good morning, america. breaking this morning. direct hit. hurricane irma slamming into florida. leaving hundreds of thousands without power. the monster storm battering the keys with 130-mile-per-hour winds. and life-threatening storm surge, up to 15 feet. over 20 inches of rain expected in some areas. >> as new warnings come out about the potentially catastrophic category 4 hurricane. >> this is a storm of absolutely historic destruct ifrive potential. >> people flee to higher ground. >> i was really scared. >> filling shelters to capacity. >> we have a mad house. >> thousands lining up waiting for hours to get in. >> we don't have any more space. >> come on, boots. >> others hunkering down.

wherever they can. >> she's one of my pets. >> even in car dealerships as they try to ride out this storm. >> this is the first time the sheriff ever came down our street. >> to order you out? >> yeah. the first time. >> cities in irma's path, deserted and boarded up. the governor warning people to be on guard. >> this is clearly a life-threatening situation. the storm surge comes after the strongest winds. >> more than 1,000 americans rescued from st. martin, now sharing their terrifyinging stories of surviving the storm. some abandoned by hotel staff, facing armed robbers. our david muir and amy robach on the ground in florida. leading our team coverage. with all you need to know. this is a special edition of "good morning america." hurricane irma, monster storm. good sunday morning, everyone. all eyes are on hurricane irma. the visuals we're seeing. the pictures are just remarkable.

irma churning up the coast. >> it's a monster storm. it is as we speak, making a direct hit on the vulnerable, low-lying florida keys. we're getting fresh images in from the keys overnight. overnight, irma gained strengths. packing 130-mile-an-hour winds. catastrophic storm surge. on top of all of that, tornadoes. >> now, word of the first weather-related death. more than 70,000 people are ridinging the storm out in shelters. hundreds of thousands of people have lost power. >> fear of catastrophic and life-threatening danger. we have team coverage. led by david muir. he is on the ground in naples. we have "gma's" amy row b y roy in miami. >> we're going the start with ginger zee.

irma is getting ready to make landfall? >> landfall is imminent in the keys. the eye wall giving them an extreme wind warning. 115-plus mile per hour gusts. that creates potential for damage. the eye movers northward. who gets it next and when? most of the areas south of naples and marco island is the everglades. tonight, fot. myers. a gat goir 3. still considered major. then becomes a 1 as it reaches tallahassee and makes its way into tennessee and alabama. we can stop talking about it wednesday into thursday. >> there are big cities. tampa. metro area. one of the most vulnerable places in the country to storm

surge and flooding. are they prepare snd. >> i don't know that you can be, for a five to eight-foot storm surge. that's the area five to ten feet that includes sarasota, ft. myers' beaches. and south, 10 to 15 feet. think about how high your house is. filling your home with water rushing at a high pace. that's why storm surge is so, so powerful. miami has seen three-foot surge this morning. the eye is still 100 miles away. theshore flow keeps on going. melbourne, only in the one to four. you say, oh, not so bad. add ten inches of rain. then we'll talk significant loss of property, if not life. >> the gorger has said pray for us. we want to go now to amy robach, who, as we said, is in miami, where they're feeling the

effects. the heavy wind and the rain. amy? >> that's right, dan. good morning to you. it's remarkable when you hear ginger say that ir ma's eye is 100 miles away from us because we're experiencing some incredible wind gusts here. well over 60 miles per hour. and it just keeps getting worse. we've been out here since about 5:00 this morning. every 30 minutes you can hear and feel the wind picking up. it's howling. it's moving things. we have a bunch of broken tree branches. flying across the streets below us. we have a lot of debris. some construction orange cones all across the road. and even more dangerous, some power lines have been knocked down by the trees. they're flying across the very wet road. sparking. it's very dangerous. we're safe. we're on a balcony on a sixth floor. i have concrete walls on both sides of me. you could not be walking around

there. so many people evacuated. a lot of people hupgerring down inside their homes. hearing the fearneierceness of wind. we have ponding. we have biscayne bay right to the left of me. nearby is my colleague, gio benitez. he was evacuated from the florida keys earlier this week. you have experienced it all, gio. you're feeling the winds right now. >> we're feeling them. we have a bit of news. the city of miami beach has announced on twitter they will not be sending any first responders out if the streets if people need help. it is just too dangerous. they say the winds, extreme sustained winds are too powerful. there was a reading from the airport close by, saying 72

miles an hour. you're hearing the freight train sounds coming through here. they just keep going. we're seeing the wind and the rain whip around. we did evacuate. we knew it was going to be too dangerous down there. we need to see what is happening in the storm surge. we're feeling 100 miles from the eye this. it is very intense what is happening in the keys. >> you're being safe as well. as we all are here in miami. really feeling the brunt of irma as it makes its way over the florida keys. back to you, dan and paula. we'll be here throughout the morning. >> i want to pick up on the issue of safety. our viewers who know and love both you and gio. will be concerned. you're in a reasonably protected area. we see gio holding on to a

tether. so precautions have been taken. >> yes, we're being extremely safe. safety is the most important thing. i know you have been out here. i have covered many hurricanes before as well. we're taking every prekaux. it's remarkable we're able to show you the wind and rain and still be very protected. i have an overhang. concrete walls. i have things to hold on to. but we're being very safe and just wanting to show everyone that this is a powerful and deadly storm and no one should be out in it, dan. back to you. >> powerful and deadly indeed. all right, gio and amy, thank you for your coverage. we want to go to david muir, our anchor of "world news tonight." he's in naples. david, folks in naples, you, you're bracing for a direct hit later this afternoon. >> bracing for a dekt hit that is still about six, seven hours away. we're already seeing major wind gusts. show you some of the damage.

one of these -- they have 100-year-old oak trees. palm trees here in naples. these are toppled from the outer bands. they're expecting once the storms get here. we're going to be the right side, the most dangerous side of the storm. hours of 130-mile-per-hour winds gusting hirer than that. there could be tornado-like damage. we have seen the warning from the national weather service. the national hurricane center in key west. given the winds that they're seeing, perhaps lower than what we may see here. they're already saying tornado-like damage could happen. that's the expectation later today. makes you think of the season of katrina, wilma, rita. i remember being autoall of them. the very beginning of katrina, we were in the superdome.

waiting inside for that hurricane to hit. think of the people of naples, who got the word late yesterday when the track made the shift that they, too, had to evacuate. they had to be out by noon. many of them went to the jermaine arena. many of them will be there. i remember the top of the superdome beginning to peel off. when you're talking about winds surpassing 100 miles per hour, we could see significant damage. the winds and the storm surge can take lives. naples is only three feet above sea level. they're expecting a storm surge of between 10 and 15 feet. you heard the governor warn that that can take houses. cars. can certainly take lives. we should point out that this team that i'm with, we're going to make sure we're safe. going to do our very best. and during those very difficult

moments later on, we'll be hud. ed deep inside this building. >> good to hear you're going to stay safe. this bad joke the universe has played on folks who went from miami, thinking that's where the storm damage was going to be most concentrated. they go to the west coast. places like naples and tampa. now that's where the storm is headed. >> speaking of where the storm is. feeling the worst of it and the winds right now. we want to go to zack. he's riding out the storm with his family of five in key west. good morning to you. you're in a three-story concrete building with your family of five. ginger says you should be feeling the worst of the winds right now. can you tell us what the situation is? >> i don't know if you can hear it. i believe this is absolutely the worst. you can hear it. this is through concrete building. through shutters and the door. that wind is blowing. we have a sink. we can hear something going upon the winds seem to be sucking

through that. it is a -- i won't lie. it's definitely, you know, a frightening -- my wife is here. she can add. it's -- we're not sure what is out there. not sure what we'll see when we open the door. from what we hear, there is definitely stuff blowing. >> we can hear the eerie whistle in the background. we thought it was cell phone noise. it's the storm. you have children with you? how is everybody doing? >> we're doing well. we're all together. um -- you know, we're -- you know -- all five of us in here. we have no power. no power overnight. we're doing fine. so, we have one child with us. logan. he's with us. he's the one that, you know, is taking some of the videos. he's doing fine, as well. we're holding up together the. we're supporting each other. >> i know you're supporting one

another. that whistle, we can't get over it. how disconcerting s ining is it the wind outside? >> it's horrifying. absolutely horrifying. >> that's my wife, candy. >> kandy, can you tell us how that is? are you regrettinging staying? >> well, given the information that we had, we originally kid decide we were going to leave. as the storm shifted, we decided we would not go to miami, as we originally intended. and then itt changed again. at a point in time, we made up our minds to stay and we were committed. i don't know that we would do anything different because we wouldn't have had any different information. >> boy, that howling is harrowing. do you -- can you tell us about the precautions, kandy and zack,

that has you have taken to deal with what you're facing? >> we boarded up our house. we're at a friend's. his condo. he's on the third floor. our fear was storm surge. life jackets. generator. we've boarded up. we have a radio. a total of 20 cases of water. nonperishable food. we filled the bathtubs up with water. so if we need to flush the toilets, we have -- we have prepared for the worst and are hoping for the best. obviously, we prepared for the worst. we're in the midst of the worst, right? a lot of people asked, why did you say? how is that choice made? this is all encompassing. we saw this, it was the entire state of florida. where do you go at that point?

where do you escape the this? you just make a decision and you -- the great thing about key west is it's one big family. we have neighbors. we all bonded together. we're riding this out. >> and zack, and kandy, you have a child with you? >> yes. >> a teenager. he's 19. but yes, he's my son. >> he's 19. how is everybody doing? your spirits? enduring this has to be so frightening. >> i think we're all holding up very well considering the situation. we're supporting one another. so one is losing control. we're just making the best of it. and -- we do feel secure and safe here, where we are. even though wind is very loud sand sounds like we're not. we're in a safe place.

i think we're better off here than at our own home. >> nothing but our best wishes. stay safe. thank you for joining us. >> thank you. >> let's get back to ginger once again. ginger, just to make this clear, the kind of peril they're in right now. they are basically in a situation where it's about to make landfall. >> yes. moments. minutes, really, from it. you could hear it in that whistle. that whistle will stay for the next hour or so as the eye passes just to their east. between there and marathon are feeling the worst of it now. you have seen the pictures of miami and south of miami. that's where we're going to go next. 85 miles northeast of the eye. we have ian from wplg in florida city. just south of homestead. your last tweet said extreme wind. rescuers will no longer be responding for the city of miami. what are you seeing on the ground there?

>> all night long. wind gusts. rain coming horizontal. we're just south of where the turnpike ends. further south, you end up in up thor keys. i want to let owe syou see some the damage. we have been talking about this all morning long. this is the sign in front of the hoe tale that we've been hunkered down in. there used to be white siding all around the sign. the it's whipped off piece by piece. you can see how strong the winds are. there are pieces of metal, branches, things like that scattered all around. we're starting to see an accumulation of rain as well. there's a parking lot, a restaurant behind us. there's starting to be an accumulation of rain. to the right, these trees that we're pointing to, have bent over. they're holding on by their last roots. the wind is swirling. the rain has been coming side

waist at us. so hard at one point, it blew over one of our reporters. we had to help her back undercover. we lost power about 3:00 a.m. we've been watching transformers blow. all night long. we have been seeinging green. gnat's because there are hundreds of thousands of people here in miami-dade that are without power. 3:00 in the morning, that happened to us, live on tv. we were talking about it. and then the lights flashed. everything wept out. we've been out power since. dealing with this sort of rain consistently. right around midnight, 1:00 a.m. we were seeing these gusts. it would give us a break. at this point, dan, paula, ginger, it's just been consistent, steady, hard rain and winds. >> ian is describing the bands very well. they come, some of them have thunderstorms within them that are heft thinker, more intense than others. you'll get a little break.

then the next band moves north toward you. i would like to take you to the radar. so important to remember, one of the threats being tornadoes. we have seen confirmed tornadoes overnight around ft. lauderdale. vero beach to naples. you're in the watch. can i take you the winds. the winds he's feeling there. the 150idi isiding rip off. this is just the beginning. this is the future cast. 125-mile-per-hour gusts projected in naples. 87 in miami still. ten hours later from where we're seeing the gus. up forward tampa. 70. the orange cone, 60-plus. that takes down power looins. tallahassee, picking up the types of winds that take down power looins and trees. we lose it all as it gets into

georgia and alabama. don't forget about the rain. up to 15 and locally 20 inches. >> when is florida going to be in the clear? >> after monday night, into tuesday. we have to get a check closer to home. >> and ginger, back with us now. where is the area of greatest concern for you as the storm marches up the west side of florida today? >> immediate is keys.

then everglades. a few brief hours of reprieve. then marco island and naples. up the beaches of fot. myers. right into the tampa bay tonight. we'll see images of water piling up. not just on the west side of the state. on the east side. we have seen three feet of surge in miami. all the way up to coast eventually. that water piles up. rob will come back later with the waves and the wave forecast. >> for those praying this thing changes course and weakens, what are the chances? >> a prayers are wonderful. but as far as the forecast, there is no solution for us. within the cone, something we should have been paying attention to the hole time. the entire peninsula of florida needs to be on alert. the more water on the right side allowed to push into the communities, the beaches,

saniber, captiva. even up into the bend of florida, sthat catastrophic. a category 4 storm takes a long time to die down. >> about to make landfall in the keys. it's just beginning. we'll be covering this. stay here. we'll be right back. ♪ oh, look... another anti-wrinkle cream in no hurry to make anything happen. neutrogena® rapid wrinkle repair® works in just one week. with the fastest retinol formula available. it's clinically proven to work on fine lines and wrinkles. one week? that definitely works! rapid wrinkle repair®. and for dark spots, rapid tone repair. neutrogena®. see what's possible.

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and welcome back to our coverage of hurricane irma on this sunday morning. we're all getting a science lesson from ginger zee. tell us about the eye of the storm right now. it continues to evolve. >> the national weather service if key west just tweeted saying if it wept calm by you, you're in the eye. just to let you know.

don't think it's over. the eye comes in, people say, in histo history, we didn't know what was happening. they would go outdoors, start checking things out. and it would get bad. >> the calm before the storm. >> if you did not evacuate, don't go outside even though you stopped hearing the whistle or the strong winds. the back will be strong far long time. the threat is for hours yet in the keys, including storm surge from both sides. >> this thing is just beginning. we'll see you back here

welcome back to "gma." on a harrowing sunday morning. as hurricane irma bears down on the state of florida. this is a category 4 storm. it is making a direct hit on the florida keys as we come on the air. three fatalities already reported this morning. in car accidents. >> we want to go back to "world news tonight" anchor david muir. leading our coverage on the ground from naples. >> you have been talking with ginger this morning about the storm surge. the winds are a real concern. the water is an enormous concern here in napeles. three feet above sea level. they're expecting a surge up to 15 feet. we do have with us this morning naples mayor bill barnett. who has lived here in florida since 1973.

mayor barnett, it's david muir. this westward shift of the track we learned about 24 hours ago. are you confident people had enough time to get out of harm's way? >> yes, i am. thank you, david. i feel that -- i feel that our people have been -- our citizens have been evacuating isince eary in the week. they really took the storm seriously. compared to wilma, where there was a lackadaisical, complacent, no, we're not going to have a hurricane. this time, everybody has heeded. our town is like a ghost town. >> you bring up wilma, mayor. i remember being in key west for wilma. we were preparing for significant damage there. it was better than expected there. but much worse here in naples. if i remember correctly, there was about 125-mile-an-hour winds you saw in wilma.

that's what they're forecasting for later. what kind of damage are you expecting this afternoon? you'll feel it for hour upon hour. >> it is a wait and see. we're certainly hoping for the best. because, remembering wilma very well. we probably had more horticultural damage than structural. and what we're really worried about is the storm surge that everyone keeps -- that the forecast says is going to happen. and, if it does, i -- i'm just -- reluctant to say what could happen. because -- hurricane donna in 1960 actually was got right on the date. and, um, so it could do catastrophic damage to our downtown and to businesses and everything else. and homes along the beach. so, again, we're certainly hoping for the best.

>> mayor, that storm surge itself, is that your biggest concern when you look at the hurricane? i know you're fully aware that as it moves up the coast and hugs the coastline over the warm waters, it's just going the fuel this. we here in naples are on the wrong side of the hurricane. >> that is my biggest concern. if we had to put them in degrees, which is top priority, which is bottom, it would be hard to do. the storm surge would probably be at the top of the list. >> naples mayor, bill barnett. thank you. you did a great job getting so many people to the jermaine arena. they're waiting for the storm to hit. it must be an anxious time for those families inside the arena. i mentioned it earlier being inside the superdome. it's sown settling when you bring just a few belongings with

you not being sure if you can return to your home after storm hits. they're all huddled here. >> david, great interview. if there's a silver lining from whereat is going on in napeles is that that did heed the warnings. the residents got out or went to a shelter. they listened to the warnings. david, thank you. >> the point he makes about the anxiety of the folks who evacuated, there's a lot to worry about right now. and for more on where this storm is right now and where it's heading, up north of where david is. david is in rob is in sarasota. it's calm. but not for long. give us your sense, rob. >> you asked me where it's going. it's coming here. coming here tonight. where sit right now, dramatic, dramatic, right over sugar loaf key. the eye, the calm. but the winds gusting over 90 miles an hour at key west.

no report from them for awhile. the anemometer may be down. winds 120, 130, maybe 140. the surge over the keys, devastating. i want to show you. this is the saratoga bay. the coast guard auxiliary building. we're expecting this area to be inundated. we'll be leaving hen the storm gets closer to us. the rainfall from this and the wind, expands well east of the center. that's why miami is in it. tornado watch remains in place for the eastern side of the storm. the track is going to come right up in through this direction. the rain is picking up. the wind is picking up. it will be cake walk. things will deteriorate like they are to the south in a hurry. that is the latest on what is going on. time to look at your local forecast.

>> this weather report is brought to you by jif. dan and paula, the keys, the barrier islands behind me, hopefully, will proe toekt the area. the water will come where it will come. we expect this area to be inundated, if not over my head, in this sarasota area. we're going to continue to cover hurricane irma righere on "gma." we'll be right back. i have a pet butter sandwich? yeah, you sure can. can charlie have one, too? charlie can have one too. ♪ ♪ and one for charlie. (gasp) look mom!

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martin's over to puerto rico. 5,000 remain. linzie janis has been in puerto rico listening to some of the stories. they're truly terrifying. >> we were going to perish together. >> it blew the doors in. our windows in. >> it blew the doors in. the ceilings started to come down. it was like "poltergeist." the walls were shaking. >> one woman told linzie she and her mother were on vacation. her mother 80 years old. cars flailing in the wind. exploding. groups of men in hair hotel, raiding it, looting it, stealing from ges the punching a tourist. a truly terrifying situation for the tourists and those who remain. the race is on the evacuate more from those eye lapds. >> how slong that process expected expect ed to take, james? to get the americans left behind in a horrifying environment.

you lack power and rule of law. >> reporter: well, absolutely. i mean, the thing is, there are other weather fronts coming in. there are -- jose, another hurricane, that's thought it might cut the edge of the british virgin islands, the american virgin islands. it's unclear how long it will take for the americans to air-lift people to safety. 5,000 waiting. many of them without power. having seen massive devastation. once all this becomes clear, the rescue efforts go through. then, of course, the process of rebuilding. it will be a long journey. >> thank you, james longman. knowing that it's hittinging us right now. lit continue throughout the day. probably parts of tomorrow and perhaps beyond that. we'll continue covering hurricane irma right after this quick break right here on "gma." parodontax, the toothpaste that helps

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we want to welcome you back to "good morning america" on this sunday morning. we heard from the mayor of naples, not long ago. bracing for a direct hit. up to 15 feet of storm surge. he said so many residents have fled the city or gone to shelters. that's where we find victor oquendo. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, paula. we just heard from the emergency operations center tell lg people to shelter in place until the storm passes. it's too late to move anywhere else. we're at the north collier park. about 400 people here as well as their pets.

take a quick look behind me here. so many people have woken up for the morning. have been for the last week or so, glued to the forecast track. seeing if they will be facing a direct hit here in the naples area. once irma made the jog to the west. there was an immediate need for shelters to open up. people starting rushing in droves. there are about bout bout bout o people in the shelters. so many people live in mobile home parks. i spoke to man here who says if 15 feet is the situation, his roof would be under water. he would have no home to go back to. that's the situation here. people are hunkered down. they'll be here for the long one. dan? paula? >> judges by the images behind you, it looks congenial.

i have to imagine the level of anxiety is given what is heading their way. can you tell us what you're hearing from people? >> well, of course, people here are very concerned. also happy that they're in shelter at this point. we saw long lines yesterday as well. people trying to get into the jermaine arena. trying to get to safety. people are concerned their homes could be destroyed. it caught a lot of people offguard. the plan all week was this was going to hit the east coast. once it changed to the west, pre people had to get out quickly. >> victor, thank you. >> ginger, where do things stand? >> the eye is going over parts of the florida keys right now. if you feel calm, don't go outside. it's the eye.

just east of key west. one of the worst bands between pine key and marathon. we have already seen three-foot storm surge in miami. close to 70-mile-per-hour gusts there. that that will go for hours at a time. that tornado watch will ekd tepid. the track somewhat everyone has been talking about. it hugs the coast. meaning big pushes of water towards those beaches on the west side of florida. we'll still see surge on the east side. even if you're not in that cone. it backs 4 later this afternoon. 3 early tomorrow morning. late night sarasota through early morning tampa. tallahassee by tomorrow. monday into tuesday away from florida. that is the track as of now. it gets wrapped up with another dish bauns.

>> we're living with this beast for awhile. tur thank you, ginger. we'll continue to cover the h n hurricane throughout the day.

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and we want to welcome you back to our special coverage. we want to check in with gio in miami. >> good morning. we're feeling the incredibly powerful winds and rains. look at the streets. this is just really get lging hammered here in the part of downtown miami. we're in the northeast quadrant. ginger keeps talking about the dirty side of the storm. that's what we're in.

these conditions could really spawn some tornadoes. really creator nay does in the area. people need to be watching iffer the warnings. those tornado watches. to make sure that they're not in an area gnat's a threat. now, miami beach, the city of miami beach has already announced first responders, they're not going to be going out. people can't be going out in this, walking the street. the you get hurt, the first responders are not going to get to you. key west, registering 90-mile-an-hour winds. make sure you're not in the eye wall. dan, back to you. >> gio benitez in miami, florida, holding a tether to make sure he's safe. this thing is just beginning. the brunt of this storm will be felt along the west coast of florida as this storm moves its way up from the keys where it is right now up the west coast of florida throughout the day. we'll be covering it every step

of the way right here on abc. thank you for joining us on "gma." keep it here on abc news throughout the day as our coverage of irma continues. we want to welcome young back to coverage. you talk about the entire state of florida feeling this. what are the areas of florida that you're really the most concerned about? specifically tampa? >> you have seen some of the image this is morning. the water, right? it's good to keep noting, the storm surge will build and build throughout the day in some of these communities. like tampa.

tampa bay has a lot of geographical issues. >> it's low-lying, correct? >> all of the beaches are low-lyinging, rel 2i6ly. if they get five to eight feet of storm surge. they have on top of that, 10 inches of rain. cars can be moved by water. in some places, 10 to 15 feet. that is moving water. not standing what per. power of water is incredible. that's why 10 to 15 feet for a place like marco island, or naples. i keep mentioning captiva and sanibel. they get both sides. it's wind speed that concerns me. it is going miles purr hour wi miles per hour with gusts. >> talking about tampa. place millions of people live there. it's been listed as we said as one of the most vulnerable

places in the country to storm surge. can you talk about the mechanism of storm surge. how does this work? >> it's a bubble of water. a pile of water in a bathtub. a child pushes it toward the land. you have set up land. that becomes, and people say, sit like a tsunami? it's not. it will come in surges. you'll have it for more constant time. a graj wall

"this week" with george stephanopoulos starts right now. >> hurricane irma crashes into the keys. the monster storm will tear through florida's west coast. winds over 100 miles an hour. torrential rain. tornadoes. a dangerous storm surge still to come. the storm has already decimated the caribbean. strengthening again overnight. the category 4 juggernaut larger than the state of florida. already hundreds of thousands without power. our team is spread across the storm zone. and the fema administrator standing by with the latest. we have moment to moment coverage. breaking details. and the facts that matter this week. from abc news, it's a