hello and welcome to our viewers in the united states and all around the world. i'm isha sesay in los angeles. >> and i'm isa soares in miami, where the entire state of florida is bracing for the impact of hurricane irma. south florida in fact where i'm now standing is just two days away from being devoured by one of the most ferocious storms ever spawned right here in the atlantic. and time unfortunately is rapidly running out for people to escape. now after devastating parts of the eastern caribbean, hurricane irma is marching west as a

powerful category 5 storm. now it has sustained winds of 168 miles an hour or 270 kilometers an hour. no recorded storm has ever maintained that intensity for such a long time. and irma is so large and powerful that even glancing -- a glancing blow can be de stating. now to the southeast of florida, irma right now is hammering the turks and caicos islands. the governor there says escape is impossible. take a listen. >> yes, it is. it's hunker down. stay where you are. because you can't good out because the winds are just far, far too strong. nobody can get to you either. so people for a little while on their own or with their families or in the shelters. >> well, by sunday, irma will likely be here on miami's doorstep. whatever happens from that

point, it is certain to be bad, unfortunately. and we'hile riding out the hurricane is strongly discouraged. it's already a killer. at least ten deaths have been confirmed so far from the ravaged islands of the caribbean, including four deaths in the u.s. virgin islands. also feeling irma's sting, the dominican republic and haiti and cuba. the surf swells at a moment's notice with potentially deadly consequences. let's take a look. >> that cameraman there on the north shore of the dominican republic was almost swept off his feet, as you saw there, by a sudden wave. his panicked companions yelling at him to get out of the way. meteorologist karen maginnis is

tracking the storm for thus hour. karen, bring us up to speed, if you can. what is happening with irma right now? and where is it going to next, more importantly? >> all right. right now the position puts it about 580 miles to the east-southeast of miami. i did not do the kilometer calculation on this. but we still have another roughly 36 to 48 hours to go. we're thinking that landfall is going to occur maybe saturday night into sunday morning, depending on what the speed. right now we're watching it go to the west-northwest at about 26 kilometers per hour. it is a category 5 hurricane. split the difference between the southern tip of cuba and the turks and caicos, and that is where the eye. it is going to generally trek in the west-northwest. these almost never move in a straight line. they have little crooked movements. but the overall general progress of this is to the

west-northwest. all right. so what we're taking a look here are the bahamas. crooked island, cat island, eleuthera, grand bahama. and here is the northern coast of cuba where. you see that red, including south florida, dade county, west palm county, brevard county, all the counties even over into collier, that's where we have hurricane warnings. they don't issue those just because it's convenient or because they want to frightening you on purpose, but it's for your safety. gas stations running out of gas. food is running short. so you could see some flooding. so you might ride it out. maybe lose your power. what are you going to do for gas? what are you going to do for electricity? these are the questions you need to ask yourself if you're planning to stay. all right. so we go through the forecast wind. this is the rpm. generally, it looks a lot different from our european model and our north american model. but it just let's you know what

that wind field is going to be like this. is saturday overnight, european model. we have new data from the european model. it needs to be adjusted. it takes some time because it's a finer resolution. that's why we rely on this much more heartily. here we go. it's going to transition. now it moves across south florida. maybe just to a little west of center of florida, through the spine. so maybe a little bit more towards the everglades. maybe a little more over towards the tampa area. not by much. but that's what the european looks like right now. we'll be getting another update. there you go. more just to the west of center. but the american model something a little different. now it looks like this one is just a little bit to the east of center. but you know what what i all have in common? this is a category 5 hurricane. it could make landfall as a category 4. this is unlike anything we have seen. and we've seen a lot of devastating hurricanes.

all we have to do is go back to andrew, and then there was wilma. so here are the spaghetti plots. and we know how these go. sometimes they're in agreement. sometimes they're not. in this case they're not in agreement completely. but it does look like right across the east central regions of florida, the entire florida peninsula is the area that is going to be affected. the only way, if you live in florida that you're not going to be affected by irma is if you've evacuated, if you've moved. and there are certainly mandatory evacuations. what happens after this? even in the state of georgia could be affected as a tropical storm going into about the next four days. so we have it just for the next about two and a half days, going through the florida peninsula. how much rain are we looking at? we could see between 100 and maybe 500 millimeters and a storm surge between 5 and 10

feet. isa, it looks like that would be on the order of about 3 meters of storm surge. completely devastating. back to you. >> and karen, you were talking about the european and the u.s. model. if we look at hurricane harvey, which one would you say was perhaps more precise? >> during hurricane harvey, which was in texas, it was very good at forecasting it, but it's got a lot of different parameters. it's a much finer, a more refined model. and that's why we look at that. the north american model not as many data points are put into it. but we still look at the two. and you kind of get a determination as to what the trend is or what we can look at, just kind of narrow the focus. but european, at least at this point from what we're looking at, is the gold model that we have been observing.

>> yeah, it doesn't matter which way you slice it, does it? it is a huge storm, category 5. thank you very much, karen maginnis. we'll touch base with you a bit later this hour. i want to take you to the bahamas, because emergency officials say massive storm surges are the greatest concern right now. cnn's anderson cooper spoke to an official there about what could be coming next. take a listen. >> which is probably going to get the brunt of the storm over the next two hours to start with. they can expect surge up to 20 feet of water, based on the strength of the storm. but water would not settle. it eventually runs off. the destructive force, that is our greatest concern. it could really cause catastrophic results. >> journalist stefano is in the bahamas right now. stefano, what can you see from outside your window there?

we heard from one of the guests staying there the storm surge was most concerning. what can you tell us? >> yes, isa, we're seeing that the wind is definitely picking up compared from yesterday. this morning the wind is much more noisy. the sea just behind me on the beach is coming up. and we understand that we see that irma is approaching, of course extremely great concern here in the bahamas. yesterday was the bigger day of the preparations. people were boarding up their windows, they are stocking up on the food and especially on get ready for what could be the devastating impact of these monster hurricane on this tiny little archipelago. and so far this morning the wind is coming up. the sea is coming up. it could rise up to 20 feet. so they are aware could well be flooded within 12 to 24 hours.

and the bahamas want to be as ready as possible, isa. >> yeah, and i can imagine, stefano, evacuations have started to take place. are people heeding those warnings from what you have seen? >> yes, absolutely. the bahamas have gone through a massive evacuation operation yesterday and the day before. six islands, the six southernmost ooilt i'ms of this little archipelago have been almost completely evacuated, and people have been brought here in nassau in the capital where there are some shelters and camps have been provided for those people and for the rest, for the inhabitants on nassau. the advice has been to stay inside, not to put them at risk and stay put and hold force while irma passes through this little archipelago.

>> you've been there for several days for cnn. paint us a picture of how it has changed in the last 24 hours or so. not just the preparations, but also those howling winds. >> yes. the wind is when we first arrived, it was this classic tourist paradise. these tropical beautiful air with barely a breeze. and now we're seeing the winds coming up. the palm trees are definitely moving around. i can see that it does look like the hurricane is on its way compared to for example 24, 36 hours ago when we arrived here and everybody was seemed very, very far away in the future. now it's happening. it's happening now, and now irma is arriving. >> stefano there for us in the bahamas. stefano, do stay safe. we'll touch base with you the next hour or so. well, hurricane irma has already brought death and destruction to the caribbean islands.

laieyla santiago has the latest now from puerto rico. >> the foreign minister of barbuda has said mandatory evacuations could be put in place by friday. this as the island recovers from one storm and awaits another. hurricane irma leaving a path of death and destruction as it barrels toward the u.s. homes now piles of debris, power, communication wiped out. devastating winds reaching up to 185 miles per hour and rain cutting off caribbean islands completely from the rest of the world for hours. >> antigua, however, barbuda, our sister island is still on the threat. we have lost all communications. >> one of the first government officials to establish contact called it -- >> heart-wrenching, absolutely devastating. i have never seen any such destruction.

>> reporter: devastating and deadly. the category 5 hurricane claiming the life of an infant on the island of 1800 people. >> we've had one fatality. it could have been worse. >> reporter: the prime minister expressing shock more lives weren't lost. in st. martin, even more deaths. flooded cars and debris found all over the island. the airport known as a tourist attract for beachgoers watching planes land now being called unreachable by the dutch navy. the cleanup is expected to cost hundreds of millions of dollars, and all of this may not be the end of it for the caribbean. >> there it is. the roof just went, jess. the whole roof. >> reporter: these islands may soon get hit by hurricane jose, now growing stronger in the atlantic. and it could be a long road to normalcy for many of these caribbean islands. take where we are right now in puerto rico. more than a million people

without power. tens of thousands right now without water. and already authorities say it could be weeks, possibly months before it's restored. leyla santiago, san juan, puerto rico. we have some breaking news to bring you from mexico. i want to send to it my colleague, isha sesay who is in los angeles. isha? >> isa, thank you for that. our coverage of hurricane irma will continue in just a moment. but let's bring you the breaking news which is coming out of mexico. we are getting initial reports of a powerful earthquake striking in the sea off the coast of chiapas, mexico. these are live pictures we're bringing up for you. so you can take a look at the scene there. the area it struck was near the border with guatemala. the tremor was felt as far away as mexico, about 600 kilometers away. it is a magnitude 8 tremor at a depth of 33 kilometers. that's about 20 miles. we're working to get more information for you.

but just to remind you, if you are just joining us, that a large earthquake has struck mexico, the southern part close to the border with guatemala. it was an epicenter -- the epicenter, as i say, is in that area southwest of the town is what we're hearing with a depth of 33 kilometers. that's 21 miles. we are working to get some assessment of any damage that may have occurred. any casualties, just working to get a sense of how badly impacted this area has been. stay with us. we are working to get the details and we'll bring them to you as soon as we get them. we're going to take a very quick break here. hurricane coverage continues after the short break, where despite repeated warnings, some florida residents are still planning to stay put and ride out the monster hurricane. why the mayor of miami beach says that is a big mistake.

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welcome back. thousands of people are making their way north as hurricane irma sets its sights on florida. here in miami many people have already left the city. but others are intent on waiting out the dangerous storm. that's a decision strongly discouraged by officials. while irma is already blamed for

at least ten deaths in the caribbean islands, in the u.s. it's prompting one of the largest mass evacuations ever. our kyung lah has the story. >> reporter: irma, destructive and deadly, turning right towards homestead, florida. joelle melendez, racing from window to window, house to house. >> if you are financially stable and you're able to get out of here, get out of here. >> reporter: remembering this is what hurricane andrew did to homestead 25 years ago. the cat 5 nearly wiping his hometown off the map. this is a picture of melendez's childhood home completely flattened. his family only survived by hiding in a neighbor's concrete house. he is boarding up homes for free. >> it's traumatizing, you know? serious. this ain't no game. i feel for a lot of people that i can't help, that i can't get to because i'm only one guy, and my brother and i, you know. hopefully i made some type of change or i saved a life or two.

that's all that matters at the end of the day. >> reporter: across southern florida, an ever widening mandatory evacuation order. people packing up, crowding roads and airports to escape the hurricane. but options in homestead 30 miles south of miami are dwindling, right with the gas supply. one by one, gas stations closing and boarding up. stay at your own risk, says florida's governor. >> we cannot save you when the storm starts. if you're in an evacuation zone and you need help, you need to tell us now. >> i got the big cans, the little cans. everything. >> reporter: kelsin bertrand is not heeding that order. bird trand wasn't alive when hurricane andrew ripped through in 1992. >> my plan is to stay here. if this will stay here for andrew, i'm pretty sure it holds this hurricane. >> reporter: she has weeks of food for her 15-month-old son caden and sacks of formula. enough to feed her 4-month-old aiden for months. could you be wrong?

>> i might be wrong. >> reporter: what happens if you're wrong and it's too late to get out? >> i just have to think positive. i have to think -- i have everything ready for them. >> reporter: kyung lah, cnn, homestead, florida. >> as we witness the horrible destruction across the caribbean, miami is now bracing for irma's landfall. philip levine, the mayor of miami beach is urging everyone in the evacuation zone to get out now, warning this is a nuclear hurricane. mayor levine joins us now to discuss the real threat at this point in time. mr. mayor, thank you very much for being with us. i know this mandatory evacuation order has been given. can you give us a sense of how well things are going, what your sense is in terms of numbers of people getting out? >> oh, i can tell you, miami beach has been a very, very orderly transition and evacuation. i started telling people about two or three days ago that they absolutely should leave, our visitors and our residents. that was before the mandatory evacuation. and it proved to be the right

idea because people started leaving. so we have gotten a tremendous amount of the people out. now that it's a mandatory evacuation, we're very, very aggressive because this is a serious, serious very dangerous storm. and we know that people should not be staying in the building, should not be staying in the hotels. this is one of these things where it's, you know, safety is number one. >> you talked about being aggressive and holding your line, that people need to get out. how are you doing that? are you guys going door to door? what's the plan to make sure that indeed you clear miami beach? >> well, what we've been doing is communicating through every means possible. whether it's e-mails, social media, the news media, all our staff. every way we possibly can, we've been getting the word out. building managers at these large condominiums have begun to tell their residents that they'll be turning off power, air conditioning as well as water. and of course that's quite an incentive to leave your condominium building. so we've seen it. when i was talking around the streets today, it's quieter there are not many people walking around. ocean drive, that's usually

lively and party atmosphere is very, very empty. and that's a good thing. i never thought i'd be saying i don't want people to be on miami beach. but this is the one time i know it's the right thing. because this hurricane is incredibly aggressive. i called it a nuclear hurricane because if you watch the footage of what's happened in st. martin and barbuda, it's horrible what it's done. it's been absolutely devastating. >> it certainly has. where do things stand with shelters for those evacuating who need a place to go? how many have you got up and running? how smoothly are things going there? >> right. so we have many, many shelters all across miami-dade county there is no shelters actually on miami beach. but throughout miami proper, we have many of them. we actually have shelters for folks that want the take their pet, that are designed for those. so people who are listening that have pets, take your pets. we have certain shelt ertz. we also have of course we're making sure that our seniors are taking care of, our special needs people. we have buses on emergency routes to pick them up at preassigned areas. and we have trolleys that will

take them to the bus stops. >> mr. mayor, of course the focus right now is to get the human beings, to get the human beings, get them all out of miami beach. but once that is done, hopefully fully completely everyone goes, what are the other areas of focus right now for you when it comes to preparedness for irma? >> well, we've been doing a lot in the last five, six days. everything from bringing in portable pumps, portable generators, clearing out construction sites. we have a sandbag program for residents of miami beach. we've given out thousands and thousands of sandbags for them to bring back to their houses. so we've done a lot of preemptive measures. as you can imagine, when you're dealing with a hurricane, let alone a historically strong hurricane like irma, the key here is just evacuating your people for safety. >> back to the issue of evacuation. where do things stand with fuel? there have been some confirms of people getting to stations, they had run out. i know there was talk about getting the tankers reloaded and

refilling those gas stations. how is that going? >> well, you'll see in miami right now the gas lines have gone down dramatically. so the fuel seems to be more abundant. across the state, i can't really speak to it. but i know the governor has been working on making sure the fuel supplies come to the gas stations as soon as possible. i understand that things are starting to open up and become a little less critical. >> if there are any folks throughout who are still dithering about when to start packing and when to get out, what do you want to say to them, mr. mayor? >> i would say to them please, let's be safe, not sorry. we don't want here rose. our first responders will not be able to help you as this hurricane hits. please get out. your own safety is number one priority. >> and mr. mayor, as things stand right now, where will you be riding out the storm? >> i'll be riding out the storm on miami beach in a hardened shelter mount sinai with our command staff and be there to

survey right after the hurricane right on miami beach. >> do you feel at this stage you have everything you need in terms of resources and manpower to respond to irma if it is as devastating as feared, as expected? >> well, we hope so. and of course the proof will be in the pudding. after this hurricane hits, we'll be counting on the county, the state and of course the federal government. we've been in contact with all branchs of government. so we're hopeful we'll be able to have the full cooperation. >> all right, mayor levine, you have a lot to get on with. we're thinking about you guys, all of you there in miami, in florida as a whole during this really stressful time. well wish you the very best in the days ahead. >> thank you so much. bye, isha. >> thank you, bye. all right. we of course thinking about everyone in florida right now. and we'll continue our coverage of hurricane irma as this storm makes its way towards florida there is also another big story that we are following for you, that magnitude 8 quake that struck off the coast of mexico. we will bring you all the details after a very quick break.

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>> hello, everyone. our coverage of hurricane irma continues in just a moment. we're also following the breaking news out of mexico where we're getting initial reports of a powerful earthquake striking in the sea off the coast of chiapas, mexico. the u.s. geological survey says it is a magnitude 8 tremor, felt as far away as mexico city. jana pursley of the u.s. geological survey joins me on the line now. thank you for being with us. what can you tell us about this magnitude 8 quake? >> good evening. the earthquake struck about 11:49 p.m. in chiapas, mexico. at this point the magnitude is still 8.0. it will be likely adjusted as the time goes on and we get more data. the quake is shallow. it has the potential of causing tsunami for the coast of mexico and central america, possibly south america as well.

>> okay. it was shallow. you make that point. it was a magnitude 8 quake. looking at just those two data point, what are the expectations, what are the -- what's the possibility here for severe damage? because our viewers at home hear that magnitude 8 quake, and they think wow, that was a big one. >> that is a big one. the shaking along the coast of chiapas at this point is estimated to be very strong to severe. we do not have any information as of yet as the potential for casualties and damage. but i would expect damage along the coast of chiapas. >> okay. we're looking at possible tsunamis you mentioned. it is quite a broad field. have you issued watches, warnings? what is the status there? >> we do not. the usgs doesn't issue tsunami

warnings. however, i'm reading in the information from the tsunami.gov website, and they're expecting the possibility up to 3 meters of tsunami hitting mexico. >> okay. what can you tell us about the terrain? i know this was off the coast. but as we talk about chiapas, what can you tell us about the landscape and what we're looking at here as we try and get some kind of handle on the kind of damage we may be looking at? >> it is -- it is definite -- it's not in this. you might get secondary effects such as landslides, rock slides triggered by the earthquake. >> and what are we seeing in terms of aftershocks? are we seeing any at this moment? >> we're seeing aftershocks. they will be coming in slowly as the coda, the long period from the main shock basically obliterating the signal from the higher frequency events.

>> so explain what you mean by that. >> the earthquakes when they are this big, magnitude 8 and they're shallow, the surface waves they create have a very long period. they're very large. they are the ones that cause the shaking, the damage. the smaller aftershocks, they have a lot more higher frequency. and so, you know, it takes a bit more work to find them in that coda. >> sure. so if i'm understanding you correctly, that's not to say they're not taking place. it's just is that you haven't detected them because of the strength of the initial quake. that correct? >> yes. as the time goes on, there will be a lot more visible. right now we're still seeing the large waves from the first main shock. >> okay. you mentioned the shaking felt in chiapas. we understand this quake was

strong enough to have been felt all the way in mexico city and guatemala city. >> that's right. >> do you have any information -- >> it's large enough -- it's large enough that it's going to be felt that far away. >> okay. large enough that it will be felt that far away. in terms of the data that you will be looking at, in terms of the hours ahead, what is it you'll be keeping an eye out for? >> i believe it will be working aftershocks to determine the rupture area of this earthquake. and we will be definitely keeping an eye on what the tsunami has been along the coast. >> okay. jana pursley, we appreciate you joining us and giving us the information you have at this point in time. we know this is a developing story, and you're working to get more data. so thank you for joining us at this point in time. i want to go right now to our own karen maginnis in atlanta, who is following not just irma, because we are keeping an eye on

irma, but also what is happening in mexico off the coast. karen, talk to us about what you are see iing, give us your perspective of what has taken place, this magnitude 8 quake off the coast of mexico. >> this is really an amazing event. because around the globe, you just do not see 8 magnitude earthquakes that often. in fact, around the globe, you might average one a year. now granted, this is off the coast. this is south of oaxaca, the day of oaxaca. this is mexico city. this is the epicenter of that earthquake. they did feel it in mexico city. it is a very vulnerable area. we think there may in fact be perhaps a localized tsunami. we're still kind of evaluating that as we speak. meteorologist and producer over here is looking at that there is a localized tsunami. i'm not sure what the height on

that tsunami might be. perhaps a meter or so. is my estimate at this point. but we'll still stay on top of that for you. this was 8 magnitude. about 35 kilometers deep. so it wasn't shallow. it wasn't deep. shallow might be about 6 kilometers. deep might be 100 kilometers. so this is 35 kilometers deep. this is along a trench area where you might expect trench meaning we're watching the water depths go down rather dramatically. all right. let's show you what the magnitude of 8 or greater magnitude, what you would see around the world. it is, one, it's referred to as a great earthquake as opposed to a major earthquake. and typically, around the globe, you would only see one of these. and the fact that this has happened tonight just off the coast or south of the oaxaca state in mexico is very significant.

our other big story is hurricane irma. churning its way between the turks & caicos and cuba, on its way to produce devastating wind and rainfall and storm surge across the bahamas and into south florida. dade, broward, and west palm counties are under a hurricane warning. we have so much information to give you on this. but this is a category 5 hurricane. another update at the top of the hour. isha? >> karen, we appreciate it. there is a lot going on, and we thank you for all the information. we will of course check back with you shortly. so thank you. let's pause here for a quick break. next on "newsroom l.a.," the british virgin islands, one of the places hit hard by irma. we're going to talk to a u.s. pastor who hasn't spoken to his family on the island since monday. he is concerned the british government isn't doing enough to help. we will bring you his story, next.

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you are watching cnn "newsroom l.a." and isa soares in miami. irma has already left a trail of destruction in the caribbean. this was the scene as the hurricane roared into the british virgin islands with sustained winds of 175, or roughly about 280 kilometers per hour. four of the ten people irma killed were in the british territory, and there was severe damage everywhere. given the scale of losses on some of the caribbean islands, some have questioned the british response. but prime minister theresa may defended her government. take a listen. >> we have taken action. we moved swiftly. there are uk people. we have people on the ground, 32 million pounds has been released. the fleet auxiliary ship rfa manns bay is in position providing assistance.

and a task group is on its way on hms ocean with several hundred uk troops. and of course we'll continue the look at what is needed and provide what is necessary. >> well rkthe most northerly of the islands and about 300 people live there. just over 100 of whom got out ahead of the arrival. we're still waiting to find out really the extent of the damage communication with the island has been impossible since the hurricane hit. well, let's get more. leonard miles jr. joins me on the phone now from long island, new york. he has a family on anegada and says he has been unable to reach them for days. pastor, thank you very much for joining us on "newsroom l.a." tell us, when was the last time you spoke to your family? >> the last time we spoke with the family was some time on monday. and since then, we have not

heard anything from anyone, and no information has been disseminated at all. >> and who -- what members of your family have you been trying to contact? >> well, this very brief item here, my mother-in-law is here with us here in long island, new york as she returned with us when we left from a vacation that we had there in july. so my mother-in-law, which is my wife's mother, all her brothers are there, sister-in-laws are there, nephews, niece, cousin, relatives. we would say somewhere in the 100 area, the relatives are located there in anegada. >> so just to clarify, you're talking about 100 members or so of your family of whom you have not been able to contact. have you been able to get in contact with any neighbors, even with the british embassy? >> well, what is interesting

about that is this. my -- you can see the concern in my mother-in-law's face continuing to rise on a daily basis, looking at all of the horrible images of the devastation that irma has put into place on television. but at no time except for chad myers, he did mention anegada several times a couple of nights ago, no one else, even the word anegada ever came out of anyone's mouth. after seeing all that, we decided that we were going to reach out to the embassy in new york, the british embassy in new york. the british embassy in new york stated they could not help at all. so then we were transferred to the home office in britain. and when we were transferred to britain, and i spoke directly to the officer that was there, and i was explaining to him our situation. we've not heard from our relatives. where are you? what is going on? do you have any information.

he said what is this about? i said it's about the island anegada. he said where is that located? i said it's in the british virgin islands. this is one of your territories. he said i never heard of it before. would you spell the name for me. so i had to spell anegada to someone who works in the embassy that didn't even know that bvi had anegada even in its throngs. so it was completely upsetting. and after doing that, i called a couple of other news outlets. no one had any information about anything to get to us. and the only reason why ultimately i said to myself, chad myers mentioned anegada multiple times in his report. he is the only person that did. so we're missing our family members. we don't know what's going on. we heard all types of things. so that's where we came about. but no help from the british embassy whatsoever. >> well, pastor, we'll keep your

family, yourself in our thoughts. and as soon as you hear from your family, do get in contact with us and do let us know. a pastor there joining us on the phone. >> thank you. well, actor robert de niro is anxious to help the british territory of barbuda get back to normal after hurricane irma. he is a co-owner of a resort on the island, and issued this statement. and i'm going read it to you. we are beyond saddened to learn of the devastation in barbuda caused from hurricane irma and look forward to working with the paradise found resort team, the barbuda counsel, and the entire community to successfully rebuild what nature has taken away from us. and of course, if you've been watching our program and want to help hurricane irma victims, why don't you go on to our website. that's cnn.com/impactyourworld there. you'll find a list of charities we have vetted, charityious can

donate to help. we'll have much more after a very short break. it card. so she only earns double miles on purchases she makes from that airline. what'd you earn double miles on, please? ugh. that's unfortunate. there's a better option. the capital one venture card. with venture, you earn unlimited double miles on every purchase, everywhere, every day. not just airline purchases. seems like a no-brainer. what's in your wallet?

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. i'm isa soares in miami where it is 1:53 in the morning and we are tracking hurricane irma, the monster storm that is hammering the turks and caicos island right now. it has sustained winds of 280 kilometers or 174 miles an hour. it smashed a record earlier by maintaining wind intensity above 272 kilometers an hour for 37 straight hours. to really quite the punch that is being felt with with it barrelling toward south florida residents are being told to get out and get out now. but gas shortages and traffic jams are making that difficult for some as we found out. >> reporter: the desire and need for petrol in south florida is

reaching the maximum right now. we were at a gas station for many hours tonight. it ran out with 20 cars left in line. we drove for ten miles and saw a dozen more gas stations that were completely out of gas. this one just got a tanker truck in. the gas line is about 20 cars in line right now. gas stations south of here are running out of gas, others are forming a second que on that side. creating problems. the governor here in florida take extraordinary measures calling for police escorts for tanker trucks so they can get in to the gas stations as quickly and efficiently as possible, also calling for escorts for employees at gas stations so they can work up to the last minute getting everyone as much

gas as they can before they can get out. people in south florida with the hurricane models coming literally right over the spot where we are standing, people making the hard decision now, are they going to hunker down here now in florida or get out? miguel marquez, cnn, miami. >> other breaking news this hour, a magnitude 8 earthquake has been recorded off the southern coast near the ga guatemalaen water. the tremors were felt 1,000 kilometers to the northwest. it has the potential of causing a tsunami. parts of mexico city are without power and authorities have dispatched extra patrols to those areas according to the mexico city mayor.

first assessment though, according to the mayor, does not show immediate damage. we'll keep on top of that breaking news for you. you have been watching "cnn newsroom." i'm isa soares live for you in miami. >> i'm isha sesay in los angeles. we will be right back with more knew after this. you're more than just a bathroom disease. you're a life of unpredictable symptoms. crohn's, you've tried to own us. but now it's our turn to take control with stelara® stelara® works differently for adults with moderately

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