america this morning. making news in america this morning, irma cuts off more coastal communities. parts of charleston, south carolina, are underwater and we're seeing some of the damage in georgia as powerful winds move in. we have new video of the driver nearly hit by a falling tree. plus, recovery efforts under way in florida. our first look at the florida keys where some areas are devastated. residents allowed to return in just a matter of hours and when flights are expected to resume at the state's major airports. a plane crashes into a parking lot. so hear what witnesses and the pilot are now saying this morning. and monday night football is back. with all our rowdy friends. a historic night for the nfl but not because of something a player did.

it is a busy tuesday morning. hello, everyone. we're going to start with irma losing much of its punch but still swamping the southeast. >> irma is now blamed for at least 40 deaths, 10 here in the u.s. millions of people are also spending the night without power in florida, georgia and south carolina. and the damage left behind could total more than $90 billion. >> so the remnants of irma now pushing northwest into alabama and tennessee after being reduced overnight to a tropical depression with 35-mile-an-hour winds. but the storm slammed charleston, south carolina. look at these scenes. a ten-foot storm surge sending a rush of water into the streets. overnight, what's left of irma spreading its rain across the southeast. the downpours swamping charleston, south carolina, parts of the city underwater this morning. >> yeah, waves. >> reporter: a homeowner recording video as small waves

roll through his front yard and several feet of water surround this restaurant. the strong winds toppling trees near atlanta, a close call for this driver escaping disaster as a falling tree nearly hits her car. in jacksonville, florida, the worst flooding in decades. the storm surge pushing the st. john's river nearly six feet above normal surpassing the record set by hurricane dora in 1965. the coast guard releasing these pictures overnight after they rescued more than 100 people and myrtle beach clearly not prepared for the storm. the papers inside this newspaper machine surrounded by water with the ironic headline myrtle beach out of storm's path. and the extended flooding continues this morning in charleston, south carolina. by the way, irma is still unleashing some drenching downpours as it continues to march northwest. >> for the latest on the rain,

wind, the surge, let's turn to accuweather meteorologist paul williams who is tracking the storm for us. paul. >> good morning, kendis, diane. we still have dangerous waves of heavy showers moving throughout the tennessee valley region. mid-mississippi valley region and easing into the southern portions of the ohio valley region. yes, it is, indeed, a tropical depression with 35-mile-per-hour winds, but that's 35-mile-per-hour winds, and it's sliding its way toward the northwest. we're expecting the center of it to still track right into northern portions of alabama, mississippi going toward the memphis or midsouth area, however, irma is going to spread flooding rains throughout several states and we're expecting the very gusty winds, as well. not only that but we're concerned about what's happening out in the waters because jose is still swirling around in the atlantic and will bring enough influence to bring rough surf and perhaps strong rip currents along the east coast. kendis, diane. >> as long as it stays out to sea, paul. residents who fled the storm are anxious to return home to see what's left of their homes. >> the roads leading into the city of miami beach are re-opening this morning ahead of schedule. crews have been working long

hours to clear the way and the city tweeted last night, come on home. >> well, this is what's left of a marina in miami. boats piled on top of each other. the rising floodwaters even pushed some of them into trees. now, the only road into the florida keys is also opening up this morning. but only people who live will will be allowed entry. >> the storm left parts of the keys in shambles before hammering the rest of the state and abc's david muir has more on the storm and the damage left behind. >> reporter: the new images now emerging from naples, florida, underwater. entire neighborhoods swallowed by the storm. this home's roof gone. the right side collapsed. it was here that hurricane irma hit with the highest wind gust reported in florida, 142 miles per hour. trees snapping, pieces of the roof above us turning into projectiles. debris flying through the air. after sustained wind speeds of more than 100 miles per hour, suddenly we were in the middle of the eye when forecasters tell

you do not be fooled by the lull in the storm. and this is literally what it looks like the moment after irma passed. the winds have stopped. the rain has stopped, and now we can see the devastation. but within 30 minutes afterward the wind suddenly whipping up again, sheets of rain coming down. this was the back side of the hurricane as it then headed north to ft. myers and hitting in jacksonville. all over florida, so many people trying to get home. in miami the massive traffic jam on the macarthur causeway but here in key west they are not allowed to return home. andrew garcia telling me he's been waiting to go home but they won't let anyone in. frustration and fear mounting for so many families waiting to see if their property, their homes survived. what do you make of the destruction you're hearing about further down? >> further down is further down. the roads are washed away. you guys aren't going to go pave the roads before letting us in. it's going to be weeks before those roads get paved, but my house, my parents are there. why not let us go home? >> i'm glad they're okay. >> yes, we're very thankful and

we're very grateful. >> and residents and business owners will be allowed back into parts of the florida keys in a few hours. >> so irma made the first of its two landfalls as a hurricane in the keys. the damage is extensive. irma wrecked homes and vehicles, swamped and sunk many boats and washed away roads. the bridges to the keys appear to be in good shape actually but those returning should not expect any utilities. >> we still have no cell service. we still have no electricity for most of the keys. they expect in key west it'll probably take a week to ten days to get all the electricity in all the neighborhoods in key west but it could take as long as a month to get electricity throughout the rest of the lower keys. there are about 200 electrical poles down there. >> and here's something of even greater concern, the drinking water. the keys get most of their water

through an ago aqueduct from the mainland and it'll take a week to test the water to make sure it is safe to drink. >> the commissioner said prepare for camping conditions if you come back home. >> okay. florida residents who left the state may find it hard to fly back in. >> some airlines services will resume but almost half the flights to south florida canceled already. the airlines will increase their schedules as the day goes on. but passengers are still encouraged to check with their airlines before going to the airport. tonight we will have an opportunity to help victims of irma and harvey. >> an impressive list of celebrities will appear during tonight's hurricane telethon. you can see it on abc and 16 other networks at 8:00 p.m., 7:00 central. beyonce, justin bieber, justin timberlake and dave matthews of some of those expected to perform. all of the money raised will go to storm victims. >> it's really too bad they didn't get bigger names for that event. all right, so still ahead today's big event from apple. the gadgets that we expect to see. plus, mass evacuations under way in the caribbean. the u.s. military is pulling americans to safety. we have new video as abc news goes on rescue missions with the coast guard.

and also a plane makes a crash landing in a parking lot. crash landing in a parking lot. how the pilot su i thought, "the red cross does katrina. they don't help single moms. hi. hi. what happened to our house last year? it flooded. and the water flooded out. yeah. the red cross arranged the hotel for us. they gave me that break, that leverage, to be able to get it together and... take care of them, you know? i feel like we've come full circle. like that! this is how i'll do it. sarah: there you go.

this is the tribute in light rising from lower manhattan where the twin towers stood before the 9/11 attacks. the lights shining through the night honoring those, of course, who died there 16 years ago. president trump marked his first 9/11 anniversary in office by participating in a moment of silence at the white house and then at the pentagon speaking of unity and strength in the united states. >> i can't believe it's been 16 years. and the united nations has slapped north korea with new sanctions as punishment for its latest nuclear test. the u.n. security council unanimously approved the sanctions, which stopped well short of those originally sought by the trump administration.

among the new punishments, a cap on the import of petroleum products and a ban on north korean textile exports. well, the white house is standing by the president's decision to fire fbi director james comey and disagrees with a new claim from former adviser steve bannon. in a "60 minutes" interview bannon said he told president trump that firing comey was the biggest mistake in modern political history but the press second, sarah sanders said the president is confident with his decision and then she attempted to clarify a bit. >> since the director's firing we've learned new information about his conduct that only provided further justification for that firing including giving false testimony, leaking privileged information to journalists. >> here's the deal, sanders declined to elaborate on what false testimony she was referring to saying it was a matter for the justice department. equifax is facing at least 30 lawsuits stemming from its massive data breach. at least one of those suits accuses the company of securities fraud. meanwhile, equifax is staffing

up its call center so they can handle the number of people seeking information about the breach. the breach exposed vital information of potentially 143 million americans. and apple is expected to unveil the new iphone 8 today. the company's big announcement will be part of the first ever product event at its new spaceship headquarters in cupertino, california. one version of the new iphone is expected to cost a thousand dollars. some of the features are likely to include facial recognition technology and wireless charging. >> and it's been ten years since the original iphone. many saying that it'll be called the iphone x. when we come back, why puppies from a pet store are being blamed for making dozens of people sick. plus, monday night football returns and makes history for something that happened off the field. proof of less joint pain and clearer skin. this is my body of proof that i can take on psoriatic

arthritis with humira. humira works by targeting and helping to block a specific source of inflammation that contributes to both joint and skin symptoms. it's proven to help relieve pain, stop further joint damage, and clear skin in many adults. humira is the #1 prescribed biologic for psoriatic arthritis. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened; as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. before treatment, get tested for tb. tell your doctor if you've been to areas where certain fungal infections are common, and if you've had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flu-like symptoms or sores. don't start humira if you have an infection. want more proof? ask your rheumatologist about humira. what's your body of proof?

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south carolina, may have wished theirs had been canceled as well. look as the wind blows it around. the plane kind of sideways at times as it attempted to land there. >> and royal caribbean is sending cruise ships to help hurricane victims in the caribbean. the ships are delivering much needed supplies like ice, water, garbage bags, clothing and canned food, and they're also evacuating tourists and local residents. >> the u.s. government is handling other rescue and relief efforts. >> but some of those evacuees are surprised to find out the service isn't free. they have to promise to reimburse the government. that's been the practice for more than 60 years, but the state department does say no american will be denied assistance because they can't whip out a checkbook or a credit card. >> so most are eager to leave at any price. abc's linzie janis is there. >> i didn't think i would >> reporter: this is all that's left of the hotel where marie puckeren was staying in st.

martin. the simpson bay resort was to be her dream birthday vacation. >> it went from the most beautiful resort ever to chaos to total destruction. >> reporter: the category 5 storm killed at least 37 people from barbuda -- >> this has been one of the worst days of my life, the entire country has been decimated. >> reporter: -- to st. martin to the virgin islands. now there are severe shortages of food, water and medicine. on sunday we left with the coast guard on a cutter as they rushed to st. thomas in the u.s. virgin islands to bring in needed supplies and to evacuate stranded americans to puerto rico. >> we'll have water, we'll have dry food, some clothes for kids in need, and we also are dropping off federal agents to help with law enforcement and try to re-open the airport and the ports in st. thomas. >> reporter: the department of defense says 4,600 service members are helping with relief efforts in the virgin islands

and puerto rico. while the lucky ones from another devastated island, st. martin, are evacuated by c-130s. what did it sound like as it was hitting? >> a sound i never want to hear again in my life. >> like an airplane engine. >> it did. >> it was a whistle. a high whistle you never want to hear in your life. i don't wish that on my worst enemy. >> reporter: an estimated 5,000 americans were believed to be trapped on st. martin in the aftermath of irma. since friday, the u.s. state department has airlifted 1,900 americans. france's president emmanuel macron is expected to travel to st. martin to survey the damage and offer relief to the french dutch island. many people left homeless. some forced to cook their meals on coals in the middle of the street. while tourists are able to look forward to going home, for the residents of the region, they're left with little but their grief. linzie janis in san juan, puerto rico. >> and the defense department plans to end its airlift

operations for americans in st. martin today and move on to the british virgin islands where 500 americans are stranded. meanwhile, federal health officials say petland stores are at the center of a growing infection outbreak. they say at least 39 people in 7 states have gotten sick after being in contact with puppies sold at petland. nine of those victims were hospitalized over the last year. most of the infections are in florida and ohio. dog owners are advised to wash their hands after handling their pets in order to avoid the illness. a stunning small plane crash caught on camera in hartford, connecticut. the plane flying straight into a tree then slamming down into the parking lot. it happened just outside a small airport there in the county. the 80-year-old pilot says that he is doing fine. witnesses say they saw the plane land then quickly take off again before hitting that tree. it was a monday night football doubleheader to finish up the nfl's first week. things started off last night with the vikings hosting the saints.

>> minnesota quarterback sam bradford was the star of the show. three touchdown passes led the vikings to a 29-19 victory. >> and then the chargers faced the broncos. denver had a 17-point lead starting the fourth quarter but the broncos had to block a field goal attempt as time expired to avoid overtime. denver wins, 24-21. plus history was made last night when this happened. >> travis benjamin, the fair catch at his own 10 yard line and a punt of 52 yards -- >> beth mowins became the first woman to call a monday night football game. and she's the first woman to call an nfl game in 30 years. >> so many interesting story lines from last night's game. hank williams jr. was also back. ♪ are you ready for some football ♪ >> he even wrote a new song. >> oh. we'll have to learn those new words now. up next in "the pulse," a man proposes to his girlfriend. sounds good enough but then, oh, boy, what happens after he got down on one knee. >> ooh.

and han solo, the traffic cop? see how harrison ford jumped into action. [phi anne.g] so those financial regulations being talked about? they could affect your accounts, so let's get together and talk, and make sure everything's clear. yeah, that would be great. being proactive... it's how edward jones makes sense of investing.

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in a once-daily pill. ask about xeljanz xr. irma still having a wide impact on millions in florida without power this morning and here's an example of how widespread the outages are. >> this is what south florida looked like on a clear night before irma. all those lights on the right are in miami. all those on the left are in naples. >> this is what the same area looked like after hurricane irma moved through. it'll be days before all the lights are back on. both disney world and universal are re-opening but visitors may have trouble typing something to eat outside the theme parks. one of our crew spotted long

lines trying to get a golden corral in kissimmee because it's one of the few restaurants open in the tourist district. hopefully you can get a turkey leg at disney world today. and a pair of horses had a nice warm place to ride out the storm. a laundry room. goose and dixie were allowed inside their owner's home because the hurricane was expected to destroy their barn. now, the barn luckily survived. good news because dixie is pregnant. she and goose are now back where they belong. i think they kind of liked the laundry room. >> matt gutman is comforting goose at this time to make sure they're okay. harrison ford has played famous roles for decades. indiana jones and han solo. >> this video moves we can add new york traffic cop. he got out of his car and started directing traffic outside the infamous congested midtown tunnel. he doesn't look like the most patient traffic cop. >> no, not at all. he was yelling at drivers.

a woman can be heard saying it really is him. and we have a word of advice about anyone about to propose. hold on to the ring. >> seth dixon popped the question to his girlfriend by popping open the ring box and then the ring popped out and fell into the kansas city pond below. so they took the video -- the person taking the video helped them try to find the ring. people swimming below tried to help them find the ring. members of their church tried to help them find the ring and -- >> no luck. >> but they still say they're getting married. time's up, insufficient prenatal care. and administrative paperwork, your days of drowning people are numbered. same goes for you, budget overruns. and rising costs, wipe that smile off your face. we're coming for you too. at optum, we're partnering across the health system to tackle its biggest challenges.

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let's get up and get going. this is abc 7 mornings. the power the nature on display in the bay area, novato, san francisco, san jose just about everyone talking about the lightning and thunder and rain that hit us last night. it's not quite over dwret. coming up on 4:30. good morning to you, i'm nat is a zu business. >> reggie is off this morning. we hope he's feeling better >> he didn't stay up watching the lightning. >> maybe he did. it was wild. it was nice to see but kind of scary, too. >> it can be scary. absolutely. a lot of electricity a lot of heat with lightning. here are several lightning bolts captured overnight in san francisco you can see the lightning coming down and loud thunder that scares more people than the actual lightning does.

it came to fruition yesterday and the hardest hit areas at least as far as weather and wet weather are concerned were places like san francisco, about a tenth of an inch, sfo two tenths of an inch and newark at about a tenth of an inch also. you can see it's considerably quieter this morning but we do have a few scattered showers out there over the ocean and those are rotation to the north-northwest and will stay over the ocean. here is how our day unfolds on your 12-hour day planner, 62 to 67, mid 70s to low 80s at noon, we will stay in the 60s at the coast, low to mid 80s around the rest of our neighborhoods at 4:00. then we will see a regeneration of the thunderstorms again this evening. alexis. >> i slept through all of it, maybe i can watch it again tonight. >> right now we're starting off with an issue in the east bay, it does not look like it's causing any backup. westbound 80 at the maritime exit, a couple vehicles that were racing one of them crashed

right here, the other continued further and made it up to the west 80 off ramp to pinole valley. as of right now we haven't gotten word on any lane closures and i'm not seeing any backup because of that. back now to that wild weather. we are learning a worker at sfo had a close call with lightning last night. >> amy hollyfield is at the airport with that scary experience. >> he works out on the runway, he was complaining about ringing in his ears, they were worried that possibly he had been struck by lightning. he did refuse medical attention so he is okay. here is a look at the impressive show that flour nature put on last night. we have incredible video of this lightning show. there were strikes all over the bay area from san francisco to san jose, we also picked up some from our emeryville camera over in the east bay. it was also accompanied by thunder, that was also

impressive to hear and then also rain came down. so quite a show. so unusual for this area and this time of year. now, all of this lightning did cause some problems. we have power outages to report to you this morning, these are the very latest numbers just in from pg & e. the biggest problem on the peninsula and south bay. peninsula 565 people without power, san jose and the south bay 400 people, san francisco a lot of people in the dark there as well, over 500 customers there without light. so worried some alarm clocks won't be going off this morning, hopefully that power will be coming on again very soon, but a total of 1,872 customers no power, but an impressive light show outside last night. reporting live at sfo, amy hollyfield, abc 7 news. you're covering problems it was also a long night for giants fans because of all of this. after two weather delays their series opener against the