you've heard about the exodus. close to 6 million, largest evacuation in american history. more could be added to that as the storm knocks on the door of the sunshine state. stay with fox, we're here with you all day. >> evacuations are in place across the state. more than 5.6 million floridians have been ordered to evacuate. you need to listen, listen to local evacuation orders. if you live in an evacuation zone in southwest florida, you need to be on the road by noon or find a near shelter to avoid life threatening weather. these winds are coming. elizabeth: hurricane irma barrels toward florida as a strong category 3. the outer bands are lashing parts of south florida. leland: thousands of floridians have heeded governor rick scott's warning to get out and get out now, hoping to avoid the

fate of so many in the caribbean who lost everything. you can see just how enormous this hurricane is from space, right behind it, hurricane jose, about to bring more havoc to already hard-hit areas by irma. elizabeth: thanks for joining us. welcome to this special three-hour edition of america's news headquarters from washington. i'm elizabeth prann. leland: it's going to be a very long weekend for folks down in florida and beyond. nice to be with you, great to be with you at home. a lot of team coverage here, i'm leland vittert. we're awaiting a news conference from governor rick scott who is going to be in rare park, florida, and he's checking on preparations and already 7,000 natural guard troops called up, back to the governor in

minutes. miami beach, high winds and rain are lashing the beach. hurricane irma is 22 miles south of miami and barrelling toward the florida coast after literally flattening a number of caribbean islands. the storm has been downgraded to a category 3, but the officials warn it could restrengthen. janice dean tracking irma from the fox extreme weather center. this weakening to a category 3, is that meaningful as far as the impact or splitting hairs? >> it's splitting hairs because it did interact with cuba and made a landfall in cuba and we expect weakening once it contacts with land or water. and we're expect it go to intensify and perhaps rapidly in the next 12 to 24 hours, we could have a strengthening storm as it potentially makes landfall on the florida keys. 125 miles per hour sustained

winds, it still has its shape, it's not going to take much to bump this up again and that's why i want folks not to let your guard down just because you see a 3, still a major hurricane and this is a big storm. and look at this, expecting to strengthen in the next 12 hours, we're expecting a landfall perhaps near key west, 5 a.m., 6 a.m. tomorrow, and then perhaps another landfall as we get around the dinner time hour and then we're also going to watch this storm hug the coastline and the storm surge and the wind and the rain and watch you in georgia and parts of the tennessee river valley. and here is our best estimation right now. perhaps making landfall around key west. the worst the right side. the west coast of florida is going to see the worst of the storm in erms it of storm surge,

10 to 12 foot storm surge so you have to know your area, if you're prone to storm surge, prone to flooding you need to evacuate and do it quickly. monday still talking about this storm moving towards tampa. cedar key, tallahassee, st. augustine. hurricane warnings in effect and we'll start to see things downhill today for parts of south florida and the keys and then it's slowly going to move northward and we have a hurricane watch for parts of georgia and the coast of georgia. and the sea that the storm needs to strengthen is in place, there's nothing in the way from the storm not strengthening, okay? so it's very -- it's almost assured we're going to see a strengthening storm in the next 12 to 24 hours. when you see a strengthening storm about to make landfall, that could potentially be the worst case scenario for folks across the keys, very prone to storm surge. leland: we have been waiting for the governor to talk about the

worst case scenario and we'll wait for him to see if there are updates. up to yesterday we were talking palm beach, fort lauderdale, the east coast of florida. now 24 hours out how confident are you and how confident is the national hurricane center in this west coast track or could it shift again? >> listen, it has to make its sharp northward turn, leland and we haven't seen that yet. leland: i'm going to cut you off as we promised you, the governor has just now come out. let's listen in. >> the storm is here. hurricane irma is now impacting our state. south florida is already experiencing tropical storm force winds and nearly 25,000 people have already lost power. hurricane irma is battling south florida with dangerous winds and continues to remain a catastrophic and winds of 125 miles per hour. this is a deadly major storm and our state has never seen anything like it.

millions of areas will see hurricane impacts with deadly, deadly, deadly storm surge and life threatening winds. there's a serious threat of significant storm surge flooding, there's a serious threat of significant storm surge flooding along the entire west coast of florida and this is increased to 15 feet of impact above ground level. 15 feet of impact above ground level. think about that. 15 feet is devastating and will cover your house. in the tampa bay area, five to eight feet. the typical first story is seven to ten feet. five to eight feet. this is a life threatening situation. remember, the storm surge comes in, comes after the wind, do not think the storm is over when the

wind slows down. local officials will let you know when it's safe. the storm surge will rush in and it could kill you. here in orange county you're under a hurricane warning and will see dangerous and life threatening wind and torrential rainfall of more than a foot. the rainfall is already starting in this area and the wind will begin tonight. we could also see tornados. please take action to keep your family safe and shelter in place or find shelter now. there's a mandatory evacuation order for mobile homes in orange county. if you have been ordered to evacuate anywhere in the state, you need to leave right now. not tonight, not in an hour, now. you are running out of time to make a decision. evacuations are in place across the state, more than 6.3 million

floridians have been ordered to evacuate. you need to listen to local evacuation orders. i'm a dad and i'm a grandfather, i love my family more than anything, and i cannot imagine life without them. do not put your life or your family's life at risk. right now is the right time to do the right thing for your family. school buses are aiding in evacuations, please take advantage of the service. if you need to leave and are unable to do so for any reason at all, call 1-800-342-357-- i'm sorry 800-342-3557, and we will do everything possible to get you out. protecting life is our absolute top priority. there will be no resource, there will be no expense that will be spared to protect lives. i urge everyone to check on your neighbors, family and friends. if you know someone who is not evacuating and should, please

contact them and make sure they have a plan to get to safety. you can't wait to get out, you can't wait until the storm is here, you've got to do it now. possessions can be replaced. your house can be replaced. you and your family cannot be replaced. shelters, we have been working with counties across the state to ensure there are enough shelters. currently, there are more than 320 shelters open across every county in the path of the storm and more are opening today. more than 54,000 floridians have taken shelter and there's still room for more. if you have a building and emergency officials ask you to open a shelter, please comply. you will save somebody's life. this is so important to families seeking safety. everyone in florida needs to find a safe place to go. traffic, evacuation routes are moving, and we have stopped shoulder driving to the georgia

line, because traffic is moving. if there's a reason to reopen this, f-dot and highway safety will do this. evacuations are not meant to be convenient, they're meant to keep you safe. check real-time traffic information and evacuation routes at fl-511.com. we're working to keep gas stations fueled and filled. it will not last longer in florida because it will be unsafe to be on the roads. all fuel ports are closed for safety, following the storm state troopers will resume escorting fuel supply trucks directly to gas stations across the state. highway motor fuel tax bringing more to the state-- bringing more fuel to the state, to help us bring more fuel from neighboring states after the storm.

we know fuel is important, we're doing everything we can to get more fuel in the state. so we're prepared, every single florida guardsman who has been deployed has been deployed to respond to the storm across the state. we have so many law enforcement putting their lives at risk to get to a safe place and they will not stop until it's no longer safe. we cannot thank our guardsmen, can't thank our law enforcement, any of our first responders enough, they're putting themselves at risk to take care of everybody else. utility providers are activity pre-positioned resources throughout the state and neighboring states. we all know the importance of getting power back on. we will work aggressively with our utilities to make sure it gets back on as quickly as we can. i want to be clear, we're under a state of emergency and employees who perform vital services including health care staff, we need you to be there to help your community. and right now, florida needs

1,000 volunteer nurses to hope with our special needs shelters. if you're a nurse and you can volunteer, please e-mail at helpfl. helpfl@flhelp.gov. you can e-mail to the prior e-mail address we using. preparedness@fl help.gov. we need nurses for a special shelter. we've already received thousands of replies, this is great news, but we're acting to try to get these individuals to our shelters and we're going to need to continue to need volunteers before and after the storm. so many people across the country and across the world have called to offer their prayers and support. i want to thank the governors of the other states that provided every resource we've asked for. i know the entire country is

behind us. i've been talking to the white house pretty much every day and i've been talking to fema all the time and talked to brock long this morning, fema administrator, i talked to almost every cabinet member and they're doing everything they can to provide whatever resource they can. we have our country's best first responders ready to help us and florida will get through this. if you're in an evacuation zone you've got to go. you've got to get out now. get to a safe place. this is a catastrophic storm our state has never seen. we can rebuild your house and get your possessions again, we can't rebuild your life or your family. florida is tough, resilient and unbreakable. let's stay together and help each other. you can follow my twitter account at flgovscott for life safety messages and updates in english and spanish. florida is an amazing melting pot of so many people and i'm proud f

proud-- to be a governor of this state. [speaking spanish] [speaking spanish] >> i'll answer any questions anybody has. i have a question, at open construction projects a vital corridor through central florida and driving through there yesterday, there's so much construction and things that look like they could be

projectiles if they get hurricane strength winds. what can be done. >> sure, everybody is working there, is working to get all that off the roads before the wind starts, we're doing that across the state. anybody else? >> governor, did you give-- i know special needs shelter. do you mind giving that address. >> it's fl help@fl health.gov. let me make sure. it's dot gov. yeah, no, i'm sorry, help fl@fl health.gov. >> thank you. >> could you explain why you need-- >> we've had an unbelievable turnout of special needs,

individuals coming to special needs shelter and it started immediately when, i guess it was probably tuesday morning when i started the messaging and we started talking about where we'll open up special needs shelters. and the amount of individuals that signed up is-- it's a good number of individuals, we have a lot of volunteers, i asked for 17,000 volunteers, we have 17,000 volunteers, we're going to need more because it's going to be a devastating storm. but we need nurses at these-- the special needs shelters, so, that's why. >> in looking at this state, i know south florida is expecting to get the brunt of this, when you look at central florida, what are you most worried about? >> we're going to get rain, but it's the wind damage. if you go back and look at charlie, the impact of charlie, i mean, people think if you're on the coast, it doesn't impact you, it's just the wind damage that can come across here and let's all remember, when i was in the hospital business back

when andrew hit 25 years ago, i evacuated hospitals where i thought it was going to hit, it turned south, south into a hospital i evacuated and we had handed patients through until the windows blew in. look at charlie, charlie was supposed to come further north and it changed at the last-- both of them the last half hour or so. this storm could change and so, everybody's got to understand, you've got to constantly watch this. we have constant updates and the national hurricane center gives us really good updates at 11:00 and 5:00 and updates on top of that. but this is now, it's getting-- it's here. we're already seeing the winds in the keys. i mean, i'm so concerned about what's going to happen in the keys and how many people might not have evacuated. if we have 10 to 15 foot above land, all right, not above high tide. i mean, that's devastating. i don't know how you survive that. that's why i'm telling everybody in you're in an evacuation zone

there's no reason you should try to ride this out. i love my family and want to be with my family the rest of my life. >> and when will you open-- shelters? >> we're continuing to open more shelters. we have 320 now and constantly opening up shelters and tracking by county, where we need the shelters, but we had an example, charlotte county, they've had increased their evacuation zones and we had to shut down shelters there and we're moving those individuals north, so, because you know, until i guess last night or this morning, i guess it was this morning, they didn't think it was as far inland and charlotte county is very low. and charlie just creamed it, if you remember. >> governor, what would you say to those folks who have been watching the path and seeing that sharp west turn, on the

east coast thinking maybe i don't need to evacuate now, i might be at the beach, but it's at the other coach. >> you want to take a chance? you shouldn't take a chance. let's remember, it can turn just back as fast as it turned this way. i mean, there's no-- you know, it's what they believe the track is going to be, but just remember, yesterday the track was a little further east and the day before a little further east and so, these things move. and so, i don't want anybody to take any risk. we're doing everything we can. we have shelters you can go to. and just don't take a risk with your life, i am ooh -- i mean, there are people that love you. don't take a chance. look at it, this thing turned, if this thing turned east and not that far, and it would have a much bigger impact on the east coast. we're still getting a storm surge on the east coast, it's not as bad as the west, but the west coast down where i live, 10 to 15, for the storm surge above

ground, it's devastating. all right, thanks, everybody. elizabeth: listening live to governor rick scott. he is in winter park, orlando. he was briefing reporters there for about 20 minutes and he said, basically the storm is here. that's the first thing he said when he approached reporters. at least 25,000 people in florida have lost power and as you know, it hasn't made landfall in the united states yet. and he did make one statement there could be up to 15 feet of impact, storm surge above ground level. the national weather service says anywhere between 8 and 12 and obviously he has sources on the ground so he's basically telling folks they're in an evacuation area. now is the time to go because once the storm does make landfall and approaches closer to those coastal communities. rescue workers will not be able to go in and save you. he did also mention, obviously, they are still looking for volunteers and they're still opening shelters, and they have

about 320 shelters open at this moment. there's at least 50,000, if not more in shelters and there are at least 70 opening today. so, if you're in an evacuation area, there are resources for you to go to. one thing he did mention, that in the city of tampa, they're expecting anywhere between 5 and 8 feet of storm surge and in fact, that's where matt is. they actually closed the international-- they are closing the international airport tonight at 8:00 p.m. the mayor there has issued evacuation orders for ports of that city. so, matt, i want to bring you in and get a sense of what you're feeling as folks begin to leave there. >> well, liz, this news is terrible. if not catastrophic for the tampa area. initially it was set to hit the southern shores and veer east. there was panic on the eastern side of florida leading up to this morning when the storm

started to shift west. tampa, which thought it might not face the worst of the storm is now bracing for one of those potential eight foot storm surges, this is the emergency operations in tampa. include police, fire and public works putting their minds together and information together and bracing for a pretty hard hit from irma. i want to bring you the mayor, bob buckhorn, mr. mayor, the forecast is so different just a few hours ago, now you say this city is about to take a punch in the face. >> we are, but fortunately, we train for this. obviously, we were watching this for the week it's out there and we understand how big this is, and massive it is. we're implementing our plan earlier than we normally would, knowing the magnitude of this. so, our thoughts and prayers have been with our friends on the east coast and took a jog to the west and we realized we were ground zero. we're here and we're going to execute and have a great team here. >> how did this shift to the west change your approach, what

are you doing differently now? >> we're planning for a much higher surge and winds. this storm will blow through in the span of about four or five hours, there will be hurricane force winds, we expect trees to be down, probably some property damage, but then on early monday morning is when the surge would occur, and unfortunately, it's combined at the same time with the high tide. so, we would experience a higher surge than we normally would in these circumstances and as we know, it's the surge in low lying area that causes the most of the damage and loss of life. so, we've evacuated those low lying areas and my family has evacuated and we're doing the best we can to get people out of harm's way knowing full well that we may have to come and get some of them at some point. >> mr. mayor, have you ever prepared for a storm this have magnitude? >> i don't think anybody has. it's bigger than anything we've seen before. we train hard and we live in a

florida and it's part of our daily existence. we train from this. we learn from katrina, from harvey from every storm. now is the time to execute and now people are counting on us and we have to do what we've trained to do. >> thank you for your time. liz, i'm send it back to you guys. elizabeth: matt, if you can hear me, one quick question, we've watched you work tirelessly in the coastal communities and most of texas and houston. what is the sense? are you getting the sentence that people are not hunkering down and they're out of there? >> well, we were just at a hospital 45 minutes south of here and that hospital was evacuated for the first time in its 65-year history. the hotel that we were initially staying at here in the tampa area is also now evacuating, so, it seems like people are heeding these warnings. we initially landed in tampa yesterday, and then as the storm started to head towards the east, we started to follow it towards the east, we were up in the jacksonville area and then we immediately got the warning to head back west, so now it

seems there's a greater sentence of urgency in this tampa area, that it's very prone to the storm surges, liz. elizabeth: all right. very prone. thank you so much, hang in there and stay safe. leland: you just heard from the governor. the storm is here, especially in places like miami beach. phil, the governor made the point the time to evacuate is now, it's not in some places already past. we had your live camera up a while ago, still a lot of looky-loos, people seeing what selfies they could take. are these people riding out the storm? what's going on out there? >> with mandatory evacuation went in effect on wednesday, not everybody left. wednesday, thursday, friday morning, a lot of people left. we were in south beach yesterday, ghost town for the most part. there were a smattering of people who rode it out and by the afternoon, that westwardly

trek of the center of the storm started happening and so this morning, as that continued, people are really staying here, are kind of feeling a sense of relief, that's not so wise and i'll explain why. the tropical storm winds and the bands of rain have been increasing, coming in waves. you know, it comes in and it breaks, it comes in. you can see how strong the surf is now churning. very dangerous for rip currents. storm surge still in effect, a warning for much of southeastern florida, wrapping all around from the keys and then up the west coast of florida on the gulf of mexico, which obviously now is in the far more serious situation. but still, miami-dade county is going to get wind impact, possibly category 1 and storm surge as well. at a last hour briefing by the miami-dade county center,

senator marco rubio was there and he told everybody, do not take this lightly at this point. >> a tropical storm wind, which we are projected with great certainty to be impacted by, those are serious winds, that stuff blows off tiles, knocks down trees, don't be the guy that gets killed bid tree? every year we have the guy standing around and the tree falls on their head. don't be the guy or gal that gets killed by the tree. >> of course, yesterday, up in davy, florida, that's in broward county north of where we are, we had our first irma related fatality and that was a guy who was 15 feet up on a ladder trying to put shutters up on a second floor window, lost his balance and fell down and tragically passed away. if you haven't put up shutters yet and plywood, with winds like this, it's too late. and so, that's the word for all of the people on florida's west coast right now, especially in the tampa, sarasota region. if you've got some down time and

the winds aren't that bad right now and get out and finish putting up your shutters. for most of the week, it was about the center and eye of the storm going up through miami, fort lauderdale, west palm beach, up to daytona and jacksonville and suddenly the west coast of the state is looking to have the exact same effect of the eye going up the west coastline, bouncing north. so, friends of my wife, who have three little kids, they drove and evacuated to tampa several days ago. now, they are packing out of their hotel room to get back in their car and drive back to miami. now that they see this threat has turned far more serious for florida's west coast. the east coast still going to get tropical storm impact, and the winds currently in miami-dade county 45 to 55 miles per hour. leland, back to you. leland: a lot of concern about those construction cranes that dot the miami skyline there. phil keating in miami on miami

beach, we'll see you when your friends and compatriots decide to head in. elizabeth: as you know, thousands of floridians are dealing with gas shortages as hurricane irma heads away. and further north, officials in georgia are not taking any chances when it comes to irma's possible track. there's a state of emergency in counties and communities and we find jonathan in savannah. >> i'm at the savannah civic center they're using as a staging area for evacuees. these are people who don't own vehicles or too elderly or infirm to drive themselves to higher ground. the buses are taking them away from the coast and people here taking evacuation notices very seriously. take a look at this video, today, the state highway authorities have reversed the eastbound lanes of i-16 for

those wanting to leave the coast. emergency management have been calling for evacuations, over the causeways above sea level, that makes them accountable it weather conditions. >> with the high tide, water gets over the roadway, it's not safe to travel over the flooded roadways. we' have added a few extra hour in for everybody to get out in time. >> on the island, residents have been shoring up home and businesses, and many are leaving. a few business owners are remaining on the island to serve them. the founder of an atlanta-based company that consults people how to survive disaster, says that self-reliance is key. >> the government and first responders on the ground are

going to be focusing on search and rescue, life saving measures. they don't have a lot of experience on the infrastructure and businesses running. businesses are almost their own fema during disaster, they need to have a plan and great communication policies and roles and responsibilities. >> yeah, and the concern is not just here on the georgia coast, but based on the storm's path, as far north as atlanta. areas like that could cover heavy wind damage and downed trees, you have the trees in the atlanta area that could block roadways and knock out power for several days and so the entire state of georgia is taking the storm very seriously. elizabeth. >> all right, jonathan serrie reporting live. thank you so much. >> hurricane irma has caused a nasty evacuation, on the road is griff jenkins, headed from

naples. a new bulls eye from the storm. >> that's right, we're headed west on i-75, also known as alligator alley headed right to the dark clouds and that's where irma has been. we've got that coming up next. poor mouth breather. allergies? stuffy nose? can't sleep? take that. a breathe right nasal strip instantly opens your nose up to 38% more than allergy medicine alone. shut your mouth and say goodnight, mouthbreathers. breathe right. i expect a lifetime guarantee. and so should you. on struts, brakes, shocks. does he turn everything to gold? not everything. at midas we're always a touch better. book an appointment at midas.com 'saved money on motorcycle insurance with geico. goin' up the country. later, gary' i have a motorcycle! wonderful. ♪

♪ i'm goin' up the country, baby don't you wanna go? ♪ ♪ i'm goin' up the country, baby don't you wanna go? ♪ geico motorcycle, great rates for great rides. tais really quite simple.est it comes in the mail, you pull out the tube and you spit in it, which is something southern girls are taught you're not supposed to do. you seal it and send it back and then you wait for your results. it's that simple. you don't let anything lkeep you sidelined. come on! that's why you drink ensure. with 9 grams of protein, and 26 vitamins and minerals... for the strength and energy, to get back to doing what you love. ensure, always be you.

>> millions of people in florida, as you know, has known for days that hurricane irma is headed its way. the category 3 storm will make the long-awaited turn toward the state. and it's putting places such as naples and fort meyers and tampa in more danger than thought. griff jenkins is headed there. are people out and about? >> let me show you, this is i-75. as you know, having been in a florida for a time, alligator alley goes east to west across the state of florida in the southern part and it's literally empty. this road was the main

evacuation route just days ago. now nobody travelling as we head into bad weather and irma headed, obviously, for that west coast. we've been in touch, as we've been driving, elizabeth, moments ago, with the mayor, mayor bill barnett of naples and he says, we have been prepping for this storm for the last week and many of our residents have taken advantage of early evacuation. the city of naples is under mandatory evacuation and the biggest concern is the projected storm surge by this time, evacuation is out of the question. and to-- >> okay, it looks like-- >> possible that storm surge certainly an important part of the story. elizabeth. elizabeth: yeah, griff, i tell you i've been down alligator alley, and i've never seen it that way. and if you told me earlier you would have seen cars going eastbound, talk to you later in the show. leland: so many people thought they would be safe on the east

west side and now headed east. and the bullseye naples through fort myers, congressman, appreciate you being here. first point, as we've watched this track from bullseye palm beach to bullseye naples, the time to get ready is going down significantly. the track shift happened yesterday morning. was it enough time to get ready in naples? >> it should be. if you've been listening to what the governor has been saying and the emergency operations centers and fema has been saying, naples has been preparing all week. we've been in constant contact with the first responders and the emergency operations center since earlier in the week when we saw this headed generally for florida and to make sure that people realize these things have a mind of their own and you can't just say it's going to hit miami. look what's happening right now. leland: we've seen the mind of its own before, with charlie,

certainly we saw it jogged and cut across the state. for folks not from florida, explain to us when people keep talking about storm surge, storm surge, storm surge, what does that mean? >> well, that's the rising water above the average knee high water that comes from high wind comes across a stretch across the ocean. and when you have storm surges of double digits, you're going to have a lot of property damage and people could be swept off the roads and even swept through their house. people don't realize, it takes not much more than a foot of water to wipe a car off the road. leland: we saw that with hurricane harvey. it was not the wind damage, it was-- live pictures from miami beach, you're seeing tropical storm force wind for miami beach. stronger, certainly, in naples. folks you've talked to in names, are people there heeding the

evacuation warnings? have people been able to get out? we've heard from phil keating so many people had gone to naples to try to escape the storm from miami. >> that's true. ironically we heard of people coming to naples to get out of miami. everyone we talked to and encountered that my staff encountered and in washington and southwest florida have been very serious, taking the governor's advice seriously and is have been preparing their property and getting out of the low-lying areas. >>. leland: well, it's worth noting you're here in washington d.c. with us, as soon as the weather clears you're flying back down with relief supplies back into some of the hardest hit areas. do you get the feeling that the sheriff's departments and for that matter the national guard that the governor has called up, perhaps are better prepared than what we saw in harvey, that there are more federal resources activated and assets moved forward? >> i can't speak to how texas

operates, but i can tell you storm response is a very important competency of all leadership in florida and we saw that back in governor bush's day and with charlie and andrew and now we'll see it again. governor scott has been out front, and fema supplying materials across the area to cut the travel time down. they're going to make the best of a very difficult situation. leland: we've already heard dozens of helicopters on standby for rescues. the salvation army pre positioning kitchens. and we'll watch the sky in the next hours and see where it finally makes landfall. congressman, thanks for being with us. we'll check with you the next couple of days as you head south. >> thank you very much for having me. leland: liz. elizabeth: well, as you know, hurricane irma has caused a deadly path, killing at least 20 people already. you're looking at daytona beach

live. the storm is kicking up. it's making its way to florida. we'll get the latest from the national hurricane center. stay close.

to folks everywhere whose diabetic... ...nerve pain shoots and burns its way into your day... ...i hear you. when that pain makes simple errands simply unbearable... ...i hear you. i hear you because my dad struggled with this pain. make sure your doctor hears you too. so folks, don't wait. step on up. and talk to your doctor.

because you have places to go... ...and people who can't wait for you to get there. if you have diabetes and burning, shooting pain in your feet or hands... step on up and talk to your doctor today.

i enjoy the fresher things in life.o. fresh towels. fresh soaps. and of course, tripadvisor's freshest, lowest... ...prices. so if you're anything like me... ...you'll want to check tripadvisor. we now instantly compare prices... ...from over 200 booking sites...

...to find you the lowest price... ...on the hotel you want. go on, try something fresh. tripadvisor. the latest reviews. the lowest prices. >> when hurricane irma barrels toward florida the entire state is watching the storm's path. and dr. mark demaria, the acting director at the national hurricane center in miami. thank you for joining us. everyone is asking is there an update on the path, more of a westerly direction or still hovering over cuba? >> what we're seeing right now from the satellite image right here is that irma has been skirting the north coast of cuba, but it looks like at this point it's starting to emerge off the coast so it looks like it's starting to begin the more northward turn we've been anticipating the past couple of days. elizabeth: we usually ask you

about the different quadrants of the storm. what are you concerned about, the storm surge or the wind up to 140, 150 miles per hour? >> we're concerned about both issues. we feel that the storm surge and wind is going to be an issue there with a possible category 4 winds and southwest florida in particular is vulnerable to storm surge. the system, they have a little bit more time today and into tonight, but we're anticipating a storm surge of 10 to 15 feet there, in addition to having category 4 winds. so, people there really need to take action right now. elizabeth: a lot of folks are saying, listen, it's changed once, we were expecting miami to take the brunt of the storm. is there a possibility it could change again and a possibility that the northern turn may not be sharp or it could be sharper? >> there's somewhat of a chance of that, but now we're in the 24 to 36 hour time friem--

time frame is little more certain. we could get more on the east coast, but we feel that the track is not going to change enough to change the conditions much, particularly in southwest florida. elizabeth: before i let you go, i assume that folks on east coast should not be complacent? >> no, we have hurricane warnings for the entire east coast of florida as well. elizabeth: thank you, sir, we appreciate that update and we'll check with you later in the show, thank you. leland: and the doctor just talked about hurricane irma being felt in key west. already they've lost power in key largo. president trump spending a weekend working with camp david and they'll be watching hurricane irma closely. just about an hour ago, the president tweeted out a white house twitter list for people to follow to get updates. a little bit more on reaction from the white house, and the cabinet response and the military response when we come back. what was the worst thing you saw?

don't you get lonely? have you ever killed anybody? ♪

what did you think when i asked you these questions? i had never met anybody from the navy that's why i was, like, asking you all kinds of questions. yeah. i honestly didn't know what the marines did. everybody's experience is unique. you got musicians, you have cooks, you have admin people. ♪ i just think people should be more open minded. just get to know the person. ♪

>> well, a lot of you at home, the white house is watching the developments with irma. and i want to bring in the columnist. >> and happy to be here. elizabeth: i want to look at the

administration, what did they do right. >> the response to harvey was widely praised even for people who aren't necessarily big fans. president. i think he showed concern, and i think he showed focus and i think he showed compassion during the times he visited texas so if he continues that, from a political standpoint that will be fine. elizabeth: expectations are high. he has to keep this up. does that mean we see him go to florida and aid, and we saw on friday, the aid is not exclusive to texas. >> no, it can be used in the consequence of hurricane irma. i think that we will probably expect to see him visit florida at some point, but it will be the same calculus as we saw in texas. he wants to go there, i assume, he want to show his compassion for the people, but he doesn't want to go so soon as to distract from any emergency efforts. elizabeth: what tightrope is he walking? and with his cabinet--

politics as usual, it's still happening. how does he balance these two forces? >> the white house has been stressing he's constantly monitoring hurricane irma and briefed all the time and at camp david, and a filled cabinet meantime, and obviously, irma will be discussed, but things like tax reform and other things on the president's legislative agenda. i actually think in general, one of the big challenges of being president for anyone is to deal with a huge story, huge event with irma and the other things. elizabeth: he does have to continue, like we said, tax reform, these things have to get done and we're speaking about how this could take the oxygen out of the room. so, but he has to be sensitive as the week approaches? >> yeah, that's right, you can't seem out of step with the mood of the nation, but at the same time the president is never only about dealing with one thing. i think that's the complexity of it. that's the calculus that you

have to deal with if you're in the white house. elizabeth: miles, thank you for joining us, we appreciate having you on. leland: a million people in florida have been preparing for the worst and they're waiting for irma to hit the state with punishing winds and rains. and phil keating in miami beach as the wind is starting to kick up. hi, phil. >> hi, leland. we're in another band beginning now of some serious heavy winds and rain and the county operations center, the emergency eoc, they say 45 to 50 miles per hour wind are slamming the county right now and miami beach announced a curfew goes into effect at 8 p.m. tonight. i'll have more details coming up. boost. it's about moving forward, not back. it's looking up, not down.

it's being in motion. in body, in spirit, in the now. boost® high protein it's intelligent nutrition with 15 grams of protein and 26 vitamins and minerals. for when you need a little extra. boost® the number one high protein complete nutritional drink. be up for it

>> millions will see impact with deadly storm surge and life-threatening winds. >> a hurricane irma ready to make unwelcome american debut. time to evacuate or hunker down. only expect today strengthen before it makes landfall in the u.s. >> a number of floridans, millions of them making quick exit just in time taking loved ones and pray erstwhile heading north. the economic impact on the region and the country will last

for a very long time. >> from the keys to the panhandle and gulf coast and atlantic coast, we have it all atlantic coast, we have it all welcome to the coverage as hurricane gets closer to the united states. >> there's a few hours where everybody just sort of looks out and see it is clouds coming in and that is what is coming. i'm leland vittert. tens of thousands of people have left for safe for ground and others have not heeded the warnings and chosen to ride the storm out at home. one of the very few left on miami beach phil keaton where we

find the wind is starting to pick up. an hour there were people on the beach, they just couldn't heed any of the warnings that were given to them, have those folks left or still there. >> no, they left thanks due in large part because we have another one of those rain bands and went back to houses, clearly, they did not follow the mandatory evacuation order, a number of people did not do that in miami beach, most did leave over the past three days, but as of tonight, just announced by city leaders in miami beach, there will be an 8:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. curfew. nobody allowed in the streets whatsoever. at 4:00 o'clock this afternoon, curfew goes into effect for broward county, palm beach county goes into effect at 3:00 o'clock today. take a look at the surf, it's churning, stronger, bigger days as the waves have progressed from when we got here this

morning, very treacherous, very dangerous, rift currents, the biggest threat to pull somebody under and drown them. people do drown in ocean conditions like this, the beach is officially being closed now for three days, the life guards were on the beach friday and saturday yelling at people to get off the beach and rounding them up, well, today basically very few people are working, everyone thought the worst of the storm was going to be smashing into miami-dade county on today as well as tomorrow. so no stores are open, everything is plywooded up, shuttered up and at this point, 55 -- 45 to 55-miles-per-hour winds according to county are now racing in parts of miami-dade county. in fact, in key west, 56-miles-per-hour wind was reported in the last hour and those we all know are really going to start to continue as the eye of the storm eventually makes the northward storm starts

impacts the coastal keys. a lot of people nervous, i know friends that stayed there and did not evacuate. they were thinking about evacuating this morning and they figured it's probably too late, too dangerous of the drive to get out of monroe county. all of those residents who thought would be a lot safer, they are taking things a lot more dire right now. >> yeah, for sure. phil keaton in mohammed, -- miami beach, a lot of people got cold feet and figured it was too late. thanks to you and your crew down there. >> all right, thanks. >> one of the biggest questions, where exactly where the eye of the storm make landfall and what differences does it make with the storm of magnitude as forecasters say the storm will slam the keys and move up florida's west coast.

troking storm movement from fox extreme weather center, janice, i have a question for you, first and foremost i was looking at twitter page and we saw tornadoes at least watches associated with this storm, but i also want to get your opinion when we hear that it's a category 3, really does that make a difference at all in this point? >> no, i want to stress that we -- it weakened a little bit because it went over land. lost fuel, but look at the last few frames of the satellite imagery. look at how well defined the eye is right now. that's a strengthening storm and the national hurricane center is saying we are going to go up to category 4 yet again. just a brief moment of weakening and now we have very warm water, 90-degree bath water for this storm to strengthen over the next 12 hours and if we are dealing with strengthening storm as it makes landfall, that's going to bump up a lot. pump up the storm surge and certainly the winds and the heavy rainfall at the right front quadrant of the storm

brings the worst conditions so across the keys and west coast of florida, you need to be finalizing your preparations because the storm is coming. it has made, it started to make northward turn. as we go further out in time, there's category 4 storm right on the door storm of key west tomorrow morning and perhaps making another landfall around the naples area at 7:00 p.m. and then up towards the big bend of florida on tuesday, finally moving toward the tennessee river valley but we are still dealing with major hurricane monday and tuesday off the coast of florida. tornado threat, liz mention aced that, we have potential for tornadoes as this storm continues to crawl up the coast of florida. so the whole state of florida is going to possibly be under tornado watch for the next 48 to 72 hours, tornado threat there. no tornado warned storms right now and we will certainly keep an eye on it. let's break it down. reliable forecast models possibly making landfall around

9:00 p.m., 10:00 a.m. sunday and up to fort myers, the noter east side of the storm, the worst of the storm surge, the worst for the winds, if we are dealing with category 4 storm, upwards of 130, 140-miles-per-hour winds sustained, that's going to cause some major problems and potentially a catastrophe, storm surge, that is the number one killer when it comes to landfalling hurricanes and in that case, we are going to see storm surge in some cases 10 to 15 feet and the north and east side of the storm makes landfall, very dangerous and low-lying, 12 will understood understoodate the areas. that's why we are so concerned. naples 122-miles-per-hour winds

on sunday at it scrapes on the coast. sunday, 100 miles per hour in cedar keys. this is no joke. we are expecting a landfall of a very strong category 4 storm. the west coast of florida, they haven't experienced something like this and in some cases for a century. forecast rainfall easily 10 to 12 isolated inches in upwards of 15-inches. it's not about the rainfall, harvey certainly was. it was about the storm surge. you've got very low-lying areas and the wind gust, 140-50-miles-per-hour sustained winds if we have landfall of a category 4. the worst side of the storm for the west coast of florida. and then we will be dealing with

the potential for tropical storm forced winds parts of georgia, unfortunately for the next several days and you can see the forecasts, hurricane forced winds for much of the strait of florida through monday and tuesday. liz, back to you. >> janice dean with the very latest, thank you so much. >> as we saw with phil keaton. irma outer bands are hitting some parts of southern florida, a few more hours of preparation available a little bit north. that's where we find former arkansas governor mike huckabee in santa rosa beach, florida right now. it sure looks beautiful behind you, sir, portrays, i guess, or danger coming, you've been through disasters and the storms before as governor, what is going through rick scott's mind right now.

>> let me say i don't know who could have handled it better than rick scott. what he is doing is not only reacting to what is happening, but he's preparing for what could happen and he's done a masterful job of helping people to understand the danger of the storm, giving very specific introduction -- instructions. prestageed it so they don't try to figure out those resources to people, they're already in place he is completely on top. even in janice's report just now, broi, have i ever been tuned into janice dean in the last few days, the fact is this storm is unpredictable. it has changed in the past six hours, leland, looked like we

were out of it. we saw changes here on the gulf coast in the florida panhandle just in the past few hours in terms of now having tropical storm warningings that are potentially headed our way. we just don't know. i think right now everybody in our neighborhood is saying, we better prepare, not necessarily for hurricane but for tropical storm. >> a lot that needs to be done. what's the balance here between giving people information, telling them what might happen, worst case scenario and at the same time not scaring them because in the past we have heard warnings like this that had been this dire and then it turns out thankfully that they were a little bit much. >> let me be blunt, it's a whole lot better to have people afraid and reacting to what might

happen then to make have some fish dead bodies. that's the worst scenario. it's not to have people frightened enough. the next time something happens, yeah, i remember before, when i think janice was talk about the storm surge, i could not focus more upon that because really the big danger, body of water moving at 10 miles an hour has the force of a 240-miles-per-hour wind. you might be able to withstand wind. you cannot withstand any amount of water, that's why people die in them than any other natural disaster. that's why frankly right now a bigger threat to the panhandle of florida in the area of bay,

counties where we live. that water comes up. one of the things, leland, the water is very shallow just off the coast. that means that when those waves start coming, they're coming on up. >> yeah. all right, governor, stay safe down there. we know the picture behind you is going to change, our thoughts and prayers with you and your wife as well. we will be checking in back with you, sir. >> thanks, leland. >> thank you, liz. >> hurricane irma as you know is the biggest story in the news right now. should come as no surprise that people are taking social media to post content of just how powerful the storm is. laura ingel with images that we are just getting in. >> one of the fastest andassiest ways for people who are waiting for a disaster or who have lived through one to share what they are going through with the rest of us. hurricane irma is proving to be one monster of a machine on all

social media forms. take a look at some of this. we saw this video showing impact of irma as hit home, windows are blasted out, you can see winds at high speed. both under water, scattered and smashed. then in cuba where irma made landfall last night or you're seeing posts like this one showing wild wings blasting residents causing amounts of damage, irma was category 5 before it slowed down as it moved along. residents of florida continue to evacuate, they are posting pictures of hurricane preps online as well, on facebook, floridans like ed who lives in north bay valley, miami beach, check out what he did. wrapped up his bed, kitchen, belongs, plastics before get to go higher grounds. his windows are blown out there and fema getting on the action,

launching app, this shows weather alerts, how you should prepare, where shelters are and where you can share your disaster photo. fema launching a rumor control page on its website to help people navigate some of the missed information that are out there and there are a lot of them. social media definitely a big part of the story, the governor of florida has been tweeting out emergency messages and comcast also using social media to let people know where their free wi-fi spots are. we would like to see photos, you can send them through twitter, we will look for those and get them on the air for you, elizabeth. >> i can't imagine what it's going to look like tomorrow and monday. we will see as the storm progresses, thank you so much. >> hurricane harvey we saw social media to try to ask for help when 911 was overwhelmed. hopefully it doesn't get to that. in florida as when i irma's trak shifted west, people went from a place people sought refuge where a city in bulls eye, boy, matt,

as i look behind you, you can't help how close tampa bay is when it's completely calm to oh come dock you're on, just imagine what a 10-foot storm surge does. >> leland the water is about a foot or 2 beneath me in this dock. he says this storm will definitely increase the water hike here by 3 to 5 feet and when we've heard the governor say that the storm surge could bring the water up by 15 feet. there's some tragic and terrible news here in tampa recently because for a while leading up to last night the understanding and the forecasters showing that irma would hit the southern portion and go up the east coast and now made significant turn to west, tampa could be directly in the line of sight for this storm. we could see 15-foot storm surge. if you look behind the convention center, if we get the

storm surge, the water could end up on top of those stairs with the blue banister, imagine how high that is. here is more of what the fire chief had to say. >> with respect to what we are looking at, anywhere from 10 to 15 feet. everything here, all the conditions to include our convention center and infrastructure. 13 feet of water rise, significant and horrific for the tampa bay community. leland we heard from the governor if you haven't left from now, it's too late. unfortunately as we walk around, we still see people here biking, people running, maybe they are just being notorious floridan who is are going to ignore the warnings, leland. >> it happens every storm and noteworthy every storm. there's people that emergency

responders can't get to when things get really bad. matt finn there on a beautiful saturday afternoon in tampa that will change in the next 24 hours, thanks, matt. >> david, thank you so much for joining us, i understand that you're near fort lauderdale; is that correct? >> okay, so you're hunkering down, a landscape of state of florida, the storm seems to be shifting a little bit, does that mean that more resources being out of the state.

>> so the resources are going to have to state path right now, the problem is it's moving south right up the state. >> right. >> fema has staged up orlando and also staged up in georgia and surrounding states to move after the storm passes. >> we heard officials, governor say once the storm makes landfall, people have to fend for themselves. what i'm curious what happens immediately after the storm passes, how do does fema spring into action along side first responders as well. >> yes, first responders and first thing to do is clear the roads. there will be debris and they can't get through n. hurricane

andrew couldn't get from ab. they'll be right there with you. they are located in the operation centers. as soon as those what those needs are they are move in supplies. liz: you know, that's what i wanted to ask you. >> there's so many resources as you mentioned wait to go get deployed. >> i-95 and specifically i-75 going to western part of the state, that travels north to south or south to north dpengd on how you look at it, they could be seeing huge challenges as resources try to come down. >> that was no question about it, great observation, that's actually what's going to happen. there are supplies here. don't forget the locals have

supplies, fema has moved supplies in. what we changed our philosophy in katrina instead of waiting for the local community before state steps in, wait for the state before the federal government steps in, we convinced president bush to allow us to do a disaster declaration prior to landfall, so any damage, we did disaster declaration, that allowed fema to spend money in disaster relief fund to move supplies early and craig did extended example and brock long, new fema administrator is using the same philosophy. there's a lot of stuff here. that's why we tell people, you have to have -- be on your own for 3 to 5 days. >> we appreciate it, thoughts and prayers over the weekend. thank you. >> up next how the american military is already ready for the aftermath of irma as irma

grinds ever closer to florida and continues to strengthen, we can't forget about the victims of hurricane harvey, will carl in texas as the recovery there begins. >> hello, leland, more than 2,000 homes damaged in the flood, many now unhabitable, we will have live report on recovery efforts coming up next

a trip back to the dthe doctor's office, mean just for a shot. but why go back there, when you can stay home...

...with neulasta onpro? strong chemo can put you at risk of serious infection. neulasta helps reduce infection risk by boosting your white blood cell count, which strengthens your immune system. in a key study, neulasta reduced the risk of infection from 17% to 1%... ...a 94% decrease. applied the day of chemo, neulasta onpro is designed to deliver neulasta the next day. neulasta is for certain cancer patients receiving strong chemotherapy. do not take neulasta if you're allergic to neulasta or neupogen (filgrastim). ruptured spleen, sometimes fatal as well as serious lung problems, allergic reactions, kidney injuries, and capillary leak syndrome have occurred. report abdominal or shoulder tip pain, trouble breathing or allergic reactions to your doctor right away. in patients with sickle cell disorders, serious, sometimes fatal crises can occur. the most common side effect is bone and muscle ache. so why go back there? if you'd rather be home, ask your doctor about neulasta onpro.

this neighborhood they heard what happened, they very washing utensils and last night we really saw this community start to recover. they came together, they were surrounded by all of this destruction and debris and they had a block party, they had a mariachi band, singing, dancing, laughing, there were some tears that were shed but an pample of how strong the community and this city has been after hurricane harvey swept through this area almost two weeks ago and i will leave you with own ore story, they have a donation box at the end of this block where neighbors can walk up and put any cash that they have in the box, yesterday i saw one woman show up, her house had 5 feet of flood water inside and she dropped a hundred dollars in there and was reminder to me that this neighborhood may have been destruct i have to a

certain extent but the communities stronger than ever. >> those are texans for you. we won't forget about them. thank you so much. appreciate it. >> fears of what happened to homes in houston and a lot of folks decide to ride out the storm instead. dave who is staying in his home in marco island, if you're wondering where marco island is, it's right in the line basically where irma goes 4 to 3 and now dave, how are you preparing for this? >> well, i've obviously layed in all the necessary supply, prepared the exterior of the home to ensure there's no loose objects around. the house is secured when we

built the house six years ago, we built it, hopefully withstand something like this. >> for our viewers who have been seeing governor scott, get out and get out now, in a very real level if things go upside down there's going to be people who are going to have to put their lives on the line be it first responders to come save you and they will do that if you call 9-1-1, what's your answer to the people that are saying why, why are you staying? >> actually that's incorrect, they won't come to me because i'm under a mandatory evacuation so first responders and god bless them, they are doing a fantastic job will not answer those calls. >> we do know that they've -- at times they say they won't come out. are you worried about that, are you worried being on your own, why did you decide to stay? >> i felt comfortable staying.

i think i'm prepared for it. >> are you worried about looters at all and folks coming through afterwards trying to take advantage of this? >> not really. we live in a very small community and we have a fine police force and i'm not at all concerned about that. >> we have picture on the screen on some of the damage it has done in st. marteen and in the caribbean. don't know whether that's going to happen in marco island or not. the thing that we keep hearing over and over again from the governor and others is about the storm surge and marco island of any place extraordinarily vulnerable to that because number of canals, 10 to 12-foot

storms. >> 10 or 12 storm surge would probably take out my -- my blow-out walls in the first level which when you build close to gulf as we built, you're not allowed to improve that level other than your foyer to your home, so consequently we would obviously have flooding damage on the first level. >> do you have flood insurance? >> of course, we have flood insurance. beyond that, the house is above that level. above 12-foot level. >> we are going to try to get that up for our viewers to show them what you have to deal with but we don't have it ready yet, dave, i'm assuming, are you talking to us by cell phone or landline. >> i'm talking on a landline. we will check with you tomorrow and see how the storm is going for you. >> very good. >> god speed and stay safe, sir.

>> thank you. >> all right, liz. >> we will be thinking about dave. meanwhile a 15 billion-dollar disaster relief package has been sign intoed law by the president but it's got some big strings attached and republicans are saying they are feeling burned. we will get update on big fight brewing on capitol hill. we all know it as the happiest place on earth that makes rare decision as hurricane irma threatens, is it close? >> central florida is a tourism hot spot. i will tell you how theme parks and attractions are preparing for irma.

i wanted to know where my family came from. i did my ancestrydna. the most shocking result was that i'm 26% native american. i had no idea. it's opened up a whole new world for me. ♪

you don't let anything lkeep you sidelined. come on! that's why you drink ensure. with 9 grams of protein, and 26 vitamins and minerals... for the strength and energy, to get back to doing what you love. ensure, always be you.

>> closely monitoring hurricane irma after it makes landfall the storm will likely march up the state eventually affecting

places in central florida such as orlando, that's where we find lauren who is live outside of disney world, hi, lauren. >> yeah, hey, liz, you can tell folks have start today head out of town here even though it's still busy, it's not the usual orlando traffic that you find outside of disney world and we found out the park is shutting down today, only fifth time in history that it's doing so. house of mouse is shutting down transportation as of 8:00 p.m., the resort hotels will remain open though unlimited services, disney says it will remain close on tuesday and over at universal studios they are also closing tonight at 7:00 p.m., staying close till tuesday, conditions permitting and at sea world they want everyone to know that they have a hurricane plan to take care of the animals but will be shutting down the park starting in just a few hours and are staying closed until tuesday, now the latest number showers

mated 6.3 million people are under mandatory or voluntary evacuations in florida, now according to orlando tourism sites on any given days, there are 400,000 tourists in this area, now there are thousands stranded in airports all around the state as flights are canceled and here in orlando their vacations have been interrupted by the storm and one french couple that i was speaking to, said they were stuck here 2 to 4 days trying to figure out what to do with their time because irma is quickly approaching this area and folks are starting to hunker down, liz. >> thank you so much. appreciate it, stay safe. >> president trump and his full cabinet are meeting at camp david this weekend. he's going to get a full briefing on irma and the federal response from acting dhs secretary at the top of the hour. let's bring in aliana johnson, national political reporter for

politico. >> you have to imagine one of the things the cabinet will be talk about is the deal that the president made in the last couple of dais and signed when we got on friday, objections of his treasury secretary. >> i was going to say, i have to wonder if they are -- if steve mnuchin is going to be weighing in on that in front of full cabinet. >> we heard he weighed in the oval office, whether or not he continues his objections, we will see if we get reporting. i doubt that will be in the read-out, big picture, though, you have hurricane harvey pictures, now, you have hurricane irma coming. in times like these to make these kinds of deal that before may have had a different impact. >> i don't really think so, i think the president is under the microsoft right now. he performed pretty well but was extremely engaged particularly for this president with

hurricane harvey and he appears to be tremendously engaged in the preparations for the next hurricane hitting florida, the other thing i think is interesting is that this cabinet meeting at camp david is really a retreat is taking place right now. it's reflective of the fact that general kelly, the new chief of staff, feels the cabinet has been underutilized and he's really trying like companies do, bonding exercises, this is not just a cabinet meeting but also a bonding exercise for the president and his cabinet, he's pushing the president to rely on his cabinet members more and so it will be interesting to see if we see that happen more often going forward. >> one would imagine there won't be get to know you ropes, courses, bonding experiences at camp david other than the beautiful scenario out there. watching video just so viewers understand from a couple of weeks ago from when president trump went down to meet with victims of hurricane harvey there at the shelter in houston

greeting some of the kids as well, so you say president trump is under a microscope n some ways and we are seeing the administration sort of put this narrative out there that disaster response, the kinds of large big presidential moments play pretty well into the president's strength. he can act as competent -- executive and he does exactly what he tells them to do, he has a great relationship with both rick scott and obviously with greg abbott, the governor of texas, and he seems to embrace that role as the commander in chief, the comforter in chief. he's relatively strong made for tv moments, his weakness is being i would say the comforter in chief and showing empathy in a big moments like this. that's where we have seen him struggle and plays to the cameras and does relatively good

job and what people tend to miss in these things, the president can't do all of that much, these are really, the president is going to florida or to texas earlier, they really are television moments and reassurances to the state and to the country that he's active and present, but they're not all that much more than that. >> well, also a chance for him to see devastation firsthand and for him to show support for first responders, for him to have the moment that is we saw with those kids and interact with people as well. thank you very much for insights, a lot of more political reporting. now we have the deal on hurricane harvey relief, we will see if there's going to be a deal for hurricane irma relief coming up. thanks so much. liz. liz: although irma's track has shifted towards the west,

there's still plenty of concern in southeast florida. after the break, we will speak with mayor of miami keys as heavy winds begin to lash the city. ♪ if you have bad breath and your mouth lacks moisture, you may suffer from dry mouth. try biotène®, the #1 dentist recommended dry mouth brand. it's the only leading brand clinically proven to soothe, moisturize, and freshen breath. try biotène®.

try biotène®. we, the people, are tired of being surprised with extra monthly fees. we want hd. and every box and dvr. all included. because we don't like surprises. yeah. like changing up the celebrity at the end to someone more handsome. and talented. really. and british. switch from cable to directv. get 4 rooms with hd, dvr, and every box included for $25 a month. call 1-800-directv.

(woman) there's a moment of truth.etes, and now with victoza®, a better moment of proof. victoza® lowers my a1c and blood sugar better than the leading branded pill, which didn't get me to my goal. lowers my a1c better than the leading branded injectable. the one i used to take. victoza® lowers blood sugar in three ways. and while it isn't for weight loss, victoza® may help you lose some weight. non-insulin victoza® comes in a pen and is taken once a day. (announcer) victoza® is not recommended as the first medication to treat diabetes and is not for people with type 1 diabetes or diabetic ketoacidosis. do not take victoza® if you have a personal or family history of medullary thyroid cancer, multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2,

or if you are allergic to victoza® or any of its ingredients. stop taking victoza® and call your doctor right away if you get a lump or swelling in your neck or if you develop any allergic symptoms including itching, rash, or difficulty breathing. serious side effects may happen, including pancreatitis, so stop taking victoza® and call your doctor right away if you have severe pain in your stomach area. tell your doctor your medical history. taking victoza® with a sulfonylurea or insulin may cause low blood sugar. the most common side effects are headache, nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting. side effects can lead to dehydration, which may cause kidney problems. now's the time for a better moment of proof. ask your doctor about victoza®.

>> forecasters watching hurricane irma closely. many are saying that the residents are not breathing the sigh of complete relief, specially just not yet, mayor is on the phone now. i assume that you would say to residents, not quite out of the woods, in fact, you're probably starting to see the situation deteriorate a little bit. >> absolutely sure. we are not close to being out of the woods. we are seeing winds picking up, the seas are picking up, tide surges, the tides, minimal flooding but we are obviously very concerned. we've invoked a mandatory curfew starting tonight at 8:00 p.m. till 7:00 a.m. we do not want any people out

and our city police been enforcing curfew. we expect hurricane winds later tonight and, you know, these hurricanes as you know is unpredictable as irma, it could shift on a dime. >> right. >> we must stay vigilant. liz: what are the challenges that you are facing now that you weren't facing 24 hours ago now that we have seen the shift a little bit west, it could shift back east in a any moment. so much attention on the cranes throughout the city. what's an update on that situation? >> well, number one the challenges we are facing now based on the potential shift is explaining to people that it could shift back, expect the tides, expect flooding because there's tremendous title surges we could be expecting. i'm explaining to residents that do not underestimate the situation right now that's incredibly dangerous regarding cranes, we've done everything we could to make sure that any cranes or any construction sites

in miami beach were tied down according to protocol and everything we could to make sure that any company that had cranes probably secured them per code. liz: i want you to elaborate on one thing you mentioned, you mentioned storm surge, you concerned that folks may feel that the winds are dying down or there's a break in the winds and they step outside their home and they're complaisant and we saw the surge even come up higher, just because the brunt of the storm may not be hitting exactly where you reprotected does not mean that you will not see a storm surge? >> it's absolutely true. this storm is massive. it's so huge. bigger than the state of florida. the fact that possibly the actual eye would not be over miami which we don't even know yet for sure, it doesn't make a difference. hurricane winds that stretch out over the entire area, the surge from this thing coming through towards florida has potential to be tremendous. so truthfully, we are not even

close, if hurricane wind forces haven't come yet. they will come later tonight. you have to understand we are just at the beginning of this. liz: mayor philip levine we will be watching with you throughout the day and, of course, tomorrow, stay safe and we will be thinking of you and first responders as the storm comes close to the united states, thank you for joining us. >> live pictures there of miami beach as we flip to live pictures from key largo you can see just the 40 miles make a difference in how strong the wind is, how high the waves are. our coverage continues with how the florida state government is preparing to help folks one the stowrm -- ♪

track your pack. set a curfew, or two. make dinner-time device free.

[ music stops ] [ music plays again ] a smarter way to wifi is awesome. introducing xfinity xfi. amazing speed, coverage and control. change the way you wifi. xfinity. the future of awesome.

>> really all of southern florida is getting ready for hurricane irma's impact even as far north as tampa. speaker of the florida house, nice talk with you, sir, as we watch the track of irma, it is headed right over tampa bay which is where you live. how do you balance these two things, the responsibility of taking care of your family as this storm comes through, historic storm comes through and also your responsibilities to the citizens of florida who have

elected you to look after them and to make sure state government is working for them? we had speaker corkryn. you don't know that people get phone calls like that. >> or the service. who know what is the service is like. >> live pictures from miami beach. earlier we had some live pictures of key largo which is about 30 miles, 30 minutes to an hour south, sometimes an hour and a half depending on traffic in miami beach. the power is out there and that's now 8 to 12 hours before hurricane forced winds. monroe county, all of the florida keys, they've pulled out all of the emergency evacuation helicopters, there's no way to fly people out. as we heard from phil keaton,

live pictures from key west. you can see how dark it is even at 2:00 in the afternoon eastern there. certain looks like the power is out. we certainly don't know. there's still people wandering around the streets. liz: that's one of the things we heard from governor rick scott, he said, listen, the storm is here and if you haven't evacuated and in evacuation areas that are mandatory, stay put at this point. he mentioned that at least 25,000 people lost pyre, that was storm surge and western parts of the state to get up 15 feet. that was the first time that we heard number 15, we heard 8 to 12 and then we heard the 15. it is a dire situation that's approaching certainly as night fall, as night fall does. >> night fall there about 6 to 7 hours. we will keep an eye on key west and key largo, miami beach.

we will have update from the national hurricane center in miami, senior meteorologist janice dean keeping an eye on things. janice, a couple of hours before landfall, what have we learned from hurricane center? >> i will have update for you when we come back after the break, stay with us.

elizabeth: this is a fox news

alert, you are looking at live pictures out of key west where you can see the conditions have already started to deteriorate. we heard from governor rick scott just about two hours ago, and he said the storm is here, and he is right. the storm now a category three, if i'm not mistaken, they expect the storm to strengthen before it makes landfall in the united states which could happen between now and tomorrow. we heard from the mayor of miami beach who said just because you're on the east coast does not mean you need to be complacent at this time. leland: live pictures of miami beach where the wind is picking up, the hurricane gaining strength in those warm waters between key west and cuba. the 1400 eastern update from the national hurricane center in miami. >> mike brennan with your 2 p.m. eastern time update on hurricane irma. irma right now is emerging off the north coast of cuba, it's currently centered about 145 miles to the southeast of key west moving just