and push the worst part of the storm, the strongest part and waters and storm sturge into tampa bay. that's been a real concern. and really, truly, could come true in the next 24 hours for us. this storm is slowly working its way up. all. force winds, that's nice, you get a break and you can actually stand up and have a conversation. so, kate, everything that we were concerned about the storm is really. happening. so, i just want to tell people, stay inside, ride this out. it's going to be the rest of the day for south florida. >> absolutely. and, sam, i just want to do a little weather 101, if we can. >> reporter: okay, sure. >> obviously, the rain and wind, but when you talk about the storm sturge and what could hit the tampa area, explain that to our viewers. why are we so concerned about water being swept in? >> reporter: okay. sorry, kate, let me put that down for a second so we get through, because i've got to talk with my hands. the winds constantly coming out of a flood of a hurricane. if you were to put a bathtub of water and have a fan on one side of the tub and turn that fa

tropical storm-force winds. 220 miles from the center of this storm. it's covering the whole state of florida and the tornado warnings. we've had at least a dozen tornado warned storms, since this morning, and can you see right now a lot of them lined up all along the coast here. daytona beach, merritt island, down towards, all along the coast here is where we're seeing the potential for tornado-warned storms along the east coast. 24 hours, over six or seven confirmed reports, hoyer totals of actual reports throughout the day today and the tornado threat will remain high as we go through the overnight hours into tomorrow. so the latest forecast as of 5:00 p.m., category 2 storm, 110-mile-per-hour sustained winds moving north at 14 miles per hour. as you've heard me throughout the day today, the storm surge is the main story here because we've got very vulnerable areas. low-lying homes along the coast. the west coast of florida, and we're seeing the storm surge rise in and around the naples area. five feet within minutes and that's the big concern. in s

but the storm is bearing down on the islands. it's so tragic really to have one storm after the other. a major hurricane is 95% inhabitable and we have another storm headed that way. >> no matter how many people are affected. 10, 20,000 people. it's people affected by potentially jose. we hope it continues with the loop to the right. hurricanes have their own mind it appears. a lot of us every day folks might say. quickly, we're about to talk to the mayor of cape coral. near fort myers. with the new estimation coming out an hour ago. what does it mean? >> it's a more concerning track for cape coral. because of the location of the latest models that we're seeing. we're expecting the track to be more to the west coast of florida. that would affect the community more. currently the storm is away from florida. you mention the bands. some of the energy getting so close to the florida keys already. so yes, we'll see more storm surge in southwest florida than originally expected. things can change and shift. it's always better to be prep

the storm made landfall over the cudjoe key area around 9:10 as a category 4 storm. the keys are actually still getting the effects of the storm on the back side. they are not completely out of the woods yet. as the storm moves up the coast we are getting observer reports of hurricane gusts in miami-dade. the center of the storm looks like it will be moving you have the southwest coast of florida over the later today. and we have a hurricane warning potentially for the entire state of florida except for the western panhandle because of the large size of this system. we have the hurricane is expected to remain a major hurricane when it reaches the southwest coast. it will weaken as it crosses the tampa area. but this will be a major wind and surge event as well as i rainfall the next couple days. the surge event. southwest florida is especially vulnerable from the captiva air includinair -- area including n. we are expecting storm surge of 10-15 feet and 6-8 feet in the heavily populated tampa area. this remains a dangerous threat for southwest florida later today and

the monster storm battering the keys with 130-mile-per-hour winds. and life-threat. m surge, up to 15 feet. over 20 inches of rain expected in some areas. >> as new warnings come out about the potentially catastrophic category 4 hurricane. >> this is a storm of absolutely miss torque detruktive potential. >> people flee to hower ground. >> i was really scared. >> we have a mad house. >> thousands liping up waiting for hours to get in.

we know the storm is possible. it is an important deep dive to go through all of these as well as shelters and housing and patients and the aging population and number of people and first responders in harms way, we got to have really good conversations about how well we did. >> i will say one thing that we have done very well. i thought the reporting from the governor, the coordination of the press conferences and the updates and the unified message from the governor to most of the mayors and those people evacuating and taking it serieslserie seriously, they did a better job than texas. there were mixed messages. >> reporter: right, i think you are right about that. a lot of it had to do of the responsibility oies of the connection. florida had to evacuate a lot and texans, they don't have to evacuate. you have just a few people who'll say hell knno, i won't g and in texas, it is a state motto. my parents lived there for a long time. i think there is a different mentality when it comes to storms. i think you are ri

and the storm surge. where the most deaths and most damage occur, anywhere from 5 to 15 feet depending on where you are. it goes all the way up to the georgia-south carolina border, lester. we were worried about miami with all the cranes. we're standing across from two cranes over here, two construction cranes. that's one of those things i know they've got to be very, very concerned about. >> i have to ask you, the images of harvey and beaumont and houston are still fresh, 50 inches of rain. this will be a rain event, on that kind of scale? >> no. this is moving relatively quickly. harvey, it just stopped and just kept dumping rain. this will be anywhere from 20 to 25 inches for inches generally but upwards ever 20 inches in some spots. but sandy soil, hopefully drains out pretty quickly. >> all right, al, thanks very much. let's send it back to new york now. >>> lester and al, thank you so much. florida's governor rick scott says this is the most catastrophic storm his state has ever seen and he sounded t

the storm surge is a real concern. southwest florida, naples is a particular concern for the national hurricane center and steve harrigan is live. >> they've warned western collier county could get extreme wind of 150 miles an hour. we are not quite there yet, but we are starting to feel it. we've had tropical storms under 74, but now it's starting to pick up. we are seeing small objects begin to fly around. branches, palm trees chemistry shines are shaking. i'm not seeing any debris, but we are still hours out. this is a civil emergency right now. stay inside your house. that's what we've been doing more than 20,000 people in shelters. they are in their watching this as it comes. naples could really get whacked here, both by the wind up 130 and then by the storm surge. when you follow the icon anywhere from 10 to 15 feet. parts of where i'm standing that could be underwater by tomorrow morning in a real stress to these trees if it keeps out. i'm a little surprised it's getting this strongest early. it is going to be af

the storm, christie, a category 4 storm. people really won't feel the difference in that 10 to 15 miles per hour. but the category still indicates that this is going to be a monster for south florida. in fact, the entire state, i'm going to toss it back to you in atlanta. >> all right, victor, stay safe. >>> i want to make clear what florida's governor is saying, he says if you live in this state, you will be hit by this storm. millions of people, thankfully, have taken that warning to heart. and they are getting out. it was a mass exodus from this deadly storm. here's how one evacuee from miami describ3ed her decision to leave. >> it's difficult for me to leave my home. i don't want to disgrace myself. but this is going to be a big storm. and it's going to come in, right in at miami. so, we would watch, we would wait, we would watch. we would hope that it would sort of veer to the right and go out to sea. at one point, it became apparent this was our window of opportunity to move north. to go north. so, we drove north until

evacuees inside listening to the howling storm. imagine the sounds of what they're hearing right now. matt seeking shelter on the right during our special report. i do want to get back to matt gutman, if you can hear me, just reassure the rest of us you are okay. you were giving us an extraordinary display. we lost his audio, but the producers have told me he's okay. even before the storm hit naples, the outer bands were already causing significant damage here. it's 3:00 p.m. eastern, and one of the first things to go is the power. this hotel has gone completely dark. irma is 20 miles to the south, the winds have already picked up. it's extremely intense. sustained winds right now, 120 miles per hour. i'm just going to show you what we've done down here. as we were on the air, you can actually hear some of the debris coming in. but these windows, come around the corner here, tom. this is what happens when these buildings, just be careful, tom. the awnings on the outside of the building are actually crashing down, breaking these wind

the last storms in the country with a storm surge like this, sandy did it to the jersey coastline. this is what 10 to 15 feet of storm surge will do. this is hurricane sandy in new jersey. that storm surge was 10 to 12 feet. hurricane ike did it in the gulf on the boulevard peninsula north of houston. this was barrier island. what you are looking at is houses that were on stilts that got hit by a storm surge of 10 to 15 feet with the wave action. there are only four, five houses out of a hundred in the area that remain. that's the catastrophic damage that's going to be in the ft. myers area and naples with a population combined of 1 million people. that boulevard peninsula had maybe a thousand. try to fathom a storm surge in a highly populated area. it really hasn't happened. the worst storm surge with hurricane katrina was in northern mississippi, sleidel to the coast of alabama. that was hit hard, too. the storm itself, the wind field hats now expanded to the point where it's still south of cuba with tropical storm force winds. we are up to naples and miami with the first tropical

if the surge were to come up, after the storm passes then we get the backside of the storm, then theater will come in. >> what went through your mind when you haefrd theard that the had changed course and was heading for you? >> that was very scary, nerve-wracking. we haven't had a direct hit in a long time, so we were, we were concerned. but we took all the precautions necessary. we have to wait until the storm passes, and once everything is calm, we will see if we c check on it. >> and what are you seeing outside now? >> lots of rain, lots of wind. it's very dark. we do have power still. we did not lose power, but i think that the wind that's coming now, with the force of the, you know, the storm reaching closer to us. >> are you worried about that aspect, knowing that the worst hasn't hit yet? >> a little bit, but we're not as concerned because of the strength of the storm is a lot lower. we'll see what happens. at the moment, everything is okay. we have flickering lights here and there. but we feel safe and comfortable for now. >> safe and comfortable is a very important thing. >

it was about the storm surge. w-lying areas and the wind gust, 140-50-miles-per-hour sustained winds if we have landfall of a category 4. the worst side of the storm for the west coast of florida. and then we will be dealing with the potential for tropical storm forced winds parts of georgia, unfortunately for the next several days and you can see the forecasts, hurricane forced winds for much of the strait of florida through monday and tuesday. liz, back to you. >> janice dean with the very latest, thank you so much. >> as we saw with phil keaton. irma outer bands are hitting some parts of southern florida, a few more hours of preparation available a little bit north. that's where we find former arkansas governor mike huckabee in santa rosa beach, florida right now. it sure looks beautiful behind you, sir, portrays, i guess, or danger coming, you've been through disasters and the storms before as governor, what is going through rick scott's mind right now. >> let me say i don't know who could have handled it bette

fort lauderdale in florida, as the storm approaches. cuba was battered overnight — there's been ‘significant damage' and the recovery process is now beginning. in other news: officials in mexico say at least 90 people are now known to have died in thursday's earthquake. tony blair calls for tougher immigration rules as a way to cut numbers, without the need for brexit. sir mo farah becomes the first athlete to win the great north run four times in a row. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. after battering its way through the caribbean, hurricane irma — currently a category four storm — has slammed into the lower florida keys, lashing the island chain with winds of up to 130 miles per hour. the hurricane made landfall in cuba late on friday. it engulfed villages, causing widespread damage and leaving whole communities homeless. the eye of the storm has now reached florida keys, bringing extreme winds that are expected to last for the next few hours. all residents had been ordered to leave amid fears that a storm surge reaching 15 feet

once the storm moves the storm is thin, very important to note. a lot of areas basically at sea level, maybe a couple feet above it. some of our forecast storm surge going miles and land here. that is very dependent on exactly the issue where you are. one foot down, four to five feet higher will change where you are. storm surge is big later on. it takes a long time. by monday night the center of the storm is somewhere over central georgia. watching hurricane force winds as far north as up into what it is. pete: tonight is the peak storm surge. trade made it depends on where you are. naples, fort myers. abby: tampa. >> it's a very different thing in each position. in some spots water or pull away from you and then come back to you afterwards. tampa bay is a good example. the inside of the day looking at first it has to move in one direction and all that even internally into the base. every single spot is a different story and that is why in most cases your local forecasting is the best bet for you for that kind of specific detail. abby: thank you v

sharing shelter from the storm. incredible stories and new details, where hurricane irma is headed next. it's not just florida. we will be back tonight. take the zantac it challenge! pill works fast? zantac works in as little as 30 minutes. nexium can take 24 hours. when heartburn strikes, take zantac for faster relief than nexium or your money back. take the zantac it challenge. we were in a german dance group. i wore lederhosen. so i just started poking around on ancestry. then, i decided to have my dna tested through ancestry dna. it turns out i'm scottish. so, i traded in my lederhosen for a kilt. essential for vinyl, but maybe not for people with rheumatoid arthritis. because there are options. like an "unjection™". xeljanz xr. a once daily pill for adults with moderate to severe ra for whom methotrexate did not work well. xeljanz xr can reduce pain, swelling and further joint damage, even without methotrexate. xeljanz xr can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fata

is the tropical storm force winds and 80 miles from the center of the storm still hurricane force winds. we just got the latest update, winds at 110 miles per hour, that is a strong category two storm. but, again, i stress that this is a storm surge story for the west coast of florida, all very low-lying areas, so 5-10 to 15-foot storm surge is still going to put these areas at risk for a lot of water over the next several hours. shepard, still watching that. the storm surge will be the risk over the next 12-18 hours. the whole state of florida still under a hurricane warning, 18 million people, and that stretches into georgia as well. back to you. shepard: we've just gotten an indication, janice, of a 4-foot rise in the storm surge in the last about 38 minutes there in naples, and still rising. >> reporter: yep, absolutely. and this is going to be a really finish you know, that is the -- the national hurricane center has been telling us forecasters if there is the number one story that you have to get out there, it is the storm surgeriesing. the winds, of course, are going to be excess

let's discuss the storm surge effect. e going to see now that the track is more west, only 3 to 5 feet in miami. that's still destructive, but not as destructive at the 5 to 10 feet likely along the keys and the 10 to 15 feet likely along the southwest portion of florida. stit a calgory 4, it will be not over land, but the wraparound effect that's going to force the water inland and bring the high storm surge values. still around 6 to 10 feet near ft. myers and 5 to 8 feet near tampa as it continues to progress to the north, it will start to weaken over the panhandle. now let's discuss winds because we're also concerned with how strong the wind gusts are. like i mentioned, this red circle shows us hurricane force winds. 74 miles per hour or higher. i have to point out that this storm is pushing 130-mile-per-hour winds. at this core, that's where you find the winds and they're right over the keys as we speak. as we go through the afternoon, the problem is they will be brushing up against southwest florida. that's just damag

dave, thank you very much. >> and the storm surge is often the deadliest part of any storm and that's why we're watching it so closely along with all those florida officials. we continue our coverage. hurricane irma hitting as we speak. we've got our correspondents across the region. lester and al leading up ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ the all new 2018 camry. toyota. let's go places. that airline credit card yout? have... it could be better. it's time to shake things up. with the capital one venture card, you get double miles on everything you buy, not just airline purchases. seriously, think of all the things you buy. great...is this why you asked me to coffee? well yeah... but also to catch-up. what's in your wallet? i )m kira klapper. this special edition of )today) returns in a moment - with >>> good morning. it's 6:29. i'm kira klapper. this special edition of "today" returns in a moment with the latest on hurricane irma battering florida as we speak. there are crews from the bay area in florida poised to help out. the air national guard rescue wing is there. also california task force three based

>> the storm surge the hurricane center takes what they are predicting for this storm. they were predicting for it to come off of cuba, actually regain strength and make landfall as a category 4. fought just in the keys, but a category 4 up in the napled area. they had the force of the hurricane path a little on the west coast or a little bit off. >> that didn't happen. it was weaker. it was a category 3 when it came into naples. it wasn't a 4. and the path instead of going along the coast was inland. so that prevented those two factors, see, we have computers, also give us predictions on these storm surges, it's called the slosh mid-el. that's the technical term for it. they put those parameters and it spits out the numbers. that's how they got the 10 to 15 feet. if you put bad information in, the computer will give you bad information out. >> this is one case where we have bad information. >> there is no one upset. >> bill, thanks, very much for that. let's go live to kristen dolgren in ft. meyers. after spanning the city yesterday, it appears the storm has passed with

here is the center of the storm. and this red blob on the northeast side, the new update says 120 miles per hour sustained, gusts to 150, that will be in this thunderstorm complex to the right there. here is the closer zoomed inimage of this. this is where kerry is located in is marco island. you see them swallowing up the marco islands here. we'll go further to the north. let's give you a little distance tracker. the storm is starting to accelerate, it was moving eight or nine, the last update is 12 miles per hour. ever so slowly it will move north faster now. naples you are now 16 miles to the leading edge of the northern eye. that is an hour and 15 minutes from now from where kerry is. the worst of the winds out of there. let's go out further from name are further out. ft. myers, bonita springs, we spoke to that mayor, he says he knows there are people in trailers and mobile homes, the highest elevation is 13 feet. bonita springs is 29 miles. you're roughly two hours, two hours 15 minutes from being in that eye wal

that's the storm surge. that's the way the storm surge will come in. stem lifts up to the north on the back side of that, it will be the western coast that gets the storm surge. as it moves up, that's where you see it. ahead of the storm on the east coast, you'll see storm surge. on the west coast, we'll see more storm surge as the system starts to make its way parallel and goes to the north, savannah. >> second ago, you said water comes in about the same speed that the hurricane is moving, you said 8 miles per hour. a day or so ago, that was moving at 13, 14 miles per hour. do you expect it to continue to slow down or pick up speed? >> generally speaking, it starts to speed up once it gets on land but right now we don't see much of a pick up in speed. i think it will remain between 8 to 9, maybe 10 miles per hour at most. >> lester and al there in tampa. at the moment, fairly peaceful there, but not for long. that's where it is headed. >> guys, thank you. >> thank you so much. our coverage of hurricane irma as it is making landfall in florida and the k

the storm surge along the west coast, but the tornado threat. we have a lot of tornado-warned storms across the east coast of florida, around fort lauderdale, and those will be ongoing. they're weak tornadoes, but they can cause structural damage and, obviously, when you have a lot of rain and wind, you're not going to hear those warnings, so that's the concerning part of it. we are going to get another update, a full update at 5 p.m. eastern time with the full coordinates and whether the storm will continue its weakening trend. certainly, that seems to be the case, which is good news. but this is a storm surge story with all these vulnerable coastlines. so that's an ongoing threat especially as we get into the tampa bay area. shepard: no doubt. look at wsvn interviewing someone on the streets in florida. listen to this. >> here we go. we're going to let you get inside, we're going to do the same. >> all right. >> all right. stay safe, we'll be talking to you soon. those are the folks we're actually seeing out here -- shepard: you know, 4:10 p.m.

they are expecting the storm surge for 12 hours. are starting to feel the hurricane force winds at 7:00. they really want people to listen. they have been begging people the last 24 hours, do the smart thing. get to a safe place. this is not something that you want to risk riding out in the wrong place, george. >> thanks very much. 40-mile-per-hour winds, ginger, are the trigger for all police and law enforcement to go inside. some have faced higher than that. >> it's not going to stop. it's going to go up to 120 or 130. that's why we have that extreme wind warning. now we have the area highlighted in hot pink there. that's for 115 plus. so that lightning filled outer wall is now approaching. and less than 50 miles from naples at my last little distance calculator. marco island will get it first to bonita springs, and cape coral. >> we will stay with your coverage all day long on abc news. you can download the app for breaking news alerts. we will have a special edition of world news tonight and 20/20 at 7:00 eastern. in just a minu

you can see the storm on the satellite picture, the storm on the satellite picture, the eye of the storm close to the florida keys. the eye of the storm has very light winds, it is around the edge of the item we are seeing sustained and steady winds, around 130 mph, within this category four hurricane. the effects will be many and will be significant. we will see those sustained winds which will cause major damage. also heavy rain, a storm surge potentially some tornadoes as well. the real set of impacts that will cause some big problems across florida. this storm is moving very slowly. only eight miles per hour. it will take some time for this storm to drift its way across the west coast of florida, unleashing those heavy rains, 500 millimetres in places. those damaging winds and a storm surge which could inundate coastal areas. this story is far from done, hurricane irma will continue to cause major problems and we will continue to keep you up—to—date in the hours ahead. we will just show you we willjust show you some live pictures from miami and you can see how the winds whipping thos

the worst part of the storm will be battering away at the western coast of florida. here's another look at it on storm tracker 6. there's the eye wall right there. just now crossing over the florida keys. some of the peak wind gusts look like this. a couple locations we have been able to tack a measurement over last couple hours, these winds might have knocked these wind speeds down a little bit. 94 miles per hour, key west, 92, marathon key, 88 miles per hour, two and a half hours ago, we haven't had a report since, more likely their measuring unit down, fort lauderdale 72 and miami, 58, what we're looking at as the eye wall parallels the coast, these winds will start intensifying by 3:00 this afternoon, marco island up to 125 miles per hour. by 7:00 this evening, fort myers close to 100 miles per hour and as we progress along to sunday and monday, storm lifts north into northern florida and the pan handle and eventually getting into georgia. by the time we get into monday afternoon. so the worse is just now hitting southern florida, i'll be back along in a few minut

storm because we're so far away from the center of the storm which is over on the west coast but for m arco island, sarasota, tampa bay it's a cat 3 maybe cat 2 if you're lucky. i mean that's bad. you think this is bad and this is just tropical storm form, wait until the full on hurricane that's why everyone needed to heed these evacuation warnings. power outages are super widespread already more than a million people in florida currently without power and that's probably going to get up to six to eight million before it's all said and donna cording to the estimates by the two main utility providers in the state. i know several people who evacuated south florida. some went up to tampa and tampa on thursday night, you could hardly find a hotel room because there was so many south and east coast residents who had gone over to evacuate and escape hurricane irma there. so they saw the track of the storm yesterday and all afternoon or morning, really wasn't very windy at all down in miami-dade or broward or palm beach county. in fact 50 people up in palm beach county one of their shelters

top of the screen. >> let's talk about the speed of this storm and the intensity of the storm. it picked up from what it was doing over the water. >> i've been impressed. >> this was a cat 3 and usually with a cat 3. you can expect gusts of 120. that 142-mile-per-hour wind gusts at the naples airport. that was -- wow, that would do significant damage to not only trees, but structure snoors the people who say they have these hurricane-proof windows, it's meant to withstand something hitting it at 140 or 150 miles an hour. we're at the top of that. does the fact that it made landfall at marco island, does that mean it will weaken and slow down? >> it may help lower the winds a little bit. these are some of the tide gauges and we'll be updating these. this is st. petersburg toward the clearwater beach area. this is st. petersburg near tampa. you can see the red there. that was the low water when the water was blown out and then you will see the red line shoot way up and that's how the pattern will work and we'll be updating you and showing you all these tide gauges as we go through

americans forced to ride out the storm in the islands and then an armed gang stormed the hotel, purses. generators and >> it was chaos, total destruction. ew tonight, night vision video of the air national guard continuing to evacuate u.s. citizens from st. maarten. both the state and defense departments say that citizens who still need to get out should shelter in place until tomorrow and head to the airport by noon and bring proof of citizenship. it will be several days before we know the full extent of one through the florida keys. we got a look at some of the damage before sundown. homes in key largo largely survived the storm there is good news from key west. hisest hemingway's house and cats survived the storm. a wrote out the storm with staff. the highest peak, was 16 feet above sea level. a man on florida's east coast tried to ride out hurricane irma on his boat. then his anchor broke. he is a scuba diver, so he decided to swim to safety. as conditions worsened, video captured from a nearby condo when two people try to pull him out of the water. he was taken to a local shelter.

once the storm passes, that is when the biggest threat from the storm surge is going to hit. ginger talked about it. david talked about it. you mentioned it. the biggest threat is when the winds actually subside. what ends up happening is people go out and say, oh, the worst has passed. that's when the storm surge comes. tonight is the biggest storm surge is forecast for don't. people may not be able to see the water encroaching. the force of trillions of gallons, quadrillions can decimate cars, the house. it is an unstoppable object, george. >> a few hours from now you will not be able to be in these streets. thanks very much. ginger, we have the entire day ahead. and then weeks, if not months, of recovery in the state of florida. >> right. bill south was saying, a couple of days. a lot of power companies have been saying not with this type of wind. and not because we have such a large area that can be affected. it could be weeks before people get powerback. the water tkreupbs quickly here. it doesn't come from down street. you're not going to have 50 inches like harvey. but

the major concern is the storm surge. we spoke with the mayor of ft. lier this afternoon. and he said that is his number one concern. take a listen. >> when you look at this storm, if you end up pushing all that water that came across the atlantic with this storm, and you push it up on our shores and you combine that, if we're unlucky to be at a high tide, especially during a seasonal high tide season. and combine that with a little rain that's going to be there anyway, that precipitation. and then the last element, the east wind pushing that waterton surface, those factors could all lead to a serious water issue here in the city of ft. lauderdale. >> now the mayor was confident besides that. he says all the preparations have been made, that they have gotten all the information and resources they need from the state and federal government. he told us it is not the storm that he is particularly afraid of, but the aftermath. anderson? >> i understand there is still a few bars and businesses open in ft. lauderdale. >> yeah, it's fewer and fewer by the hour

but the storm gives no quarter. here, battering the glass doors of this naples shelter. >> there was pandemonium. we were very scared and with her nerves and the baby, we high tailed it out. packed some food, got what we needed and got here within an hour. >> reporter: we met toughened hurricane survivors like john tisdale. >> andrew flattened everything. knocked the roof off the house. >> reporter: so you're not taking any chances. >> no. i'm 70 years old. i can't take no chance. >> reporter: you're going to be okay. we're glad you're here at the shelter. >> okay, okay, appreciate it. >> reporter: when irma made its first landfall in the keys, all expectations were shattered. more water moving with more force. the streets of key largo resembling the canals of venice. watch as this storm chaser struggles to keep his feet as he tries to clock how strong the winds are, clocking winds as high as 117 miles per hour. in naples, a brief respite from irma's fury as her eye passes over. >> this isn't bad. 20 minutes ago you

wind field, the storm surge pushes up the coast. beach with an easterly wind they could see 3 to 5 feet storm surge. out of the of the west you could see 2 to 4-foot storm surge for places like tampa. sunday into monday, the storm travels into the northwest and gets into georgia. look at the wynfield you're pushing the wall of water into the georgia and south carolina coast. if through here we could see a storm surge of 5 to 10 feet above the normal high tide levels. i'll be back with the projected path and what to expect over the next seven days with the exclusive accuweather seven-day forecast in just a if minutes. >> he -- in just a few minute. >>> many people have left the coastal areas. brian taff filed this report. >> reporter: there's a sense of unease in fort lauderdale florida. that's a sentiment shared by those back home who have relatives in florida. some of the concern is being mitigated that has a changing westward course that takes miami out of the bulls eye. the airport in fort lauderdale shut down last night that's af

the u.s. as a cat three storm in the florida keys. residents riding out this storm shared this video with us as the winds whipped in the water surged. and then, irma left downtown miami under more than four feet of water in some places. white caps on some city streets. and flying debris. then, irma's eye moved out of naples. that area getting thrashed with high winds and high water. reporters and plum trees getting pushed all around. the storm surge is a big concern along the gulf coast. irma sucked water out of tampa bay, and people know this. forecasters are warning folks. irma is meant to send it rushing back. i am kimberly suiters. more than 2 million people without power tonight. it could be a long time before they get it back. we have team coverage of hurricane irma. we begin with meteorologist steve rudin tracking the storm. are we talking about less historic proportions? i want to give you the latest update. updates come in every hour from the national hurricane center. 100 10. wind gusts at 130 miles per hour, moving to the no

brought by the storm. compare to the last hour, the storm. the visibility looks much worse. from where you were in the last hour. have you seen many people out on the roads. clearly many people told to take self chilly shelter or get out of florida altogether. you don't see an awful lot amount of ca rs. don't see an awful lot amount of cars. there are few. the storm is still half a day away. some people still half a day away. some people still taking their chances. leaving the area towards shelter. the main thing we are seeing is a lot of officers patrolling the area. the patrol officers taking shelter underneath different bridges. not sure whether that is where they're going to ride out the storm. 0nce the winds reached tropical storm force, in the next to or three macro hours, they will suspend operations, it is too dangerous to go out. in the build—up to the storm, the arrival of the centre, there are occasionally brief lull. the storm picks up foursquare dies down, the storm, the hurricane creeping in. the lulls becomes shorter. the wind s

they thought the storm surge may come up. let's get back to the live aerials right now, we are showing pictures from the florida keys. listen again to jack who is on the phone, luke jones is from key largo florida which is the far most northern key. >> we are putting stuff in piles so people can get through the roads. >> what was it like to write out the storm and key largo? we heard from mr. garcia, it must've been treacherous and scary for you as well. >> it's not my first hurricane but this was probably the one -- i was three during andrew, this is the one that i remember that was probably the worst. the only way i can describe it, a lot of people in florida know of disney world and space mountain and being inside space mountain constantly for about ten hours. that's what it felt like, things rushing by, one of the palm trees fell down. there are a bunch of railings that are bent over, hearing noises in the middle of the night, we are all boarded up, you can't really see anything, it's an unknown factor. a bunch of wind, a

the storm has shifted. so people in ft. myers were looking at people here, in downtown miami and south beach and saying they're going to get it they weren't preparing the same way. and that makes sense. but now that the storm track has shifted, the urgency shifts as well. that doesn't mean it's over here. again, what have we seen? the highest gusts i think we've seen here is about 35 miles per hour. it's nothing. but it is enough to change the dynamic of the water and the lower structures and we're seeing it come over the shoreline and into the parking areas here and we've seen nothing yet. we're literally a day away to the worst of it but now let's get to kyung lah, she's at another location here on miami beach. where virgin hernandez, one of the fire chiefs has a message to people, don't come back. ten feet of storm surge, 90, 100-mile-per-hour winds, still very dangerous. so if you evacuated, stay where you are, what is it like where you are, kyung? >> well you can see for yourself, we're starting to feel the tropical-for

not knowing when or where the storm impacts. walmarts, targets, costco all in short supply on cases of bottled water and other supplies. the walmart we were at earlier, out of cat food and dog food. batteries hard to find. the one thing going on here other than evacuating from the keys tonight, the evacuations coming up for broward and you also have in miami-dade county. people are stocking up a lot foster than they did last year for hurricane matthew. here's what one local resident told us. >> set to go with my mommy. she's in new york. i'm going to be okay. just go through it. >> i'm stocked up. i'll be fine. >> it's been a hot and humid day for this time of year in miami. tempers have begun to flare at gas stations we're people wait and somebody cuts in front. people are stressed out, anxious and worried. every time they look at the tv and see the local news coverage showing this monster hurricane, people are seriously getting ready to either head out of the state or hunker down with hopefully enough supplies, shep. >> shepard

the storm comes in along here and goes north. i will reset this and pull this out a little bit more. clear and off. not the best with the technology. here we go. coming ashore right about here, and then naples and marco island, fort myers, up until lee county, northern lee county up at the charlotte county. this is more looking like now the highest impact of the storm may be for you. huge skyscrapers, high-rises, a lot of elderly people and others, vacation makers and marco island and certainly naples. if this eye wall ends up making its way there, that's a very bad news for everybody in the southwest florida area. let's consider how wide the eye wall is now. the eye is about 46 miles wide. remember, from naples over to fort lauderdale is 100 miles wide. 1245 miles of that, half of the peninsula at that end and making its way through fort myers, lee county, port charlotte, tracking toward the center of the state. as we go north, instead of heading directly up into the atlanta area, they are now talking about the store making its w

the monster storm slamming the bahamas, as well. could reach a devastating 20 feet. irma has left a trail of death and destruction through the caribbean. new pictures coming out of the virgin islands reveal catastrophic damage. it may take years to rebuild all that's gone. >> i can guarantee you that i don't know anyone in florida who's experienced what's about to hit south florida. >> reporter: in florida, it's time to get out of irma's way. governor rick scott spoke to us in the last hour. >> if you're in an evacuation zone, you've got to get out now. >> reporter: the rush to get out has created massive traffic jams. it's one of the largest evacuations in american history. about 5.5 million people ordered to leave. population of the entire state of florida. and getting gas proving a challenge. >> long lines. this is the first one that had a decent line. >> thinking about two, three hours to get gas. >> reporter: flying is no longer an option. south florida's major airports closed last night. those lucky enough to get a flight out f

the monster storm battering the keys with 130-mile-per-hour winds. and life-threatening storm surge, up to 15 feet. over 20 inches of rain expected in some areas. >> as new warnings come out about the potentially catastrophic category 4 hurricane. >> this is a storm of absolutely historic destruct ifrive potential. >> people flee to higher ground. >> i was really scared. >> filling shelters to capacity. >> we have a mad house. >> thousands lining up waiting for hours to get in. >> we don't have any more space. >> come on, boots. >> others hunkering down. wherever they can. >> she's one of my pets. >> even in car dealerships as they try to ride out this storm. >> this is the first time the sheriff ever came down our street. >> to order you out? >> yeah. the first time. >> cities in irma's path, deserted and boarded up. the governor warning people to be on guard. >> this is clearly a life-threatening situation. the storm surge comes after the strongest winds. >> more than 1,000 americans rescued from st. martin, now sharing their terrifyinging stories o

the center of irma. we know that that storm is here. of the places where we had already started to see such heavy rain from those bands -- remember they are getting the winds and the search and they are getting power outages and tornadoes, twisters from fort lauderdale to miami on the east side of florida and then when we expect irma to come in full force directed along the west side of the state and all of those beautiful cities that hug the coastline there, naples florida being one of them, life-threatening conditions over the last 24 hours and the rain. the rain is coming down in sheets. let's go to steven he's been out there for several hours as this has worsened. steve. reporter: harris, the steady rain for the past four or five hours here in naples and wind gusts in the 20s. the startling thing is saturday night in downtown naples along avenue is that you could be out in the forest and there's simply no sound here and no movement and in the past ten minutes maybe one or two police cars going by. every shop and restaurant down this

the storm will likely get stronger again or at least consolidate the eye wall into a 150 storm. and then it will turn right into this beautiful area of south western florida. you're talking all of the cities from fort myers to cape coral you're right under the gun of a major hurricane and 48 hours ago you were not. people left miami to go to naples because they thought they were going to be in good shape. the storm did not cooperate. the storm doesn't know there's a european model. it has a mind of its own. it's its own thing even though we think we can say where it's going to go. we can't. as good as the models are, they are not perfect. miami, fort lauderdale. 5 to 10 foot storm surge. naples all the way down to everglade city. if we fill in the everglades with a 12-foot storm surge, the wall or the levee on the backside of miami, that's not 12 feet tall. there's no way the water is not going to come in and flood miami, at least parts of it from the backside. so we have to watch that. fort myers and tampa, you are also in it. that is going to be a hurricane wind. we'll have hur

the construction material, and of course the storm surge. we may not be getting the big storm surge here. but biscayne bay is right there. and so we are expecting some type of flooding. as you can see here, i'm out here reporting and all of a sudden the gusts will come and just move it around. the conditions here are deteriorating. you can still hear me, right? we have an app called my radar. it shows you, this is where we are at. what you see here is a little bit of rain, right? we are not even in the yellow part of the red part causing tornadoes in broward county and the entire south florida region is under a tornado watch. we have had tornadoes in fort lauderdale 30 miles from here. that's the danger with these squalls. that's what causes that rotation. and that rotation can cause tornadoes. and we have seen some of that. so it's a situation that by all means you do not let your guard down despited the fact the eye is going stover key west. this storm is so massive. you will be seeing these conditions until tomorrow night from what we unde

this wasn't after the storm. and this is what the northern eye wall had done in the naples area north of marco island. there's extensive damage. there is going to be a lot of people taking a long time to clean this up. a lot of financial woes because of that. but we did not see the storm surge going through all of those homes and completely destroying them. >> i want to go to our nbc correspondent back in st. petersburg florida, how are things looking now? >> reporter: it's been raining on and off. this is the lightest rain in 12 hours. it was pounding all yesterday and last night and through the night. and the winds were strong enough to do things like this. this is the biggest tree we've seen down blocking the road. the police came by. they'll chop it down soon. i want to bring in this gentleman here, noah. he was across the street. you road out the storm. tell us what it was like? >> from our perspective, it wasn't terrible. it was a big hurricane and a big storm we were worried about. we had enough time with t

they have ridden out the storm in the past. not changing now whach now. what do you say to them this time? >> this is a different storm. they have been through wilma and hurricane andrew. this is a bigger storm. this is a catastrophic storm. that can't be emphasized more. we had reports of 30 some odd thousand people that evacuated the keys. well, there's about 80,000 that live there on a normal basis. that means barely not even touched half of the folks to get out of there. the question is, what are they going to do when they are cut off. say the eye rolls over the center of the keys and cuts off the causeway? they could be stuck there weeks without help. are they prepared to handle weeks without power or weeks without food and drinking water? >> in terms of the government preparation and government response, i mean, as far as preparations go, they are pleased with how the government, the governor and local officials are preparing. but, emergency management, in terms of preparation, they can only go so far no matter what. you h

that is part of the message wh this storm. 's not all in the center, strongest wind are around the eye but the impacts cover a much larger footprint. latest stats at 11:00, 130 mile per hour winds, category 4 hurricane that is how it made landfall. first time on record we've had two category 4 hurricanes in one season in the united states. see that motion, north at nine. picking up speed as it made that turn, like moving an 18 wheeler it takes a little while, heading west now north moving a little bit faster that trend will continue. here is latest track, no major changes, that center of the storm i didn't skirt all the coast on naples area where thing are starting to go downhill up toward fort myers and saneibel. tomorrow up big bend of florida still at hurricane strength, even as it heads towards georgia and alabama because that have increasing wind field we'll see at least tropical storm form winds heading inland. with that you're talking about major power outages. over a million now, expect that maybe four million as we loo

big question mark on the storm, this isa major hurricane out in the atlantic, look how close it's coming to the caribbean over the next five days we will have to watch this obviously as it gets closer to the u.s. right now i don't have estimation if it will make landfall but we will watch it. irma is category 1 storm, we saw winds in excess of 140 miles per hour, those are wind gusts but those are category 4 wind gusts, naples, florida, 142 miles per hour, we are seeing devastation in naples, florida this morning. the radar now, the bulk of the highest concentration of winds is now moving through central and northern florida, gainesville, you see the yellows and the oranges on your screen, daytona beach as well. that's where we have the core of those very strong hurricane forced winds, also with the right front quadrant of the storm, we have seen tornado reports, dozens of them within the last 48 hours and we still have a tornado watch in effect, we are going to continue to see ongoing tornado threats throughout the day tod