fort lauderdale in florida, as the storm approaches. cuba was battered overnight — there's been ‘significant damage' and the recovery process is now beginning. in other news: officials in mexico say at least 90 people are now known to have died in thursday's earthquake. tony blair calls for tougher immigration rules as a way to cut numbers, without the need for brexit. sir mo farah becomes the first athlete to win the great north run four times in a row. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. after battering its way through the caribbean, hurricane irma — currently a category four storm — has slammed into the lower florida keys, lashing the island chain with winds of up to 130 miles per hour. the hurricane made landfall in cuba late on friday. it engulfed villages, causing widespread damage and leaving whole communities homeless. the eye of the storm has now reached florida keys, bringing extreme winds that are expected to last for the next few hours. all residents had been ordered to leave amid fears that a storm surge reaching 15 feet

evacuees inside listening to the howling storm. imagine the sounds of what they're hearing right now. matt seeking shelter on the right during our special report. i want to get back to matt gutman, if you can hear me, just reassure the rest of us you were okay. you were giving us an extraordinary display, we lost his audio, but the producers have told me he's okay. even before the storm hit naples, the outer bands were already causing significant damage here. >> it's 3:00 p.m. eastern, and one of the first things to go is the power. this hotel has gone completely dark. irma is 25 miles to the south, sustained winds right now, 120 miles per hour. i'm just going to show you what we've done down here. as we were on the air, you can actually hear some of the debris coming in. but these windows, come around the corner here, tom. this is what happens when these buildings, just be careful, tom. the awnings on the outside of the building are actually crashing down, breaking these windows inside the hotel. which leads to pressurization issue

once the storm passes, that is when the biggest threat from the storm surge is going to hit. ginger talked about it. david talked about it. you mentioned it. the biggest threat is when the winds actually subside. what ends up happening is people go out and say, oh, the worst has passed. that's when the storm surge comes. tonight is the biggest storm surge is forecast for don't. people may not be able to see the water encroaching. the force of trillions of gallons, quadrillions can decimate cars, the house. it is an unstoppable object, george. >> a few hours from now you will not be able to be in these streets. thanks very much. ginger, we have the entire day ahead. and then weeks, if not months, of recovery in the state of florida. >> right. bill south was saying, a couple of days. a lot of power companies have been saying not with this type of wind. and not because we have such a large area that can be affected. it could be weeks before people get powerback. the water tkreupbs quickly here. it doesn't come from down street. you're not going to have 50 inches like harvey. but

they thought the storm surge may come up. let's get back to the live aerials right now, we are showing pictures from the florida keys. listen again to jack who is on the phone, luke jones is from key largo florida which is the far most northern key. >> we are putting stuff in piles so people can get through the roads. >> what was it like to write out the storm and key largo? we heard from mr. garcia, it must've been treacherous and scary for you as well. >> it's not my first hurricane but this was probably the one -- i was three during andrew, this is the one that i remember that was probably the worst. the only way i can describe it, a lot of people in florida know of disney world and space mountain and being inside space mountain constantly for about ten hours. that's what it felt like, things rushing by, one of the palm trees fell down. there are a bunch of railings that are bent over, hearing noises in the middle of the night, we are all boarded up, you can't really see anything, it's an unknown factor. a bunch of wind, a

the storm has shifted. so people in ft. myers were looking at people here, in downtown miami and south beach and saying they're going to get it they weren't preparing the same way. and that makes sense. but now that the storm track has shifted, the urgency shifts as well. that doesn't mean it's over here. again, what have we seen? the highest gusts i think we've seen here is about 35 miles per hour. it's nothing. but it is enough to change the dynamic of the water and the lower structures and we're seeing it come over the shoreline and into the parking areas here and we've seen nothing yet. we're literally a day away to the worst of it but now let's get to kyung lah, she's at another location here on miami beach. where virgin hernandez, one of the fire chiefs has a message to people, don't come back. ten feet of storm surge, 90, 100-mile-per-hour winds, still very dangerous. so if you evacuated, stay where you are, what is it like where you are, kyung? >> well you can see for yourself, we're starting to feel the tropical-for

not knowing when or where the storm impacts. walmarts, targets, costco all in short supply on cases of bottled water and other supplies. the walmart we were at earlier, out of cat food and dog food. batteries hard to find. the one thing going on here other than evacuating from the keys tonight, the evacuations coming up for broward and you also have in miami-dade county. people are stocking up a lot foster than they did last year for hurricane matthew. here's what one local resident told us. >> set to go with my mommy. she's in new york. i'm going to be okay. just go through it. >> i'm stocked up. i'll be fine. >> it's been a hot and humid day for this time of year in miami. tempers have begun to flare at gas stations we're people wait and somebody cuts in front. people are stressed out, anxious and worried. every time they look at the tv and see the local news coverage showing this monster hurricane, people are seriously getting ready to either head out of the state or hunker down with hopefully enough supplies, shep. >> shepard

the construction material, and of course the storm surge. we may not be getting the big storm surge here. but biscayne bay is right there. and so we are expecting some type of flooding. as you can see here, i'm out here reporting and all of a sudden the gusts will come and just move it around. the conditions here are deteriorating. you can still hear me, right? we have an app called my radar. it shows you, this is where we are at. what you see here is a little bit of rain, right? we are not even in the yellow part of the red part causing tornadoes in broward county and the entire south florida region is under a tornado watch. we have had tornadoes in fort lauderdale 30 miles from here. that's the danger with these squalls. that's what causes that rotation. and that rotation can cause tornadoes. and we have seen some of that. so it's a situation that by all means you do not let your guard down despited the fact the eye is going stover key west. this storm is so massive. you will be seeing these conditions until tomorrow night from what we unde

the storm surge is predicted to be 5-10 feet. anything over three feet is considered life threatening. >> it's time to punch out. we need to get out of here. >> quijano: law enforcement evacuees from the barrier islandses turned up at this turnpike rest stop, one of the only places still selling gas. >> we've been working really hard the last couple-- probably week trying to get everything buttoned up. and we don't know what we're going to come home to. >> quijano: longtime residents, known as capital gains, have been through many a hurricane. but irma they say is different. >> you left a lot of people back there. >> my aunt and in-laws. >> we're not certain that the key west high school is even going to save them. so we're worried about the people we love. >> quijano: across the state, at least 330 shelters are open. 11 of the 42 in miami-dade county are at capacity, including those that are pet friendly. about 175 miles northwest of here is the city of naples, one of the jewels of florida's gulf coast. it's expected to be one of

the dirty side of the storm? you are going to get water pushing in from the ocean when you get past the eye but not as much power behind it? >> when you talk about when you look at the system it's a counter clockwise system. so you have that flow going into the circulation so if you are on that northeast quadrant you are on the strongest side. that's where the real strength lies. so with that system being to the right, if you will, of tampa, we are not in that. as it pulls up even and then moves to the north of us we get that return flow and that's when you are going to get the storm surge thankfully a much lower storm surge at two to four feet. that's a little bit less than moderate and tampa can handle that. >> we should note we are getting an awful lot of rain here. it has been coming down in sheets, very heavy rain. >> it hurts, actually. >> i understand. >> you guys are getting a lot of rain and getting gusts every now and then when you are reaching out to steady yourselves. but maybe we just lost that -- the

we have been watching the storm. ont eye wall, the back eye wall, tell us what is happening there now and how your city has faired thus far. >> our city is showing indications of substantial flooding. we have been fairing from a human standpoint very well. we have been safe from harm. i credit our citizens for being safe. conditions are improving. i am looking at video of substantial flooding in the core of the city. right here where we are in the middle part of the city there is visible flooding in the parking lot. we are situated on the second floor of the suburban suites hotel. and we are safe. and things are improving. >> if all those predictions hold, that is in large part a tribute to your city because you were handed a real audible in this case, a storm that at the last minute decided to go up the other coast after much of the state of florida was planning for an atlantic hurricane you were forced to scramble. >> i can share and i appreciate that sentiment. i can share that where have never seen the kind of com

the worst side of the storm is right here, so they're going to get the worst to have storm surge, the worst of the core of the strongest winds, 140-miles-per-hour sustained winds and hurricane warnings up for 17 million people across the state of florida, so and then we parallel the coast here for the tampa bay area which again is the worst case scenario for them as well unfortunately with all of that water. low-lying areas, we keep talking about this at sea level with 15-foot storm surges inundate some of the areas, the little bays and put your house under water unfortunately and then we are going to see this move up georgia category 1 storm, hurricane, by tuesday or wednesday it's out. for the next 48 to 72 hours, this is going to put much of florida on edge. hurricane warnings in effect for 17 million folks in the sunshine state, hurricane watches in effect for parts to have panhandle up towards georgia and coastal georgia up towards south carolina, here is the future radar, this is what we are expecting, a landfall sometime tomorrow around key west area, 7:00 a.m. eastern time, a

here we go with the storm system. if any sign of potentially slight wasteful spendinging, the 5:00 a.m. national hurricane center update may gave us that. the storm becoming a little more ragged. it's going on 40 consecutive hours at 180 miles per hour or stronger. that is by far the longest of any storm in recorded history to maintain such intensity. part of the interaction with puerto rico. part of the interaction with hiss panola, punta qana, that square of the dominican republic causing parts of the storm to wobble, leasose steam, as well. maybe slight weakening, but it's so far in the upper territory of a category five that even a 30 mile-per-hour drop in winds, which i think is unlikely, would keep it around a category five. hurricane warnings in place. the next main area of interest, the turks and caicos. storm surge in excess of 20 feet possible. keep in mind these islands across the region, essentially 40 islands with the turks and caicos, made up of coral and low-lying beaches. when you talk about 20 feet, mu

that's the storm surge. that's the way the storm surge will come in. system lifts up to the north on the back side of that, it will be the western coast that gets the storm surge. as it moves up, that's where y ahead of the storm on the east coast, you'll see storm surge. on the west coast, we'll see more storm surge as the system starts to make its way parallel and goes to the north, savannah. >> second ago, you said water comes in about the same speed that the hurricane is moving, you said 8 miles per hour. a day or so ago, that was moving at 13, 14 miles per hour. do you expect it to continue to slow down or pick up speed? >> generally speaking, it starts to speed up once it gets on land but right now we don't see much of a pick up in speed. i think it will remain between 8 to 9, maybe 10 miles per hour at most. >> lester and al there in tampa. at the moment, fairly peaceful there, but not for long. that's where it is headed. >> guys, thank you. >> thank you so much. our coverage of hurricane irma as it is making landfall in florida and the keys, you

sharing shelter from the storm. incredible stories and new details, where hurricane irma is headed next. it's not just florida. we will be back tonight. take the zantac it challenge! pill works fast? zantac works in as little as 30 minutes. nexium can take 24 hours. when heartburn strikes, take zantac for faster relief than nexium or your money back. take the zantac it challenge. we were in a german dance group. i wore lederhosen. so i just started poking around on ancestry. then, i decided to have my dna tested through ancestry dna. it turns out i'm scottish. so, i traded in my lederhosen for a kilt. essential for vinyl, but maybe not for people with rheumatoid arthritis. because there are options. like an "unjection™". xeljanz xr. a once daily pill for adults with moderate to severe ra for whom methotrexate did not work well. xeljanz xr can reduce pain, swelling and further joint damage, even without methotrexate. xeljanz xr can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fata

and we only have the storm to ft. myers. i think the key take away of this is that it's slow-moving. so you're into these bands and you're expecting it to be terrible right away but it's going to take a while with the storm system moving so slowly. this is the storm surge, this is the threat with irma. unlike the flooding. and that is coming up tomorrow morning through tomorrow afternoon. this is only just begun. >> right. i appreciate the context there. the take away being there's a fine line between slow and chill. >> right. and i think it's important that people's sensitivity don't wear down quickly. the effects started last night. you've had it all day today. a lot of times that, you know, that overstimulation of the news and hearing it, where is it? it's tomorrow. >> right. we're still in the early front end and the fact that the media and the discussion down there and the local government officials have been hitting hard the threat the fact it hasn't materialized yet or that it's a 3 versus a 4. >> i think a lot of peop

storm surge. we are in on the back side of the storm. coming from the west and enhanced over the next several hours. high tide at about 4:00 and with high tide ordinary getting 2 to 3 feet but additional 1 to 3 feet and a lot of those low-lying areas will be unundated. but not just the storm sushlg on the surgeon the western part of florida. we have seen phenomenal report out of central coast of florida. in particular, in daytona, such heavy rain fall there right now that they are saying there's a real emergency. they had a huge cluster of storms inundate, through jacksonville. look at this long stretch of moisture. this is one of the outer bands from irma. there's a secondary one moving through. also this cluster, moving into the i havicinity of orlando. we have seen tremendous reports around jacksonville vb 295 and st. john's river. many people know that area very well, they are saying the storm surge there is about nine feet now. this east coast to florida has been battered. miami airport is closed. this september 11th. again, because

the storm is to the left. port charlotte on the right of the storm, really the worst place. punta gorda, just south of us. that's a place that got levelled by charlie 13 years ago. so people here are very, very well aware of what's going on. this is king's way elementary. this has become a makeshift shelter, essentially. all of the shelters in charlotte county are full at this point. they have 5 other shelters in sarasota county that they're moving people to. i want to give you a sense of the parking lot. people parked up on the grass here and moved everybody in. as many people as they could. they cleared up the cafeteria, got everybody in. cleared it out again. made more room. moved people upstairs. they have brought in hundreds and hundreds of people into this shelter alone. 900 now in this one shelter. i want to introduce you to some of my friends out here. where's the family? ten kids here. this is the mom right over here. hello, hello. ten kids she is managing here. let me just ask you. how are you guys doing? >> good. >> what do you expect? >> i don't know. i really do

tropical storm-force winds. 220 miles from the center of this storm. it's covering the whole state of florida and the tornado warnings. we've had at least a dozen tornado warned storms, since this morning, and can you see right now a lot of them lined up all along the coast here. daytona beach, merritt island, down towards, all along the coast here is where we're seeing the potential for tornado-warned storms along the east coast. 24 hours, over six or seven confirmed reports, hoyer totals of actual reports throughout the day today and the tornado threat will remain high as we go through the overnight hours into tomorrow. so the latest forecast as of 5:00 p.m., category 2 storm, 110-mile-per-hour sustained winds moving north at 14 miles per hour. as you've heard me throughout the day today, the storm surge is the main story here because we've got very vulnerable areas. low-lying homes along the coast. the west coast of florida, and we're seeing the storm surge rise in and around the naples area. five feet within minutes and that's the big concern. in s

the storm surge along the west coast, but the tornado threat. we have a lot of tornado-warned storms across the east coast of florida, around fort lauderdale, and those will be ongoing. they're weak tornadoes, but they can cause structural damage and, obviously, when you have a lot of rain and wind, you're not going to hear those warnings, so that's the concerning part of it. we are going to get another update, a full update at 5 p.m. eastern time with the full coordinates and whether the storm will continue its weakening trend. certainly, that seems to be the case, which is good news. but this is a storm surge story with all these vulnerable coastlines. so that's an ongoing threat especially as we get into the tampa bay area. shepard: no doubt. look at wsvn interviewing someone on the streets in florida. listen to this. >> here we go. we're going to let you get inside, we're going to do the same. >> all right. >> all right. stay safe, we'll be talking to you soon. those are the folks we're actually seeing out here -- shepard: you know, 4:10 p.m.

the storm surge has increased. the water bubble under the storm is large. the wind that's going to blow the water onshore is high. so now from captiva, all the way down to cape sanibel, 10-15 feet. they've bumped that three feet higher. this does not matter, chris, listen to me on this. the hurricane center, this does not matter about tide at all, the tide is only about one foot. so the difference between 11 and 16 or 10-15, doesn't matter, it's life-threatening. pay attention to it, don't consider what might happen at low tide. because low tide is insignificant when you're talking 10-15. to ft. myers, 6-10 and a major change for a major population is tampa, tampa bay, five to eight feet of surge into the bay. because now the storm is literally on the west coast of florida. a little less for miami. you're four to six now. to the north of there, fort pierce, melbourne, west palm, two to four and they stay with the five to ten along the florida keys. that's the take-away from this 11:00 advisory and we'll have more as we get it because it's still coming in, mi

storm because we're so far away from the center of the storm which is over on the west coast but for m arco island, sarasota, tampa bay it's a cat 3 maybe cat 2 if you're lucky. i mean that's bad. you think this is bad and this is just tropical storm form, wait until the full on hurricane that's why everyone needed to heed these evacuation warnings. power outages are super widespread already more than a million people in florida currently without power and that's probably going to get up to six to eight million before it's all said and donna cording to the estimates by the two main utility providers in the state. i know several people who evacuated south florida. some went up to tampa and tampa on thursday night, you could hardly find a hotel room because there was so many south and east coast residents who had gone over to evacuate and escape hurricane irma there. so they saw the track of the storm yesterday and all afternoon or morning, really wasn't very windy at all down in miami-dade or broward or palm beach county. in fact 50 people up in palm beach county one of their shelters

the storm made landfall over the cudjoe key area around 9:10 as a category 4 storm. the keys are actually still getting the effects of the storm on the back side. they are not completely out of the woods yet. as the storm moves up the coast we are getting observer reports of hurricane gusts in miami-dade. the center of the storm looks like it will be moving you have the southwest coast of florida over the later today. and we have a hurricane warning potentially for the entire state of florida except for the western panhandle because of the large size of this system. we have the hurricane is expected to remain a major hurricane when it reaches the southwest coast. it will weaken as it crosses the tampa area. but this will be a major wind and surge event as well as i rainfall the next couple days. the surge event. southwest florida is especially vulnerable from the captiva air includinair -- area including n. we are expecting storm surge of 10-15 feet and 6-8 feet in the heavily populated tampa area. this remains a dangerous threat for southwest florida later today and

the monster storm battering the keys with 130-mile-per-hour winds. and life-threat. m surge, up to 15 feet. over 20 inches of rain expected in some areas. >> as new warnings come out about the potentially catastrophic category 4 hurricane. >> this is a storm of absolutely miss torque detruktive potential. >> people flee to hower ground. >> i was really scared. >> we have a mad house. >> thousands liping up waiting for hours to get in.

but the storm gives no quarter. here, battering the glass doors of this naples shelter. >> there was pandemonium. we were very scared and with her nerves and the baby, we high tailed it out. packed some food, got what we needed and got here within an hour. >> reporter: we met toughened hurricane survivors like john tisdale. >> andrew flattened everything. knocked the roof off the house. >> reporter: so you're not taking any chances. >> no. i'm 70 years old. i can't take no chance. >> reporter: you're going to be okay. we're glad you're here at the shelter. >> okay, okay, appreciate it. >> reporter: when irma made its first landfall in the keys, all expectations were shattered. more water moving with more force. the streets of key largo resembling the canals of venice. watch as this storm chaser struggles to keep his feet as he tries to clock how strong the winds are, clocking winds as high as 117 miles per hour. in naples, a brief respite from irma's fury as her eye passes over. >> this isn't bad. 20 minutes ago you

the storm surge is a real concern. southwest florida, naples is a particular concern for the national hurricane center and steve harrigan is live. >> they've warned western collier county could get extreme wind of 150 miles an hour. we are not quite there yet, but we are starting to feel it. we've had tropical storms under 74, but now it's starting to pick up. we are seeing small objects begin to fly around. branches, palm trees chemistry shines are shaking. i'm not seeing any debris, but we are still hours out. this is a civil emergency right now. stay inside your house. that's what we've been doing more than 20,000 people in shelters. they are in their watching this as it comes. naples could really get whacked here, both by the wind up 130 and then by the storm surge. when you follow the icon anywhere from 10 to 15 feet. parts of where i'm standing that could be underwater by tomorrow morning in a real stress to these trees if it keeps out. i'm a little surprised it's getting this strongest early. it is going to be af

the storm. a lot of power saw accidents, chainsaw accidents often occur. emergency rooms get a number of cases after a storm like this. you can hear the chainsaws going now. people are trying to get the trees off the roofs and out of their yards. >> jon: that the natural human inspiration. you think okay i can leave the shelter and go back home now and again, as you say, this is a pretty dangerous time to head out even though the storm has long passed. >> reporter: it is. this was a quick one for the people of florida but they had a lot of headaches and heartaches really before it actually had. i think we learned again that without being critical of this still an exact science as to where and when it's going to hit and how powerful and damaging it's going to be. there were absolutely catastrophic predictions about what was going to happen in naples that did not come true and people fled on the east coast florida to the west coast and north and for some unfortunate families they were stepping righ

and push the worst part of the storm, the strongest part and waters and storm sturge into tampa bay. that's been a real concern. and really, truly, could come true in the next 24 hours for us. this storm is slowly working its way up. all. force winds, that's nice, you get a break and you can actually stand up and have a conversation. so, kate, everything that we were concerned about the storm is really. happening. so, i just want to tell people, stay inside, ride this out. it's going to be the rest of the day for south florida. >> absolutely. and, sam, i just want to do a little weather 101, if we can. >> reporter: okay, sure. >> obviously, the rain and wind, but when you talk about the storm sturge and what could hit the tampa area, explain that to our viewers. why are we so concerned about water being swept in? >> reporter: okay. sorry, kate, let me put that down for a second so we get through, because i've got to talk with my hands. the winds constantly coming out of a flood of a hurricane. if you were to put a bathtub of water and have a fan on one side of the tub and turn that fa

if the surge were to come up, after the storm passes then we get the backside of the storm, then theater will come in. >> what went through your mind when you haefrd theard that the had changed course and was heading for you? >> that was very scary, nerve-wracking. we haven't had a direct hit in a long time, so we were, we were concerned. but we took all the precautions necessary. we have to wait until the storm passes, and once everything is calm, we will see if we c check on it. >> and what are you seeing outside now? >> lots of rain, lots of wind. it's very dark. we do have power still. we did not lose power, but i think that the wind that's coming now, with the force of the, you know, the storm reaching closer to us. >> are you worried about that aspect, knowing that the worst hasn't hit yet? >> a little bit, but we're not as concerned because of the strength of the storm is a lot lower. we'll see what happens. at the moment, everything is okay. we have flickering lights here and there. but we feel safe and comfortable for now. >> safe and comfortable is a very important thing. >

they are expecting the storm surge for 12 hours. are starting to feel the hurricane force winds at 7:00. they really want people to listen. they have been begging people the last 24 hours, do the smart thing. get to a safe place. this is not something that you want to risk riding out in the wrong place, george. >> thanks very much. 40-mile-per-hour winds, ginger, are the trigger for all police and law enforcement to go inside. some have faced higher than that. >> it's not going to stop. it's going to go up to 120 or 130. that's why we have that extreme wind warning. now we have the area highlighted in hot pink there. that's for 115 plus. so that lightning filled outer wall is now approaching. and less than 50 miles from naples at my last little distance calculator. marco island will get it first to bonita springs, and cape coral. >> we will stay with your coverage all day long on abc news. you can download the app for breaking news alerts. we will have a special edition of world news tonight and 20/20 at 7:00 eastern. in just a minu

and they're expecting actually the most dangerous storm surge now on the back side of the storm. they're advising people to get off the road. first responders in this area have already pulled back as the winds have gotten higher. and they're saying no one should be out on the roads right now. the shelters in this area are at capacity at this point. tens of thousands of people are already without power. we actually just lost power at our hotel. the conditions are expected to deteriorate quite a bit in the next few hours here in naples. and again, that dangerous storm surge, you just heard the governor refer to it, 10 to 15 feet of storm surge in this area, could be unprecedented. they expect quite a lot of damage here, matt and savannah. >> gabe, thanks so much. the mayor, bill barnett, is request uwith us. how are you doing? >> i'm the eternal optimist. i think we're going to get through this. the storm surge is a major, major, major concern for us. the last time naples experienced anything like this was 1960 with donna. >> i was just going to say, doing some math here, we were ju

. >> here is the latest on this storm. it has weakened. it's a category 1 hurricane, 70-mile-per-hour winds. those winds can still do a lot of damage. the center of the storm out of the northeast of tampa. >> for the record, it made land fall in the florida keys. while many did evacuate, some decided to ride out the storm. officials are launching house-to-house searches looking for people who need help and assess the damage. >> the damage is widespread across the united states. power has been knocked out to 5 million people. it could be out for weeks in neighborhoods that are most difficult to get to. >> most of florida's airports had to be shut down and are today, including the state's largest, miami international. m.i.a. sustained significant water damage. it needs to conduct tests to see if flights can continue tomorrow. we have a lot to cover. with we'll start with dylan in gainesville, florida. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, savannah. yeah, the storm has been affecting us all night long. it's been amazing. we are in north cen

you can see the storm on the satellite picture, the storm on the satellite picture, the eye of the storm close to the florida keys. the eye of the storm has very light winds, it is around the edge of the item we are seeing sustained and steady winds, around 130 mph, within this category four hurricane. the effects will be many and will be significant. we will see those sustained winds which will cause major damage. also heavy rain, a storm surge potentially some tornadoes as well. the real set of impacts that will cause some big problems across florida. this storm is moving very slowly. only eight miles per hour. it will take some time for this storm to drift its way across the west coast of florida, unleashing those heavy rains, 500 millimetres in places. those damaging winds and a storm surge which could inundate coastal areas. this story is far from done, hurricane irma will continue to cause major problems and we will continue to keep you up—to—date in the hours ahead. we will just show you we willjust show you some live pictures from miami and you can see how the winds whipping thos

it was about the storm surge. w-lying areas and the wind gust, 140-50-miles-per-hour sustained winds if we have landfall of a category 4. the worst side of the storm for the west coast of florida. and then we will be dealing with the potential for tropical storm forced winds parts of georgia, unfortunately for the next several days and you can see the forecasts, hurricane forced winds for much of the strait of florida through monday and tuesday. liz, back to you. >> janice dean with the very latest, thank you so much. >> as we saw with phil keaton. irma outer bands are hitting some parts of southern florida, a few more hours of preparation available a little bit north. that's where we find former arkansas governor mike huckabee in santa rosa beach, florida right now. it sure looks beautiful behind you, sir, portrays, i guess, or danger coming, you've been through disasters and the storms before as governor, what is going through rick scott's mind right now. >> let me say i don't know who could have handled it bette

it's true, the most powerful force of the storm is in the eye wall, the worst winds, storm surge, andat eye wall is on the east coast of florida toward miami, it makes a difference, if it's on the west coast of florida and it's fort myers or naples or on up the west coast it makes a difference. i want everyone in the entire state of florida prepared for all aspects of the storm. we know it will hit the state, we don't know which tip will get the worst of the storm. we'll be facing big time wind, damage, power outages. >> that's what i was hoping you were going to say from miami. i'm sure we'll be talking to you a lot along the way. stay safe. earlier tonight we wanted to let our viewers know the national weather service in key west took the extraordinary step of sending this statement in twitter, in all caps, quote, this is as real as it gets, nowhere in the florida keys will be safe. you still have time to evacuate. that was this afternoon. they asked people to bounce it around on social media and thousands did. having said that, joining us from key largo is a guy who intends to stay

the killer storm irma is closing in as it churns across the caribbean. where will it strike next? >>> under water, irma's storm surge threatening to leave some areas uninhabitable for months. hundreds of thousands of people ordered to flee. millions more being told to be ready to evacuate. >>> long lines. the looming disaster is leaving florida short of critical supplies with food and water. officials say the most urgent need right now is fuel. can florida get enough gas to get everyone to safety? >>> and no recall. donald trump jr. answers questions from senate investigators about russia but says he doesn't remember details of white house involvement in a misleading statement about his meeting with the russian lawyer. now cnn is learning special council wants to know more. >>> we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in the situation room. >>> this is cnn breaking news. >> the breaking news this hour, troubling forecast for irma. the record hurricane ravaging the caribbean and taking direct aim at florida. new forecast show

big question mark on the storm, this isa major hurricane out in the atlantic, look how close it's coming to the caribbean over the next five days we will have to watch this obviously as it gets closer to the u.s. right now i don't have estimation if it will make landfall but we will watch it. irma is category 1 storm, we saw winds in excess of 140 miles per hour, those are wind gusts but those are category 4 wind gusts, naples, florida, 142 miles per hour, we are seeing devastation in naples, florida this morning. the radar now, the bulk of the highest concentration of winds is now moving through central and northern florida, gainesville, you see the yellows and the oranges on your screen, daytona beach as well. that's where we have the core of those very strong hurricane forced winds, also with the right front quadrant of the storm, we have seen tornado reports, dozens of them within the last 48 hours and we still have a tornado watch in effect, we are going to continue to see ongoing tornado threats throughout the day tod

you mentioned the storm surge there. a couple days ago, 24 hours ago, it was forecast to be about -- between 8:00 -- between eight and ten feet. it was reduced to four feet. we've seen the water pulled out by the force of the storm return. it looks like river levels are back to normal. with high tide occurring in the next half hour. for now the area remained under a mandatory curfew along with miami, much of southern florida, keeping roads cleared for emergency workers, but amid reports of arrests for looting in some other areas. >> sarah, thank you very much. appreciate it. >> thank you. >>> meanwhile, the trump administration is keeping a close eye on the situation in florida. >> the president's been monitoring the storm 24/7. and the people of south florida, the people in the state should know we are with you. >> vice president mike pence made that statement while visiting fema headquarters in washington, d.c. he got a firsthand update on the response to hurricane irma. yesterday the president approved a disaster decla

brought by the storm. compare to the last hour, the storm. the visibility looks much worse. from where you were in the last hour. have you seen many people out on the roads. clearly many people told to take self chilly shelter or get out of florida altogether. you don't see an awful lot amount of ca rs. don't see an awful lot amount of cars. there are few. the storm is still half a day away. some people still half a day away. some people still taking their chances. leaving the area towards shelter. the main thing we are seeing is a lot of officers patrolling the area. the patrol officers taking shelter underneath different bridges. not sure whether that is where they're going to ride out the storm. 0nce the winds reached tropical storm force, in the next to or three macro hours, they will suspend operations, it is too dangerous to go out. in the build—up to the storm, the arrival of the centre, there are occasionally brief lull. the storm picks up foursquare dies down, the storm, the hurricane creeping in. the lulls becomes shorter. the wind s

the storm. e with the police chief down in a little island called marco island south of where we are which will be one of the first areas that feels the intense impacts of this hurricane. after the hurricane passes through key west, the police chief says they are worried but they are prepared and have done whatever they can to get their force ready to deal with whatever might come. a great deal of anxiety in the overnight hours as this region prepares for the arrival of this storm. isa? >> and as we heard from the governor of florida he was saying there is more than 365 shelters along that route. how -- now you said some of the shelters were already in place. did you see an increase in shelters as we saw the hurricane shuffle somewhat? >> we were told that some 27 shelters or 30 shelters opened up here in collier county which is the area that we're in. the last update we had had this evening that three still had availability in them and the potential of filling up quickly. i think we have time in

is the tropical storm force winds and 80 miles from the center of the storm still hurricane force winds. we just got the latest update, winds at 110 miles per hour, that is a strong category two storm. but, again, i stress that this is a storm surge story for the west coast of florida, all very low-lying areas, so 5-10 to 15-foot storm surge is still going to put these areas at risk for a lot of water over the next several hours. shepard, still watching that. the storm surge will be the risk over the next 12-18 hours. the whole state of florida still under a hurricane warning, 18 million people, and that stretches into georgia as well. back to you. shepard: we've just gotten an indication, janice, of a 4-foot rise in the storm surge in the last about 38 minutes there in naples, and still rising. >> reporter: yep, absolutely. and this is going to be a really finish you know, that is the -- the national hurricane center has been telling us forecasters if there is the number one story that you have to get out there, it is the storm surgeriesing. the winds, of course, are going to be excess

that's a move that frees up federal aid for victims of the storm. we have complete coverage as you might expect across the zone. starting with dill dan dreiylan. she's in gainesville this morning. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, matt. gainesville is in north central florida. it's amazing we're dealing with the effects of a category 1 hurricane here. weaker than it was when it hit south florida. spoken to a lot of the evacuees from south florida that are staying at the hotel we're at here. they're grateful they're just dealing with a category 1 hurricane here. you can see the wind and the rain are coming down. overnight we had winds up to -- over 60 miles per hour. we also picked up more than 10 inches of rain here in this area. so we still have a ways to go. the heaviest of the rain is moving through, but now that the storm has weakened and it's picking up speed, it's moving at about 18 miles per hour. you can see how fast it's moving north. but there are still tornado watches in effect. in jacksonville, florida, which keep in mind is

the storm shifting farther west the eye of the storm on keys in florida. nowhere in the florida keys will be safe. >> we're running out of time, the storm is almost here, if you're in an evacuation zone you need to go now. >> reporter: more than 5.6 million people have been asked to evacuate, many living in low-lying coastal areas. as time runs out, people are trying to escape the storm. traffic so bad on the three main routes out of south florida, some people abandoned their cars because they have run out of gas. those trying to get out by air finding themselves stuck, fort lauderdale airport closed. miami international spending all flights. those trying to get in hoping to get a last minute ticket stranded. >> we spent hours trying to find a flight. it's been awful. we have not slept. >> reporter: some miami beach residents are counting on their storm resistant structures and staying put. >> we are going to ride it out. we have back up electricity. we have hurricane built building with cement. >> reporter: the winds have pick up, we're starting to feel th

>> the storm surge the hurricane center takes what they are predicting for this storm. they were predicting for it to come off of cuba, actually regain strength and make landfall as a category 4. fought just in the keys, but a category 4 up in the napled area. they had the force of the hurricane path a little on the west coast or a little bit off. >> that didn't happen. it was weaker. it was a category 3 when it came into naples. it wasn't a 4. and the path instead of going along the coast was inland. so that prevented those two factors, see, we have computers, also give us predictions on these storm surges, it's called the slosh mid-el. that's the technical term for it. they put those parameters and it spits out the numbers. that's how they got the 10 to 15 feet. if you put bad information in, the computer will give you bad information out. >> this is one case where we have bad information. >> there is no one upset. >> bill, thanks, very much for that. let's go live to kristen dolgren in ft. meyers. after spanning the city yesterday, it appears the storm has passed with

and the storm shifted west. of people in fort myers who were thinking of evacuating across the state. and because of those mandatory evacuations around the lake, we have shut count hospitals in that region. so there are no emergency rooms open between fort myers and wellington, florida. anyone crossing the state, if they were to have an emergency while traveling. we don't have a place for them to go it's important that everybody shelter where they are and just make sure they are? a safe place in their community. molly: that raises a big concern. when we see the big storms. florida does take care of neighbor taking care of neighbor, we have seen that again and again. is that the type of thing that's lined up right now? if you look at the storm and the potential for damage and loss of life? are communities working together to share resources to move in assets wherever the damage is the greatest? >> we have mutual aid agreements. we helped monroe county out with some of their jail population that needs to be relocat

storm is clocking in wins at 130. >> it is pounding south florida, we have live team coverage on the monster storm over florida. welcome to mornings on two. >> good morning, we are following irma's movements at this hour. it is really affecting all parts, you can see just how strong the winds are blowing the pictures of people hunker down, watching the storm as it's going through, this is a mess out there. >> forecasters predict it could create 12 high 15 ---15 foot surges. >> i believe that is key largo that we are looking at. we have been talking about the keys a lot as well. there is an estimated 127,000 people hunkering down in shelters, making sure they stay safe. more than 1 million customers are without power, expecting millions more to lose power. the national weather service is telling people to stay away from the windows because of high-rise buildings being hit with wind gusts close to 100 miles per hour. >> we have team coverage this morning, let's go to lauren blanchard live in orlando with the latest. >> reporter: we are just getting rain in this part, we are bracing for weather to come this way hun

here is the center of the storm. and this red blob on the northeast side, the new update says 120 miles per hour sustained, gusts to 150, that will be in this thunderstorm complex to the right there. here is the closer zoomed inimage of this. this is where kerry is located in is marco island. you see them swallowing up the marco islands here. we'll go further to the north. let's give you a little distance tracker. the storm is starting to accelerate, it was moving eight or nine, the last update is 12 miles per hour. ever so slowly it will move north faster now. naples you are now 16 miles to the leading edge of the northern eye. that is an hour and 15 minutes from now from where kerry is. the worst of the winds out of there. let's go out further from name are further out. ft. myers, bonita springs, we spoke to that mayor, he says he knows there are people in trailers and mobile homes, the highest elevation is 13 feet. bonita springs is 29 miles. you're roughly two hours, two hours 15 minutes from being in that eye wal

give us the latest on the storm's path. hours to come. >> over the last few hours the center has been moving more towards the west and is very close to the north coast of cuba and we expect a turn then to the northwest and then the north over the next 24 to 36 hours. increasing the risk to the florida keys. we're very concerned about that area as well as the southwest coast of florida and indeed we have a storm surge warning up for the coast all along the southeastern peninsula and the florida keys. very dangerous in the florida keys. the water levels will be rising along the coast, the peninsula as well. >> we've been speelking to people who are saying they're going to ride it out in the keys. >> i'm not sure that they'll make it and we're talking a five to 10 foot storm surge on isl d islands that are only 5 to 10 feet high. 15 foot waves, epossibly even higher along with hurricane forced winds and i would advise everyone that's left to get out now while they can. >> what kind of damage are you expecting now? give us a dam

the diameter of the storm is bigger than the width of the state. so not only are you talking about strong storms, heavy wind, rain, storm surge, we have a tornado watch in effect. tornados have been spinning up. this is a big deal and it's going to affect the entire state and it's going to traverse the length of the state unlike andrew that went from east to west. we're going to be talking about it this time tomorrow and it will only be about two thirds of the way through the state. so it's more than 24 hours affecting the state of florida. so this is a -- it really -- and the rainfall. we've been talking about storm surge and that's a big deal. but the rainfall could, in the keys, be about 25 inches of rain, generally 10 to 15 inches of rain throughout the state of florida, chris. >> the other thing, partly where you are, but obviously a critically important component of this in the florida keys and that's these bridges and the concern they have about access to get people, access to potentially try to get people out and then just talking to one of

a few people will ride out the storm. if we look to the right, this condo, we see metal shutters have been put up on a few of the condos here. we are only a block away from the beach. on the other side of these buildings that you're looking at is the beach. the storm surge is still the biggest concern, could have been possibly deadly once the winds really kick up. that was the main concern. we are right on the border of that. that's why you see hardly anybody here. mandatory evacuations in the area. the good news is that everybody seems to be taking it seriously. you can tell by the lack of activity outside. >> all right. phillip mena live in hollywood. thank you very much. and the conditions changing, hotels deciding whether to stay open or not. telltale signs of preparation. >>> i want to bring in key biscayne mayor myra pena lindsay. she joins us by phone. you're south of where phillip was reporting from there in hollywood. you are on this -- in this area that is surrounded by water. and you've seen the latest pieces of