>>. [ inaudible ] >> i'm wolf blitzer in washington and we want to welcome our viewers here in the united states and around the world. you've been watching president trump get a briefing in the oval office from fema officials as one of the most powerful hurricanes in united states history. that will hit the coast, that's getting ready to make landfall in a couple of minutes, this hurricane will make landfall in florida. hurricane michael lashing northwest florida right now. thousands of people have been evacuated ahead of the storm, but many more are now sheltered in place, as 150-mile-per-hour winds tear through coastal communities. the governor admitting the area could suffer, quote, unimaginable devastation. our correspondents are spread out across the area to bring you the very latest. we're in panama city, right where the leading edge of the storm is crashing into the coast in destin, santa rosa beach,

appalachian co apalachicola. let's begin in panama city beach, right now where hurricane michael is hitting the area with full force. diane gallagher is there for us. tell us what you're experiencing, diane, and i want you to be very careful over there. >> thank you, wolf, we're being extremely fsafe right now, we need to get inside, if we need to take shelter, we only have a few feet to walk. it sounds like a cliche, some stereotypical words. it almost feels like little needles are prick us with rainfall that will just smack you in the face. this isn't the worst of it. i want you to take a look behind

me. this actually [ no audio ] >> all right, i think unfortunately, we have lost diane's audio. you can see these pictures, these are awful pictures, if diane -- >> reporter: we have been on the lookout for diane, we had a drain come out of this area here, flying away with the wind, we find other parts of metal sheets that have been coming this way. we have seen people off the shore on the lower grand lagoon area, if you're familiar with the island. the structure we were in, we probably could have ridden out a category 2, we could not ride out a category 4 hurricane. [ no audio ] >> once again, we have lost audio with diane, we're going to get that to her this.

>> jennifer, you're watching and we're going to keep this video up, and hopefully we'll be able to reconnect. but you can see what's going on over there, what's the latest information you're getting from the authorities? >> yeah, this is incredible, powerful storm and the leading edge of that aeyewall is coming ashore near panama city and points to the east. that storm is about 16 to 18 miles across. this is not the official landfall, that won't happen for a little while longer, that inner eyewall is starting to make its way onshore. and i'm going to highlight some of these areas so you can get a better idea. this is panama city, this is where diane is, this is the eye of the storm, you can see that quite clearly, and you can see where this is headed in these areas over from panama city over to mexico beach. these areas in between are going to experience the eye of the storm, they're going to get clearing, they could possibly see blue sky. but then don't go outside, don't let that deceive you, because you've got the whole backside of

this storm to contend with. it and also keep in mind that this storm is very symmetrical, we have hurricane force winds that extend 45 miles from the center on either side. so that's about a 90 mile swathe that's going to get the hurricane force winds, tropical storm force winds extend 175 miles from the center. and all of these areas from the center of the storm to the east, now sort of outline the state, they're all going to get 16 to 18 feet of storm surge. in apalachicola, that's expected to double from what it is now. it's going to be in a lot of people's second floor. also keep in mind, we have had wind reports already of 89 miles an hour in apalachicola. st. joe has had wind gusts up to 1 h00 miles an hour. the leaves are still on the

trees, we are going to see a lot of trees down, so people that don't have shutters on their windows, you need to stay away from the windows because the limbs can act as projectiles in storms like this. don't let your guard down if you're in south georgia. this is going to be a category 2 storm this evening in south georgia. so we're going to have hurricane force winds there, torrential rain, of course as this continues to move to the east. so this is a very, very dangerous storm. i would say from now to the next four hours or so, is going to be the most crucial time with this storm for people to stay safe, hunker down and if you have chosen to stay, you're just going to have to ride it out at this point, wolf. >> this is a real, very, very dangerous monster. stand by for a moment, brian todd is in panama beach city for us. brian, what are you seeing, what are you hearing? >> reporter: it's hard to put into words how violent this storm as just turned in the last two minutes, we got off panama

city beach and we're just about a block inland. we're going to show you some of the trees and the bourls. this truck that we're transmitting from could -- conditions here have really deteriorated in just the last few minutes, they are expected widespread power outages, they already have 60,000 people without power. i'm going to take you over here. just look at the violence with which these trees are shaking her. i'm a new feet away, i can't walk too much further out because it's so dangerous here. and this is the point where you have to start watching, as i'm talking to you, i got to keep looking up because of flying debris all over the place. i just saw a tarp go flying over there, i have got to always kind of look around here, just to see that there's not something coming at me.

you can see the contortion of these pine trees and these here just snapped and came crashing down on that house. that's something we're going to be watching for. these palm trees are little more sturdy, you can see some of those palm trees down there are starting to shake a little bit. first responders, this is the time when they're telling everybody, don't call us now, if you call us, we cannot come and get to you, it is simply too dangerous. they were hoping a lot of people would evacuate, they're hoping a lot of people did heed the call to evacuate, only about 4,000 people are in the shelters here in the florida panhandle area. but, you know, officials here wanted many more people to get into those shelters. but right now, too dangerous to move around. wolf. >> stand by, brian, john berman is in panama city beach for us as well. what's the latest where you are, john? >> reporter: ferocious winds have picked up over the last 10

to 15 minutes as brian todd were saying, the rain vaulting into your face like powerful razor planes, we have heard of power being out, the water is rising on the wrooi roadways. these roads flood very, very easily. if you have not evacuated at this point, they have told you to stay in your homes and i can tell you, i see why. because this wind is simply so strong. it would be very hard to control a vehicle on these roads right now. i'm just taking a look around. because one of the main concerns in a storm like this is the debris. imagine small pieces of wood. signs, rakes, we saw a rake out here a moment ago, flying along at 100 miles an hour or so.

is city of panama beach is home to 12,000 people normally, and 10s of thousands of tourists. it does seem as if the tourists all got out. the restaurants all closed, the tourists left, that's good, but the residents, as you have been hearing, that's a big concern here, maybe only half of them left. there could be tens of thousands of people who have decided to stay in their homes. so many made the decision to stay when it was a category two storm. >> these winds speeds simply keep on getting stronger and stronger. 140, 150 miles an hour wolf as this storm approaches the land and it will stay that way as it moves up the coast, passing maybe tallahassee, so this wind could be a big concern, not just here along the coast, but also

in cities like tallahassee, known for their gorgeous okay an byes, with those giant trees, that i just can't imagine can with stand the kind of wind we're seeing here, wolf. if it picks up that much more than this, it will be hard to stay outside. the ocean was already lapping up to the edge of the beach. it's approximate you apushing i feet. a storm surge of 9 feet will most certainly flood those coastal areas. so that said, even as we're dealing with the wind here, even a mild inland. i apologize if i'm shouting, wolf, it's hard to know if i can be heard over the force of this wind. i'm looking at the trees here

bending in this wind already. don't know what it will take to get them to break. again, one of the causes of concern here as we look around is the potential for the flying debris. the city says it was ready, it's got things staged for after the storm, but that's after. the next several hours, of this kind of wind will be very punishing and i think will be a long couple hours here, wolf. >> we're hearing you just fine, john, people in the united states and around the world, they're worried about you, they're worried about all of our corpora correspondents, reassure them once it gets really awful, you'll be able to go inside and be protected, right? >> reporter: that's exactly right. we actually moved locations this morning. we did not feel we were in a safe enough place along the water's edge this morning. we came about a mile inland to a building that i do think can with stand the winds that we're

seeing here. i keep looking around. i apologize for that, i hear a little bit of rattling here and there. that's our concern. if you start to see gutters. if you start to see metal being pulled off the walls. the door is just a matter of 20 feet away from where i am. i can run in at a moment's notice. most of the buildings bimtd within the last 20 years,

hopefully can with stand a storm with the power we are going to see over the next hour as it makes landfall. >> we're all worried about that flying debris, that can be so, so dangerous. go protect yourself, be careful over there, john berman, we're going to keep your shot up from where you are. john berman on the scene for us, erika hill is also on the scene for us, she's in destin with winds also picking up right now.

destin is a tourist destination, the population here, 13,700 or so, but that swells, tens of thousands of visitors each year. this is still in the season for them. it used to be during the summer. but officials told me yesterday, this is now a season, this is fall break season for a lot of schools in the south. so there were a number of tourists here. offices were shut down yesterday by noon. and officials felt that they were confident that a number of tourists left. i spoke with one woman who didn't. i spoke to one woman from maryland who said she was nervous, but she felt she was comfortable in the condo where she was staying, we talked about p.o.w. as well, so the power is beginning to atlanticer where we are in destin. we actually got afternoon update fru gulf power. they do expect that in many areas, as many as too -- in many

of the hartist hit areas that could last for weeks, they expect they will have to be building systems during those outages, telling us they have folks from 15 different states telling us the way is clear. they can't get out and start working on anything until the winds are below 30 miles an hour. we also heard from secretary nelson who said that teams were prepositioned. telling us just a short tile time ago, in this briefing, obviously they're urging folks, after the storm has passed because they need to check the roads. so they can find passage for emergency vehicles and also to eventually get all these other resources in to begin to clean up the damage.

this is already making landfall, michael, at this however. at some point you'll go inside and feel protected. what else are you seeing and feeling right now? >> it has picked up, i was in hurricane floor florence a few weeks ago. the rain there, and the flooding was a major issue.

here as the storm surge which is being seen on the coast and this wind speed for the eyewall tends to be 145, 150 miles an hour and we are now feeling it, wolf, the wind speed here very, very strong, as you said, if it gets to be too fierce, we will go inside, there is a safe place in the building here. the tropical storm force winds were extending way beyond the center of this storm, even as the eye approaches panama city beach where i am. i want to check in with my colleague brooke baldwin who's in destin. brooke? >> reporter: hey, john, we're about 40, 45 wemiles west of yo this is where people in panama city beach have come to seeking refuge here in destin. and i'm with my photo journalist and we just wanted to step outside from behind a building where we have really been protected from a lot of this wind. we're in this inlet, so on the

other side of this berm is the gulf of mexico and just in the last half hour, we have started to see some of these white caps and waves picking up which is the harbinger of what's to come. the storm surge is 3 feet in dwes tin, we're told 4 to 8, the rain has been coming down consistently for three to four hours, but periodically you're seeing the water hitting the top of this dock. just to give you some perspective of what we're seeing close to the ocean here in destin. this is on the outer western edge, so a lot of people i talked to earlier today were saying they feel safe, a lot of people have been here during opal, that was 1995, and the thing with this storm is a lot of folks in the panhandle, they're used to storms coming up and coming up quickly, a lot of folks woke up monday morning and realized there was a hurricane

coming, but it wasn't until this morning when they woke up and it was wham for category 4. so a lot of people in the destin area, they feel relatively safe, they know how to handle hurricanes, but obviously taking precaution. and the worst of it, wolf, and john, it sounds like john is really starting to feel it. yet to come, about a half hour from now, and i'll be here for two hours outside of my own show, so we'll be riding the storm during that entire time here from destin. wolf, back to you. >> thanks, brooke, we'll get back to you soon and we'll look forward to getting more of your reports, once again, brooke, be careful. john, you're still with us, tell us more. >> reporter: all right, wolf, i just happened to notice i looked down and realized that i'm standing in a couple of inches of water already. the water now flowing in from all this rain, this isn't the storm surge, it's just the immense a of ra immense amount of rain and then

the storm surge . you have been speak to city officials, what's their sense? >> john, look, i can hold this if you want to block the wind a little bit for your face right now, but the sense is they need their community that stay put, obviously they want to take pictures, they want to get video of this, i'm already seeing video showing up online that people should not be taking, they're out on the beaches, and that's not a smart move. i ups why you don't want to evacuate, if your reason was riding the hurricane out, if there are testimony reasons, there are sicknesses, handicaps, stuff like that, but there's no reason for you to be out taking pictures and videos right now. officials have said that we're starting to see these winds and the storm surge affect panama city beach, the bridges have been closed for some time now, no one can get on the island, no one can get off the island. we're still going to be in this for a couple of hours here.

we're watching haver heavy debris that's far to the right of us. i think people just see us out here, and they think that we're going crazy, being out in the hurricane, but we have a very large team of professionals who know what they're doing to make sure that they're going to be safe, and you guys don't if you're out there doing the same. >> i keep looking away, it's not because i'm being rude, it's because i can't look in this direction because the wind is blowing so much. we can move a couple or three steps this way, where these trees are bending, and you can see the palm over there blowing, you can see everything beginning to go, diane, if you can hear me. my understanding, speaking to some of the officials that you

were speaking to, they think about half the residents are still here, they think about only 4,000 people have gone to shelters in this part of the state. so not many people are in these public shelters. >> no and, look, some of the shelters did fill up all the way, they opened new shelters, those didn't. a lot of people, we have talked about this, i know that jennifer said people knew sththis was go to be a strong storm. for the minds of the people who have been through this, category 2, i can do that. category 4 is a different monster, at governor scott said. people woke up this morning and it was already too late. bay county authorities were already not responding. and we have been up a long time. but it's still fairly early in the day, so a lot of those people, it's too late for them to get to shelters this morning. once they came in. when winds like this came around, you can't even walk to

the shelter. john, it broke my heart reading just the facebook page of the bay county sheriff's office saying, i didn't think it was going to get this bad, my home's only two stories, we're just at sea level, i don't know what to do now, can you come help me, do i have to go somewhere? and to see, just stay where you are, shelter in place, emergency vehicles cannot go through this type of weather. >> sustained, i would say easily over 100 miles an hour with gusts definitely north of that, about a mile that way is the coast. is the beach itself. that is where the storm surge is, that's where people, if they decided to stay, they might need to be rescued and diane, you hit on one point, i hope you can hear me. >> what are the things that i said to people this morning and i'm speaking to them is regret. and i haven't heard that before covering a storm. people who made the decision to stay, sounded to me like they

were sorry they did. >> yes, when we were covering hurricane florence, i was in new bern where there was a significant amount of flooding, it was catastrophic, and i heard people say my home's never flooded before, that's why i need to evacuate. if you were on this island here, you knew you were going to get slammed here. category 2, and category 3, you know you're going to get slammed. but there are reasons why people don't evacuate, but everybody needs to get to safety in a couple of minutes. we knew we were going to get slammed. there we go. >> we're flying past, a little inland. it's tough for people to see. those are projectiles that are

blowing through. those are gutters, maybe they were gutters, at one point, whether they were on the building, metal siding, imagine that hitting you or hitting a car, metal siding, imagine that hitting you at 100 miles an hour or even hit your car if you're trying to drive at 100 miles an hour now, which i can't imagine people are doing. >> it also illustrates the point as to why emergency officials can't come and rescue you during a hurricane like this. it's not a matter of callousness that they don't want to help. they can't do stuff like this when you have projectiles like this flying through the air. and again, we're sort of -- we're a little bit shielded by these winds, we're not experiencing the full force of these winds right now. >> i think that's an important point, another piece going right there. we're a little bit sheltered,

we're not getting the full force. i don't think this is the worst of it yet, we're going to speak to our meteorologist to find out when the eyewall itself will make landfall and when the strongest winds will be. look at that siding just pulled over there, and the railing which looks like it's even bending a little bit. >> i will tell you, john, there were more signs on the railing that i saw this morning. there were signs ripped off, we had some drains, like the drainage pipes here, we have been carefully watching a sign up on top of the building, a laquinta in, watching the sign to make sure that it doesn't blow off right here. we talk about all the water and the rain, and that is very significant because water kills wind injures. but this wind could also do the same because of those projectiles here. this is intense. >> all right, diane, we're just going to walk back to the camera so they can see us. we want to throw it back to

wolf, but we wanted to say hi, we're here, we're safe and we want want to go back to you while we assess our situation. >> we'll get back to both of you, diane gallagher, john berman doing amazing reporting for us. we're going to take a very, very quick break, resume our special coverage, hurricane michael, making landfall this hour. we'll be right back. ♪

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♪ all you have to do to find it is get out... here. ♪ all right, john berman in pensacola city, florida. the winds are blowing sustained at least 100 miles an hour or so. i'm standing near the corner of a building that's giving me some protection. and it's still not enough to keep me upright easily. we have been watching very closely at the trees, and some of the debris that's been flying around, there's some metal siding over there, that you can see that it's already been ripped off buildings and flying

down the street here. the eye of the storm, obviously very, very close to shore if not already on shore and you can just see the damage that will be done as this passes through with these winds of 145 miles an houror or in some cases even greater. the hurricane force winds extend about 45 miles from the core, the tropical storm force winds even beyond that. this is a very big storm, the impact will be felt all over the gulf coast. again, the florida panhandle has never seen a storm as powerful as this. no storm in recorded history has ever made landfall with wind speeds as high as this. i want to go over to destin and get a sense of where things stand there, that's about 40 miles west of where i am now. erika hill is there. erika? >> i just got off the phone with captain nick of the okaloosa county sheriff's office, he's been on patrol all morning

they're working 12-hour shifts. he said he's still getting calls for people wanting transportation to shelters. and he's going to do that as long as they k dr.'s a man who was living on his boat that was tethered in the bay. and captain nick who i spoke to happened to be driving down the roadway, they found him on his boat that had washed up to, trying to shelter himself waiting for help. they were able to get him, he's okay, in terms of where folks are being taken, he says he knows of at least three bus loads that have been taking to people to shelters at a church k he couldn't give many the exact numbers, but he was giving me a sense of how many people they had on those three different bus loads. and he's also concerned about some misinformation that's getting out. he's been told the state has closed bridges, john and once you hit 40 miles an hour, you

can be pretty sure that that's going to happen. and at this hour in okaloosa county, there have not been bridges closed. that said, he doesn't want anybody on the roads, he doesn't want anybody out and about. it is time to stay where you are as we heard earlier this morning from the governor, this is not a storm that you want to be out and about. after the storm, you need to stay inside, and the damage, you're seeing the debris already flying around and that is of course a major concern, also dealing with the power outages to come. the mayor telling me he is pretty sure the power will be out by later this afternoon. noting that because they also haven't had a real significant storm in the area in a while, the way that the trees had grown up, is actually going to be more of an issue when it comes to power lines. he says that's another reason why he's pretty confident that will be power loss in the very near future.

>> reporter: we have seen tree limbs flying through this area and we want to go to brian, i haven't seen anything like this in the last several hours, this is as bad as it's been, give us a sense of where things stand where you are? >> reporter: john, it is every bit as bad here, i mean the violence that you're looking at, with the storm just rocking these trees and power lines. is just amazing to look at. and we're just getting another incredible burst of wind here, as this storm starts to make lawf landfall. look at these trees, i mean these pine trees look like they're about to snap. i have got to always watch for flying debris, because it could be coming at us from any direction at any second.

this house here behind me could be in some dangerous with some falling trees and debris. power lines obviously are an issue, the last count we heard was 100,000, some without power, but that's obviously changing by the minute, you see power lines rocking here, and you have heard transformers blow in this area. the sheriff of walton county tweeted out of frustration, he said we have people who cannot exercise good sense, you may have a constitutional right to be an idiot, but you don't have a constitutional right to endanger everyone else. he's referring to people who are walking around the street, driving around the beaches, we are just a few feet away from a safe structure. people should not be out right now, it is incredibly dangerous. look at these pictures, these palm frees normally very sturdy are really rocking right now.

and let's get another quick shot if we can, look at that burst of wind and what it's doing to those trees over there. look at that, these trees could just snap at any second. john, i'll toss it back to you. >> all right, brian, yeah, we're seeing extraordinary images like that all around, and like brian was saying there, we're doing our best to stay as safe as we can, and when we look around, it's just to make sure that there are no pieces of debris flying through, i believe we're in a place where we are protected by a wall, but that doesn't mean i'm not going to be looking out. special live coverage of hurricane michael continues right after this.

all right, john berman in

panama city beach, florida. the winds here are as strong as we have seen them. you can see the water collecting all around me, as this rain continues to fall. they expect nearly a foot of rain here by the time this is all over. the wind speed about a mile inland is the main cause of concern, expecting 145-mile-per-hour sustained winds, gusts perhaps higher than that, on the coast which is about a mile away, the concern is storm surge which could be 9 to 14 feet in some places. i want to bring in gary tuchman, garry, if you can hear me, i don't know where you're located so tell people where you are and what you're seeing. >> i'm east of you in a little town, sopchoppy, it's an indian word for river. the population here is only 500 and we don't know anyone who's still here. we're east of you, and that's

where the worst part of this hurricane will be is to the east. [ no audio ] >> all right, gary tuchman, who is in sopchoppy, florida. there's a reason i wasn't sure where gary was, because i didn't know what town he was in. east of where we are, is where the greatest concern for storm surge, east of the center of the eyewall is the area where they see the greatest storm surge, so if the eyewall passes over where i am in panama city, we could see the most ferocious winds and we are right now, at least it seems that way, but east of here, the winds may not be as strong but the storm surge threat might be greater. i now want to go to jennifer gray in our weather center, and

jennifer, i've been waiting to hear from you in the last several minutes, because i want to know how much we have to wait until this eyewall passes over us? >> you're nit right now, you're in the eyewall, and i am shocked that you are still on the air, it's absolutely incredible, we have had wind gusts over 100 miles an hour in panama city and the storm has made landfall just to the west of mexico beach. you can see the center of the storm, make landfall right there. and so it is a strong category 4, it straactually strengthenedt as it made landfall, it now has windstorms of 154 miles an hour, a cat 5 is 157. at the damage, sess storm and they could say this was indeed a category 5.

all that doesn't matter, because this is an incredibly strong storm, one of the strongest storms we have ever experienced in the history of these records being kept, back in the 1800s. john berman, you were asking how long you're going to be in it. you're in the strongest part of the storm, this ring right around the eye, with the orange and red colors right there, you're still going to be in it for i would say a good two more hours. you're going to be experiencing these incredibly strong winds. we have had winds of 100-mile-per-hour sustained winds in panama city, 116-mile-per-hour gusts have been reported in panama city beach. we have also had 129-mile-per-hour gust at the tindle air force base, which is right here, and they're experiencing the eye of the storm. 1:30 at kendall air force base.

129 at panama city airport. so the air force base are experiencing winds that high, they are experiencing calm winds right now, but when the backside of that storm comes, they will be smacked with 100-mile-per-hour winds once again as the storm continues to barrel to the north. so, john, there you have it, you're going to be in it for the next couple of hours, as this storm has made landfall just to the west of mexico beach. >> made landfall just to the northwest of mexico beach, which is a little bit east of where i am in panama city. i'm out of the candid shot right now, because i hope people can see what i'm seeing, which is this railing, this railing, which is cemented to the groupd hegroupd -- ground here is bending over, it's pushing that metal railing over, and i don't think it's going to be able to stand up much more. in the next 10 to 15 minutes, you'll be able to see the force

of this wind. oh, my, it is really blowing hard here at this moment jennifer gray saying clearly 100-mile-per-hour gusts, clearly greater than that, you can see it right now. as the wind just bears down on that metal railing, pushing it over and the debris that's flying into it. that is happening to things that are bolted down. there it goes. wow. the wind at this point is insistently at this fierce, fierce level. i have stepped even closer to the building so i have a little bit more protection. it is blowing so hard now, it's even hard to hear. you know what? i'm going to hold my microphone out as close to the window as i can so you can hear it.

i don't know if that actually worked, but just the roar, the roar of this wind, as it plows through, as it blows through, and the force of it against the railings like that and you can see the trees blowing out over there as well. i'll step a little bit out here again so you can see me with that metal railing continuing to bend there. but the storm did make landfall as jennifer gray said a little bit east of where i am near mexico beach. that means the storm surge will be even east of that, that's a vulnerable area, a low-lying area. the storm surge there we may not know for some time how bad that is, because it isn't quite as populated and because the immediate threat that they will be suffering over the next several minutes. guys, i got some direction from the control, one more time? all right, wolf, let's go back to wolf in washington. wolf, i'm doing the best i can communicating. it's not so easy with this much

rain, the water gets everywhere, the wind is so loud, it's hard to hear much of anything, but you can get a sense of the power of this storm as it just begins to make landfall on the gulf coast. >> yeah, it's an awful, awful situation. john berman, you're doing amazing work for us, our viewers will be relieved once you get inside and get some safety over there, they're very, very nervous about you and diane gallagher, all of our reporters. let me bring in the governor of florida, rick scott right now who's watching all of this unfold. governor, we're hearing it's 155 miles an hour, it's made landfall, 157 would be a category 5 storm, what's the latest information, governor, that you're hearing? >> well, first off, i hope your reporter is safe. you know, my biggest concern is everybody that, the people that chose not to evacuate, i spent time the last few days going up and down the coast getting people to evacuate. but this is a horrible, horrible

storm. 150-plus-miles-an-hour. i think people don't realize, the storm surge, whether it's 15 feet or 14 feet, it's all deadly. i'm concerned people are not taking that into consideration. we can't respond, we can't help anybody who chose not to evacuate. they have to hunker down and take care of themselves. but we have over 1,000 people ready in rescue teams. we have the national guard and i just got a briefing from the coast guard, from one mobile and one from the clearwater area to help with water rescue. we have 19,000 people that are already prepositioned to get the power back on, but i am scared to death for the people who chose not to evacuate. this is just a horrendous storm. and look at on your monitor and you can just see the wind, the rain and what it's doing to that railing. >> yeah, that railing, that

metal railing, governor, good ay eye, it's gone, it looks like it's completely served and that becomes an extremely dangerous situation, what are your gravest fears right now over the next several hours? >> well, right now i'm just praying that people got to safety. we know, as an example, i was in franklin county yesterday and we know one of the barrier islands, 50 people decided to stay, even though the locals declared a mandatory evacuation, the law enforcement went to visit each one of them. we sent out a text alert to every one of them and some of them still decided to stay. so i'm worried about them every second. and i hope there's no children there who didn't have the choice on their own to make these decisions. i'm just praying for them and as soon as this passes, we will be out there doing everything we can to rescue everybody. this is a very resilient state, we have been through a lot of storms, i have been through just

as governor, a lot of storms. this is a resilient group of people, we will take care of each other. >> it's an awful, awful situation and i assume you're anticipating that millions of floridians will shortly be without power if not already? >> wolf, absolutely. that's why what i have done for the last few years, is i have pushed our utilities to have a relationship with other utilities, so you can preposition people, you can share assets so you're not waiting to try and get things as quickly as you can. you preposition this as soon as it happens to you can get the power back on. many, many people have their power back on. if you're on certain kinds of medical machines, you have to have power. we have 5,000 people in our shelters. i'm sure we're going to have more people in our shelters as

this passes. i want to get power on as quickly as possible. >> as you know, governor, there's a lot of seniors who live in florida, there are nursing homes and if they lose power, that potentially could be the end. >> wolf, we have reached out to all the health care facilities, we told them our expectations. your job is to take care of these patients. you're responsible for these patients. if you need any help, we'll provide you that help. i have talked to a couple of hospitals in the panama city area that are concerned right now. so we're working with them as soon as this passes if they need to do any evacuations, we can get that done quickly. i have talked to the president today, i have talked to the secretary of homeland security, i have unthtalked to brock long runs fema. we're working to make sure, my job is to get local, federal and state resources all to cooperate to keep people alive and make

sure after this happens to recover anybody that has a problem and keep people back to a normal life as quickly as possible. >> i know you got to run back, you got a lot going on, governor, we're grateful for your time. think thoughts you want to share with your viewers right now? >> well, pray for us. >> we will certainly do that, let's take another quick break and resume our special coverage right after this. welcome to the place where people go to learn about their medicare options... before they're on medicare. come on in. you're turning 65 soon? yep. and you're retiring at 67? that's the plan! well, you've come to the right place.

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as the best hospitals. and brightstar care means an rn will customize a plan that evolves with mom's changing needs. (woman) because dad made us promise we'd keep mom at home. (vo) call 844-4-brightstar for your free home care planning guide. we're continuing our coverage of hurricane michael. it's making landfall at 155 miles per hour. category five would be 157 miles an hour. i know you're monitoring this very closely, senator.

what's the latest information you're getting? >> well, wolf, the toughest area is going to get it on the right side or the east side of the eye wall. and that's going to be to the east of tallahassee. there the huge winds combine with 12 to 13 foot of water. by the way, i've met with the secretary of the air force today. i'm in washington going back to the panhandle. i came here for the vote on our big water bill, which is critical to florida, and the secretary of the air force knows they completely evacuated tindle facebook. from the facebook to the east all the way to apalachicola to

alligator point, they're going to get a wall of water that's going to be 12 to 13 feet above high tide. so you're talking about substantial damage combined with the wind. >> this is the worst hurricane since they started recording these mhurricanes that hit the florida panhandle. is that right? >> yes. nobody remembers a category five in the florida panhandle. it may be a hundred years ago, but we had a couple of hurricanes in the 1990s but they were category two and three in the panhandle. by the way, you can see the difference between our building codes, the old structures, even on a category two, they were just demolished right along the beach, but the new building codes, they stood up. but when you get up to 155 to

157 miles an hour, then that remind me of downtown homestead florida after hurricane andrew. when i flew over that in a helicopter, there was nothing left except the bank building and one old florida cracker house. that's what we're looking at. those winds are around 155. >> thanks so much for joining us. we'll stay in touch with you. john berman is in florida for you. we'll get back to all of our reporters right after this. place, the xfinity xfi gateway.

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simple. easy. awesome. click or visit a retail store today. hi there, i'm brooke baldwin, live here in destin, florida, where we are covering the official coverage of hurricane michael, a category four hurricane, several miles an hour shy of a hurricane five. and john berman is at panama city beach, florida, just about 20 miles to m