and we need to provide access to affordable healthcare for all virginians, not take it away. ♪ good morning, breaking news. irma, the most powerful hurricane ever pounding florida right now. 130-mile-per-hour winds. flooding rain. a life-threatening storm sturge expected. 1 million people without power in florida. more than 6 million people, a third of the state's population under mandatory evacuation orders. our correspondents are all across the region, as this historic storm hits today, sunday, december 10th, 2017. >> announcer: from nbc news, this is a special edition

"today" hurricane irma. with matt lauer and savannah guthrie. live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. and lester holt live from florida. and good morning, everyone. welcome to a special edition of "today" on sunday morning. lester and al are in tampa. if used just visiting us, it's going to a special day on the florida state. >> let's get the very latest now on the storm. it has been battering the florida keys all morning long. but its center just made official landfall there at 9:10 a.m. eastern time. >> utility officials in florida now say more than 1 million customers have lost power as irma has hammered that state. that number is expected to keep rising throughout what's going to be a long day down there. >> and to give you an idea how big the storm is,

for atlanta, georgia. yes, that's 600 miles north of southern florida. it is inland and north of the storm. and yet that tropical storm warning for atlanta. >> we have correspondents all over florida beginning with nbc's gadi schwartz. he's made his ways to the keys this morning or at least the northern part or eastern part. gadd d gadi, take it away, what's happening? >> reporter: yeah, matt, did you see that, debris is about to get ripped off and go over there and banging against the trees. over on the other side, if you walk with me, we're protected by this ed sed by building but we' strongly considering going to the other side of the street. it looks like a building that is sturdier. we're going to wait to see what the situation brings. just be careful, there's some that debris, just flying over there. got stuck in the bushes over here. this right here, thi

cardboard we just checked. so, this can't pose any damage to us. we have been trying to clear this area of debris that can hit us. we're going to try to stay close to this wall here. >> gadi, can you hear us? as much as we love your images, we wouldn't mind in your camera person and crew backed up and got away from that overhang. >> reporter: yeah, that's what we're thinking. it looks like it's going to fall that way. right now, we're devising a plan to get back to the other side of the street where there's not an awning starting to wobble. as soon as we're done here, that's what we're going to try to do. >> yes, the storms evolve, the winds can be volatile. we don't want you so close to the danger, gadi, you and your crew. thank you so much. let's go to nbc's miguel almaguer, in florida city this

how's it looking, miguel? >> reporter: well, savannah, conditions continue to deteriorate, it's not just the flooding rain that's been pounding us, but it's this relents wind that's knocked out power to so many people in the city. as a matter of fact, so many are still without electricity. we're actually staying embedded with the police department. i want to give you a tour of how we're able to broadcast here. the police department is actually working out of this building right here. and we're taking cover, our crew is, underneath the awnings here so we're able to broadcast live to you. they're so concerned about all across the street and the winds that are just whipping right now here. if you even take 20 or 30 steps out into the center of this street, you can feel the winds increase and pick up their speed. they're saying power will be out likely for days. and they're calling these conditions potential catastrophic, so the first responders that are hunkered down right beside us actually tell us they won't be making their way on t

rescue because it's simply too dangerous. at this hour, they haven't received any calls for help, one reason may be because power lines are down, phone lines are down and cell towers are starting to go down in the area. expect the conditions to deteriorate over the next couple of hours here. inside of city hall, we could actually hear what was like the roof beginning to peel off. this building was brought down during hurricane andrew. but 15 years ago, it was rebuilt with better building codes. the building has stood up very, very well over the last 24 hours. they say it's really going to be a test. it's about every home, every neighborhood, every business on the street is shuttered. the mayor tells us the majority of the city did not evacuate. that means they're hunkering down. they're going to have to ride out the storm. back to you, guys. >> miguel, thank you so much. so, the 10:00 update on this storm has just come in from the national weather center. still category

hour. and the storm is moving 8 miles an hour to the north and northwest. >> and they've been seeing wind gusts up to 95 miles percent hour near key largo. 80 miles per hour plus at the orlando international airport. let's go to miguel, where mariana atencio is in miami beach for us this morning. it looks a little calmer there, mariana. what's the scene? >> reporter: a little bit calmer, but any second now, savannah, i just want to you look at the debris that's been flying around for the past hour, it's sustained completely. i stepped away from the beach now to one of the side streets here along miami beach. the trees flying everywhere. i want our cameraman to pan this way. this is where things can get really dangerous, as we you just saw with our gadi schwartz, you have no idea what can be f

around. we saw awnings with buildings and roofs with structures peel off. don't forget you have modernized buildings here in miami. but here on the beach, a lot of the buildings -- i stepped on some debris to my right. a lot of the buildings as i was saying are older structure so they're not equipped to sustain the winds. i also want to report to you guys that the miami-dade police has officially tweeted out that the officer, sheltered up for the moment. they cannot respond to any emergency calls. they say do not venture out. do not leave your homes. we saw one person, i'm on air with you, but people walking around. not officials want to be looking at right now. and we look at some of these structures that have fallen here. a lot of businesses, don't forget, this is a very commercial area, people

up, and other businesses didn't. you don't know how they will fare with the wind gusts and the water that we're seeing. we'll see if our producer will take us up to where we stayed, to put the camera on the back of an suv to keep moving around to show you guys. just what the streets here in miami look like. it is insanity right now. i've been living in miami for five years. for hurricane matthew, and i was here for hurricane andrew when i was younger. this is something that i haven't seen in a long time. especially here on the beach. especially when you're not even talking about a direct hit. you're seeing the last of the hurricane pounding southeast miami right now. it's getting worse by the minute. first responders telling us, the next couple of hours are going to be incredibly dangerous. people should hunker down. we are doing the same. we're not on the air with

we're sheltering to safety and coming out to bring you images live. >> mariana, have you and your crew as safe as possible. we want to go to jo ling kent in ft. lauderdale this morning. we have flooding and other damage. what do you have now? >> reporter: savannah, we have brand-new numbers in broward county. 230,000 people now going without power. we have just stepped outside where we have been taking shelter. it would seem very large sustained winds here, you can see some of the local structures here. this stop sign was turned 180 degrees in the other direction. it is now down and facing the street. we're going to take you down this very busy thoroughfare here. it's isolated today. it's starting to flood a little bit. you can see more signs drifting in the wind here. you can see here, most of the debris in ft. lauderdale, palm tree fronds, branches, trees splitting in half. what we expect

towards fort myers, very huge bands of rain. it feeling very much we're getting pelted in the face. come with me over here. i want to show you, this is cal caller calvary chapel, one of the beg mega churches here. the sign has blown down. as mariana mentioned we're not in the eye of the hurricane, but ft. lauderdale very well prepared. residents here mostly heeding the evacuation warnings. most people are taking shelter in their shelters or churches or their own homes. you but ft. lauderdale residents are optimistic, they made the right preparation. they overprepared. and it seems like you can't overprepare in this situation, because of how much the winds starting to pick up here, savannah and matt. >> thank you, jo, we

lester and al are there. guys we came on the hair at 6:00, about four hours ago. describe the condition? >> i'll give it to the nonweatherman. >> luckily, we haven't gotten the winds yet, but we've got feeder bands coming in. and this is just the beginning of this. we are going to be in this all day. and it's going to deteriorate, and tonight -- in a way, for tampa, this is probably the worst case scenario in that the worst of this is going to come overnight. when it's pitch black out. you can't see anything. power goes out it's going to make it even harder for things to happen. let's give you the latest with what's happening with the storm. irma is a category 4. this is a visible satellite picture. this is infrared. this isn't using the temperature of the clouds. this is an actual photo of the system. and so, you can see, basically,

florida, 130-mile-per-hour winds. it's moving north-northwest at 8 miles per hour. and the track of this system is going to bring it right now, right along the coast. so, here's what we expect. right now for key west, 100 to 122-mile-per-hour winds, 5 to 10-foot waves -- i should say storm sturge. now, we continue to push this up, our friends in the southeastern part of the state, 100 to 75 mile per hour winds. fort myers, 10 to 20-foot storm sturge. in the tampa bay area, overnight, 75 to 100-mile-per-hour winds. you know, if this wobbles just a bit it could be a direct hit on tampa. we're not saying that it's going to happen. but it is very close. it's still close. it's something that we have to

consider. jacksonville tomorrow, winds 50 to 75 miles per hour. and those winds will continue to push on up. the storm sturge is going to be something that's going to be fierce. on the rainfall, we're talking anywhere in total 10 to 15 inches of rain generally, the keys will probably, all in all, when all said and done, see 25 inches of rain, in the panhandle of florida, that will probably be the least amount, 8 to 10 inches of rain. here, in the midsection of the state and along the coast, we are probably looking at anywhere from 10 to 20 inches of rain, lester. and that storm sturge, that is the thing that is of most concern. i mean, there's going to be a lot of wind damage. but the most zadamage comes and unfortunately the most deaths comes from the storm sturge. especially here, the storms are the greatet. >> we're not experiencing any wind right now, the rain is

directly to tampa. it's a good chance to bring in the mayor, mayor buckhorn, good to see you. >> thanks, sir. >> you got the mythical hurricane phoenix, 500,000 homes destroyed. 2,000 people dead. there are people that say this is the most vulnerable city in the country. are they wrong? >> history would indicate they are. we are due for a hit. we train as if we're going to get one every year. most of this area that you see here will probably be under water. davis island, harbor island, all of which you heard al talk about with the surge. >> your home included? >> my home concluded. and the surge is what we worry about, that's what we talk about all the time. we want people out of the surge but i think we'll have a long difficult night, guys. >> and you also deal with sea level on a normal basis and a good size s

flooding. what are you doing, or what are you prepared to do to mitigate what could be a catastrophic storm sturge? >> well, i don't know if we can mitigate anything. at this point, it's in god's hands. we're prepared for the cleanup afterwards and prepared to help people get back in their homes. we spent the last two years trying to strengthen our inf infrastructu infrastructure. to the extent that we're ready for this, as city city might be ready, i mean, we're dealing with 100-year-old pipes that we've been duct taping for the last three decadinedecades. if it's not done, it's not going to get done. >> you've got a lot of people in shelter. i worry about the folks we encountered on the roads like i need gas. how much of the population do you think -- at-risk population is in a safe place this morning? >> you know, my hope is most of them. the reality is, probably not as mas

a lot of floridians get hurricane amnesia. they've ridden these things out. they think they can survive. this is going to affect every part of the state. so, we've really worked hard to evacuate people. obviously, we didn't have as much time as the folks in miami did to prep for this. we've been warning this for three or four days not to necessarily trust of the models because we know how they wobble. we've been watching you for a week now. we've been preparing them, we put an evacuation notice on all of this area 36 hours ago. so, a lot of people have left. but again, there are going to be those people that will hunker down and say i can withstand this? >> what's your biggest fear? >> surge. we're going to live through the rain and the wind. what i'm concerned about the impact of the surge. most particularly, the surge will occur at the same point that the high tide curse here. monday morning, 6:00, 7:00, 8:00, same time, you

river, so you're going to add to that surge level. for those low-lying areas it's going to be increasingly problematic. >> it's good to talk to you. the six circumstances are lousy. >> we are indeed. it's game time. >> matt and savannah, he doesn't paint a good picture. >> no, that's scary when you talk about high tide and high surge at the very same time. and he's a guy who knows what that's going to be like. >> and when you look at it, geography is just not on the side of the folks who are living in tampa, boy, we're worried for them right now. and the u.s. coast guard as you might imagine is very busy during a storm like this. and we're joined on the phone by rear admiral peter brown. admiral good morning. what are you dealing with and what are your concerns? >> good morning. and thank you for having me on the show and give an opportunity to explain how the entire coat

the storm. i'm in charge of what covers south carolina, georgia and most of florida, the area under the direct impact of hurricane irma right now. for the past several days we've been repositioning and protecting our people, and our operational assets, our airplanes, our small boats. and mostly, we've taken them to shelter outside the threat area of hurricane irma. and we've positioned them and readied them, to be able to respond to our top priorities which are life-saving search and rescue operations. and then restoring the ports, especially the fuel critical ports of ft. lauderdale and tampa. >> you know, obviously when a storm passes through, it's not like someone flips a switch and the seas calm down and the water waves calm down. how quickly after irma goes through, admiral, do you think you'll be able to get those resources you talked about into action? >> that's a great question. and those r

can. in alabama, in georgia, in south carolina and north carolina. but as you state, we're going to be hampered by the unusual size, intensity and impact of this storm, all of those aspects will have to traverse the whole length of the state of florida to get to the florida keys. it remains my top priority. it's the top priority of the entire coast guard right now. all of our operational forces, particularly from the east coast, are available to respond to this storm, just as you saw them respond to hurricane harvey a few weeks ago in texas. >> well, rear admiral peter brown, thank you so much, send our regards to the people doing the good work for the u.s. coast guard. thank you. >> thank you. >> good luck. let's take a shot again that we took much earlier in the morning. this ike

weather channel. he's right along the coast. take a look at how the sea is churning. can we listen into what he's saying, guys? >> reporter: three, two -- >> before when we saw him, he was in the streets, he had a foot of water rushing past him. look at what's going on behind him now. >> i know, i wish we had a better idea of how this location relates to the one we saw earlier. he, all morning long, has just been getting battered and giving us a good idea of what folks in miami are dealing with. as we look at that, we remember, they're not in the eye of the storm. this is the southeast side of the storm, not as intense as what's going to be bearing down on fort myers there and tampa and the western coast of florida. >> apparently now, we're looking at the miami river. so what is that, about a block or so from the coastline? something like that? and it's just going crazy there. i want to bring dylan dreyer in,

see what we're showing people, mike sidell in miami. even though it's that side of the storm. people know it gets gnarly on that. is that surprising at all to you? >> reporter: i was just looking at where he is. it is surprising, because we saw the storms and we always know the northeast quadrant of those storms certainly has the most effect. but miami is so far from the center of the storm. it's incredible to see the wind gusts they're seeing 80 to 100 miles per hour. and then to see with winds like that how much it churns up the water. so it really is incredible in just those outer bands. we are driving from sarasota to tampa. i want to take a look out of the front of the car. because we are driving through one of the extreme outer bands right now. we're so far away from the center of the storm, still 300 miles away. and we're not dealing with that much wind. although every once i

we do get a gust that tosses the car a little bit. we're on the outer edge of the band. i want to bring it back in and show you what the radar looks like. you can see the yellow area and oranges, that's the heavy rain that we're driving through. the reason why we left sarasota and headed to tampa because there are no hotels in sarasota. and we needed to get out before the storm got really bad because we do have a hotel in tampa. everybody heeded the evacuation warnings it seems from zone "a." the six outer barrier islands and also the lower levels along the coast in sarasota. everyone evacuated and the hotels are full in that area. that's why we decided to head north to get back to our hotel so we have a place to ride out the area. the whole area, you will see conditions deteriorate because of heavier bands moving through. we're not going to see the eye until closer to 9:00, 10:00 tonight from here on out, it's only going to get worse. >> la

we want to check in with kerry sanders who is in naples on florida's west coast. we checked in with you earlier, about 7:22 west coast time. how's it going there, kerry? >> reporter: the winds are picking up, the gusts are up on the naples pier. i want to keep a hand here in case we get another one of those gusts. as you look, you can see the trees beginning to sway here. what we're really looking at here is the storm is sending its wind right now from the east coast to the west coast. so, it's coming across land. it's when the storm, when irma makes her way off the coast here, you can see, that wind is actually even keeping the gulf of mexico kind of flat, you know? but when the eye comes here and passes us, then it's the back side that's going to be the real hell to pay here. the wind is going to come up, drive the water up, and we're

and that's when we're going to be much farther inland. because we're talking 15 feet of water. the city here in naples could find itself completely under water. depending on how this happens. if the calculation is right. we may see that the eye wall passes through here around 2:00 or so. that means that 4:00 is high tide here. it couldn't be worst timing, savannah, because that means the back side of the winds which are counterclockwise and start pushing in here, will be coming at a time when -- you can see the line right here of the debris, that's the normal high tide line. the water will be high tide then more pushed in. so, 15 feet probably is not -- is probably not, you know, a guesstimate number. it's probably a very real number. and, of course, that's a serious problem, because i think we've repeated this enough. more people die in hurricanes from drowning than anybody else. it's very often as a result of

>> it's scary knowing in a couple hours what a situation it will be. thank you. we'll check back in. >> all of this happening to the people in florida on an anniversary? >> the anniversary of donna hitting the keys on this date. as we take a look and try and anticipate what's going to be happening in tampa bay, this is an area that's invested billions in high-rises now. in enhancing their piers, their hospitals, built on an island in the bay. and they've just been very lucky to have avoided a storm like this. but i think it was just last year that the mayor said if a category 3 or greater storm hits here we'd be under 15 feet of water. that's a very big fear. >> and also happening at the peak of this -- >> the climatological peak of the hurricane season, atlantic hurricane season, september 10th. >> to say nothing about high tide. thank you. we'll continue to cover this. we're

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10:30 now on this sunday morning september 10th 2017. this is a special edition of "today." we've been tracking, trying to track hurricane irma, wobbling a little bit, moving east to west. it's a massive storm. it did make its official landfall in the u.s. the lower keys. that happened a little more than an hour ago. >> 7:30. we've been all morning long. >> we've been showing you monster winds at 100 miles an hour. category 4 storm and not showing signs of slowing down. >> conditions getting