look for the helpers, strangers helping strangers in times of despair. Lester Holt has more of these amazing stories for us tonight.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LESTER HOLT, MSNBC HOST: In our darkest moments, we sometimes struggle to find the light. But it was at first light that the helpers came.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey tell me when you need help.
HOLT: Volunteers and first responders raced into floodwaters pulling people from submerged cars and homes. During a live broadcast from Naples, Australian cameraman Glen Ellis rushed to help a family struggling to walk through floodwaters.
GLEN ELLIS: We`re just helping some people through the water here. That`s our camera operator.
HOLT: In Orlando that piggy back of a lifetime from a local reporter for the nurse whose car became stuck on the way to work.
[00:00:02]
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Poor kitty.
HOLT: And it`s not just people who are in need of assistance, a shivering cat rescued from rising waters and this good boy was carried out of the waves and when help is coming from far and wide.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was coming down here to check the area.
HOLT: Deputy Jason Patch is from Yorktown, Virginia, he came across a man stranded on the roof of his truck. He called for help and an airboat was dispatched. 96 members of Miami Dade Fire and Rescue set off this morning. And while we are just scratching the surface of the heartache and damage that Ian inflicted time and time again, we are seeing humanity at its best.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RUHLE: Humanity at its best is exactly what we will be meeting in the days and weeks ahead. Our thoughts remain with those impacted by Hurricane Ian. For those who need help, please ask for it. And if you can give help, please give it.
On that note, I wish you all a very good and safe night. From all of our colleagues across the networks of NBC News, thanks for staying up late with us. I will see you at the end of tomorrow.