monitoring hurricane dorian as the monster category 4 storm texas, garrett haake. garrett, investigators are barrels sorts the southeast trying to see what the gunman coast. right now, dorian is 112 miles off west palm beach florida, set him off mere. you have information, what do it's very slowly inching west through the atlantic, with wind you have? >> reporter: jo, we're learning gusts of up to 155 miles an that the suspect should have hour. and today, floridians are on been on alert by alert because edge for what could be the most of a small measure by neighbors. he living outside of the county destructive storm the state has here outside of town. and one of his neighbors told seen since hurricane andrew. one of our producers sue krol mandatory evacuations are under out there in the county during way across florida and the carolinas. interviews she called the police residents of the bahamas seeing after a suspect threatened her after an incident about trash in their yards. the discharge with the suspect was known to 165-mile-per-hour winds and a apparently shoot small animals massive 23-foot storm surge. from his property. >> please pray for us. he would essentially stand on his roof and shoot rabbits off please pray for us, everyone. his property that the neighbors please pray for us. >> the sea is just spraying on said he would then eat. he was seen as a strange guy in to our houses. the winds are howling like we've the neighborhood, not well to the other neighbors, but for never ever, experienced before.

this strange behavior. as to how this links to the >> we need help. shooting itself, we just don't please someone, come help us. know yet. >> this storm at this magnitude, we know that the suspect was could really cause massive fired from his job a short time destruction. and do not put your life in ago and that he essentially fired on police officers. the first people he fired on jeopardy by stayin ining behind. >> the high intensity of it, the during some kind of traffic stop. whether that traffic stop was winds, i've never seen them this high. purely for a violation or i've been through other whether it was something that hurricanes which are a lot less. police were looking for is one the hotels on the beach here are of the things they want to get clarity from investigators when gone. >> joining me now is nbc's al they belierief investigators la roker. al, florida starting to see the impacts on the storm's outer this arrange. >> lthere were laws signed by te bands, right? dorian's still on track to make republican governor it's the second mass shooting to make that northern turn or is it headlines in texas in a matter florida takes a direct hit? of weeks. >> well, we can't rule anything what are you hearing from texans on the ground about what they out at this point. want to see happen next? s that the joint, jo ling. >> reporter: texas is right at the forefront of this debate on we're starting to see a turn. how best to protect people from this is a 2:00 reading from the mass shootings. and the republican-controlled national hurricane center. legislature here under a republican governor have put in winds still at 155 miles per effect new bills signed by the governor in june and already

hour. a very strong category 4 storm. went in effect on september 1st still crawing at 1 miles per that line up squarely on the argument that more access to hour. now, we have movement, guns would make texans safer. it includes expanding where you north-northwest. is it had been westerly but now can carry your gun, on school or we're seeing a turn. you can also see the feeder church property. loosening restrictions on how bands coming in from north of you have to store your gun if you operate a foster home. melbourne to west palm beach. i asked texas' governor we have hurricane warnings south yesterday, here's what he said. of fort pierce, north of west what do you say to people who palm beach and north of look at that and wonder if texas is going the wrong direction to melbourne. and hurricane watches all the way up to the georgia border and stop shootings? we've even got tropical storm >> one of the laws that went in effect and some deal with issues watches in parts of interior like this, and that is, laws florida. so, we're watching this very that ensure that school closely. here's the track right now, it stays offshore. there are noel steering marshals, more school marshals currents, but we're going to will have guns to make it safe show you why we think it's going every. to continue on this path, some of these laws were enacted for the purpose of making the hugging the coast but never really making landfall. communities safer. >> reporter: you there hear the the best chance comes friday governor pointing to one of when we cut across the outer these laws which would allow banks around cape hatteras. more school marshals carrying we may see a landfall then. weapons on school campuses here in the state of texas.

and then it continues to shoot jo, it's exactly the argument out into the atlantic. that pro-gun advocates make of look at this, boston is just the idea that more guns would outside of the cone of uncertainty. here's the problem, we've had a make it safer if more hands. texans own more guns than high pressure ridge. now, we expect that to break citizens of any other state and down and allow a little trough to move through. now also the proud owners of pick this thing up and shoot it four deadly mass shootings in out. however if that upper high the state. garrett haake, thank you. pressure ridge stays stronger, it stays depressed. i want to bring in s, dorian stays closer down to founder of moms gun sense for where we see it now and maybe america. doesn't make that complete northwest shot. shannon, thank you for being so, we're going to have to watch here today. >> thank you. this very closely. >> what are your thoughts about just to give you a sense, jo the back-to-back shooting, plus ling, of how close all of this the loosening of gun laws as is. this is the force. garrett haake was reporting the yellow, tropical storm force there in a matter of weeks? >> well, these are all responses that texans have been working on winds. for a while. and as it makes its way up by having four of the most tomorrow, look at this, the storm center is only 45 miles deadliest shootings in this country has had them loosen the offshore. gun laws. predicted to be 45 miles lawmakers behold ton nra offshore. the edge of the hurricane force, continue to make gun lobbyists only 20 miles.

until we get that kicked up in essentially write our laws. we know that stronger laws work. that trough, we could see a wobble. laws like a background check on especially if it's a wobble to the west that means the storm a red flag sale. and we're asking the senate to comes onshore. pass but it's also what texas that's why people have to remain should pass. >> there's democratic vigilant. we can't rule out a landfall. presidential candidates out there continuing their calls for this storm system when it's just crawling at 1 to 2 miles per safety gun reform. we've got a quinnipiac poll that hour, anything can happen. >> we'll be watching that wobble but what about georgia and the shows that 93% support carolinas? also, boston, what kind of background check. caution should those states but yesterday, president trump have? >> caution is the better part of is downplaying that this will valor. people have to be prepared for this thing to make its way up personally affect gun control the coast. legislation, listen to this. and as it does, it will continue >> i will say, for the most to hug the coast. part, sadly if you look at the last four or five going back but, as we said, until it gets even five or six or seven years, picked up and really shot for the most part, as strong as through that opening in that you make your background checks, upper level ridge, we can't they would have not have stopped really say, okay, you're safe. any of it. until this thing really gets so, it's a big problem. picked up and we really start to it's a mental problem. it's a big problem. see that change. in the meantime, there's >> shannon, what's your response to that? nothing's really controlling it. >> well, first of all, we know so a wobble either way could that background checks work. cause problems. since 1994, when federal >> al roker, always on the

background checks were required lookout, thank you so much. on licensed gun sales, over 3.5 joining me from fort pierce, florida, nbc's gabe gutierrez. million gun sales have been stopped mainly to felons and how have the conditions that domestic abusers and others. al's been talking about changed when we look at the states, a the way that the national guard state like connecticut that might be preparing and local passed strong background checks officials there? >> reporter: hi there, jo ling. we saw gun homicides and what i was talking about, just suicides fall significantly. think about that, this storm in a state like missouri that had homicides spike. crawling along at 1 to 2 miles so these laws work. per hour. we're here at the national guard that is a talking point the president is using, an nra talking point. we also have the same rates of staging area in fort pierce. mental illness as any other high income country. earlier, we were seeing the we all play video games and outerbands but now it's sunny watch movies. out and we're getting a break in what is different about america? the fact we give dangerous the wind. about 4500 members of the people full access to dangerors florida national guard are prepped and ready across the weapons and ammunition. state. i'm joined by colonel blake it is congress's job to fix that. we are calling on the senate heidelberg. sir, how do you prepare for a majority leader to bring bills that already passed the house to storm this large and it's a vote and americans can support that by texting the word checks unpredictable. how concerning is it? to 64433 and tell your senators >> it's very concerning. we try to prepare all year. we demand action now.

we train all years for storms >> if you had a moment as the like this. it's an honor and privilege to nra often has with the president and white house to tell him have to come to the aid of our something what would you say to fellow citizens but it's tough. him? >> i would say, look. you don't have to continue to be we're very apprehensive. >> reporter: thousands of allied with the gun lobby. members of the national guard throughout the state. the nra is toxic. we're looking at equipment here. they are under water this is more expected to be reputationally. helped in the aftermath, any they are broke. they're weaker than they've ever debris that needs to be cleared? been as an organization. >> yes, sir, we're an engineer 90% of americans support stronger gun laws. do the right thing. battalion, we're here to make side with all of the americans sure the first responders and who support things like a the commodities can get to the background check on every gun sale and you will be fine. people that need it. you don't have to continue to -- >> reporter: there's a lot of concern in this part of the this marriage with one of the nation, low-lying areas being most toxic special interests in evacuated, jo ling. our nation's history. more than 1 million people in >> shannon watts, thank you so florida and georgia and the carolinas ordered to evacuate. much, with moms demand action. you are the founder and we appreciate your time today. how concerning is that this area >> thank you. could see this over the next any minute we'll have a new status update on hurricane coming hours? >> extremely concerning. dorian from the national weather 90% of the people live on coasts on causeways, they're in a center. nbc's al roker will be here to mandatory evacuation. break it down for us. plus we're talking with florida we simply don't have the congressmanr resources to get them out during the storm. dorian. we need them to adhere.

>> reporter: lieutenant colonel, thank you for all that you do. and tremfya® was proven jo ling, this is an ongoing superior to humira® in providing significantly clearer skin. don't use if you're allergic to tremfya®. event that we're expecting over the next several days. tremfya® may lower your ability to fight infections and may increase your risk of infections. conditions expected to ed ted before treatment, your doctor should check you for infections and tb. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms deteriorate over the next few or if you had a vaccine or plan to. serious allergic reactions may occur. hours. it will be in terms of storm tremfya®. get clearer. surge and heavy rain in this part of the coast, but many janssen can help you explore cost support options. people from what we are seeing are heeding those evacuation warnings. and a category 5, that my dbut now, i take used tometamucil every day.sh janssen can help you explore designation, even though it's weakened to a category 4, that it traps and removes the waste that weighs me down, gets a lot of people's so i feel lighter. attention. many of them just to our south try metamucil, and begin to feel what lighter feels like. have evacuated. more and more people up the coast evacuating right now. >> nbc's gabe gutierrez, thank you so much. joining us in inian harbor beach florida, mariana, what are conditions like in croocoa beac set yourself free with fleet.

right now? >> reporter: i'm going to let my gentle constipation relief in minutes. cameraman show you how the water is starting to come in, in little fleet. big relief. try it. feel it. force. that water, you can see the marks that it's reached up to feel that fleet feeling. the point of the dock where people are not surfing anymore. this is a sign of things to come when you have a storm with 175-mile-per-hour winds coming this way to this barrier island, under mandatory evacuation order. all of these folks around here. can see, there are a slew of locals catching a glimpse of this sight, some say, before it changes after the storm. most of them deciding, as we heard from gabe, not to evacuate. they're sort of holding their breath to see if it makes that local turn. i want to speak to one of the locals here, is this ken. ken, for now, even know it's mandatory evacuation, you have decided to stay put, can you tell us why? >> i haven't left -- i've been

here since a young kid. little fleet. big relief. try it. feel it. liberty mutual customizes your car insurance, so you only pay for what you need. we stayed through pretty much all of them. i wish i could shake your hand. granted. unless it adjusts at that point i might go inland but i don't only pay for what you need. know if it's much better. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ >> reporter: you've seen so many storms throughout your life, what about this concerns you? >> intensity of it, the winds, big dreams start with small steps... of course. provided we don't get them, i feel like we'll be better off. ...but dedication can get you there. but if it comes over us full easily set, track and control your goals force it will be very difficult right from the chase mobile® app. for our area. >> reporter: can you tell me how chase. make more of what's yours®. you prepared your home? >> actually for me, i just put a roof on it three months ago. i boarded up everything. ♪ go where my baby lives b[ growl ]olle♪s wind mitigation on my home is good boy. very good. i feel quite safe, to be honest. >> reporter: what's a message for people who may not have hey. hey. experienced a storm like you have? >> just be careful. you must be steven's phone. be very cautious, if you're not prepared, even if you are prepared it may be time to jump know who's on your network and control who shouldn't be with xfinity xfi. ship if it gets real bad. i don't know. simple. easy. awesome. >> reporter: thank you so much. i know you're waiting for that ninth inning miracle.

i'm going to let you go. i spoke to authorities here, they decided not to close the bridges that go out of this island because they want to give people like ken a chance to leave if indeed this turns into a hairy situation. when those winds go to 40 to 45 miles per hour, police will stop patrolling the streets. that's not the minute you want to get in your car and start evacuating. >> we're sending good vibes to ken and his brand-new roof. mariana, thank you so much. the state of florida is let's go to miami joining me bracing for the worst as now. hurricane dorian threatens the miami fire chief and chief task coastal region of the state. force leader. overnight the now category 4 joe, thanks for joining us here. storm battered the bahamas and forecasters say florida could be miami is expecting to see a next with the storm mere miles storm surge, sustained winds, from its coast even if dorian pretty serious winds. does not make landfall by monday how are you and your team night through wednesday evening. getting ready for this? the state could still see >> well, we've been preparing for this the last couple of massive rain, storm surge, and

the strong winds. as a precaution, airports in weeks, we have been fortunate fort lauderdale and palm beach that we seem to be out of the cone and can breathe a sigh of have shut down and mandatory evacuations are under way in at relief. although, anytime you have a least nine counties. seven others have issued monster storm such as this, sitting off of your coast, it's voluntary evacuation orders. now, despite the uncertainty of important that you maintain v where and when the storm might hit, some floridians are taking abundant caution by getting out vigilance. and that's what we're doing. we have all forces in place. of town. >> this trailer actually is we have the task force activated still standing from 1946. in our home area. it's been through every single and if we do not need to use any storm. i was going to strap my trailer of the resources we have, we can down with huge straps but i talked to some engineers and it always offer them to our just can't handle the force of brothers and sisters north of that wind. >> even if it does bypass us hughes might have a greater need we'll still be a lot safer if we than us. >> what kind of advice are you move out. >> joining us now from orlando, giving from those choosing not republican congressman michael to evacuate. walt who represents florida's we were just hearing from 6th district. mariana, that they haven't thank you so much for being closed those bridges and roads here. >> sure. thank you. >> are you confident enough has yet. what's your advice? >> the advice is listen to your been done to prepare for dorian? >> we were on a bipartisan call emergency managers. this morning with the entire florida delegation, republican they are explaining exactly what and democrat, with governor to do. they have experience, they have desantis, who i think has shown knowledge. heed the warnings. great leadership in preparation

if you are in an evacuate zone, for this but also with fema and move out. a number of other organizations. it might be inconvenient, if asked to evacuate, then go. before i get into that let me if you're sheltering in place, just say my heart goes out to do it responsibly, ensure that what is going on in the bahamas your home is fortified and that right now to our neighbors there. you have all of the provisions we are standing with you and you need. will be ready to help you here in miami, we encourage our residents to be subsufficient recover. usaid, the coast guard, and for at least seven days. others are working through our embassy there to get ready to whether it's food or water or help them with search and medication, make sure you have what you need. because if you are in trouble, i recovery. and what i think is going to be promise you, we will come for you, but we need time to do some terrible rebuilding. florida is ready. that. >> i'm just hearing from the we are resilient. engineering battalion, they say i along with the governor are they don't have capacity to go saying, look, do not let your out and get everyone during a guard down even though this may progress and follow the path of hurricane for obvious reasons. matthew up the east coast, if so do you feel that you have the you remember what happened with resources that you need for after the hurricane for the matthew, as al was saying it possible rebuilding efforts? pushes all of the water up the >> well, the rebuilding effort, intercoastal, up the rivers, it floods places you wouldn't depending on the level of damage is a long and arduous task. expect because it doesn't let but with regard to the the water out as it is moving so evacuations that you were slowly. i am very concerned about the referring to, it's important that the community work with surge and the flooding risk.

public safety in order to i live on a barrier island. achieve a certain goal. and, no, it's not possible for i have evacuated. my agency or any other agency to evacuate all of those traig to le individuals. trying to lead by example. that's why we asked the people need to listen to local community for their assistance. officials. they are trying to do it the more people that heed the judiciously and only evacuate most at risk areas. warnings. the easier it is to come in post and take care of our at needs folks, our elderly, hospitals, storm and address those who are truly in need. nursing homes. folks on defibrillators, and too many people staying will not detract from our resources. ventilators and other folks that need special care. >> definitely check on your so, heed the warnings, and that makes the afteraffects of the storm and dealing with the neighbors. we've seen striking images of lines at stores, people wrapping afteraffects of the storm more around corners. manageable for your local do you have enough resources on hand in case you have these agencies. >> miami fire chief joe massive storm surges and people zahraban, thank you for all you are stuck for days or even a do. appreciate it. week? >> well, there is an individual we'll bring you the latest responsibility element there and on dorian throughout the hour. everyone has been asked to stock and next a tragedy on a vote up with seven days' supply. the federal government has after 34 people missing in santa released the s.n.a.p. program, cruz island. needy assistance program early, we'll be live to the scene after so folks who are struggling can the coast guard searches for survivors. also buy supplies. s.

at the same time the national guard is prepositioning florida emergency management is prepositioning assets, the counties are, of course, and, of course, fema now that the president has given an emergency declaration. i'm confident. i passed convoy after convoy, florida power & light has mobilized its largest force ever. i'll just say this. there is no excuse for anyone to ♪ ♪ not heed local warnings. we have had days and days of ♪ warning here. everyone should be prepared. i'm confident the counties that applebee's handcrafted burgers i represent in northeast florida now starting at $7.99 now that's eatin' good in the neighborhood. are prepared. i've stopped by every one of them and called every local now starting at $7.99 so you're with the ups store? official to be sure they have yes. in fact, we printed these right here. what they need. >> very good. oh, i thought you guys just did shipping. congressman michael walts thank no we do printing, packing, faxing, you so much for joining us and be safe. >> thanks so much. notarizing, shredding, mailboxing, to everyone out there thank you for watching this hour copying, taping, binding, of "msnbc live." uh huh... consulting, designing, returning, storing, and freighting. we're getting new hurricane oh, and of course, shipping. advisories in at the 2:00 p.m.

so you're into shipping? we also do printing, packing, faxing... hour, hurricane dorian as it turns toward the florida coast. come in to the ups store today we do have the latest weather for every ing your small business needs. advisory update on hurricane and of course, shipping. dorian as this monster category 4 storm slowly makes its way but we're also a cancer fighting, toward the southeastern united states i want to bring in nbc's hiv controlling, al roker with the very latest on joint replacing, this 2:00 p.m. advisory. and depression relieving company. what changes, al, are we seeing from the day you're born so far with regard to this we never stop taking care of you. hurricane? >> here's what's interesting. as we've been waiting for this to happen, this is a radar right now from wtvj, our sister station in miami. you can see that well defined eye. you can see right now this thing is not moving. it is just battering freeport and grand bahama island. but look here. you can see heavier rain bands now, hobey sound, fort pierce, west palm beach, all the way down to fort lauderdale. so here are the latest

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we are following breaking news out of california where 34 people are unaccounted for after a deadly boat fire this morning in the waters near savnta cruz off of santa barbara. search and rescue continues that they are confirming multiple deaths. the 75-foot commercial boat is believed to be a diving vessel. at this point, it's not clear what caused the fire.

fire crew members who were on the bridge jump the off the boat and survived. just last hour, a captain with the u.s. coast guard shared what they know so far. >> how was the crew able to get off? >> crew was actually already awake and on the bridge and they jumped off. >> and to clarify, five crew members -- were there only five crew members? >> five crew members on board. >> were they all awake at the time? >> they were awake at the time. >> did the crew try to help the other passengers? >> i don't have any additional information regarding that. >> jointing us now from california, nbc news correspondent gadi schwartz, what's the latest on the rescue efforts. >> reporter: well, right now, the rescue is concentrated on the shoreline of the santa cruz island. they are hoping that some people that were on that boat may have jumped overboard and swam over to the shore. it wasn't that far away. it was only about 20 yards off the coast of santa cruz.

and to just give you an idea of how far that is, this boat right here, this u.s. coast guard vessel is about 80 feet. you can imagine, that's just right there off the coast. in fact, i want to show you over here. that boat right next to it that's called the "grape escape." that was actually the boat first on the scene from this tragedy. we understand that some of those crew members, those five crew members may have jumped over board and then swam over to the "grape escape." and pounded on that boat waking everybody up on the "grape escape" and they were able to be brought on board. but there are 34 people presumed to be underneath, underneath in the berth, where there were people sleeping. around 3:15 in the morning when this mayday call went out. all of those passengers at this point, we have no word on whether any of them may have been found. 34 passengers that at this point

are still unaccounted for. i'm going to show you some of the conditions that they're working in right now. if you look off, it's a pretty sunny day, but cull syou can se fog is blanketing the effort. the fog was making the efforts a little bit earlier this morning a little difficult. you can seal off in the distance, there are some boats still coming in from the channel islands. we know that this boat was on a diving expedition. it was on a three-day diving expedition, where people basically paid to go diving throughout the day. and then at night, they're brought back on to the boat. they have dinner there and then they go to sleep. again, all of this happening at about 3:15 this morning. those 34 passengers still unaccounted for, jo ling. >> gadi, is there any indication that it was weather here or a technical problem on the boat, any indications? i know it's really early. >> reporter: yeah, there

wouldn't be a lightning strike or anything like that. it sounds as though there may have been a fire and a lot of that fire was on the deck of the boat. from the pictures that we've seen, the images that we've seen, some of the reporting from people that have come back, it sounds like there may have been some explosions. whether that may have been propane or possibly expressed air from those scuba tanks still unclear. it seems that the fire happened somewhere on the boat and then it spread throughout the deck. now, when you consider the layout of this boat, the berm g i berming area, below the deck, it was sleeping quarters, there's room for 40 people to sleep. there's dozens of single bunks and double bunks there. but there are escape hatches able to take you to the deck. there are entry and exitways. it's unclear if those were

covered in smoke. but the mayday call, we do know that the person who made that mayday call was struggling to breathe. >> gadi, we appreciate it. right now, hurricane dorian is still thrashing the bahamas. we're going to speak with a top official with how they're coping with the diaster. plus, nbc's al roker is back with us on the set as we await another update at the top of the hour. just how hard is dorian going to hit florida? this was me six years ago... and this is me now! i got liberty mutual. they customized my car insurance, so i only pay for what i need. then i won the lottery, got hair plugs, and started working out. and so can you! only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪

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hurricane dorian is slowly inching its way towards florida's east coast. the national hurricane center is about to issue its next update from the storm. joining us from the hurt care center mike brennan, the hurricane chief of the specialist center. dorian's sustained wind speeds has been coming down slightly. what happens when it gets over that open water? will it have the ability to get stronger again, or is this on the decline? >> well, we're trying not to focus on the exact strength of the storm.

what's probably going to happen, even if the peak wind speeds go down, the size is going to get bigger and that could expose people from the florida coast up to the carolinas with my wind and storm surge. it's important to know that dorian probably peaked yesterday but not to focus on the hazards, the wind, the storm surge, the rainfall. >> what about the speed of the storm? it's been moving really slowly. 1-mile-per-hour. even if the storm stays offer the coast as predicted, what does this mean in terms of danger for our coastal communities? >> well, right now, it is crawling to the north-northwest at 1 miles per hour. the center is right over grand bahama island. we're expecting a little faster motion to start as we go through later today and tonight. and then by tuesday, we expect a more northwestward motion that's going to take the center right along the east coast of florida but close enough that we're expecting to see hurricane conditions along the coast and

the hurricane warning area. and as it getting bigger over time, it's going to allow it to spread up the coast to the carolinas not just wind but storm surge danger is increasing up there. >> what's your folks thinking about in georgia, south carolina and north carolina even up to the coast, boston, having some impact here? >> yeah, the first thing, we talked about the georgia coast. florida, seven feet of inundation of ocean water aboveground level. so that's enough to be very dangerous and life-threatening. the important thing for people in georgia to know, the water is going to start to rise and could start to come up before the winds even get there because dorian has been producing such a big wave field over the days that the waves are moving well in advance of the center. so, those folks there, anybody on the storm surge areas or the coast, up into the carolinas needs to listen to any advice they're getting from local officials about evacuating and kind of heed that to get ready for the storm.

>> all right, mike brannon there from the national hurricane center. thank you. joining us from jacksonville, florida, nbc's julia bagg. julia, you've been covering the storm all week for us. you're in the northern part of the state right now. how are the preparations going? >> reporter: well, jo, we've seen the preparations happening all around town. people boarding up businesses, boarding up homes. here on jacksonville beach, know, i want you to get a look at the surf behind me. because it's very strong right now and actually the beach is closed. however, there are people out here, surfing, taking advantage of this and people coming to just get a look at this. like james who is from jacksonville. tell me what you think about seeing all of these surfers. i count up close to a dozen right now? >> yeah, they're going to be out here today, it's the best time to surf when the storm's coming in, so they're going to take advantage of it. >> reporter: how are you preparing your home here? >> just boarding up the windows,

getting everything out of the yard and we're going to ride it out. >> reporter: you're going to ride it out, all right. best wishes to you, sir. thank you for speaking with us. that's what's happening here, beaches are closed, jo. >> nbc's julia bagg, thanks so much. joining me on the phone, the direct of tourism and aviation. thank you for being on the phone with us. we prooshgappreciate this. >> you're very welcome, jo. thank you for having me. >> how are the people of the bahamas doing today? we've seen pretty disturbing videos, a lot of social media kag indicating a tough situation. >> jo, this is a good day for all bahamians, yesterday, we thought it was harrowing enough, dorian was over the coast of abaco. of course, today, we have a better look at the damage that took place on abaco. the amount of people who lost their homes, in fact, probably 80% of the total population are

now without homes. we know that the water table in abaco has been compromised. so in terms of drinking water, potable water, that's a challenge. and then that dorian -- we were expecting it to hit grand bahama and the i would freeport, the capital of that island, but that it's now sitting there, moving at 1 mile per hour. and the images that are coming out, i mean, it just breaks your heart as a bahamian. and i think the world, they're all feeling the sense of hopelessness and helplessness of what people are experiencing. >> well, we certainly, you know, are really thinking of you guys and our hearts go out to all of those affected here. you mention the drinki ing wate situation has been compromised. do you have enough supplies to make sure folks have enough water to drink for the coming weeks? >> no, and this will be one of

our appeals going out, because i don't think anyone anticipated just what this hurricane would bring. and while you always think that you're prepared that you've prepared for the worst, well, then along comes dorian, agency as a category 5. and what has happened has just been unprecedented. and so, as soon as the all-clear is given for the island, we will be trying to get supplies in, as a matter of urgency and priority. >> so, you need water. you guys need supplies. what about the infrastructure, in terms of the airports and roads in these affected areas of the bahamas? are you anticipating that all of it is under water? >> not only are we anticipating it from images that we have seen, admittedly, they're from social media. but even from reliable sources who are sending out images when they're able to.

the infrastructure is totally underwater. and we know when the government is able to get out to assess properly, the toll, in terms of damage, is going to be unprecedented. so if someone asks me what do i think that the people need. and i said, everything start from when you wake up to when you go to bed. and everything in between. and that's including the infrastructure. so, we're going to have to go into a huge rebuild. obviously building up people's -- just their psyche and getting them out of what they've experienced is wow. >> what are you doing in terms of contact with other countries in the region? are you in touch with the u.s. government? has the white house reached out to offer any sort of assistance yet? >> so, i have to really just commend everybody. the united states, in fact, united states has already sent out i think a navy vessel.

so, they're sending out support. i know the government of united states of america has reached out to the prime minister of the bahamas. the whole region of the caribbean, you know, they're reaching out. and they're all reaching out which is heartwarming and saying we're seeing it, we want to help. what can we do? and because we're all sort of lock and key, i'm here in the capital, nassau, just from the outerband, we experienced flooding overnight and really hampered in movement. i want to say almost to the residents of florida, this storm is so strong, even if you're not in the direct path, thes and tha surges prepare for that. >> director jibrilu of the

bahamas, thank you for taking time to speak to us. >> you're very welcome, jo. good luck to our residents in florida, too. >> joining us on the forecast, nbc's al roker. hearing from the general directorer there in the bahamas. we know is that the stalling storm has had a real impact on people. but what's in store for people? >> i da d is from the bahamas. i have bahamian descent. my heart goes out to them. as far as this system is concerned you know it's a head-scratcher in a sense, jo. because right now, we don't have really anything steering it so we've seen a little change in the direction. it was north but now north-northwest but crawling, 1 miles per hour and 155-mile-per-hour winds. as you heard in the national

hurricane center, as it loses a little strength, the wind field is going to widen. you can still have a lot of damage. don't pay attention to the category, pay attention to the winds. we have hurricane warnings north of west palm beach. we've got watches up to the florida/georgia border. we even have tropical storm watches inland. the theme parks are closing at around 3:00 this afternoon to make sure people are out of harm's way. here's the path, by tomorrow afternoon or evening, 8:00, category 4 storm. by wednesday, it starts to make that turn and then pushes up in toward the carolinas. could be actually a little closer to wilmington and cape hatteras where the models are trying to suggest that and then it takes off heading into the sea. you can see boston, just to the south. why is this such an issue? well, we basically have very little steering currents.

here's where you look, the hurricane force winds are just 20 miles offshore. the center of dorian is just 45 miles offshore. so if you get a wobble, jo, about 10, 15 miles, all of a sudden, you've got stronger winds coming on shore. that's why people cannot be complacent about this. you have to be prepared to take in not only he have rain but also storm surge. and that's where you have the greatest loss of life is the storm surge. so, here's what we're looking at for the potential this week. anywhere from 6 to 9 feet from fort pierce, all the way to wilmington, delaware. so, we talk about storm surge. what is it? well, basically, when you look closer and that's the other thing, as this wall of water of 6 to 9 feet comes in, it comes in on top. high tide which could be another two to three feet on top of that causing massive damage. here's what causes storm surge.

you've got the counterclockwise flow of air around this hurricane, with winds of over 150 miles per hour pushing in. so what that does is push with great force all of that water on to the shore. it rises up. and inundates the shoreline. you put the high tide on top of that and you can have a massive, massive storm surge. three feet of storm surge can be life threatening because it can cut you off. six feet of storm surge with strong wave s of 5 to 6 feet ca destroy a home. so, this is a very dangerous situation still, jo. the storm surge is still unknown at this point. and as it makes its way up to the coast, that's what's the dangerous thing. even though it may not make landfall. it will rate the coast of florida, georgia, as you take a look here, as we track this, you've got florida, georgia, south carolina, north carolina and then it moves on out.

but there's a huge swath of real estate before this thing gets out of here by friday morning, jo. >> al roker always on the lookout. we're expecting another update at 2:00, right? >> well, we had our -- what time is it now? >> 1:38. >> we get a 2:00 update and then a complete update with a new track at 5:00. >> all right. we're staying on top of it. next, another big story we're watching today. another deadly shooting in texas just as the state loosens its gun laws. we're going live to texas. as they face the fourth massacre in a month. why don't we just ask geico for help with renters insurance? i didn't know geico helps with renters insurance. yeah, and we could save a bunch too. antonio! fetch computer! antonio?

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>> welcome back. that was some reaction from survivors and families in mourning after a gunman killed seven innocent people in saturday's drive-by-shootings across west texas. the state's republican governor tweeting last hour saying the gunman had a criminal history, failed a previous background check and didn't even go through one for the gun he used in odessa. police say the victims range in age from 15 to 57, including a high school student, a truck driver and a 29-year-old postal service letter carrier who was killed after the gunman hijacked her mail van. along his rampage route from midland to odessa, among the ind who suffe