this is miami beach. it's gorgeous. he here's the problem. these people, many of them are tourists, but they should not be here. this is a mandatory evacuation zone. there's a window of about 24 hours. in about 24 hours from now, this beauty belies the beast of hurricane irma, which is coming this way. it is no longer an if. that is the word from noah, it's obviously the national organization that is going to monitor what happens with this. it comes from the governor and the fema federal government side. everyone's saying it. it's no longer if. it is when irma gets here and how. so, if you're in a mandatory evacuation zone, it starts to become incumbent upon you to take that decision seriously and get o out. if you decide to stay -- and the government can't really force people to leave, at least not in an effective way -- you have to make sure that you have enough supplies for about 72 hours, water, food, obviously, but also batteries and things where if you have a need, you can fulfill it yourself. the f

also, we spoke to the miami beach commissioner who told us that miami beach right now 60% of its power grid totally out. 95% of power lines are also above street level, so you start to see those shaky power lines also can be potentially deadly for anybody walking around at this hour. so the next couple of hours here are going to be really critical in places like miami beach, a barrier island with a mandatory evacuation order, people should not be driving around, should not be walking around because it is really worsening by the minute. i just want to pan over to my left here. just look at this street, it's a ghost town, but it's almost like out of a horror movie. i want you to look at how the palm trees -- >> wow. >> -- are moving. it looks like they could go down. i mean, just look at this one behind me driving down the street. here in miami beach we saw a tree that there are went down but we're starting to see [ inaudible ] -- and even power lines above me right now street signs very wobbly, the wind has picked up, and again, you have the atlantic ocean about a quarter mile from wher

down in miami proper, around miami beach, we had eric van damme. his shot went down. ne of the realities of dealing with storm surge. wplg showing you miami in real time but let's show you derek van damme's last hit so you can see what they're dealing with in the famous ocean drive area. this is the least of the worst. >> reporter: chris, i feel like i'm feeling the backwash of a jet engine. it just stings every time these gusts come through. it's picking up sand from south beach, about 150 feet to my left. look what is happening to these trees behind me. you can see how they're getting bent over. some of them have xloelt snapped. there's flooding in front of me from the heavy rain bands and i don't need to state the obvious here but we are officially in hurricane conditions. we have fisher island just to our south, a mile to our south, they're reporting 79-mile-per-hour sustained winds. gusts higher than that, 80, 85. i'm going to pan this way with my cameraman. you have to see down ocean drive. that is dangerous. we're protected here, just so you know. that street si

not only in miami beach but also to miami. alex, let me show you this. you're looking out at the open atlantic right there. this is an area called government cut. it is an area that was dredged out. fisher island, which is there where the buildings are right behind me, that used to be a part of miami beach but this was cut through to bring the cruise ships and all of the other ships that are bringing all the loads of, what am i trying to say, cargo ships to those cranes that are right there. then that's downtown miami beach. so the reason i wanted to show you this is the water is about two or three feet higher than it should be and it's one of the places we're going to be watching for this storm surge as this storm continues to push toward the north on the western coast of florida. we'll still get these giant feeder bands of storms and wind, which will push this water higher and heavier into this area. so we're here just to keep an eye on the high water for a moment. let's tell you what's going on with this storm because this has been a big deal. if you

seeing right now behind me kind of the calm before the storm. >> so all of those beautiful hotels in miami beachfontainebleau and those historic hotels and wonderful condominium buildings, everything along the beach, along the atlantic, everyone is -- those buildings are being shut down? everyone is being told to get out? what a night mayor, because as you know, a lot of senior s liv in those buildings as well. how do you get them? >> we've been working on this in advance. focusing on our homeless, senior, special needs population and making sure we offer special assistance. buses are picking people up at certainly locations across miami beach to take them over to shelters. also we have a trolley system taking them to specific stops to get ton 0 to buses. doing everything we can to accommodate and ensure safety of all residents and few remaining visitors on miami beach. >> where are the shelters? are there enough to accommodate all of those people? you have a huge population? >> wolf, we don't have shelters on miami beach. you can imagine, we're a low-lying barrier island. the shelters we have a

>> the people in miami beach and miami said first responders can't get out.meone watching can try to get a hold of that man, he is clearly in harm's way. we appreciate you calling the county commissioner or town commissioner. check in with senator bill nelson joining us by phone from orlando. senator, as i say good morning, we have to remember, this is a very early stages of this event. i don't know if you're getting to see the images we're seeing, this is only going to get worse as it moves through your state. that's when the relief effort will happen a day, two days, three days from now. in your discussion with federal officials, are they prepared to give your state what it is going to need? >> yes. first of all, i want to give credit to you all. you've got it pretty well analyzed in your coverage. your coverage is good. what has happened, this has shifted from an east coast of florida hurricane to a west coast, and where lester is in tampa and those bays coming in like tampa bay, like just north of fort myers, charlotte harbor, with the eye just off the co

i'm john berman in miami beach.lduan starts now. >>> thank you both so much. hello, i am kate bolduan. hurricane irma closes in and millions of floridians brace for impact and race to get out. the chilling warning from the state's governor today. everyone in florida, the entire state, needs to be prepared to evacuate. here is why. that huge swirling cloud of power. that is irma. it is

you can't hunker down from storing surge. >> viewers around the world have been to miami beach, south beach, go up a bit along the coast towards the big hotels, the fontainebleau, belle harbor. is it pretty much evacuated? are you seeing cars still staying put? >> reporter: look, it's nothing like it is, if you come down here for a weekend in miami beach and you're used to the scene down here. it's nothing like that. but it's not empty. i mean, you see people jogging by. you drive down the streets and will see -- there's a guy on the bike, just rode by right there. you see people pushing a stroller from time to time. nothing's open. in miami beach, nothing's open at all. none of these hotels are open. none of the restaurants are open. couldn't find a single store open on miami beach. all closed, but there are still remnants of people here, and it could be a very difficult few days for them, wolf. >> john berman. we'll stay in very close touch with you as well. stick around. don't go far away. >>> a quick break. up next a brand new forecast coming in from the national hurricane center.

anyone trying to get in and between miami beach and miami is not happening. those bridges and streets are closed, because of all of the hazards here, john. >> reporter: ought. kyung lah at miami beach. this is the heaviest rain we've seen, raining really hard here right now. back to chad myers in the weather center. chad, this has been going on for hours and hours and hours here in miami. >> reporter: it has. and more hours to come, because there's one big heavy band just to your south that's going to rotate up to you. but just to the north of there, a little more imminent up here, fort lauderdale, a tornado on the ground at ft. lauderdale airport that came off the ocean as a water spout but onshore as a tornado. if you're just to the north and northwest of that airport, i need you to take cover. more than you're taking cover now. stay away from windows. that could certainly tear sithis up. we saw a tornado near palm bay, quite a bit of damage, at least an ef 1 tornado there. possible all night long in this entire box right there, john. >> all right, chad mye

let's go over to miami beach. we've seen a lot of bad weather, good morning. >> reporter: there's flying debris there. that's precisely what makes this situation so dangerous, for residents. this has been boarded up, part of that awning was ripped apart from the wall. you also see a lamppost behind me, that also came down moments ago. the situation is worsening by the minute. you still have tropical storm force winds, hurricane strength winds powering into this barrier island. even though it is not a direct hit, it is incredibly dangerous and violent. i want to pan left. i don't know if you can make out how bad the street looks here on collins avenue. right now, looks like something out of a horror movie. i don't know if you can make out palm trees over here behind me. it is really picking up, very strong, storm surge, powerful winds. that is the biggest concern for residents of miami beach. the mayor of miami beach calling this a nuclear hurricane. again, if it is not a direct hit, people shouldn't take it lightl

you hearder the mayor of miami beach saying all week this is a nuclear hurricane for miami beach. there are smaller islands around here. the one guy we just spoke to the last hour lives on an island that is smaller than miami beach. so, again, for people that have decided to not evacuate, officers are still patrolling the street and making sure that they can do that, but they will be taken off the streets pretty soon when these winds reach 39 miles per hour. >> and a lot of those people that have decided to stay on the smaller islands, only one bridge connects them to the mainland, who knows what sort of the status of those bridges is going to be after the storm drives through southern florida. they could be stranded there for days maybe up to a week or so until they can get that infrastructure back in place to make it safe for them to driver over. marianna, stay safe for us and we'll talk to you soon. >>> and just north of miami, the city of jupiter is preparing for the worse. joining us by phone is jupiter's mayor, todd ruska. we've been speak to go officials throughout the cour

>> the people in miami beach and miami said first responders can't get out. i hope someone watching can try to get a hold of that man, he is clearly in harm's way. we appreciate you calling the county commissioner or town commissioner. check in with senator bill nelson joining us by phone from orlando. senator, as i say good morning, we have to remember, this is a very early stages of this event. i don't know if you're getting to see the images we're seeing, this is only going to get worse as it moves through your state. that's when the relief effort will happen a day, two days, three days from now. in your discussion with federal officials, are they prepared to give your state what it is going to need? >> yes. first of all, i want to give credit to you all. you've got it pretty well analyzed in your coverage. your coverage is good. what has happened, this has shifted from an east coast of florida hurricane to a west coast, and where lester is in tampa and those bays coming in like tampa bay, like just north of fort myers, charlotte harbor, with the eye just

but we have not heard of any major injuries or iftalities here in miami beach. >> just hold on one second whereby because i want to bring in john berman, who is right next door in miami. and i want to keep both of you with us right now. but berman, tell us about where you are right now? >> i'm in the wind, jake. the wind is gusting pretty fiercely here. i'm in miami close to downtown miami right now getting some pretty fierce gusts. two things happening in downtown miami we need to tell you about. kyung law out there in miami peach, not getting storm surge. in brickell, water waist-deep in some areas there. and starting to flood the streets. the wind just pushing the water up into the streets. and behind me i don't think if you can see right now, the jetsties. the water lapping up the dock right there. there are all these docks you can't see. and the water creeping up ever so slowly here. the other story here in downtown miami is the wind. all over getting reported wind gusts of 100 miles per hour in the tops of high rises. and that now has had a consequence. this crane collapsed or crack

===next close=== >>> back here in miami beach. with al roker. wind are picking up. rain not here. es tracking look like? >> still holding steady. 155 mile per hour winds. 315 miles south east of miami. but it has slowed up. westerly wind at 12 miles per hour. and the track of the storm brings it along the northern shore of cuba and then, right before it makes landfall, sometime late tomorrow, sunday morning, early sunday afternoon. it becomes a category 5. and continues to traverse up the spine of the state. >> you will be keeping an eye on it. we will both be on "tult day show" and full coverage as we work our way through this thing. full coverage on msnbc 'round-the-clock. appreciate you spending part of your evening with us. that's nightly news for friday night. again much more coverage from florida tomorrow. for now, i'm lester holt. on behalf of the nbc news team in florida and around the world. thank you for watching. good night. from here on out -- take cover and brace for the wors >>> writing now at 6:00 do the warnings and evacuation orders. >>> the news at 6:00 starts rig

60% of the power grid is completely out in miami beach. i don't know if you can see some of these power lines behind me, he said 95% of the power lines, telephone poles -- it's all above ground it's an old structure compared to miami. so that's a real safety hazard in the next couple hours. he also told me that first responders cannot do anything right now for those people that need to get to safety hp he said there's nothing we can do. the wrath of irma is being felt here in miami beach and she's not here yet. he said we have to ride it out for the next couple of hours. also telling me flooding will be the biggest concern here as the storm surge is about a mile to my right right now, i don't know if you can see and our cameraman is doing the best he can, you're seeing the wind here in miami beach. it is going to be incredibly dangerous for people in the next couple hours. >> i know you said you're a mile off the water. you're talking about the atlantic? >> the atlantic ocean, correct. it's about a mile to my right. this over here, ocean dr

i'm john berman in miami beach. at this hour with kate bolduan starts now. >>> thank you both so much. hello, i am kate bolduan. hurricane irma closes in and millions of floridians brace for impact and race to get out. the chilling warning from the state's governor today. everyone in florida, the entire state, needs to be prepared to evacuate. here is why. that huge swirling cloud of power. that is irma. it is one of the most dangerous storms on record and so big it is going to swallow the state from coast-to-coast. now, consider this, it dwarfs what was previously the state's worst storm. hurricane andrew hit in '92. right now, irma is hitting cuba. this is what happened to the r turks and caicos. we have the direct hit that came to barbuda where every building has been damaged or destroyed. that's what the prime minister said. widespread damage. one woman describes the terrifying experience they lived through. >> the winds, i can't begin to tell you the zinging. that sound. it was just all encompassing. it really

miami beach is seven-miles long and one-mile wide.eted $400 million to lift about half of miami beach roads two feet higher, to lay as much as 80 miles of storm pipes hooked to pumps, and to build up seawalls as much as five feet. those walls designed to keep the water that's pumped out from flowing right back into the city. >> anybody who says global warming isn't happening is an idiot. >> reporter: it's a phenomenon facing coastal cities from miami to boston. and on the west coast, from washington state down to san diego. still even with irma on the horizon, the mayor of miami beach knows the limitations of preventive efforts. >> we've done everything we can to protect against flooding. with a hurricane of this strength, the potential tidal surge could be 8, 9, 10, 12 feet. >> reporter: this is what storm surge looks like -- >> reporter: likely worse than what we saw during hurricane matthew in jacksonville beach, florida, last year. and many people in the storm's path don't have flood insurance which is sure to be a problem once ir

this was fully, fully expected that miami beach would flood. miami beach is now flooding. more on that in a minute. back to migel getting whipped, he was there, maybe get him back. migel is in florida city, florida, where the road from key west, from florida keys comes in to miami. that's where a lot of first responders from the florida keys are. they decided to vacate the keys yesterday to be ready to go in ahead of residents that evacuated or to evacuate people in there. key west and florida keys, marathon, places like that are 5 to 10 feet above sea level at their height. u.s. 1, the only road in and out of the keys is at its highest, ten feet above sea level. we are looking at 10 to 15 foot storm surge. once you get out of the keys, you end up in florida city, which is why we pay attention to where migel is. he is in an area where people haven't necessarily evacuated. it is possible the florida keys have more people in it from normal because of first responders from the keys. >> reporter: yeah, ali. as a matter of fact, we know that the road going into the keys is bloc

miami, pink flamingos moved indoors. all 3,000 animals will shelter in place. now with the storm less than 16 hours away, normal bustling coastal communities including famed south beach virtual ghost towns. kerry sanders, nbc news, miami. >>> i'm gabe gutierrez at miami international airport where today emotions ran high and patience ran out. this woman separated from her luggage when her flight was canceled, her chemotherapy medicine inside. she and thousands of tourists stranded in south florida as irma takes aim. >> i don't know what to do. >> reporter: manuel and his family aren't sure where they'll ride out the storm. >> i'm extremely worried. i have two kids. i need to take care of my family. >> reporter: over the last few days miami has had almost double the usual flights to get people out, american, delta and united all adding extra trips. >> we're working very, very hard to accommodate thousands of people coming through here. >> reporter: after stranded travelers spent the night here -- >> we've been here through katrina, wilma, nothing really frightening as this. >> reporter: this afternoon hundreds were bused to emergency shelters. >> i want to reiterate t

as we were talking about power outages, 60% of miami beach, power grid is down according to to miami beach commissioner. he told me the biggest concern is the strength in which the wind is moving the water inward and that's going to pose the biggest threat to the area in the coming hours and days. i've lived here before and it can flood the beach very, very quickly. it's going to be very dangerous and much worse. >> thank you very much. impossible to know exactly what the situation is, but when you look at the parking garage and it's empty. you have to think it's because people evacuated even though the storm shifted west ward, this could be dangerous to leave your home even on the east side of florida, certainly down south around miami, miami beach, until tomorrow morning. be very aware of those high winds. the beginning of the eye wall starting to affect the keys, those winds whipping up 130, 135 miles per hour potential there. i will repeat what emergency management officials on the keys have said to us. i am terrified for all the people still there right now. we're keeping our eye

these green explosion down miami beach. 90,000 people without power now, chris. that's 20,000 more than when we last spoke just a few minutes ago. so more and more people losing power throughout the morning. broward county, just north of here, 90,000 people are already without power. and we can't say this enough. the bad stuff hasn't even come yet. it is going to get worse. so already the impact is being felt from hurricane irma. in a lot of ways, chris, what we're getting here, you're going to see it and see it much worse in just a few hours. >> so from 170 to 190, that puts it at 300,000 at least across the state without power. as you were telling me yesterday, it's not just about how many, it's about how long. of course, we'll be measuring every type of different impact the storm has, but the people matter most. when you were getting over there this morning, and of course it's so early here, zero dark 30, but are there still people around? do you get the sense that there are going to be more people exposed here than there

sam champion there for us in miami beach. sam, stand by. we would like to come back to you later, of course. >>> msnbc's chris hayes has also made his way to miami, as well. chris is going to be airing a special "all-in" tonight, 8:00 eastern. you were there last year as well for a special report on the conditions that make miami uniquely susceptible to hurricane damage. good to see you, my friend. what did you find? >> reporter: you know, miami, when you look at analyses of what parts of america are most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, particularly sea level rise, miami is right in the cross-hairs. the reason is, almost all of miami-dade is only ten feet or lower above sea level. huge amounts constructed and dredged. so when you get a really big storm surge, which is a real concern in places like south beach, you already have sea level rise. we came here, and we looked at them fighting back the water on sunny days. take a look. >> less than 9% of miami-dade county is greater than 10 feet above sea level. >> reporter: adding to

i just spoke to miami beach commissioner again and he said that more than 60% of miami beach power grid is down and now is when it becomes very dangerous for first responders to be out here monitoring people. we've seen debris flying around all morning long. they're urging residents to hunker down in their homes and to take shelter because the next couple of hours as this category 4 hurricane, the size of the florida peninsula, pounds our state over here, you're going to feel it everywhere. just because it isn't a direct hit here in miami beach doesn't mean that it is not dangerous, if not deadly. so again, in these barrier islands, it's really where a lot of the vulnerability will start happening in the next couple of hours. the wind and the gusts, rain picking up incredibly hard in the past couple of hours. back to you guys. >> the city of palm beach putting out a tweet saying we can't respond. it's not safe for our first responders to get out in the storm, so hunker down. >> let's go down to florida city, which is south and a little bit inland of miami and that's where we find miguel

miami beach, high winds and rain are lashing the beach. hurricane irma is 22 miles south of miami and barrelling toward the florida coast after literally flattening a number of caribbean islands. the storm has been downgraded to a category 3, but the officials warn it could restrengthen. janice dean tracking irma from the fox extreme weather center. this weakening to a category 3, is that meaningful as far as the impact or splitting hairs? >> it's splitting hairs because it did interact with cuba and made a landfall in cuba and we expect weakening once it contacts with land or water. and we're expect it go to intensify and perhaps rapidly in the next 12 to 24 hours, we could have a strengthening storm as it potentially makes landfall on the florida keys. 125 miles per hour sustained winds, it still has its shape, it's not going to take much to bump this up again and that's why i want folks not to let your guard down just because you see a 3, still a major hurricane and this is a big storm. and look at this, expecting to strengthen in the ne

city of miami beach is under a mandatory evacuation order. the mayor has said this is a nuclear hurricane we're facing. >> i know. it might not be the smartest thing, but we're still doing it, and it's quite cool that ocean drive is totally empty. >> reporter: ken is referring to sort of this very touristy area of miami beach, which looks like a ghost town. i'm still surprised to find people like you who decided to stay. any chance you will change your mind? there are real risks at hand here. you may lose power. you may not be able to be rescued. are you aware of that? >> yes. we feel 100% comfortable with our decision. we'll find out by monday if we made the right one. we live in a great place that's strong. it's a condo. it's a strong building on the island. i think we're 100% safe. i'm not the slightest bit worried. >> reporter: ken lives on venecian island. it's a smaller island that connects. we're talking barrier islands here. hard to get to for the fire department if anything were to go wrong. have you ever experienced a category four

and some cases, including pets as well. >> in a place like miami beach, or just miami itself, if it is before power is restored in some area, before gas stations are able to open, before supermarkets are able to open? >> i think citizens of south florida need to set expectations that power can be out for days if not weeks in some areas. the first thing that happens you have to get the debris out of the way. you have to make sure that the roadway is sound enough to support power crews coming in from power companies to be able to restore the lines. it takes time. i know it's frustrating. routine is about to be stalled for many daps or if not weeks in south florida. >> no terms of manpower, how stretched are you? you have harvey you have already been responded to. i'm shurp you are taking some assets from there and jose coming as well. >> two major hurricane events, it does put a stress on staff and resources but we're fully positioned. communication not only with president trump and governor scott and our state and local partners has been strong and the bottom line is, is that i feel tha

this is saturday morning here in miami beach, it's normally packed here. we've seen a few stragglers here and there. they're concerned about what lies over the bushes, it's the beach. it's not very far away at all. what the city is worried about, and what the fire chief was talking about is the storm surge. even though the eye may not pass right over miami beach, the concern here today is that people are going to see that forecast and think -- we can come back to miami beach. that is absolutely not the case. as the day progresses it's going to get worse here. want people to stay off the roads. in fact, the fire department is in the process of moving all of their rescue vehicles, the great majority of them off of miami beach. because they are anticipating, there's going to be major flooding. that people are going to be trapped. that they are going to be on their own. we're seeing a wind gust that are exceeding the limit of what's miami beach considers safe for their first responders to go out in. once it hits 39 miles per hour, chris, they say they're not go

ask your doctor about prolia®. >>> we're back here on miami beach.off, give us a late tracking update here. >> okay. still 155 mile-per-hour winds, category 4. however, just before it makes landfall on sunday, late morning or afternoon, it will be a category 5 coming across the keys. but again don't focus on the center. look at the cone of uncertainty. anybody within that cone a possible strike. >> and it's a lot of people. al, you'll be with us all weekend. nbc news will be with you all weekend. i'll certainly be here in the morning on "today" and then full coverage around the clock on msnbc. thank you for watching. i'm lester holt. for all of us at nbc news, our team on the ground across this region and around the world, thank you for watching and good night. looking for a hotel that fits... whoooo. ...your budget? tripadvisor now searches over... ...200 sites to find you the... ...hotel you want at the lowest price. grazi, gino! find a price that fits. tripadvisor. born and raised incian, dr. rrural virginia went to vmi. seriously wo

sam champion for us in miami beach. irma is closing in on florida, but right now it is 90 degrees and sunny in miami, which is not helping with the urgency that some people need to understand about this storm. let's go right back to jacob who is standing there. what have you got, jacob. >> so when we last were talking to you all with katy tur in the last all you all had met doris, the woman who is down here wait tg for her son to pick her up. obviously we see the miami beach fire department is still checking in with her. i'm back here with lieutenant paul johnson who has told me basically through some intelligence we have gathered. this is a building with senior citizens, but doris thinks there might still be people here, but if you go up to the door, it's sand bagged. the door is locked. there's no doorman. >> yeah. so basing off of what misdoris has told us is that we know this believe to be, it's like a subsidized housing and a lot of elderly do live here. she's saying that there is still people inside and normally th

we have thousands, 91,000 people live on miami beach in the city of miami beach. we're talking about hundreds of millions if not billions of dollars worth of construction, infrastructure. you have elderly people that have decided to ride out the storm as we brought to our viewers earlier today. there's still some people that have decided not to leave this area. if and when that storm surge hits this area, the entire miami beach which is like i said, essentially, it is an island, could end up under water. that's the big concern be p the concern is getting people out in time. the good news is the local police department, miami beach fire department, ocean rescue has been out here all day long driving up and down this beach. telling people to get out. that somewhat they are saying today which is after 40 miles an hour winds the local first responders are not going to be out in tropical storm winds. you're on your own. if anybody is watching this, they are in the miami beach area, it's time to get out. it was time to get out a long time ago. it is only going to get mo

there's a bridge out to miami beach. miami beach is particularly low lying. it's one of these barrier islands, mandatory evacuations over that whole island. that has been a cause of particular concern now. the entire run up to hurricane irma making impact. our kyung lah is out on miami beach, one of the few people, hopefully, still out on miami beach. kyung, what are you seeing out there? >> well, we're seeing the same sort of winds out here. sustained winds now. and we're just starting to hear from the miami beach fire department that they're responding to some calls. calls of fallen trees, trying to get to some of that. the reason why is the winds are picking up. you can see in the trees here you can see that palm tree over there some of the palm prawns have broken off. look down there it's a branch of the tree. this is what we're beginning to see here. so wind is a concern. the other concern here and that's something you see over here, the businesses are concerned about the wind but also the storm surge. it's the storm surge here because it is low lying th

that's the mayor of miami beach. we wish you the best for the coming days. h for your time. that's the view there in miami in florida. three raf flights have been despatched to the caribbean as the government steps up the relief effort to the british overseas territories that have been devastated by hurricane irma. a royal fleet auxiliary ship which has delivered six tonnes of aid to anguilla is now travelling to the british virgin islands, where a state of emergency has been declared. it follows criticism that the uk hasn't respond quickly to the disaster. duncan kennedy reports from raf brize norton. the first raf flight from britain left at lunch time ahead a nine hour journey to the caribbean as the world's military response to the crisis gets under way. the loading operation at brize norton included tents, water and medical supplies. 30 pallet loads at first with more to come. everything from readymade meals to an industrial refrigeration unit. around 70 royal marines are also on board with a range of skills and experience of working in disaster areas. t

on the phone now with jimmy morales, city manager for miami beach. jimmy, thank you very much for taking your time to speak with us this morning. >> my pleasure. >> are people abiding by that curfew. >> most people are. people are abiding. we're making sure the beaches are clear the streets are very clear. always one or two people who come out. by and large people are respectful and they're smart enough to realize you want to stay out of the elements right now. >> what is the biggest challenge, now, for you, jimmy, would you say. >> well, you were talking about the complacency issue. the biggest challenge when you're xenlting a potentially category 4 storm, but a strong tropical storm with hurricane gusts people think it's okay to go out and come back to the city, come back too early, there's still threats out there, there's still storm surge, power outages, potential flooding, tornadoes that get spun off by these storms. maybe the worst avoided us, but there are still dangers out there, hunker down. >> absolutely there are so many elements at play. y

the mayor of miami beach joining us by phone.up, we will look at the turmoil in at the gop following donald trump's surprise deal with the debt ceiling. this is bloomberg. ♪ >> this is "bloomberg markets: balance of power." the camera maker gets a vote of confidence on wall street. a reporter joins me now with a look at the company this afternoon. strong message from the ceo saying that the company is going to be making changes. the stock got a pretty great debt -- boost last week. they have been counting the table on with the new strategy has been. this quickly went from a favorite to the dog in the past year. they are trying to change things, cutting margins. there were layoffs as well. this was coming from and oppenheimer analyst. he redo -- reiterated the ratings saying that there are targets being set. let us jump on the terminal. this is over the past two years. this gives you an idea of how the street has changed its mind. bars urban analysts are saying to sell. when analysts were saying to sell. this is the pickup. price

this is parts of miami beach. i want to listen in. this is the weather channel. >>> downtown miami area. look at the waefs crashing over the sea wall. look at this in front of me. we've had some of the pavers here that have dropped down because of the force of the water. we're seeing that happen and lost about 20, 25% of the decking. there's a board walk on the other side the sea wall. other than that is correct we haven't had a tremendous surge. i think it's up a couple feet. based on where 9 water was yesterday, 4:00 or 5:00, it's come up a couple feet. but the wave action is amazing. remember, we're not getting the full brunt. imagine what the waves are like on miami beach and fort lauderdale. we also have port miami behind me off to the east, kind of blocking the wave action. not blocking the wind by no means because we're still gusting above hurricane force. we had that gust an hour and a half ago of 100 miles an hour. we've got a long way to go. but one thing is for sure. it won't get much worse than this here. the it's just goin

so we have many, many shelters all across miami-dade county there is no shelters actually on miami beachroughout miami proper, we have many of them. we actually have shelters for folks that want the take their pet, that are designed for those. so people who are listening that have pets, take your pets. we have certain shelt ertz. we also have of course we're making sure that our seniors are taking care of, our special needs people. we have buses on emergency routes to pick them up at preassigned areas. and we have trolleys that will take them to the bus stops. >> mr. mayor, of course the focus right now is to get the human beings, to get the human beings, get them all out of miami beach. but once that is done, hopefully fully completely everyone goes, what are the other areas of focus right now for you when it comes to preparedness for irma? >> well, we've been doing a lot in the last five, six days. everything from bringing in portable pumps, portable generators, clearing out construction sites. we have a sandbag program for residents of miami beach. we've given out thousands and thousa

i am in at the southernmost point of miami beach. already starting to feel these hurricane-strength winds. as experts were telling you before, miami is expected to get winds up to 100 miles per hour. you can see here by the minute, chris, it is very hard to stand on the street. a street that is usually crowded with people that looks like this. so again, not a place where you want to be at right now. emergency management also telling me, of course, there's a curfew in place for miami beach. a barrier it's a barrier island where no one should be walking out on the streets and they're saying save for a few homeless people, everyone is hunkered down, of course, we're out here but it's our job to be out here as it has been all morning long. chris. >> how long is that curfew? place? >> he says that for now -- for now, throughout the morning and he said that we're going to see the worst of it throughout the morning toward noon here at miami beach. for now the curfew is in place it's been in place overnight, couldn't really tell me when it w

give me a damage assessment of miami beach. >> miami beach, we didn't dodge a bullet.dodged a cannon. we have trees down. we have electrical cables that are down. we have a couple of gas leaks. we have fire rescue, public works, crews clearing it out making it safe for all the residents to return to the barrier island. >> reporter: you don't want anyone back until tomorrow. >> we need their patience. it wouldn't be safe for their families. they wouldn't be able to drive. we need their patience until tomorrow as fast as possible. >> reporter: curfew is still in effect? >> curfew is still in effect. >> reporter: mary levy. the wind was blowing 90 miles per hour where i was, where you were. how are things this morning in hollywood? >> reporter: similar to miami beach. we are still under curfew. public works and public safety and contractors need to come in and start clearing roadways. we are say city of 150,000 people. 30 square miles. every traffic signal is out. we're working full speed for people to get to work. we have to assess it ourselves in order to better direct

that's north of miami beach, on the east coast of florida. this thing is projected to hit even more strongly on the west coast. it could still take a turn. we know irma is hugging the northern coast of cuba right now. all forecasts have it taking a dramatic right turn and moving up through the florida keys around marathon, slightly to the south of marathon and then heading up the western side of florida. look at the winds, though, already at 8:18 in the morning. we have 24 hours to go until this may make landfall on the peninsula of florida. the keys are going to get hit before then. it will be dark in the overnight hours when the florida keys get hit by this hurricane. again, ft. lauderdale, florida -- there are still people standing out there. whether or not they have plans to evacuate we will see. as we look at key west, palm fronds certainly bending. that is very deceiving. key west is right in the path of this storm. so again you see the gray skies. it's going to get horrific by comparison to what we're seeing now. we have another 12 hou

i'm joined by the mayor of miami beach as well as former miami herald report er. has kored numerous hurricanes here in florida. we have folks here in south beach this evening. >> absolutely. >> a lot of people with their phones out getting a last look. how, when you look at a map and we've talked before about the susceptibility the flooding, it looks like this could be rather bad for south beach. >> no question about it. it's a very severe hurricane. we are a barrier island, we are low lying. very concerned about a tidal surge as well as the strong winds. whether it hits directly, this thing is a monster. it will cover all of florida and definitely south florida. >> you've been through a number of hurricanes and covered them as a reporter and katrina as well in louisiana. you know, this sort of psychology about to stay or to go is a complicated one. people outside watching this are saying why is anyone staying? people with pets, homes or people don't have money or weren't age able to get bas d there's a lot of reasons people stay. >> what's weird about irma is that

matter of fact we are opening miami beach tomorrow morning at 8:00 a.m. folks can come back to the beach. we spent the entire day, the last 24 hours, with so many different crews, it was a military operation. clearing the roads, so many trees across the road, power lines down, gas leaks around the city. we were able to go out there because we were prepared for the recovery to clean up the city and tomorrow morning at 8:00 a.m. people are allowed to come back in the city. we had a curfew tonight of 8:00 p.m. on miami beach. after that we are gung ho ready to go. our hotels are getting organized. i know by tomorrow night there will be restaurants open. you can't stop all the great things about miami beach. it's a fun place, it's exciting in the world wants to come. >> jon: one about the power situation? to have 100% of the power back on? >> we don't. that's the unfortunate thing. our power provider around the state of florida is desperately trying to reconnect everybody but as you know there's millions of people across the state of florida that are out of po

miami beach is prone to flooding. this hurricane pushing this water that goes towards us. it's very concerning, a lot of damage and disruption. we're hoping that doesn't happen. >> the mayor of miami beach, phil levine, thanks so much. you've got a lot to do. ti thanks for making time for "new day." chad, i want to toss it back to you, we're starting to see the winds pick up here. i'm telling everybody, although they've seen us lean into the wind this is nothing compared to what we're going to see. >> absolutely not. the winds are from the east. blowing the water into bez conta biscayne bay and enter coastal. victor blackwell, right there. i want you to look at the painted in blue right here. this is what happens with a six-foot storm surge through miami. you say it could be more than that. sure it could. let's go six to say that. it's easy to put two meters in my computer here. look at all of this. look at downtown that is completely wet. the people that think they're going to ride it out in skyscrapers, are going to

she is in miami beach.ing. >> reporter: matt, so the destruction is here, the wait is over. you can just see this large tree that fell here this morning as this hurricane, we're getting confirmation, has made landfall in florida. a car just went by. i believe those were first responders. we have a camera attached to the back of our suv here to bring you these images of collins avenue as the wind and the rain and also the sand i feel pounding on my face right now because the beach is about a quarter of a mile to my right. here is where you're going to start to get that dangerous storm surge that governor rick scott of florida is calling deadly. they're expecting 6 to 10 feet of storm surge, which could flood this entire avenue in a couple of hours. also here to my right you see all of these very fancy hotels. this is a street with a lot of tourists, most of them boarded up. also you start getting that debris flying around and that sand that could be potentially dangerous for anybody who's walking around here

she is in miami beach.rning. >> reporter: matt, so the destruction is here, the wait is over. you can just see this large tree that fell here this morning as this hurricane, we're getting confirmation, has made landfall in florida. a car just went by. i believe those were first responders. we have a camera attached to the back of our suv here to bring you these images of collins avenue as the wind and the rain and also the sand i feel pounding on my face right now because the beach is about a quarter o here is where you're going to start to get that dangerous storm surge that governor rick scott of florida is calling deadly. they're expecting 6 to 10 feet of storm surge, which could flood this entire avenue in a couple of hours. also here to my right you see all of these very fancy hotels. this is a street with a lot of tourists, most of them boarded up. also you start getting that debris flying around and that sand that could be potentially dangerous for anybody who's walking around here. again, what we're

we were working, walking around these street, the southern most part of miami beach. we walked along ocean drive. those winds were blowing pretty hard. as joe friar was mentioning, the storm surge wasn't as bad on the beach as they expected. they didn't get those 6 to 12 feet of storm surge. but there are parts of ocean drive and we're going to try to move for you in the next hour here for our ms viewers. there are parts of the road along ocean drive that just look like a beach because of all that sand that moved into the road with those wind gusts. we also want to start moving along the beach as well to check out that flooding. the miami beach city commissioner told me the flooding was also not as severe as they originally anticipated. as these fire department officers told me a little while ago, it is the downed power lines. you're seeing families sort of biking around this area now. not what they want to be looking at. there's still a curfew in place in miami beach. the next couple of hours are really going to be critical in making sure that everyone is accounted fo

>> the storm surge consistently has been the area of biggest concern in miami beach and downtown miami. that's why they evacuated. the storm surge is what they are mostly worried about and most people or many of the people did move out of these areas. the winds they're concerned about because of the cranes. there has been a lot of construction in miami. these giant cranes that they couldn't take down in time that are still up. they are said to withstand wind gusts of 145 miles an hour. i don't think we'll get that here in miami. i hope we don't get that. these cranes twist like weather vanes in the wind but they're supposed to move. people in downtown miami have seen these giant cranes moving with the wind. it's supposed to happen but a bit of a frightening sight as the winds pick up. >> john berman, stay safe. let's turn now to meteorologist allison chinchar. where is the storm right now and where is it headed? >> the center of circulation is 20 miles due east of key west. we are starting to see that land fall about to take over the keys, make it back out over open water before it mak