>> announcer: this is cnn breaking news. so grateful to have you with us as always, thank you for being here, i'm christi paul in atlanta, my colleague victor blackwell as you see in the thick of it. good morning, victor. >> good morning to you, krchris,

good morning, everyone. i'm tracking irma, this is a massive storm, time is running out, be ready to leave. that is the warn from governor rick scott. 20 million people, as hurricane irma returns to category 5 straight. listen, in a matter of hours, this storm will blanket the state, that may be too soft. from coast to coast, fema said florida is never going to be hit like a hurricane before. many of them getting out. state or have already left florida. this could be one of the largest mass evacuations in u.s. history. the storm is still hundreds of whiles away from south florida. but the outer bands are already damaging power lines. you can see that the wind is picking up, that has caused the branches to break, take down the lines.

officials say more than 10,000 people have already lost power this morning. we're expect be a new update on hurricane irma from the national hurricane center at any moment right now. it usually comes out at the top. hour. let's go to chad myers, in the cnn weather center. category 5, tell us where it's expected? >> yes, the storm is just leaving the coast of cuba. and cuba did take some stuffening out of the storm. bad news for cuba, but good news that the storm has weakened right now. i don't believe that the 5:00 advisory is out right now they're still tweaking it a little bit. this happens when they make changes. there are airplanes flying through it. they are, really, truly looking at what's going on here. this is the storm as it comes off the california coast -- okay. i got it. the storm now is a 155 category

4, as i expected, the storm will and continue to move slightly offshore. as we zoom in, this storm is going to get into the waters of the florida straits, and the florida straits, because this area is so very warm, we could still see this come back. but right now, i don't see as much color in the satellite. that's good news. that means that the storm's eye has been torn up just a little bit. now, this is the latest, i still see a 5 and then 4. here we go. that is the jump as we get to 150 right now. the hurricane center is updating this constantly. that's what we're seeing now, that update. here is what we're worried about. this is the european model and the american model. then we'll go through what does this mean for everyone across all of florida. from key west here, coming off just to the east of havana, the storm is coming through, key west, key west, cudjo, big key,

on the eye of the storm. this is where the storm most significant, possibly to the seven mile bridge up to marathon. but i'm really concerned about the wind damage we'll see in key west, it will be catastrophic, no doubt about it. i love the town, i go there all the time. but this is really a bad place for key west. and it goes into cape coral and into naples. this is also very bad for the area. there are many structures there in fort myers, built in the '70s, you buy them as a time share, those are not up to the active after-andrew standards. you need to be out of those buildings. then it moves closely to tampa. tampa, yesterday, i thought the winds were 185, now, i think they're 110. the surge up into cable coral

and naples, that's going to be more. moving to the american model, moving onshore, very close to, i would say, missouri key. okay, we're still south of the seven mile bridge. but we're moving you up into the everglades. and the surge is going to be significant in everglades and naples, cape coral. it may be 8 feet, maybe higher. i'm also concerned that the surge could flood miami from the wrong side. let's get to all of this and what i expect here. miami, you're going to see winds 100. over here, naples, fort myers, you may see winds in the 140. that may not seem like a lot, but there are surge here and surge. the surge through ft. lauderdale, very low city, that is going to flood. key biscayne will absolutely flood with this storm. here come the winds. i'll go through one more graphic. i'll toss it back to victor.

wind field coming into key west first, key largo, eventually up into ocean reef and miami. there is the storm over miami. the white is 100 miles per hour or greater. it's difficult to stand, do anything out there. everyone in the keys needs to be gone. it's that simple. i know the conks, i know all of that, you just need to go. naples, it's a significant storm, it's not too late if you want to leave. i'll show you the satellite and the traffic a bit. up towards tampa at 90 to 105 miles per hour. even in atlanta, you'll get wind gusts around 100 miles per hour. now, this is google earth, i expect to you use it in ways on your way out of southwest florida. the roads are clear. according to the governor, he's been delivering gasoline as much as you possibly can, if you want to get out, there are no huge traffic jams like there were yesterday. i talked to one of my friends who usually lives in michigan

but right now he lives in grassy key by marathon. it took him 20 hours to go from the keys to jacksonville. 20 hours because the traffic is so bad. right now, the traffic is clear. victor. >> all right, chad myers for us there in the center weather center. a bit of the wall taking a bit from cuba. let's go cnn meteorologist derek van dam in miami beach. tell us, what makes the storm so dangerous in the latest from the advisory of the national hurricane center, people really won't feel the difference in the drop of the wind on just that front edge. this is still a very dangerous storm. >> reporter: victor, it has to do with the sheer size of hurricane irma. no doubt. we're talking about hurricane-force winds extending the diameter of the storm, 140 miles at least. and the widest point of the florida peninsula is 140 miles, so, this storm has the potential

to bring hurricane-force winds from the southern tip of the florida peninsula, all the way through to the florida/georgia border. that's what we're expecting. we know that this westerly trend in the models is so critical. and exactly where the strongest winds will lie. now that we look towards a west coast florida peninsula storm, we focus on naples. we focus on tampa, clearwater and into the coral gables region. but that doesn't mean the east coast is spared. that doesn't mean you health your guard down where you're in miami-dade, we're in south beach. we have seen some of the outer feeder bands from the storm already impact us. it's dry now, but not too far in the distance, we have lightning illuminating the horizon. when we had one of those feeder bands come through later this evening the temperature dropped

50 degrees in 60 seconds. just giving a brief taste of what's to come. this storm has a lot of open water to travel over. even though it's starting to show signs of disorganization as it moved across the northern parts of cuba, florida straits have water temperatures at least 86 to 88 degrees. that's bath water. that's jut fuel for hurricanes. that means the potential for strengthening still exists. with the delayed landfall with the westerly track, that means the potential for more storm surge. also stronger storm systems. as we talk about this storm surge across the eastern coastline, we have the potential for 5 to 10 feet, right where i'm standing. that is still the official forecast. we'll find out if that comes into fruition. definitely, people heeding the warnings to evacuate because it's desolate here. back to you, victor. >> one of the large equivalent if not the largest evacuation as

we said at the top of the show in u.s. history. the storm, christie, a category 4 storm. people really won't feel the difference in that 10 to 15 miles per hour. but the category still indicates that this is going to be a monster for south florida. in fact, the entire state, i'm going to toss it back to you in atlanta. >> all right, victor, stay safe. i want to make clear what florida's governor is saying, he says if you live in this state, you will be hit by this storm. millions of people, thankfully, have taken that warning to heart. and they are getting out. it was a mass exodus from this deadly storm. here's how one evacuee from miami describ3ed her decision to leave. >> it's difficult for me to leave my home. i don't want to disgrace myself. but this is going to be a big storm. and it's going to come in, right in at miami. so, we would watch, we would wait, we would watch.

we would hope that it would sort of veer to the right and go out to sea. at one point, it became apparent this was our window of opportunity to move north. to go north. so, we drove north until just today. >> all right. hurricane irma, i want to show you what it's doing to cuba here. i believe we have some pictures coming into us. of what is happening there. you see the trees blowing, patrick oppmann is there, he said it felt like a jet engine as the wind hit him making landfall on to the northern coast there, 15 to 26-foot waves recorded and they could get higher as they head to havana. we'll talk to a storm chaser in key largo. hear what he has to say, next. stay close. . when a critical patient is far from the hospital, the hospital must come to the patient.

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i'm victor blackwell live in miami. continuing cnn's live coverage of hurricane irma. let's now go to cuba, that is

taking the brunt of hurricane irma right now. cnn's patrick oppmann is there. patrick, what are you seeing? what are you feeling there? >> reporter: victor, very strong winds, very strong eye rain. all night long. it just screamed, the wind here. we're actually in a town that is under water, if you can believe it. thankfully, we're on a second story of a house. the coast which was about 50 yards away yesterday has now moved well past us in the town. the main street which we walked yesterday now has waves rolling down it. on the first floor, it's about four feet deep of water. and rising. i think for the people here who decided to ride the storm out, to not evacuate, they're regretting that decision very, very much. there's no way for help to get to them right now. the winds are just still too powerful it came ashore as a category 5 it's now been downgraded to a category 4.

still very powerful, very dangerous. cuba is going to be recovering from this devastating storm for some time to come, victor. >> patrick, i know it may be difficult for you to hear me, so i just send that on to the audience. but is there any indication how many people decided to stay and not evacuate shady of irma? >> reporter: overall, countrywide, the cuban government said about a quarter of 1 million. maybe 11 million people. i think perhaps the biggest problem is, the people thought it was going to go by the coast. and we have some effects of the storm. you know, that's what we had been told as well. of course, it just goes to show how unpredictable storming are in their final moments. and the storm did come ashore as a category 5. the storm is the strongest that hit cuba in many, many years and is going to cause great suffering here. >> all right. patrick oppmann there in cuba.

patrick, thank you so much. stay safe. and, everyone, what 82 seeing right now in cuba is on its way in less than 24 hours to the keys, south florida and straight up the peninsula. christie, i'm going to send it back to you. >> thank you so much, victor. we appreciate it. we want to take a look at more power from the storm and show you the latest we're getting from barbuda after irma just crushed that island on tuesday. it's a category 5. it's amazing that only one person died on that island. but residents are preparing for a second hurricane. and that's in just four days. here's lela santiago. >> reporter: once surrounded by water, now decimated, left unrecognizable by hurricane irma. this is the shocking view as we fly on to the island of barbuda. jerome theiss said hurricanes

are a way of life here. but not this one. and this could get worse, as the hurricane ravaged i would braces for jose, those who arrived from ant teague antigua, going to take a second hit. >> it's my home, i have to try to save it. >> reporter: even more, determined to save lives. get people out of barbuda. it's hard to imagine that an island now rubble, an island home to nearly 2,000 residents could get any worse than it already is. but the prime minister has said 95% of the buildings are damaged. and it will be quite the rebuilding effort. more than $100 million to get this the way it once was. barbuda looks like a war zone?

>> like a war zone. everything is blown out. >> reporter: this is the wrath of irma, now on the move. irma has shown her strength. the reason so many fear what is headed to florida. leila santiago, cnn, barbuda. >> our thanks. let's bring in reed timmer, accuweather storm chaser. reed, good morning to you. i know you were on key largo, just a few hours ago. the advice from state officials and weather experts like yourself is that it will be difficult, maybe impossible, for some people along the keys to survive the storm with that strength. how many people are heeding that warning? >> i think most everybody is heeding that warning. we were in key largo yesterday, there are some restaurants and establishments open. there are some locals there. it does appear is that the track is shifts farther up west, which

is the people's worst case scenario, we're in islamorada right now in the keys. and for that to track to the mainland and up to naples. and another that is considering a concrete structure in key west. but we're heading into the mainland. and for the path of this, most of the wind speed and direction followed by the eye wall. >> you describe this as the worst case scenario that shifts to the west. explain for people who don't know the lay of the land there quite literally, the network of bridges and roads by the keys why this is such a detriment to the people along the keys, the shift to the west? >> yeah, there's definitely a reason for the very strong warning from the national weather service last night that said get off the keys. they're very low in elevation. they're connected by a single bridge. a single escape route.

once those water levels up up, those bridges will be blocked. and emergency personnel will not be able to respond to emergencies, if you do call 911, they can't come and rescue you, you'll be on your own. there still is time to evacuate. it's a category 5 hurricane. there was a storm surge of 6 to 12 feet, those locations below that will be inundated by deadly storm surges. and then winds gusting possibly at 180 to 200 miles per hour. above that, it's just a horrible situation that you just definitely want to get out of the path of. >> and there are a lot of people who went to sleep saand knew th irma had strengthened again to a category 5 from the national hurricane center. now a category 4. but the strongest possible category 4. reinforce for people, who are preparing for this storm, deciding whether or not to take certain precautions the lack of

comfort that could be feign in the reduction from a 5 to a 4? >> well, there's say lot of warm water ahead of this system. so, as soon as it moves a little bit away from cuba, it will regain its intensity as category 5 likely. the waters are in the upper 80s. so as it makes a northwest turn, it will likely intensify on its approach to south florida. you definitely don't want to get any sense of comfort from that downgrade to category 4, it's about to move from cuba and likely intensify to a category 5. >> all right, accuweather storm chaser reed timur, thank you for being with us. as we check out the rest of the day as irma approaches florida. again, is this a category 4 storm. we're following the path of this massive hurricane in the weather center. we'll have an update on what it may look like when it the hits florida. that's coming up. stay with us.

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for relief is as effective at hour 24 as hour one. so be wise all take new xyzal®. look at the size of this storm. it is wider than an entire state and could cause major life-threatening impacts from coast to coast. >> i'm frightened. but this is frightening. >> people are scared right now, after seeing what happened in texas. >> i can't even begin to describe the feelings that i'm going through. we are so grateful to have you on board here with us this morning, as we watch what's happening with irma. good morning to you, i'm christi paul, victor blackwell, my colleague, in miami. victor, i understand you're already feeling the first traces

of irma already this morning. >> yeah, the wind has certainly picked up in the last few minutes, but believe us -- this is smog compared to what is coming. you may see a few flashes of lightning behind me over miami beach, so, be prepared for those as well. this storm is on the way. the brunt of it coming in the next 24 hours. it's now a category 4 strength. but don't find any comfort in the downgrade. because it's sustained winds at 155 miles an hour. two miles more, it's back to category 5. cuba felt that strength with winds 160 miles per hour. it's expected to slam florida tomorrow morning with screaming winds, heavy rain. storm surge as high as 12 feet. more than 5 million people in florida have been ordered to evacuate, a stretching across myriad of counties along the east and west coasts and scrambling into crowded shelter, jamming highways as well, trying to get as far inland as possible. and governor rick scott this

morning and throughout the day yesterday said it is time to get out of the state. >> don't get on the roads. we have shelters in your community. go to those shelters. i mean, you can go to your family, go to your friends, go to those shelters, but we don't want people on the road when the storm starts to hit. >> all right. and what that storm will bring to florida, let's check in now, send it back to you, christi, and you're with, i understand, chad myers, watching the latest from the national hurricane center. >> absolutely. because one of the big questions is where's the thing going to go. >> yeah. >> we had thought for certain it was going to stay on the east coast. i have friends on facebook on the east coast, they went west and said, now, okay, we're packing up and heading back east. >> i know, and that's the weather because irma doesn't know that there's an european model and american model. and irma doesn't care that we're running models here on earth because it has a mind of its

own. category 4 hurricane north of cuba, although right now, the hurricane center even saying that may be optimistic. it might be lower than that. hurricane hunter aircraft not finding as much today as yesterday. because it's over cuba and cuba is tearing it up. that's terrible for cuba. the florida keys and the cubans have a line of keys, too, arc a pell layarcpelago. >> how strong is it? >> there's 90 miles between havana and key west. everyone on key west will tell you that because there's a big buoy on the side of key west that says 90 miles to cuba. that's nine houring in the water. so, i believe it will intensify.

it continues to tear itself up and takes a long tithe to put itself back together, but i think that's going to happen. >> all right. take us from where we're going from here. because i know the keys, first and foremost, are the most vaul national right now? about what time do you think that's going to happen? >> it will be storm morning when we start to see the storm surge. but we're already seeing the first bands of weather. if you're traveling out of the keys, you're going through some squalls. no doubt about that. there's the area that is being torn up tremendous right now. there is key west here, and i'm zoom in here a little bit. you can begin to see there are squalls hitting key west, cudjoe key and trying to get out of the keys, i hope you are getting out of the keys if you're there you're going to have a little warm weather to drive through.

that weather will be to victor, it will be certainly up to miami this morning. if you stay with us the entire time, you're going to see victor go from a wind of 15 to a wind of 50. and then some. because we already saw patrick oppmann which was right there. that's where he is at the center of the storm, at the eye yet. not the eye wall, certainly as it gets closer the weather goes downhill until the eye hits you and then it gets better. but when does the eye hit and where does it hit? hurricane center says somewhere close to what i would call big pine key. close to the seven mile bridge. that puts all of that surge into marathon, grassy key, duckett and islamorada. you'll see storm surge of 13 feet that will overwash many of the islands. it will take the homes on the beach and shove them into the bay which is up here. we're going to have to watch out for any surge like that. eventually, this storm gets all the way to atlanta where people have been evacuating, too, at 50

miles per hour. really, this is only a 50-mile-per-hour storm. there will be branches down, some power lines down. what you will see in fort myers and cape coral is nothing. fort myers and cape coral is will be like what charlie did as it turned to the right and made that right-hand turn upped west coast. this is the european model completely destroying key west proper with winds of 130 to 140. now, we move it on up. and this is where i'm very concerned. if you look at google maps, cape coral and florida there are so many people that live on canals connected to oceans. all of those homes are going to be in struble because of storm surge. and the water will kill you. it will. the wind, you can get away from. but you can't get away from the water as it begins to wash away your home.

tampa, you're also in it to win it, 115 miles per hour. still possible because it's not over the spine of florida, it's not in the middle of florida, farther to the west, we're talking about sarasota getting a direct hit in some of these winds. here's the american model not much different a agreeing pretty much today, maybe 20 or 30 miles. but eventually all the way up into atlanta, georgia. this will be the worst storm america has ever seen with so many people in the way. now, miami, you're probably 20 or 30 miles upwind as you were yesterday as this model continues to shift. the model is still saying is it will be west of miami. that puts miami on the bad side -- don't get me wrong -- if you have to add the forward speed to the storm itself. if the winds are 90 plus 10, that's 100. but the storm's not moving any faster than that right now. it's still moving very slowly. here's the white area, where you see white, if you live in this area, you need to find a very

strong structure to be in for the next 48 hours or get to the east coast. that's 100 miles per hour or greater, fort myers, naples, sustained winds of 100 for maybe an hour or two, maybe three in some spots both sides of the eye wall, eventually on up to tampa, west of orlando, villages, and ocala, this is a dangerous storm for anybody still being there. i know, tampa, you weren't told to evacuate, but, i want you to watch out if they change that to e and "b." we haven't heard anything about that yet. if this storm turnings any farther to the left, we'll have to watch out for significant flooding into tampa bay itself. stay with me on that one. the storm is still in cuba. the storm doesn't know a european model or whatever, this storm has its own mind. we'll watch for you, minute by minute, hour by hour, the storm keeps changing. you have to continue to watch throughout the day.

it's very important, victor. >> chad myers, christi paul. thank you both. now, despite the mandatory evacuations sand there are 5.6 million people across the state ordered to leave, there are some people who decided to stay here. and for a myriad of reasons. andy is one of them from miami's south beach. he's on the phone with us. andy, good morning to you, first. why did you decide to stay? >> well, because i feel that i'm in good shape where i am right now, i'm above water on the ninth floor, looking south. at this time, the waves are beginning to thrust and it's all white caps right now. i came downstairs to the second floor, pool area, overlooking the ocean. and on the south side, there's really no breeze.

it's like a vacuum. if i step out on that corner, you'll see -- the wind's blowing. with my hand on the railing that covers the first, the second floor, the railing is actually vibrating. from the wind. >> yeah. if you could step back where you were before, we could hear you much better. we could hear the difference. >> there, i'll step out. >> you say you're on the ninth floor of this building. how many people are there in the building with you? how many people have decided to stay? >> i believe there could be up to 30, maybe. >> now, you say you're in good shape. what precautions have you taken? >> well, before the whole building was refitted for the 30-year certification, i had placed higher gauge windows.

and i asked for those to be replaced back, instead of the ones that they put in. so, i hope i'm a little better protected. i have 170-mile-per-hour graded windows. that should do it. i'm on the south side. i'm like i say, outside on the south side. and i'm in a breeze. but in i step out on that corner, it's a different story altogether. >> and, of course, beyond just the storm passing through, the challenges will be infrastructure, the availability of emergency resources during and after the storm. of course, anyone who makes a decision to stay during a storm knows that. but what goes through your mind when you hear from authorities in south florida that say at the height of your storm, if your calculations if your expectations turn out to be wrong, they will not be able to get to you? >> yeah. i'm well aware of that. and that's going to be the same for everybody in the state. i'm not alone on that one.

thankfully, i have a well stocked refrigerator. i have a huge ham i out in public. bought it out, it will last a week. >> let's hope -- the first four hours and a little more than that. hopefully, your power stays on, although the expectation from florida power and light is that up to 9 million people could be impacted by this storm. andy guerra-mondragon, thank you for spending some time on "new day." we'll check on you after the storm, all right. >> will do. >> andy, thank you so much. we'll continue cnn's live coverage of irma, now a very strong category 4, battering cuba, headed for south florida in 24 hours.

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welcome back, i'm victor blackwell continuing cnn's live coverage of hurricane irma. now, a very strong category 4 storm. battering down on cuba at the moment. packing winds at 155 miles per hour. this will pound the florida coast with a very high storm surge, heavy rains, we know about the winds. the freeways have been jammed with people trying to make their way north to escape the brunt of the storm. i want you to take a look at the cars here, just backed up stretching along the florida turnpike. although, we understand there are no huge traffic jams like there were yesterday, there are some people make something tough decisions right now. christi, you know that i lived here in south florida for

several years before moving to cnn. some of my friends here have made that long drive to atlanta to get out of florida. governor rick scott is now telling people if you have not gotten on to the roads up to midnight, which is almost six hours ago now, is this not the time to get on to the roads. go to a shelter if you're on the evacuation area. this is the time to make that decision to get out of these areas where there are mandatory evacuations. we know that shelters across this area are filling up. >> yes, they are. in fact, some are to capacity. thank you so much, victor, we're going to keep going to victor, obviously, all morning, as he is where this is. starting to change, you're seeing the winds start to get a little stronger down there where he is in miami. but there's a storm surge here that may be 12 feet high in some areas. so, the army corps of engineers have the dire expectation. they believe that hurricane irma is going to overflow florida's lake okeechobee or at least

cause it to do so. and the herbert hoover dike holding the water is in danger of breaching. a lot of people nearby did decide to leave. but there are some waiting out there. our mig well marquez spoke to some of the people. >> reporter: in central florida, entire families fleeing the path of the storm. how old are you? >> 5. >> reporter: 5? how do you feel right now? >> reporter: we're leaving she says in creole. much of the county in palm beach is under mandatory evacuation. where are you going? >> i don't know exactly where they're going to take us. >> reporter: the county here is rural, agricultural, immigrants and largely poor. many people without cars of their own met in a local staging area to be bussed with police escorts to higher ground. if a storm hits here and destroys everything, what

happens to this community, what happens to these people? >> it goes down. it goes down. destroys everything. there won't be any work for, i don't know, years, the mill will shut down. the school. it will really, really destroy the whole town. >> reporter: emergency workers preparing for the absolute worst case scenario. >> it's highly recommended that you leave, because there's essential danger. no one knows what's going to happen with the storm. >> reporter: the risk here two-fold. for one, areas close to the path of the storm, or right on it, the other, enormous lake okeechobee just to the north is held back by 144 miles of levees built since 1930, they've improved in recent years but -- you don't know whether a storm or the possibility of a breach is your problem? >> right now, it's both. if it stays on its current track, we could see lots of water. and it doesn't just matter about the water landing here, also what happens on the north end. >> reporter: the vast watershed

hilling the lake could put to its breaking point. the shallow lake can withhold another three feet of water and could withstand the storm. some here are counting on it. >> we've been here years, the storm has never been this big. i figure -- >> reporter: if you're wrong? >> if i'm wrong -- >> reporter: if you couldn't make out what he said, he said if he's wrong, he'll be gone by tuesday. a sort of bit of fatalism on people's decisions to stay put, rather than getting out across the cities and across south florida and the entire state. it is clear, that if people were getting out, they have already moved to shelters or getting out of the state. and if they are staying, they have decided to ride it out. victor, christi. >> miguel marquez, thank you so much. speaking how big that storm is,

think about this -- it is the size of texas. that's what it's equated to. there's a look from nasa. victor blackwell is in miami. we're going to go to him in just a moment. stay close. prevent plaque, early gum disease, bad breath and kill up to 99.9% of germs. listerine® bring out the bold™ super-cool notebooks, done. that's mom taking care of business. and with the "25 cent event", office depot officemax takes care of mom! now, all this just 25 cents each! ♪ taking care of business

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i'm victor blackwell live in miami. more flashes of lightning here. and those gusts of wind that we have seen over the last hour now becoming a little more sustained but understand, this is nothing compared to what is coming to this part of miami. now, miami-dade county is under a severe surge warning. and officials here are expanding evacuation orders. i've been told more than 650,000 people to get out. this is the largest evacuation ever attempted by the county. on the phone with me to talk about this is the miami-dade police department. detective, good morning to you. first, give us an idea how many people are complying with this

order and how are you dealing with the people who are deciding to stay. >> good morning, victor, thank you for having us. so far, to be honest with you, today hasn't been a huge turnaround in regards to the evacuations. yesterday, people were a little hesitant. we've been fortunate that now a lot of people have come to the shelters. we have 43 shelters still open. and about 27,000 people are in there right now. we still have plenty of room, we continue to encourage everybody, there's still a lot of evacuation areas to please seek shelter. there's plenty of room for them. and that's something that we encourage them, because there's going to come a point in time that the storm is just going to get very heavy. and the winds are going to be very, very heavy. we're going to actually stop answering these calls of service. at that time, the officers actually have to take safety and hunker down themselves. that's been the biggest part of this. we want them to know there may

be a time where we're not able to respond to them. and once we get rolling again, it's going to make it harder to get to areas under evacuation, mandatory evacuation. >> and what's the cutoff for you? at what point do you cut off responding to the calls? >> it's pretty much something that the command center is going to take into consideration, basically when winds pick up to a speed where it's not safe enough for us to operate our vehicles out there. so that's when they make that decision. right now, we don't have an exact number. i'm sure once they start noticing that it's not safe for first responders and even rescue people to be out there, they're going to make that call. and that's our biggest fear. >> yeah. there will be a point at which it will be more dangerous for first responders to be out and putting themselves in danger. than to get to the people who make those calls. detective with the miami police department, thanks so much for being with us.

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hurricane irma is a category 4 now with 15-mile-per-hour winds and it is barrelling through the caribbean straight to florida. we're so good to have you with us. victor blackwell is in miami. good morning. >> reporter: more of those winds. florida governor is urging everyone in evacuation zones to leave right now. get to the shelters. get to the shelter that's closest to you and available. irma is just