abc news molly hunter is in any smyrna beach with the latest. molly? >> reporter: it's relatively quiet where we are on the east coast and those waves are getting progressively big as we wait for irma. hurrican irma churned through the caribbean devastating the islands. it's the strongest recorded storm to hit the atlantic. >> i would not want to see it like this again. irma stayed largely offshore in st. maarten and the tiny island. barbuda taking direct hits. >> the entire country has been decimated. >> reporter: irma with winds at more than 1507 miles per hour now taking aim for the bahamas and cuba, and tomorrow south florida. here on the coast of florida, you can see people are boarding up their houses. many of these houses actually empty. people are heeding the call to get out of town. >> more than 1 million people ordered to evacuate, desperate to stock up on gas and food. >> i'm very scared, so i'm just trying to get as far north as possible. >> reporter: traffic backed up and shelves already wiped clean of bottled water. >> this storm is wider

abc's molly hunter is live in naples where we got word president trump will visit tomorrow, molly. >> reporter: kristen, good afternoon, i just to want show you this tree. this massive tree toppled on to this condo building and these roots tore through this sidewalk. this is some of the damage that florida residents are returning to. for the first time, residents of the florida keys headed back to see what's left of their homes. down the south dixie highway, passing police check points to this tiny island where 90% of homes are either destroyed or damaged. >> it was how, you didn't know if you were going to make it or not. >> reporter: the national guards surveying whole neighborhoods obliterated. houses flattened. the keys is 112 miles long, but officials only allowing residents into the first 33 miles. >> i have dogs and i can't get to my house. >> reporter: elsewhere in florida without air-conditioning, a deadly situation at this nursing home in hollywood, florida. at least five people have died. >> at this related to the loss of power and the storm, it's a side event. >> reporter:

molly hunter is live for us now in naples, florida. od morning, molly. >> reporter: tam, good morning. that's right its damage like this. look at this tree, completely toppled into that condo building and these roots taller than i'm, this is the kind of damage that people are finding back at home today. a terrifying journey for many. florida ya'ians now returning to their homes but in the keys it's nearly impossible. 90 percent of houses destroyed and damaged. >> you start over, you know, you learn to do it again. it isn't the first or the last time i'm sure. >> reporter: police checkpoints set up, residents heading down the highway but unsure what they'll find and those who stayed and survived are the lucky ones. >> i stayed in the bathroom, me and my girlfriend, donna, we stayed in the bathroom and the hallways. for two days it was hell. you didn't know if you were going to make it or nottism the storm's fury on full display here. >> when the bigger gusts came by you could feel like the floor jumping a little bit. >> reporter: on this

abc's molly hunter has more on the cleanup effort and the recovery efforts. >> reporter: a terrifying journey for many. floridians now returning to their homes. but in the keys it's nearly impossible. 90% of houses destroyed and damaged. >> you start over. you learn to do it again. it isn't the first or the last time, i'm sure. >> reporter: police checkpoints now set up. residents here heading down the south dixie highway but unsure what they'll find. and those who stayed and survived are the lucky ones. >> i stayed in the bathroom, me and my girlfriend, in the bathroom and the hallways. for two days it was hell. you didn't know if you were going to make it or not. >> reporter: the storm's fury on full display here. >> when the bigger gusts came by you could feel like the floor jumping a little bit. >> reporter: on this tiny strip of land, no power, no sewage and no running water. in florida, georgia, and the carolinas more than 20,000 dod personnel supporting the response. here in florida coast to coast and north to south recovery in full swing. repair crews more than 20,000 strong f

after irma with lana zak standing by on the growing crisis in the caribbean, but we start with molly hunter live in naples, florida. molly, good morning. >> reporter: diane and kendis, good morning. that's right. look at this tree. it's completely toppled crushing that condo building behind me, and look at those roots. this is the kind of damage so many florida residents are returning home to. a terrifying journey for many. floridians now returning to their homes. but in the keys it's nearly impossible. 90% of houses destroyed and damaged. >> you start over. you know, you learn to do it again. it isn't the first or the last time, i'm sure. >> reporter: police checkpoints now set up. residents here heading down the south dixie highway but unsure what they'll find, and those who stayed and survived are the lucky ones. >> i stayed in the bathroom, me and my girlfriend donna. we stayed in the bathroom in the hallways. it was -- for two days, it was hell. you didn't know if you were going to make it or not. >> reporter: the storm's fury on full display here. >> when the bigger gust came by, you

molly hunter for us in naples, thanks. >>> irma is presenting a new danger as millions frustrating to cope without electricity. >> several running generators inside their homes have died from carbon monoxide poisoning including two adults and child in orlando. four of the family members hospitalized. authorities are warning that generators should always be placed outside of the house. >>> and florida's biggest airports are slowly getting back to normal. all of them from miami up to jacksonville were closed during irma forcing the cancellation of thousands of flights. now capacity is ramping up again, but the airport in key west is only open to emergency response flights. >>> meanwhile, the situation in parts of the caribbean is growing increasingly dire. >> take a look at this. it shows some of the destruction in the french part of st. martin. residents there say the situation is so bad they don't even have enough food and water. >> and it's a similar picture on the u.s. virgin islands. abc's lana zak has the details. >> reporter: supplies and assistance are being rushed to the caribb

abc's molly hunter has the update. >> reporter: irma is now out of florida and what remains of her is marching north. in her wake, she left a path of devastation and so many homes without power. the storm's incredible force unstoppable. in jacksonville, in northern florida, record-breaking flooding. the swollen st. john's river spilling into downtown and the city's mayor offering this advice. >> remind folks to put a white flag or something that represents a flight flag. we need to get you out. >> reporter: farther north in charleston, south carolina, this lake overflowing. >> that was where the lake was and, well, here's where it is now. >> reporter: and in atlanta, georgia, more than a thousand flights canceled. back in florida the monster storm made landfall not once, but twice. first in the keys, damaged homes as far as the eye can see. and boats ship wrecked. >> what can i tell you? you come home and see this, it's devastating. devastating. >> reporter: the second time on marco island, no power, no running water, almost two days later. >> we're encouraging people if you don't hav

molly hunter is in naples florida with a look at the clean up and recovery gotten underway last night right here on abc7 and last night right here on abc7 and last night right here on abc7 and channels - a star studded event to help the victims of both hurricane harvey and irma. at last check the hand in hand telethon raised more than 44-million dollars to help those impacted by the storms. a 7 on your side consumer alert about hurricanes. there is a growing concern that the destruction in florida and houston could mean big car buyers. after hurricane katrina ravaged new orleans in 2-thousand-5... thousands of cars destroyed by floodwaters were sold to unsuspecting buyers in other states. with millions of cars water-logged after irma and harvey -- it could happen again. the best way to protect yourself before buying a used cars is to insist you get a personal history report. you should also have an independent mechanic check the car. of course the stormwatch seven weather team will keep you up to date on the timing of that rain from what's left of irma. you can track the forecast - on

molly hunter has more from naples. molly hunter: for the first time, residents of the florida keys headed back to see what is left of their homes. down the south dixie passing police checkpoints to this tiny island where 90% of homes are either destroyed or damaged. >> it was hell. you did not know if you were going to make it or not. molly: fema the national guard surveying whole houses of liberated. residents are only allowed into the first 33 miles. >> i have dogs, and i cannot get into my house. molly: elsewhere, a deadly situation at this nursing home in hollywood, florida. at least five people have died. >> at this time it might be related to the loss of power and the storm. a sad event. molly: millions have no power, and some, no running water. >> no power, no internet, tv, bath. molly: repair crews working around the clock. we saw them at all hours. >> an army of restoration workers that now is hard at work. molly: there is serious danger for those relying on generators. 20 people were taken to the hospital for

here's abc's molly hunter. >> reporter: the deeply conservative kingdom of saudi arabia has finally,t long last, given women the right to drive. >> a decree has been issued in saudi arabia giving women the right to drive! >> reporter: it's the last country on earth to do so. >> couldn't believe it. because for 27 years, we've been waiting for this. and finally, it has come. >> reporter: the first major protest back in 1990. and in 2011, she took the wheel in her brother's car. she drove a few miles while a friend filmed her up 700,000 views in one day. >> the streets were packed with police cars and religious police cars with some 100 brave saudi women broke the ban and drove that day. none were arrested. we broke the taboo. >> reporter: the campaign women to drive gaining speed and finally permission granted. manal tweeting, saudi arabia will never be the same, we did it. the les of things that saudi women can't do in the kingdom is still very, very long. but next summer, without male permission, saudi women will also be allowed to get behind the wheel. >> amazing this has been goin

down south inching along. 4,000 cars an hour passing through before it's too molly hunter, abc7 news, daytona beach. larry: i know of a story of someone going from miami to atlanta. 20 plus hours on the road. another live report from the florida coast. you can count on abc7 for continuing coverage as we will continue to check in with josh knight and brad bell throughout the storm and the afternoon math. nancy: hurricane harvey may be gone but the recovery effort is going strong. d.c. police officers, union and the recruits loaded five trucks full of supplies. they have been collecting supplies last week and half of that is going to texas. the other side for florida once the hurricane passes. crews mobilizing in the area to coordinate relief in texas, louisiana and where irma leaves the damage. you can help with all of this. go to wjla.com for a list of the charities on the ground and helping and relief efforts. larry: former prince george's county substitute teacher pornography charges. christopher speights worked as a sub and as a basketball coach for traveling county team. investiga

molly hunter, abc7 news. nancy: just in from the national zoo, the giant panda will not be giving birth. keepers are saying the hormone levels are returning to normal. it's not clear if this was a pseudopregnancy where a panda shows all the signs of being pregnant or if she suffered a miscarriage but no panda cub this fall. the national zoo and the panda house will return to normal hours on saturday. alison: ahh! a lot of us were watching that closely. now we know her hormone levels. jonathan: we can all sleep easy now. coming up at "abc7 news at 4:00" -- members of congress taking up issue of child care. what it could mean for young families. alison: plus a critical deadline in the case against catherine hoggle accused in the disappearance of her two small children years ago. why she could soon walk free tomorrow. jonathan: plus, check this the mayor riding down the street in a lawnmower, on a lawnmower with a beef in the cup holdd with a beer in the cup holder. he is not in trouble. the explanation coming u

molly hunters joins us live now in naples, florida with more - molly? breaking overnight..rump the ability to stop most refugees from entering the u-s. the justices have blocked a lower court ruling that would have exempted more refugees from the president's controversial travel ban. next month, the high court will hear a constitutional challenge to the travel ban brought by states and civil rights groups. also breaking overnight -- a crucial vote by the college park, maryland city council.. involving immigration.. the council voted just before midnight to allow non-citizens to vote in city elections, even if they're in the country illegally. the vote was four-to-three.. and it came after about 5:xx - and loudoun county parents - expressing safety concerns this morning. the issue: bus routes. just three weeks into the school year and already more than a thousand complaints. suzanne kennedy is live in xxx with how the school district is responding. seven on your side seven on your side alert this morning. high tech thieves swiping thousands of dollars- by placing skimmers on

abc's molly hunter joins us from daytona beach another area that's also bracing for the monstrous stormold to evacuate leave, get out quickly. >> reporter: florida governor rick scott pleading with floridians and tourists to get out and get out now any way they can. >> evacuations are not convenient. but the goal is for them to be safe. >> reporter: at airports across the state, desperate vacationers are showing up without reservations. >> i was trying to find flights and it's just been awful. we haven't slept, barely eaten since we've been here just trying to find a way out. >> reporter: long lines and angry passengers airlines have added nearly 11,000 more seats trying to bring in bigger planes. american airlines adding more than 4300, united more than 1500 and delta more than 5,000. airlines even capping fares starting at $99 amid complaints of price gouging. >> like everybody is evacuating everybody has to go. >> reporter: but right now every single flight sold out. look at this screen shot this cluster of planes more than 300 flights leaving florida today. >> are you planning to ri

molly hunter, channel 6 "action news." >> military planes loaded with supplies are beginning to arrive in parts of the caribbean stricken by the hurricane. coming from the u.s., british and french governments to the islands now in ruins. hundreds of tourists are still trying to leave saint martin. as they rush to get out the locals trying to find the basics, including food water and shelter. the engineer of that deadly amtrak derailment is back in court for the preliminary hearing. >>> breaking news now from the frankford section of philadelphia there has been a shooting. this happened at 11:00 this morning on the 5100 block of frankford avenue. right there on the street you see the crime scene tape is up. we are told that a 24-year-old man was shot one time transported to temple hospital and the scene is being held here as the crime scene unit will be arriving and so far no arrests. it happened on the 5100 block of frank ford avenue and police are on the scene of the shooting. we'll monitor this throughout the newscast. >>> the engineer in the deadly amtrak derailment back in court fo

weatherl is in the abc7 center, but first let's get to molly hunter with more on the damage done by the storm so far. hurricane irma turned through the northern caribbean overnight, devastating small islands. it is the strongest recorded storm to hit the atlantic. i would not want to see a hurricane like this again. stayed largely offshore in puerto rico, but saint martin's and the tiny island of barbuda taking direct hits. >> the entire country has been decimated. , with winds of more than 150 miles brouwer, taking him aim for the bahamas and cuba, tomorrow, south florida. here on the coast, you can see people are boarding up their houses, many of them actually empty. people heeding the call to get out of town. more than one million people ordered to evacuate them desperate to stock up on gas and food. >> i'm very scared so i'm trying to get as far north as possible. molly: shelves already wiped clean of bottled water. >> shelves already wiped clean of bottled water. >> the storm is wider than our entire state. remember hurricane andrew, one of the worst storms in the history of florid

molly hunter has the latest. >> reporter: nurse judy from is being hailed as a hero. her quick thinking leading to the evacuation of this hollywood nursing home. it all started at 3:00 a.m. wednesday morning. an hour later, another patient and an hour later, a third emergency call from the same nursing home across the road. >> i, along with another colleague, decided that we needed to take a walk over to see if we could offer our assistance. >> what did you exactly see? >> we saw a bunch of staff, and they were extraordinarily stressed and panicked. >> reporter: frum tells tom llamas the staff at the nursing home was panicked, doing everything humanly possible. >> i felt it was an extreme situation, that we had to get people out. >> reporter: another nursing home evacuated thursday. the oppressive heat dangerous without air conditioning, especially for the elderly. more than 2 million people still without power across the state. and emergency crews still working around the clock to get florida back up and running. president trump and first lady melania making a quick,

molly hunter is live in naples florida with more on the recovery efforts across the state. >> reporter: that is right. we are in naples look at this tree, the massive tree on the condo building. look at the roots tearing up the sidewalk for those that can return home this is what they are finding. >> for the first time the residents of florida keys headed back to see what is left of their florida home. down the south dixie highway passing police check points to this tiny island where 90% of homes are destroyed or damaged. >> we didn't know if you were going to make it or not. >> the national guard surveying from the air whole neighborhoods obliterated. houses completely flattened. the keys is 112 miles long but reads only allowed into the first 33 miles. >> a deadly situation at this nursing home in hollywood, florida. at least five people have died. >> it may be related to the loss of power in the storm. a sad event. >> millions still have no power and some no running water. >> no power, no nothing. no internet, no tv, no bath. repair crews from 30 states in canada working around the

molly hunter is live in new smyrna beach. >> reporter: it's relatively quiet on the east coast but the waves are getting progressively bigger as we wait for irma. hurricane irma churned through the northern caribbean overnight devastating small islands. it's the strongest recorded storm to hit the atlantic. >> the worst time of my life. i would not want to see this again. >> irma stayed largely offshore in port week but saint martin and turks and caicos and the tiny island of barbuda taking direct hits. >> the entire country has been decimated. >> irma with wins of 150 miles per hour taking aim for the bahamas and cuba and tomorrow south florida. and here on the coast of florida, people are boarding up their houses and many houses are actually empty and people are heeding the call to get out of town. people are ordered to evacuate and stocking up on water and food. >> i am trying to get as north as possible. >> shelves wiped clean of bottled water. >> the storm is wider than our entire state and expected to cause major and life-threatening impacts from coast-to-coast. >> the florida go

molly hunter is in naples with the latest. molly: irma is now out of florida and what remains is marching north. in her wake, she left a path of devastation and so many homes with out power. the storm's incredible force unstoppable. in jacksonville, record flooding. the swollen rivers spilling into downtown. the mayor offering this advice. put would remind folks to something that represents a quite flagged if we need to get you out. in charleston, south carolina, this lake overflowing. in atlanta, georgia, more than 1000 flights canceled. made landfall met once, but twice. damaged homes as far as the eye can see. boats shipwrecked. >> it's devastating. >> on san marco island, no power, no running water, almost two days later. >> if you don't have to come home right now, don't. they: the storm tore up west coast. down and powers lines, but i still have a house. i am so grateful. molly: the entire state battered and largely in the dark. nearly 7 million people are still without power across five states. in florida, utility worker

molly hunter channel 6 "action news." >>> meanwhile, a criminal investigation is now underway near ft. lauderdale after eight deaths at a nursing home following the hurricane's impact. the initial investigation determined that the facility's air conditioning system stopped working after a transformer failed and portable units were brought in the building was dangerously hot and nursing homes officials say they were prepared for the impact but not for the failure of the a.c. system afterwards. it's opened up to all people in the wake of those deaths and the full investigation is still expected. >>> animals affected by hurricanish ma and harvey are hoping to find a better fate in our area. the action cam was at the camden county animal shelter housing ten dogs displaced from the storm. five from florida and five from texas were up for adoption there. those shelters are desperately trying to house other animals. all the dogs are up for adoption at the shelter in blackwood go to our website at 6abc.com. >>> meantime the remnants of irma are lingering over the delaware valley as we look li

molly hunter, abc news, london. >> amazing this has been going on since the '90s, she was campaigning> and we were discussing, why is it going to take until june of next year. somebody suggested maybe it will take that long for women to actually train. >> they do need to learn to drive and take the road test and so on. but some of the clerics are still fighting this. >> oh, yeah. >>> all right, coming up, a well-deserved honor. >> see how one worker changed the lives of thousands. well-deserved honor. >> see how one worker changed the lives of thousands. hd5 hd5 hd5 hd5 hd5 hd5 hd5 hd5 hd5 hd5 hd5 hd5 hd5 hd5 hd5 hd5 your privacy makes you myt number 1 place to go number 2. i love you, but sometimes you stink. febreze air effects doesn't just mask, it cleans away odors. because the things you love the most can stink. and try febreze small spaces to clean away odors for up to 30 days. breathe happy with febreze. so my dentist toldell, bume about this...! go pro with crest hd. crest hd cleans and whitens my teeth to eye-popping levels. crest hd. 6x cleaning, 6x whitening. i did it, i di

molly hunter is in daytona beach with the latest. >> anywhere in the state if you're told to evacuate, leave, get out quickly. >> reporter: florida governor rick scott pleading with floridflorid floridans and tourists to get out and get out now any way they can. >> evacuations are not convenient but the goal is for them to be safe. >> reporter: at airports across the state, desperate vacationers are showing up without reservations. >> we spent hours trying to find flights and it's been awful. we haven't slept. we have barely eaten since we have been here trying to find a way out. american airlines adding more than 4300. united more than 1500 and delta more than 5,000. airlines even capping fares starting at $99 amid complaints of price gouging. >> everybody is evacuating. >> reporter: right now every single flight sold out. look at this screen shot. this cluster of planes more than 300 flights leaving florida today. >> at this point are you planning to ride the storm at the airport? >> if need be, this is where i'll be. i don't want to be in the middle of it. i want to go home but it'

abc's molly hunter is on the ground in florida with more on trump's tour today. >> rick and monica, goodnoon. we are in bonita springs florida between ft. myers and naples. and president trump flew over this area, surveying damage like this. this is a street and now completely under water. >> we are going down to florida. >> president trump and first lady, melania thanks first responders. >> the job that everybody has done is incredible. >> as he did after harvey getting a briefing on the recovery and surveying the path of nature destruction. >> i want to thank everybody and the first responders we have seen the devastation and we'll see more of this now unfortunately. >> he flew from ft. myers, florida, to naples right over us in bonita springs. melania trump tweeting this video. tweeting there is much work to be done but america is with you. the tour took the president through the hardest hit areas on the