it yet. he' going to google it. irma is taking its way to south florida. it is hitting cuba and devastated the british virgin islands. we have all the best proof and pictures. let's get after it. good morning. welcome to your "new day." it is friday, september 8. it's 8:00 here in miami. cnn is on scene bracing for hurricane irma. just a few minutes ago hearing the fema straiter saying the question isn't it florida's going to be hit anymore. but how badly. that's the reality. what are they thinking right now? a category 4 storm this. is a monster. it's the size of texas. it's hurt and scarred every place it's hit in the caribbean. it is a deadly storm. the central bahamas, north coast of cuba. they're next. and then comes where we are, the

sunshine state. south florida is under a hurricane warning. irma closes in, expectations, winds of 150. gusts even stronger. storm surge. 10, 20 feet in places. all of those components can have devastating effects. everybody knows that. so what you're looking at now where we are, this may be one of the last tranquil mornings in south florida for sometime to come. we have a former emergency official telling us people in south florida have about a 24-hour window now. either get out, get somewhere safe, deal with the traffic and madness. it's better than the alternative. if you have to shelter in place, please have a plan and have supplies that can get you through 72 hours. where are you? what does it mean? take a look at the map. mandatory and voluntary evacuation orders are in effect in florida. here's a caveat. maybe where you are doesn't have an evacuation order but that could change. check the sites.

stay aware. keep watching the news. lots of people are trying to get out. look, it's going to be hard to get out. that's the reality. look at the roadways, and they are jam-packed with people heading north. the airport is jam-packed with people trying to get out. but here's the reality. the governor is shutting down for the storm. the at least in terms of offices. awareness will be there. they are as prepared as they can be. thaetd what they tell us. schools, colleges even some hospitals are going to be forced to close. destructive capabilities of 100 miles an hour winds is no joke. this is spun ji territory with the everglades. no matter what it is, if the storm comes and hit, it's going to be bad. >> for sure. obviously a human toll already. 10 people killed by hurricane irma. that could rise. this monster storm has pump elled turks and caicos.

you can see wind, door ren shl rain. some reports of looting in the hard-hit island of st. martin. irma is about to hit the bahamas and cuba. it has 26 million more people in its pat. as if this is not concerning enough, there's another storm that's picking up steam called hurricane jose. we'll watch that. all of this is happening while mexico was just hit by the worst earth wake in 100 years, an 8.1 magnitude tremor and at least 16 people dead there. cnn is using all global resources to bring you coverage of all these. let's bring in meteorologist chad myers. what are you seeing now? >> i see the storm down to 150. last hour was 155. the category 5 starts above 157.

that's why there's a 4 there. the this is not a category 1. this is still a major hurricane at 150. of the let's break in hurricane down. what's going on with turks and caicos, if you live to the north of the eye, you are on the dirty side of the eye. if you live to the south, you are in a better spot? why? because it's going 150. also moving forward at 16. you have to add those two numbers together if you're on the north or the east side of this eye. you subtract those two numbers. the if you're on the south side. now, guess where it's going? right here. who's on the dirty side of the eye? miami. you absolutely are on the worth side. as it moves over the florida keys. now let's break down where we go for the rest. hurricane warnings all the way up the coast. we will see storm surges between i think 10 and 15 feet across the keys, maybe more in key biscayne. there goes the storm.

we argued how much the euroand gfs are apart. this is your final key. this is your final draft of what's going up here the center part. does it go left or right? sure. the maybe a little bit but not very much now. because all of the models are agreeing. we move you ahead to saturday morning, saturday afternoon. we're finally seeing wiptsdss about 50 miles per hour. then 75. cape coral same story. fort meyers now in the hurricane. the white part is the center, just came across probably the island. right through the center part of the state everywhere you see white you you get wind gusts of 100 miles per hour. orlando. even up toward jacksonville. and onshore flow pushing water here making flooding across the east coast in places that didn't even get an eye. charleston, savannah.

let me break this down for you a little bit better. here's what's going on now with the two models being close. i can use two fingers. that's what is happening, what landfall is expected. i know this area so well. ltd european model taking somewhere, i would say right around marathon. airport, right through here with the gfs. you're talking 20 miles distance from here. and then into the everglades. don't think that's going to slow things down because they really don't have much land. it's all water anyway. we're going to fill up this bay. cutler ridge, cutler bay. significant flooding. then miami. i've drawn everything in blue that's six feet above sea level or less. we're going to see at least the surge. look at downtown miami, completely wet. white where you are, chris is going to have storm surge 6 to

10 feet. that will take out power. even in the high ride buildings, you're going to be surrounded by water. it's time to get out because they told you to get out. >> all right. chad, water can be weaponized. that's wa we hear from the officials down here, standing water can be used to flood areas. it can knock out power. let me get chad back for a second because this dirty side of the storm thing, i want to hear more about that, because that's one of the acute concerns here with miami. what does that mean, dirty side? and why is it worse? >> it's worse because have you to add the forward speed of the storm with the wind speed around the eye. the so everyone's going to see a dirty side from make con, gainsville all the way down to orlando. if you're on this side of the eye, you add that 16 miles per hour moving forward with the 70 miles per hour that's already going here, so right here, your wind speed to be 86. back here it would be 64. big difference.

>> all right. i get it. so you got that sen trif eu-cal force. >> easy to understarnds but that's going to be tough to deal with. thank you very much. what do we know right now? >> rain is already being felt in parts of florida, but that's nothing. and people are trying to get out. we got cnn's brynn ging gress live in merit -- merit island along florida's east coast. the rain is coming down there. what is the situation like on the ground? >> reporter: you're right. we are in the middle of a todow pour. slowing down efforts for people to evacuate. it's also slowing down efforts here. you can see all of these inmates who are usually sandbagging and loading cars, they're just hiding under a tent at this point because it is raining so hard. but if we pan over, you can see this long line of cars waiting

to get ten sand bags each in one of their cars. we had people lining up at 5:00 this morning. yesterday, there were people who waited five hours-plus just to get those sand bags, certainly preparations are under way for ifrm ma. people are protecting their homes but i've got to tell you. i've asked a lot of people who live on the island, many of them like we've heard, they're going to stay. wait it out because they're using history as their barometer basically saying i haven't been affected before and i don't think it's going to happen again. bad news there. chris? >> well, brynn, you have to be there. the those who do not, should leave. thank you for the update. check back with you. let us know what we need to know. we are live in miami. it is gorgeous here. but the beauty literally belies the beast that is on its way. hurricane irma is going to hit us right in the face where we are. this weekend, getting out, the only got about 24 hour window

right now. places are shutting down in advance of this monster storm. we have cnn's rosa flores live at the miami international airport. >> reporter: the way to describe it sh stressful and frustrating. a lot of people here have canceled flights. look at this board. 31 canceled flight, 24 of them are from american. when you think about 24 canceled flights you're thinking tons of people. why do you not see them? american tells us a lot of these have been canceled since wednesday, and so that's why you're seeing here some of the folks waking up this morning figuring out that their flight has been canceled and coming back trying to get some customer service to get another flight. i've talked to some. some say they're going to end up going home, some of them, because the flights have been can dreld. american telling us they add the

16 flights, delta add the 15 to try to accommodate people. operations shut down tomorrow. no flights saturday and sunday as people try to evacuate. the now, the big question for the people that can't get on this flight or these flights is they have to go home now and then figure out do i drive in what do i do? how do i get out of the eye of this storm? chris? >> i'm sorry. i'll take it here. but it makes perfect sense because irma is expected to hit florida in less than 48 hours, joining us now is peter brown, commander the seventh coast guard district. tell under the circumstances where we find you at this 0 hour and hower' preparing. >> good morning, alisyn. thanks for the opportunity to explain what the coast guard is doing to prepare for the storm. also how we're responding to the storm in puerto rico and u.s. virgin islands. this is part of the seventh's area of responsibility. with regard to puerto rico and

virgin islands, the storm passed to their north on wednesday doing significant damage in st. thomas and st. john and virgin islands and affecting puerto rico primarily with wind and rain, and we've been very fortunate there that we've been able to reopen the ports of san juan and several other significant ports in puerto rico and reestablish ferry service within puerto rico and its neighboring islands which will allow first responders to get to where they're needed most which will be the islands of st. thomas, and st. john. and part of puerto rico. yesterday we had helicopters in the air and boats in h the water working to restore the maritime transportation system. kind of economic life blood of those islands. so they're coming back up very quickly and we're very fortunate there. in florida, specifically, all of our captains of the port have worked closely with maritime industry to allow the ports to replain open as long as possible

to get critical fuel supplies and other commodities in h. the we're going to be secure ng and closing those ports so we don't have damage to our ships in key west, miami and fort lauderdale and tampa. everywhere we are moving coast guard assets to operate as long as we can and safely shelter them from storm surge and then position to respond as quickly as we can afterwards. >> right. because obviously you have to keep your people safe. they're the first responders, so they have to be safe in order to go out and rescue people if needed. i want to ask you about those chopper rescues. we see them. they're so breathtaking when we watch them. you all execute those with real hur cue leanne heroism. what are you expecting? do you expect to go out and do these rescues even though there are all sorts of mandatory

evacuations there now? >> our sincere hope is people do pay close attention to the evacuation guidance given by the govern nors to get out of the way and run from the water, the storm surge, and then we recognize that we are going to need to perform life saving search and rescue in the hours and days immediately after the storm passage, so we're moving our aircraft out of harm's way for the moment, but all around the coast guard, resources are being marshalled to be able to respond quickly just as soon as the storm passes and as soon as those search and rescue needs become apparent. think back to harvey, coast guard helicopter crews, other aviators, boat crews, saved or assisted over 11,000 people. i don't know what the numerical demand will be but it will exist and we'll be ready. >> thank you for your service on this and for taking the time to talk to us.

best of luck in the hours ahead. >> thank you, alisyn. chris, they're just getting ready. they have to protect the equipment first and then be ready to get up and get out there and rescue people. >> all right. so you have the preparation, right? and then you have the storm itself. and during that it's a dead space. you just can't get out. you can't fulfill any needs, everybody's just got to take cover. then you have the main battle, which is immediately after the storm, and search and rescue is the rule of the game there. and here's the good news. they have an amazing team down here of first responders. they go all over the country during catastrophes. the bad news is they are preparing for something the likes of which they may have never seen. of the so we were very fortunate and got you an inside look at these elite first responders. here's how they are getting ready to save the rest of us. hurricane irma may make history

in all the worst ways, if you said you have to see a rm to of that size like a bowling ball, and to finish the metaphor, what does in a make florida? >> that makes us the bowling alley. >> so it's all about the pins are going to get knocked down. >> yes. >> only three category 5 hurricanes have hit the united states since the 1800s. the most recent ones a painful memory. hurricane andrew in 1992. >> i was completely in awe the devastation that occurred and what a hurricane is truly capable of doing. >> now history is feared to repeat itself with a storm that may not be as strong, but almost twice the size, hurricane irma. >> the challenge headed our way quite honestly is unprecedented. >> the first respond zers, more than 500 strong, highly trained men and women are prepared for whatever irma brings. >> we are dns the to be a self-sufficient team, meaning we can be deposited into an area

whose infrastructure has been completely decimated and be able to form the activities. >> once the storm hits, you'll have to ride it out alone. >> we are completely committed to laying it all on the line to go out there and rescue anybody who needs to be rescued. however, during a storm, there's nothing we can do for you. we're going to have to wait until afterwards to get rescued. >> some of the teams just came back from texas, working 20-hour days doing search and rescue in the aftermath of hurricane harvey. despite going from one to the other, they're motivated to protect the home front. >> harvey took a lot out of us. now we're talking about home front. >> how do you balance duty to the citizens with where your heart is which has to be home, what's going on with my kids and family? >> when you have to leave them,

what do you say to them? >> obviously the most difficult part. give me a minute. you tell them you love them and hope you make it back. >> you're going to be there. and we'll be here to help any way we can. >> thank you. >> thank you for what you do. without you, we got nobody. >> thank you. angels on earth. that's what we call them because it's just true. scotty dean, we thought about whether or not we wanted to put that in the piece and i get why these tough men and women don't want to be seen as vulnerable but it's a really part of the truth. they are all about everyone else. and for us, alisyn, when we're in h harm's way, that's what we signed up for but we know our families are okay. my wife, my kids, they're home

and all right. they don't get those guarantees, these first responders when they're protecting their home turf. but they do it anyway. they are the best among us. >> chris, i'm so glad you highlighted folks like that, because we don't always think about the emotional toll it takes on the responders, but it does, obviously they've been from back-to-back storms and exhausted and left behind a situation that is dangerous, i think it's really important to show what 1/3 ear doithey're do sacrifice they're making. god bless him for the work he's doing for all of us. >> no question about it. so look. this is the last window of opportunity here. it's not hype. it's just the realty. thousands are heeding evacuation orders. they say it's better than in the past. the people are listening. others are headed to shelters. we're going to get the latest from the mayor of miami beach. this is a particular vulnerable

area. next.

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look.

we wish it weren't the case but you're not going to hear an if anymore when it comes to the reality of hurricane irma and florida. it is headed literally right where we're standing right now, the southern part of the state is under a hurricane warning. they believe it's going to be a category 4 storm. what does that mean? you're going to see winds 150 miles an hour, maybe gusts of more, significant storm surge, power outages. it's going to be bad. what the state of readiness? we i've got the maifr of miami beach. and we've former florida governor and u.s. senator bob graham. gentlemen thank you for being with us. both of you be safe. start with a little perspective. you remember andrew, '92. that was the last category 5 to hit the country, one of three i think since the 18 hundreds. what was the lesson of andrew. >> what it comes down to is

evacuation, i called a nuclear storm for a reason because the devastation we've already seen in the caribbean. so the biggest challenge, they had it with andrew -- is convincing people to leave the evacuation areas. that's what we've been working on very aggressively. >> better this time? >> better communication this time. >> but people still staying in the keys, still have people here who say they're storm savvy? >> we're trying to convince them. we don't want heros. there's many shelters available. buses, trolleys, seniors, folks with special needs. we're covering every base as much as we can. >> senator, governor, you know leadership in situations like this. people will say andrew was a 5. this is a 4. we'll be okay. what do you say? >> the difference between 4 and 5 is not that great. they're both going to be devastating.

in answer to your previous ye question, we need stronger building codes. we had them in '92. they're much stronger today. second is this requires people who really are professionals. unfortunately, people ma had been a political dumping ground before 1992. the man who was the head of fema wanted to be the ambassador to belgium. he didn't get that job so they gave him fema and he acted like he wanted to be in brussels. >> and now? >> it's made up of people whose career is in dealing with emergencies. >> so you feel that in terms of readiness, you're hearing what you need to hear from the federal government, you're getting what you into ed on the state level, and of course this is all about the local at the end of the day because they know best. you feel we're in the right place. >> i think we're in the right place and i think mayor lev vene and all the people and state and specially here in the place of first impact in south florida have done a fabulous job of getting us aware of the severity

and encouraging people to do the right thing. >> mayor, this does not feel good. what we're seeing here in terms of the path. the we were both praying it was going to hift. where is your level of concern? >> highly, highly concerned. about five or six days ago before the mandatory evacuation came out i was already urging aggressively our residents and visits to leave. we put out a letter to everyone single hotel test please leave miami beach. hey, the bottom line is we're hoping for the best. we're expecting the worst and we've done all the pre planning and preparation possible. we've got a great city team here. all in place. working not stop. as at the first responders are going to get bunkered down. >> the emergency is actually after. we're tall talking about when

it's going to happen but you do end reveal the challenge until after the storm. >> that's when the real profession allism kicks in. the how you can handle the immediate issues of safety amend longer term issues of rehabilitation. >> you've got a held of a team of first responders down here. you send them all over the country. a big group of them were just at harvey. we're going to volunteer to be with them after the storm. at least you have that going for you. you a he going to need everything you got. senator, governor. the i never know which title is deferenti deferential. i wish you the best. we're here to get out any information. we have seen objectively, fairly, unique preparation. coordination. i've seen it go right and wrong. but it's never enough. they're going to be behind the curve. >> it is good they have gotten such a jump on it so many days

in advance all week because he are now seeing that it's going to be that 48 hours away. le keeping an eye on hurricane irma and some other stories. democrats have new questions today after don trump jr. testified about that infamous meeting with a russian lawyer. one of the members of an intel committee joins us with what she wants to know, next. come on! that's why you drink ensure. with 9 grams of protein, and 26 vitamins and minerals... for the strength and energy, to get back to doing what you love. ensure, always be you. they always refer to me as master sergeant. they really appreciate the military family, and it really shows. we've got auto insurance, homeowners insurance.

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okay. so of course tracking the latest on hurricane irma but also want to update you on other stories. cnn has learned in terms of the russia investigation special prosecutor is looking for more information about the aftermath of that meeting. democrats have more questions also, after don jr. spent six hours testifying. joining us now to talk about this is democratic congresswoman jackie spear. member of a house intel committee and armed services committees. >> great to be with you. >> so don trump jr. met with investigators in the senate

judiciary committee about this meeting. that he had agreed to during the campaign with this russian lawyer and why he would agree to meet with the russians. he had previously said and e-mail showed he thought it was to get dirt on hillary clinton. he put out in his prepare statement that the "new york times" got ahold of. to the extent they had information concerning the fitness, character or qualifications of a presidential candidate i believed i should at least hear them out. what do you think what was learned? >> i think we still have more questions to be asked. for the longest time we didn't know this meeting took place. this was the first concrete evidence made public that there was an attempt at collusion or coordination, and there was a willingness on the part of the trump campaign and part of his inner circle, his son, to work with the russians to get quote, dirt, on hillary clinton.

this is just the beginning of that potential investigation. that was one meeting. we don't know how many other meetings took place. >> look, we hear so many people say when is this going to be over? how close do you think you are to reaching a conclusion? i think we're maybe 40% along. lit's be really clear. this was a war conducted by russian on a number of platforms, not just the hacking, but using facebook and buying $100,000 adds. patrol far troll farms using every manageable means they had at their disposing to undermine our democracy. wars are about undermining our democracy and this is an example of what russia has done consuns tently and more dramatically in

the 2016 election. and fine in ally probably the most critical issue is to what extent they hack nood our election systems and i have grave concerns about their ability to get in. >> that's quite concerning. okay. so you'll let us know when you have updates on that. we want to move on to other news, i want to ask what you think about this new-found friendship or this spirit of bipartisanship that we've seen break out between president trump and democratic leaders chuck schumer and nancy pelosi about the debt ceiling, daca? >> it's a beautifully thing to watch. i think the american people are thirsty for bipartisanship and i think everyone's got to take their armor off and start finding ways to deliver for the american people. as tragic as these hurricane z have been, they've been a sobering expression of how important it is for us to come

together as work together for solutions for the american people. >> i mean but do you think this is the har bin jer of something to come? or what do you think the play is here politically? >> well, so much of what washington is is transactional. and right now the president sees that it's in his best interest to work with the democrats to get an extension on the debt limit and to move forward on support for those who have been victims of hurricane harvey and now irma. i think he's becoming a little more pragmatic and a little more presidential in his ability to recognize you don't get anything done around here unless you can find ways to work with both sides. >> okay. another topic i want to get to. the you chair the task force to end sexual violence, meaning campus sexual assault et cetera. and secretary of education, betsy devos just announced she's going to revisit and examine

some of the protections put in place by president obama to try to stop these things. what do you make of that? what do you think think she's looking at? >> i actually think it's code to undermine the efforts we have been so successful at moving forward to protect young people who are college coeds at colleges. 20% of them are going to eefrt be assaulted or an attempted sexual is made on them. that guidance that was put into effect under the obama administration required universities to do a number about of things once of which was transparency so everyone could see what university is being under investigation, and what university is actually resolved their issues with the office of civil rights. only 2 to 8% of those who report are making false reports. she is now trying to suggest that there is some major reversal of what we know to be

true. and these victims are victimized not just once, but oftentimes two and three times because they then have to go through an investigation, recall what happened to them. it is not a republican or democratic issue. frankly, the first thing i heard when i took my daughter to college was is pie daughter going to be taf. that's what i heard from parents, whether they were republicans or democrats. they want to make sure these institutions are higher learning are presenting safe environments for their kids to learn. >> that is really striking that that's the first question that parents ask at orientation, because now, people are so aware this is a dangerous exam campuses. thank you so much. >> my pleasure. so there is another breaking story we want to update you on. there's a powell 8.1 magnitude earth wake centered off the coast of mexico that killed at least 16 people.

collapsing a hotel and damaging homes. the president calls this a strongest earth wake in 100 years, it rattled mexico city, 600 miles away from the epicenter. obviously keep an eye on that, as well as get the aftershocks and learn what the damage is there. back to you. all right. thank you very much. the fema administrator underlining a point that you've been hearing us make throughout the morning. the question is no longer if the storm is going to hit. i wish it were. the but it's just about when and how irma will strike florida. the how bad is it going to be? we have the latest on the evacuation efforts and the realities next. stay with cnn. hey grandpa. hey, kid. really good to see you. you too.

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president just tweeting about the dangers of this hurricane. take a look at it for yourself. hurricane irma is of epic proportion perhaps bigger than we have ever seen. be safe, get out of its way if possible. federal government is ready. he went on to say our incredible u.s. coast guard saved more than 15,000 lives last week with harvey. irma could be even tougher. we love our coast guard. well, i'm sure everybody joins the president in that sentiment. our first responders are the best among us. literally angels on earth. but, the point is about giving them the least work to do. the joining us now is dr. dan zig. he is the mayer of marathon. that's a city in the florida keys. mr. mayor thank you very much for joining us. what is the situation where you are? chris, we've been working for days. with the county and our state government in order to try to

make our residents safe. we have put shutters, taken all the precautions we possibly can and keep urging people, please evacuate, take the drive and stay alive. now it's just a matter of fine tuning and meeting with our emergency operations center personnel. and doing the last few adjustments and wait so see how much surge. this is a huge deadly storm. i don't think any of have ever seen anything like this. the and we zwris don't know right now what to expect. if it continues on its current track we're expecting 10 feet of water surge here in marathon. that will be devastating. >> boy, weaponized water. that's the phrase that i keep hearing from the first respondinger about what that storm surge can do. the look at the british ririn

islands. >> what have you seen in terms of attention to evacuations? do you think most of the people got out? where are you in h terms of who's left behind? >> i think most people have heeded the warnings and have left. continue to go out today. but everyone down here realizes what this storm could do after seeing the devastation in the caribbean. there's no question we continue to get the message out. we've asked bilingual deputies in many of our neighborhoods explain in spanish and english, please take the drive and stay alive. >> it's a catchy phrase and very instructive one right now. face the drive. obviously that refers to the maddening traffic, trying to get to parts north, but it's worth it too, as you complete the line, stay alive. what do you make of this science reality about the dirty side of the storm, which as we've learned, because of the

counterclockwise force of the winds, that there's an outer edge that will probably hit the keys, may hit miami and south baesh that is actually stronger than the front side and most storms, maybe not with irma but your concerns about being on the dirty side of the storm? >> yes. it's a very good point. the dirty side of the storm is of course east of the eye. that's where the most powell winds will be and that's where tornados torm. if the eye were past 40 or 50 miles east of miami, it would make a world of difference perhaps 75 miles an hour less wind and certainly less storm surge so the track is important. we prepared for the worst and still have our fingers crossed and saying our prayer that is the storm will turn east or north rather east of miami. >> look, that is the hope.

we always want to hope to be wrong in these situations about the track of the storm rmt but we see you are staying in marathon. you're doing your duty. i hope you are safe. i look forward to hearing from you after the storm has passed. we will get the word out about the need, about how people can help and we will tell the stories of what it will take to recover. but mr. mayor, dr. zieg stay safe. >> chris, thank you very much. you be safe too. >> all right. thank you very much. alisyn, to you back in new york. >> so obviously keeping a close eye on irma but also this story today. new thinking on how college campuses should deal with sexual assault. that's next. when heartburn hits fight back fast with tums chewy bites. fast relief in every bite. crunchy outside. chewy inside. tum tum tum tum tums chewy bites.

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education secretary betsy devos announcing a review of how colleges and universities should handle allegations of rape and

sexual assault. let's bring in any clark she's the cofounder of end rape on campus. nice to see you this morning. >> thanks so much for having me. >> what do you think when you heard secretary devos wanted to revisit some of this and look at how universities are addressing the issue of sexual assault? . >> think it's very dangerous some of the rhetoric she was using sends a very clear message she want to the send us back in time to a time where survivors were blamed and still are. and i think we have every right to be concerned, and secretary devos has said she would like to listen to survivors and survivor advocacy groups yet her announcement, the very constituencies it affected the most were not invited into the room with her. we have been given very little intication we can trust her. >> you heard it the way so many

survivors heard it which is that she wanted to turn the attention to the accused to generally young men who are accused sometimes falsely, accused, of sexual assault. the now, the interesting thing is yes, there are occasionally false reports. and that turns the accused's life into a nightmare. for sure. however, there are all sorts of statistics that show that is extremely rare. the fbi says it's something like between 2% and 8% of all sexual assault reports are false. so roughly 5% are false. the vast majority are real and as you well know, usually sexual assault victims and survivors generally don't come forward. so what will it mean if there's now more of a focus on looking at the accused? >> right.

underreporting is a huge problem and i think her announcement yesterday sends a very clear leadership signal from this administration to survivors that they don't have their backs. that they are more focused on this tiny percent of false accusations, which, as you mentioned, do not happen often. and yet they're treating this as a 50/50 issue. the amount of time focussed on this from this administration and in some cases the media is serving to perpetuate this rape myth. it's quite frankly irresponsible of her. >> let me just to prove your point let me show our viewers the stats. puts it in stark relief. the numbers here. so one in five women, we hear this over and over again. and one in 16 men by the way, are sexually assaulted while in college. that's a staggering number. nor than 90% don't report the assault because they're afraid that they'll obviously be

humiliated and ashamed or it just won't work in their favor. rape is the most underreported crime. i know you met with secretary devos in july. and so, did you try to impress any of this on her? what were your impressions? >> so our organization met with the contingency of other organizations, and basically, she said she wanted to listen to survivor stories. she listened but i'm not sure if she heard us because the language she was using shows us that she has a fundamental misunderstanding of the survivor experience. and if she were to actually take into account some of what was said in h that meeting, that announcement would have been very different yesterday. >> well we really appreciate you being on with us. and being here to share your information. thank you. we'll speak again. >> thank you. >>. obviously tracking irma all morning. chris is in miami watching as the storm approaches.

how is it looking now? well first, that was a good and important conversation. thanks for having that for everybody this morning. from here, look, it is a simple message. prepare and leave if you can. hurricane irma is coming towards south florida. it is hitting kwub cuba. cnn's breaking coverage is going to pick up right after the break. news room, poppy harlow, john berman. stay with cnn. for tech advice. with one phone call, i get products that suit my needs and i get back to business. ♪ when you switch to progressive. winds stirring. too treacherous for a selfie. [ camera shutter clicks ] sure, i've taken discounts to new heights with safe driver and paperless billing. but the prize at the top is worth every last breath.

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crunchy outside. chewy inside. tum tum tum tum tums chewy bites. top of the hour 9:00 a.m. eastern. the good morning everyone. i'm poppy harlow. >> i'm john berman in miami beach actually standing in what is part of the mandatory