CNN10 2024-10-01




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A Crippling U.S. Port Strike? North Carolina Mounts Massive Search and Rescue Operation in Wake of Helene; How Endangered Koala is Being Protected in Australia. Aired 4-4:10a ET

Aired October 01, 2024 - 04:00 ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

COY WIRE, CNN 10 ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. Hope you're feeling good, feeling great. We've got 86,400 seconds in this day, so let's try to make them great.

It's Tuesday, October 1st, new month, new opportunities. Let's go.

I'm Coy Wire. This is CNN 10, where I tell you the what, letting you decide what to think.

Now tomorrow is #YourWordWednesday, where we use one of your words in the show to help boost our vocabulary. So submit those words in the comment section of my most recent post on Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok along with the definition, your school name, city, the state, and your teacher's name if you'd like, and we're going to choose a winner to work into tomorrow's show.

We start today keeping an eye on ports in the United States, as longshore workers who run East and Gulf Coast ports from Maine to Texas could go on strike. Port strikes are a big deal, because it's cheaper to import or bring in goods via cargo ships as opposed to alternatives like airplanes or by land. Eventually, a strike could choke off the supplies of many popular products that flow into these ports.

Workers are asking for a $5 per hour pay increase per year over a six-year contract, and they want to keep restrictions on the types of equipment they are required to use. The last time there was a major port labor dispute was in 2002 on West Coast ports. It took six months before goods were moving normally again after an 11-day lockout of the union workers.

Businesses nervously watched the negotiations for a deal to avoid a strike, with a lot on the line. A strike would mean almost all of the U.S. could see shortages of goods like chocolate, fruit including bananas and cherries, even certain cars if the strike lasts a long time. That could mean even higher prices for the goods that are available.

Next up, while Hurricane Helene raised concerns as the strongest storm to hit Florida's Big Bend region, right now the most devastating destruction left in the storm's wake is in and around eastern North Carolina. The nearly entire communities were all but washed away by raging floodwaters, with homes, businesses and roads being destroyed, and some people are still trapped in areas only accessible by air. The cleanup from all of this damage could take years.

CNN's Rafael Romo is in Asheville, North Carolina with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Buncombe County officials announced the sad news on Sunday, saying that at least 30 people have died in this county alone, which means that the figure at the state level is now 36 and officials say that in the southeast, the states that were hit by the hurricane and the subsequent storm are now more than 90. And what we have seen in Asheville here, where we are, is many streets like this one behind me, covered in mud. There's debris everywhere, and people trying to cope, because it's been very difficult for officials to deliver the aid that is badly needed by people.

Governor Roy Cooper from North Carolina said that they're trying to get to those communities, not only here, but communities in the mountains, around here, some of them are inaccessible because the roads are impassable. And one alternative, and this is what the governor is, says that they've been doing is airlifting water and food and basic necessities to those people. And so they have developed a system by which they bring all the supplies here, and from here they distribute those things.

Now we have been talking to people here that tell us that for the time being, they're OK, but as time goes on, is going to be more and more difficult to find food. There are many gas stations, there's one right next to where we are, that are not operational. There are others that are running out of fuel, and many people desperate, going to different places try to get the fuel.

And the reality is that these people it's going to take a while to get running water. Officials say that they're trying their best to bring the water system back up and running, but they were trying to fix water main breaks before they can stabilize the pressure -- the water pressure in the system, and then the third step would be to actually turn the system back on.

Also power remains a problem for most of the population, and we have learned that at least two cell phone carriers are bringing satellite trucks that are going to provide relief because people are unable to communicate with loved ones who live in other parts of the country and other states to let them know that they're OK.

Just to give you an idea, the governor said that more than 1000 reports of missing people. That's what authorities have received in the last few days alone.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WIRE: As the climate has changed in recent years, storms have become more intense and more frequent, and people and technology are having to adapt to withstand increasing dangers. In Florida, Tampa General Hospital is using technology called an AquaFence. The hospital is in a uniquely vulnerable position to storms, surrounded on three sides by water.

And it's the area's only level one trauma center for some of the most in need patients who can't be moved. The hospital's water impermeable AquaFence is engineered to withstand a storm surge up to 15 feet above sea level.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DUSTIN PASTEUR, VP OF FACILITIES AND CONSTRUCTION: Clamp down to a certain pressure and it keeps all of the panels joined so that when the water is pressing, that there's no points where we get leaks or seepage from the front edge all the way to the back.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So the same pressure from the water, from the storm surge, would be what keeps us up.

PASTEUR: Yes, exactly. So the weight of the water holds the wall up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: Now, setting up an aqua fence is no small feat. It takes about 60 people several days to fully install. But the barrier worked as Helene made landfall in Florida, the aqua fence kept the storm surge back and the hospital stayed dry.

Pop quiz hot shot. What forest animal's name is an aboriginal term meaning no water or no drink?

Panda, koala, wombat or orangutan?

If you said koala, put your hands up. The word originates from one of the Australian aboriginal languages. The majority of a koala's water intake comes from eating fresh eucalyptus leaves.

Australia's iconic tree-hugging koalas have been on the endangered species list since 2022, and experts say their populations have continued to decline. As their habitats are encroached upon by humans, koalas are increasingly being found in places that put them in danger, like near busy roads or up power poles, even in some people's backyards.

See how some folks are dedicating their time and energy to keeping these marsupials safe.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HILARY WHITEMAN, CNN JOURNALIST: This is the moment a koala came face to face with a dog in suburban Brisbane, Australia. For koalas, most dog attacks are fatal, but not this time. Neighbor Sophia Windsor heard the commotion and rushed to intervene, finding the koala with its claws around the dog.

SOPHIA WINDSOR, BRISBANE RESIDENT: I wasn't even really thinking and I just cried the koala off this poor dog who was now yelping and then kind of wrapped up the koala.

WHITEMAN: Koalas were listed as endangered in the states of Queensland and New South Wales, as well as the Australian Capital Territory in 2022.

Millions of dollars are being spent on restoring koala habitat, but two years on, their numbers are still declining.

According to the latest Australian government report, the long-term outlook for listed koalas remains poor.

In urban areas, they're particularly vulnerable to disease, dog attacks and speeding cars. RSPCA Queensland says its two wildlife hospitals treat 700 koalas each year. Most don't survive.

JOHN KNIGHTS, ANIMAL RESCUE VOLUNTEER: There you go, little piggy.

WHITEMAN: John Knights has been rescuing koalas for at least a decade. He says more koalas are getting into trouble as their habitat shrinks. And in the last two months, he's answered more than 100 calls for help.

KNIGHTS: They're frightened, they're lost. If they were urbanized, they wouldn't be running into the traffic. They wouldn't be turning up in backyards. They wouldn't be falling into swimming pools. They're not urbanized at all. They're looking for somewhere to live.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WIRE: Today's story, getting a 10 out of 10, an artist going to great depths to create his masterpieces, artist Pyotr Dotsenko, making waves by painting under the Black Sea. He straps on his scuba equipment, then van goes underwater with an easel, oil paints and a palette knife, which he uses instead of a brush. He's under the sea and under the clock.

Picasso, his tanks only have so much air. This one took about 75 minutes to create. Easily one of the coolest art studios we've seen. I can't Rembrandt one cooler one, actually. Dotsenko's vivid underwater scenes are making quite the splash with art enthusiasts back on dry land.

All right. It is shout out time now. Today's shout out goes to Lynnwood Washington and the Mustangs at Alderwood Middle School. Thank you for making us part of your day. We cannot wait to see your submissions for #YourWordWednesday tomorrow.

You've been absolutely bringing it. Submit those vocab words @coywire on social and we'll see you right back here tomorrow on CNN 10.

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