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CARL AZUZ: Hi, my name is Carl Azuz.
It's great to see you this Thursday as we
get started on a new show.
Here's a sense of what some communities
are dealing with in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida.
One, rescues continue several days after the storm hit.
In Southern Louisiana, where Hurricane Ida made landfall
on Sunday, a lot of people have been trapped by flooding
or wreckage from the storm, and rescue crews
haven't been able to get to some of the hardest hit areas yet.
At least five deaths have been blamed on Hurricane Ida.
Two, supplies are dwindling.
Officials in a parish southeast of New Orleans
say water, groceries, and medical supplies
have been depleted and that they won't be readily available.
But some who have them, as you see here,
are sharing with neighbors.
Three, the weather's still a problem.
It's hot.
Highs could hit 90 degrees Fahrenheit in some parts
of the region, but the National Weather Service
says it'll feel like more than 100
once you factor in the humidity.
And many don't have air conditioning.
On Wednesday morning, the power was still
out for almost a million homes and businesses in Louisiana
and more than 36,000 in neighboring Mississippi.
Officials say some power outages could last more than a month.
To keep the lights and fans on, many people
are relying on generators, but those are powered by gasoline,
and that's another challenge.
Almost 13% of stations in Louisiana
are reportedly out of gas.
That includes more than half the stations in cities like New
Orleans and Baton Rouge.
And according to the website Gas Buddy,
the number of actual outages may be higher than that
because these figures don't include
the stations that don't have power
and can't serve customers.
Gas supply problems in this region
could contribute to higher prices across the US.
But the first thing on the minds of those returning
home in Southern Louisiana is how bad is the damage?
GARY TUCHMAN: When you get your first look at the town of Grand
Isle, which sits on a barrier island on the southern tip
of Louisiana, you gasp--
utter devastation, colorful gulf-side homes destroyed,
vehicles still under floodwaters.
Most importantly though, there are no known deaths or injuries
here, which is clear evidence how seriously
evacuation orders were taken.
Grand Isle is a peaceful, beautiful place,
and that's why it's so emotionally wrenching right now
to see it decimated like this.
It's small.
Between 700, 800 people live here year round.
Most of the residents here are in the fishing
industry or the oil industry.
Yes, there was lots of damage during Katrina six years ago.
But, remember, the eye of Katrina
passed over Mississippi.
This eye passed over Louisiana.
Only a few miles to the west of this very town, Ricky Pokey
built this home with his family when he was 19 years old.
He is now 58.
He and his family evacuated, and he feared what he
would find when he came back.
His worst fears now realized.
- Well, Katrina, we had lost our front porches and the steps,
but the house was intact.
Roof was intact.
Everything was intact.
GARY TUCHMAN: His house now, like so
many other homes, unlivable.
- I tried to get a few things.
My wife has wanted me to get some wedding video
and stuff from our wedding, and I'm
trying to find that right now.
GARY TUCHMAN: I'm so sorry for you guys.
- Thank you.
GARY TUCHMAN: How are you coping with it right now?
Is it disbelief?
- We just-- we trust the Lord.
And that's-- he gives, and he takes away, so--
GARY TUCHMAN: Ricky says he doesn't plan to rebuild.
After almost four decades living here, he says he
and his wife will move to Kentucky,
where they have family.
Most residents have not yet come back here.
They will face similar decisions to rebuild or not
to rebuild on this wonderful, but very vulnerable,
barrier island.
CARL AZUZ: 10-second trivia.
Basaltic, andesitic, and rhyolitic all refer to what?
Oceanic zones, magma types, prehistoric eras,
or metal bands?
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These are all types of magma, which become lava when
they reach the Earth's surface.
For decades, if camera operators wanted
to get a shot from the air, they needed
to bring their equipment on a plane,
a helicopter, or a balloon.
More recently, drones have had a tremendous impact
on how the media can record video
and how they can get it without risking anything
but the equipment itself.
Close-ups of lava are just the tip of the iceberg.
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- This is the fury of nature captured by drone photography.
- I hope I don't lose this broadcast.
The footage is insane.
- You have a lot of adrenaline.
It's like a bird, and you can just fly it wherever you want.
- It's not just any drone.
This is the cinematic world of First-Person View, FPV.
As far as drone shots go, you're probably
familiar with these, where drones
are piloted from the ground.
With FPV, pilots fly from the drone's point of view,
watching live transmission from a pair of goggles,
allowing shots to be more dynamic and fast paced.
ELLIS VAN JASON: You have more access.
You're actually floating.
When you fly FPV, you observe, you explore nature
from a perspective which you cannot,
not even with the helicopter.
- Meet Ellis from Switzerland--
JULIO CARVAJAL: So I mean, I just love it.
- --and Julio from Costa Rica.
From different sides of the world,
they both share a passion for capturing cinematic FPV videos.
JULIO CARVAJAL: I would say the FPV actually allows
you to keep that story flowing.
They keep things spicy.
- In 2021, Julio filmed the erupting Pacaya volcano
in Guatemala, following the rivers
of flowing lava with his drone.
In order to capture these shots, he
hiked up the mountain in the middle of the night
and waited for first light at 5:00 AM.
JULIO CARVAJAL: I stood right next to the flow of lava,
like, 50 meters away.
I was flying full speed with this drone in order
to make sure that it wasn't going to melt.
- For Ellis, it took years to make it
to the Angel Falls of Venezuela, the world's tallest waterfall.
ELLIS VAN JASON: Since FPV came out,
I told myself, I have to go there.
- To film these sequences, Ellis stood
on a boat with a direct line of sight to his flight path.
ELLIS VAN JASON: It had to keep the boat exactly
in the middle of the river.
If they go too much to the left, I have branches
of trees blocking my signal.
Makes it really hard if you go out 3, 4 kilometers.
So it had to exactly stay in the same.
- While it may be easy to get lost in the mesmerizing
footage, behind the scenes, filming FPV
is harder than it looks.
A lot goes into planning the journey.
Ellis, for example, has quite a bit of gear.
ELLIS VAN JASON: Six drones.
OK, at least five.
- The actual flight takes patience and nerves.
It's where all pilots must face their biggest fear.
JULIO CARVAJAL: I wouldn't say, like, fear.
It's like adrenaline.
- Yes, losing their drones.
ELLIS VAN JASON: You were too cocky.
You went for the ultimate dive.
You just lost your drone.
You lost.
And, of course, you lost the footage, as well,
and you lost $1,000.
JULIO CARVAJAL: All I was thinking
was, oh, please come back home, please come back home.
And every single time it did, so I was super happy.
ELLIS VAN JASON: Yeah, every flight is a celebration.
- For both Julio and Ellis, their FPV work
provides opportunities to be creative and flex
their technical skills.
ELLIS VAN JASON: I spent probably 1,400 hours on just
the technicality of FPV drones.
You understand the technical components,
and you understand the limitation.
You know how far you can go.
JULIO CARVAJAL: Your creativity is your limitation.
Like, that's it.
- From the tops of the Dolomite Mountains,
the volcanoes of Costa Rica, the coastlines of the Faroe Islands
to the ancient Mayan ruins of Guatemala, creativity,
technical know-how, and adrenaline
come together to create the ultimate visual experience.
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CARL AZUZ: Meteorologist Anthony Farnell at Global News Toronto
knows how to stay focused.
He was on air live recently when--
what's up, dog-- his pet, whose name is Storm,
just wandered onto the set, and Farnell barely missed a beat.
ANTHONY FARNELL: Yes, Storm is in the building getting some
treats, walking on thin air.
CARL AZUZ: Farnell and Storm just
kept on doing what they were doing
as if this happens every day.
What a way to weather the high pressure or, at least,
put up a front when the unexpected precipitates,
when it's raining cats and dogs or,
at least, dogs in the studio.
Farnell didn't need to pant to keep his cool.
He just stayed doggedly determined
to get bark to the forecast.
I'm Carl Azuz.
We're giving a shout out today to Duchesne High School.
It is located in Duchesne, Utah.
They did the one thing you can do to get a shout out.
They subscribed and left a comment at youtube.com/cnn10.
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