laila santiago joins us now. what's the latest? >> reporter: well, john, these winds are certainly still strong. rain is coming down. take a look at debris behind me in front of the hotel where we are staying. this is really what we're seeing all over this area. debris on the ground. i'll bring you over here, as well so you can see how the buildings are holding up. that is an apartment complex that is really struggling. it has not held up all the way. you can see where windows have come down. it's sort of stripped it of some parts of the building, despite the attempts from residents. what appear to be some pretty solid attempts with metal roofing and boarded windows. that did not hold. let me bring you down over here so that you can see also some of the businesses in this area. the hard rock cafe. i know we're wiping the lens here for a minute. and that's because of all this rain and wind. the hard rock cafe actually the sign is down on the ground. part of the sign is down on the ground. there is a tree that has come down right in

laila santiago, negotiating with police to do her shot.ve we seen so far in terms of what was predicted? >> pretty much right on the money. this thing landed on the southeastern coast of puerto rico. the american model and european model had this within five miles. i don't think you can get better than that. let me zoom into this latest satellite picture. if you weren't with us earlier, the radar went out in puerto rico when a heavy band of weather moved right over it. right now that radar sight is there. they don't have time to fix it. they are seeing significant weather. tphubg peyton walsh there. what concerns me about nick, not that we don't have a shot. we send this man he every bad place a hurricane is going to hit. he said today this is the worst he's ever seen. that's a big deal. winds 115 miles per hour. they will last for hours. that's the thing. here is puerto rio. everywhere you see white, that is over the entire island. everyone on this island will likely see wind gusts well in excess of hurricane strength and many in excess o

i want to get to laila santiago. hello to you. hurricane irma is battering the caribbean. you're in san juan for us. what are you experiencing? >> reporter: things continue to calm down on the northern coast of puerto rico and a lot of people feeling lucky. i actually spoke to a gentleman from fema. and it's still some problems that will come as a result, fallen trees that will need to be taken care of and that will be a big one, don because it's not just three days, we're talking possibly weeks or months and there could be the flooding that comes as a result of this already on the eastern part of the island. they are talking about the damage this has caused and rescue crews have had had to go in to get dozens of people to save them really from flooding in homes as well as cars and then there's something else worth mentioning. the federal government, the u.s. federal government has declared not only a state of emergency but a health care emergency. so they'll be getting more resources to help out on that end as well, don. >> all right, thank you. we appreciate that. i want

next to laila santiago, what conditions are expected in the hours ahead? >> well, we are starting to feel the winds really picking up here on the northern part of the island, abandnderson. i could sort of feel the fear among people as i was out and about today just at the stores as people were trying to get their hands on waters. stores selling out of power generators, batteries. and you know, a conversation that sort stuck with me when i talked to one woman in a store and i talked to her about the hurricane that was coming. and she corrected me and said, this is not a hurricane, this is a beast. those are the words that are being used to describe what is coming this way. beast, historic, catastrophic, devastation is what they expect. and this is on a caribbean island. an island that is somewhat used to, as much as one can be, to tropical storms and hurricanes. this is something that they know how to deal with. but i tell you, there is a level of fear because as the governor said today, this is something, a storm, a hurricane, of a magnitude they have neve

laila santiago, thanks. joining us on the phone is florida senator marco rubio. what is your message tonight to the citizens of florida ahead of this storm? >> the message is to heed the local and state officials asking them to evacuate from certain places, you know, and obviously a lot of people in florida have lived through multiple storms but it's a state that's always growing. lot of people that are new and perhaps have never lived through one of these. this is a catastrophic storm if its worst-case scenario. the other point, not just southeast florida, such a big storm and uncertain track even at this large area that large swaths of the state from the east coast to the west coast of the state could be deeply impacted by this, so you worry about storm surge on coastal areas, you worry about a lot of people on the roads getting on there too late, getting stuck on the road in the middle of the storm coming in so i hope people will heed the warnings and, look, right now it appears, at least in southeast florida what i've seen the last couple days, that mobile mo

lai laila sapeyla santiago is in pu rico. >> reporter: asth maria ripped through the island of puerto rico, this is what she left behind. the first images of utter devastation 10 miles west of san juan. a cat 4 hurricane, residents trudging through floodwaters to reach their homes. many without roofs. to got around here, four-wheel-drive, kayaks or walk like mr. guzman. rescuers are going home to home finding anyone who needs new shelter. they were fighting back tears after firefighters and the national guard reached her 84-year-old neighbor. 16-year-old had grabbed their s dogs and left to find help when the water got too high. >> i'm scared what's going to happen now to us. where are we going now? >> it's difficult but at least they're alive. >> once at the evacuation shelter, some safety. a new feature ahead already filled with uncertainty. >> thanks to leyla santiago now. joining sus is ricardo romeo. thank you, governor. >> good morning to everyone. we have been receiving partial information. still part of the island is lacking communications. we have preliminary assessments abou