4 storm slowly makes its way toward the southeastern united states i want to bring in nbc's al roker with the very latest on this 2:00 p.m. advisory. what changes, al, are we seeing so far with regard to this 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 coordinates from the national hurricane center in miami at 2:00 p.m. it is still a dangerous category 4 storm, 105 miles east of west

palm beach. you can see those bands still coming in. the winds have dropped about 5 miles per hour now. 150 miles per hour west-northwest at 1. what is interesting is because we're starting to see this thing widen out. tropical force winds now extend out 140 miles from the center. we have hurricane warnings out right now just north of west palm beach to north of melbourne. we have hurricane watches up to the florida/georgia border. we've even got tropical storm watches for inland parts of florida. now, this is a very -- very weak steering systems with this. so what is going to steer this? what we've got, this ridge of high pressure that was right, stretched all the way across from the mid plains all the way out into the atlantic. but we expect it to break down a little bit and allow this system to slip up and through, get caught up in the jet, and then

accelerate it out through the northeast and moved away by that trough later in the week. however, until this happens, we started to see a west-northwest bent now. but it is still moving so slowly. that means you can see this area that's in the cone of uncertainty from palm beach, orlando, jacksonville, charleston, cape hatteras. we may see a landfall, the european model just coming in now, starting to intimate that maybe that line crosses over into the carolinas. we may have a landfall there. we'll have to wait and see. but again, until this gets caught up there is really nothing to steer it. it can wobble back and forth. we worry about it moving a little further west because that would bring more effects of the tropical force winds and even hurricane force winds in. what that means is storm surge. the storm surge potential of those winds pushing water on to the shore. we could see 6 to 9-foot storm

surge on top of high tides, which will be around noon sometime tomorrow. you can see jacksonville, 11:56. 12:01 daytona beach. melbourne, 11:45. west palm beach almost 12:30. you get high tides of 2, 3 feet, and then 6 to 9 feet on top of that can be devastating. what is the storm surge? well, basically, winds flow around this system. it's a low pressure system. in a counterclockwise direction and that pushes and piles winds being driven at 150 miles per hour onshore. that water just piles up and has nowhere to go. water finds a way. it pushes its way onshore and inland into bays and rivers and rivulets. we have to watch it very carefully. we could see anywhere from 3 to 9-foot storm surge.

3 feet can cut you off from any kind of help. a 6-foot storm surge is to the top of your home, the top of your first floor i should say, and with a good wind, that can destroy a home. and when you get to 9 feet, that's moving into second floors of homes and can really wreak havoc. so this is where we see the most death is due to storm surge. so it is very important that folks all along that cone of uncertainty especially from west palm beach up to jacksonville, even to stay vigilant. we're not saying this is going to happen but we have to tell you that because right now especially from west palm beach up to melbourne, there is that next 24 hours where anything could happen. and people are saying, why do we have to evacuate? that's because we could have this happen especially a wobble to the west could be devastating. >> let's stick with the storm surge for a moment.

i think it's important for folks to understand just how quickly this surge could actually happen. we're talking about a range as you mentioned 3 to 9 feet, right? my first question is what dictates whether this is a 3-foot storm surge or a 9-foot storm surge? could we see the water rise in literally 60 seconds to 2 minutes, that quickly? >> it wouldn't be that fast but it can be very quick, a matter of minutes. and depending on -- you can see this area in orange. the 6 to 9 feet. that is where they expect the heaviest winds to come piling in. as that system pushes up. usually the worst damage is in the northeast quadrant of a hurricane or a tropical system. so you picture that low basically, that hurricane coming up the coast. this would be the northeast quadrant. as it moves up and along and follows. it's almost like it is following tracks parallel to the coast line. so that's where you can see that

heavier area of orange where we could see it almost -- you can look at this curve. it's almost like a bowl, like a catcher's mitt that allows all that heavy wind to concentrate all of those waves, all that water piling up. so that's why in this area you've got that 6 to 9 feet possibility. >> you can't say enough to all the people being asked to evacuate along the coast in those zones to heed the warnings as al mentioned. we always appreciate you. thank you so much, al roker. joining mae now hurricane hunter pilot colonel shawn cross who actually flew through the hurricane on saturday. take me through exactly, lieutenant, what you saw when flying through the eye of the storm here. >> hi. thanks for having us on, first off. let me just say real quick before i answer that question al roker did a phenomenal job of explaining the storm surge. and that is the main threat of these hurricanes as they approach landfall.

everyone really needs to pay attention to what he said. that is vital information that he just gave out. as we flew into dorian on saturday night it was a very powerful category 4 storm. we had an incredible stadium effect of the eye as you've seen. there are pictures on the internet right now that have gone viral. we did experience severe turbulence on the way in. we had a good ride and did four penetrations of dorian which is really typical for any mission we fly when tracking a storm. as far as the eye ride itself when we're going through, what we're experiencing at flight level is no way indicative of what is going to be on the ground. i've flown these storms now for 19 years as well as a lot of my other crew member friends i work with on a daily basis and i can tell you i would fly through a storm any day before i would ride one out on the ground. >> what do you learn in flying through these storms? >> the main thing we do is extract data from inside the storm and send it via satellite uplink to the national hurricane center in miami. as we use the drop sign, which i have one right here, a small

instrument that takes the vertical measurement from inside the storm, it falls at about 2500 feet per minute. it's taking a snapshot of temperature, pressure, winds, and humidity. it sends all of that information back to the aircraft. we send it to the national hurricane center. from that they are able to plug that information into the forecast models to give a much tighter forecast of where the storm is going to make landfall. >> so compare for us what you saw, the data that you received from flying through dorian to other storms that you have seen in the past. >> well, as a pilot i'm just a glorified bus driver, right? i'm not a meteorologist. i can't read all of those numbers. we do have the experts onboard. we didn't see any catastrophic drop in data or pressure but we did see intensification, pretty much on every run that we made through. not a major change but there was some intensifying. we knew it was approaching a category 5 storm. and it did. we were strong cat 4 the night before. yesterday morning it did intensify to a category 5 storm.

it had been gaining strength and, you know, people in the bahamas right now, i feel for them. we are on ground zero for hurricane katrina. i've lived through this and lived through it many times being a resident of the mississippi gulf coast, new orleans, all the way to florida. i've never left the gulf coast and never will. there is always this threat every year this time of the season. >> what safety pressures do hurricane hunters follow? >> one of the biggest things is we fly training missions pretty much on a daily basis and train all year. i'm flying again wednesday and bringing up one of our brand new pilots so this will be one of his first major hurricanes he's had the opportunity to fly in. we stick to our training and follow the rules and regulations that we have. we have a phenomenal team of maintainers here at the 403rd air lyft wing. these guys are doing an incredible job at keeping these planes going for us. we have ten aircraft. the wing is comprised of about 1300 citizen airmen and i'm telling you it takes everybody in this wing to pull off this

mission. this time of the year everybody is here, excited, ready to go, and make it happen. >> lieutenant colonel sean cross, thank you for your work. appreciate it very much. want to go to indian harbor beach florida where we find nbc's mariana atencio who has been standing by for us and reporting all morning. talk to me about some of the conditions on the ground you've seen so far. >> reporter: the conditions have really worsened. i have to say in the past half an hour, i'll ask my cameraman, dan, to show you just what the beach looks like behind me. you can see that bad weather starting to come our way. as we heard from our al roker this is the area between west palm beach and jacksonville, florida where people should not let their guard down because if the storm doesn't make its northeastern turn, a lot of these communities especially these barrier islands could really be at risk. are locals heeding the evacuation warnings? there was a mandatory one set at 8:00 a.m. this morning. i have a group of guys here who have been hanging out talking about the storm implications.

can i get a show of hands from you guys. anyone planning to evacuate at this point? show of hands. you're going to wait it out. can i ask, what is that moment where you'll decide to possibly leave, sir? >> we'll watch the winds, watch al. he'll tell us when. >> reporter: big fans of al roker. >> but we'll wait and see what happens as far as how close it will come in. if it gets above, like category 1 winds coming more inland then we'll leave. >> reporter: is there anything about this storm worrying you in particular? >> well, we're watching the rain getting ready to come in here, i think, and we'll see if it moves north like it's supposed to. we're hunkered, we have gasoline, generator, food. we'll make that decision probable later tonight whether to leave or not. >> reporter: they're experts and they almost say it with a smile on their faces. how many storms have you ridden out here? is this one different do you think? >> i've done francis, gene,

matthew, irma, charlie. i've probably done about like ten hurricanes. gloria when i was a little kid. >> reporter: is dorian different? >> it's actually getting weaker. it's similar to andrew. it's taking the matthew track, you know. it kind of canceled my trip to peru for tomorrow. now the waves are coming here instead. >> reporter: thank you for all your expertise. guys, i want to tell people watching, we are on these barrier islands, i did speak to the authorities. they will not be closing the bridges out of these barrier islands at least in this area because they want to give precisely these locals a chance to get out if the weather gets really bad. i want to thank all of you guys for joining us today. thank you so much. please stay safe. again, locals here in indian harbor beach really monitoring the weather. shelters opened yesterday at 5:00 p.m. i just spoke to a city official who also told me that they are

in activation 1 level. that means from their eoc they have dispatched crews of policemen that are going to be working in 12-hour shifts throughout the day. you can already see it. that water is starting to come in. we'll be reporting from here throughout the day. >> mariana, let the residents know if they're waiting for a sign from al roker he literally just told me if the authorities in your neighborhood and your town and city are telling you to evacuate, then you should definitely be heeding those warnings. msnbc's mariana atencio, thank you very much. joining me from palm beach county, florida, mayor mac bernard. thanks so much for joining us. a lot of your residents in palm beach county certainly under risk as hurricane dorian approaches the southeast coast of florida. likely moving up the coast of florida toward georgia and south carolina. what preparations are in place, mayor, for your county right now? >> thanks for having me. first of all, i want to -- our

thoughts and prayers are with our brothers and sisters experiencing this dangerous storm in the bahamas. we have so many bahamians who live in palm beach county and south florida. we're continuing to pray for them. as for us, we've been at level one in our emergency operations center. we've got folks who are there working to make sure that all of our residents are secure. as you know, we have over 1.5 million residents that live in palm beach county and over 25% of those residents are seniors and so we're concerned about our senior population. and so we've -- we have mandatory evacuation and of course as you heard from al roker, you know, the barrier islands is something we're really concerned about. and if this hurricane makes any changes this could potentially impact the residents of palm beach county. we're telling all residents, please get off the streets. the wind is getting stronger and stronger. and so we want the residents to get off.

>> what are you doing to help those who are most vulnerable, bringing up seniors, those in the hospitals, babies at risk, new mothers in hospitals. what are you doing on a local level on the ground to make sure these residents are helped in an effort to get them out of mandatory evacuation areas? >> what we did was we have a special needs shelter which is at our south florida fairgrounds which is basically a hospital which can hold over 500 to 600 seniors or vulnerable population. and we have over i believe 250 residents who are there right now. one of our hospitals i believe has already evacuated to make sure that the patients are in a secure location and we're constantly monitoring the nursing homes just to make sure they have the proper tools in case power is out. we're working really hard around the clock to make sure we protect the most vulnerable residents in palm beach county. >> do you have the supplies, mayor, that you need for these

vulnerable individuals possibly to last them for a week or so if in fact this storm turns into something that people can't necessarily get back to their residences, their hospitals, to their nursing homes before then? >> yes, we have the florida department of health that is helping us. we've been working with the governor's office. governor desantis and his emergency operations and also fema. so we believe that we would be ready. and if we need any additional resources we believe that the administration and fema in the state of florida could provide it as soon as possible. so we want to let our residents know that we've been working around the clock to make sure we protect our vulnerable residents. >> what type of conversations if any have you had with the administration in preparing for hurricane dorian? >> we've been working with fema, their intergovernmental affairs office just checking to see if there is anything we need in terms of national guards, whatever that we need. they've been it pretty much telling us whatever we need the president is watching and wants

to make sure that palm beach county has all the resources needed and also working with the governor's office. he was in palm beach county on friday and asking us exactly what do you need in terms of palm beach county? because we know that if this storm does not make that northward trend then it is going to come directly to west palm beach so that is the reason we've been preparing and telling all of our residents in palm beach county to be vigilant. because the only thing that is predictable about this storm is its unpredictability. >> all right. mayor mac bernard, we wish you well. thank you. >> thank you very much. want to turn to the bahamas, which has been getting battered to say the least, by dorian for hours now. joining me on the phone the atlantis paradise islands v.p. of public affairs. good afternoon and thank you for joining us. we know grand bahama, the abacos have been battered by dorian upwards of 165-mile-per-hour winds, looking at some devastating images already

coming out of some of those islands. we had one of our msnbc correspondents on the ground in nassau just a couple hours ago where it didn't necessarily seem like nassau was seeing as much of the brunt of the storm as some of those more northern islands. what are you seeing now out and about that you can talk to us about? >> hi. good afternoon. thanks for having us. yeah. first of all, our hearts go out to all of our friends, family, brothers, and sisters in the abacos and grand bahama. we know they're going through a historically rough time. we're really focused how we can ramp up to assist them. here in atlantis and nassau, essentially, you know, we've just gone through a very bad island that have had some flooding which traditionally gets some flooding and as a result there are some precautions taken to make sure

the power grid doesn't get damaged. they've turned off the power for now. we are really -- it's just another day i some degree of ny here except people -- the government has shut the schools down. most of the government offices are shut down. a lot of businesses are shut down. other than that we're doing fine. >> talk us through, first of all, how far south you are from grand bahama island and from the abacos as well, seeing just how catastrophic the damage could feasibly be in some of those areas of the bahamas versus where you are. and, also, what type of help you believe nassau and your area of paradise island will be lending to areas like grand bahama island and the abacos in the wake of the cleanup after dorian does eventually move on?

>> we're about 112 miles from abaco, probably a little more from grand bahama. i can tell you because i'm familiar with abaco, an area 30 miles south of marsh harbor didn't sustain the degree of damage that marsh harbor and the keys in northern abaco sustained. it is really weird how, you know, that major damage was relegated to the area around marsh harbor, treasure key, and now into grand bahama. what we received here were basically out of band rains from the outer bands, winds probably up to some minor tropical force winds here in new providence and on paradise island and at the atlantis. so it's just remarkable. we're obviously very grateful and feeling very, very -- i

can't even describe our emotions with regard to how we're feeling about our loved ones and family in abaco. as far as helping, we are all here gearing toward how we can get stuff barged off. nassau is the capital. it is the center of commerce. and so, fortunately, we're in a position to get everything staged here. as soon as we receive the all clear, there will be a whole lot of people boating and sending barges in and sending aircraft in to those islands to drop off the essentials such as water and tarps and plywood. we are working, atlantis is working with our chef, jose andreas, and the world central kitchen to prepare to get ready to be prepared to go over there and cook hot meals for the folks both in abaco and grand bahama. so that's the -- if there is any silver lining, we are set up to

be able to go in and assist those on the islands. >> thank you so much, ed fields. we are glad you're safe despite the fact so many of your brothers and sisters in the northern bahamian islands are suffering as they're dealing with some of the catastrophic winds and rain in the northern bahama islands. thank you so much. appreciate it. >> thank you very much. next, the fourth mass shooting in texas in a month just as the state loosens its gun laws. we'll speak with the republican state, texas state senator to find out what lawmakers will do now or not. >> tech: at safelite autoglass,

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we're learning more this afternoon about the gunman behind saturday's deadly attacks in texas. the state's republican governor tweeted this afternoon that the gunman had a criminal history, failed a previous background check, and did not go through one for the gun he actually used. now, seven people were killed and 22 others injured on saturday in those daylight drive by shootings, which stretched from midland to odessa and west texas. happening after the gunman was pulled over for a traffic stop. the victims range in age from a 15-year-old high school student and a 57-year-old truck driver and include a 29-year-old postal service letter carrier who the gunman killed after hijacking her mail van. the youngest of the injured, right there. a 17-month-old girl who was shot in the face and suffered

shrapnel in her right chest. 17 months old. msnbc's alex witt spoke yesterday with a witness who says she came face to face with the gunman while driving her husband and grandson. >> i happened to look over my left shoulder, and he was pulling up to the side of our car. at this point he was still in the gold sedan. he was raising his gun to my window. i said, there's a gun. there's a gun. he's got a gun. he's got a gun. and i just immediately just started -- i had to get out of there. i was driving and right, right when i stepped on the gas and took that aggressive, evasive maneuver there were three more shots. and -- >> yeah. >> i'm pretty sure they were for

me. but he missed. i'm speaking as a community. it could have been me. it could have been my grandson. >> it could have been me. it could have been my grandson. joining mae on the phone republican texas state senator kel seliger. thank you so much for joining us. appreciate it. i first want you to react to what we just heard from that woman that was interviewed by my colleague alex witt. someone who was personally affected by this shooter, a gun was held up to her window while her husband was inside the car, while her 2-year-old grandson was inside the car. is this what it's going to take, to be personally affected by a shooter, by a mass shooting in order to want change, to try and change the gun legislation in this country? >> every one of those stories and personal experiences are very, very compelling. they're horrifying and scary.

every one of us thinks, what if that were me in my car with my kids in the car? we've got a serious problem confronting this in this country. we have a serious problem confronting us in this country. every one of us have that problem -- in schools, churches, shopping malls. clearly, as governor abbott said yesterday, in odessa, when he said he's tired of mourning texas citizens killed in these senseless experiences that we need to do something. >> so what does that look like, we need to do something? is it these new texas gun laws? you talk about churches. these new texas gun laws just enacted are basically saying if you're inside of a church you can have a gun in hand. do you think people inside churches, inside some of thaes other institutions that can now carry guns that everybody needs to be carrying guns in order to make sure that this doesn't

happen again? is that what you think the solution is? more guns on the streets? >> does everybody need to carry a gun? absolutely not. at the same time, i wouldn't know what the percentage is but i will bet you in the majority of churches in texas yesterday somebody was carrying a firearm. my wife and i frequently attend a church services here in amarillo and there is an off-duty policeman who is with the minister most of the time most assuredly armed. it's a sad commentary in this country, but do i think it's necessary in certain instances that there be somebody there armed? yes. i'm afraid it is. >> how do you turn back from that, senator? how do you turn back from the direction in which this country is headed in your state specifically and what you just mentioned specifically where you are thinking about getting dressed for church on a sunday morning, going to a 10:00 a.m. service, and saying oh, whoops. i forgot my gun. let me go back in the house and

bring my gun and make sure just in case someone shows up and tries to shoot up people in the church? how do you turn back from that? >> i dread the day when a common conversation in american homes is, honey, where's my glock? i've got to go get some eggs and milk at walmart. >> is that where we are? isn't that where we are with the latest laws in texas that are saying, you can carry a gun inside of a church? >> i don't know that there is anything -- i don't think there is anything changed with those particular statutes being in place. just in the last few days. but given the experiences we had, one of the things that helped bring things to a close down in sutherland springs was a citizen who was armed. the reality is, there has to be some count measure in place when

something like this hams. now, is it additional security and things like that? and then from a policy point of view we talk a lot about this. we've done a lot in texas for school security. generally with officers on the ground and things like that. there's a lot of different ways to address this. this is not a problem that exists because of one thing in place or not in place. >> senator, this is the fourth mass shooting in texas. in a matter of weeks. you released a statement after the shooting saying that you would look to your constituents for recent mass shootings in your state. what are your constituents saying? >> some of them say, well everyone should be armed. some people say, no one should be armed. there should be no firearms allowed anywhere. i get the same communications

you would expect about high capacity assault weapons. so it's my job just to listen. the policy debate, which in some ways got a new start yesterday with the governor's appearance in odessa is what are the policy alternatives that we have and what are the ones that are feasible in terms of being implemented? and i think the governor and really the president, too, will very much drive those discussions. >> so give me your reaction to the governor's latest tweet that said this gunman had a criminal history. he failed a previous background check and did not go through one for the gun that he used in odessa. >> clearly there was a loose end that should not have been there. the system worked at some point because he was turned down on an application. that being the case there never should have been a way subsequently for him to obtain

the firearm. what happened? was it a firearm that he obtained subsequently? was it one he or a family member owned previously? i don't know that we know that yet. >> there is a lot of talking in this situation from many sides. i'm sick of talking about a lot of these mass shootings. there is a lot of listening. it is very much your job to listen to your constituents but i believe many of your constituents would also think it is part of your job also to act, senator. what is the action that will be taken in order to prevent the next mass shooting in your state? >> what is the action that can be conceived and framed and then passed? that is why we looked at the governor for this, because he can get a piece of legislation authored any time he wants. he can call a special session at

his discretion. but the issues we will confront will be ones that the governor ultimately will find feasible and acceptable. it takes a lot of work to get a sweeping peace of legislation passed. it is a real disincentive if you think it is going to be vetoed. there is a tremendous incentive if it has the approval of the governor and i think he has impaneled a commission specifically directed to instances like this, public violence, and law enforcement and it really is a blue ribbon commission. i think rear for them to show us, demonstrate once again what the problems and challenges are, here are the specifics, conclusions, and solutions to the problems that we've confronted. and that's what we're looking for. >> i'm just wondering, senator, what are your specific conclusions? what are the specific changes that you want to be seen?

are you urging your constituents to contact the governor? are you, in fact, reaching out to the governor to say, we need to see change in our state, in our state's gun laws? are you doing any of this? >> oh, sure. i saw the governor yesterday and that was part of our discussion. as he pointed out the solution is partly public policy, law enforcement, and legislative. and may words to him were, they weren't his words to me, is tell us where you want to go. and, because it is going to be a pretty broad initiative and has to have broad support. that starts with the governor. he accepts that and we all see it that way. >> all right. texas state senator kel seliger, thank you so much. appreciate it. tlae coming up, hurricane dorian is moving closer to the southeast coast. we'll look at which towns could be hit hardest and how long states will have to endure this slow moving monster. you're watching msnbc live.

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welcome back. let's return to our breaking news coverage of hurricane dorian. millions have been ordered to evacuate coastal florida, georgia, and the carolinas as large swaths of the atlantic coast brace for ferocious winds and potentially intense storm

surges. very dangerous, those storm surges specifically. still a strong category 4 storm, dorian is spinning very slowly toward the southeastern coast line, about 1 mile per hour we last checked. joining me now nbc meteorologist once again michelle grossman. let's talk about this latest 2:00 p.m. update. at 11:00 a.m. when you and i spoke it was about 155 miles an hour, one maile per hour below category 4. >> the good news is, in a way, a little glimmer of hope is we are decreasing the strength with each advisory. yesterday and the two days before that we went up with every single advisory, we're starting to back off of it. still, we are looking at 150-mile-per-hour winds, still looking at a very powerful category 4 storm. it is a power house of wind and also rain. you can see just by this

picture. if you noticed yesterday was almost text book. you didn't need to know a lot about weather to know it was a pretty amazing image. now we're starting to see the wobble a little bit. it is not quite as strong as it was. we're still getting those intense thunderstorms. that is the red. we've colored the maps and the red is the highest cloud tops. thunderstorms still wrapping around, still pummelling parts of the grand bahama islands. a terrible time there. we'll see many more hours of that. but, yes. we have decreased the winds. we are down to 150 miles per hour. we're 105 miles east at west palm beach, florida. we have our sites -- that will be our next plan to look at the east coast of florida. moving still painfully slow at 1 mile per hour. i'll explain why that is terrible for the bahamas. it's pretty obvious. but why it might be good news for part of florida. as we track dorian here, let's look at the path. category 4 storm sill very, very strong. not a cat 5. it doesn't have that category. we're looking at winds very strong. by tuesday still a category 4

storm off the coast of florida. this is 8:00. 130-mile-per-hour winds. i do want to look at this path because this did change a bit with the 2:00 advisory. you notice a cone of concern right here? we'll expand it out in just a bit. it is a little further to the north and then it still keeps it off the coast. that is the good news and what we're focusing on. it still does not take away the big concern of storm surge, heavy rainfall, and also very damaging winds. we'll track this. hour by hour over the next several days we'll track this. >> one thing i quickly wanted to touch on, michelle, is the fact that if this thing tracks a little bit more west, we're not only talking about coastal regions along florida but inland from florida as well. i mean, this thing could be affecting areas like orlando where they could see a tropical storm. >> the good news is we've been very, very consistent. one or two miles kind of takes it into the coast but we've been very consistent keeping it off the coast. the closer we get to make that turn to the north and that will happen later tonight into tomorrow where we see the turn

to the north and east, that will give us a better -- we don't know yet if it is going to make that turn. all the indications are there. we have the steering currents in place. they just need to get the players in place and then we'll see that turn and better determine where it will make the path. >> when are we getting the next advisory? >> 5:00 a. >> thank you. joining me now from charleston, south carolina nbc's kathy park. good to talk to you this afternoon. appreciate it. from what i understand in parts of charleston they were actually flooding during an afternoon thunderstorm earlier today. how are they preparing for what is potentially ahead from hurricane dorian? >> so we are standing over i-26 right now. a couple hours ago transportation officials put the cones up. they closed off a lot of these ramps in the area to actually direct the traffic so it was actually all headed in one direction. so far things are moving

relatively smoothly. a lot of these folks that you're looking at right now are visitors of the area. they were in for the long holiday weekend. but a lot of the hotels are closing or have closed already. so they're on the way out and headed to safer areas. that is kind of what we are seeing here on the ground. a lot of the businesses have already shut down. they have signs posted up saying they probably won't open until this evacuation order is lifted. >> nbc's kathy park. thank you so much. want to bring in miami beach mayor, thanks so much for joining us. >> glad to be here. >> let's talk specifically about miami beach. if this thing ticks a little bit south and does make that turn, you could be directly hit. if not, you could fees baasiblyn the clear for the rain and high winds. what are some of your biggest concerns? >> we have some faith in these tracks coming out.

we have to. and they do show that it's going -- we'll get sideswiped, but we believe we'll dodge a missile i guess because it's not just a bullet. we are already getting the bands of rain and wind but very fortunately for us because like a lot of the barrier islands we're right at sea level, and of course it's king tide so the tides are already up but we're not getting the storm surge. we don't expect to. although we gave out 20,000 sand bags just to sort of ultra prepare, we don't think we'll need them though we are prepared for anything. >> you know, your residents, your city pretty used to hurricane preparation. >> yes. >> hurricane warnings. you have been in the path of many hurricanes to say the least. what has been different if at all for preparation for this hurricane, this massive hurricane? >> well, it's not just massive. it's so slow that just watching it all day long and saying, gee. i really hope these meteorologists and these scientists got it right.

that's the most frightening thing. but we calibrate our preparation to the science we receive. i urge people to do that. for our residents up the coast, you've got to listen to your professional emergency managers. you have to trust it. don't be a gambler. don't be a home spun meteorologist. listen to what they say. do what they say. because to do anything less than that endangers you and other people. >> you are dealing with a big tourist destination being that of miami. this is a major weekend for tourists, labor day weekend, the end of the summer, usually time to celebrate but in fact now dealing with the hurricane dorian. how are you keeping them from proceeding as vacation as usual? >> our hotel managers, our hospitality ni hospitality industry, are pretty smart about this. safety always comes first. we give them pretty clear direction. we tell them when their cafe tables can be out and when they can't. everybody works together. the advantage and disadvantage of getting these kinds of

preparations is you become experienced in it. we become better at it. it becomes a little bit like sort of routine for us. i worry about some of the other communities. most communities have had this at least at some point but the communities that don't have it a lot, you know, people may say, well, there is an emergency evacuation. i'm not going to go. it is never going to hit here. i'll p ik th i'll pick that spaghetti strand to rely on. that is a huge mistake. >> thank you so much, mayor. up next breaking news out of california. more than 30 people unaccounted for after a boat fire off the coast of santa cruz island. we'll go live to california. coming up next. banjo? (man) go home. (woman) banjo! sorry, it won't happen again. come on, let's go home. after 10 years, we've covered a lot of miles. good thing i got a subaru.

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it's gentle on her skin, and dermatologist recommended. tide free and gentle. safe for skin with psoriasis, and eczema. welcome back. we are following that breaking news out of california search and rescue efforts continuing for more than 30 people still unaccounted for after a commercial diving boat caught fire off the coast of santa barbara. five crew members jumped from the boat and did survive the blaze. newly released audio revealing the may day call that was placed to the coast guard by one of the boat's crew. >> may day, may day, may day. dy

>> wow, unbelievable to hear that audio. and now more than 30 people missing from that fire on board that boat. nbc is joining me with the latest on this story. this is a terribleatory to be following on this labor day. give us an update so far on what we know from these rescue efforts. >> reporter: yeah, yasmin. so that 9-1-1 type gives you an idea of what things were like on board that boat. you hear the gentleman that was calling for help saying he can't breathe. that was the scene that we saw from many of the images and pictures that are coming. the entire top of the deck of the boat was engulfed in flames. we now know that five crew members who were on board were able to jump off that boat and make their way onto another boat called the great escape that was nearby. they started banging on the hull.

and they were allowed onto that boat. but now we understand that there were 34 passengers that were down below the deck. and at this point those people are still unaccounted for. at this point we're also being told by the coast guard that this is still a search and rescue operation. but i want to show you you've got the fog rolling in here, and it gives you somewhat of an idea of the type of situation that they are looking at there. you can see the fog rolls in, rolls out. the view and the distance that you can see is very intermittent. this boat went down. it was a 75-foot vessel that was outfitted for scuba diving for this particular expedition, it was a three-day expedition, but it was 75 feet. it sank and went down about 20 yards off the coast. so to give you an idea this boat right here, this u.s. coast guard vessel is about 87 feet. so it would've been sitting just

a little bit further out. so it would've been possible for somebody to jump off that boat and make it to shore. again, this all happened at 3:15 in the morning. so it would've been difficult to know where the shore was. but right now the coast guard is focusing a lot of their attention on searching along the shorelines to see if anybody was able to make it off the boat. there is one other call that we're reviewing right now that sounds like it was between the coast guard and what may have been this skipper on board, the conception that boat that was on fire and in that call it appears as though the coast guard or the dispatcher is asking whether or not the people can get out. the skipper appears to say that they are trapped underneath. and the coast guard asks him to go unlock a safety hatch possibly to see if they can come out, and the skipper says there is no escape hatch. yasmin? >> all right. we're going to be following this story throughout the day and the following days for sure. nbc's godi schwartz, thank you so much. in just a couple hours we are going to have a new major update

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all right. that wraps things up for this hour. ali velshi picks up the coverage right now. >> okay, friend, thank you. we will continue with this. this is quite a story, this hurricane. it is slow-moving.

it has not met the expectations that we've had for it for a few days. take a look at this track. it is anybody's guess whether this is going to make landfall in the united states, in the continental united states. however, the bahamas has been battered by this hurricane. at first as a category 5, then a category 4. the damage there is devastating. but i want you to look at this thing. some people think that america may have dodged this hurricane. whatever happens, there are going to be tropical-force strong winds along the coast in florida and into georgia and alabama. but me going to happen. it's going to be a hurricane that hits the continental united states. storm surge warnings. more than