get your rate quote today. irma's wrath. right now on nbc 10 news at 6:00, the catastrophic hurricane hits cuba, as it now barrels toward the u.s. shelter from the storm. a historic evacuation now under way in florida as millions flee the state. looking to escape. the incoming devastation. and help from home in the wake of harvey's destruction, our area is stepping up to help those who could lose everything from irma. >> nbc 10 news starts now. if you've been ordered to evacuate anywhere in the state, you need to leave right now. >> a loud and clear warning from the governor of florida to millions of people in the path of hurricane irma. good evening, everyone, i'm ted

greenbu greenberg. tonight the number of people in florida ordered to evacuate topped 6 million as we get a better picture of when and where the potentially catastrophic hurricane will hit. here's what we know right now. ir irma is expected to strengthen before it makes landfall in florida, but the state is already feeling the impact of the hurricane's power. 32,000 people are already without power. the storm surge can be anywhere between 5 and 15 feet, enough to completely cover cars and houses. more than 50,000 people in florida have already taken to shelters and there are even more shelters opening up. nbc 10 national correspondent sarah rosario has the latest. >> reporter: the onslaught has begun. >> what you're seeing there are the outer bands of irma. >> reporter: heavy rain and winds already lashing the miami area. even with the brunt of the hurricane, a full day away in the florida keys, water lapping up on the only way in or out.

>> the storm is here. hurricane irma is now impacting our state. >> reporter: the massive storm scraping the northern coast of cuba today. expected to turn northward overnight. >> kind of looks like southwest florida then up into the tampa area later on sunday into monday. >> reporter: that jog westward putting a lot of people who thought they'd be spared irma's worst right in the storm's cross hairs, and suddenly preparing for catastrophe. more than 6 million ordered to get out. >> you need to leave right now. >> reporter: hundreds of thousands are seeking shelter tonight along the florida gulf coast. some waiting if line for hours for a safe place. >> they're telling us we have a chance of having 6 to 12 feet of storm surge which i've been here since 1986, we've never seen that. >> reporter: seen here in astonishing video from hurricane hunters. irma is also expected to dump up to a foot of rain and bring winds of more than 120 miles her pour. >> our state has never seen

anything like it. >> reporter: as hurricane irma inches closer. here along the intercoastal waterway the bridge behind me is now shut down. int int leaving no more access to ft. lauderdale beach. a mandatory evacuation order in effect right now which means any residents on the beach when the storm hits will be on their own. reporting in ft. lauderdale, sarah ra daughtosario, nbc 4 ne >> taking a live look in florida, this is coconut grove. see the gray skies and conditions slowly getting worse as the area braces for the hurricane. here's another look at the fish first alert weather radar. the storm is expected to gain strength before hitting florida early tomorrow morning. nbc 10's erika martin here to time out the hurricane and what we can expect. such a serious situation, erika. >> yeah, you know, ted, i have a couple facts i want to point out before we get to that radar. we'll track it for you. landfall is likely as a category 4 for the coast of florida.

catastrophic damage for people, pets and property. conditions are definitely going to be catastrophic to say the least. hurricane-force winds extend 70 miles and tropical-storm-force winds extend 195 miles. let's put that into perspective. it's approximately, the florida peninsula is approximately 16 o miles wide. so those tropical-storm winds are wider than the actual peninsula. we're already seeing some beach erosion by miami beach has already reported approximately four feet of beach erosion so that's something we're definitely going to be observing for you. a huge concern for us, as far as meteorology is concerned. now, last night, irma did make landfall in cuba as a category 5 and of course now we're watching it move through the florida straits and how it will likely strengthen once it gets here. so here it is. we're going to get this into motion. currently a category 3. hurricane irma. as we track it through the

florida straits, it looks like it's going to make landfall sometime tomorrow. initially it showed early morning hours on sunday but because it has slowed down a bit, we're expecting landfall by i'd say sunday morning, perhaps late morning early afternoon hours. be sure you follow us on social media @nextphiladelphia. the story continues. once it makes landfall, it looks like it will continue to be a hush f hurricane for quite some time zblchbl. florida is seeing a max exodus as hundreds of thousands leave the state for safety. nbc 10's aundrea cline-thomas is live at philadelphia international airport. you're talking to people who just arrived in our area rp that's right, ted. first i want to show you a different view of irma's impact. take a look at the arrivals board here at the airport. a lot more red on this board. see see flights that were supposed to come into philly from orlando, they're canceled. the same is true over here from flights from nassau. that's the bahamas. montego bay, jamaica, miami and

jacksonville, florida. but as you said, we were able to talk to some lucky passengers who arrived here in philly from tampa. this was what they had to say. >> when we took off, everybody kind of applauded on the plane. they knew we were, like, the last flight out. that was kind of -- a little scary. >> supposed to be in cuba for two days. stayed for one day. said we were going back. a day early. >> reporter: some vacations had to be cut short. everybody was just trying to get out of irma's path. and there was a sense of relief to touch down here in philadelphia as the board indicates with all of these canceled flights. folk who have not left florida, for example, there's no chance that they're going to get on a flight now. reporting live from philadelphia's international airport, aundrea cline-thomas, nbc 10 news. take a look at this. hundreds of people lined up outside this shelter in lee county, florida. many people brought their belongings and their pets.

saying they stood in line for hours to get inside this arena which cab seat more than 7,000 people. help is already pouring in for what irma may bring. and those suffering from harvey. today in pennsauken, camden county, police, fire and first responders took a break from helping residents to help people they don't even know. they set up tables at several locations to collect donations for hurricane victims in florida and texas. one by one, people pulled up and popped their trunks to drop off clothes, toiletries and bottled water. >> feel bad about the people that's suffering, what they're going through. i just wanted to help out and, you know, do what i can. >> think if we can help someone out, maybe they don't even have to know our name, that that's a good thing. >> all of the donations will go directly to organizations actively helping in the relief efforts. tens of thousands of people in florida are already without electricity because of hurricane ir irma, and tomorrow utility crews from delaware and new jersey are

set to head south to help with what will likely be a massive effort to restore power. pse&g sending 154 employees to lake city, florida, for a deployment expected to last three two four weeks. delmarva and atlantic city electric are sending more than 70 employees and 180 contractors. coming up in just a few minutes, we'll get a live update from nbc's lester holt from ft. myers ahead of a special edition of "nbc nightly news," that's next at 6:30. and nbc 10 is with you every step of the way as we track irma's potentially historic devastation. you can always get instant updates and alerts with the nbc 10 app. other news now, the fire that destroyed this home in wilmington has been ruled accidental. the blaze in the boxwood development started yesterday afternoon. investigators say something was left on the kitchen stove unattended. three people were hurt including two firefighters.

paramedics tried to revive a dog found at the scene, but they were unsuccessful. the house sustained an estimated $1 $150,000 in damage. next on nbc 10 news at 6:00, up in flames. a bus trip on the highway quickly turns into a dozens. what the driver noticed just before this fire. and in case of emergency. the scene at philadelphia international airport involving dozens of first responders.

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for only $24.90 more per month. our lowest price ever on this offer. but only for a limited time. call today. comcast business. built for business. comcast business. at longhorn, tonight's special, the great american steak dinner for $12.99. a center-cut sirloin with a side, plus a starter, or dessert. and for lunch, try one of our new burgers. like the bbq bacon burger. you can't fake steak. local kids got some one-on-one time with experienced basketball coaches at today's healthy hoops event in south ni philadelphia. in addition to time on the court, the kids and their parents learned about managing asthma and weight through proper nutrition and exercise.

there were health screenings, children's yoga and educational workshops. >> many of our patient s or members are not aware they have asthma and how to control asthma. if they do have asthma, they don't understand there are medications, how to use the medications to control their asthma. >> for 15 years, healthy hoops has helped families learn that asthma doesn't have to stand in the way of being active. tonight, new details on a controversial arrest involving a nurse. coming up, what we're learning about one of the officers who made that arrest and what he was told just before it happened. eri karkk? >> ted, we're tracking the tropics. not only are we tracking hurricane irma, we're also keeping a watchful eye on hurricane jose. coming up on the other side of the break, we'll talk more about both the hurricanes.

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all right. let's take you live right now to deerfield beach, florida, as that state braces for hurricane irma's wrath. nbc 10's tim furlong joins us there live. tim, it looks like it's already getting pretty nasty. >> reporter: yeah, ted, i bet it's a lot nicer at the jersey shore right now. deerfield beach, the wind is winning through. tr trying to keep my hat on here. the surf is pounding at the deerfield beach pier. see the wind up here, too. this is what we're dealing with, concerned about. the storm surge in south florida might not be as bad as they originally thought. that's great news. the wind is still real bad. there's a lot of coconuts up there. have to be very careful. thousands in south florida are without power at this point and everybody in the eastern side of federal highway, a1a that runs down this part of florida, they've been told they have to evacuate. not allowed out here. there are police officers we had to show homeland security papers

to to get over the bridge to the beach. they said you're going to do your job for a little while then get out of here, don't want people out here any longer than they have to be and any nonessential personnel, if they see you out here, they're going to kick you right out. the water is coming up real high. somebody told me this beach is usually a lot longer than this and there's never any seaweed. see how the ocean is churning. the rain is pouring. we've had these bands, the first bands of irma coming through here and whipping down huge amounts of rain like you're drenched to the core kind of rain. as it comes through. then it will stop for a while. really hot and humid to cold for a little while. it's been a strange mix of south florida weather as irma continues to roll in. doesn't like we're -- on the east coast of florida -- going to get the worst of this but we're by no means out of the woods yet and taking precautions still telling people, i know you're getting cabin fever sitting inside your house with the storm shutters up, it's dark, but most people still have power, can watch tv, relax, just hang out, stick with it a little longer and keep you and your

family safe. live in deerfield beach, florida, tim furlong, nbc 10 news. >> all right, tim, thank you so much. we're thinking about the safety of you and your crew as well. thanks again, tim. also tonight, new details out of the lehigh valley of a police officer was shot in the line of duty. here's what happened. a homeowner in whitehall township called police early this morning to report a burglary. he said there were intruders in his home and that he was armed and hiding in a closet. the officers got into the house through the basement door and started looking for the burglars but the homeowner ended up shooting one of the officers with a shotgun. that officer was hit in the thigh and treated at a local hospital. the homeowner was eventually arrested. the officers did not fire back and they're still looking for any possible burglary suspects. happening right now in new castle county, first responders have recovered a body from the christina river after a car plunged into the water. this is happening right now behind joe's crab shack in wilmington.

we're working to find out how that car ended up in the river. preparing for an aviation disaster at philadelphia international airport. emergency crews, law enforcers and airport staffers were put to the test today during a full-scale drill simulating a mass casualty incident. the scenario involved an americanairlines jet that broke apart and burst into flames after being forced down onto the runway by weather conditions while trying to abort a landing during a severe thunderstorm. all certified commercial service airports are required by federal law to conduct exercises like this once every three years. more help for houston. a truck filled with donations took off today from rio grande, cape may county. united uniforms, a first responders supply center, collected donations from all over the can county for harvey victims. today those donations including 600 kits made by a local girl scout troupe were loaded on jb

to a truck flnow headed for fxt bracing for hurricane irma, storm expected to strengthen before making landfall in florida hours from now. nbc 10 first alert malgs eteorot erika martin joins us with the new details. >> right now hurricane irma is a category 3 hurricane however we are expecting her to strengthen as she continues to work her way toward florida because the sea surface temperatures are so warm. upper 80s to low 90s. now, the current winds are 125 miles per hour and it's moving slower west-northwesterly at 9 miles per hour. that's pretty alarming simply because the more time it has to spend out in that nice, warm water, the more time it has to continue to strengthen, eventually becoming a category 4 hurricane. so let's track this for you and time this out. we can see here that as it continues to work its way through the straits of florida,

at approximately 2:00 a.m., it becomes a category 4 hurricane. so it does start to strengthen and sustains that strength pond landfall. initially models showed landfall sometime early sunday morning, now because it has slowed down, it looks like it will be late morning, possibly early afternoon, but of course, if you download the free nbc 10 app, we will keep you updated on that. so sunday, 2:00 p.m. in the afternoon, we're still seeing sustained wind speeds at 140 miles per hour which still makes it a category 4. as it continues to move up from south to north across florida, notice that it still encounters some warm water just to the west around the gulf. now, the issue here is that it continues to move its way toward georgia as a category 3 hurricane. and once it actually hits atlanta, mods right now still have it as a hurricane. category 1. now, locally, we're very

fortunate because conditions are perfect. fair weather clouds. that's all we're seeing this evening. current temperature, 68 degrees. even though we are seeing temperatures that are slightly cooler than average. nothing to complain about around here. vineland at 71 degrees. mt. holly, 65 for you. allentown 6 4. wilmington currently at 69 degrees. conditions are chillier than average, ted, but not much to complain about. the next couple hours, mostly clear to clear skies. again, very quiet around here. perfectly great for outdoor activities. i to try to get to this one graphic very quickly because not only are we tracking irma, we're also tracking hurricane jose. right now the european model, we talked about this in a facebook live, is favoring some type of landfall. so we have to keep you posted. >> you will be closely watching where that heads. >> yeah. >> along with irma, of course. we'll check in with you again at 11:00. here's danfy. thank you very much, danny pommells from csn.

eagles football eve in philly. we're setting the table. coming up, we hear from carson wentz on facing a division rival to open the season tomorrow in d.c. can you feel it? football's in the air. we're right back.

time now to check in with lester holt for a look at what's coming up on "nbc nightly news" live tonight from ft. myers, florida, of course one of the areas along the gulf bracing for irma. lester, good evening. >> reporter: hi, ted. good evening. coming up, the latest from here in florida as hurricane irma takes aim at this state and beyond. more than 7 million now being urged to evacuate. plus, the scramble to find safe havens. long lines today as people moved to newly opened shelters. also taking care of some of the most vulnerable and why moving them away from irma's path may not be the best idea. and we spend time with some

of the first responders getting ready for impact here in florida when we see you coming up in a few minutes on "nbc nightly news." ted, back to you. >> lester, thank you, see you at 6:30. a bus goes up in flames on a highway leaving 40 passengers in the middle of the road. this happened earlier this morning in japan. driver noticed the engine light go off. then smoke and fire in his rearview mirror. so he pulled over and minutes later, this happened. luckily, everyone got out safely. an update tonight on the rough arrest of a nurse in utah that made national headlines. [ screaming ] probably remember the controversy started over a blood sample. salt lake city officers wanted from a driver involved in a crash. because of the hospital's policy, the nurse refused and was then handcuffed. we've now learned the officer arrested the nurse even after investigators told him not to worry about the blood sample. that officer is now on paid

leave. this is "sports desk" brought to you by xfinity. x1 from xfinity will change the way you experience tv. hey, hey, donny pommells with you once again. your friendly neighborhood sportscaster with all the eagles football, here in about 18 hours' time. the eagles in washington will be on the field if landover for the season open. year two of the doug pederson/carson wentz duo. year one started with a bang but faded down the stretch. several key additions on offense as well as a few on "d," expectations hot for the birds this season. what better way to get things started than with a division foe? >> definitely more excited because it's week one, but to go down in washington, divisional rival, to start the year, couldn't ask for a better scenario. honestly. it's an exciting time and like you said, we both are kind of aware of each other, know everyone's tendencies. they a new defensive coordinator. different things.

but at the end of day, going to come down to players making play and have to handle l that environment. i believe we can do that. it's going to be a fun one on sunday. we think of villanova and temple athletics, the first thing that comes to mind is a big five hoop the battle. today not the case, though. city bragging rights on the line on the gridiron in south philly. may mayor's cup on the line today. not a lot of offense. nothing on the scoreboard for the cats. capped off by nick sharga's one yard touchdown run. right now, get this, 13-10 owls in the fourth quarter. the wildcats making e ining it hoops now, most anticipated sixers season in recent memory a little over a month from beginning. everyone waiting to see the process pay off. this could be the season. today at the team's practice fill in camp camden, dr. j. hosted a camp, markelle fultz, and hopefully a healthy joel embiid this season.

the three of them makes the future start to round into shape. >> i think we should make a good run at the playoffs. you know, there's enough youn l talent on the team and system is good enough. it's proven itself. you know, that we can keep a healthy team out there and we should be able to make a run at the playoffs. >> that bluetooth headset around the neck a true old head indicat indicator. i'm danny pommells from csn, back to you. >> danny, thank you zblchblgs a . all eyes on irma. >> expect it to increase in strength becoming a category 4 among landfall sometime tomorrow. tim out there live. >> and lester holt live in minutes on "nbc nightly news." have a good night.

could be the most catastrophic storm in florida's history. the desperate escape from hurricane irma with 7 million urged to get out of harm's way, while there's still time. with irma now targeting florida's west coast, the governor warns of a huge storm surge, telling residents it could cover your house. tonight we're on both coasts of florida with those taking shelter, some waiting in long lines, and with those who choose not to leave, as the hurricane that has killed dozens moves toward its violent next act. "nightly news" from florida begins right now. >> announcer: hurricane irma, this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt, reporting tonight from ft. myers.