sam brock, please, stand by. we want to take you and there we see on the tarmac air force one and, of course, the president and first lady will be getting out of the presidential motorcade there to board the plane and take off for dover air force base. nbc correspondent heidi. it is a difficult day for and thursday was perhaps the worst day of his presidency so far with the attack that claimed the lives of the 13 u.s. service men. talk about what he faces today. >> yeah, alex, he is really in the eye of several storms here. and on such a solemn day. we are just now getting the names for instance of the service members and the president is indeed headed to dover air force base with a flank of top aides and the first lady, dr. jill biden. he is getting a briefing this morning before he left from top senior military and national security experts about the situation in afghanistan. he has told officials on the ground there that they should not go to the airport. they're telling the embassy there that the situation th

. >>> now joining me from baton rouge is nbc correspondent sam brock. sam, thanks for being here.the weather there in baton rouge? >> reporter: you know, it's just starting to pickup in terms of the rain. we've seen that for about the last 30 minutes or so, jonathan. good morning. good to be with you. i think we're going to see a preview of what al had in the distance from now and lake pontchartrain we saw the waves picking up. to further michelle's point, whether it ends up at 155 miles per hour or 157 pushing ida into category 5 status, a 155 mile category 4 storm is 333 times more destructive than a cat-1 at 75 miles an hour. we are looking at potentially historic levels of damage right now, jonathan. just to give you some more historical context to all this, there have only been four cases in history where cat-5 has made landfall in the continental united states. 2017 was the last time. folks remember hurricane michael. the rarified storm is sitting on our doorstep with the gulf of mexico providing jet fuel for propelling it into the coast of louisiana. and where it lands is s

thanks for all you're doing down there. >>> sam brock is on the phone from louisiana. sam, that was closer to a direct hit? >> reporter: it was. we thought for a period of time, andrea, that it was going to go, hurricane ida, directly over baton rouge, which would have been the largest population center to be affected. it was a little east to that and very close to where i am. it's unfortunate, we can't show you the cell towers would be fluctuating as they try to stabilize and restore power. it's spotty at the moment so it keeps dropping out. i am looking right now at an 18-wheeler truck, a walmart truck that is flipped on its belly. it's not the only one, either. if you go down the parking lot, i was going to show you two or three others that look just like it. the gas station on the corner of the street where i'm at has had the roof removed and there's pieces of vinyl sitting in pools of water next to the highway and really where a lot of these floods came pouring in. i talked to some of the folks that worked at the gas station here that said they saw water rushing in

sam brock reports. >> no more masks no more masks! >> reporter: the country's long-standing clash over wearing masks has now flooded the sanctuaries of america's children, schools. parents and demonstrators screaming after this tennessee school board meeting. >> the motion passed. >> reporter: in louisiana, a state board meeting shut down >> no more masks >> reporter: by attendees refusing to wear masks and bans on mandates by governors from florida to texas, forcing the courts to intervene. the texas supreme court relenting overnight, allowing school districts to keep their requirement in place for now florida's governor will face legal action from parents monday. some just asking them to keep politics out of the equation. >> we don't want to spread any sickness, and we don't want to get it ourselves >> reporter: but now just maybe a breaking point from this tennessee father of a kindergartner. >> she went to school and was just one of the few kids in her class wearing a mask which made her ask me why she had to my answer, because we

. >>> let's go to nbc's sam brock who is in baton rouge. there have been hours of heavy rainfall there. what are you seeing and feeling, sam. >> i think we are probably three or four hours behind what morgan is seeing at the moment in houma, custom of course is one those areas that is bearing such a brunt of the orderly strength of this storm. 150-mile-an-hour winds making its way, bulldozing right now through southeast louisiana. the reason i am standing here, there have already been 150,000 customers without power so far. that is before it real gets, ida, into the heart of the state. these right here will be deployed eventually, once it is safe to do so. there is a small army of utility vehicles. i would say in ballpark of 50 to 100 just right here. there are more supplies coming. as we mentioned already from fema, the concerns go beyond just electricity, obviously the wind damage that will occur, and the flooding that happens in an area like this n. baton rouge in 2016 there were some 30 inches of rain dumped onto the area after an unname

flooding at least 22 are dead in humphries county and rescuers are still searching for missing people sam brock is there with more >> reporter: the city of waverly is in a state of shock >> there's people, their whole lives are gone >> reporter: floodwaters carried away homes, upended businesses, and stole precious human life, including infant twins riley and ryan >> we're going to be overwhelmed for the next probably 30 days at least. >> reporter: caleb chased after his family in a boat but couldn't reach his 2-year-old step son who was clinging to his mom. >> she had him in her arms, and he got squept away i couldn't get back to him, but she managed to save our other four children. and if it wasn't for her, i wouldn't have any children right now. >> reporter: some survivors shaken to their core >> he was stuck up there, and i've never seen anything like it >> reporter: others seeking refuge on top of janet rice's rooftop, rescued by helicopter as conditions deteriorated you hear the term buckled roads all the time but what does that actually look like in practice asphalt ripped up, concave ho

appreciate your time. >> thank you. >> i want to go back to sam brock from grand mercy, louisiana. sam i hope we can hear you. tell us what you're seeing and up to as the power truck or cleanup truck goes by. >> reporter: it's all coming together right now, hallie. one of the biggest problems is lack of communication specifically the telecommunication infrastructure that's gone down, so difficult for people to get phone calls out, electricity, seeing all the utility vehicles driving around here. we saw about 12 of them as you were talking trying to get power restored, highway 61, where the damage is so extensive in one block a street light where the light is dangling, the cement base is straddling highway 61 and if you follow me, you'll see over my shoulder not just downed power lines but trees that endured such a strong force of wind. they were snapped in half. that is a power pole right there at a 45-degree angle bent over and on the other side a home with no roof or section of the roof off of it. the damage was extensive. as we were discussing a serious search and rescue operatio

sam brock is in port vincent, louisiana. good evening. what are officials telling you about the threat? >> reporter: jose, good evening. hope and expectations that it's a quick-moving store. if not, we've seen potential what can happen. i'm standing in front of a river in 2016 got to 40 feet in one section to the point right here it hit the top of that roof of the barn next to me after about 30 inches of rain in several days. here they're expecting somewhere in the neighborhood of 8 to 16 inches of rain but potential exists for more. jose, if you want to try to get out of town now on interstate 10, a main thread through the area is congested. all flights largely canceled except a couple in the morning. time to find a safe space. jose? >> sam brock in port vincent larks la. thank you. >>> the hours ahead are critical. al roker is in new orleans with the latest on the storm's track. al, where's this headed? >> reporter: well, right now, jose, the latest track brings it right towards us. we are on lake pontchartrain. you can see we are alrea

. >>> joining us over the news, nbc news correspondent sam brock. sam, you are now, i believe, on your way to laplace, louisiana. you are on the road. are the roads passable, first of all? what are you seeing along the way? >> reporter: it's interesting you're saying that, jacob. in the direction we're heading, they are. based on how the winds are coming in, i'm looking westbound, and there are trees littering this highway. it's highway 61, which will take you basically from baton rouge to south of new orleans where we're heading to laplace, which is near lake ponchartrain. it's pitch black. we heard the governor already say this is one of the strong eest storms to make landfall in modern times. that's how we characterize it. that is bearing fruit as we're starting to see more of the damage. in a number of hours we should have a much clearer picture of what things look like. it's so catastrophic that all eight transmission lines that deliver power in new orleans are currently out of service. that is according to entergy, which is the main utility, el

my colleague and friend sam brock is in baton rouge, louisiana north of us. what are you feeling there? it's starting to get very ugly down here in new orleans. >> reporter: tom, good to be with you. the wind is starting to pick up here a bit. we are in baton rouge. this storm at 150 miles an hour is strong as any hurricane that's ever struck the state of louisiana. you're feeling more of those effects now. give it a few hours. walk with me for a second. you'll see all of these bucket trucks that are staged here. hundreds of them. i'm at mall of louisiana. you can see they are ready to jump into action as soon as the storm has passed over baton rouge. here is the problem, tom. baton rouge has 220,000 people in it. no one here was given mandatory evacuations. most of the places don't have windows boarded. there's a restaurant across the way here that has some boards up. as i drove through downtown, nothing was boarded up. it will be a cat 3 coming over baton rouge in the coming hours and we'll have to wait and see what happens. back the you. >> just be careful

joining us now nbc national news correspondent sam brock. sam, what are you seeing there? >> reporter: it's a sobering situation, jacob. good morning. it's pitch black. no power. a million-plus customers in the state of louisiana have no electricity. you've got to figure more than half the state right now probably with no power. i'm standing here in prairieville because we're on our way to laplace. there's so much wind and tree damage, power lines down. we're in ascension parish, a suburb of baton rouge. this is where the first fatality has already been noted, a 60-year-old man inside his home. a tree fell on his house. he has passed away. we're looking into that. this is south of lake ponchartrain. there are reports with the navy fleet captain, thousands requesting rescue that they cannot reach right now because of how dark and dangerous the situation s live wires in the water, pitch black, boats in the water. they're not going to do it. sometime around 10:00 last night they started seeing water rising from the storm surge to the point where people were seeing 6 to 12 fee

so much work yet to do, our reports tonight from nbc news correspondent sam brock. >> tonight the cityf shock. >> there's people that their whole lives are gone. >> floodwaters carried away homes, upended businesses, and stole precious human life. including infant twins, two of the 21 confirmed deaths, with dozens of loved one still missing. >> we will be overwhelmed for the next 30 days at least. overwhelmed. >> this man chase after his family in a boat but could not reach is two year old stepson, who is clinging to his mom. >> she had him in her arms, and he got swept away, and i couldn't get back to him, but she managed to save another for children. >> some survivors, shake into their core. >> i was in the bathroom myself, i've never seen anything like it. >> others taking refuge on top of rooftops. rescued by helicopter as to conditions deteriorated. >> you hear the term buckled roads all the time. but what is it actually look like in practice. something like this. asphalt ripped up, concave holes here with indescribable physical damage to match the emotional toll. even with the br

overwhelming hospitals and creating issues for teachers and parents as the new school year begins sam brockoins us with more from miami sam, good morning. >> reporter: tom, guys, good morning. the nbc news i should say has confirmed overnight that the biden administration now supports a third shot for most americans. and we talk about that eight months after their second dose that could be available, guys, in september, pending fda approval all of that as schools nationwide are in full swing many people already vaccinated for covid-19 can expect recommended third booster shot starting as soon as next month multiple sources familiar with discussions telling nbc news top biden health officials and medical experts are now coalescing around boosters for all americans. the time frame those who have already received the second dose of the pfizer or moderna vaccines would get a booster eight months later according to the "new york times," which broke the story overnight, that means the first boosters could go into arms mid to late september. last week in a conversation with craig, dr. anthony fauc

they are the structure that has been compromised. >> sam brock in the thick of it. to the teams out there in harm's way, thank you. we still have more ahead on the track of the storm, the ongoing rescue efforts, and what it will take to recover from this historic storm. and we're expecting to hear from president biden as he speaks with the fema administrator, mayors, and governors dealing with it. >>> and now the last remaining troops are trying to safely evacuate themselves from kabul and as many civilians as possible. >> we continue to have and will maintain the capability to protect ourselves and defend ourselves as we continue to complete this retrograde. o complete this retrograde yeah! ...then your bank should help you budget even better. (laughing) virtual wallet® is so much more than a checking account. its low cash mode feature gives you at least 24 hours of extra time to help you avoid an overdraft fee. you see that? virtual wallet® with low cash mode from pnc bank. one way we're making a difference. (chimes) so then i said to him, you oughta customize you

we find nbc news correspondent sam brock joining us. record-breaking rain, terrible stories, heartbreaking tragedy, including 7-month-old twins among the dead. have they found any more of the missing? >> reporter: young and old, across the spectrum, andrea. this is heartbreaking, also unrecognizable to the people who live here. there were 21 confirmed deaths so far, 20 of them are in waverly and specifically the city of waverly. there are ongoing search and rescue efforts right now. not exactly where i'm standing but in the general vicinity. i'm going to show you what this neighborhood looks like now. the strength of this flooding, this would be similar to what you would expect to find after a tornado. this house here has been shifted off of its foundation. there's a cavernous hole and you see vinyl siding everywhere. that is electric infrastructure, a transformer just ripped up and thrown across this lawn. you'll see all of these empty lots, what are now empty lots, that were full foundations with homes shifted right off. earlier we sa

we'll see what happens. >> meteorologist bill karins and sam brock. we'll be seeing a lot of both of you in the next 24 hours. thank you both so much. >>> next, the president's promise that yesterday's strike against isis-k will not be the last. congressman ro khanna, a member of house armed services weighs in on that and on ongoing efforts to evacuate americans and allies. >>> plus, the pandemic of disinformation hitting high gear, costing many their lives. super emma just about sleeps in her cape. but when we realized she was battling sensitive skin, we switched to tide hygienic clean free. it's gentle on her skin, and out cleans our old free detergent. tide hygienic clean free. hypoallergenic and safe for sensitive skin. as someone who resembles someone else... i appreciate that liberty mutual knows everyone's unique. that's why they customize your car insurance, so you only pay for what you need. [ nautical horn blows ] i mean just because you look like someone else doesn't mean you eat off the floor, or yell at the vacuum, or need flea medication

i want to bring in sam brock who is coming to us from louisiana and ali velshi is in new orleans. i want to start with you, sam. you are west of new orleans. you have been moving around the area all day. tell us what you have been seeing so far. >> reporter: that's about right. good to be with you. we've been going back and forth between areas close to new orleans. only 30 to 40-minute drive out that were devastated by the events of hurricane ida and there are water rescues going on to this moment. they said in one area the water has never been this high. it was up to roof of homes. people had to be rescued. grand isle they say 40 people remained behind where a helicopter passed over earlier today and got thumbs up from people choosing to stay behind and then where we started our day after hearing that the cajun navy was going to have to return this morning on reports all these people were stranded and then they arrived and the waters had receded significantly and there were only a few people that needed to be rescued by high water vehicles. our cameras were rolling when we saw doz

sam brock's on the ground for us in waverly, tennessee. astounding stuff and really sad. missing as well, sam. what have you been seeing on the ground there especially when it comes to the efforts to find the missing people? >> those rescue efforts are ongoing and people who live here tell me they were seeing homes and storage units and pools floating down their streets. if that sounds implausible because certainly most people would think it is, you look over my shoulder here and what you see are the shell or foundation of where a home used to be and then glance up and i'm told from neighbors here that that house was on this foundation, twirled around completely on a circle and is dangling over the creek nearby. what is normally a docile creek, but the water raged not only through this lot but managed to make it across the street up to the porch level and then on the other side, yasmin, there's a highway about a quarter of a mile away. i'm told the water went over the highway. there is a home in a gas station wedged up against it beyond the trees here that's how extreme t

. >> meteorologist michelle grossman has been following ida's path and sam brock is in louisiana preparing for the storm surge. how are things looking where you are and how are people preparing? >> lindsey good morning, joe good morning. it's calm, there's a slight breeze. we're expecting rain to fall here early this afternoon and the winds to pick up as well. lindsey, to your point about rapid intensification, that means 35 miles per hour or more increase in wind speeds over the course of 24 hours. 80 miles per hour to 145 miles per hour now is a 65 mile per hour increase over the time span which is roughly double the threshold for rapid intensification. the question right now, is ida going to run out of real estate before it actually reaches landfall or will we see another increase in wind speeds because at the moment 150 miles per hour is the record for the state of louisiana with hurricane laura, and as you mentioned back in the mid 1880s that is the historical precedent we're up against right now. the track if it wobbles east, that is what everyone is watching right now, because at th

our report on olivet tonight, from nbc news correspondent sam brock in florida. >> reporter: the country'saring masks has now flooded the sanctuaries of america's children, schools. parents and demonstrators screaming after this tennessee school board meeting. >> the motion passes. >> reporter: in louisiana, a state board meeting shut down. by attendees refusing to wear masks. and bans on mandates by governors from florida to texas, forcing the courts to intervene. the texas supreme court relenting overnight, allowing school districts to keep their requirements in place for now. florida's governor will face legal action from parents monday, with some just asking to keep politics out of the equation. >> we don't want to spread any sickness. we don't want to get it ourselves. >> reporter: but now, just maybe a breaking point from this tennessee father of a kindergartener. >> she went to school and one of a few kids in her class wearing a mask which made me ask me why she had to and my answer is because we wanted to take care of other people. justin says it is a basic calculation. >> it seems

sam brock now on the desperate search >> reporter: tonight, the city of waverly is in a state of shock. >> i mean, there's people that their whole lives are gone. >> look at that. >> reporter: floodwaters carried away homes, upended businesses and stole precious human life, including infant twins riley and ryan, two of the 21 confirmed deaths with dozens of loved ones still missing. >> we're going to be overwhelmed for the next probably 30 days at least, overwhelmed. >> reporter: caleb mccore chased after his family in a boat but couldn't reach his 2-year-old stepson, who was clinging to his mom. >> she had him in her arms whenever he got swept away i couldn't get back to him, but she managed to save our other four children if it wasn't for her, i wouldn't have any children right now. >> reporter: some survivors shaken to their core >> i was in the house by myself. he was stuck up there, and i -- i've never seen anything like it. all i can think is how am i going to get out of here? >> reporter: others seeking refuge atop of janet rice's rooftop rescued by helicopter as conditions dete

let's start with our own sam brock before us in baton rouge. sam, what are you seeing there? >> reporter: so here's what's interesting now. as you were referring to a second ago, the fact that you would expect at this point the storm is over land, but it's behaving like it's still on water. so over in new orleans, about 60 miles from where i am, they're getting hit with hard 90 to 100 mind winds. here, it's going to be worse when ida finishes buzz sawing through the spine of louisiana, as you see the winds starting to pick up here. it's just a taste of what we're in for, but this doesn't make a lot of sense given historically what happens with hurricanes. but yeah, still seeing 130-mile-per-hour winds, and that likely means that's the low end threshold of a cat-4, we're probably talking about baton rouge, which is a much larger population center than any other place that's gotten hit so far, fueling ida, somewhere between 110 and 130 miles per hour, coming through an area with 400,000 people. you talked about the outages, alicia. there's about half a million of them so far. a

first, sam brock is here to get you caught up with the latest. good morning >> reporter: hoda, savannah, good morning the rumors are a reality president biden says starting september 20th, all adults will have access to a third shot, assuming eight months he's taking on governors trying to ban mask mandates in schools like in miami-dade, the latest school district to require them. >> reporter: president biden and his top health officials now throwing their full force behind a third covid-19 vaccine booster shot >> the threat of the virus remains real we are prepared. we have the tools. we can do this >> reporter: the booster blueprint is still pending official approval from agencies like the fda and cdc, but all american adults would have access at once, assuming eight months have passed since their second dose. dr. anthony fauci telling lester the booster may not be needed on a regular basis. >> the level of antibody elevated by the third shot goes up at least tens or 20 times fold >> reporter: fauci says recipients of the j&j vaccine will need

sam brock, you are back with us, and the comms are dodgey and the cells are unreliable, and if you can tell us what is the situation there. >> yes, the communication is terrible here especially for those areas stricken by the floo floods, and you can't get through. the 911 systems are talking about being spotty or nonfunctional at the time. that played into the area this morn where there were rescues and initially reported hundreds or thousands of calls that people made in la plaz, again, about 30 miles or so from new orleans on the western edge of lake pontchartrain, and it turns out hundreds of calls and after the water had receded the national guard and the cajun navy went in, and using high water boats to take people out. and we spoke to folks, geoff, who said that when the water was coming in, it was at the ankles and the waist, and when it was closer for the chest, they would go up to the attic to wait and not knowing the fate. several of the individuals were rescued this morning, and so that is the reality, and also, i would add that driving through the area of grammercy and pau

motto leave no trace prompting worries about the future of thousands of miles of land. >> our guy sam brocks and hits the appalachian trail in northern georgia for us sam, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, guys. you can't see. actually wearing my timberlands. show you in a second the great outdoors has nerve her greater appeal standing on a section of the appalachian trail, near woody gap in georgia you see why so many want to get outside during the pandemic. this is a vision of paradise, but a bump, guys, right now in day hikers and casual campers is starting to wear down this natural wonder. plunged in the middle of perfect serenity, the appalachian trail's rolling hills and lush layers of foliage you find a phenomenon. >> we're outdoor people anyway, but now we're seeking only outdoor activities >> reporter: parking lots full of people and a crush of visitors from georgia -- >> used to be my go-to spot. park up there. go hiking. now -- you know, half of atlanta's parked up there. >> reporter: to maine and the mid-atlantic chris brunson and his team manage a 32-mile stretch from fa

sam brock finds out why this type of canine companion is so

sam brock shows us what it is all about. >> reporter: on a court of infinite possibility. and of course, the best part, the clash. do you invite it, like the contact? >> yeah, absolutely. the objective is to stop them at all cost. >> reporter: danny is a father of two, human resources specialist, and hopes maybe someday a paralympic athlete. >> wheelchair rugby changed your life? >> absolutely. the injury i had which was a car accident, 2009, changed my life. instead of changing it in a negative direction, i have been able to retool, find new doors through this sport. >> reporter: strapped in chairs with giant wheels and thick metal fronts, four players each side for the south florida rattlers trying to advance a volleyball past the end line of a basketball court. but aoki is there. >> after claiming silver in the 2016 rio games, the u.s. wheelchair rugby team about to begin a quest for gold in tokyo led by veterans like aoki, competing in a third paralympics. >> i played a lot of sports. i never felt at home until i played rugby. everyone had similar ability to me, a sens

sam brock is in miami with more. n an increase of 700% of covid cases. and this tug of war that's going on right now, tom, for mask mandates in school now moves to miami-dade county, the nation's fourth largest school population, where classes are going to begin in a matter of days health experts are going to decide whether or not to defy governor desantis. with the nation squarely in the grip of the delta surge, new fears the worst may be yet to come >> i will be surprised if we don't cross 200,000 cases a day in the next couple of weeks. >> reporter: across the country, cases have jumped nearly 20% week over week with covid hospitalizations creeping up 26.5%. oregon's situation so desperate, they're planning to deploy hundreds of national guard members at hospitals while in florida, the variant is preying on younger adults. those 20 to 39 now comprise the masking in the classroom remains a bone of contention with florida's largest school district, miami-dade, set to make a decision this week. >> these masks are not

sam brock joins us, and dasha joins us from the little league world series. o us about children hospitalized with covid. >> good morning. the numbers are unsettling. if you look at the number of children in opt, across the country, the figure is about 1200 a day. at the beginning of july, garrett, that was 300. the numbers you sited, fourfold, really do stack up. in the state of florida, there's 200 or so children hospitalized right now, including 15 on the medical campus where i'm reporting from at this very moment. texas is high as well, but alabama has now leapfrogged everybody after hospitalizing a couple hundred kids over the course of the last week. per 100,000 people, it's 3.41 children in alabama, compared to florida at 1.28, so more than double that. louisiana is also egregious. texas, delaware, those are some of the states really struggling. garrett, we have this conversation in the context of a full-throated argument here in florida about whether or not children should be required to wear masks in schools or not. in broward county, that's been the c

now from waferly, sam brock, nbc news. >>> up next, what is next for texas democrats and voters as theyrictive voting legislation. n who are all younger than you. i had to get help somewhere along the line to stay competitive. i discovered prevagen. i started taking it and after a period of time, my memory improved. it was a game-changer for me. prevagen. healthier brain. better life. ♪♪ ♪♪ hearing is important to living life to the fullest. that's why inside every miracle-ear store, you'll find better bedtime stories. you'll find a better life is in store at miracle-ear, when you experience the exclusive miracle-ear advantage. it starts with our free hearing assessment. plus innovative products that fit your needs and budget. with free service and adjustments for life. we're so confident we can improve your life, we're offering a 30-day risk-free trial. call 1-800-miracle today and experience the miracle-ear advantage for yourself. - [narrator] every three minutes, caa child is born withay a cleft condition. without surgery, some will die. those who do survive face extreme challenges.

but we begin with sam brock, in hard-hit laplace about 25 miles west of new orleans. m, good morning. >> reporter: hoda, craig, good morning. a little more than 24 hours after ida ripped through this part of louisiana, we are getting a look on the ground and in the air of the footprint of this disaster. governor edwards telling hoda he expects the death toll to rise after catastrophic damage. not far from where i'm standing, people were hiding in attics and leaping on to beds holding out hope they would be rescued. this morning, a sobering look at ida's devastation, homes submerged in water as far as the eyes could see, nearby roads completely washed out. >> it will ceilings in every room caved in. it was unbelievable. >> reporter: with families waiting for rescue. >> it was bad. worst thing ever. >> reporter: the louisiana national guard already rescuing 282 people, 32 pets. >> just progressively got worse. and it was ankles, knees, almost chest level so we just put the dogs on the counter and then we climbed into the attic. >> reporter: water levels reaching heights

sam brock joins us from waverly, tennessee, with the latest. good morning. this is rainfall of historic proportions. what you're looking at this morning is the haunting aftermath of that over my shoulder. this home has been tilted a couple of feet off of its foundation. this rainwater was so powerful, it lifted homes literally away and sent them rushing down the street. there's a small creek to the right of this home that was so swollen, it came over not just the lot of land that i'm standing on, but over the highway which is a quarter smile in the other direction that way. as we pan along, what you'll see is vinyl and wood crushed together. that looks like tornadic activity, but it's not. that's from water. you can see a couple of them crisscrossed inside of this home. certainly propped up against it. around the corner, there is a gas station with a house wrapped around a pole at the gas station. there are this morning 21 people who have been confirmed, about two dozen considered missing right now. we are expecting updates from local authoritie

nbc's sam brock is there.he preparations, what if anything has changed since we last saw you? >> reporter: the video you saw out of houma, that has a population of about 30,000 or so people. in baton rouge there's 220,000 pop in this parish. so it's incredibly eerie that that storm is coming this way. you look over my shoulder, you see some dangling of the street lights here. the wind is picking up periodically. we have not seen that hammer fall down, which we know is coming. it's about 400,000 customers in the state of louisiana with no power. over my how would, if you look carefully, you can see dozens and dozens of utility trucks back there that will be deployed. the bucket trucks, as soon as it's safe to get out, will start restoring power. they have the meals ready, as well as 2.5 million liters of water, 139,000 tarps. that's just fema right now. the concern at this point certainly will be not just electricity and not just the wind damage, but possible loss of life. therefore teams ready to jump into act

nbc's sam brock is in waverly, tennessee, this morning. good morning >> reporter: tom, good morning we're now three days removed from the historic floods there are still around 20 people listed as missing and many of these homes along the creek bed ended up with several feet of water inside parents clinging for life and trying to save their children. following a generational flood, tennessee rescue crews continue the heartbreaking search for the missing this morning after surging flood waters overtook residents in minutes. it looked like a river running down through there >> reporter: damage from the deadliest flood in middle tennessee history extends up to 10 plimiles, straddling several towns. >> talking about houses that's been removed from the foundation i'm talking about houses that people can't even get to because the floors are gone. >> reporter: at least 21 people have died. the victims ranging from the elderly to 7-month-old twins riley and ryan their father tells our nbc station in nashville the babies were torn from his arms as

. >>> sam brock is in baton rouge.reports from your colleagues, seeing what's headed for you, but i'm not sure that the residents there are also watching, because you've been driver an and nobody is boarded up. >> reporter: they may have been watching, but certainly not feeling it with the same sense of urgency. we're about 60, 70 miles away from houma. we are not yet experiencing those effects from the storm. in fact it'sing relatively calm. we're getting gusts, but i am told between the hours of 7:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m., it will be hellacious here, as the core is expected to go right over baton rouge. the louisiana guard have deployed many guardsmen, including 34 helicopters. fema talking about the way there's almost two dozens agencies collaborating to help with rescue operations, and certainly 2.5 million tons of water. so supplies are flowing in. we did speak to a couple men near lsu, former members of the armed services, talking about the fact they're not worried, because we are inland. here's what they told me. >

. >> a little earlier i was talking with our colleague sam brock in baton rouge.y inside. i'm not sure the spot you're in, if you can see any time of traffic. do you have the sense people are leading the warnings to stay inside? >> reporter: yeah, well, people in louisiana, they know a thing or two about hurricanes. and the folks in baton rouge were certainly not dealing with the conditions that people here in houma were. you barely could drive, period. and we know at one time, it almost seemed like a whiteout because of the wind and the rain going through here. the only cars i saw were first responders or stormchasers. even the fire department telling me, ched to hunker down for several hours before they felt it was safe enough to get back out and check on people who may be in harm's way. >> we've asked a number of officials when they think this will ease up. some have said midnight tonight. we'll be thinking of you. there's more on hurricane ida right after this. n hurricane id right after this we did it again. verizon has been named america's most reliable netw

joining us is sam brock and ellison barber.n hundreds of rescues in the area where you are. what's the status of that mission this afternoon? >> reporter: i'm struck by something you just said regarding the levee system. there has been flooding here for days. you see a giant yellow truck over my shoulder. that is a houston based rap rapper that has his relief gang. i've seen him clear brush from other parts of the street. he rescued people until 5:00 in the morning last night. the latest numbers from the louisiana national guard are that they rescued 280 people. there are all these other groups coming in to try to help people stuck in their attics. the cajun navy comes to mind and other private citizens who came with boats to try and help. you're seeing all of this patchwork assistance. i just spoke with a man who was about to sell his house. look at the video from inside. the ceiling hascaved in, exposing the rafters. the interior of homes are coming apart at the seams right now. i spoke with a gentlemen right next door to whe

nbc's sam brock is in waverly, tennessee, with the latest. >> reporter: i'm standing right now in theaters. 17 inches of rain in one day on saturday. what that has led to so far is 21 confirmed fatalities, 20 of them here in waverly. as you look around it is easy to understand how the unfathomable could become reality. all of these homes were pushed off of their foundations, homes, storage units, pools, cars were all rushing down the street. this is a top sign that has been bent down to a parallel point on the ground here by running water. i spoke with one woman whose business is around the corner. that's been completely upended. she said in 2010 this area of middle tennessee experienced a once-in-a-generation, a 100-year flood. they thought that was it. here we are ten years later and it happened again. here is how she is describing what she is going through. >> we watched part of it wash away. it is gone, destroyed. over 30 years, my husband and son, gone. we are going to need help. people are devastated, and how do you recover this? i mean -- i mean there's people that their whole

sam brock is in laplace, louisiana, and we are tracking coast guard flights. , we spoke to you on the phone yesterday in the 3:00 p.m. hour and we saw a lot of footage you and your team had been shooting but so far in the last 24 hours or so what you have been seeing when it comes to the devastation from this hurricane? >> reporter: it's hot right now, and we are in louisiana at the end of summer and there's no electricity, as you were just spelling out a second ago and there may not be for a long time, and they are waiting for their neighborhoods to dry up. this is the same neighborhood in laplace where we saw all the cajun navy boats and national guard and strangers coming in with their own boats trying to rescue people here. we are 40 plus hours removed from when ida whipped its way through louisiana, and you will see a couple smaller cars struggling, which is happening over my shoulder currently. the amount of water in the street, this far removed from ida, if i put my foot in it would go completely in and would be up to my mid shin, and i did not bring my

. >> nbc news meteorologist bill karins and nbc's sam brock, we'll be seeing a lot of both of you in the next 24 hours. thank you so much. >>> next, the president's promise that yesterday's strike by isis-k will not be the last. congressman ro khanna will join me. >>> plus the pandemic of disinformation hitting high gear, costing many their lives. s g means we see things differently, so you can focus on what matters most. whether it's ensuring food arrives as fresh as when it departs. being first on the scene, when every second counts. or teaching biology without a lab. we are the leader in 5g. #1 in customer satisfaction. and a partner who includes 5g in every plan, so you get it all. without trade-offs. unconventional thinking. it's better for business. ♪ music playing. ♪ there's an america we build ♪ ♪ and one we explore one that's been paved and one that's forever wild but freedom means you don't have to choose just one adventure ♪ ♪ you get both. introducing the all-new 3-row jeep grand cherokee l jeep. there's only one. as someone who resembles someone else... i appreciate that

nbc news correspondent sam brock joins us from hollywood, florida. 15,000 new infections in florida thursdayernor going to do anything to stop this surge? what governor desantis has done is the efficacy of monoclonal antibody treatment which is great if you catch the disease early enough, but it is not a replacement for the vaccine, and the state right now is in despair. we will cross 3 million cases of covid that will happen any moment. on top of that, the state of florida in terms of average deaths has more deaths than california, texas and new york combined and the 17,000+ covid patients that have been hospitalized in florida with 160% of where we were at last summer's peak, the stress that that has done has created staffing shortages which has devastated healthcare systems. three out of the four hospitals in the state, andrea, expect to be within seven days. we talked to the head of emergency medicine here for this particular health care system memorial to find out how physicians are feeling about the vaccinated then going and seeking treatment. >> the people that refuse to get vaccinate

peter hoe tess, dasha burns, sam brock, morgan chesky, thank you. leave it there. >>> coming up next, they put their lives on the line and now they have watched the country they fought in fall. with many, many people asking, with many vets asking, what was all of this for? we're going to hear from two combat veterans who served in afghanistan, next. and enjoy fresher smelling laundry for up to 12-weeks. the former missouri secretary of state, jason, i want to start just by asking how are you feeling this week? >> thanks, stephanie, i appreciate it. today's a little better that be the last couple of days, but this week has well sucked to be honest. a lot of anger and helplessness and lack of control over a situation i'm sure wes feels this feeling, a desire to control the situation to exercise some control over it. i've reached out to my battle buddies and my translator and the opportunity to be of value to other people helped me a lot. >> where is your translator now? >> lives in the united states. because of the high-level intelligence we did, freq

want to start with sam brock. 24 hours ago you and i were talking about hundreds of people trapped, needingrescued. please tell me they're safe. >> reporter: largely from what we can gather they are, stephanie, amazingly. you said the name of the town correctly. laplace, la feet, two areas that saw so many rescues going on. we got mixed signals whether there needs to be hundreds of folks rescued, then we saw it with our own eyes that there were high water vehicles coming through communities. this spot, the big issue is when. the power lines are strewn in the yard. this is a microcosm of what you'll see on highway 61. there are power poles turned like this, 45 degree angles, barely hovering above the ground. communication continues to be an issue. they said we think rescue efforts are over now, however, because communication is spotty, many can't reach loved ones. that's the biggest x factor. looking around me, there are trailers tipped over into homes. there's one literally over my shoulder. energy now certainly an issue. you have 780,000 people in the state of louisiana, customers. multipl

thank you, sam brock in tennessee. take care. >>> coming up, violence at the kabul airport as afghans try to escape taliban rule. we have the latest on evacuation efforts. and new pressure on the biden administration next. forts. and new pressure on e thbiden administration next. ♪ ♪ just two pills for all day pain relief. aleve it, and see what's possible. for people who could use a lift new neutrogena® rapid firming. a triple-lift serum with pure collagen. 92% saw visibly firmer skin in just 4 weeks. neutrogena® for people with skin. do you struggle with occasional nerve aches neutrogena® in your hands or feet? try nervivenerve relief from the world's #1 selling nerve care company. nervive contains alpha lipoic acid to relieve occasional nerve aches, weakness and discomfort. try nervivenerve relief. introducing the new citi custom cash℠ card, a different kind of card that rewards rashida where her spending is trending. just ask overly confident diy rashida rashida: wait, was this the right wall? or last minute gift s

sam brock is in waverly, tennessee, and we will talk more about this in a moment, but we need to go to the white house room where there is an update about the afghanistan situation. >>> the allies and the afghans at risk of persecution or worse. in the last 24 hours alone, 28 u.s. military flights have evacuated approximately 10,400 people from kabul. in addition, 61 coalition aircraft have evacuated approximately 5,900 additional people. and this is more than 16,000 people in 24 hours, and the flights are continuing hour by hour as we speak. we have established a network of transit centers in multiple countries in the gulf and where we are assisting to get u.s. citizens home, and running biometric and biochecks on other people to have them relocated. so all totaled there are four continents involved. this is one of the largest diplomatic, security and humanitarian undertaking and a testament to the power and the purpose of the united states and our allies. i want to provide an update on american citizens. we have helped thousands of americans leave kabul already. we have contacted ame

i want to bring in sam brock. he is just outside plas, louisiana. were they under evacuation orders and chose to defy them or didn't they have means or time to get out, were they blindsided? >> reporter: it has been a combination. the only mandatory evacuation orders were those outside the levee system. everyone else had discretion what to do. i can tell you for days there was congestion bordering on parking lot level gridlock on interstate 10. it made it more challenging if you wanted to get out of town to accomplish that. right now, i am on highway 61. you'll see this tree which good samaritans came to buzz down. they have been going up and down the highway from baton rouge to new orleans to clear a path for people to get out that need to. power lines dip at a 45 degree angle. that goes on for miles. coming down the road, power lines are strewn across highways. and you mentioned about a million or so customers, multiply that by three or four times of people impacted that don't have power. there's a crisis unfolding. it is west of new orleans, we d

sam brock joins us from tennessee. >> reporter: the city of waverly is in a state of shock. >> there'sins, riley and ryan, two of the 21 confirmed deaths with dozens of loved ones still missing. >> we're going to be overwhelmed for the next probably 30 days, at least. overwhelmed. >> reporter: caleb mccourt chased after his family in a boat but couldn't reach his two-year-old stepson who was clinging to his mom. >> she had him in her arms whenever he got swept away. i couldn't get back to him, but she managed to save our other four children. if it wasn't for her, i wouldn't have any children right now. >> reporter: some survivors shaken to their core. >> i was in it for myself. they were stuck up there. i've never seen anything like it and all i could think was how am i going to get out of here? >> reporter: others seeking refuge on top of janet rice's rooftop, rescued by helicopter as conditions deteriorate. you hear the term buckled roads all the time. what is that in practice? asphalt ripped up, concaves at this bridge, physical damage to match the emotional toll. even with the brok

willie, back to you. >> nabz's sam brock in hollywood, florida. thank you so much.0 pearce last week because hospitals were swamped with covid patients. i guess i started to answer my own question with the delays to those own surgeries, but what is the state of affairs in terms of covid patients, in icus, hospitalizations in your system? >> good morning, willie. it's a critical situation in louisiana. we have about 130 covid patients. july 1st we had 60 covid patients at ochsner. we redeployed 800 employees out of our clinics in outpatient areas to help take care of patients. so it's definitely a very difficult situation and as you indicated, we've delayed about 1,100 surgeries and procedures from last week. we're not able to take transfers from other smaller hospitals around the state at the referral center and we take about 50 transfers a day for a higher level of care. we have only been able to accept about 20 a day so that means that patients are out if other organizations not getting the care they need to receive at a facility like ochsner health. it's a diffic