david begnaud is in san juan. that's directly in maria's path. >>> we're in washington where tax reform is huge for republican lawmakers this fall.

here's david begnaud. >> reporter: residents of puerto rico went through the mess that maria left behind. electricity is non-existent. 20 minutes away, police and volunteers are working to help people trapped from the storm surge like this man and his dog. the mayor is asking what the situation is in their home. across the island, streets that don't look like rivers are covered in power lines. maria's 155-mile per hour winds officials cannot say when it will be restored n dominica, the death toll is 15. the dominican republic saw drenching rain and whipping winds and now is moving to turks and caicos. president trump has approved a federal disaster regulation. how did you feel when you hear about the rescues? >> happy, very hopeful. >> reporter: with so many opportunities cut off, the extent of the damage is unknown. david begnaud, puerto rico. >> i am getting reports of 26" to 35" of rain fell in puerto rico from the storm. >> thank you, top. >>> rescuers are in a race against time in mexico. both professionals and volunt the clock to reach earthquake survives. a rescuer squeezed throug

david begnaud was in puerto rico when maria made landfall yesterday. >> reporter: maria's blinding rain and vicious 155-mile-per-hour winds tore across this island. it ripped aluminum roofs off buildings like they were soda can tops, turned streets into rivers, and debris into missiles. puerto rico's governor is telling people to stay calm. he's warming that the island is on the verge of communication. >> reporter: in one neighbor 80% of the homes are destroyed and the entire island of puerto rico is without power. maria already left a trail of destruction of the islands of dominica and st. croix, both in the direct path of the storm. in puerto rico the water rushed through guanavo. piles of tree branches blocked roads. two women cleared gutters by hand to avoid flooding and this man's home of 35 destroyed. the governor told them to leave. you can see why. nothing is left of eva flores's home. we found her salvaging food from the freezer. what's lost is lost, she told us. you just have to put faith in god. despite the devastation, no deaths or injuries have been reported. not yet. puert

david begnaud is in san juan. >> reporter: residents of puerto rico waded through the mess hurricane maria left behind. flooding is widespread and electricity is nonexistent. 20 minutes in san juan, police and volunteers are looking to rescue people trapped by maria's storm surge. they helped this man and his dog get out and get to dry land. they're talking to people and asking them what the situation is in their home. across the island streets that don't look like rivers are covered in power lines. maria's 155-mile-per-hour winds crushed what was already a weak power grid. officials cannot say when it will be restored. before slamming puerto rico, maria roared across the mountainous island of dominica. the death toll climbs to 15 and the search continues. the storm passed the island as a category 3. maria is moved toward turks and caicos. president trump has approved a federal disaster declaration for. >> reporter: >> how did you feel when you saw the rescue come? >> happy. very happy. >> reporter: with so many communities cut off, the full extent of the damage is not yet known. dav

david begnaud is covering that. >> reporter: it happened at 2:00 a.m.two explosions lit up the night& sky. by morning, a fire was still burning. a mile and a half radius around the chemical plant was evacuated tuesday after company representatives warned local officials their emergency plans had failed. ed gonzalez is the harris county sheriff. >> we believe the smoke is a nontoxic irritant. >> reporter: the company had backup generators. all of them failed. then refrigeration units in three of nine trailers failed. officials warn the highly combustible compounds, known as organic peroxides, were sure to burn as the temperatures rose, although they downplayed the harm. >> no one is in danger based on the fire we expect. >> reporter: arkema executive richard rennard defended the company's response. >> we believe at this point the safest thing to do is toow product in those to degrade and burn. >> reporter: we asked the company to provide us with a list of chemicals at the plant. they said they would. we called 11 times today and never got that list. we t

but as david begnaud action has been far too slow. >> reporter: more than 3,000 shipping containers are sitting at the port of san juan. >> in these containers, we have medicine, water -- >> reporter: jose ayala is violent of crawley shipping services puerto rico. he says the stalled supplies could help more than a half million puerto ricans. >> it's frustrating. unless trucking companies start showing up, unfortunately, there is nothing that we can do. >> reporter: the governor us'st drivers to deliver the essentials. >> the bus drivers that would traditionally take these foods, they are not coming. >> you can't find them or reach them? >> both. >> reporter: most roads are still blocked by debris and fuel is in short supply. lines still stretch for a half mile or more as people wait in the stifling heat for basic necessities. >> this is our third day getting gas. it's just that with the tanks they hold so little. adr nisustdeestionprreis now temporarily waiving restrictions on foreign ships pos intopuerto rico. but at an emotional news conference, lawmakers called pu and sisters are am

now we are going to need a helping hand. >> that was david begnaud reporting. 7,000 people in puerto rico are in shelters. maria is blamed for seven deaths on the caribbean island of dominca and two in guadalupe. >>> and here's a unique look at maria. this video from a nasa weather satellite. you can see the eye of the hurricane spinning intensely from space. and check out this view of hurricane maria taken yesterday from the nation. quite the view. >>> roberta, what's happening in our forecast? >> we're very grateful to center those views because the san juan, puerto rico, radar site is unavailable due to damage. let's go ahead and track hurricane maria at this lunch hour. again, earlier this morning, puerto rico taking a direct hit with that eye wall rolling across san juan. and then now it is expected to push out over the open waters, gather some more moomum me frth and towards the bahamas. we'll keep an eye on it. back here in the bay area, some rain for your wednesday morning in san francisco. our time lapse video from our roof camera shows intermittent showers with a little tou

david begnaud says that's not the only crisis on the island. >> reporter: from the air we were able to video of wide spread damage in am so of the hardest hit areas. before leaving the city, we saw flood water on the road leading to the main airport. homes in san juan are-- san juan are still surrounded by water. >> this is loiza one of the poorest areas of puerto rico. >> the damage is catastrophic here. in catno the flooding is as wide spread today as it was four days ago when we foundct we made it o guajataca. >> where officials say this 90 year old dam is in jeopardy of breaching after a portion of the spillway failed. the water is gushing uncontrollably toward comeumentds where 70,000 people have been told to head to higher ground. where you see fresh dirt that is where the failure of the spillway happened and the concern now is if there is a vuller in did -- vulnerability there it may extend underneath that road and the entire dam may fail. there are mile long lines of people waiting to buy e sighl. fue land-- island's cel phone towers have been damaged. in the hard hit region we

david begnaud reports from juan. >> we are best friends. >> reporter: jesus is battling stage four cancerhis wife a breast cancer survivor herself brought him to the hospital de maestro the night hurricane maria hit. >> being here is very difficult. it's no air conditioning in the rooms. >> reporter: just one generator keeps two floors operational but fuel is low and frustrations are high. >> i think that we have been like abandoned. >> reporter: that's medical director veronica rodriguez who says only one of the hospital's five operating rooms is useable. >> what i fear most is that a patient can die because of this. >> reporter: temperatures have reached 90 degrees. nearly half of the island has no water. the governor just told us they're desperate for drivers. he says, look i've got food and water sitting at the port. it's ready to go but i don't have the people to drive it to the stores. i said to the governor okay so what are you doing he said we're literally asking anyone bus drivers, commercial truck drivers anyone who can drive a truck legally. >> if you are a bus driver and have

for cbs news, i'm meteorologist paul deanno. >>> on "cbs this morning," david begnaud with the latest from san juan and puerto rico. >>> president trump who has called the agreement an embarrassment says he's made up his mind on whether to abandon the deal, but he won't say what he plans. tehran agreed to restrict its nuclear program in exchange for a loosening of sanctions. president trump has until october 13th to certify whether tehran is complying. if not congress has 60 days to decide on whether to impose stiffer sanctions. >>> the relationship between the campaign and russian interference has grown. the campaign has grown to include actions after mr. trump took office. former campaign chairman paul manafort remains at the center of the probe and there are now reports he offered private briefings to a russian billionaire close to vladimir putin. jeff pegues has our report. >> reporter: while he was trump campaign chairman, paul manafrt through an intermediary sent a message to a person tied close to the kremlin. according to the "washington post" two weeks before president trump'

david begnaud reports from san juan. >> reporter: from the air we were able to get new video from somef the hard-hit areas. homes in san juan are still surrounded by water. the damage is catastrophic here. in catano, the flooding is as widespread today as it was four days ago when we found chest-deep water. by tractor wmade it to guajataca. where officials say this 90-year-old dam is close to breaching. where you see the fresh dirt, that's where the failure of the spillway happened. the concern now is if there's a vulnerability there, it may extend up on road and the entire dam could fail. there are long lines of people waiting to buy fuel. officials say more than 80% of the island's cell phone towers have been damaged. in the hard-hit reege of toe roy ha ba, we found hundreds of people standing below a cell phone tower trying to get a signal. ellie rivera was trying to reach family in chicago and boston. >> i want to talk to my family. i'm okay. but my mother is in the hospital. >> reporter: for those who could get one bar, it was just enoughe e told some c om people need to be rescue

david begnaud with cbs news is in puerto rico now and has the very latest on how they are getting ready for maria. >> reporter: the u.s. territory of puerto rico escaped a direct hit from hurricane irma but the storm still knocked out power to about 70% of the island. nearly 2000 u.s. citizens who u.s. virgin islands were evacuated to puerto rico following irma including more than 500 people who arrived by cruise ship on thursday. across the caribbean, many of the islands in the path of hurricane maria looked like this, tortola in the british virgin islands still covered in debris. >> when you get to the bottom, you have nowhere to go but up but it's one board, one stick, one log, one brick at a time. >> we have yet another hurricane forecast to hit the british virgin islands. >> reporter: sir richard branson whose island home was badly damaged by irma has been raising money and awareness for the battered british territory. he says rebuilding is going to be a massive task but right now the focus is on the immediate threat of maria. >> everyone has been rallying around trying to create s

as cbs news correspondent david begnaud shows us people in puerto rico are told to evacuate or risk dying: as maria made landfall you could see the powerful impacts on the islands of guadalupe which sits just north of dominica. heavy rains and and wind gusts of over 150 miles per hour pounded several small countries devastated by hurricane irma. we traveled by helicopter top saint thomas one of the u.s. virgin islands. from the air the scope of what irma did here is apparent. de debris still litters the island and could turn into dangerous projectiles when maria's hurricane force winds move in. dana neal and her son tucker james stuck around during irma. but now she's getting out. going to new jersey to meet her sister. but she plans to come right back after maria to help rebuild what's left of the island of saint john. why didn't you want to get out. >> it's our home. 'cause it's where we live and we need to be there to help people. >> reporter: schools are now shelters on saint thomas. for those unable or -- unwilling to evacuate. all critically ill patients are being airlifted out and

>> mason: david begnaud, thanks, david. police in london are questioning two suspects in friday's subway bombing. 30 people were hurt when the detonator exploded, but not the main charge. charlie d'agata is following this. >> reporter: caught on security cameras, the suspected bo with a bucket bomb that was found on the subway 90 minutes later. he's thought to be an 18-year-old iraqi orphan, one of two war refugees cared for by a foster couple now at the center of this investigation. the other suspect, identified by british media as 21-year-old yahyah faroukh from syria. the police won't confirm his name. faroukh's facebook page shows his journey from damascus in 2012 and the smugglers boat in which he crossed the mediterranean from egypt. there's nothing to suggest any extremist views. >> police. >> reporter: over the weekend, anti-terror police stormed the property of robert and penelope jones, who opened their home to both men. they have been honored by the queen for their work caring for 268 foster children over 40 year

>> mason: david begnaud with the desperate situation in puerto rico. thanks.r new cbs news poll, only 29% of americans approve of president trump's handling of healthcare. and he has not been able to persuade senate republicans to pass a repeal of obamacare. rsncy cordes tells us the latest ve o io>> dison'tn cut medicaid! >> reporter: an eleventh hour hearing on the g.o.p. bill got off to a rocky start. >> don't cut the benefits! >> reporter: disrupted by alsabled protesters who also filled the halls outside. >> if you can't be in order, then get the heck out of here. >> reporter: inside the bill's authors, bill cassidy and lindsey graham, defended their plan, despite its dimming prospects. >> if i were a major insurance company, i would hate my bill because i take money and power away from you and i give it to the states. >> reporter: but new numbers were not on their side. standard & poor's estimated the bill's spending cuts would lead to 580,000 lost jobs in the healthcare sector. with a vote deadline now days away, graham and cassidy promised their states

"we are dying, and you are killing us with the bureaucracy and the inefficiency." >> mason: david begnaud who crisscrossed puerto rico today. the president said today his administration is doing a very good job in puerto rico, a view not shared by retired general russel honore. he led relief efforts in new orleans after katrina. michelle miller spoke with him. isrt you found here afterh, yeah. the number one priority is saving lives, and when you're saving lives you have to figure out what rules you're going to break palm the rules we live by are designed for peace time. >> reporter: and this is what? >> this is like a war. >> reporter: what was their first mistake? >> not giving the mission to the military. look, we have army units that go do port openings, not called. we have special forces that could have been in every town, not employed. >> reporter: has the u.s. government done anything write? did they learn any lessons from katrina? >> they did the predeployment. that was good. they got an all-government approach, that's good. but they don't understand scale. >> reporter: lieutenant

david begnaud filed this report from san juan this morning just as the storm hit. >>reporter: the building about 100 yards behind me, there are pieces of that building that have flown off and are now flying through the air like projectiles. this video was taken just outside of our hotel room, showing the force of maria's violent wins. it was enough for the hotel to order guests down to the lobby level. the region was still rebounding from the last storm, irma when maria rolled in. >> we've never had any back-to- back hurricanes before. >>reporter: yolanda has been without power since hurricane irma two weeks ago. now she's in a shelter in san juan. >> i passed through hurricanes, but this one, it's going to be very hard. >>reporter: eddie and his 11- year-old daughter are riding out the storm in a hotel room. >> we are trying to do the best we can to survive. >> you ca well. it's wood. >>reporter: we were with puerto rico's governor when he walked the streets yesterday, personally pleading with people to evacuate to a shelter. can the island of puerto rico survive

anthony. >> mason: david begnaud, thanks. federal workers have repaired air traffic control systems there, though there are still only a few commercial flights a day. and they've supplied diesel generators to hospitals, but dr. jon lapook, who is also in san juan, tells us providing medical care is a challenge. >> reporter: we met 36-year-old marcelina lopez as she arrived at the hospital today for a checkup. she's six months pregnant and after four miscarriages, worried about her own health and the health of her baby. every cramp is cause for concern. what was causing the pain you just had? she says there was no water or power in her house, and she became dehydrated. she fell during hurricane maria, and with many roads blocked, it took her two days to reach the hospital. here at central medico, the island's largest hospital, ambulances arrive, but not everyone gets to go inside. triage tents have been set up on a driveway because of spotty power and air conditioning. how long have you been here? >> i've been here for 20 year

david begnaud is in san juan. >> where's the army?here is the this is going to be a riot. >> reporter: more than 1,000 people slept in the airport overnight waiting for a flight. they had nowhere else to go. there were no cots, no water, children were bathed in sweat as their parents tried to keep them calm. >> my mother needs dialysis. we've been here 26 hours. >> reporter: there is a desperate situation at the san juan airport right now. are you aware of that? >> yes. >> reporter: puerto rico's governor has pleaded for more money from fema. so far $1 billion has been earmarked for recovery, but it's not apparent here yet. >> the quantity of the aid that comes to puerto rico needs to be consistent with the aid that would be provided anywhere else in the united states. >> reporter: puerto rico has been in the dark since hurricane maria slammed the island last week. 85% of the power lines have been knocked out. it may be months before they're repaired. today the head of puerto rico's telecommunication alliance wrote to president trump,

anthony. >> mason: david begnaud, thank you, david. it wasn't a missile this time. tonight, kim jong-un shot off his mouth calling president trump a "mentally deranged doter," and warning he'll pay dearly for his threats which you'll recall, include wiping north korea off the map. earlier in the day, mr. trump slapped new economic sanctions on the north, but his efforts to get kim to the bargaining table may be jeopardized by his threats to scrap the nuclear deal with iran. here's white house and senior foreign affairs correspondent margaret brennan. >> reporter: president trump wants to renegotiate the 2015 agreement that froze iran's nuclear program in exchange for lifting financial sanctions. >> that deal is an embarrassment to the united states, and i don't think you've heard the last of it. >> reporter: he wants a longer, more-stringent deal and is trying to force the issue by accusing iran of not complying with the terms of the existing deal, even though all five other signatories, including russia and china, say otherwise. so does the secretary of state. >> i

david begnaud is in san juan. >> what do you suggest we do? >> reporter: san juan mayor waded through the hardest hit streets of her city. >> this is the area called ocean park. it's got a little bit too much ocean right now. >> reporter: all around her, floodwater and devastation. >> it's very difficult. it's unfathomable. think of your worst nightmare, and there it is-- no power anywhere in puerto rico. no water. we have the reservoirs of drinking water have been depleted. diesel is very quickly running out. >> reporter: already, residents are trying to cope without power. outdated and fragile, most of puerto rico's power lines are above ground, no match for maria. some families resorted to cooking outside. is this all one family? a flashlight was their own source of light. ricardo ramos runs the island's power company. what are we talking, weeks without power or months? >> i think we're going to be talking about months. if we go back to history under hurricane hugo, it took six months to restore power to everyone. >> reporter: at this san j

david begnaud is in san juan. >> reporter: maria's blinding rain and vicious 155-mile-per- hour windsross this island just before 7:00 a.m. o buildings like they were soda can tops. it turned streets into rivers and debris into missiles. puerto rico's governor is telling people to stay calm, but he's warning that the island is on the verge of losing communication. in one neighborhood, 80% of the homes are destroyed, and the entire island of puerto rico is without power. maria already left a trail of destruction on the islands of the direct path of the storm. in puerto rico, floodwater rushed through guaynabo. people were clinging to each other in chest-deep water. after the winds calmed, we made our way in to tour the devastation there. piles of tree branches blocked roads. two women cleared the gutters by hand to prevent flooding. and the roof of 76-year-old carmen gonzalez's home of 35 years was partially ripped off.. s this is the same area the governoroured sterday, today, you can see why. nothing is left of eva herrera's second-floor home. we first found her salvaging food from t

anthony. >> mason: david begnaud in san juan. thanks, david. the president said today next tuesday is the earliest he can visit puerto rico without disrupting relief operations there. more now from white house correspondent margare margaret . >> everybody has said it's amazing the job that we've done in puerto rico. we're very proud of it. i think we're really getting really good marks for the work we're doing. so i think we've done a really good job. >> reporter: president trump said puerto rico's governor personally thanked him today for the federal response, but the president had been noticeably silent about the worsening devastation. last night, mr. trump sent his first tweets on the cries, pointing out that before the storms, puerto rico was "already suffering from broken infrastructure and massive debt." >> mr. president, these are american citizens. they desperately need our help. >> reporter: democratic senator chuck schumer of new york, the state with the largest puerto rican population, said mr. trump was not doing enough. >> he insis

anthony. >> mason: david begnaud in san juan. thanks, david. three days after a devastating earthquake shook mexico city, the death toll continues to climb. nearly 300 are dead, but some feared lost are still being pulled alive from the rubble. manuel bojorquez has one survivor's story. >> reporter: trapped under tons of debris for more than 24 hours, this was the moment rescuers first made contact with a woman named barely visible. "move your hand," the rescuer says. "can you hear me? there you are." the woman, a human resources worker, was at her office when the earthquake struck tuesday. "we'll get to you," he says. "hold on." rodrigo heredia chia is one of the thousands of amateur search-and-riskue workers who have trained for this type of disaster. what did you hear down there? >> "i'm here." just, "i'm here." >> reporter: people saying, "i'm here." >> yes. shocking, you know. >> reporter: shocking? >> yes, shocking. >> reporter: twice they had to leave paulina for their own safety as the rubble became unsteady, making the space even title

with more on that, here's my colleague, david begnaud. >> reporter: in a place that is surrounded by water, people in aguadilla are desperately looking for a drop to drink. some stood patiently at the fresh-water truck, hoping to get enough for today. many more cast their buckets here. at 8:00 a.m. friday morning, young children started lining up with their parents to get food. everyone was given a bag with four bottles of water and three snacks that the mayor say may have to last them two days. marie alda stood in line for hours. she left with four 16-ounce bottles. how badly did you need this water? "for my baby granddaughter, a lot. i have two more little girls at home," she said. mayor carlos mendez is begging for more. >> this is an emergency for god's sake. the food has to get into my people's hands. >> reporter: we met jimmie morales in line. maria ripped off the roof of his house and hundreds of thiz neighborss' nine days ago. today they collected their water in clorox bleach confairnz it's the only thing they had. many of the roads are still impassable, and the u.s. military

david begnaud is in san juan. >> reporter: anthony, puerto rico's governor told us there is food, water, and medicine just sitting at the port waiting to be delivered. so we went looking for it. and we found it. 3,000 shipping containers just sitting here since saturday with enough supplies to help a half a million puerto ricans. >> it's sad and it's frustrating. >> reporter: jose ayala is vice president for crowley shipping serviof rico. is there anything else you can do to try and move it out faster? >> there is no way, unless trucking companies start showing up. >> reporter: so we good the governor, jennife eric ebron. >> where are the bus drivers. they're under houses, their buses have been destroyed. we haven't reached communication so they can know we released all of the red tape. >> reporter: most of the roads in puerto rico is still blocked or damaged. and the entire island remains without po

david begnaud has that story. >> i don't know how i could ever repay you. >> you don't have to. you don't have to. we're here to serve you today. that's tman. >> reporter: howard holmes welcomed the generosity of strangers. 90% of his street has been flooded. >> you switch from everyday to survival mode. >> reporter: he moved here with his wife, theresa, in 2005, after their former house burned down. >> we're going to have another house. we're going to rebuild our life. this is houston. we're houston proud. we're houston strong. >> reporter: the men helping to clean out their home are local recovery volunteers. >> you need help, come out! >> reporter: but on monday, they were rescuers. >> yeah, right here. they need help. >> reporter: truett allen led his navy of civilian samaritans as they rescued nearly 200 people. >> thank you. >> thank you very much. >> reporter: like blawren blinton, who was carried away on her birthday. and along the way, they documented. there was the baby found floating in a fishing bucket. and this message from a woman who wrote to alan, "you saved my b

david begnaud was there. >> reporter: unless you're with the military, the only way to get to st.mas is by boat or helicopter. when we got close to the airport, you could see the vast devastation from irma. as soon as we landed we saw an elderly woman being evacuated. emt jacob bradley from arkansas told us all the critically ill patients are being airlifted out of the hurricane's path. >> it's been bad. we've had six patients laying in a restaurant because we couldn't get them to a hospital. >> reporter: even bradley and the other first responders are leaving. >> i would say it compares to katrina, definitely, if not worse. >> reporter: as you ride around the island, we found a lot of people who said, listen, i stayed for irma, i'm going to stay again for maria, but we have come across groups of people who said there is no way i'm riding out another storm. like dana neal. >> it's horrible over there. there is not a leaf. every tree is bent, buildings, houses, businesses, everything is devastated. >> reporter: but others like ken roy aren't leaving. >> we have paradise, but this i

anthony. >> mason: david begnaud with one of the first looks at the situation in the western part of puerto rico. louisiana congressman steve scalise, the house republican whip, returned to the capitol today for the first time since he was grievely wounde wounded n assassination attempt more than three months ago. our norah o'donnell was there when speaker ryan broke down in tears as he welcomed scalise back. norah's story about his battle back is coming up sunday on "60 minutes." but tonight, chief congressional correspondent nancy cordes has the story of the national homecoming. ( applause ) >> god blets united states. >> reporter: it wasave triumphant moment for scalise and an emotional one for his colleagues. as the house majority whip walked, on his own, into the house chamber. >> for what purpose does the gentleman from louisiana seek recognition? >> to speak out of order, mr. speaker. ( applause ) >> reporter: scalise started by thanking the heroes who saved his life. >> david, you are my hero. >> reporter: capitol police officers david bailey and crystal griner. >> when i was

david begnaud is there with what you can give survivors. why it may be taking so long. the governor just told us they're desperate for drivers. they s and water ready to go but i don't have people to drive to the stores. i asked the governor, what are you doing. >> we're literally asking anyone, bus drivers, commercial bus drivers, anyone who can drive a truck legally, help us, please. we need you to drive food and water to parts of the island that are desperate. now, you can't get there. the governor flew over and saw signs on roofs of those begging for help. fema, the man who's running the operation here told us they have 10,000 personnel and they've delivered aid to every part of the island, but people have come to us, people in the u.s. who said i want proof. show me it's being done. we asked fee marx tang us. will you takes through and get us video. they said yes. they promised us that today. we got a note it won't happen today. it will happen tomorrow. only 30% of the hospitals on the take for exam tell the one on san juan. here's wha

we begin tonight with david begnaud in san juan.eporter: six days after ancea hit with a vengeance, mayor yulin cruz is at her wit's end, trying to find help. >> i know that leaders aren't supposed to cry. and especially not on tv. but we are having a humanitarian crisis here. >> reporter: some survivors, she says, are facing a second brush with death. like other hospitals on the island, the maestro has no power. a generator powers lights on justwo floors. there's no air conditioning. jesus garcessoto's cancer took a turn for the worst the same day maria hit. his wife, lyssette. >> i'm trying to help him, you know, just in the night, trying to, you know, open the doors, the windows, but itt it's not easy. >> reporter: roughly half of the island has no water, and the wait for essentials is excruciating. sma says it has the supplies it needs, with more aid arriving, but there are huge challenges to delivering it. alex de la campa is fema's director for the caribbean. >> and because we are an island, s ere's no trucks or roads that we

david begnaud is covering that. >> reporter: it happened at 2:00 a.m. time, the first of two explosions lit up the night sky. by morning, a fire was still burning. a mile and a half radius around the chemical plant was evacuated tuesday after company representatives warped local officials their emergency plans had failed. ed gonzalez is the harris county sheriff. >> we believe the smoke is a nontoxic irritant. >> reporter: the company had backup generators. all of them failed. then refrigeration units in three of nine trailers failed. officials warn the highly combustible compounds, known as organic peroxides, were sure to burn as the temperatures rose, although they downplayed the harm. >> no one is in danger based on the fire we expect. >> reporter: arkema executive richard rennard defended the company's response. >> we believe at this point the safest thing to do is to allow the other eight containers, product in those to degrade and burn. >> reporter: we asked the company to provide us with a list of chemicals at the plant. they said they would. ns

david begnaud now on the dwindling supply. >> reporter: if you're running late, it may be too late. >> they got gas! >> reporter: gas stations operating on fumes are shutting off the pumps. >> no, we have gas for four more cars, and then we have to close. >> reporter: on south miami beach this afternoon, this texaco was the only place to buy fuel. how much fuel do you have? >> less than a quarter tank. >> reporter: and dana sappington and her husband, larry were the last ones to get it. >> living right, i guess. >> reporter: heading out of miami is michelle pineda, who is evacuating to tampa. >> all the gas station in addition miami are empty but as far as getting here so far, so good. so hopefully it stays this way. >> reporter: here's the deal-- a lot of the stations that had long lines yesterday are clear today because they've either run out of fuel or the people who owned the stations have just packed up and closed shop. today was nothing like yesterday, when this man had to push his car to the pump. he drove 70 miles looking for fuel. nearly 40% of stations in miami, and a quarte

david begnaud begins our coverage.rto rico's governor told us there is food, water, medicine at the port waiting to delivered. so we went looking for it. we found it. 3,000 shipping containers sitting here since saturday. with enough supplies to help a half million puerto ricans. >> it is sad, frustrating. >> jose is vice president for crowley shipping services of puerto rico. is there anything else you can do? to try and move it out faster. ? there is no way. unless trurking companies start showing up. >> we asked the governor. where are the bus drivers? >> the bus drivers are caught on their houses, their buses have been destroyed. >> reporter: most of the roads in puerto rico are blocked, damaged. and the entire island remains without power. another problem, fuel shortage. gasoline has become like liquid gold. and lineups to buy fuel for generators, stretch for miles. this is the third cardenas waited in line. >> can't get supply or food. there are places open selling food. we can't get to them. we don't have any ga

we begin with david begnaud in san juan. >> maria's blinding rain and 155 mile per hour, across thisbefore 7:00 a.m. and buildings like they were pops, and turned streets and debris into missiles. >> puertco telling people to stay calm. warning that the island, is on the verge of losing communication. >> in one neighborhood, 80% of the homes are destroyed. and maria left a trail of destruction, on the island of dominica. in the direct path of the storm. in puerto rico, floodwater through, and people were clinging to each other in chest deep water. after the winds calm, we made our way in to tour the devastation there. piles of tree branches, blocked roads. two women cleared the gutters and to prevent flooding. the roof of 76-year-old carmen gonzalez's home of 35 years was partially ripped off. devastated and broken she told us. this is the same area, the governor toured yesterday. pleading with people to leave. today, you can see why. nothing is left of eva herrera's second floor home. we first found her. she told us. despite the devastation, no deaths or injuries reported. so far. b

david begnaud is in san juan. that's directly in maria's path. >>> we're in washington where tax reform is huge for republican lawmakers this fall. on why they say major changes are needed. >>> plus u.n. ambassador nikki haley joins us with what comes next after president trump threatened to totally destroy north korea. >>> but we begin this morning with today's "eye opener," your world in 90 seconds. >> people are now just hunkered down and hoping this doesn't bring too much devastation with it. >> the tame to evacuate was yesterday. >> hurricane maria roars ashore in puerto rico. >> maria is a beast, okay? it's a dangerous, dangerous storm. >> a powerful earthquake struck mexico. >> people ran into the streets as buildings crumbled. >> rescue crews now facing the very grim task of digging through the rubble looking for signs of life beneath those collapsed buildings. >> we're going to kill every man, woman, and child in north korea? that doesn't advance the ball. >> they can't write this off as some red neck spe

david begnaud is in awe ga dia on the west coast where people still need a lot of help. good morning. >> we're on the western tip. the first person we met was the mayor. he said go anywhere. you'll see destruction. this is a place where they used to have weddings. it's blown out. water, people are running low on food. they've run out of water and lines to get gas stretch for more than three miles. desperate yet incredibly patient, puerto ricans stood in lean in the pouring rain waiting to fuel their cars and gas cans am what they've been through, the passing shower barely made them flinch. lines for resources is a daily thing here. they're running low on water. nine days after maria made landfall, she stood in line for water for a third day according to the mayor carlos mendes, who says his city has been devastated. >> do you need more help? >> of course, i do. i need more help. i need fema. >> reporter: entire towns are isolated by fallen trees and roads that are impassable. here the main bridge has been washed out, forcing families to wade through the river with garbag