people right now under a hurricane warning. this morning irma came ashore in cuba. the winds there topped 155 mailings an hour. at least 23 people have been killed by the storm throughout the caribbean. 16 are confirmed dead after the storm ribbed through the caribbean over the past few days, specifically to the caribbean. irma a category 4 hurricane, it is moving through the bahamas toward south florida, still on a very unpredictable track. however, the national hurricane center is warning that parts of southern florida could see catastrophic impacts, structural damage, widespread power outages. let's go to nbc's gadi schwartz in homestead, florida. good morning to you, gadi. homestead was wiped out a couple years ago and completely rebuilt. i think that was after hurricane andrew. they know what they're dealing with when it comes to big

storms. >> reporter: that's right, alex. hurricane andrew devastated this area. we've been driving around. let me show you what it looks like right now. we're seeing some of the outer bands of this storm. this is something people have been preparing for. a lot of people remembering what hurricane andrew did to this town. in fact, a little while ago we were driving by one area. it's almost like a monument to what happened in hurricane andrew. we're going to head out there in just a second and see if we can show you pictures of what happened to that live. i want to show you what we're looking at. these are the outer bands. that's the outer bands and that's way up here, that's where we are right at that blue dot. we're starting to see the storms and the outer bands drenching the area. we're not seeing the hurricane-force winds. one of the things hurricane andrew did to this town is it basically restarted the way people looked at building codes. they started to think about hurricanes as strong as andrew

and irma when they started buildi building things. there's a picture i want to show you, something everybody in this town remembers. let me see if i can pull it up here. it is absolutely shocking to see the type of devastation that hurricane andrew wrought in this area. that's what hurricane andrew did here. i'm going to show you live here. we're turning down into what used to be a trailer park. this was filled with mobile homes, but there is nothing here. this is 25 years after andrew, and all you have is these empty slabs of concrete. you have these kind of erie roads that go nowhere. this is after hurricane andrew devastated the area and picked up the debris and left. this is one of many places here in homestead and florida city that were absolutely demolished after andrew. right now they're starting to

see this track as irma goes slightly to the west. that doesn't mean they're in the clear. hurricane andrew was also not supposed to hit homestead and it did. it made a last-minute turn. no one here is letting their guard down. everybody here is preparing for the worst. >> gadi, i've driven through that area a number of times. i mentioned earlier thmy family has a home 24 the keys and have passed through that. it seems to have been rebuilt with hurricanes in mind. solid, concrete-based structures, nothing too tall. do floridians in homestead think they've got a pretty good chance at surviving this because of the lessons they learned in andrew? >> reporter: we've talked to three different types of people. we've talked to people that are leak, look, we went through andrew and we're getting out of here. we're talking to holdouts that are saying we feel comfortable

enough that our place is secure, it's made out of concrete, and they may not have the means to escape. they may not have the means to evacuate. yesterday we were at an apartment complex and most of the people at that apartment complex said they had checked to see if there were shelters nearby and the shelters were filling up, so they were getting plywood and were fortifying this apartment complex. it looked like they were going to stay and weather the store. then you have people who rebuilt with hurricanes if mind. we're next to city hall. the city hall is built to withstand a category 5 hurricane. building codes have obviously improved. people are a lot more prepared now. they know what's coming and the potential for the catastrophe that could befall this town. but there's still people that are going to stay in this town and weather out whatever happens. >> gadi schwartz, thank you for driving around there. do so safely.

joining me now, msnbc meteorologist bonnie schneider. let's get an update on the storm, where it's going. the fact that it's tracked slightly to the west, how does that affect things overall? >> it affects things in a big way in terms of where we'll see the most storm surge, the most damaging winds. unfortunately for cuba, the storm hasn't moved yet. if you look here, there's the eye, watch it work its way to the north coast and just kind of stay there. it's been bringing torrential downpours to cuba, and hurricane-force winds as well. the eye made landfall as a category 5. that's the first time a cat 5 hit cuba since 1924. let's talk about what's happening now. the interaction with land has weakened it a bit in terms of irma. i don't think it's going to stay weak for long. location is 225 miles south of miami beach. that's where the center of circulation is. winds are at 130. it's just a category four at this point. the water temperatures as it

crosses the florida straits, it's going to intensify once again and could see it get even stronger, 150-mile-per-hour winds when the storm makes landfall in the florida keys. also the potential of a second landfall somewhere in the vicinity of southwest florida. watching this closely, the cone of uncertainty shows -- we can see the track shift a little bit. now we're concentrating on the west part of florida, the west coast. notice the winds are picking up, the winds are getting stronger. with all that wind that the storm generates, unfortunately storm surge is a huge, huge factor. you can see -- this animation shows how high the water can go. because the track has shifted, going back to alex's initial question, southwest florida is likely to see a much higher storm surge than originally supposed to. that storm surge could go eight to 12 feet with hurricane irma. something we're really watching along all of florida with hurricane irma, because it's such a large storm. >> a large storm across a lot of

flat land. i'll tell you, it is gravely concerning, that kind of storm surge. bonnie, thanks so much. we'll see you again shortly. joining me from ft. lauderdale nbc's sarah oh czar i don't. i can tell you're hanging onto your hats. let's talk about what you're feeling. >> reporter: here in ft. lauderdale the wind is starting to pick up as hurricane irma is expected to make landfall in less than 24 hours. we're seeing gusts of rain as well. so we're preparing for that. out here on the beach we've got people surfing out here. they're out here on the dock. what you can see is waves crashing along the shore. other people are at the beach trying to get a look before conditions really start to deteriorate. we're expecting hurricane-force winds from coast to coast with the potential of bringing life-threatening storm surge. the message clear. >> you need to go down.

>> a mass exodus followed as irma showed its strength. >> we've been here for katrina, wilma, nopg really flit ening as this. >> reporter: many heeding warnings as the most powerful atlantic hurricane on record battered the caribbean, taking lives, homes and leaving more than a million people without power. >> this is a catastrophic storm that our state has never seen. >> many shelters are full. gas stations and airports closed. >> i don't know what to do. >> reporter: preparations made across the state. protecting animals at the miami zoo to shutting down the happiest place on earth. disney and other theme parks closed as irma sets sight on the sunshine state. those who can't make it out are preparing to bear down as the storm hits hoping for the best.

as hurricane irma continues to head towards this area, we are expecting widespread power outages. the ceo of florida power and light says up to 4 million customers, more than 4 mel eun customers could expect to have their power out if irma continues on its current track. live in ft. lauderdale, sarah rosario. alex, back to you. >> sarah, as you hang on to your hat, is there anywhere, i guess that would be to your left, that you see higher ground. when you talk about storm surge, is there anything that would impede the water from reaching well into ft. lauderdale? >> reporter: when i look to my left, i don't really see higher ground. i know there is higher ground away from the beach. i don't see it in my view right now. but if people go inland, there is an area where people will be able to get further away from these waters. that's why officials have

evacuated many people from this area. obviously the people surfing around here need to get out of here as the storm continues to head this way, alex. >> they sure do. sarah rosario in ft. lauderdale, thank you for that. >> florida has ordered mass evacuations. have they done enough? the state's attorney general will be here to answer that next.

welcome back everyone. at 43 past the hour. we'll bring you pictures from key west, florida. a good look at what's happening there right at the tip of the keys reaching into the caribbean. those waters there between cuba and the keys

>> listen to this. so my price gouging hotline, i can kick it in as soon as this emergency is declared. 8,050 complaints we've received. >> what! >> it's going up well over a hundred an hour, over a hundred an hour. the majority are fuel, water,

ice. we're starting to hear more about hotels. the restaurant and lodging association, they have been amazing working with us. it's been rough. but for the most part if you're a hotel and you're gouging, drop your prices back down because you will be hearing me say your name, probably with you, alex, we will be going after them. a big problem we did have 7-elevens, offer 40 were gouging people on water. they take a $2 bottle of water but they would case them together and cost $3, $4, $5 and start selling them for $20, $30 or more dollars. shameful. maybe not illegal technically but it's immoral and it's wrong. so 7-eleven corporate, i've been

on the phone with them and they're not all bad, some are but not all. they've been $150,000 to the red cross. they've already sent down i think 4,800 bottles of water, they're working with nestle, thank you nestle, on getting trucks and trucks and trucks of free water into our state to make up for those few bad actors. they're taking donations at 7-eleven's all around the country. they have some bad actors and they are going to pull your franchise. >> there may be legal questions as to whether or not it's legal but it certainly is immoral. you're bracing for two storms, one in hurricane irma and one in

pam bonde. >> we're also waiting to hear from governor rk scott. also the first rain and winds of hurricane irma are certainly being seen in south florida as we take a look at key west. we'll take a look and be right back.

it's 52 past the hour. governor rick scott will have a conference. >> let's go to katie beck. it could be a little bit deceiving as we get a look at

where you are. it looks like mostly sunny skies, barely any wind there. what's the plan for keeping not only the residents safe but also the multitude of visitors? >> disney world is taking extreme caution, alex. they almost never close their doors. this is only the fifth time that disney world has closed their doors, since 1971, there have only been five times they've shut down the park. they will shut down the park tomorrow and on monday as the worst of irma passes through orlando. they've made that announcement because of the safety of their guests. they say it's simply not safe to have people wandering around the attractions. and both of those entities,

disney world and sea world, closing. october is when they see the least amount of guests here but there will be a lot of people hold up in hotels with no flights over the next couple of days. >> and coming up for all of you in the next hour, some medical precautions that those in the path of irma should be taking. stay with us.

right here, 5.6 million people, more than a quarter of the state's population have been ordered to evacuate. you're seeing the beginning of the effects of hurricane irma there at the very southernmost part of not only this country

but certainly the state of florida there, the very tip of the keys there in key west. it will be coming up shortly but really hitting it in the wee hours of the morning. governor rick scott will be with us here live on msnbc.