"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 special edition of "this week."

hurricane irma, monster storm. here now, chief anchor george stephanopoulos. >> good morning, welcome to the special edition of "this week." all eyes now on the monster storm. as we said, hurricane irma has decimated islands across the caribbe caribbean. 24 hours of danger ahead. right now, hurricane irma a category 4. winds clocking in at 130 miles an hour. the eye wall is over the florida keys. you see the winds whipping right there. those winds not the only danger. you have seen tornadoes reported across south florida. that danger will continue throughout the day. and the entire west coast of florida facing potentially deadly wals of water. naples first in line. then forth meyers. 10 to 15-foot storm surge possible there. tampa, st. petersburg.

vulnerable tonight. they'll feel irma's full force. right here, ginger zee. ginger, you have been on this for days. the story right now, key west. >> we get this brand-new video. some of the people that didn't leave. storm chasers. this is simon brewer. knocked to his feet. we have already seen gusts of at least 106. probably up to 130 with this category four storm likely making landfall as we speak. now, three-foot storm surge in the keys. miami. you focus in and the big pine to marathon. there's the bridge between. that is taking the brunt of the eye wall right now. as this moves north, everybody needs to know the path. the tornado watch that is included. the warnings already popping up this morning. including large population

centers. if you're far from the center, the threat is on from central florida south already. let's take you through the timing. 2:00 p.m. we have it just south of naples. the water is pushing all day to that point. the storm surge doesn't end until monday night. tampa, monday, 2:00 a.m. overnight tonight, into early tomorrow. still a category 3. making it to tallahassee. weakening into georgia. alabama, tennessee. not until wednesday into thursday do we settle it down. miami seeing three. could see up to 15-foot. marco island is very vulnerable. areas to the north near sarasota.

>> the we want to go to the keys. on the phone is roman, the monroe county administrator. >> thank you. i'm located in the upper keys. the northern part of the county. we're getting strong gusts. we're doing fine. as you can imagine, we have -- we have cell service. we're doing pretty thety good. we heard from friends in key west about half hour ago. they were getting clobbered. they're doing well. their spirits were high. they're safe. so -- we feel good about that. our friends in marathon, we heard from the sheriff. he's bunkered down. he did take a video of flooding he september us. and then he went jo ooffline, t. we're going to be fine. >> good to hear. one of the reasons you're going to be fine is because of the precautions you took to get

everyone out of there. >> absolutely. we're glad folks listened to us. there will be a lot of damage. >> do you have a sense of when you can get out there and see just how great the damage is and how much rebuilding needs to be done? >> well, i'm surrounded by a bunch of firefighters and police officers. and a couple of military folks. and i can't keep them indoors. so they're going to be out of here soon. we have a weather guy embedded in here. he's showing us the bands. as soon as it opens up, these guys are going to fly out of here. not only in the air, on the ground. the equipment pre-positioned all over the county so we can clear the streets. it will be quite an effort this afternoon, most likely. >> i know you have a big job ahead. thank you the ffor taking time us. up the coast to miami. miami expected to take a direct

hit. the storm moved west. miami getting whipping winds. gio is there. >> hey, there, george. we're feeling the winds. i'm going to take thissous for a second. i gotta tell you, george. these winds have been intensifying more and more and more. the national weather service sent out an letter and said up in high-rises, you're probably looking at 100-mile-per-hour winds. i've been looking around. i don't see windows broken yet. that may be because of the very, very strict building codes here after hurricane andrew back in 1992. this entire skyline was really destroyed by hurricane andrew. winds. we're going to see how it fares in this one. the trees have been getting destroyed. that's really a measure of how intense the winds have been.

the rain just keeps coming down. i'm not sure when this is going let up because it certainly feels like it's gets much more intense. >> you should tell everybody, you're in baileding that has been reinforced. >> that's right. this is one of the buildings built after hurricane andrew. built ten years ago. let's turn the camera real quick. we're surrounded by hard concrete. the windows are protected. they're hurricane impact rezis stant windows. i'm tethered to a rope to make sure i don't fall down. >> let's get away from the balcony. okay, gio. thank you very much. across town to amy robach. also in miami. tornado warnings. >> yes, it has been a very serious and dangerous situation here in downtown miami since the moment we woke up around 4:00

this morning. we heard the howling winds. now we're seeinging the wind speeds increase. hurricane force is 74. we're just about there. we're 100 miles away from the eye of the storm. we're really feeling the brunt of irma right now. can you hear the wind and see what is happening to the trees? they're breaking off. flying across the streets. we have street signs flying. debris flying. it is dangerous out there. i have seen cement blocks movinging. the winds are strong and fierce. we're on a balcony six floors up. concrete above and beside me. we're in a good position to show you all of this. it is remarkable to see. we know according to wplg, our sister station, nearly 500,000 people in miami-dade koutty without power. >> the streets are empty.

miami did evacuate. >> yes. most people evacuated. there were evacuation zones that kept expanding. we had to move our toe tells twice because they kept evacuating people. we have about a three-foot storm surge. i can see the white caps on biscayne bay. there's concern in a couple of hours we'll have more flooding in the streets. we're up above ground right now. we already have some flooding going on in some asphalt areas. when the winds start whipping, it creates waives. most people are gone. i have seen a few people come out and take a look. vs. really rough on street level. no one should be down there. >> thank you, amy. as the storm moves, so did world news anchor david muir. he's in naples. expected to get hit hard.

especially with the storm surge. >> yes. huge concern. the storm surge. they're predicting between 10 and 15 feet. keep in mind, naples is only three feet above sea level. we're feeling significant wind gusts right now. these are the outer bands of the hurricane actually reaching here in naples. they're expecting. we're about five, six hours away from this. sustained winds of 100 miles per hour or more. when you have winds at that level, the national weather service will tell you to expect tornado-like damage. they saw this on this very day in 1960 with hurricane donna. significant damage when donna made landfall. it's unclear if this will make landfall or hug the coast. the warm water going to fuel this hurricane and as you know, george, you have been studying the models from ginger all

morning long. the hurricane-force winds extend 80 miles out from the wall. it's 160 miles wide. the gompler of florida telling me, this could be the most catastrophic hurricane florida has ever seen. we'll be here straight through the end. >> did the word get to naples in time? is the city prepared for what they're facing? >> i talked to the mayor of naples. the track of the storm changed 24 hours ago. yesterday morning. there was a lot of concern about whether or not people would have time to evacuate naples. the mayor telling me he believes most people heeded the the call. this is is much like a ghost town. there's an arena not far from here, the jermaine arena, where people are huddled. it reminds me of being inside the superdome inside of katrina. i remember being there with the families. the roof beginning to rip off

over our heads. i can't imagine what it is like to be in there. 100-mile-per-hour winds for several hours. it will be a tough ride. >> it will be a harrowing afternoon. want to move up to coast to rob marciano in sarasota. they're feeling it already. >> just when i said it would be a cake walk here, the winds and the rains started howling here. we're a good 10 to 12 hours from the core. we're near the bay. the entire west coast of florida is susceptible because they have bays and bays and bays. ft. myers has it, punta gorda. naples. very us susceptible from all ofe water. they have barrier eislands. the water here will get up and

over this area, potentially up and over my head. panning over here. it is water as for as the eye can see, obscure bid some of the rainfall. that's not the ocean, my friends. that is the bay. beyond that, the gulf of mexico. all that water will push up. not the mention, the rainfall starting to m co-down. on a typical summer thunderstorm, tampa bay and pinellas county. a double, triple-whammy when things get here later on. the track is focused right over where i am here. that will come at nightfall. >> hard to believe you're still hours away from the worst. tampa bay expected to get hit hard. t.j. holmes is there. you have a lot of low-lying land there. >> yeah. especially vulnerable.

that's the issue here. like rob said, a good hard rain, they get flooding. this is a flood-prone area. now you're talking about storm surge? the issue here for folks. this is 700 miles of coastline. pristine coastline. people want to be here. they want to live here. they have seen the greatest population growth year after year in the tampa area. this is where they're living. this is the hillsboro river that dumps out into the bay. they're sitting on water. that's a hospital, actually, right behind me. a lot of people there could not be evacuated. they have storm windows. they have to ride it out. pan here. they have growth. they continue the build. they have a huge $3 billion project just approved. cranes. the downtown. what is happening, this is a bustling area where people want to live. part of the reason that people keep coming here is because they have not had a major storm, a

category 3 or above storm here in some 100 years. since 1921. this is what everyone feared. what would happen if this place gets hit directly, or close to directly by a storm that large. we're about to see it now. we have 14er89s open. half of them are full. 21,000 people have heeded the warnings. they've made it to shelters. we got word that uber has now offered to give people free rides to shelters right now. the city has stopped all of its service. if you need a ride, folk, in the tampa area, they'll give you a free ride to the shelter. this is a shallow bay. all this wind, the five to eight-foot storm surge and wind coming, is going to push this water into the areas that were already prone to flooding in the first place, george. now they're getting the nightmare scenario that experts have been warning about for years. they warned the city about this

in a study not too long ago. they talk about a couple hundred billion burglars in damage could possibly be done to the tampa bay area if something like that happened. we don't know if that exact scenario will take place. this is the fear they have had for a long time. why anxiety levels keep raising and raising and raising. >> that worst fear may be coming true. right next door, st. petersburg, eva pilgrim is there. >> the major concern here is because this sarea isa area has this kind of thing in a long time. a lot of the buildings here don't have the code here. home owners are fearful their homes will be underwater. they're aware they have been

living on the edge for a very long time and they have been very fortunate. they're afraid this storm may change all of that. we talked to some people here in this marina. they're living on their boats. a lot of these people have chosen up until this morning to stay. there are a couple of people here still. contemplating whether or not they'll ride out the storm on their boats. we're talking to people who live here deciding to ride out the storm in a car, in a concrete parking garage. not too far from here. we're trying to convince them there are safer options nearby. a lot of these people, this storm shifted west just yesterday. so they have had to change hat they thought was a safe plan. george? >> boy, staying in those boats just does not seem safe. eva, thank you. we'll take a short break. florida governor rick scott. fema administrator brock long standing by. we're back in two minutes.

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that is a scene in key west overnight. the transformers blowing up. the winds come in. key west and the entire florida keys getting hit so hard as the eye wall of hurricane irma hits. we're joined by florida governor rick scott. what can you tell us? >> i spoke to the keys a little bit ago. they're getting pounded.

the -- the person i spoke to still has cell service. and he has the internet. what they're worried about is the other part of the island. he's in the north part. the other part is getting flooding, a lot of waves. he's worried about the storm surge. we're going to get it. we're going the get everything. all the winds of andrew. across the whole state because it's so big. the state has never seen storm surge like this. i live in naples. this will go up our west coast. we're going to have 10 to 15 feet above ground level of storm surge. the west coast is very, very low. so, i ask everybody to -- the most important thing so to pray for us. we have done everything we can to be prepared. i'm sure there is something else we could have done. you can text disaster at 20222 to donate. we're asking for volunteers. we have opened over 4,000 shelters. we need volunteers to distribute

food. go to volunteer florida.org to volunteer as the storm passes. so we're going to just bsh just pray for us pip talked to the president today. i've talked to him pretty much every day. he said he'll be praying for us. he's a -- offered every resource there is of the federal government. ky tell you whether it's what we're doing here in tallahassee or first respond irs, the federal government, we're going to make sure every person in the state is taken care of to the extent we can. hard to do it during a storm. as soon as the storm passes, the first responders will be out there doing everything they can. >> you could not have been more clear in the warnings you gave people across the south of the state and now the entire state. do you have a sense of what different that made, especially in the keys? >> i hope so. george, we don't have the exact numbers of how many people

stayed in 2 kstay ed in the keys. they're going to have 130-mile-an-hour winds. 10 to 25 inches of rain. a low-lyinging area. potential 15 foot of storm surge. i hope everybody listened. i hope that's true along the west coast. i looked at the traffic cameras this morning. people are off the roads pip hope they all got to high ground and safe places. we opened up over 400 shelters around the state. we kept opening them yesterday. so i heap people are -- it's -- now it's late. but i pray that everybody got to safety. >> what is your biggest worry right now? >> my biggest worry is the people that didn't evacuate. they don't understand the risk of the storm surge. last year, we got storm surge in the panhandle. the water comes in. and it just fills up your house. and then it goes out. and people -- this lady,ky tell

you a story. she was -- wanted to stay because of her pets. a one-story house. the water got to three feet. she knew she wouldn't survive. thank god there was a high-water vehicle just leaving. she got -- survived. of course, her pets didn't. but, i just hope people ups that this storm surge is just deadly. >> okay. governor, you did put out the warnings. thank you. i know you have a big job ahead. want to bring in brock long now, the fema administrator. mr. long, we heard the governor say he's getting every resource he needs from the federal government. you're deployed across the region. >> our goal is to help with governor scott's effects. we have pushed everything forward. including three days' wort worth

of commodities into the state. we have liaisons. a multitude of toupt counties about to take the brunt of the storm. >> you have lapdfall in the keys. likely to be the hardest hit area. long term recovery there. >> anytime you're in the northea northeast quadrant. the winds are. the storm surge is going to occur. that's where tornadoes typically occur. problem is, it will skirt the west coast and drive storm surge not only from the keys but well up the coast of florida. so, it's a worst case scenario for florida on the west coast. >> fema is spending $200 million a day responding to harvey and irma. despite the fact that congress approved $15 billion on friday. this need is going to go on for a long time. >> yeah, you're right. and, you know, it's interesting.

so the -- the key to a great response and recover i have solid communication. and, you know, i want to -- i want to express that the congress has been work, very closely with us. i'm in great communication with the white house and homeland security. they realize what needs to be done to give me the enduring authority to push forward and help texas but also florida. and don't forget about the u.s. virgin islands and puerto rico as well. >> i wanted to ask you about that. the storm has already passed through there. cleanup beginning. >> we got jose out of the way. it shut us down for about 24 hours yesterday. we had to batten down the hatches. could continue to the search and rescue we wanted to do. today is about turning the corner. giving them a bridge to recovery. so you know, they have had massive power outnajs the virgin islands and puerto rico. we have to get the power back

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they have been feeling the effects for hours. we have seen the extreme wind warning. in place for the florida key. and it is moving north, relatively slowly northwest. the strong outer bands on the outside of the keys. if it goes calm, you're in the eye. the backside of the storm can still be dangerous. still have gusting winds well above hurricane force. hurricane force, the next two hours from now through about noon, miami is being warned one of those skaul through. look at naples. we stopped the clock at 3:00. a projected gust of 125 miles per hour. this is not taking into account west palm beach. vero beach, 60. if you're on the east side of the state, you don't get away if the hurricane-force gusts. >> yesterday, the the storm was movinging west. now it seems to have turned north again. >> it's making the northward

turn. every mile counts in this. as -- had it been just straight over islamorada more than key west, it would have gone more north. now it hugs the the coast. places like naples. bonita springs. the timing isover night tonight for sarasota. the highly pop lated areas. a very scary overnight. tallahassee by monday. and thuz, alabama, one thing to just note. with all of this is that this is for hours on end. just because it's just starting and your naples. they just got a 75-mile-per-hour gust. this is not going to be over soon. it will take ten hours. >> don't be lulled by the first calm. tom llamas is in ft. myers.

>> listening to your conversation. we're starting to feel the tropical force if not hurricane-force wind gusts. this is lee boulevard. a pretty busy intersection in fort meyer. it's empty. but some people are drivinging. it's really dangerous. as those gusts pick up. the winds. some of the palm fronts are startinging to rip off. the dead ones. you can see the debris here. we're in front of a strip mall. it's boarded up. getting ready for the storm. we spoke to you earlier today. there was a jind sign blowing in the wind. that's come apard. we haven't gotten to the brunt of the storm yet here in ft. myers. also, across the street. the poir lines. right now, they're holding up. we don't know how much longer that will last. there are power outages ac lee county. one death close to us.

a car zept a couple of counties north. people need to stay off the roads. it's starting to get dangerous. every now and then, we get hit with a burst. tropical storm or hurricane force wind gusts. it's getting worse. >> people are stage off the roads. tom, you came two ft. myers straig straight from a week in houston. the experience in houston had an impact on those in florida. made sure they took it seriously. >> no doubt. so many people we talked to saw the images of harvey. and then, the 25th anniversary of hurricane andrew in miami. people had to relive the awful memories. it no doubt played a role hopefully in some people evacuating. the problem is george, a lot of people thought they were in a safe area until hurricane irma shifted west. people thought they were okay here. and being evacuated at the last

minute, that's why the shelters are so filled up right now. 27,000 to 30,000. the wind picking up. a lot of people thought they were going to be okay. people in mobile home parks. up with guy we talked to yesterday said he was going to ride out the storm. then he evacuated. here's in the jermaine arena, in the upper deck, section 101, sleeping between two chairs. these are stands, to watch the hockey games. he's 74 years old. he's going to live in the arena for the next couple of days. >> it will be so tough for so many people. the red kosz serve something many in the shelters. want to bring in craig cooper, a spokesperson for the red kosz. you're coming to us from miami this morning? >> yes, i'm over near miami international airport. >> what are you all dealing with right now? >> we're a very, very busy group.

the red cross has been gearing up for this storm for the better part of a week. we have over 1,000 volunteers and responders from instate and out of state. emp was anticipating the storm would track toward the east side of the state. i came to miami to help here. but the beauty of the red cross system is that it's scaleable. we have shelters and e evacuation centers open all over the state. in six states, down in the southeastern united states. >> there was concern earlier in the week in miami you had run out of volunteers. to y do you have the people you immediate? >> yes, the red cross does have the human resources that we need. we partner very well with the county and state agencies. florida does a phenomenal job of staffing up and operating their own shelters and evacuation centers. here in florida, it's very much

a partner operation. we have people in place, waiting for the storm the pass. we have over 200 of our emergency response vehicles. tractor trailer loads full of sup plies that are staged. >> what is your greatest need right now? how can people at home watching help? >> right now, the key thing is financial support. we know that people in the kind of situation, they rush to the pantry and closet to see what type of donations they can make and put on a box truck and send to the dezaster zones. that is a noble and very good cause. the best thing to help the red cross is a financial donation. call 1-800-red cross. or text, 90999, put the put thet irma into the text. it will put a $10 donation.

the funds you designate to irma will be used for irma relief. >> craig cooper. thank you. want to bring in the mayor of naples. mayor barnett, your city looks to get the worst of this. >> yes. it does. >> and what is your biggest worry right now? do you feel like you're ready in. >> i have felt like we're ready all week. as the week progressed, a lot of our residents, heeded the early evacuation warnings and, and left. and, we went into mandatory evacuation two days ago in the city of naples. and, um, i think -- as you were just talking about a minute ago, i think harvey had a tremendous impact, unfortunately. people were so aware that this could be a reality and this

could happen to us, whereas with wilma, they were lackadaisical. they just, yeah, we don't believe you scenario. with this, it's a great sense of awareness. we in the city, our city staff, emergency responders. everybody trained and everybody had plans from the beginning of this, which is, going on now, to -- through the storm and then, we have a plan in place, of course, we're not going to know what the damage is until tomorrow. probably. but, we definitely have a plan in place for cleanup. and -- whatever is going to face us. >> have you ever dealt with a storm like this? >> not like in, no. wilma was the last one that i dealt with. charley just missed us. i was here for that. but, no, the only comparison i have for this is wilma.

from the looks of it and watching and listening to you and everybody else, i mean, and seeing it. this is a monster. and, i can -- i will tell you that there -- everybody that was here is in naples, i have not heard from any constituents or e-mails about anybody needing shelter or anything like that. which is surprisingly good. we have 27 shelters open in collier county. i think everybody's basic needs have been met. >> we know you have done everything you can. we're thinking of you. we'll be right back.

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100-mile-an-hour winds. you see the palm trees swaying. that is not the worst of the storm. that's miami right now. miami police waning officers are sheltered in place. they're not able to respond to anyone in trouble. we're going the talk more with with chief business and economics reporter rebecca jarvis. the mayor doesn't know what the damage will be like. we know lit cost a lot. >> if the estimates are right, george, this will be the costliest storm in u.s. history. hurricane irma now potentially going to cost $200 billion. back to back with hurricane harvey, which could cost as much as $180 billion. back to back two of the most expensive storms in history. greater than katrina, which cost $160 billion. you have to think about the area this storm is tracing. some of the most populated

areas. 8 1/2 million properties in potential risk. the crops. florida is a placey we get orange juice from. a number of produce products. $1.2 billion in crop damage is estimated right now. gnat ongoing issue, the fact that there are major gasoline out outages. the fourth largest shipping port in the country is shut down. getting back to business is going to take a long time. >> that's even though the biggest city? the state, miami, getting hit hard by wind. but spared the worst. >> spared the worst. but you have this all up and down the west coast now. gasoline outannals. people have rushed to get out of town. as a result of this storm. but still, you have very likely going to see huge, huge economic implications from the storm. they could really expand into the national economy. it could show up in the gdp figures going forward as well. >> nat ewe dowd, yd, yod, yod, u

advising george bush in the hurricane katrina aftermath. >> many people forget that hurricane katrina horribly tragic, three weeks later, wee had hurricane rita. we had two major hurricanes. when you look back, the lessons learned from people by katrina. and two, how important the likele action and local decisionmaking and local authority is from the city to the state. the two governors, governor abbott and scott, have both responded well. the city officials have been all over this pip think secondarily, the president's response. i have to say, mother nature doesn't dwiscriminate and is no partisan. they expect our leaders not the be partisan. >> president trump has emphasized supporting the local

officials. >> he has. absolutely. he's been on task. i think in the midst of this when he made the deal on the debt ceiling and fema funding, he did it in a bipartisan way. in the midst of the tragedy, this is the best week of the president's prez zen si. >> your dad is there. >> he's 83. in his closet with mattresses. holed up. e h knows he'll be there for the next 12, 24 hours. >> a long day ahead. i want to bring in craig the former administrator of fema. talk about the lessons you learned and how they can apply here? >> i think you are seeing that after katrina, we learned that fema can't wait until the governor makes questions. the other important lesson we

have learned is we can't build it back the way it was. we're going to see devastation. this will be an opportunity for build back for future risk. we have to be smart. thedy disasters are going to start reaching the point where we can't keep paying for them the same way. >> we may be seeing the benefit in miami. all the changes this building codes and regulations after hurricane andrew have made a difference. >> they are making a difference. we're going to see exactly how much difference as we look at older construction versus new. another area we're not talking about that is vulnerable. we have large manufacturered housing populations. many of those retirement communities. as much as we talk about the storm surge, we have a lot of people in wind and tornado areas that have been ordered to evacuate. we'll see those impacts increase as well. >> you have multiple dangers. hurricane force wibds. the possibility of

and the concern about storm surge. >> water is the big killer in hurricanes. i heard you talking to folks staying on their boats. most of the deaths we have seen have been people at sea and boats, even in the harbors. that's not safe. death by drowning is what we talk about when we talk about storm surge. you have to move to higher ground. folks still north of the track, they have time. they don't have days. they have hours. >> matt mentioned this deal this week. thank goodness, the funding has come through. it does seem, you know, not the most efficient way to deal with disaster to be passing these emergency programs after every time a hurricane, storm, earthquake hits. >> we were doing pretty good. harvey and irma are the kinds of

we need supplementals. we have the look at fema funded to respond to disasters all the time as well as the realization that it will take a lot more than fema to rebuild. h.u.d. and others will need money. >> thank you, craig. we'll be right back. maria is an incredible mom. when it comes to helping her daughter, shopping for groceries, unclogging the sink, setting updentist appointments and planning birthday parties, nobody does it better. she's also in a rock band. look at her shred. but when it comes to mortgages, she's less confident. fortunately for maria, there's rocket mortgage by quicken loans. it's simple, so she can understand the details and be sure she's getting the right mortgage. apply simply. understand fully. mortgage confidently.

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>> that's correct, george. thank you for giving me the opportunity to explain how the entire coast guard, not just my command, the seventh district is preparing if for storm. over the past few days, we have relocated our people and assets out of miami. out of the storm's path. and the tampa-st. pete area. we repositioned the assets outside of the storm's path. in places in alabama, georgia, south carolina, and north carolina. helicopters, boats, coast guard cutters. and people. from across the country. who are ready to respond to our top priority, savoring lives and reopening the ports of south florida. >> right now, you're prepared to deployregion. you have already worked in puerto rico and south. >> that's right. my district is also responsible for coast guard operations in puerto rico and the u.s. virgin islands.

those response operations have been going on for several days now. we have been able to reopen the ports in san juan and others. working diligently to get the ports in st. thomas and st. john to open again. we have allowed ferry traffic to resume. >> in some ways, you're stretch s ed to thin. what a challenge to respond to harvey and now irma? >> many of the same assets are repositioned to respond to you are -- irma. we'll take the lessons learned from the recent experience with hurricane harvey and apply it to hurricane irma. >> do you have a sense of when you can start the rescue, recovery effort in key west and later miami? >> that is a particular challenge for this storm. the size, the intensity, the track of hurricane irma threaten

the entire state of florida. so, our assets are tprimarily positioned out of the state. we'll have to drive them, fly them, the whole length of the state of florida. the response won't be as fa as we would like. it remains my top priority. we need to get back to our operational bases. miami, clearwater, our cutter home ports of miami, key west, and st. petersburg. >> do you have everything you need? >> uh, all of the operational assets of the coast guard are positioned to respond to this. and in addition, all of the support aspects of the coast guard, extra people, and extra logistical support have been made available and our coordination across the agency, with fema and the state of florida have been outstanding. we'll be ready. >> admiral brown. thank you for your time this morning. we'll be right back.

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our coverage will continue all day long. i'm here with ginger zee. we just heard the coast guard is ready. they're ready to deploy as soon as they can. there's a lot of storm left. >> we're just started. we just had landfall at cudjoe key. within the our. it's transitioning to the more northerly path. it's still north, northwest. we have seen 3.7-foot sorm surge in the cease. i anticipate that goes up considerably. 4.4 feet in miami. gusts well over 80 to 100 miles per hour. tornado watches.

one just included west palm beach. the warnings pop up for awhile. the track is so important. it's hugging the coast. am i safe on the east side? absolutely not. if you're in melbourne or orlando or jacksonville, you're still in the area that could see hurricane-force winds and heavy rainfall and flooding. >> we'll be here all day long. "gma" is coming up at 10:00. another edition of "this week" at 11:00. and a special tonight at 7:00, a "20/20" special. get special alerts all day long. download our app. have a good afternoon.

. good morning america. happening now. >> it's horrifying. absolutely horrifying. >> hurricane irma making landfall in florida. treacherous 130 mile per hour winds downing power lines. life-threatening storm surge up to 15 feet and over 20 inches of rain expected in some areas. >> the monster storm's death toll climbing. fatalities now reported in florida. plus new warnings about the potentially catastrophic category 4 hurricane. >> people are losing their power. they are losing their cell service. we're going to have storm surge along the west coast. >> people fleeing to safer ground. >> i was really scared about the storm. >> jamming interstates and filling evacuation centers to capacity. >> it's a madhouse. >> thousands lining