i have experience may hurricanes from the florida keys, _ may hurricanes from the florida keys, whichnd we are high and dry as— originally, and we are high and dry as far— originally, and we are high and dry as far as the county goes. i dry as far as the county goes. i have — dry as far as the county goes. i have experience may hurricanes from the florida keys, — hurricanes from the florida keys, which is where i am from originally, _ keys, which is where i am from originally, and we're just trying _ originally, and we're just trying to do our best. we. i know— trying to do our best. we. i know we _ trying to do our best. we. i know we could not have water or food _ know we could not have water or food coming in for several weeks _ food coming in for several weeks. ., ., ., ., weeks. how worried are you? you said ou weeks. how worried are you? you said you are _ weeks. how worried are you? you said you are a _ weeks. how worried are you? you said you are a veteran _ weeks. how worried are you? you said you are a veteran of- said you are a veteran of hurricanes, but every single foreca

you're going get bitten. >> reporter: back in the florida keys, leal and her team are working hard, usingls old and new to protect residents and tourists. dr. celine gounder, cbs news, marathon, florida. >>> and that's today's "cbs news roundup." for some of you, the news continues. for other, tune in later for "cbs mornings." and follow us online any time at "cbs news roundup." reporting from the cbs broadcast center in new york city, i'm carissa lawson. ♪ >>> hello, and thanks for staying up with us. i'm carissa lawson in new york. here are the top stories on "cbs news roundup." breaking news. striking boeing factory workers reject a new contract offer. the presidential candidates are battling over the battleground states. president trump is in georgia while kamala harris heads to pennsylvania. >>> and the pentagon says thousands of north korean troops are now in russia and could be heading to ukraine. >>> we're getting late-breaking results of a vote by striking boeing workers on a proposed new contract offer by the airplane maker. after six weeks on the picket lines, boeing workers vo

i've also experienced many hurricanes from the florida keys — hurricanes from the florida keys which cannot have water or food coming — we cannot have water or food coming in _ we cannot have water or food coming in for several weeks that— coming in for several weeks that we _ coming in for several weeks that we are prepared for that. how— that we are prepared for that. how worried are you? you say you are a veteran of hurricanes, but every single forecasts suggest this one is going to be huge. i do realise that. my grandparents - going to be huge. i do realise that. my grandparents went l that. my grandparents went there — that. my grandparents went there andrew with no shutters on their— there andrew with no shutters on their house and barely survived _ on their house and barely survived. since then, every house— survived. since then, every house my— survived. since then, every house my parents have had, they put extra — house my parents have had, they put extra money it to reinforce it and — put extra money it to reinforce it and we — put extra money it to reinforce it and we are a

now this is a live look at key west, the southernmost point of florida. sta key as a category three storm. look at this. >> people are just horsing around. that guy appears on the wall right there, left of your screen. >> key west, good bit south of the most intense part of the storm, but still stay away from the water. obviously the storm started moving in hours ago, bringing high winds, heavy rain, a lot of tornadoes, more than a couple of dozen reported tornadoes around florida as a result of this storm that hit the tampa sarasota area as a category three, it will weaken from there. >> of course, that's dangerous situation that we continue to monitor. that is going to do it for this edition of abc seven news. thank you for joining us. >> i'm on the daetz and i'm dan ashley for sandhya patel. chris alvarez, all of us here. we appreciate your time. hope you have a nice evening and we'll see you again at 11. >> i'm reggie aqui i'm lyanne melendez, i'm luz pena, i'm tara campbell, i'm j.r. stone at abc seven news we ♪♪ from the alex trebek stage at sony pic

and battering the florida coastline from the keys to the north storm's direct path. a destructive life threatening storm surge is expected along florida's gulf coast and milton is set to make landfall somewhere between modera beach and venice, that would be around 10:00 p.m. eastern time or slightly after. maybe through midnight. and that span puts them scarily in the middle and businesses are bracing for the worst, mott just the residents. more than 235,000 commercial properties are in the path of the storm. the total estimated value of those properties: $1.1 trillion. pox weather bob van dillen is live on the ground. describe the situation you're seeing. reporter: yeah, liz, we shifted further south and we're in cocoa beach, florida, which is a space coast and a bit south from where we were. if you look behind me we've got series of squalls coming in and they're on the east side of the state of florida. that's atlantic ocean and this is a huge storm and into where i am and the middle part of the florida coast and atlantic side and multiple torn

storm warnings for the fayette, the glades, monro, the fayette, the glades, monro, the florida keys ande a hurricane watch and a tropical storm watch and a tropical storm watch in jefferson, watch and a tropical storm watch injefferson, baker, watch in jefferson, baker, union watch injefferson, baker, union palm beach, so basically the entire peninsular portion of florida is under some type of florida is under some type of storm watch. the florida management is actively fulfilling 1000 missions to support our local communities, that includes everything from tiger dams and generators, to staff support as well as food and water and tops. we've also deployed more than 11,000 feet of flood protection systems and we are prioritising critical infrastructure like hospitals, waste water... we've also done things like generators to support and special needs. starling internet, all counties have access to these devices and can use them as they see fit. more than 350 ambulances are in operation. we also have another 134 in staging can be usedif another 134 in staging can be used if the need arises

he's a chef who was in the florida keys helping with the sea scouts program when things started getting pretty hairy because of hurricane milton. >> the people i was working for, they're on high alert. so it's a really it's scary out there right now. everything is getting pretty serious out there. >> vargas decided to drive to miami and fly back to the golden state. >> it's very stressful. i'm a california boy. i'm used to being out here and hurricanes are new to me. >> but vargas continues to worry about his family and friends. >> my cousin in cocoa beach, my other cousin in west palm, my friends in sarasota and tampa, cape coral and it's just a little bit south of sarasota. >> gigi allen and her family evacuated from cape coral near fort myers. >> we're in cape coral, right there. so they're saying it's hitting or about to hit somewhere right in here because all the local airports were closed. >> they headed to miami to catch a flight to sfo. the allen family used to live in the bay area. after what happened during hurricane helene, they didn't want to take any chances. a coconut tree

neil: key west, florida, southernmost point of the united states of america. ook at key west and what is happening on the west coast of the state, the east coast of the state, not that wide if you think of it before you get to all points north in the panhandle, about two and a half hours to drive across the state east to west. therein lies a substantial difference in the conditions and the wind. having said that, most of the state will experience at least 50 mile-per-hour winds which is why so many parks are closed. brian brenberg and his colleagues get is going.

went to islamorada in the florida keys. one of his favorite sports. bone fishing. the elusive bonefish that he would go after. what are you guys doing here? we are covering you, sir. great britain was standing there. where are you folks from? -- for years to come. in the middle of the floor, he traveled to the desert of saudi arabia thanksgiving lunch with the troops, we found ourselves out to a ship in the persian gulf. somehow, this light jacket, and all this other equipment, i was shoved right into the face of the president. what are you doing here? on one of the many trips to kennedy buckboard, everyone in the white house press board really enjoyed so much. my wife, kids, and i, were standing on the dot. this is one of the faster places. they rolled up in the boat. he said, what are you doing here? >> you talk about his foreign- policy expertise. nautical atlantic magazine several years ago. which described bush as one of the three great modern foreign- policy presidents. franklin roosevelt and dwight eisenhower. for me to stop in and see him, i brought a magaz

so areas in tallahassee, florida all the way down to key west florida will have some impacts. the wind from this storm is it grows and size, and there's still debris lying around in some places from the last hurricane. talk about that. tell us about that. and that's a significant assert, daniel, because what happened with that is one with a search committee that's going to push that all over the place. right? but it's the wheels take up. those can become project house and possibly cause more damage to places all around the coast and needed parts inland as well too. so unfortunately, i don't think there's going to be enough time for the crews to pick up all that debris left over from a lead from all the flooding of those homes along the coast line between now and when they still want to make land fall. we're talking late wednesday night early thursday morning, eastern central, eastern time here in the dotted states when that stronger again. so they're running out of time to get those preparations done. now just briefly, if you can, these are to really huge storms hitting for it

lee county and tropical storm warnings in western columbia and okeechobee, monroe including the florida keys. we have hurricane watch. then a tropical storm watch and the jefferson madison columbia, st. lucie, martin, palm beach and miami-dade so physically the entire peninsula portion of florida is under some type of watch or warning. emergency management addressing related requests fulfilling close 1000 missions. generators and staff support as well as food and water and parts and deployed 11000 of flood protection for critical infrastructure like hospital school of wastewater treatment facilities of electrical infrastructure can be done things like generate support social needs sheltering operations and sterling enjoyment and access to sterling internet devices and use them as they see fit. 350 ... and they are in operation and another 144 and savings that can be used. the state of florida a massive fuel reserve is utilized as needed. we currently have 268,000 block 110,000 pounds of gasoline and they are less than 24 hours ago because of football and an additional 1.2 million gallons of

after he was president elect, before he took the oath, he went to iowa mirada in the keys, in the florida keys for one of his favorite sports. do you remember what it was? bonefish gone fishing. the elusive bone that he would go after and he looked up at the dock and he saw standing. what are you guys doing? well, we're covering you, sir and there was someone from great britain who was standing there, and he said, well, are you folks from and. well, we're from london served in the u.s. said in a in a quote that reporters for years to come. do you think margaret bush would you think margaret thatcher would like some of this bone fishing action. well, the in the run up to the gulf war traveled to the desert of saudi arabia. i was on that trip and he had thanksgiving lunch with the troops in the desert. and then we found ourselves chopper ring out to a ship in the persian gulf. and somehow with this life jacket on and all this other equipment in the rush of it, i was shoved right the face of the president of the united states, and he looked at me and said, what are you doing here. and one of the

succession, in 1988, after he was president-elect, before he took the oath he went to an aisle in the florida keys where one of his favorite sports, do you remember what it was? bone fishing. the elusive bonefish that he would go after and he looked up at the dock and he saw standing there, what are you guys doing here? well, we are covering you, sir. there was someone from great britain who was standing there and he said, well, where you folks from? we are from london, sir. he said in a quote that reporters uttered for years to come, you think margaret thatcher would like some of this bone fishing action? >> [ laughter ] >> in the run-up to the gulf war he traveled to the desert of saudi arabia and i was on that trip and he had thanksgiving lunch with the troops in the desert and then we found ourselves chop ring out to a ship in the persian gulf and somehow, with this life jacket on and all i was shoved right into the face of the president of the united states and he looked at me and said, what are you doing here? >> [ laughter ] >> and am one of the many trips to kennebunkport which everyone in

gilchrist, western columbia western alachua, okeechobee glades, hendry, collier monroe, including the florida keys and the dry tortugas. we have a hurricane watch for nassau duval, clay, saint johns, putnam flagler, volusia, brevard, indian river okeechobee, glades, hendry, collier, dry tortugas, and then a tropical storm watch inland. jefferson madison, hamilton, eastern columbia, baker union, bradford, eastern alachua, saint lucie, martin, palm beach, broward and miami-dade. so basically the entire peninsula portion of florida is under is under some type of either a watch or a warning. the florida division of emergency management is actively addressing storm related resource requests. we are currently fulfilling close to 1000 missions to support our local communities. that includes everything from tiger dams and generators to staff support. as well as food and water and tarps. we've also deployed more than 11,000ft of flood protection systems, and we're prioritizing critical infrastructure like hospitals, wastewater treatment facilities and electrical infrastructure. we've also done things like

joining us now, republican congressman carlos jimenez, his district in the florida keys, expected to be the first impacted by hurricane milton's storm surge. congressman, thank you very much for being with us. this morning. i do want to note that you also, before joining congress where it career firefighter and paramedics. so you have looked at these kinds of incidents from a variety of angles what is your message to your constituents at this hour as the storm approaches? and what are you most worried about? >> well, for my constituents, we don't expect to feel the brunt of the storm keywords. so probably be, be the most effected something like what happened with helene. i think we have like maybe up to three to five feet of storm surge and i think that's something that keeps west can can handle. but you, don't need to prepare for localized flooding on the other hand, the tampa bay down to fort myers areas, depending on where that the i actually makes landfall. it's going to make all the difference in the world in terms of the, the height of the storm surge. and so my, message to tho

that shading of pink and watches for tropical storms intensity across the big bend and into the florida keyss but this is what the area we're really focusing in on tampa bay in particular, we know this area so vulnerable. here's the official forecast track. this is important. it has slowed down considerably since yesterday when we were talking about the storm. and we do anticipate a land landfalling major hurricane sometime late wednesday into early thursday morning now, so that's stalled well by about 12 hours, very important information there as well in terms of the preparation ahead of the storm, this is the first initial storm surge forecast from the national hurricane center. i'm going to point this out eight to 12 feet near tampa bay. that is higher than the actual realised storm surge values from hurricane helene, not to two weeks ago that set record values here for this region. so we know that there is still destruction and debris on the ground. so this is something to consider as well. it's raining already ahead of the storm, flash flooding will be a major concern along with the tra

we've got tropical storm warnings in effect all the way from the florida keys up through miami, the southeast coast, and then hurricane warnings in effect for much of the central portion of the peninsula, just going to see a vast area of impacts and again, impacts that are going to last several days. you think of those power outages, the wind damage, the trees that are going to go down. and especially concerned about that i-4 corridor, tampa, orlando daytona beach is seeing potentially some of the most severe impacts for multiple hazards. >> what are you looking at in terms of rainfall totals yeah rainfall totals are going to be pretty extreme in some areas, especially along. >> and just north of the track, we could see up to 18in of rain in some isolated locations. and again, this area you see here in pink is our highest level of risk for flash flooding that we could see play out from wednesday into thursday. and that again includes that tampa, orlando daytona, ocala widespread rainfall totals of 5 to 12in, with the potential for significant flash flooding across much of the florida peninsul

comments, obviously keen not to offend the wide puerto rican diaspora in the state of florida, but also in other keyell. there's a big puerto rican community in new york, but also in the swing states of pennsylvania. but also in the swing state of pennsylvania. and that, i think, is key to examining whether or not these comments will really make a difference. i think, you know, we have to remember that trump a very long time now, for many years. people know that he himself has made controversial comments in the past that people associated with him have made controversial comments in the past. so, i think whether or not these comments will be enough to necessarily make a big difference is yet to be seen, but certainly i think where there is potential for it to make a difference, as some of those states where the race is a lot tighter and where there is a significant puerto rican community, some of whom and not all. republican politicians have criticised the comments, obviously keen not to offend the wide puerto rican diaspora in the state of florida, but also in other key states as well. there's a bi

is set to visit florida sunday for at least 17 people are confirmed dead and the devastating aftermath of hurricane elton. milton made landfall as a category 3 storm wednesday siesta key, florida. nearly 2 million people are still without power and president joe biden says the estimates indicate there has been as much as $2 billion in damage. unix now is democratic congress women kathy castor of florida representing the tampa area which was definitely right there in the middle of everything happening thank you for joining us. >> thank you for joining us tell us what is that you are hearing from your constituents about what they will need in order to recover and rebuild and also what they are hearing in the way of disinformation. >> thank you for checking in on the tampa bay area. we are grappling with a widespread catastrophe all along the west coast of florida. helene was over two weeks ago it flooded out hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses and now milton with this really harsh one two punch milton is letting out people who live along rivers. they are still cresting. continuous water rescues going on search and rescue. widespread power outages. it is diffic

hurricane milton, which made landfall last night as a category 3 storm near siesta key, florida, carving a path of destruction after slamming along that state's west coast and bringing a life threatening storm surge and flash flooding. right now milton has downgraded to a category 1 storm with maximum sustained winds at about 85 miles per hour. the hurricane battered the state with a number of dangerous tornados that destroyed an estimated 125 homes. in st. lucy county a tornado proved deadly, killing at least two people in a mobile home retirement community. the sheriff there now says that his county is in 100% rescue mode. extreme winds also tore down traffic lights, scattered debris acrossroadways, and sent a crane as you can see here, into a building. over 3 million homes and businesses are now in the dark after widespread power outages were reported. joining us now live from orlando is nbc news correspondent priscilla thompson. priscilla, good morning. could you give us the very latest as to the conditions there and what the latest is on the ground? >> reporter: yeah, jonathan. so l

hurricane milton is set to slam florida and this is just the beginning of it there in key west and youve ron desantis, the governor of florida, you can see here they are setting up for an update from him and we expect that any minute now and bring it to you. wanted to show you something that i think will help you understand just how big the storm surge is going to be. janice dean said this is also going to hit at high tide. that's a big deal. to get yourself in the mindset, you know the wind will happen no matter what. it is the storm surge and the high tide that could be a big problem. i didn't know this but a stop sign is on average five feet. that's kind of hard to believe. then you could look up here at this traffic light, 17.5 feet. basketball hoop just ten feet. the average car about 5.9. bill hemmer could see over that. i could not. then you have this. here is a home. when you are at five feet that's already in your living room. you get to ten, 15, 20 feet and your house is fully under. that's where all the warnings are coming and the governor will give us an update in a little

on hurricane milton which last night made landfall as a her -- category three storm near siesta key, florida following a day of heavy rain and at least 27 tornadoes touched down. difficult for floridians who have lost so much. i was briefed by the fema administrator along with more than 1000 fema personnel. there are significant water and wind damage across central florida. as of this morning over 3 million customers are without power, structures have been severely damaged and collapsed, and tragically we know that lives have been lost. we are praying for them and their loved ones. right now, search-and-rescue is our highest priority and we are also praying for those who are unaccounted for for their safe return. it is very significant that many follow local guidance and evacuated ahead of landfall. we cannot minimize the impact of that. it is imperative that everyone continues to follow the direction of local officials. milton may have passed, but the danger it poses has not. downed power lines, floodwaters, non-potable drinking water, and debris are creating deadly conditions. keep listeni

steve bender is right and i believe in need of key -- low-key florida is really one of the key barriersarasota but steve how do things look there? >> neil, your flock -- great math hour and half our fort -- i-4 tampa to orlando it -- we've seen the major backups, but, yes, were at lido key when you and i were talking like we were talking about helene phiri on the carolinas this is what it love in the week here in florida, these barrier islands when you look at the terms have been completely guarded. to all of this debris still lies in its wake him helene. this tech on existential storm surge and we talk about -- is expecting to get up to 15 feet to imagine all of this debris that here now likely to be taken miles down the road and this has been a widespread concern not only in this barrier island but so many of them like siesta key and the silent -- other ones around sarasota, tampa and even north of here. when you look at this in so many people's livelihood that has been ripped apart. without concern of up to 15 feet of storm surge we've seen even people today making sandbags, want to

as you heard here, hurricane milton making landfall in siesta key, florida, just south of sarasota, happened 830 eastern time with winds of 120 miles an hour. a category three storm. this is now a category two hurricane, as you would expect. making that inland push or making it to track across land. so winds right now down to 110 miles an hour. moving to the east northeast at about 16 miles an hour. but here's a closer look at milton making that push. as you can see, once again now as a category two storm. and look at these wind reports, a lot of these centers are now down or just not reporting. but tampa, that's a current wind gust of 83 miles an hour. so the hurricane warnings and tropical storm warnings in place. the storm surge that is a key concern, potentially of 9 to 13ft. and that's the basically happening right now. as we talked about the landfall earlier, those excessive rainfall amounts as well. so we'll keep an eye on the updates. and of course we'll have the visuals first thing tomorrow morning. take a look at the highs here in the bay area. our headline for us, we cooled off qu

tropical storm watches extend further south and north through southwest florida and the keys, and alonge florida division of emergency management is actively addressing storm-related resource requests. they're currently in the process of fulfilling 850 missions. they have deployed everything from sandbags to shelf stable meals, to tens of thousands of water bottles to thousands of tarps. we have sent truckloads of food and water to central florida in preparation for points of distribution site, subsequent to the storm hitting. we're also coordinating the deployment of more than 2,000 feet of flood protection systems and prioritizing critical infrastructure, like hospitals, waste water treatment facilities, and electrical infrastructure. we have generators deployed to support special needs sheltering. we also have star links deployed. in areas that have asked for that, more than 200 ambulances, and more than 30 para transits are in central florida, ready to support first responder operations as appropriate. state of florida is amassing fuel reserves ahead of milton, and staging it to be

this was near siesta key, florida, as a category three hurricane with 120 mile an hour winds widening. the picture her. multiple watches and warnings in effect, the biggest issue right now is the flash flooding that is ongoing. current stats 90 mile an hour winds 125 mile an hour gusts. it is moving to the east northeast at 16. but as i mentioned, still a cat one expected to weaken further as it moves out over the atlantic by friday, becoming a depression. it is going to continue to dump more rain and cause more severe flooding across the region. we're talking 8 to 14in, up to 18in in isolated spots. the storm surge 6 to 9ft in the highest locations. this is going to be one for the record books. let's take a look at some of the stats. damaging and devastating, without a doubt. 93 to 105 mile an hour wind gusts have been reported. rainfall over 18in saint petersburg. dozens of tornadoes, 2 million people without power. you can see all the storm damage there. over 130 reports there, and it has been raining. it has been windy. you can see a live view right now and this is what it looked

i have a bookshop in key west, florida, we pretend we are not in florida, but we are.chers and librarians who come into the bookstore and talk to us, often with-- tearfully. they tell us what it is like to have to give up the books, give up the classroom libraries, give up the public libraries, no books on the shelves in some cases. it is really scary. it is really dangerous, and it is terrible for the young people, more than anyone else. >> that is absolutely right. the rest of us can get access to books, but when they are not in school, when they are not taught or in the public libraries come you are really robbing people, jason, an entire library of exposure. we have covered so many different adaptations, marvel adaptations on the velshi banned book club . most of them source material. given your relationship, it almost seems like judy sort of passed the baton to you on this one. tell us about this. >> you know what, i would like to believe so. judy did not know she was doing that. i have been fortunate to have conversations with judy, and i have also been fortunate

michael presley bobby is a resident of cedar keys, florida, and joins me now. badly were you hit by hurricane helene. >> hi, stuart. thanks for having me. this was the most devastating storm in the history of cedar key. hurricane idalia had the record of storm surge and come some areas over 12 and total devastation and all the commercial buildings destroyed and half the homes inundated with water and the town is absolutely demolished. i'm here at the food bank. we're boarding up the windows here in anticipation of the next hurricane. so having already survived the three most powerful hundreds the island has ever had in 13 months, we're feeling punchdrunk. i don't know how much more our island can take. stuart: jd vance is disappointed with the federal response. what's it look like on your island? cedar key is an island. you don't rely on tourism? >> we have the unique distinction of the only coastal community where tourism is not the primary income. we're clam farmers and fishermen and like our guests coming on the weekend. we like you to come for the weekend, s

this was near siesta key, florida, as a category three hurricane with 120 mile an hour winds widening. the picture her. multiple watches and warnings in effect, the biggest issue right now is the flash flooding that is ongoing. current stats 90 mile an hour winds 125 mile an hour gusts. it is moving to the east northeast at 16. but as i mentioned, still a cat one expected to weaken further as it moves out over the atlantic by friday, becoming a depression. it is going to continue to dump more rain and cause more severe flooding across the region. we're talking 8 to 14in, up to 18in in isolated spots. the storm surge 6 to 9ft in the highest locations. this is going to be one for the record books. let's take a look at some of the stats. damaging and devastating, without a doubt. 93 to 105 mile an hour wind gusts have been reported. rainfall over 18in saint petersburg. dozens of tornadoes, 2 million people without power. you can see all the storm damage there. over 130 reports there, and it has been raining. it has been windy. you can see a live view right now and this is what it looked

it just made landfall near siesta keys and florida as a dangerous category 3 storm. this is a live picture. wow, you can really see the power of the winds there. the outer bands caused major damage earlier in the day. the aftermath of a possible tornado that swept through the fort myers area earlier. the storm knocked down trees and caused some flooding as well. this is a look at the street flooding in orlando, taken from somebody's front porch just before 5:00 local time. and take a look at these dark clouds in tampa. a place that's managed to avoid every major hurricane for the past 100 years. tonight, that's expected to change. i think sometimes when you hear a storm decreasing in strength from category 5 to 3, you have a false sense of security. this is still a dangerous storm, right? >> and anything category 3 and above is a major hurricane. it's 110 miles an hour and stronger. the fact the peak winds have decreased, well that's a good thing if that is all that happens. but as they decrease, the wind fields will spread out. so you're getting them even a larger a

and people on florida's east coast are also preparing for the worst. hurricane milton made landfall near siesta keyust south of central florida on florida's central gulf coast on wednesday night. with winds of up to 120 miles per hour, the storm roared ashore as a major category 3 hurricane. storm surge alerts remain in place, and the national hurricane center says milton will continue bringing devastating rains and damaging winds to many parts of central florida throughout the night. by thursday morning, it will then move out to the atlantic, but not before creating significant damage and life threatening conditions. more than 1.5 million people are without power, and emergency responders were suspended in the tampa bay area for the safety of police officers, firefighters, and other emergency workers. this region has not seen a storm this powerful in more than 100 years. rain is falling at up to three times the normal rate throughout the tampa bay area, significantly increasing chances of flash flooding. we have cbs news teams stationed throughout the storm zone, and we start now with cbs' cristia

florida's nature coast, tropical storm hone check stands further south and north through southwest florida and the keysng portions of the florida panhandle. visual of emergency management busy facilitating hundreds of research request for communities as we prepare for the impacts. we have already sent major truckloads of food and water to central florida in preparation for points of distribution sites after the storm. we are also coordinating the deployment of 2,000 feet of flood protection systems and prioritizing critical infrastructure like hospitals, wastewater treatment facilities, in electrical infrastructure. we have deployed flood barrier around water pumping station and fire station in hillsborough and more in route to the courthouse in charlotte county, hospital inc. is to, master pump station and community resource center in hernando county and employee generators to support special needs sheltering operations. and of c of starlink and all counties have access to that an employee more as needed. 200 ambulances and more than 30 paratransit in central florida. foot print ready to support first

the florida state record for the most rain in 24 hours is in the keys. 23 inches. florida on the flash flood warnings. this magenta color is a flash flood emergency. we know we have high water through this region know there's water rescues that will be needed once the winds died down enough which may not come till sunrise. this is exiting quickly. by 8:00 a.m., the storm is off the coast. it's south year of i-4. not too far away from orlando. this is where the heaviest rain has shifted. it's also windy and nasty up to volusia county. orlando has the heaviest rain right now and i'm sure the wind gusts are picking up along with it. the high risk of flash flooding continues through the night. we still are watching the water rising in ft. myers. we crested in naples. the water is going down. five foot water in the streets and in the buildings in ft. myers. in tampa, the water is low. in east bay, they had an anti- surge. the opposite of the water coming in. it dropped five feet. people can see the bottom of the entire bay by the shoreline. now, the water is creeping ba

florida. here's a live look this morning from key west, florida. you can see high winds moving into the region. the outer bands are already affecting the coast. and of course, there are evacuation orders this morning and tampa officials saying anyone who decides to stay is risking their life. the two main concerns right now debris still left from hurricane helene, which hit the area less than two weeks ago, and a potentially historic storm surge that could reach up to 15ft. >> say you're in a single story home. 12ft is above that house. so if you're in it, you know, basically that's the coffin that you're in. >> some evacuees are staying in georgia, where there is now a storm shelter. >> we are so grateful that the atlanta motor speedway has opened up their facilities to allow evacuees to come. worrying about my family and my friends back home is the worst part. >> some of the last flights out of florida landed in san francisco last night. relieved travelers told us they are so glad to be out of the storm's path. >> luckily, the hurricane slowed do

it's world of disaster and so we make choices and those things happened randi kaye, cnn on siesta key, florida this week, president obama told black men it's quote, not acceptable to sit out this election. some democrats right now worried about the vice president's standing with black mountain voters. what more can the campaign do? we're source with kaitlan collins, weeknights at nine he's coming in the driveway for leukemia i hope she lives along great and that she will never forget how mom and daddy loved her st. jude this is what's keeping my baby girl save lives by supporting st. jude children's research hospital for just $19 a month. you'll help us let's continue the life-saving research and treatment. these kids in need now. and in the future cancer makes me felt hangry laying not like feel on the outside. >> the strange sight i'm angry when your kid is hurting and there's nothing you can do about it that's the worst feeling in the with cancer in the u.s. >> will not survive the host pat donate to st. jude. hope that you continue to give the afternoon so much for me. but happy credit car

florida has. what we see in key west, a couple hundred miles away where the storm will come ashore. you can imagine what it will be like in places like sarasota, fort myers, tampa bay win this thing gets close. speech is speaking of which, by the way it will have a guest joining us shortly who has decided along with his wife to hunker down in their home in sarasota, john. he is in one of the zones that was not mandatory. he is 15 miles inland from the coast, however, as you can imagine, they will have severe impact on this hurricane. he will tell us how they are preparing. he will join us shortly. >> john: no question in folks that far in the land will have problems as we witnessed last year but they fix all the to orlando. we will talk with mayor jean brown but unfortunately his town in the manatee river off of the coast is literally in the bull's-eye of this area here just to a about the barrier islands, john, ford in these areas outside of tampa are a huge focus. they could take a direct hit from the hurricane. that is where we find the weather storm specialist mike seidel. he is

this is about 30 miles off longboat key and florida. the coast guard said that he had gone missing on wednesday. it was out there trying to repair is it then lost communication with the coast guard when the hurricane intensified. rescuers say without that cooler wearing a life jacket, it likely would not have been able to stay afloat. >> at least 16 people have died in that massive storm. more than 2 million floridians. they're still without their power. federal teams are on the ground to help with the aftermath. and president biden. he plans to travel to the state this weekend. our washington correspondent hannah brandt has more. >> in the aftermath of hurricane milton, president joe biden is making a promise to those impacted by the storm are doing everything we can. >> and that you have to back up the pieces get back to where you were. president biden says the focus right now is on restoring power and removing debris. fema crews are on the ground in florida coordinating with local officials on recovery efforts, fema and the rest of t

. >>> hurricane milton, a category 3 storm, made landfall less than an hour ago in siesta key, florida, which is just south of tampa bay. joining me now from tampa where residents have been bracing for a magnitude of storm unseen there in a century is nbc news correspondent stephanie gosk. stephanie, what can you tell us? i can see from the shot the storm is whipping around and there's a lot of rainfall. what can you tell us about where you are? >> reporter: sure, alex. you know, we are really feeling the brunt of hurricane milton right now. and while tampa bay may not get the surge that would have made this historic and even catastrophic, this is going to do a lot of damage. what we are experiencing right now in the city of tampa, we have winds at times gusting as ferociously as 100 miles an hour. we have torrential rain falling for hours. we were speaking with bill karins, meteorologist and he said actually they're reporting 2 to 3 inches of rain an hour in tampa. you're looking roughly up to a foot of rain falling on this city that has already experienced the rain and flooding and s

milton made landfall near siesta key florida as a category 3 storm. that's about 70 miles south of tampa. it weakened to a category one blew through the state and moved offshore. >> this was the scene in the tampa area. there's an assisted living center with seniors. emergency teams used boats to carry some of those stranded to safety. the mayor of tampa saying this morning, fortunately the port of tampa was not heavily damaged. it's a major part of the energy infrastructure. there. emotions force was so strong. it shredded the roof of this stadium. that's home to the tampa bay rays baseball team. >> some residents of starting to return to their homes to survey the damage and begin the cleanup. many still recovering from helene just a few weeks ago. we got our fingers crossed. we're praying to the lord that answered our prayers and i going to give us a break where the surge is, what we're really concerned. voice, you know. >> and several airports across the state were also damaged by milton and currently remain i'm kareen wynter. we'll send it back to

several of those communities along the west coast of florida is still trying to recover from helene's devastation. this right here is video from longboat key, florida. this is just south of milton's current forecasts kostin landfall, helene storm surge sent water and sand into homes and onto streets there as you can see, joining us now is the fire chief for longboat key. paul desi, chief. thanks for being with us. you have urged residents. you did this yesterday, leave as soon as possible, beat the tuesday traffic. our people here you're warning. are they doing this more than they did in the last hurricane? a couple of weeks ago i think they are. >> we went ahead and make sure that they knew about this early on to give them a chance to leave the island is olmo kids 11 mile island and we were devastated by helene and now we have this so milton behind us the fact that there's debris still from helene, does that pose jose a specific threat when you're talking about wind and storm surge, is that an additional threat? that's a huge threat for us right now. we have 24 hour operation going on with the debris contractors. and our landfills are ope

florida's nature coast tropical storm watch extend further south and north through southwest florida and the keys and along portions of the florida panhandle. vision of emergency management is busy facilitating hundreds of resource requests from communities as we prepare for the impacts. we've already set, sent major truckloads of food and water to central florida and preparation for points of distribution sites after the storm, we're also coordinating the deployment will stand to the latest update from florida's governor ron desantis as the as that state now preparing as for another major hurricane to head towards its west coast. this is just less than two weeks since there are still starting continuing to clean up from hurricane helene less than two weeks ago. let's get over to cnn's derek van dam, who's been tracking this all throughout the morning. now a category for and the governor made clear being 51 of the state's 67 counties now under have now a state of emergency declarations. >> and here we are now staring down a category four monster, right? the beauty of the technology we have availa

important safety information at inspiresleep.com >>> hurricane milton has made landfall in siesta key, florida. i want to go back to jesse kirsch who is back live from sarasota. how is it looking? >> reporter: look how calm it is, it is eerily quiet. the trees are barely moving, i can barely feel a breeze. this is the eye of hurricane milton, it officially made landfall. we are in sarasota. what you're seeing is the city, expecting area for the climate team the worst of what we are going to see is still the come. despite that i have seen more cars on the roads, people running their engines, making light of the situation, there is a false sense of security because out of nowhere when the eye passes, we will be getting high-speed winds and we still have not seen any indication from where i am, with the bay over there, the storm surge has rushed in. this is a very much evolving situation, people watching and seeing live pictures of the wind and water all day, milton is directly overhead. i will stop talking to see if you can hear with us, we can hear birds chirping. that is the sound here, nothin