good morning. get out now. florida residents on the run this morning as hurricane irma makes a slight shift to the west overnight. now putting the state's west coast in its cross hairs. >> hurricane irma continues to be a threat that is going to devastate the united states. >> still no one safe. the monster storm wider than the sunshine state itself. fears of catastrophic form surges and mass destruction. popular areas look like ghost towns as people heed the warnings to get to safety. officials warning key west residents that nowhere is safe. tens of thousands pour into evacuation centers. between five and six million people told to evacuate. a quarter of the state's population causing traffic jams

on major highways. >> we're running out of time. the storm's going to hit. >> as irma hammers cuba overnight, the death toll rises in the caribbean with yet another monster hurricane, jose, telling close behind. and it's just a matter of hours before irma makes landfall. today, saturday, september 9th, 2017. >> from nbc news, this is a special edition of "today: hurricane irma." with sheinelle jones, dylan dreyer, and craig melvin. >> welcome to "today." i'm sheinelle jones. >> glad to have you with us. i'll craig melvin. in less than 24 hours, irma is expected to make landfall in florida. the keys are expected to be the first part of that state to get hit. we have been saying it for days now, but again, this is a monster storm. it's packing top winds of 155

miles per hour as it batters cuba right now. >> let's get to the latest headlines overnight. the storm's path has shifted slightly, taking a small turn away from miami and toward the west. and now florida residents on the state's west coast are in the direct path of irma. >> more than a quarter of florida's population has been told to evacuate. 5.6 million people were warned over the last several days that they should leave their homes and get to somewhere safer. >> the death toll is rising. so far at least 23 people have been killed in the caribbean, and police in broward county, florida, say one man died when he fell off a ladder while putting up storm shutters. we have more from al roker onstorm's path. -- on the storm's path. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, we've been watching and waiting for the storm to make its turn. it has yet to happen. we feel more confidence about where it's headed. let's show the exact location where irma is now.

currently it's a category-4 storm. just a couple of miles per hour below a five. it's 245 miles south/southeast of miami. it is moving west/northwest at 12. it continues at a snail's pace at this point. we are going to watch it skirt along the cuba coast and then get to the florida straits where water temperatures are close to 90. that may add to strengthening. sometime sunday morning into early afternoon, southwest florida will see 150 miles per hour winds possible, eight to 12-foot surge. 10 to 20 inches of rain. along the southeast coast from west palm beach to key largo, 50 to 75 mile-per-hour winds, five to ten-foot surge, 8 to 12 inches of rain. then it makes landfall right around where we are, ft. myers, sometime sunday afternoon and into the evening hours, with 100 to 125 miles per hour winds, three to eight-foot storm surge, 10 to 15 inches of rain. it traverses the state as a category-3 storm. moving southeast monday evening. it's still a storm with isolated

tornado threats all along its path. storm surge is the thing that kills most people. here's what we see as far as the storm surge. from tampa all the way down to key west and back to melbourne, anywhere from 8 to 12 feet. as you get to tampa bay, three to five feet. southeastern florida and the keys, five to ten feet. we also have a surge map that shows you where we expect the surges of nine meet or more stretching from naples all the way down into the everglades. again, that's where we see the most deaths out of those surges. again, as we said, 10 to 15 inches of rain. the problem, guys, is that with it slowing down, it looks like it's going to come on shore with those surges at the worst time, around high tide says. that could make the devastation even greater. >> goodness. thank you, al. >> as al showed, cuba and the bahamas feeling irma's effects right now. time running out for florida's residents to get somewhere safe before irma makes landfall

there. lester holt is in miami beach this morning. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, craig. miami beach under a mandatory evacuation order. the winds howled all night. certainly not hurricane force, but we're feeling the storm. though it has taken a westward shift, this area not out of the danger zone. they are anticipating that water is going to come rushing in here at some point as a storm surge. we've talked about what's happening in the caribbean. cuba got hit when the storm went to a category 5 briefly last night. great destruction now in the caribbean. more than 20 people are dead, and entire islands without power. this is what's headed for florida. irma tore through cuba overnight as a category-5 hurricane. 155 mile-per-hour winds battering the island's northern coast. the monster storm slamming the

bahamas, as well. storm surges there could reach a devastating 20 feet. irma has left a trail of death and destruction through the caribbean. new pictures coming out of the virgin islands reveal catastrophic damage. it may take years to rebuild all that's gone. >> i can guarantee you that i don't know anybody in florida that's ever experienced what's about to hit south florida. >> reporter: in florida, it's time to get out of irma's way. >> we don't want people on the road when the storm starts to hit. >> reporter: the rush to get out has created massive traffic jams. it's one of the largest evacuations in american history. about 5.5 million people ordered to leave, more than a quarter of the population of the entire state of florida. and getting gas proving a challenge. >> long lines. this is the first one that had a decent line. >> taking about two, three hours to get gas. >> reporter: flying is no longer an option. south florida's major airports closed last night. those lucky enough to get a

flight out fear losing all they left behind. >> you never expect this to happen to you, you know. and when you lose everything, you lose -- you lose your possessions. you lose like -- separated from your family. it's hard. >> reporter: as for those who rema remain, an estimated half million people are heading to the more than 40 emergency shelters that have been set up. >> i had to bring my two elderly parents here because i'm just afraid for them. >> reporter: not only are residents of miami beach being asked to leave, the fire department making its own preparations to relocate equipment, fire trucks, and ambulances off the island. you don't want to put your people in harm's way. >> right. exactly. we definitely do not want to put them in harm's way as much as they'd like to be here. >> reporter: despite all the warnings, some people will not leave. >> i'm one of those people that you can call stupid or whatever. this is my home. i feel safe here.

and this is where i'm going to ride out the storm. >> reporter: under the circumstances, it probably goes without saying, but major college football games in the state are canceled this weekend, including home openers for the university of florida and florida state. back to you in new york. >> lester holt there with quite the ominous sky behind you at miami beach. a virtual ghost town. thank you. as irma shifts slightly west, some residents who thought they would be spared from the storm's worst are now planning for catastrophe. kristen dahlgren is in in ft. myers with more. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. to give you an idea of how attitudes here have changed, yesterday during the day i saw people out on their boats, out on the beach. i went to a shelter last night, it doesn't open until 10:00 this morning, there were already people lined up to get in. along florida's west coast, there is new urgency. what many thought was a miss has models shifting this way. >> we're not as far away from

the center as we had originally thought. >> reporter: grace and frank mazzarella scrambling to finish storm proposals sanibel island. >> my family wants us out of florida totalen. that's a little bit difficult to do right now with traffic, airlines are booked up. >> reporter: officials going door to door to make sure residents, especially the most vulnerable, weren't lulled into a sense of security. >> i'm just thinking about my family. >> reporter: the biggest issue may be a storm surge. a wall of water coming ashore leaving all of these low-lying homes under water. search and rescue teams are ready for anyone who doesn't get out in time. >> pretty much anything that's going to help us gain access to something or someone is on this vehicle. >> reporter: route 75, the major highway on florida's west coast, backed up for miles. gas supplies are dwindling. some places are running out of sandbags. this family from port charlotte

is evacuating but couldn't find a place to go. >> all the hotels in gainesville, ocala, lake city, they're all booked. we had to sleep at a rest area with our kids. >> reporter: while others can only hope they didn't wait too long. >> by the grace of god we'll survive it again. >> reporter: so almost two million people call southwest florida home. when you add in tourists, guys, that number goes way, way up. officials have been telling people here for days don't pay attention to that center line, you're still in the cone of uncertainty. their hope now is that enough people got that message early enough. >> thank you. let's attorney florida governor rick scott, dealing with the hurricane that's going to impact his entire state. good morning to up. thanks for your time. shelters are set up. the national guard has been activated. i heard you practically begging residents to get out of florida yesterday. here we are less than 20 hours out. where do we stand?

>> we've worked very hard to help get people out of evacuation areas. i hope everybody's doing it. if you're on the west coast and not on the road by early morning today, it's going to be too late. we're continuing to open shelters all around the state. we're going to do everything we can to get people to safety. the keys will get hit this morning with the winds. the big thing i'm worried about is the storm surge. unbelievable storm surge. up to 12 feet of storm surge. they're not going to survive it. if you're in an evacuation zone, get out now. this is a great state. people are resilient, they work together. they're strong. they help each other. we're going to make it through this. >> we want to help you out this morning. we understands you're asking for -- we understand you're asking for volunteer nurses? >> absolutely. we've got a lot of people in shelters. we need about 1,000 nurses. i've got a website,

bprchdpreparedness@flhealth.gov. we need about 1,000 nurses and need 1,000 nurses in our shelters now to help take care of those that, you know, the special needs and others who need help. nobody can come and help us do that, we appreciate that. >> i was going to ask, logistically, how's that working? there are so many people trying to head out. are you asking for people maybe in the area to just go to the shelters instead? logistically, how would this work? >> absolutely. yeah. absolutely. if you're in the area and off to evacuate but you can come to the shelter and help these individuals, that would be outstanding. so we need about 1,000 nurses, and hopefully we'll get them. >> governor, we've got the information, by the way, for folks at home. the information at the bottom of the screen, that website, e-mail you mentioned. late morning, you're saying that's sort of the deadline for folks to get out. does that mean you guys are going to start contra-flow at that point? all lanes will then lead out of

florida? >> we're making sure we get the fuel there. we're working diligently to get fuel to the highway. we've opened the shoulder from wildwood to the georgia line to add more lanes there. we've got 1,700 troopers working to keep the traffic flowing. we've got local police and sheriff's office help keep the traffic moving. it's getting late. if you're not on the road, on the west coast by noon, you need to get to a shelter, get to a friend's house if you're in an evacuation jozone. get off the road. >> this is catastrophic. i know you've been talking to the media, trying to get out. in this moment, do you feel prepared? >> absolutely. we have great emergency management team, great first responders. the federal government, i've talked to president trump pretty much every day. fema's here. i've got all the resources of the federal government, they're committed. we have all of our resources, i've called up 7,000 members of

the national guard. the big concern i have is are individuals listening and getting out of harm's way? you've got to get out of evacuation zones, get to higher grounds, get to safety. the shelters are in safer locations. you've got to keep doing that. we're prepared. we're resilient. we're strong. we're going to help each other, and we're going to get through this. >> florida governor rick scott. thank you very much for your time, and good luck. as we've mentioned, irma hit cuba and the bahamas overnight after leaving a swath of destruction across the caribbean. nbc's rehema ellis is in the bahamas. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning to you. as the day begins here in nassau, the skies are gray, and that pretty much reflects the mood of so many people in the caribbean. nowhere is that more true than in cuba where hurricane irma slammed into the nation overnight. winds of 150 miles per hour. it's expected to linger there during the day with the potential of creating

devastation throughout the island. people have tremendous reason to be afraid of what's happened because of what the storm has already shown it can do. 23 people have been killed as a result of this storm in the caribbean. the island of barbuda was essentially devastated, flattened by the storm. other islands of st. john, st. thomas, st. maarten, homes leveled. pretty much nothing for people to hang on to anymore. in the southern bahamas, southern bahamas pounded by irma over the last day. there may not be much for folks there to go back to when they have the opportunitying to n and assess -- opportunity to go in and assess the damage. here a hurricane warning remains in effect for northeast and central bahamas where i am. we're expecting tropical storm-force winds. we've had lightning and rain overnight. while people may say we haven't had the worst of it here, we're not out of the storm yet.

back to you. >> the pictures are still devastating. thank you. it almost seems hard to believe, but there's actually another major hurricane on the horizon. it could prove to be a double whammy for those just battered by irma. dylan is in palm beach monitoring hurricane jose. good morning. >> reporter: hey, good morning, guys. yes, hurricane jose is a huge concern for especially an island like bar duda. i'll show you the track in a second. here in palm beach, the ocean is getting much more churned up. this is a different frequent what we saw yesterday. the town itself is a virtual ghost town. there are not that meany people who decided to stay and ride out the storm. driving along some of the main drags in this area, everyone has boarded up shop. we certainly have seen restaurant and shops and everyone storm shutters their windows. rightfully so with the storm

less than 24 hours away. we've seen the westerly shift, so this area will not be hit by the brunt of the storm. still, we are going to see hurricane-force winds and dangerous storm surge. there's reason to be concerned. it's good that people have left the area, boarded up and taken precautions. let's focus on hurricane jose. bar buckey barbuda was 90% destroyed by hurricane irma. it's interesting to note that without a lot of communications on the island, they might not know the next storm system is coming. it's a category-4 hurricane with 150 mile-per-hour winds. we have hurricane warnings once again in effect for antguilla and barbuda. three to eight inches of rainfall possible. dangerous storm surges and winds up to 150 miles per hour. what is still standing, it's going to have a rough time with this storm system moving in. the track of this storm is going to turn more to the north and

eventually to the east. 's not taking the -- it's not taking the same path that irma d did. for barbuda, a rough day. >> thank you very much. president trump is watching irma's path closely, as well. he'll be monitoring the storm all weekend from camp david. kristen welker is at the white house. good morning. >> reporter: hi, good morning to you. president trump's message this morning -- the federal government is ready to deal with hurricane irma, and the public should take the storm seriously. with his cabinet at camp david trying to show it's all hands on deck. at camp david this morning, president trump tracking irma while trying to reassure the public just before leaving the white house, telling reporters -- >> we're prepared. we're prepared at the highest level. >> reporter: in his weekly address, urging everyone to take the storm seriously. >> i ask everyone in the storm's pap path to be vigilant and heed all

recommendation was government officials and law enforcement. nothing is more important than the safety and security of our people. >> reporter: later this morning, the president will get briefed on the storm as he convenes a meeting with his entire cabinet for the fourth time since taking office. in addition to irma, the white house is monitoring another hurricane -- jose -- and grappling with the ongoing fallout from friday on. friday the president's homeland security adviser said the government has the resources to handle multiple disasters and the president's readi, too. >> i'm extremely comfortable with president trump's capacity to do so. he's demonstrated an ability to demonstrate issues of complexity on a regular basis. >> reporter: more help is already on the way for hurricane harvey victims. on friday, the president signed a $15 billion aid package for them that was overwhelmingly passed by the house. the three-month deal includes funding for the government and an increase in the debt limit. the president stunned members of his own party by striking the deal with democrats. meantime, hurricane irma is hitting home for the president.

specifical specifically, his mar-a-lago first alert palm beach, the place he calls the white house. the estate shut down friday. everyone there and in the surrounding area told to get out. mar-a-lago has withstood powerful storms in the past. in fact, it's weathered four major hurricanes with very little damage. there are concerns for the president's estate in st. maarten, in the path of irma. a spokesperson for the trump organization declined to comment on the status of the property but said the trump organization is monitoring the situation. >> thank you. in other news this morning, mexico has been dealt with a deadly one-two punch with hurricane katia making landfall overnight as a category-1 storm on the eastern gulf coast one day after an 8.1 earthquake struck the country's south pacific coast. around 70 aftershocks have since been recorded. that quake the strongest to hit mexico in more than a century. at least 61 people have died in the twin national emergencies,

with the death toll likely to rise. all eyes north korea this morning with fears that nation would celebrate its founding anniversary with another intercontinental ballistic missile test. so far no movements have been detected. it comes one week after the rogue nation conducted its sixth and most powerful nuclear test. in response, the united states is calling for a vote monday on a u.n. resolution that would impose the toughest-ever sanctions on north korea. this morning the ntsb is investigating a helicopter crash that killed country music star troy entgentry. it went down near medford, new jersey. it happened hours before a scheduled montgomery gentry concert in new jersey. the pilot on board was also killed. troy gentry was 50 years old. it will be an all-american final at the u.s. open today with madison keys and sloane stephens squaring off in the title for a $3.7 million cash prize. overnight, rafael nadal moved

into the finals with a sweeping victory against argentinian juan martin del potro. he will go head to head with kevin anderson on sunday. let's head to palm beach for a check of the rest of the country's forecast. dylan? >> reporter: guys, looking across the rest of the country, we are dealing with frost advisories in the upper midwest. much cooler temperatures working into that area. in the northwest, still hot, and still dealing with dangerous fires in oregon and montana where conditions are still very good morning. i'm krystal klei. let's take a look at your forecast for today. 72 in center city and somerton for afternoon highs. lansdale, 72. and 70 in easton. notice the icons, sunny to mostly sunny conditions. it will be a beautiful day for our saturday. 71 in voorhees, atlantic city you're up to 72.

smyrna 71 with clear conditions. just a light breeze through this afternoon. and do know there is a high risk for rip currents to develop along the shore. that's your latest forecast. guys? >> all right. we'll come back to you in a bit with lots more on hurricane irma's path coming up, including major flooding fears in miami beach where residents -- residents there gets concerned even on a sunny day. and disney world is about to shut down, as well. first, this is "today" on nbc. gps: faster route detected.

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good morning. i'm rosemary connors. meteorologist krystal klei is busy tracking irma and watching our weekend weather. >> locally, satellite and radar, not a thing to track out there. a few little blips of green, but that is just false returns. but we're not tracking any rain or really any clouds either. this will be a sunny to mostly sunny day consistently as we move forward. as for temperatures, right now we're at 55 in philadelphia, 52 pottstown, you're at 48. we will see temperatures later today warm up to the low 70s. we're following breaking news out of the lehigh valley

this morning. a police officer is in the hospital, the officer was shot in whitehall township while responding to a burglary call overnight. this is video from the scene on north 1st street. investigators tell us they have a suspect in custody. the officer is in stable condition. and we're already getting some of the effects of hurricane irma whipping up dangerous rip currents down the shore. officials are warning swimmers not to go in the water if there are no lifeguards on duty and keep in mind the number of guarded beaches is reduced now that we're past labor day. pennsauken toin ship will be holding a donation drive. you can drop off money, water, clothing items like socks, underwear. donation listen accepted at the municipal complex, police department and select fire stations in pennsauken. we'll send it back to the "today" show and another local cut in in about 25 minutes and then we'll be back for a full hour of news and weather at 8:30.

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we are back on this saturday, september 9th. a live look at the satellite image of hurricane irma. she is a category-4 storm right now. a monster storm. nothing like we have seen before. we're being told by the national weather service, hurricane irma topping our look at the headlines this morning. the storm made landfall overnight in cuba as a cat 5. it's currently hammering both cuba and the bahamas. the path shifted slightly to the west, meaning florida's west coast residents could face a more direct hit than they originally thought. al and dylan will have much more in a few minutes. and in mexico, residents are recovering after a different hurricane made landfall there. hurricane katia roared ashore as a category-1 storm. it's a one-two punch for

residents after friday morning's earthquake and now the hurricane. at least 61 people have been killed throughout the country. and the d.c. classroom that got a surprise visitor on friday. former president barack obama stopped by. the high school students at mckinley tech were settling into a new year of classes when the former president stopped by to welcome and encourage them. the former president and first lady make frequent visits to schools around the world while in the white house. of course, we start with hurricane irma this hour. the category-4 storm sets its sights on the sunshine state. back to al in ft. myers. al, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, guys. it belies what's coming to be this beach. in 24 hours, this is going to be a lot different scene. give you the coordinates and what's going on with irma right now. currently still a category 4 storm. but just barely below a 5. it currently has 155

mile-per-hour winds. it is moving west/northwest at 12 miles per hour. we'll get an update coming up at 8:00 from the national hurricane center. and right now, let's give a futurecast of the winds. you see they first hit over 80 miles per hour key west, marathon key, and continue along the western coast of florida. finally making landfall sometime in the afternoon. you see miami at 55 miles per hour. marco island, 105. they continue to make their way up and on into the state of florida. the surge, of course, also going to be a big, big concern. that's where the most deaths occur. we're looking at surges anywhere from 3 to 12 feet before it's all over. the new surge graphic map that comes from the national hurricane center shows that basically from naples to the everglades, nine feet or more. that's where the heaviest surge is going to be above ground. so guys, the rainfall amounts, 5

to 15 inches in spots. it's a lot going on in the state of florida. it's not a quick mover. it's going to be on the ground causing problems for about 24 hours. during that period of time, the threat for tornadoes will increase greatly especially here in southern florida. >> really quickly, i know initially there had been thinking that as the storm passed over cuba it might get weakened a bit. is that no longer the case? >> reporter: that normally is the case. however, between cuba and here in southern florida, there's a swath of 90-degree, almost 90-degree water temperatures. i would not be surprised if this doesn't restrengthen and possibly become a 5 again. it is not out of the question. >> all right. al roker for us there if in ft. myers. florida's world-famous theme parks are shutting down ahead of irma. katy beck is outside of disney

world with that part of the story. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, yes, it is exceptionally rare for walt disney world to close its doors. this is only the fifth time since the resort opened in 1971 that they have done so. it is not just walt disney world. it is universal studios and sea world. they'll be closed sunday and monday while the worst of irma is headed through orlando. they simply say that park-goers are not safe under these conditions and feel it necessary to close the attractions. as for hotels in orlando, they remain open and full of evacuees. at this point disney has said if reservations need to be canceled or rescheduled, there will be no fees for that. but getting out of orlando could be tricky because the airports here are closing at 5:00 today and also will remain closed through the duration of the storm. perhaps the only silver lining for disney is that this time of ye year, between labor day and october 1st, is the slowest period at the theme park throughout the entire year. they at least are not having

this hit during the busy season. guys? >> i guess that is true. catie, thank you. dylan dreyer's in palm beach with a look at the rest of the country's forecast. dylan, in terms of how it looks there now versus how it looked when you initially got there? >> reporter: >> reporter: the sun's up now, and you can see the sunrise here. the water has gotten a lot rougher since we visited this spot yesterday. the winds are picking up. the air is very, very humid. you know that the atmosphere is primed for the torrential downpours we'll see once this gets here. things are changing. there's a different feel in the air than we felt yesterday. elsewhere, let's look at what's going on. we have below-average temperatures and frost advisories in effect early across parts of the midwest. we also have monsoonal moisture in southwest. and the rest of the country looks pretty quiet. we could use some rain in the pacific northwest. we'll see a little, but inland into oregon and montana, we still have dangerous fire

conditions. the eastern -- most of the eastern half of the country is going to see a nice day with temperatures in the 60s and good morning. i'm krystal klei. let's take a look at your forecast for today. 72 in center city and somerton for afternoon highs. lansdale, 72. and 70 in easton. notice the icons, sunny to mostly sunny conditions. it will be a beautiful day for our saturday. 71 in voorhees, atlantic city you're up to 72. smyrna 71 with clear conditions. just a light breeze through this afternoon. and do know there is a high risk for rip currents to develop along the shore. and that's your latest forecast. guys? >> all right. ght. thank you. you be safe. just ahead, parts of florida flood even on sunny days. this morning, how miami beach is preparing for the worst case scenario as hurricane irma approaches. first, when i first started working with capital one, my dad called them up and asked for "the jennifer garner card" which is such a dad thing to do.

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we are back on a saturday morning with one of the serious concerns that south florida faces as irma roars closer to shore. >> among them, miami beach which floods even on sunny days. what's going to happen when hurricane irma arrives? nbc's kerry sanders is in miami beach this morning. good morning to you. >> reporter: well, good morning. whether you accept or don't what scientists say, that global warming is raising our world's oceans, there's an undeniable fact on miami beach -- they've had to raise the sidewalks and roads from where i'm standing now up here because each on sunny days, as you pointed out, when there's a full moon there's a thing called a king tide. much of miami beach goes under water. miami residents are bracing for hurricane irma. the monster storm expected to dump massive amounts of water in a short amount of time. it's a worst-case scenario, officials say, for a city that already has a major problem with flooding. even, believe it or not, on sunny days.

from the florida keys -- >> can't believe you're walking through this. good doggy. >> reporter: up the state's east coast. flooding. >> it is atrocious. >> reporter: the leading cause -- it's not rain. it's that full moon visible even in the daytime. its gravitational pull aligned with the sun creating what are called king tides. the water level in south florida more than a foot and a half above normal. amplifying the king tides, say experts, melting glaciers which add even more water to the oceans. erin davey co-authored a scientific report projecting the growth of king tides. >> we've seen nine inches of sea level rise over the last years. >> reporter: nine inches? and it's continuing? >> it is continuing to rise. at a certain level every year. >> reporter: and because the franconia see of these events is also on the rise, governments in south florida are now plan, actually hoping that man can

beat mother nature. here on miami beach which is a barrier island, they're trying to build their way out of the floods by raising the roads higher than the highest tides. miami beach is seven-miles long and one-mile wide. the city has budgeted $400 million to lift about half of miami beach roads two feet higher, to lay as much as 80 miles of storm pipes hooked to pumps, and to build up seawalls as much as five feet. those walls designed to keep the water that's pumped out from flowing right back into the city. >> anybody who says global warming isn't happening is an idiot. >> reporter: it's a phenomenon facing coastal cities from miami to boston. and on the west coast, from washington state down to san diego. still even with irma on the horizon, the mayor of miami beach knows the limitations of preventive efforts. >> we've done everything we can to protect against flooding. with a hurricane of this strength, the potential tidal surge could be 8, 9, 10, 12 feet. >> reporter: this is what storm

surge looks like -- >> reporter: likely worse than what we saw during hurricane matthew in jacksonville beach, florida, last year. and many people in the storm's path don't have flood insurance which is sure to be a problem once irma hits. >> only between 15% and 20% of people along the gulf have insurance. that's a serious problem. they're not going to be able to get insurance money. they're only going to be able to get low interest loans as disaster relief. and they'll have to pay that back along with their mortgages. >> reporter: a scary thought as irma takes aim for florida and the east coast. the city has budgeted about $500 million, a half a billion dollars, to try to solve this problem. they've been checking the pumps here this morning. with the roads raised as they, even with all of that, the storm surge will likely slosh over miami beach. >> kerry, you don't just cover florida. we know that you live there, as well. you also have the distinction of being one of our correspondent that's actually covered andrew

some 25 years ago. compare preparations for this storm to preparations back then, if you can. >> reporter: it is so much better. people are actually doing what they need to do. so many lessons have been learned from andrew. got to remember andrew was a last-minute turn. nobody knew it was going to turn as it did and devastate homestead. but people didn't evacuate and didn't take the hurricanes as seriously as they do now. i think that there's a much more professional leadership, all the way from the federal government to the state emergency operations centers. andrew was a wake-up call, and now the test is about to come. >> those pictures are devastating. thank you. coming up next, how you can help, how you can help the people in hurricane irma's path. that important information right after these messages. to most people, i look like most people. but on the inside, i feel chronic, widespread pain. fibromyalgia may be invisible to others, but my pain is real.

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we're back on a saturday morning. as florida braces for irma, you might be wondering what you can do to help. you might think that because people could essentially lose anything they'll take anything. that's actually not the case. >> let's show the central for international disaster information. it says in times like these the best thing you can do is to send money to trusted relief and charitable organizations. >> so why sends cash instead of stuff? for starters, survivors' needs vary. also, remember this -- there are no transportation costs or fees when you're taking money, when you're talking about money, rather. cash also allows organizations to spend their time providing aid rather than managing goods. >> while people donate with the best of intentions, things like clothe, food, and other household items not only clog up the supply line, they can often go to waste. this actually surprised me. look at this -- for example,

this was the scene at a donation center after the massive 2004 indian ocean tsunami. the contributions -- look at this -- they sat and rotted. and eventually all of this that you're looking at had to be destroyed. >> if you are not sure where to donate, check the legitimacy of charities on sites like guidestar and charitynavigator.org, as well. charitynavigator has already compiled a list of trusted groups for hurricane irma relief. >> there's also local organizations. they understand their communities' needs, and donations will ultimately help stimulate the economy. so it's a lot to think about. so you can go to today.com, and we have all the information that you need. >> we can all do something. we have much more ahead as we track hurricane irma's path. we will head back to florida where residents are getting ready for landfall again. we're talking about roughly 20 hours from now. first, this is "today." dad, we got the car...

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still to come, we'll go live to florida where lester, al, and dylan are standing by. less than 24 hours before irma makes landfall. we'll have the latest on irma's path as the storm currently hits cuba. also, lessons from hurricane andrew. what has florida learned in the 25 years since that massive storm flattened parts of south florida? we'll get to that and lots more. we'll get to that and lots more. first, these messages. whens with nasal congestion on notice... find fast, all-day sweet relief behind the pharmacy counter with claritin-d. strut right on past that aisle... and tell your stuffed up nose to stuff it with non-drowsy claritin-d. a steroid free allergy medicine that contains the best oral decongestant. it starts working in as little as 30 minutes. so you can get back to living the good life. live claritin clear with claritin-d. at carmax, we buy all the cars. uh, all the cars? all the cars. old cars? yes. new cars? oh, yeah. sports cars? indeed.

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good morning. i'm rosemary connors. it's a few minutes before 8:00. looking great outside. very different picture from what is happening in florida. krystal klei is tracking hurricane irma and our weekend weather. >> yeah, so take a look at our current conditions and we have temperatures that are warming up nicely already. we're at 58 in northeast philadelphia. 57 in millville. 53 in redding. flick city checki atlantic city checking in at 56. by this afternoon, we'll be hitting low 70s for highs. and you can see that with the temperature trend. 57 current to 63 at 10:00. and we'll have a light breeze.

this morning in philadelphia, the hunt continues for the two men who shot this father to death right in front of his 2-year-old daughter. philadelphia police tell us two men wearing dark hoodies and tan pants confronted jerry began gr thursday night. the crime was caught on surveillance camera with grandzol turning over his wallet and then they shot him twice in the face. police believe that he wanted to debt his daughter a get his daughter and dog out of the back seat before turning over his keys. for anybody traveling through the philadelphia international airport, if i hear sirens, don't worry, this is just an emergency drill. officials will be pretending that there has been some type of a catastrophic departmenacciden mass casualties. down the shore today, miss america hopefuls will be showing us their shoes during the annual tradition. and a new miss america will be

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good morning. irma takes aim. a monster category-4 storm shifting its path slightly overnight, out inning florida's west coast in the cross hairs. residents scrambling as the storm heads right toward them. >> i'm not as far away from the center as we had originally thought. >> more than five million people told you have to get out. that's more than a quarter of the state's population. >> we're running out of time. this storm's going to hit. >> overnight, the storm hammering cuba and the bahamas as the death toll rises in the akron. and another huge storm, hurricane jose, follows right behind. islands devastated already right in its path. now, the