thanks to kristen bell as well. "nightline" is next. good night. tonight on a special edition of "nightline," florida overtaken. the monster storm irma battering homes, ripping up roads, snapping power lines. more than half the state in the dark. inside the places hit the hardest. we have a first look at the florida keys, where even residents have been blocked from returning home. and tracking the storm, moving north tonight. plus caribbean islands blown away, racing to evacuate stranded americans while residents wait basic supplies. now reports of looting. >> they beat up a tour itmoving and cruise ships providing

lifelines. >> like noah's arc scenario. >> jimmy: this special edition of "nightline," hurricane irma, monster storm, will be right back.

been trying to prepare for this day... and i'm still not ready. m telling been trying to prepare you this is that there will be moments in your life that... you'll never be ready for. ♪ ♪ this is a special edition of "nightline." hurricane irma, monster storm. >> good evening and we take you straight to florida tonight. reeling from hurricane irma, now more than 6 million customers

without power. state police setting up roadblocks to stop people from returning home and the storm is not finished. now spreading destruction to the north. >> reporter: in the battle of man versus nature, irma is proving she's a force to be reckoned with. these stunning images showing the hurricane's incredible power. >> whoa! >> jimmy: storm chasers pushed back as they try to measure wind speeds. a tourist knocked over by the sea. the devastation it left from one end oflorida to the other is just coming to light. and as irma continues its relentless march north in jacksonville a flash flood emergency. >> thank you, guys. >> jimmy: water rescues along the swollen st. john's river. the city's mayor with this advice to residents who didn't

flee. >> i would remind folks to put a white flag if we need to get you out. >> jimmy: near orlando orange county fire and rescue pulling residents and a scared puppy out of a flood zone. this morning in the florida where the hurricane first made look at the damage, boats grounded, cars under sand. homes destroyed. >> my heart goes out to people in the keys. there's devastation.>> a tree d. . >> my colleague tried to see the damage for herself. >> it's 3:45 on the road we're trying to get to the florida keys. >> but like its many residents trying to return home we were stopped by roadblocks. >> this road into the keys is not going to be open for a long time. >> no residents are going to be allowed in at the present time and they do not anticipate a time frame of when the residents

are going to be allowed in. >> i want to go home.ere's no make me leave. and then now not let me go home. >> they said it could be hours. it could be days, it could be weeks, up to a month. >> but hours ago, amy was able to survey the damage from the air. >> so much water. boats thrown up side down, roofs ripped off and entire mobile homes demolished. look at the parks in marathon it is a debris field. some of them are completely destroyed. >> downed power lines the beach spilling into the roadway, debris everywhere. it will be months before the community of marathon is up and running. >> matt gutman travelled to marco island where the hurricane made its second strike unleashing it fury with wind gusts of 135 miles an hour.

5,000 hunkered down waking up to mangled trees and no power. >> we have no electric and no water on the island. we are encouraging people if you don't have to come back right now, don't. >> rescuers making their first rounds earlier today. >> what is tha>> it seems to hae insulation. >> it got wet. i and they all came apart. >> mark bellfor fled for safety. >> we were dead center. power as utility3 people in crews w 24/7 the state up and runningagain. these satellite images showing south florida before and after irma hit. the once brightly lit cities dimmed by power outages and storm clouds. >> trees collapsing, power lines

snapping. >> look at that power pole split into two pieces. there are power lines across the road. we know that police aren't taking any chances. they set up a roadblock to make sure no one drives over those lines. >> last night was horrible. >> jimmy: t >> this family lost power and i the refrigerator running for now. soon. on't see the power >> it's nighttime now and it is no power. we saw han their house and talk to them now. so no power? dave andgie now without power since yesterd >> they got the tub filled up here because the water area of ft. myers is not working any more. >> over the weekend the monsterg

rains anp to feet in places. striking cities like naples with wind gus up to 143 miles an hour. >> these winds are unbelievable. the trees that flying. >> look at this. this is just incredible. >> it feels like you are being blasted with a fire hose. >>he hurrice ma rig now. it is and soaked.trees uproote >> jight here. >> this is a street, this is not a river but looks it. >> twoinuxury another in nearby ft. lauderdale. now irma is a tropical depression but as it moves to atlanta, much of] the deep sout. another threat, tornados.

earlier today, a watch in effecn caribbean and forcedore than 6 evacuate. although damage to florida wasn't as bad as some record-breaking three days as a5 with sustained wind speeds up t making it one powerful hured over open it's the first time two category 4 hurricanes have hit the u.s. in a single season and it's still the peak of the hurricane mother nature will spare the region another shatterg blue. b

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on its way to florida, hurricane irma decimated several caribbean islands, leaving millions without power, water or food. the u.s. military as well as a major cruise line are swooping in to help. here's abc's lindsay janice. >> i didn't think i was going to survive. >> reporter: this is all that is left of the hotel she was

staying in at st. martin. it was her dream birthday vacation. now what is left will live in her nightmares. >> it looked like hell. it looked like a war zone. it went from the most beautiful resort ever to chaos. to total destruction. >> reporter: the once idyllic islands of the northern caribbean took the brunt of hurricane irma. now waste lands of destruction and debris. the category 5 storm killed at least 37 people from barbuda. >> this is one of the worst days of my life. the entire country has been decimated. >> reporter: to st. martin, to the virgin islands. now there are severe shortages of food, water, and medicine. and adding to the chaos, a second hurricane, jose, churning over the same area this weekend. costing authorities precious time, preventing them from

getting to the most ravaged areas. now the harrowing stories of survival are emerging. >> flooding is kind of amazing. the rain and wind is bringing it through the sliding doors. >> reporter: along with tales of the frightening aftermatds as the rule of law began to break down. >> it is going to be rough on the way over. >> reporter: we left with the coast guard on a cutter as they rushed to st. thomas on the u.s. virgin islands to bring in needed supplies and evacuate stranded americans to puerto rico. we're coming into st. thomas and you can see already the evidence of irma because all of this used to be green, but the leaves are no longer on the trees. many of the trees are down. many of the structures here, destroyed. >> we have water. wee we have dry food, some clothes for kids in need. and we also are dropping off federal agents to help with law

enforcement and try to reopen the airport and the ports in st. thomas. >> reporter: the department of defense says 4600 service members are helping with relief efforts in the virgin islands and puerto rico. on the island of st. thomas, the airport, destroyed by wind and rain. government planes landing anyway. but for everyone else, the only way on and off is by boat. as we made land, all around, utter desolation. >> just look what irma did to this church, completely ripped off the front of it. these were the stairs that was the altar. >> reporter: a couple blocks away, reports of looting. >> people trying to break into this shipping container and steal what's inside. >> reporter: it's not a total surprise to see people taking supplies, where most have exit existed for days without running water, food or power and as conditions continue to deteriorate. fema has dispatched three emergency medical teams here

where the one hospital was destroyed. you're stranded here? until i can get to puerto rico. i've been told there are cruise ships coming in tomorrow taking people to puerto rico and from puerto rico you're on your own. >> reporter: while the lucky ones from another devastating island, st. martin are evacuated by c-130s. >> what did it sound like? >> like you are in an airplane engine. >> reporter: an estimated 5,000 americans were believed to be trapped on st. martin in the aftera aft aftermath of irma. michelle and charlie pratt were on the dutch side of the island also at simpson bay. >> what was it like? >> frightening. we thought we were going to perish together. >> it blew our doors and windows

in. >> it blew the doors in and the walls were shaking. >> reporter: they took these videos of the devastation outside. soon, people began arriving from other hotels. and quickly, things went from bad to worse. >> our generator caught on fire. after they put the fire out, the people stole the generator. then they started stealing food from our fridge. then they beat up one tourist. hit him in the eye. >> the military came in and yelled for us all to get in. there were bank robbers and they ran into our section with their cars. the military were after them with the machine guns. >> reporter: the pratts and other guests say theyed to go word of evacuations. waiting in line for hours to make it on to a military plane. 200 others have been evacuated by cruise ship. >> adventure of the seas picked

up 300 folks in st. martin. literally it was like the united nations. americans, canadians, europeans, people from asia, latin american. really, from all over the world. and lots of local people from st. martin. >> reporter: royal caribbean dispatched four vessels to ravaged island, offering shelter an transporting evacuees to safer ground. >> over the past few days have four ships that we have dedicated to humanitarian efforts. we are all from south florida and we want to try our best because we have these ships and they are empty for various reasons related to the hurricane. how can we give something back and that's what we are trying to do. >> reporter: further along irma's track, ten people died in hard-hit cuba where today some neighborhoods were still under

water and without power. [ speaking foreign language ]. >> reporter: cubans waded through the streets of havana, sometimes in waist-high water. tomorrow's france's president, emmanuel macron is expected to travel a st. martin to survey the damage and offer relief to the french/dutch island. residents are worried about how they will rebuild. [ speaking foreign language ]. >> reporter: many people left homeless. some forced to cook their meals on coals in the middle of the street. the dutch military transporting some to another ireland to go to the netherlands, for the residents they are left with little but their grief.

barbuda, flattened, 90% of its buildings decimated. >> this is the worst! >> i tell you, last night was the worst time in my life. and i would not stay in a hurricane like this again. >> reporter: tonight, for those like the pratts with homes to return to, a profound sense of gratitude. >> you must feel lucky you got out. >> it's a miracle. it really is. >> reporter: i'm lindsay janice in san juan, puerto rico. when we come back, the ceremonies around the country today honoring the lives lost in the 9/11 attacks, 16 years ago.

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finally tonight we mark the new york city, firefighters of ladder 10 and engine 10 saluting and remembering those lost that day. they read the names of those victims. >> my father, kevin james murphy, i love you very much, dad. i know you are looking down on me with a big smile on your face tonight. >> and my father and my aunt.

both of you left a void in our hearts and lives but we know you're in a better place. we miss you and we love you forever and always. and to my dad, i hope my mom, sisters and i are making your proud. >> and my brother, joseph michael giaconni. his family and friends will never forget, i come here every year for 16 years to make sure i hear his name. >> there were also ceremonies at the flight 93 national memorial in shanksville, pennsylvania and at the pentagon where the president and first lady paid their respects. 16 years later and it is as important now as it was then to never forget. we want to thank you for watching abc news tonight. we are online 24/7 and on our

"nightline" facebook page. thank you again for watching and good night.