we're live tonight in miami beach where a lot of folks have already evacuated, and others are hunkered down waiting for hurricane irma as it approaches. a message tonight that could be life-saving. it comes from florida's governor, and it's as simple as life or death. he says if you have been ordered to evacuate, leave now. not tonight. not in an hour, now. the storm is now expected to grow back to category 5 force as it slams into the florida keys. in terms of evacuations, though, law enforcement is saying the window for that is closing. and at some point tonight very shortly, it is going to be too late. and you just need to hunker down and do what you can. and we're actually getting now -- we've been getting the

winds for the last hour or so. but this is the first of some of the rain bands that we have just started to get. we may lose actually our signal. but we'll just keep on going as long as we can. i want to go to patrick oppmann who is stand big in cuba. patrick, what is the situation there? >> well, along the northern coast here in florida, we've been feeling rain bands as well as squalls coming in. it has been knocking out the power here for the last several hours. we only have lights up because we have a generator. no one else in this small town along the cuban coast where we are appears to have one. all the tourists in this area have been evacuated. the cuban government says it has evacuated tens of thousands of people along these coastal areas. i was speaking to someone who is in the next town over, and they are feeling the conditions much more because they are to the east of us. they say they're getting absolutely hammered by the storm. and so those are the kinds of conditions we can expect in the hours ahead, anderson.

>> i just want to show viewers what -- what our viewers saw of you earlier during a live shot where one of the outer bands of the storm hit you and hit pretty hard. let's just take a look at that. >> yep, yep. let me just get my jacket on. woo! >> explain what that was like. and how close together are those bands now? >> you know, you can't really space them out. you have this dead calm, it just stopped raining since we started talking. it was coming down hard before. it stopped like someone turned off the faucet, yet it will begin again and become more and more frequent. this morning when i first started reporting from here, i had my rain jacket on and it was

hot sunny day. it didn't make sense to visit. until that band came in, we hadn't had a drop of rain. and all of the sudden just unleashed this incredibly strong pelting rain, almost blinding me. i could have looked at it. the sky became black. and it just didn't seem to stop. it covered a number of hurricanes, but never had it start up so violently where you just had a gust of wind. rain absolutely coming at you. it speaks to the power and unpredictability of the storm. we haven't had one come through in a little while. but you can certainly sense that more and more of this storm is going to be coming ashore here in cuba. and for people who have very old houses, houses in bad condition, that kind of wind, that kind of rain can bring a house down. so the cuban government has also been encouraging people to evacuate, to go to the shelters they have set up. and hundreds of thousands of people have taken them up at that offer to get out of this area and get to safety, anderson.

>> all right. we're going to continue to check in with you throughout the night. stay safe. i want to check in with allison chinchar who is at the cnn weather center. alison, obviously the most important questions where. is the storm now? and how strong is it and how strong is it going to be when it makes landfall and where? >> right now it is a very strong category 4 storm, winds 155 miles per hour. that's only 2 miles per hour short of a category 5. and we expect it to intensify back up to that strength in the coming hours. right now it's currently located between the bahamas and cuba. but it's over that really warm water. and that's what's going to be one of the ingredients that is going to help fuel this storm to intensify. we expect it to be a category 5 as it crosses over the florida keys. and likely a category 4 as it makes its way over the main peninsula of florida, but then weaken relatively quickly. because of that, we have the hurricane warnings out in the south portion, talking ft. pierce, sarasota south. and then we have hurricane watches for places like orlando

and tampa. but these are likely going to spread north, anderson, in the coming hours as we get closer to landfall and they have a more defined track for some of the northern counties. >> you know, so many people of course remember hurricane andrew and the devastation of that. can you give us a sense of the scale of that storm compared to hurricane andrew? >> the big glaring obvious thing is size. take a look. this is actually to scale. this is andrew. this is irma. you can notice right off the bat that they are way different in terms of size. but also winds. at landfall, hurricane andrew was 165 miles per hour. irma is expected to be around 150 for the main peninsula. slightly higher than that as it goes over the florida keys. but the time is the big concern. andrew only spent four hours over florida. irma is expected to spend 30 hours over florida. and you have to keep in mind when you're talking about that in terms of these speeds, that makes a huge difference. at the ground, anderson, we're talking maybe 145 miles per hour.

but when you talk about all the high-rises, the condos, the hotels that are there, if you talk about a 30-story building, now those winds actually increase as you go up. so now we're looking at wind damage that would be around the 175-mile-per-hour range. you go up even higher to an 80 story building. now you're looking at the winds to be nearing 190 miles per hour. that's going to be a concern, anderson, because we have so many high-rises across florida, especially south florida. >> yeah. allison chinchar, we're going to check in with you throughout this hour as the winds continue to pick up. they're just a fraction of what is to come. this area, we're in miami beach, we're very close to the ocean right now. probably by tomorrow night, even before the storm makes landfall, we will not be able to be broadcasting from this location in miami beach. we'll probably be a little further inland. i want to go now to the fire chief in naples, florida, pete demaria in naples for the latest

on the situation there and what they are expecting. chief, i appreciate your time tonight. what is your biggest concern at this hour for the folks in naples? >> well, biggest concern right now is storm surge. we're very concerned about the water coming up throughout the city of naples. and it causes a major hazard to our community. >> what sort of storm surge are you expecting? what kind of storm surge have you seen in the past also? >> we actually had a five-hour rain about three weeks ago that caused us about a foot and a half storm surge. we had vehicles all over the streets of naples that we had some difficulty there. but now we're anticipating a possible 6 to 10-foot storm surge in some areas. we have evacuated, or asked for mandatory evacuations for all residents that are west of u.s. 41. >> and in terms of those who have not evacuated, because obviously in a mandatory evacuation, not everybody heeds those warnings as they should,

are you able to respond in the height of the storm to 911 calls? or i assume like many first responder, you just have to wait it out until the storm dies down? >> yeah, that's our policies as well. we'll respond as long as it's safe for our first responders to get out there on the streets and do the work they do. we'll normally shut down about 40, 55 miles per hour of sustained winds. and then pick back up when the winds start to die after the storm passes. >> do you have a sense of how many people have heeded the evacuation warnings? >> well, i think naples right now is pretty vacant. a lot of people have left the area. and we do know that there are some residents still here. but we're encouraging anyone that is in an evacuation area or has stayed and fears for their safety to get out of the city of naples and off the coast and get to some of the local shelters that the community is providing.

>> chief di maria, i know you're going have a lot of busy days ahead and weeks ahead. i appreciate all you're doing. thank you. stay safe. we'll check in with you. earlier, i talked to the miami beach mayor, mayor levine. let's take a look at that conversation. the winds are just now kind of getting the first taste of this. what is your message to those who have not evacuated, who are here now? >> we have another two or three hours, and then the buses stop and trolleys stop, anderson. at this point we're telling people bunker down where you are. >> it's too late after that? >> i think so. because the winds are picking up. you can feel what's going on. and we want now for them to be safe where they are. but they've got another couple of hours to go. we hope they go to these evacuation centers, that they leave miami beach. as you know, it's a low-lying barrier island. it's not safe for a hurricane of this magnitude. >> for the people who are staying, it seems pretty calm. at the supermarket, they had plenty of food. i filled up a shopping cart. they seemed to be ready for

this, or at least very much aware of it. >> i think so, anderson. we've been preparing for about five or six days now. literally putting in portable generators, portable pumps, sandbags to all of our residents. locking down construction projects so there is no debris flying around. we've been communicating so aggressively with our entire residents and visitors so that they hear our message, what to do, what not to do and hopefully evacuate. >> so for you is it storm surge? >> i think it's a combination of wind and storm surge. as you know, miami beach is no stranger to flooding. we understand how devastating it can be. when you have a hurricane, especially a hurricane of that magnitude, there is not much you can do. >> right. in terms of wind, a lot of the building codes were changed. the newer buildings are supposed to be able to sustain i think 150-mile-per-hour winds. >> absolutely. no question about it. the newer buildings that were built after hurricane andrew uhave much higher protocols in the construction codes. they will be able to withstand. and a lot of the art deco buildings you see behind us on ocean drive were built in the

1920s and they've been here for many, many years and they've withstood a lot. but there are many structures that won't. who knows? how do we know? why take the chance. that's what i tell people. rather be safe than sorry. >> in terms of recovery after the storm passes, whether it's late sunday, monday, and people start to come out again, do you have a sense of gas station, how quickly they may be able to get up and running? because i know a lot of gas stations by law have to have a generator. >> let me tell you what we're doing. i'll be bunkering down at mount sinai, one of our big hospitals on miami beach. bile with a central command staff. it will be a skeletal staff. and then we're going to keep our first responders, the majority across the bridgeton mainland. they're going to come over after the storm ends. they're going to be able clearing the roads. you have to have the roads clear. we can't do anything unless the roads are clear. we can't even have the residents come back. >> that's the first thing? >> that's the first thing. from there based on the assessment, we'll move forward and go to step 2 and step 3. >> so bottom line for anybody listening that is in this area,

what's your message? >> at this point you have another couple of hours to take one of our bus, our trolleys and go across to the mainland. woe we have multiple shelters. if you have pets we have shelters that accept pets. we have shelters for seniors. convincing a lot to get on the buses and go to shelters. a lot did. by 10:00 at night, my suggestion is bunker down where you are and stay safe. >> mr. mayor, thank you very much. i appreciate it. >> thank you. >> i want to repeat that the mayor saying by 10:00 or 11:00, by 10:00, which is the end of this broadcast, if you're in this area, just hunker down and stay safe, or 11:00. we'll check on preparations just north of here in ft. lauderdale coming up. and later we want to take you back to the keys. it could be the first place to feel a cat 5 hurricane in this country. we'll show you the danger there and what people are doing about it. ...has grown into an enterprise. that's why i switched to the spark cash card from capital one.

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we're joining you live tonight from miami beach. about 36 hours from now, where i'm standing very close to the ocean in miami beach, it won't look anything like this. a few hours after that it very well could be under water because of the storm surge. the same is true north of here in ft. lauderdale. that's where cnn's alex marco rubio -- is. >> i've been surprised the number of people. a surprising number trying to ride out the storm. we've seen a lot of people on the beach that is the beach. the water line right out there beyond the palm trees.

now this is a mandatory evacuation zone. they will be imposing a curfew at some point tomorrow. the people we have spoken to that are staying tell us they are not in the evacuation zone. thaw say their structures are strong. their homes can withstand the winds. they have hurricane shutters. they boarded up their homes and have the supplies to last the storm. the major concern is the storm surge. we spoke with the mayor of ft. lauderdale earlier this afternoon. and he said that is his number one concern. take a listen. >> when you look at this storm, if you end up pushing all that water that came across the atlantic with this storm, and you push it up on our shores and you combine that, if we're unlucky to be at a high tide, especially during a seasonal high tide season. and combine that with a little rain that's going to be there anyway, that precipitation. and then the last element, the east wind pushing that waterton surface, those factors could all lead to a serious water issue here in the city of ft. lauderdale.

>> now the mayor was confident besides that. he says all the preparations have been made, that they have gotten all the information and resources they need from the state and federal government. he told us it is not the storm that he is particularly afraid of, but the aftermath. anderson? >> i understand there is still a few bars and businesses open in ft. lauderdale. >> yeah, it's fewer and fewer by the hour. certainly more inland away from the water. this entire stretch along beach boulevard has been boarded up for most of the day. all except one very famous bar called elbow room which is a block away. they were packed all day long with what the mayor said is people trying to get a few more cold ones in. they have just closed up shop before the storm hits. we expect any activity out here in the streets to grind to a halt tomorrow as people take shelter. anderson? >> all right. alex, thanks. stay safe. given what happened in the fukushima nuclear disaster in japan after the tsunami, there

are some reassuring words tonight on florida's coastal nuclear plants. the energy tonight saying it is confident about preparations at the turkey point and the st. lucie reactors, both of which survived hurricane andrew, we should point out. for more now on federal preparation, let's go to rene marsh at fema headquarters in washington. rene, with fema following so closely behind hurricane harvey, is fema prepared for this in terms of manpower and money? they've got to be stretched thin. >> i just got briefed by fema leadership here and asked that very question. they say that they're ready. but the truth of the matter is with a massive storm like this, every need will not be met in the immediate aftermath of this storm. all of that being said, they say they're ready and prepositioned. we are locked down to this specific location because this is an active operation that you're seeing behind me. but i do want to kind of give you a feel of the way things are working here. this is a 24/7 operation here you. are looking at essentially the

nucle nucleus, the brain of the entire federal response. it's been coordinated in this room. the people here are working 12-hour shifts. they're working seven days on, seven days off. and tonight their primary focus is hurricane irma. again, it's safe to say that this is the brain of the federal response operation. now we have some roughly 200 people in this room. people from various agencies, whether it's epa, it's the department of energy, they're all here coordinating this response effort. they're trying to determine where should the resources be sent, what sort of resources do they need to send. and tonight we know they are buying things like tarps in extra preparation for this storm. but they tell me the most frantic moments inside of this room is the moments before the storm as well as the moments after the storm. >> those two nuclear power plants we talked about, do you know about precautions being

taken to protect them? >> we do know that in this room they are monitoring that very closely. you mentioned at the top there the fukushima disaster. they obviously don't want a replay of that. all that being said, we do know the two nuclear plants in florida, they're taking precautions by shutting them down. we also know that they have been built to really withstand really strong winds as well as storm surge. we know that it sits about 20 feet above sea level. so all of those precautions are in place. all that said, though, you have members from the department of energy in this room, and they are watching that is one of the many things they'll be monitoring when this storm blows through. really what you're seeing behind me, a lot of people when you consider on a normal day when there is no storm threat, when there is no bad weather, there are about five people in this room. tonight we're talking about more than 200 people crammed into this room, watching this storm as it inches closer and closer to florida, anderson.

>> rene marsh, appreciate that thanks very much. new storm information now from the national hurricane center. that's coming up next as our "360" coverage from florida continues. as king midas, i expect a lifetime guarantee. and so should you. on struts, brakes, shocks. does he turn everything to gold? not everything. at midas we're always a touch better. book an appointment at midas.com whoo! testis this thing on?! huh? c'mon! your turn! mmmm...

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we're live in miami beach. until today, people living along florida's gulf coast were expecting irma to mainly be an east coast event. the east coast of florida. now they could be seeing the worst of it this weekend. drew griffin is in naples, which could see 12 feet of storm surge. drew, how are preparations there? >> they're just about done here in downtown old naples. this is fifth avenue, friday night here. i don't know if you have ever been here, anderson. should it be packed. it is just boarded up. very few people here. i think the people on the west coast of florida, especially down here in southwest florida took a look at that last jog or the last couple of jogs from the prediction centers and decided this is just not worst it, this size of the storm. we just got an update, 9:00 tonight from collier county. that's the county we're in to show you how seriously the people here are taking it.

nine shelters in collier county are now at capacity. they're not taking any more people. they have opened up three more this evenings as the influx of people away from the shoreline continues to move. and we've talked to people all day long, anderson, who are hopscotching. so they know somebody who lives a little bit inland and up country. know somebody that lives a little north of here. they're leaving there what they thought was a safe location and going there, trying to ride out the storm. it looks like everybody seems to be taking this very seriously. there is no party atmosphere. i'm not running into a lot of the heroic people who think they're going to ride this out with a bottle of booze. they are taking irma incredibly serious. and i know that has emergency officials very pleased that they have done about as well as they could do. and anderson, they have just one more day now, daylight hours tomorrow when you're going to have to make your plan. and then that's it. you're just going to have to hunker down.

anderson? >> if they're talking about potential 12-foot surge of water, could that bring floodwater to where you are in downtown? >> you know, it certainly could. it's all about the elevation. and in the lower part of florida here, you measure that in very, very few feet. we're anywhere from 3 to 5 to 6, 7 feet above sea level here in old naples. a storm surge of 12 certainly could be in here. a storm surge of 6 at the right time of the tide? maybe not. but you have all these inlets and waterways and bays all over florida where that storm surge really could be magnified by the push of water in a very narrow area. so you have those various places to worry about. the storm surge is what they're really got people's attention here. you may be able to think you can ride out the winds, but that storm surge is a totally different animal. and it also leaves a lot of misery and a lot of days lost in its wake because the emergency crews just can't get back in

here fast enough. and the power can't get on fast enough. so they're trying to manage both the storm and the aftermath of the storm, and the combination, anderson, they're saying you might as well just get out. >> are there gas shortages there? >> i can't tell you if there is gas shortages. there are gas stations that are not open. i think there is probably gas in the pumps. but the gas stations have wrapped up their pumps. some of them have wrapped up in sarin wrap. others have tied their hoses around, and they have left. because the workers have to get out. we did find one gas station open. it did have gas. there was a medium long line. but it took us a long time just to find that gas station that was open. we're expecting fewer and fewer and fewer places just to be open, whether they have gas or not. so mobility is going to be an issue tomorrow. i think that's why a lot of people who are still here probably won't evacuate because they are unclear that they have

a shot of gas all the way up the chain to where they think they would need to go. anderson? >> but just to reiterate, there are more shelters open now. so if people decide last minute, even tonight, they could get to a shelter? >> yeah, that's right. three more shelters opening in collier county there are shelters open in lee county. you can find shelters. >> all right. drew griffin, i appreciate it. thanks. let's get the latest now from ed rappaport at the national hurricane center. just take a look at -- just to let us know where this thing, what it's looking like. what do the models show? >> at this point, the center is located just off the north coast of cuba, about 300 miles off the coast of the southeast florida peninsula and the florida keys. the forecast continues to be for the center to go to the west and then turn towards the north near the florida peninsula, crossing first the florida keys. and we had as we were starting there some video of storm surge we possibly could see in the

keys and elsewhere. this large area in red is the area that is susceptible to inundation. that's where we have a hurricane warning and a storm surge warning in effect, which means that there is a high risk of life threatening storm surge. we're talking about 6 to 12 feet in this area, and 5 to 10 down in the florida keys and in the southeastern coast of the u.s. >> ed, a friend of mine in new orleans was just reminding me, you talk about 10-foot storm surge. but there is wave action on top of that, correct? i saw some modeling saying waves could be extraordinarily high. that accurate? >> yes. and that's the secondary concern is that the water level will rise to potentially the top of some of the keys. and then on top of that we're going to have waves that could be 15 feet or so. there are waves that have been measured already with this hurricane offshore that are near to 50 feet. those will not be as high of course once they get towards to the land. but with that inundation of 5 to 10 feet and waves on top, we're very concerned.

i know there are still some people in the keys. and that is the time to get out. the track has shifted in such a way that the florida keys are the most vulnerable now from hurricane irma. >> and as far as timing, when can we expect hurricane-force winds in the miami area? >> at this point, we're forecasting -- it's a little hard to see here. but here is the florida peninsula and the florida keys. what we're talking about is the center of the hurricane going to be making landfall perhaps in the early hours on sunday. but it will be preceded by tropical storm-force winds beginning saturday night on the peninsula. and then by mid afternoon on the peninsula, the hurricane-force winds some time after dark. again, if the center should shift farther to the west, that's good news for the southeastern part of the state. but bad news for the southwestern part of the state. we'll be right at the edge of hurricane-force winds if the center continues to move up the southwestern part of the state. >> and just in terms of the

speed at which this storm is moving for people in say the miami area or the coastal areas of florida, how long are they going to be heavy winds for? >> in the area that gets the center of the hurricane crossing over so, you have the largest extensive storm in hurricane-force winds, the longest time, we're talking potentially 24 to even 36 hours of tropical storm-force winds. and hurricane-force winds that could be as long as 10 hours. so that's going to occur right where the center makes landfall. >> wow. ed rappaport, good information. uappreciate it. while hundreds of thousands of people are heeding evacuation orders, others are choosing not to or simply can't. we will talk to a man who is stuck in key west about how he will try to survive the storm, next.

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and welcome back. we're live in miami beach. we will not be in this location tomorrow. we're too close to the ocean from here, the storm surge likely very possible this will be flooded out even by tomorrow night. certainly within 36 hours. so we'll move a little further inland to downtown miami.

people across florida have been told to get out while they can. if they stay, there will not be anyone to rescue them. nonetheless, a few are sticking around for a variety of reasons. vanessa gray is riding out the storm in west palm beach after helping her patients at a drug rehab center evacuate. she joins me now. vanessa, nice of you to stay behind to help your clients. i know your first priority was getting them relocated to a shelter. did you just choose not to evacuate? and what is your plan now for the storm? >> i didn't -- well, i guess you can say i chose not to evacuate. but it didn't really feel like a choice. i didn't want the clients to be alone without support. a lot of them are struggling with addiction, obviously. and so leave them would have been catastrophic for them. so i decided to stay and support them right up until evacuation. that's incredibly brave and compassionate of you. what is your plan? i know you're in a condo. are you going to stay there? what's the plan?

i am going to stay in my condo. i was telling my building manager today he should work for female map. they're doing an amazing job of keeping us informed and securing the building. i don't think we've ever seen a storm like this before so you don't really know what's going to happen. but i do feel as safe as i can be. and i also have a pet, and this building is very pet-friendly. so i also get to stay with my animal. that's part of the reason i didn't move today or yesterday either. >> and i think your dog is next to you on the sofa. how high off the ground. >> she doesn't know what is happening. >> how high -- well, that's good. probably a blessing. how high are you in the condo? do you have supplies? do you have batteries? i assume you don't have a generator. >> yes. i'm a therapist, but i'm also a social worker. so i think by nature i was very prepared. i'm as prepared as i can be. i have lanterns, a radio, water,

food. food and water for her. i have a bag that is ready to go, like a bugout bag in case i'm told to leave the area with all important documents, clothing, medication for my dog, documentation for my dog. so i have a huge checklist that i have gone through. i feel prepared. extremely nervous, but prepared. >> well, that's understandable. are there other people around in the complex? are you in touch with other people who are going to be checking in on you and you checking in on others? >> yes. i have to say what you saw with harvey is definitely happen hearing in florida. for a variety of reasons, one of my neighbors, their son has cerebral palsy. you know, for a variety of reasons, people have chosen to stay behind. and we've really come together. same thing at work. i work with such an amazing group of dedicated people. same thing. we all came together like a

family. we're all checking with each other here at the condo. the building management has been excellent. so i feel not alone. and i'm definitely not physically alone. >> well, vanessa, your compassion to care for your clients even in the face of this monster storm is incredibly admiral. i wish you the best. we'll continue to check in with you throughout the next couple day, thank you. >> aaron huntsman is on even potentially more dangerous ground. he is in key west sheltering at a friend's house with friends, their dogs. this storm we understand is going to hit the keys as a cat-5 there is the mandatory evacuation. you decided to stay. what was the thinking on staying and how concern ready you? >> well, we had reservations at st. petersburg at a hotel. and yesterday governor rick scott announced that there was a mandatory evacuation for the area we were going. so the hotel canceled our reservation.

so we kind of were stuck here. but our attorney that helped us overturn florida's ban on same-sex marriage gave us her place since she went up to orlando. we're at the highest part of the island, 18 feet. we've got our dogs out. all of our furniture is over the 7-foot mark for the surge. and we're now safe on solaris hill, right by the cemetery. and we're scared. >> how close to the ocean are you? how close to the water are you? >> we're right in the center of the island. it's never flooded at this point, even the hurricanes over hundreds of years they've been keeping track. i mean, it's been close. but our other place sat 3-foot elevation. and we're at 18 feet here. >> and understandable that -- it's understandable that you're scared.

i think a lot of people are right now. could you have a small boat or anything if at some point it is flooded and you need to get out? >> well, i don't think the water is going to be around much. i think the main thing is that you have to hide from the wind and run from the surge. or vice versa. so we do have mattresses near the house in case it gets bad like andrew, if any walls come down or so we're protected. we could have been stuck up on the freeway, you know, could have had an issue. but on solid ground, coral, old key west rock. this is what key west is about. and the other people that are scared we're opening our place. bernadette has said please come here. we'll shelter you during the storm. >> and i understand your husband

works at the hospital there is actually on standby to help reopen the hospital after the storm hits. that right? >> yes. he is in medical supply. and he is part of the team that is going to help reopen if there is any surge damage. so you know, we can't open up to the rest of the public, get the locals back here until the hospital is going, the bridges are checked, and roads are clear. >> we wish you and your husband and your pet the best. we'll continue to check in with you. stay safe. be careful. coming up, a storm the size of irma can actually shred boats, no matter how big they are. so florida boaters are trying to save their boats from being destroyed. we'll have details on those preparations, next. kevin, meet your father. kevin kevin kevin kevin kevin kevin

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what, what? what? what, what? fothere's a seriousy boomers virus out there that's been almost forgotten. it's hepatitis c. one in 30 boomers has hep c, yet most don't even know it. because it can hide in your body for years without symptoms, and it's not tested for in routine blood work. the cdc recommends all baby boomers get tested. if you have hep c, it can be cured. for us it's time to get tested. ask your healthcare provider for the simple blood test. it's the only way to know for sure. as millions of people are evacuating florida with children and pets, maybe a few family keepsakes, there is a lot they cannot take. homes can be weatherproofed as much as possible. but boats of course are a different story. randi kaye went to a marina today to see what's being done. she joins me now. how concerned are these boat owners? >> the boat owners are pretty

concerned because a lot of them have been through this before. they lived through other hurricanes. they know what can happen to boats. they remember the scene from wilma and andrew when the boats were tossed around and piled on top of each other and the marinas were destroyed. we went to this marina in miami today and we saw firsthand what they're all doing to try to prevent it from happening again. >> you know what time it is? >> reporter: harry and june are doing all they can to keep their sailboat safe. they know the drill. they lost their last boat 12 years ago in hurricane wilma. it was docked at a different marina. so they're hoping this time around their 52-foot sailboat they call gypsy will weather the storm. what are you guys doing to get ready? >> everything possible. a lot of lashing, taking down the canvas, putting out 12, 14 dock lines. this is scary, scary situation. >> scary for everyone here at maya marina on the edge of downtown miami. what are you guys trying to do

here? >> save the boats. >> reporter: chris and his team are working to tie down this tour boat. what does it take to hold down a boat like this? >> honestly, this storm is so big. we had andrew a long time ago but it depends where the eye goes. >> reporter: cornelius lives on his boat. so if it gets destroyed, he is homeless. >> try not to get nervous. being stressed out is not going to help you. you got to do the best, which is what i'm trying to do. >> reporter: he and his wife and their dog will be riding out the storm at a friend's house. >> oh, she is adorable. do you think she knows the storm is coming? >> who knows. she knows something is up. she is a little tense. she knows something is up. everything is not normal. >> reporter: but not everyone is leaving their boat behind. there are about four crewmembers who told us they are staying on this 115-foot yacht. they have already dropped an anchor in the water. they have put some tape here on the windows. they're going to stay and hopefully save this yacht. that hardly gives this boat

owner peace of mind. her boat. the greatest concern is that we never see it again. >> where do the boat owners say they are going to ride out the tomorrow? >> reporter: one guy said he is going to stay in a warehouse near the marina. the guy who lives on the both, it's his house, he is going to stay at a friend's house. and another couple is going to coconut grove. and i asked, why wouldn't you just take a boat. and whatever it is, you leave. and they said, you know, our kids are in school. we are hurricane hutters, and water and the generator. they hope they're oak and their boat's okay too. >> we will have next, i'm going to speak to the fema drerkt and

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i haven't want to the look at my body. now, even before irma, the federal government is planning for a massive cleaning and recovery. and a few hours ago, i spoke to brock wong about what they are doing in terms to prepare. in terms of the storm and where it is now what are you looking at most closely? any slight deviation in this makes a difference in where you need to respond? >> sure. so the forecast models are in great agreement. florida's going to get hit. and what i typically look for,

all aspects of the forecast what stands out is the speed of the storm is starting to slow down. and indicates it's about to make its turn to the north. it's going to have big ramifications obviously for the florida keys and just any slight fluctuation 30 miles east or west could have big implications for miami or the west coast of florida. >> there is such a large part of florida, all along the coast that could be affected by this. in terms of the supplies that fema wants to preposition, how do you go about doing that and how have you been able to do that? >> that is a great question. the first impacts will obvious lip be storm surge. the primary reason we ask people to evacuate. the storm surge along the coast but based on this forecast track, we have to be prepared to provide commodities for inland, all the counties in flortd and

as also it travels into georgia. we push three days worth of kmoddyes in florida and we're holding several days' worth of commodities in other states, montgomery all the way up to north carolina in anticipation of laind impacts as well. >> well, you talk about commodities. you can say what kind of stuff? it's not just goods. it's also personnel. you have search and rescue teams that you obviously want to have in the right area at the right time. >> sure that's right. we have anything from staff, search and reps cue, and helping our state and local partners with decision making and setting up response goals and when it comes to the life-sustaining commodities, kit be anything from mills to water to hygiene kits to supplies for babies. and some cases, including pets as well. >> in a place like miami beach,

or just miami itself, if it is a direct hit as many feel right now, how long could it be before power is restored in some area, before gas stations are able to open, before supermarkets are able to open? >> i think citizens of south florida need to set expectations that power can be out for days if not weeks in some areas. the first thing that happens you have to get the debris out of the way. you have to make sure that the roadway is sound enough to support power crews coming in from power companies to be able to restore the lines. it takes time. i know it's frustrating. routine is about to be stalled for many daps or if not weeks in south florida. >> no terms of manpower, how stretched are you? you have harvey you have already been responded to. i'm shurp you are taking some assets from there and jose coming as well. >> two major hurricane events,

it does put a stress on staff and resources but we're fully positioned. communication not only with president trump and governor scott and our state and local partners has been strong and the bottom line is, is that i feel that we are in a good spot to help governor scott achieve his response and recovery goals. we have nearly 8,000 federal employees prepositioned to go to the storm in addition to the kmoddyes we just spoke about. >> ip wish you the best in days ahead. thanks so much. >> thank you, anderson. >> our coverage is going to continue all through the night, all through the weekend. we will be covering this from a lot of different location, right now, our coverage continues with don lemon and cnn tonight. >> ander soen, stay there. i have a couple questions for you. you're in miami now. and i saw some of the wind coming through. you're getting the very outer parts of the bands. the winds just starting -- the conditions are going to get so much worse as you said as we get