because the chances of it happening are pretty slim. >> i hate fine print. >> i need to get my own secret account to fire back at the haters. that's a great idea. >> fire back at my haters too, please. let's get a check on money stream. global stock markets are mostly higher after another banner day in the u.s. a record high for the dow as the federal reserve begins a two-day meeting. if you're keeping track, this dow is up 22% now since the election. the fed is not expected to raise interest rates but likely will detail how it will unwind its balance sheet. one of the biggest mysteries is whether she will be reappointed by the president or if he'll pick somebody new. the ceos are raising their expectations for economic growth this year.

they're optimistic about the economy. the company has shut down a million terrorist accounts since 2015. twitter says it now detects more accounts in house instead of through government requests. about 95% were discovered through internal spam fighting tools. time for an update on your operating system. it's the latest operating system is now free to download on most iphones and ipads. io s11 has a more human sounding siri and those place 3d images on top of a live view from the camera. if you have an older device you might want to wait to update. new operating systems also have bugs and the first minor update should help to avoid glitches. one part of this too is if you are driving you can activate

this so that notifications shut off. you can disable it but you can also activate it too. >> just a little glance over. >> thanks for joining us. i'm christine romans. >> two natural disasters this morning. the death toll rising rapidly over a major earthquake in mexico and hurricane maria now hitting welcome to our viewers in the united states and around the world. this is your new day. sit is wednesday, september 20th. 6:00 here in new york. and there are two deadly natural disasters causing unimaginable destruction. the death toll soaring to at least 216 lives lost after a powerful 7.1 earthquake rocking

central mexico. even though the earthquake is over, there are aftershocks, and the search continues. right now a school where dozens of children are reported missing. they are digging through by hand right now. this is the deadliest earthquake to hit mexico in decades. they don't even know the extent of the loss yet. also breaking at this hour, puerto rico is bracing for a catastrophic impact from hurricane maria. this is category 4 storm. it is is packing 155-mile-per-hour winds. it will make landfall at any moment there. hurricane maria is on on target to be the most powerful hurricane to hit the island in nearly a century. life threatening winds and torrential rain are already there. leaving destruction in the virgin islands as well. one person was killed, two others missing. so we have it all covered for you with the global resours of

cnn. let's begin with nick peyton walsh where the eye will soon make landfall. nick, what's the latest? >> reporter: alyson, it would be impossible to sleep tonight. i think actually the winds may have been less vicious now than an hour ago. it really picked up, blowing in the winds here. the siren you're hearing in the background, we're not sure what that is. it might be the fire alarm or may be a warning regarding flash flooding that we got on our cell phones when they were still working here, saying there would be a flash flood warning until 6:30. we were expecting it to make landfall at 8:30.

this reinforced building is extraordinary. tearing off canopy roofs. we're seeing the damage done to the palm trees. despite the intense rain and the darkness here. he will move to show you a little bit from another angle too. incredibly hard to simply get a signal up to show you these kind of ferocious winds. extraordinary gusts of wind blowing in vast amounts of vegetation. we may be about to see the flash flooding coming in but soon we will see dawn and get a sense of the destruction we have seen in the last three, four years.

we had winds of 175 miles per hour. it is extraordinary to be right in it because of the sheer ferocity. a remarkable moment. >> nick, please stay safe. keep the team together. you have a great vantage point. we'll check back with you as soon as you tell us you have fresh information. the governor of puerto rico is praying that people heeded calls to evacuate and those who stayed are taking shelter. hurricane maria is bearing down on the island right now. lai laieyla santiago has more. >> reporter: chris, we woke up to this ominous hum. you can see behind me the palm trees are shaking. roofing, you can hear it moving right now. these are strong winds. we have already hit up to 90-mile-per-hour wind gusts here

in san juan. you are starting to see debris. the hotel where we are, it moved to one side of the building. i checked in with the governors office this morning. they tell me more than 11,000 people are right now in shelters. and that's a pretty small amount given that this is an island of 3.5 million people. were as far as power goes, they are saying it is still too is soon to get an assessment of how many people have lost power and what the damage may be at this point. but take a look around me. this wind is serious. and we have not even hit the eye yet. we are two to three hours away at last check. already debris is moving. debris that, by the way, much was it was still from hurricane irma just days ago. people are going to wake up to quite a bit of wind, rain coming

down in san juan. many tourists are already finding themselves hunkering down in hotels here in san juan. the governor saying this is going to be one of the worst hurricanes in modern day history for puerto rico. a storm of this magnitude has not been seen here, chris, since 1928. and this, this is not the worst of it, chris. >> i'll take it, leyla. be safe. obviously we'll check back with you throughout the program. let's get to cnn meteorologist chad myers. he has the latest forecast. exactly where is this right now, chuck? >> reporter: just about 10 miles southwest of where nick paton walsh is, the center of the eye itself. landfall means the center has moved onshore. the worst of the storm is already onshore, especially the

areas already getting smashed with the worst possible wind on on the north side of the eye. our nick peyton walsh right there. he said the wind died off just a little bit. nick will see the eyewall in the next 15, 20 minutes. up into san juan, already the outer bands coming in. i suspect san juan will have winds at 120 miles per hour. a significant damaging storm. catastrophic, if you will. hard to put words on this storm how much damage will happen to puerto rico. the entire island will be covered with hurricane force winds or greater. about 20% or 30% will have winds over 100. some near 130 near the eyewall. it moves away from the island in eight hours. think of yourself in an ef-1 f-2

tornado. typically they lost 15 seconds and they're gone. this will last for hours. also rainfall lasting for hours. we could see 20 inches of rainfall. we'll get to this in the next half hour, chris. but the models have changed slightly. and the united states, the 48 states are not out of this yet because of what jose may do to the storm, may push it to the west. i don't know if that's a fact yet. that is days and days away. what we know now is puerto rico is getting a very hard storm. >> all right, chad. we'll stick with you. let us know as you have updates. you have the intensity but also the duration. it's that combination that is creating such concern on the island of puerto rico. joining us on on the phone is the respect commissioner, jennifer gonzalez cologne. can you hear us? >> yes.

. i can hear you. the main entrance, even when protected, we can feel the wind here. and it is really scary. i never have had this kind of event before. we remember hugo and other hurricanes. but this one, i'm living in carolina, near san juan on top of a hull. and i can tell you we feel very scared. all the houses are shaking. even cop across the street buildings. the windows are already dropping a lot of water. some people on the island will be hit directly. the last time we got a hurricane like this was 1928.

more than 5,000 people died. so the governor is doing a wonderful job asking people to evacuate and go to shelters. as you said, more than 11,000 people are already in shelters. i had an opportunity to speak last night with vice president mike pence and white house officials and fema directors. and they're ready to help once the hurricane has passed. there are resources to help rof from this scary hurricane. and i pray to god that we can recover from this. >> what is your concern about the parts of the island that are already, already vulnerable from irma? any precautions for those people in particular?

>> yeah. to shelter. you can't get out of your house right now. i can tell you i'm in carolina, and there is not just rain, but a lot of wind. i can feel all the windows of my hou house. that kind of feeling is not just scary. water and food. some say this is going to last three or four hours. i hope everybody is looking at this and that can pray for the people puerto rico. we are not used to having this

magnitude disasters before. in the virgin islands they have wooden houses. and i can tell you those houses will never stand up to these winds. >> it will be long in duration. you will feel like it slows down. then it will speed up again. please stay patient there, commissioner. that's going to be the real test for people making it through this storm. they're going to have to deal with the duration. the structures as well as the intensity. please know as your needs develop, ccnn is a resource. please stay safe. we will check back with you. >> thank you. >> be well.

>> we have another breaking story and that's the earthquake in mexico city. the death toll soaring to more than 200 people after that powerful 7.1 magnitude earthquake hit. there is a frantic search for survivors. rosa flores is live in mexico city in a destroyed office building behind her as we can see. rosa, tell us the latest. >> reporter: you know, alyson, a lot of very intense moments happening here in mexico city. take a look behind me. first responders digging through the rubble. these folks have been working for hours i'm told by family members praying and waiting to hear if their loved one is okay. now, there is also a list of people that is right in front of me. i'm not sure if you can see it at the moment. but those are the lists of people who have actually been able to get out of this building alive.

now, this is one of dozens of buildings in the mexico city area that have reportedly collapsed. i'm told that this area where i'm at right now on the west side of the city, this is an area where people would hang out. this office building has businesses on the bottom portion perhaps like restaurants or small eateries. because this earthquake happened shortly after lunch, there were probably people eating there. those are the stories we're hearing here on the ground from people waiting and who have been waiting for hours to see if their loved ones are alive. there are a lot of challenges when it comes to digging through this rubble. as you can imagine, first responders are being very careful. they do believe people are trapped inside. we have seen them go up through ladders and then convene up on the top and then continue digging through the rubble. from talking to some of the

family members here on the ground, they tell me they have been told that first responders can hear voices. so they continue digging. they continue going through the rubble. but a lot of challenges, alyson. one thing that will be helping shortly is the sunrise. one of the big challenges right now is that it's dark. they're using lights as much as they can. but of course very, very difficult to dig through this rubble and to try to listen for signs of life in the middle of so much destruction. >> rosa, they're digging by hand right now, we understand. that's the level of urgency. let us know as you get new information. we will remind people, those who are trapped in buildings often get rescued in days. we'll bring you live pictures throughout the morning. this is something the likes of which they have not seen in a generation in puerto rico.

this could be the worst thing they have seen in recent history. also, a cnn exclusive on another big story. where will special counsel go to find potential crimes? that's always been the main concern on the white house. now they have new reason to be concerned. new information about the interest in a main adviser to the president, next. when i look in the mirror everyday. when i look in the mirror everyday. everyday, i think how fortunate i am. i think is today going to be the day, that we find a cure? i think how much i can do to help change people's lives. i may not benefit from those breakthroughs, but i'm sure going to... i'm bringing forward a treatment for alzheimer's disease, yes, in my lifetime, i will make sure.

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ensure, always be you. cnn exclusive. we have learned that special counsel investigating paul manafort is taking a look at activities that go back more than a decade. what is new about it? >> special counsel robert mueller's investigators are reach to go 2006 in a probe that appears to center on possible attacks and financial crimes of paul manafort. it is the pressure they are placing on former trump campaign chairman. the warrant for a july search of manafort's home say the

investigation centered on possible crimes committed as far back as january 2006. and the broad time frame shows mueller's team is going well were beyond russian meddling during the campaign as part of the investigation of trump campaign associates. as we reported yesterday, manafort has been the subject of an fbi investigation for years, including wiretaps. he has emerged as a focal point for mueller's manafort for the investigation. manafort previously has denied any financial wrongdoing, chris. >> if there is meddling, why are they going back to 2006? >> well, the period mentioned in the search warrant covers much of the decade he worked as a consultant for the ukrainians former ruling party. that work prompted the fbi's interest is in manafort. the party was accused of corruption and the fbi was

trying to figure out whether the american consultants were involved. >> so even though it was long before the campaign, it's about whether or not there might have been undue influence or leverage around the people around trump. understood. another question, a lot of supporters of the president are using news being surveilled as proof that he was wiretapped by obama. do your sources see any connection to that? >> no. in fact, it's been quite the opposite. everyone we have talked to have denied that allegation and in fact, the department of justice has publicly denied that allegation in court filings. and the former fbi director when he testified before the hill also denied that allegation. so from everyone we have talked

to from public statements all denied that allegation. >> so shimon, we heard in your reporting yesterday that some of the investigators said to manafort, you're going to be indicted. is there any sense of whether or not manafort will be charged with something? >> there is some sense from people close to him and sources we have talked to that he is likely at least initially to face some sort of tax and financial crime charges. this investigation, as we are reporting this morning and we have been reporting last night, has gone back to 2006. so bob mueller and his team are now looking at all his financial dealings. for more than a decade, and are looking to see if there are any tax violations, any fraud that could potentially bring charges. that is what sources are expecting. >> shimon, appreciate it. the fbi taking it seriously

enough they went in with guns drawn reportedly and actually asked manafort's wife if she had any weapons on her. >> while they were in bed. let's discuss it with our political panel. cnn political analyst john avalon and ron brownstein. john, this is all intriguing. hard to know if it has anything to do with the 2016 russian meddling. they haven't connected those dots if paul fort was doing something untoward. >> i think one of the questions it raises is given the scope of the manafort investigation right now, it would have captured all conversations before the campaign, during the campaign, after the campaign and during the election.

it's going to probably have been caught in this net. there is a lot of information to come out. bad news for manafort. and obviously some evidence that the mueller team is hoping to flip it. >> look, it is an unusual situation. manafort directly and through counsel could not be wrong more 100% in the fact that he never did anything wrong. so you have no gray area right now between these two sides. we'll see what they can develop with proof. ron, what's your take on this pushback by trump folk saying, see, trump was right. he was wiretapped by obama because manafort being surveilled by extension makes him right. is that just a desperate plea for some type of sense of satisfaction? >> well, i think john's last point is the key point here. what we are seeing i think is a prosecutor sending a clear signal that he is going to use

every tool and legal strategy available to maximize the pressure on someone he sees as central to his investigation. presumably, i think we will see similar developments around former national security adviser michael flynn. it does appear there was a gap in the surveillance. it is possible there will be relative communications that have not been captured. look, this has always been -- when we talked about this when the president originally made this accusation, the only way there is a wiretap of paul manafort is if a judge is convinced there is sufficient evidence to justify it. it always perplexed me this idea that there is some sort of exoneration here in the idea that there was, you know, surveillance attempted. because it not only implies it, it necessitates a decision by a

judge there was sufficient evidence to justify it. as john was also suggesting, we don't know exactly what we don't know. and that is critical in kind of assessing any kind of criminal investigation. i think the clearest message here is that mueller is going to use every tool available to him to maximize the pressure on those he sees essential to his inquiry. >> next topic. what's going on on capitol hill with health care? they are trying to repeal and replace obamacare. cassady of course came to fame when he said he created the jimmy kimmel test. jimmy kimmel last night said this did not pass his test. he went so far to say bill cassady lied to his face about what any future health care plan would look like. let's listen for a moment. >> i don't know what happened to bill cassady but when he was on his publicity tour.

these were his words. he said he wants coverage for all. no discrimination based on pre-existing conditions, lower premiums for middle-class families, no lifetime caps. guess what, the new bill does none of those things. this guy, bill cassady, just lied right to my face. do you believe that every american, regardless of income, should be able to get regular checkups, all of those things that people who have health care get and need? >> yep. >> so yep is washington for nope i guess. stop using my name. i don't want my name on it. there is a new jimmy kimmel test for you. it's called a lie detector test. you're welcome to stop by the studio and take it any time. >> it resonates to folks who may not be following every push of this particular bill. here's what they need to know in addition to that aby jimmy

kimmel. there will be no scoring of the bill. people who care about fiscal responsibility, not there. >> but that's part of the law of reconciliation, though. they can't get it through under that exception without a -- >> all the more reason to do it on regular order. second thing, you have republican governors, including ohio governor john kasich who came out against it. alaska's inspect governor came out against it. there is no fund to go combat the opioid crisis. the $45 billion to sweeten the pot for west virginia senators, that's not in there. >> they have a provision to keep money for those who provide abortions. that may be taken out in the birdbath. >> birdbath, indeed. but the point is, this is a full-court press right now. a lot of fundamental pieces aren't there. >> how do you see it, ron? >> look, it is deja vu all over

again as yogi berra would say. it would substantially increase the number of insured, that is moving outside the normal committee. and the thought that you would restructure one fifth without a score for the cbo is incredible. and is facing opposition from some republican as well as democratic governors because it would impose substantial costs are republican constituencies. the twist is this bill, more directly than the previous ones, redistricts federal dollars away from blue states toward republican states that did not expand medicaid as the census bureau showed us last week. a big gap in those that did not expand coverage. it does target some constituents, ohio, colorado, nevada. they all would be big losers under this bill. >> and you see governors like the idea they will get the money as a bloc grant.

the reason i'm highlighting law. they saw in law and order, you can't put things that don't pass the birdbath test. the law matters. that's why i'm bringing it up. gentlemen, thank you very much. >> we will keep showing you pictures of what hurricane maria is doing to puerto rico right now. this is the most powerful storm to hit the islands since the '20s. it is is making land fall right now. a live report, the latest forecast, next. ♪

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all right. here are live pictures of hurricane maria. cnn meteorologist chad myers has the latest forecast. what are you seeing at this hour, chad? >> i'm seeing the eye make landfall. and we don't really know it because the radar is now broken.

here's the satellite picture from southeastern puerto rico, and it looks bad. this is brought to you by xyzal, 24-hour relief. the last image we had from the hurricane center and the radar was 5:50 a.m. close to nick paton walsh. we're concerned for his safety. not only wind, but we will have surge with this. six to nine feet. i know where he is. i've been there. it is a lowlying area. people need to get away from the ocean. this is no looky loo time right now. >> what does it mean the radar is broken? send me a note so we know how to communicate going forward. chad myers will give us the latest information throughout the morning. ni nick paton walsh is live in palmas del mar. it is the southeastern coast. nick, what's the latest?

>> reporter: chris, hi. an interesting time here. the last 10, the wind has picked up, tearing some of the roof. i'll get out of the way so our cameraman can show you some of the clearer images here. what feels like it might be the most intense part of the storm as you hear from our meteorologist comes into land. it has been pretty intense since 3:00 this morning. it may have come a little earlier than anticipated. but this particular hotel we're in, an intense concrete structure that provides us some support, has really taken aback, tearing off part of the roof here. a tree down there. but we are in a comparatively safe structure. many people in areas around here

that are potentially not quite so secure is. 175 miles per hour with a peak speed of this particular storm would make it possibly the worst ever to hit puerto rico. the last hurricane like this 1928. we have seen some water on the floor. the siren in the background we think is generate bud a in air pressure. it may also be heralding flash flooding. we got a text message alert with when our phones were still working and aren't now telling us that the flood warning would be in place until 8:30 this morning. so still another couple of hours worth of potential for flash flooding here. it hasn't happened as of yet. but the ferocity of these winds shows you what must be happening surely in the areas around here.

it's a very hard situation given quite how fierce this storm has become. chris? >> nick, i'll take it. be careful, please. as you heard chad say the storm surge is expected to be six to nine feet. president trump pushing his message at the general assembly yesterday. how is his speech playing with world leaders today? christiane amanpour will join us, next. elton, what are you up to? i'm having breakfast in uganda. uganda be kidding me, elton! it's a... it's a joke. james, we're going to look for gorillas! hang on, what? that's a real silverback gorilla. look at it! no, don't look at it. shhhhh stay. okay. i'm freaking out!

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for three bottles. start saving today at restasis.com. president trump going where no other president has gone before. what is the reaction from u.s. allies and adversaries? michelle kaczynski is live with more. all sorts of different reactions

from this speech. so tell us what you're hearing >> reporter: right. one u.s. ally said the mood was mixed at best. this highly nationalistic speech delivered before the global body that trump harshly criticized but whose help he needs, robustly calls for, and says he appreciates. one diplomatic source said a senior white house official has been touting that what the white house is proud of is they are freely cooperating in their own best interests and not some overarching world government. not that allies would necessarily see it that way. but this was something the white house was concerned about. president trump delivering a speech like none other from an american president here. >> if the righteous men do not

confront the wicked few, then evil will triumph. >> reporter: with shades of the world in peril message he presented during his campaign, the president stressing the sovereignty of nations and america first. >> i will always put america first. just like you, as the leaders of your countries, will always and should always put your countries first. >> reporter: those words garnered applause but caused some to bristle, just terrible, one senior diplomat and close u.s. ally told cnn. and the president issuing his sternest warning yet to north korea. >> if it is forced to defend itself or its allies, we will have no choice but to totally destroy north korea. >> reporter: and not shying away from name-calling kim jong-un. >> rocket man is on a suicide

mission for himself. >> reporter: a senior administration official tells cnn the president added rocket man reference hours before delivering his speech. and assailing the iran nuclear deal. >> it is an embarrassment to the united states. and i don't think you have heard the last of it, believe me. >> reporter: trump has until october 13th to certify whether iran is implying with the terms of the agreement. north korea's representative walked out before he began speaking. iran sat still. israeli president netanyahu relished the speech. melania listened, expressionless. they went on to clearly articulate the three controversial words, radical islamic terrorism. >> we will stop radical islamic terrorism because we cannot allow it to tear up our nation and indeed to tear up the entire

world. >> reporter: again, calling terrorists losers and calling on world leaders to promote peace. >> major portions of the world are in conflict. and some in fact, are going to hell. >> we need to defeat the enemies of of humanity and unlock the potential of life itself. >> reporter: even though the word we kept hearing of and over again was sovereignty, sovereignty, sovereignty, there was no direct mention of russia. even though trump's own nominee to the ambassador to russia said there is no question that russia interfered. chris? >> all right, michelle. thank you very much. he galvanized support among the members of the u.n. did he do it? joining me is cnn chief international correspondent christiane amanpour. thank you for helping us

understand international reaction. you spoke to france's president about this. i did. the swedish foreign minister said it was the wrong speech at the wrong time to the wrong audience. why is that? a lot of the diplomats and world leaders had spent decades, at least the last 10 years, helping the united states put the pressure on iran with world sanctions and painstakingly negotiate this iran nuclear deal. so they were very upset about this, including the president of france who i was speaking to exclusively as president trump was making that address. to hear him say this is an embarrassment, this deal has bracketed and enveloped iran's nuclear program. so it is not a problem on the world stage right now. which is what president macron told me. the very real problem coming out of north korea. listen to what he told me about

this. >> i think that the outcome of this is now we have the money to reprocess with the international agency following the situation. and i think that it's better than nothing. okay? why? because if we stuck with this agreement, we will enter into a situation very similar to the korean -- north korean situation. so i think it would be a big mistake. >> and the big mistake also, chris, because contrary to what the administration is saying, the international atomic energy agency and all of those monitoring the iran nuclear deal declared it in full compliance since it was signed. so they are living up to the letter and the spirit of the iran nuclear deal. >> the irony is that the iranian deal has become a reflection of

what may be possible in north korea. you have iranians messing around in tphoerbg north. they lend help. the chinese lend help. the president went to the u.n. to make it better. some of the knitting is done after the speech. the president is tweeting, he seems pretty possessed with the politics here at home. he is still thinking about hillary clinton. she came out and said the speech was a dark speech. he says, allowing north korea to research and build nukes while secretary of state, he's referring to hillary clinton, bill c. also, crooked hillary now criticizes. do you believe this is the way for the president to go? the obvious answer is no but why. >> this is way too critical for the whole world and the allies and american personnel in the region to conflate it with all sorts of things. some of what is being said frankly is not true. there had been diplomacy under

the past with the bill clinton administration. yes, many of these things failed in terms of verification. but here's the problem. when the president of the united states, as he has done in the past, basically declares that it will not be be, north korea will not have an icbm, all its tests since then has shown it is on the path to that. when the president speaks, it must be backed up with a real option. what he said yesterday was, some analysts said, deterrence 101. not that we're going to start a war in north korea but if we are threatened or god forbid attacked, we will react. that is deterrence 101. threat epping any military response is a complete and utter nonstarter. horrendous consequences.

they couldn't find all the missiles, nuclear equipment to do it immediately. it would give tphoerbg north the chance to threaten and create huge casualties in south korea. >> tens of thousands of u.s. troops. >> sanctions enforcement has to happen. and there has to be now -- diplomacy hasn't really worked. but there has to be some kind of american, south korean, japanese, real effort to contain north korea. that takes diplomacy, which suspect about going to the u.n. and sort of trashing everything that the allies have been doing in the past. this is an important moment, and all the allies know that. >> you have to look at iran as part of a potential north korean solution. the more the president denigrates that deal, the less likely it is going to sell north korea -- >> right. that's what the french and iranian president said to me. if they pull out, what is the

alternative? we will go back to status quo ante. >> and you will have two situations. >> that's right. >> nobody helps us understand a perspective better than you. thank you for being on new day always. up next, break news. hurricane maria making landfall in the past few minutes there on puerto rico. our reporters are there and will show us what's happening, next. only haul gravel. n introducing the new 2018 ford f-150. with best-in-class towing... best-in-class payload... and best-in-class torque... the f-150 lineup has the capability to get big things to big places- bigtime. so bring out your atvs, your campers, your palominos. hey. you're not always working. but your truck is. this is the new 2018 ford f-150. it doesn't just raise the bar, pal. it is the bar. when did you see the sign? when i needed to jumpstart sales. build attendance for an event. help people find their way. fastsigns designed new directional signage.

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hurricane maria just made land fall in puerto rico. storm chaser mike is riding out the storm at the famous el conquistador hotel. >> reporter: we are getting pounded. the eyewall has come through and we are facing constant wind. it is is screaming, whistling, stuff hitting the building. we are definitely in a dangerous situation here. we are in a safe hotel. but if you were outside in this right now, i don't think you could survive. >> you say you're in a safe hotel. what's the situation? are all of you together in a

room somewhere? >> reporter: yes, we are. we are all together in a room, shut erred up with big shutters. we're safe in the room that we're in. but just to listen to what's going on all around us, it is heartbreaking to hear what's going on outside. in a few hours when we're able to go back outside and see what it looks like, i'm scared to see what it looks like. >> mike, you have a very vivid description of what the wind sounds like. can you explain that to us. >> well, it sounds like a woman screaming at the top of her lungs, a high-pitched squealing sound. it is coming through every crack in the building now. every once in a while we hear a piece of debris hit the wall. >> it does send a shiver down your spine. you say -- look, you do this for a living. you chase storms. you have seen a lot of these.

you say you have never before seen what's happening to the palm trees there on puerto rico. describe that. >> i have never seen that, no. when i got into town i thought most of the palm trees were already stripped of their fronds. we had sketchy data. i haven't had many updates. it feels like we're in the northern eyewall. i noticed that the pressure is starting to slowly rise. i think the eye has passed. it is making landfall to our west. i'm sorry. i'm really tired. i'm just guessing all of this right now. i know we did not hit the eye. i assume we are in the eyewall right now. >> we're looking at the radar as you speak. it seems as though your estimate is right about exactly where you are.

if anyone has been to puerto rico, they know conquistador. how many tourists are trapped with you? >> maybe 30 or so. and hotel staff. they have done a great job keeping everybody safe. i'm actually talking to you through the internet which is amazing. i can't believe we're talking in the middle of a category 4 hurricane. >> technology has changed. for people who don't do this all the time, how are people around you feeling? >> there's some nervous people around here. this is new for everybody. i did speak to one gentleman who just left one of the other virgin islands to get away from irma. his home was destroyed. he came here as a shelter. now he has a second category 5 hurricane here. so the crib yap has taken a real pounding this year. it's just not fairment all of

these beautiful islands are getting shredded by these category 5 hurricanes. >> you're right. there's no place to hide for people who live there. we should mention that irma was hitting puerto rico two weeks ago today. mike, please take care of yourself. we're happy to have your firsthand account of what's going on there in puerto rico. thanks so much for being with us. >> thank you. >> chris? all right. we're going to keep covering hurricane maria. you can't know how devastating it will be. so many parts of that country already beat up by irma. >> plus, the death toll soaring after a powerful 7.1 earthquake rocks mexico. we have complete coverage, next. . kevin kevin kevin kevin kevin kevin kevin

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good morning, everyone. welcome to your new day. we begin with breaking news for you. two deadly natural disasters to report this morning. hurricane maria making landfall on puerto rico the last hour. packing 155-mile-per-hour winds. maria is the most powerful hurricane to hit the island in nearly a century. life threatening winds and torrential rain are already pounding that island. >> remember, you already have