that's where marianna atensio has been. give us a sense of what it's like right now. >> reporter: chris, the storm is a couple of hours away from the florida coast line, and just look at some of the damage that these wind gusts have already created here in miami beach. this is a pretty big tree that i'm standing next to completely toppled. again, this storm isn't even here. we saw similar trees like this on our drive over here. the storm surge is really the biggest threat for barrier islands, for coastal cities like miami beach. the beach is over here to my right, not very far away. if we are to get those estimated 15 feet of storm surge when this storm comes here to florida, thisle walking now is very likely to get flooded. if you see this is collins avenue to where i'm standing, to the back of me this is a street with a lot of power lines, a lot of trees, very dangerous for people to be walking around here. again, what we've been seeing in miami is because it's not going to get a direct hit from the storm, you're seeing p

that's where marianna atensio has been. give us a sense of what it's like right now. >> reporter: chris, the storm is a couple of hours away from the florida coast line, and just look at some of the damage that these wind gusts have already created here in miami beach. this is a pretty big tree that i'm standing next to completely toppled. again, this storm isn't even here. we saw similar trees like this on our drive over here. the storm surge is really the biggest threat for barrier islands, for coastal cities like miami beach. the beach is over here to my right, not very far away. if we are to get those estimated 15 feet of storm surge when this storm comes here to florida, this whole area where i'm walking now is very likely to get flooded. if you see this is collins avenue to where i'm standing, to the back of me this is a street with a lot of power lines, a lot of trees, very dangerous for people to be walking around here. again, what we've been seeing in miami is because it's not going to get a direct hit from the sto

msnbc's marianna atensio remains on the scene for us. marianna, what do we know at this hour?aig, they're bringing metal beams in to help with the rescue efforts. but before we continue with that, i want to introduce you to a mother and her daughter, she's 11, and she survived this earthquake inside the primary school. what were you thoughts when you heard about this earthquake and you knew your daughter was inside? [ speaking in native language ] >> she didn't find out immedi e immediately the entire school collapsed. so her sister came rushing to get you out. can you explain to me those moments and how you were able to escape and i know this is very hard for you. [ speaking in native language ] >> reporter: neighbors and friends helped me escape through the windows. what else did you see in your school? [ speaking in native language ] >> reporter: she saw that the entrance was totally blocked, craig, and there were children there as well. did you see any of your friends, do you know where they are? [ speaking in native language ] >> reporter: her friends were not with her. h