cbs' nicole valdes is joining us now from tampa. good morning, nicole. >> reporter: anne-marie, good morning. i know he just mentioned we are still just a few hours away from that landfall. however, we're already feeling strong wind gusts here in downtown tampa. a sign truly of what's to come. of course of the main concerns here it remains that storm surge as really the top conversation. we are talking five to eight feet of possible storm surge in tampa, and really the surrounding tampa bay area. however, that is a record for this area. we of course know that further north along florida's big bend maybe 10, 15, somewhere even 20 feet of storm surge possible with this storm. it's why we've seen so much action really from people all across florida's gulf coast preparing their homes, evacuating, here in hillsborough county and pinellas, we know evacuation orders have been put in place, especially for those lower lying communities and for those who really need help to move out of their homes here. and you mentioned again travel, it is no

cbs' nicole valdes reports from greenville, south carolina. >> reporter: historic flooding from helenemerged parts of western north carolina under water over the weekend. >> there was a whole house right there. >> reporter: this marshall, north carolina, woman says she fled after the waters reached waist deep. >> i was grabbing stuff. i have my three dogs in the car. my car was almost under water. >> reporter: the state's governor says rescue efforts are ongoing and that food, water, and supplies are being airlifted to those stuck in the hardest hit areas. >> oh -- >> reporter: this video shows the moment a bridge in tennessee collapsed into rushing floodwaters. >> she was ready to sink. >> reporter: on tybee island in georgia, this man who goes bike huck finn and his dog are hoping high tide carries them back out to sea after strong winds from helene stranded their boat on the side of the highway. >> i thought we was going to die. i had to cut anchor and it brought us here. >> reporter: this morning in south carolina, dozens are dead after hurricane helene pummelled the state. one cou

. >> reporter: i'm nicole valdes in tampa bay.order to see some of tampa's hardest-hit areas, we had to charter a boat to take us there. on historic davis island, streets are underwater and boats are on land. this one washed up right into a house. last night, this house was gutted by flames. marie terry lives next door and would have been there, but her daughter insisted she leave. >> i'm just in shock. it's just as a beautiful house, and to see it like this is like, what could have happened? >> reporter: and neighbors tell me this surge was unlike anything they've seen in decades. million-dollar boats like this one now teetering on the edge of that seawall, and just beyond it, the charred shell of what was once one couple's home. they still aren't sure what started the fire, but this a painful reminder of the wrath of hurricane helene. maurice? >> maurice: painful is right. nicole valdes and jason allen, thank you both so much tonight. now to the middle east and escalation in the conflict between israel and hezbollah in lebanon.

we have team coverage, and we're going to start with nicole valdes who's in tampa, florida. what is the situation like there now? >> reporter: anne-marie, good morning. it's still windy here in downtown tampa. and behind me evidence of that storm surge threat we were warning you about just yesterday. you can look here. this is the tampa river walk. you'll notice it's under water. there is a lot of real estate behind me. in fact, a big construction zone that you can see is now under several inches of water at the very least. unfortunately local police officers telling us at least for this area it may be some of the worst flooding they've seen in quite some time. hurricane helene definitely making its mark along much of florida's gulf coast. we know there are reports of a lot of homes that are dealing with flooding this morning, and others needing to be rescued. the wind howling in tampa, and the roads heavily flooded in naples. and lee county. hours before helene made landfall in the big bend area of florida's gulf coast, governor ron desantis said one person was killed when

. >> reporter: i'm nicole valdes in crystal river where businesses have heeded the warning.y boarded up, these streets are empty now, braced for what could be catastrophic storm surge. helene could put a two-story building nearly underwater with the storm surge up to 20 feet. last year's hurricane flooded pastor cory saul's coffee shop with 3 feet of water. now he is moving equipment to higher ground. >> getting everything out, so as long as it stays under 3 feet in there, then we don't have to do any drywall replacement or any electric stuff or anything. >> reporter: i'm manuel bojorquez at a tampa general hospital where this temporary barrier known as an aqua fence has gone up or on the ground floor. it is designed to stop storm surge from flooding this level 1 trauma facility. the hospital is on an island, and with 5-8 feet of storm surge expected in this area, keeping it open and operating during helene is critical. >> so we cannot evacuate. our patients are too critical to move, and there aren't any other hospitals that are critical enough to take care of them, so it's

the correspondent from our partner station cbs, nicole valdes has the latest on the hurricaine from tampa the sunshine state, anywhere between five to eight inches of storm surge, five to eight feet of storm surge is what we could be facing injust a matter of hours here. this is a storm that is growing and moving quickly. it is why we have seen evacuation orders issued for about a dozen or so counties, especially those living in lower line communities, they have been told to come out yesterday. a range of people along this coast are in the path of feeling some sort of impact here. further north could be looking at a whopping 20 feet of storm surge, that is enough water to submerge two buildings. the situation, a nightmare scenario, according to forecasters here. they are warning seriously, get further inland if they can, if they are choosing to stay, preparing for some significant damage with the storm. we know it is going to get bad here in just a few hours. not only seeing a lot of rain and the stronger winds but again, that storm surge is the key message and the key threat for so many

nicole valdes from our us partner cbs — has the latest from tampa in florida.le along florida's gulf coast are in the path and feeling some sort of impact here further north known as big band could be getting a whopping 20 feet of storm surge. that's enough water to submerge a 2—story building the situation a nightmare scenario according to forecasters here begging floridians to take these warnings seriously get further inland if they can, if the choosing to stay prepared for some significant damage with the storm. we know it's good to get that here in just a few hours with it not amazing a lot of rain and stronger win but once again that storm surge is the key message and the key threat or so many across the state for the helene actually forecast to be one of the largest storms to hit the region in several years. widespread impact is expected all the way from northern portion with portions of the state, tallahassee all the way down to south florida. thank you nicole for that. the travelling of that speed is going to crash to florida through georgia, maybe even