st. thomas.ke a flotilla on the water with individuals who are packing up ferries, boats, bringing provisions over, taking generators, batteries. when they are there and taking everything off, bringing individuals back onto st. croix from st. thomas and st. john, people are also very well organized. before we got comminutions, people were confusing what was happening on st. maarten with st. john. always people will take advantage, the people of st. john are collecting debris themselves, barging things out, setting up evacuation of those needing to leave the island. it's been incredible to watch. it will talk a tremendously long time. we will probably be without power for many months here in the u.s. virgin islands. and there's the issue of schools. where are the young people going to school? many will go to family in the states, going to the island of st. croix. we have a huge logistical issue. we really have the support of the federal ghoovernment. >> if you can still hear me, stacey, what is yo

st. thomas -- i mean to st. john, and being able to fill up the tanks there, those persons connected to water will get them. and remember in the virgin islands we use what you would use in the united states as basements, we really use that as something called cisterns. so when it rains you capture water under your home in the cistern and then you feed from that. and we advise folks to disconnect the spouting to their systems when the storms come so that the sea blast and tleaves and everything that's blowing around don't contaminate that water and then they have that supply of water in their homes they can access by opening the hatch and getting the water out of there. >> kenneth mapp, governor of the u.s. virgin islands. you have an incredible challenge ahead of you with both st. john and is st. thomas. >> i want to thank, if i can quickly, i want to thank the president because i've spoken to him twice. he's expected to be in the virgin islands in the next six, seven days. and the federal response to the disast

st. thomas and st. john.y: can you talk about the difference in age between what, for example, france is doing when it comes to st. maarten, and what the u.s. is doing when it comes to u.s. virgin islands, where britain is doing when it comes to the british virgin islands? honest, when i first 30 getting information about the caribbean being hit by irma, it was via the attention france was giving to its caribbean spaces and the attention that the british were giving to the caribbean holdings in the region as well. it was impossible to find information about the u.s. virgin islands. the president of france is already on the ground in the caribbean right now. surveying the damage with his own eyes. a lot of this attention was happening before irma even hit. it is true since irma hit the virgin islands and eventually the florida keys and florida, by the time it hit the continent, it was downgraded to a category 4, or it hit the virgin islands as a category 5. many experts are saying is the worst hurricane to eve

st. thomas and st. croix. and st. thomas and st. john from the governor and visual aerial images absolutely stunning in terms of what they are dealing with. u.s. virgin islands, u.s. that's us. lots of news tonight. stay with us. rodney. bowling. classic. can i help you? it's me. jamie. i'm not good with names. celeste! i trained you. we share a locker. -moose man! -yo. he gets two name your price tools. he gets two? i literally coined the phrase, "we give you coverage options based on your budget." -that's me. -jamie! -yeah. -you're back from italy. [ both smooch ] ciao bella. your bbut as you get older,ing. it naturally begins to change, causing a lack of sharpness, or even trouble with recall. thankfully, the breakthrough in prevagen helps your brain and actually improves memory. the secret is an ingredient originally discovered... in jellyfish. in clinical trials, prevagen has been shown to improve short-term memory. prevagen. the name to remember. >>> the national atmospheric administration, noah released this satellite image t

rate enough to sustain a lot of damage from hurricane irma and we're very grateful for that and st thomas and st john are ready severely damaged just like the other northern leeward islands and you know obviously they're going to get the facts of this still so the government is very very much so rushing to get any kind of you know to get shelters up to get sandbags out to do any kind of last minute preparations on i think the government has been very good with how they are working to prepare the general public are congresswoman which is our only federal representative in congress she is doing she's working you know nonstop with her off this to to get people connected to their families that you know there's still people who are not able to contact family members and friends in st thomas in st john because there are issues with you know a lack of service people can't get why people are saying corey where a little better off so if you know even though we're taking more of the storm and least we're probably going to be able to help more time to prepare but you know we're still expecting the w

st. thomas and st. john. st. croix as we heard from the governor last night appears to have weathered the storm well. st. thomas less well and st. john appears to have weathered it not well at all. eyewitnesss in st. john estimate that three out of every five homes on st. john had the roof ripped off by the storm. we're getting reports that none of the wooden homes on st. john are still standing, none of them. one nurse at the local hospital in st. john tells us that fellow residents have been donating their own personal supplies of diesel fuel to keep power running at the hospital. which is now running on generators on diesel power. this is day six since the storm wiped out this part of this american territory. it the responsibility of the u.s. government and u.s. virgin islands. there is news tonight the state department will be starting emergency evacuation flights out of the british virgin islands and st. martin as of tomorrow morning. but the situation in some of the u.s. virgin islands really does appear to

st. thomas. hurricane irma destroyed hundreds of cars, homes, businesses. >> buildings where the only thing standing is a frame. >> reporter: electricity is scarce and storm debris covers many roads. hurricane maria is taking aim at the island. we called fair fax county battalion chief in the u.s. virgin islands. >> we were on st. thomas, and no question the power of a hurricane came across that island. >> reporter: the fair fax team is helping people devastated by irma and now waiting for maria. >> teams out helping board out some of the >> reporter: while they wait -- >> individuals are lacking basic resources needed for survival. >> reporter: the bridge is collecting items to send to st. thomas. >> our desire is to meet that need and to come along and serve. >> reporter: you can help out some of the victims by dropping out hurricane supplies. at 8281 georgia avenue. you click on disaster relief. live here in silver springs. >>> breaking news out of charlottesville, virginia. once again, people

st. thomas, st. john, going into the bbi and landing on st. thomas. then with my staff we got into an suv and did several days of traversing through st. thomas, meeting with government officials. our emergency management agency there as well as coast guard. as you said, department of defense, navy, marines. our own local law enforcement. our national guard, custom is doing a tremendous job as well. talking with them about their work and how they were making the response. and then i went back to st. croix, which is the island i'm from. that island has now become the base camp for a lot of activities not just in the u.s. virgin islands but also offering support to our british counter-parts which are really close. then just yesterday i was able to go with private boats, you know, individuals, ferry companies, business owners are taking boats and scuttling back and forth between the islands. as i told you guys this morning, it looks like a flow tilla on the oceans between the islands of individuals going back and forth bringing in people, and not just tak

st. thomas and st. john did not get the same amount of hit from hurricane irma. >> and talk about the two islands that did get hurt. st. john was hit as the hurricane moved, it was hit first. that's the smaller of the two islands. relatively small population. small commercial development there. st. thomas is the big one. that's only a few miles away. that's where most of the u.s. virgin islands population is. talk about the way both islands have been impacted. >> sure. you know, i was able to be on the ground for several days on st. thomas. coast guard were able to bring me in immediately after. and what you see on st. thomas is major damage to not only homes and to individuals and families, but also to much of our major infrastructure. we've lost our hospital, the roof of the hospital came off. windows were blown out, et cetera. government houses, our airport, the terminal looks as if the grenades were put inside, and they were blown up from the inside. also, the -- our air traffic control, schools, fi

st. thomas, st. john, and st. croix. they need everyone's help. they are the u.s. territory. they are part of the united states and they deserve the help as much as any other portion of the mainland. >> jennifer and joel will gather supplies st. thomas to help out those who need it, and they plan to move back. >>> governor larry hogan announcing a major plan to fight traffic gridlock, unveiling a $9 billion proposal to add lanes to i-270 and i-495 and the beltway. this plan will have new express toll plains in addition to existing lanes. >>> metro says riders are experiencing a relatively normal evening commute after a safety stand down earlier. metro temporarily suspended maintenance inspections of the 7,000 railcars after a mechanic was shocked. a review of the safety concerns raised by the union will be discussed for appropriate procedures. >>> so this tree. you heard me right. d.c. wants to plant more trees and charlie colera said not in my front yard exactly where the district wants to put them. >> this is another example of power. >> reporter: charlie bought this house

st. thomas on the u.s.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 coupl

st. thomas and 100% on st. john. ,e have lost our hospital government structures, police stations, as well as some of the houses that have been demolished as well as some that may just have ruse off -- roofs off. host: do you have a sense of how much money it will take to rebuild and what you will be asking the federal government for? guest: i have no clue what this is going to cost, because we are still trying to clear out and get to some certain areas as well. people have to remember that we own island and so just getting provisions here has been an issue. fema was incredible and very supportive and worked with our local government and our own emergency management agency to try and provision for several days, and now we are trying to clear our airport. we lost our air traffic control center, so getting supplies in here is now going to be a challenge. st. croix asusing , a larger island to the south that did not get too much damage and we are trying to bring things over to st. thomas. we have been trying to cl

st. thomas. businesses. >> there are buildings where the only thing standing is a frame. >> electricity is scarce. storm debris covers many roads. if that wasn't bad enough, hurricane maria is taking aim at the island. >> tell us about st. thomas. >> we called fairfax county battalion chief in the u.s. virgin islands in charge of virginia task force one, a search and rescue team. >> we're on st. thomas, there's definitely no question the power of a hurricane came across that island there. >> the fairfax team is helping those devastated by hurricane irma and now they're waiting for maria. >> teams are preparing for the storm to come through. apparently we have teams out helping board up some of the facilities around the area where we're stationed waiting for the storm to come through. >> while they wait -- >> individuals are lacking big resources that are needed for survival. >> the bridge is collecting to st. thomas. >> whenever there is a need in the world, that's our desire to help the victims.

st. thomas and st. john and now, st. croix. they need everyone's help. they are the u.s. territory and they are part of the united states, and they deserve the help just as much as any other portion of the main land. >> absolutely. the coopers plan to move back as soon as possible. >> hm. >>> still trying to figure out dinner plans for the week? there's a food service that will bring in meals from all over the world but there's a deeper meaning to all of this. evan kozlov has more on the kitchen run by immigrants and refugees. >> reporter: an authentic meal from laos takes a lot ingredients. >> rice, red curry, coconut base, salt, soy salt, garlic, lemon grass, lime leaves, onions, peanuts. >> reporter: while it matter what is you put in the foot, it matter what is you put in the cook, the process behind the meal. >> cooking is like love, art, you know. it's coming together and showing people how you care and love. >> reporter: that's exactly the point behind meals delivered to your door with a twist, cooked solely by outsiders, syrian refugees, one tibetan refugee and a

st. thomas, st. john, bringing generator, bringing baby food, diapers, basic support to the people on those islands as well. we're all family here. and so people are really banding together and working as hard as possible to get the relief and the basic needs to the people on those islands. >> all right. congresswoman stacy plaskett, thank you for your time tonight. >> thank you. and just letting you know, i want to thank msnbc once again for really bringing to light what's happen nearing the virgin islands. we're very concerned that ual although the federal government is doing its part, the national news is not really taking note of what's happening in another part of the united states. so thank you. >> all right. congresswoman ileana ros-lehtinen joins me by phone. congresswoman from pine crest, florida. congresswoman, you and i talked before the storm. it does seem that the track of the storm that missed miami, and yet for all the reasons that you and i discussed and that we reported on the show a

st. thomas and the needs of the island. one of his friends who wrote out the storm of his house, kate henna who just got out today. kenny, you love st. john, you got a place there and been there for a long time, whether you see the images of what happened there what goes through your mind? >> it's a lot of heart break, anderson. it's really just so many emotions running through my head and my heart. it's hard to put into words really because i got so many memories there, so many friends there, so many fabrics and pieces of my life on that island. to see that devastation and to see what it is today. when i was just there last week, it's really heart breaking. i know what all my friends are going through and all the wonderful people of that island are going through. my heart breaks for them and all of us, really. >>> and kate you were there until today, you just got out today. what's it been like the last couple of days? >> it's been terrifying. it's the scariest i think identify been through in my entire life. i've been in st

st. thomas and st. john, the hardest hit of the u.s. islands are going to take a little longer. importantly, ferry service has been restored win wi ed which w first responders and relief supplies to get to the places they're most needed. >> admiral brown, you're responsible for operations in puerto rico, u.s. virgin islands. cnn is learning four people have died in the u.s. virgin islands. you've begun damage assessment. what are you seeing there? >> certainly st. john and st. thomas, the northernmost of the u.s. virgin islands were the hardest hit and there is significant structural and property damage there. we do have coast guard officers embedded with virgin islands territory emergency management agency and we're working closely with them to find out if coast guard assets and capabilities can be of any assistance to them. colleagues in the department of defense have put a team in place on st. croix and a number of navy ships have some capability to assist as well and will be coordinating with the virgin islands emergency management authority. >> have you had to conduct any s

st. thomas. we have been trying to clear the ports. there is a lot of debris along buoys, son ships and trying to navigate that so we can get things to people. it is going to be quite some time. with the hospital., schools destroyed, -- hospital gone, schools destroyed, government infrastructure, it will be a significant amount of time and money before we are able to get back that support. recall, we have already had a strange financial system in the virgin islands. we don't get the same amount of funding as the rest of the states. our formulas are different. we are capped on medicaid and medicare, and infrastructure support has different formulas that put us well below per capita what we would be receiving if we were a state. host: we're talking with thegate stacy plaskett of virgin islands. tourism is a leading source of revenue, so what impact will it have short-term and long-term on the tourism industry? our tourismst season on st. thomas which begins at the start of october. i'm looking out n

st. thomas is a thickly settled, much, much larger place. when's it like on st. thomas? >> in st. thomas, marketed for tourism so there's people there, a lot of people who work in the restaurant and hotel business for tourists so they're without jobs right now. a lot of them are without electricity. so it's a lot of waiting for help and aid. clean water. because they don't have running water. and then, also, because of their homes are empty, it's a safety factor. you know? they're in the dark at night with kids and elderly people, so it's just a lot of waiting and trying to figure out where to go next. >> these people are american citizens, just as the residents of puerto rico are american citizens. they think of themselves as americans. they are. they have american passports. many of them move back and forth to the united states. what do they have to say if they have a chance to say to president trump if he does make it down there? >> a lot of them just wanted to stress that they are part of the united states. you know, a lot of the coverage it felt like was on florida and what ha

st. thomas. not over at st. john as of yet. we are hoping to have the airport open on the 16th, this saturday. the airlines are ready to come in to help residents to, who want to get out and bring more supplies and bring relief in. the department of defense have two huge ships here with supplies, landing them on the island. the marines are helping with debris removal. the army corps of engineers is promising to come and help us with more debris pea removal and we just have to evacuate the debris. there's no place for the kind of devastation that we have, but, chuck, let me just say this, that the people here are resilient. they restaurants who could open on st. john opened and cooked food and just gave them, the folks, and let them sit down and have a hot meal. >> explain the importance. tour offism is not just a part of the economy, it is the life blood that is correct. >> explain how important it is for the federal government to basically get you up and running a as tourist destination as fast as possible? >> it's very import

st. thomas and st. john's.ng people in the path of the storm to take this one seriously. >> the nation has only seen three category 5 storms since 1851. you had camilla in '69 and andrew in '92. andrew was a very, very small compact category 5 to what we are seeing here and irma. >> heather: joining me now, kelsey nowakowski, joining us on the phone. and you are in st. thomas, correct? >> correct. good morning, heather. i am by the port in st. thomas, but i weathered the storm on the north side of the island. >> heather: you are one of the folks who decided to tough it out. is there a reason that you decided to do that? were you not able to evacuate? >> even if i wanted to evacuate, there would have been no flights by the time that we realized it was going to really hit this hard. i have a cousin that is actually stranded here that tried to book a flight. and there were two (and two seats left, $6000, by the time she tried to buy one they were gone. >> heather: that is unbelievable. tell us what was happening a

st. thomas and st. john, ernice gilbert, thank you for that report on another part of the storm we wanted to make sure to cover. praying for you. that does it for our show. hash "hardball" starts right now. >>> danon rips the scab off. let's play "hardball." good evening. i'm chris matthews in washington. we've got news tonight on the recent developments in the russia investigation as well as steve bannon's remarks about the firing of former fbi director james comey. >>> but first, just a word on hurricane irma. it has left a trail of destruction across much of the state of florida, as we know, triggering severe flooding now in jacksonville, florida, the state's largest

st. thomas there is destruction. right now life is anything but paradise. >>> and thousands of people continue to be in dire need in places like antiqua and barbuda. remember it was a category five when it slammed into the island. what changes do you think need to be made as rebuilding goes on? what could have helped in this situation? >> honestly, we're dealing with hurricanes that are stronger than we've ever, ever experienced. we were preparing for a category 5 hurricane. so no, we now have to look at our building structures, and that building to withstand potential category 6 and 7, of course, because of the strength of them. so this is what we have to deal with. >> michael, just one more thing. i was going to ask you, you know, the people how dire is the situation for a lot of the people you're dealing with? there are a lot of people who are still trying to get off islands that are described as uninhabitable. >> i paid a visit to barbuda today. we had to evacuate the entire island because there were concerns tha

st. thomas.hat's the biggest concern this morning. >> reporter: well, power is obviously a huge concern. that's going to make things a lot more convenient and comfortable for people as they go through this recovery. right now just a limited portion of the island has restored power, mostly where we are, right downtown. but outside the downtown area, generally speaking, if you deponent have a generator, you're sleeping in the dark. it is very warm and humid here in st. thomas in late september. so people are really suffering. a lot of mosquitos, too. food and water supply is okay. some of the stores have reopened. there are very long lines for people to get basic supplies to get through the day. then we're talking about travel. the airport was hoping to be open to commercial travel today. that did not happen. they then pushed it to tomorrow. that's not going to happen. it looks like it's going to be next week before the airport on the west end of st. thomas is open to commercial traffic. why that's

st. thomas. it's going to be catastrophic late tonight, for places like st. croix, and st. thomas, and eventually as we tomorrow morning, a category5. doesn't seem like it's going to weaken. by the time it hits st. croix, and st. thomas, and even san juan, winds could still be 160, to 165. we'll come back and talk about jose. we're not done with jose, and what that means to our shore the next few days. >>> several artificial turf fields at d.c. schools are shut down, because they're potentially dangerous. the city says the turf just got too hard, and that can put students at risk for serious injuries. the patients we talked to are kind of ticked off. they claim the city is only taking action after they started pushing for answers. >> i'm not happy about it, and i'd like to see a change. >> reporter: parents with kids in d.c. public schools were surprised to hear that some of the 52 their children play on need to be fixed or replaced. >> the idea that as a parent, these didn't need to be replaced, made me, if i did nothing, irresponsible. >> reporter: 16 fields didn't pass a

st. thomas. i think you were in the capital of st. thomas of the u.s.a dreadful hospital situation there. i know people were being evacuated. what is the situation? because the hit on the virgin islands was terrible. >> yes, it was. i met with governor mapp and his team yesterday. you know, the virgin islands, obviously, took a horrific hit. things are coming together. the roads -- the pathway to recovery sbing established. obviously, there's a long way to go to fix the infrastructure that's there. but the objective of the governor are very clear. you know, continue to do the life-sustaining mission in regards to the hospitals, i can't recall exactly which hospital i met, but we did forward deploy disaster medical assistance teams that were there on site. so, there are doctors, you know, on site in the island. it's been another tremendous whole community government. not only has the federal government looked forward -- well over 35,000 staff members out in the field in various locations, but the communities also surrounding, you know, those who have bee

st. thomas up and running perhaps as early as this weekend. a lot to cover from the u.s. ands including the hard-hit st. john's just to our east. all of that and more coming up on the "today" show. back to you. >> thanks to ron there. 6:34. a look at some of the other top stories we're following this morning. president trump will continue his push for tax reform today. he's set to hold a bipartisan meeting with lawmakers at the white house. it's the third day in a row he's brought parties together to discuss the issue. >>> college park city council voted on a bill that allows noncitizens to vote. it joins hyattsville and mount ranier. >>> people surrounded the statue of thomas jefferson at uva last night. the city of charlottesville covered stat use of robert e. lee and stone wall jackson. this tarp was later taken down. >>> signs of morning on a metro project people in our area have been waiting years for. the second phase of the silver line. >> when it's finished, it will make life a lot easier for people who use dulles airport frequently. adam tuss is here with an updat

st. thomas and st. john in the virgin islands almost unbelievable. >>> back in the u.s., the largest power restoration in u.s. history is under way with 20,000 workers on the job and 15 million without power in florida alone. >>> a bipartisan dinner at the white house. at issue, tax reform. >> making our tax code much simpler than it is today. i hope we're going to find that there are democrats willing to work with us. >>> apple unveils the iphone 10 which boasts fiace id at a startling price of $1,000. >>> while sleeping next to your dog might be a very good idea. "early today" starts right now. >>> good morning, everyone. i'm dara brown. >> i'm frances rivera. southeastern states are assessing irma's damage. it destroyed boats, tossed around debris and knocked down many trees. one shocking moment was caught on dashboard camera as a car driving along gets smashed by a falling pine tree right there. well, it lifted up the back end of the vehicle. the dash cam's owner says the driver was stunned, but oth

st. thomas and st. john. the french president, emmanuel macron, is putting 2,000 security personnel on st. martin's streets to prevent looting, and he's assuring residents that power will be restored in the coming weeks. and the british foreign secretary, boris johnson, toured the devastated island of tortola. he is promising to help that island recover. >> this is the most extraordinary scene of decimation and devastation that, you know, i think many people have witnessed in their lives. something i've never seen. it's in many way a nuclear landscape. but what's extraordinary is the way the people are coming through. the british nationals here, we are here for the long term. we're going to get this place back on its feet. >> and thousands of people are also in need in the islands of antigua and barbuda. now, this, of course, these islands were in the line of hurricane irma when it was still a category 5 slamming into that area. michael joseph is the president of antigua and barbuda's red cross, joins me now

st. thomas and st. john. the latest on the devastation center destruction and the urgent needs now. >> i'm on st. croix and as you said we are fortunate to not have been hit as hard, but we have areas that have not had power. i have friends on st. thomas and friends on st. john that have limited access to power and cell service. i heard very few text updates. i know they are alive, but i don't know the current situation of what they are going through. i heard very terrifying posts on facebook of people that are still not accounted for. elderly people that are stuck in their homes. children that cannot get the help they need and it's just very frightening. >> when you talk about very frightening, in those thatture have been in touch with, have they given you information with food and water and supplies? >> they are having to walk to find fema trucks to pick up food pragzing, but you have to be present in order to get it. if you are sick or pregnant and have to stay home, i understand prebl getting the food you

st. thomas. our american citizens without food and water and power and shelter tonight. governor of the u.s. virgin islands is kenneth map. he told his citizens this weekend to brace for a long road

st. thomas we have a team in place they are at locations with the impact from hurricane irma and will be transitioning to begin providing resources they are. st. croix in st. john, things are in place. cheryl: without power, are you able to communicate with anyone in puerto rico?

st. thomas and st. john. st. thomas is flooding. most of the downtown area is flooded out. this is going to be a lot of work. >> and by the way, so st. croix was a staging area for some of the stuff going on in the u.s. virgin islands and san juan, puerto rico also a staging area for water going out to the rest of the caribbean. we have problems that -- the places that were places you went for safety or supplying coming from are now damaged as well. >> sure. i mean, when people found out about maria on the island of st. croix, going to the grocery stores, there wasn't waers there, because the people of st. croix were sending it to st. thomas. now the families that had opened up their homes on st. croix for the young people on st. thomas to come and continue school, we're facing that issue as well on st. croix. as the mayor of san juan says, this is going to be months of utility out of power. on the entire virgin islands. small pockets with utility. more importantly, the thing i'm really worried about, is while fema, the federal government, has been great in the response, the

st. thomas. we spoke to them. their names alex demore and maddie gortat. they were worried the roof was going to come off the home they were in. when the storm was over, they went outside to survey the damage. they described utter destruction, but alex slipped and fell, hitting her head, she was in and out of consciousness, but they couldn't get to a hospital on the island.

laura, just try and give us a sense of the damage that you saw before you left st thomas.m, after we left the bunker that that we survived the storm in, there aren't words to describe the shock. we alljust stood — it wasn't the same island that we'd closed the door on we went into the bunker that morning. the beautiful place that is known for being beautiful and people visit it because it is a paradise, everything was green, colourful flowers everywhere, and it's brown, all of the trees are snapped in half. when we have ventured off of our property, it's almost impossible to know where we're going because it is so unrecognisable that all of the familiar signposts or, you know, "that tree is where you know that this is the turn off to that persons's house" and that tree is gone, so it was actually quite difficult to get from our house to the place for we were picked up for rescue. the — we live about ten minutes to that harbour in normal times and yesterday, it took us over an hour. downed powerlines almost, you know, everywhere — some such that car — there are paint marks

st. thomas. >> reporter: the department of defense says 4600 service members are helping with relief efforts in the islands. while the lucky ones from another devastated island, st. martin, are evacuated by c-130s. what did it sound like? >> a sound i never want to hear in my life. >> like an airplane engine. >> like a high whistle. >> reporter: an estimated 5,000 americans were believed to be trapped on st. martin in the aftermath of irma. since friday, the u.s. state department has airlifted 1900 americans, with even more flights today. what was it like living through irma? >> frightening. we thought we were going to perish together. >> reporter: they took these videos of the devastation from outside. soon people began arriving from other hotels, and quickly, things went from bad to worse. >> a generator caught on fire, then after they put the fire out, the people stole the generator. then they started stealing food from our fridge. and then they beat up one tourist. hit a lady in the eye. >> reporter: the other guests tell us they eventually got word of evacuations. waiting in line for ho

st. thomas hospital, the hospital on st. thomas is closing. the critical patientses have been evacuated already. and the remainder of those patients will be evacuated today. either to st. croix or to puerto rico. in terms of florida, as brock said this remains a remarkably dangerous storm. and the window to get yourself in the right spot for weathering storm, either evacuating or weathering storm, is closing rapidly. health and human services and loh ma a reio he e-ed na iivua, th i atntorouerge a we ainals. epatn rovg to flidasheeearesnd stqut.alndidlsn e he teedairso atedns c b prid f aonrerd ulenure iivua t kedvta oth. e t tngth h.s do ito inty osfos at a ectci-dennt fothr alee. wth is lkon oge coenats tse dlys titsrndidlshore in ectchechrsha eysen detoobe, weha ttat wprid atattohetas at haonsoo orao at th c tnonctho invial decy. nhe a aut54 alisatntth he enrodetoheta. er0,0 ecicy-peen anabt 600 pen w a ecicy-peenon oge coenats. brk ste authesha gorns lni i veor sttas bn rerklearer ial o is eyav angitth gorns grg a sth cali, eyavbe vy, ve a