the work continues as the powerful eye of dorian sets sights on the east coast katie beck, nbc news, savannah, georgia. >>> also tonight we're learning cities in west texas. and investigators are revealing chilling new details about the gunman. we'll get more from more about the seven people lost in that random shooting across two cities in west texas and investigators are revealing chilling new details about the gunman we'll get more from nbc's miguel almaguer >> get down, get down, get down. >> oh [ bleep ]. >> reporter: before most victims had time to run they found themselves pinned down in a hail of gunfireokay, it's okay. >> reporter: officials now say the suspect seth ator had a >> it's okay, it's okay. >> reporter: officials now say the suspect seth ator had a criminal history, failed a gun purchase background check, and should have never owned the assault style rifle used to kill seven and wound 22ound 22. hours before the shooting, he was fired from his job. >> he was on a lon spiral of going down. he didn't wake up saturday morning and hours before the shooting, he was fir

katie beck road out the storm in north carolina and has the details. >> reporter: dorian's path of destruction charging the coast of north carolina. >> the danger right now is the rising storm surge. officials are telling people to get to the highest point in their houses. >> on the island, cars sinking in driveways, boats on roadways. storm surge causing water to rise seven feet in two hours. hundreds of residents trapped in need of rescue. finally making land fall on cape hatteras. raging winds in nags head blue the roof off this building. >> did it scare you? >> yes. mostly scarey for my daughter. >> on the outer banks hitting wilmington leaving thousands without power and hunkered down in shelters. farther south, communities are dealing with destruction after more than 20 reported tornadoes blue through. >> nbc's katie beck, thank you for being on the ground. now we want to go to the bahamas. the death toll has risen to 43. the prime minister expecting that number will grow. morg morgan chessney has been on the ground. >> reporter: frustration is boiling over. >> we can't stay here another

nbc's katie beck has more. >> reporter: inside the cockpit of air force hurricane hunters, scientists look dorian square in the eye. major alex boykin is at the controls. >> we'll be reading the waves on the way in and through the eye wall and we'll be able to track its movement and see if it stalls or turns. this one has been very hard to predict. >> reporter: these air force and noaa high-flying stations travel through turbulent conditions, slicing through the eye wall of the hurricane to determine the conditions at the heart of the storm. probes are dropped into the hurricane to measure pressure, temperature, humidity, wind speed and direction. >> getting the information that we need vital to knowing how strong the hurricane is and also where it's going. >> reporter: given all the information gathered from up above, it's difficult for forecasters to predict exactly what will happen here along the coast. >> we also need to know the steering current, so well away from the storm. need to know maybe 1,000 miles away. >> reporter: forecasters use the data and other sources like buoys, w

joining me now, katie beck in north carolina and today show co-host al roker. katie, first to you, obviously a lot of wind, a lot of rain where you are now. >> reporter: absolutely. yeah, after dorian made landfall in cape hatteras, we saw these conditions start to intensify. as you stand here it knocks the breath out of you. these gusts, they're powerful. we're noticing the disappearing beach behind us. even this morning there was maybe 100 yards of beach now that has shrunk to 15 feet and the water is encroaching upon us as i speak. storm surge is something that officials here continue to be concerned about in these low lying areas. they say it will flood. this is a time that if you stayed in the outer banks to get to higher ground, the highest floor in your house the sheriff says. another concern they have are stranded folks an island. the road is washed out and authorities are trying to figure out the best way to get help to those folks. widespread power outages at this point and expected to be more flooding later. a curfew was set at 8:00 last night that wa

nbc's katie beck. thank you, katie. joining me on the phone is mayor steven grant of maoynkin beach, florida, 30 miles north of ft. lauderdale. thanks for being with us. what's your sense of preparations in boynton beach? >> thank you for having us. basically, we took all the warnings and made sure that we boarded up everything that we could. we told -- we've had two evacuations of our low-lying areas. and people who are in not secure structures and we're working with the palm beach county to make sure that everyone has a place to go and a shelter. >> what is your sense now that you're seeing this very slow-moving storm at the moment the trajectory of it doesn't -- doesn't present as dire a scenario for you as it would have, but as bill was just saying, storm surge is going to be an issue for you. >> absolutely. and especially because we have king tides. we've had pictures showing that it is going over the docks at our intracoastal restaurants and i'm worried about tomorrow when we really get the waves from dorian to ou

our katie beck rode out the storm and starts us off now. >> reporter: dorian's path of destruction charging the coast of north carolina today >> the danger right now is the rising storm surge. officials are telling people to get to the highest point in their houses >> reporter: on islands, cars sinking in driveways, boating driving on roadways, storm surge causing waters to rise 7 feet in just two hours. hundreds of island residents trapped in need of rescue the hurricane finally making landfall friday morning on cape hatteras with winds nearly 90-miles-an-hour, severe flash flooding rushing over four-foot fence lines and raging winds blew the roof clear off this building landing in an adjacent parking lot >> did it scare you? >> yes mostly it scared me for my daughter. >> reporter: heavy winds and pounding rains sweeping into the outer banks after hitting wilmington thursday night leaving thousands across the state without power and hunkered down in shelters meanwhile, further south, several communities are dealing with tremendous destruction after more than 20 reported tornados tore throu

i want to go to katie beck in savannah, georgia. when i was there yesterday, people had gone to savannah from southern florida to outrun the storm. and then they were confused by where is the storm actually going. >> reporter: yes. they might have come here to escape and then they had to escape again after the governor's order to evacuate earlier today. savannah looks different than it did yesterday. hotels have shut down, restaurants have shut down. we are right in the historic district. this is an area that is normally packed with people. it's actually closed to traffic most of the time because there are so many people wandering in the streets going to bars, restaurants, hotels. right now everything has sand bags, has plastic. this is an area that is basically a ghostland right now. it's kind of eerie, actually. the few times i have been to savannah have been full of life and fun especially in this area, a really big night slief spot. right now there is nobody out and about in savannah and none of the hotels have any dpess. and th

katie beck is on the outer banks this evening. >> reporter: coastal north carolina bracing for impact, flood waters already dangerously high. it's rising fast in wilmington. >> we see water. >> reporter: along atlantic beach, frantic efforts to fill sandbags, little protection against the expected 4 to 7 foot storm surge when just two feet of water is enough to wash away a car. after tornados ripped through the state, dorian's dreaded arrival tonight a reality. the governor warning don't take any and off the roads.needs to >> reporter: families packing up and getting out before it's too late. but not commissioner bob woodard staying anybody in harm's way. >> reporter: on the evacuated outer banks, even the hospital is empty, patients moved inland for safety, staff bracing for what could come after the storm. >> after it's over, i think that's when we're going to see an influx of patients. >> reporter: conditions are expected to get worse here on the outer banks overnight and into tomorrow morning. authorities will start enforcing a curfew at 8:00 this evening. >> katie, thank you. in

katie beck is there in naggs head. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, peter. as you said, the heavy winds and rain have gone and what's left behind, the damage and cleanup. it took dorian ten days to get here, but just a couple hours to do all of this. the road to recovery just beginning for coastal north carolina. hurricane dorian making a devastating last landfall stop on the way out to sea. the storm now heading north making waves along the m mid-atlantic on its way to coastal new england. >> the hurricane has left behind destruction. >> reporter: an event memorable even to outer banks loek calls like kasey mcfear son who ride out hurricanes every year. >> the back end of it was pretty powerful. the wind was pretty impressive. >> reporter: powerful storm leaving thousands without power this morning. many already starting to clean up the mess left behind. ocracoke island swallowed by flash flooding. dorian's storm surge caused water to rise seven feet in two hours. washing away cars. hundreds stranded in need of rescue. the coast guard bringing medical help

we find katie beck. what's the situation where you are?ali, it's been a pretty pleasant day here for most of the day. that's all change iing now. we're seeing some dark clouds starting to roll in. the winds are getting stronger. and actually our first signs of rain starting to come down on the beach now. there is obviously a mandatory evacuation for all of the out ir banks. there's a curfew of 8:00 p.m. no one will be allowed to cross the bridge into the outer banks after 8:00 p.m. tonight. hotels, restaurants, all the businesses that are normally flooded with tourists completely empty right now. even the hospitals taking extra precaution. they moved all the patients inland and are keeping a a skeleton crew in the emergency rooms. they are going to see a surge of people trying to get to the e.r. with storm-related injuries. they are going to have doctors and nurses bringing in their sleeping bags and toothbrushes and staying overnight. now the storm surge is is what they are most concerned about here. 4 to 7 feet is possible. they have had

we'll go to katie beck. you're in nags head, north carolina. you've seen some devastating destruction. how is everybody doing recovering and weathering this storm? >> reporter: well today, jo, the skies are clear. the rain and wind has moved out and what is left behind is the damage and clean up efforts that will start today. it took ten days for dorian to get here but just a couple of hours for her to do all of this. the road to recovery. just beginning for coastal north carolina. hurricane dorian making a devastating last landfall stop on the way out to sea. the storm now heading north, making waves along the mid-atlantic on its way to coastal new england. >> the hurricane has left behind destruction. >> reporter: an event people orable even to outer banks locals like casey who ride out hurricanes every year. >> the back end was pretty tough. the wind and stuff was pretty impressive. >> reporter: the powerful storm leaving thousands without power this morning. many already starting to clean up the mess left behind. ocracoke island swallowed f

let's go to katie beck in savannah, georgia, where the governor issued a mandatory evacuation order. katie, what's the latest in savannah? >> reporter: well, we're just starting to see some landfall here as well, chris, and people are heeding those evacuation orders. you can see behind me this area is deserted. we are in historic downtown savannah right along the river. this is a very popular tourist area. lots of bars. lots of restaurants. right now every hotel is closed. every shop is closed. there are sandbags in front of the doors. so obviously people know to take those orders seriously and get out ahead of this storm, not wait until it arrives. tomorrow morning traffic on 95 out of savannah will be counterflow, that means the traffic will be going away from here. they'll be telling people to continue to evacuate to try to avoid some of the traffic backups we've seen in the past. additionally the civic center here in savannah will be opening its doors to maybe those who wanted to evacuate but had nowhere to go. so quite a stark difference from yesterday. there were sort of people

thank you i turn on katie beck who is informing weather conditions in salvannah. >> reporter: this is an area very popular for tourists. lots of restaurants and bars and night life. since midday today, it has been shut down. sand bags at the doors. hotels completely closed. they've asked guests to leave. probably midday today. most hotels were telling folks to head out. we were among those who were asked to heave our hotel and i had come one some alternative arrangements for tonight. this area is packed with people. a really crowded thoroughfare and right now savannah is a ghost land. they're most worried about the surge, the flooding. this is a low lying area and they're worried that it could really affected a lot of the businesses along this thorough fare. a very popular, busy spot. the governor putting the mandatory evacuations in place this morning. there are going to be opening the civic center tomorrow morning. having guests who maybe wanted to evacuate and could not get out. have a place to go. as well as contra flow on i-16. they'll be sending cars out, trying on get as many o

joining me from wilmington, north carolina, nbc cal perry and katie beck.ory evacuation in the out every banks, what's the weather conditions where you are? >> reporter: well, we're definitely seeing the wind pick up, chris. we haven't seen the rain yet. we're expecting to see that later today. there are some folks, some residents here on the island, that are going to stay put. they're going to try to weather this storm. as for the tourists, the visitors, they made their way out of town yesterday. and it is pretty much a ghost town on the outer banks right now. there are no hotels or restaurants open. very few people on the roads right now. and as you can see, these conditions aren't so bad right now, but as the evening progresses and dorian makes her way here, we are going to start to see significant rain. as you said, the storm surge is what people are most concerned about here, the flooding. and 4 to 7 feet is significant for this area. they do prepare. they have been through storms before. there are a lot of homes that are risen and on stilts in this ar

let's turn now to katie beck, who is in savannah, georgia. how are things there? >> reporter: hey, chris. well, it's pretty much a ghost town right now. we are on the riverfront, right in downtown historic issavannah. this is a popular area most nights, hotels, restaurants, bars. since about midday today, it has been deserted. you're going to see sandbags at the doors, bar stools up on tables. garbage bags, entire bars cov covered up with sheets. this is not normal. this is a place that would see a lot of traffic, a lot of tourists, but given the fact they are waiting for dorian and those mandatory evacuation orders were put into place today, a lot of people heeded that warning and got out of town, especially when their hotel said, we're closing the doors, head out. so, the mayor of savannah tonight issuing a very ominous warning, saying to folks, this is not something to try and ride out, not this one. this is not the storm to try your luck. you only have one life and he doesn't want to see any lives lost, so, he was urging people that were still here to make the

nbc's katie beck has that part of the story.. >> reporter: inside the cockpit of air force hurricane hunters, scientists look dorian square in the eye. major alex boykin is at the controls. >> we'll be reading the waves on the way in throughout the eye wall and we'll be able to track its movement if it will stall. this one has been very hard to predict. >> reporter: these air force and noaa high-flying weather stations travel through turbulent conditions, slicing,000 the eye wall of the hurricane to determine the conditions at the heart of the storm. probes are dropped into the hurricane to measure pressure, temperature, humidity, wind speed and direction. >> getting the information that we need vital to knowing how strong the hurricane is and also where it's going. >> reporter: even given all the information gathered from up above, it's difficult for forecasters to predict exactly what will happen here along the coast. >> we also need to know the steeri steeri steering currents. >> reporter: forecasters use the data and other s

let's head north on i-95 two hours to savannah, georgia, where katy beck is joining us. states, it is on the curve an the hope is that when storm continues to curve along with the geography. >> reporter: yeah. that's right. i think officials are cautiously optimistic they won't be seeing nearly the devastation that south florida and the bahamas are seeing right now. officials are keeping a close eye on what's happening, looking at the magnitude and power of the storm and trying to think about the tough decisions ahead, whether to evacuate or not. right now they're checking in with folks on the hurricane registry, specifically giving priority 0 those with serious medical news, elderly folks and asking them what their plan is for evacuation to make sure that they're watching this storm, aware of the storm and the possiblies of that track. we are not sure at this point what will be for savannah and georgia but it is heading north and expecting likely the worst of this area is sometime wednesday in the day. they have a few more days to make those calls but they say they're g

in the thick of it all is catie beck in nags head, north carolina. katy last hour since we talked to you in the last 50 minutes, we've been getting reports and thit is getting mor and more dangerous on the coast of the outer banks on sound side. i know you're on the oceanside. tell us what it's like. >> reporter: absolutely, hallie. we can feel that. right now we are getting slammed with wind and rain and conditions do seem to be intensifying here on nags head. the outer banks has fared pretty well during this storm in terms of power out ainges and flooding so far. but we've heard in the press conference there's over 200 people that are strand right now on an island. the road out to the island sem passable. the governor said that's his to concern, how am i going to get those people to safety? so, yeah, we are not through the worst of this yet. in facts, i think this might be the peak of dorian for the outer banks right now. the conditions that we're seeing certainly deteriorating as this morning proceeds. one thing they are most concerned about is going t