>> all right, victor oquendo in austin. thank you, victor. >>> a major new arrest in the usa gymnastics scandal tonight. the organization's former president was arrested at a cabin in tennessee overnight, more than a year after he resigned. tonight, months after he pleaded the fifth in front of congress and the country, what he's now accused of doing. here's abc's linsey davis. >> reporter: tonight, the former head of usa gymnastics is behind bars. steve penny arrested overnight by u.s. marshals at a tennessee cabin. he's accused of tampering with evidence in the investigation of disgraced olympic doctor larry nassar. >> i've been instructed by my attorney to assert my rights under the fifth amendment. >> reporter: penny refused to answer questions before congress and resigned in the wake of the scandal, saying it was heartbreaking to learn about the abuse. but prosecutors say penny impaired the investigation by ordering "the removal of documents" from the karolyi training camp, where multiple gymnasts say nassar assaulted t

so, let's go to victor oquendo, live in miami. we know additional authorities are being sent into south florida at this hour. victor, what do we know so far? >> reporter: david, for the first time tonight, we're learning of a new focus for investigators. multiple sources now tell aby news that federal authorities are chasing promising leads right here in south florida. right now, they're sending resources down to investigate. authorities are trying to figure out whether some of the devices sent to prominent democrats and others this week were built and possibly sent from here. all those packages had the same return address to south florida, right now, investigators don't have a suspect, but they are working around the clock. david? >> victor oquendo leading us off tonight on the breaking developments. victor, thank you. >>> this urgent hunt right now comes after a day of discoveries yet again, beginning before the sun even came up in new york city, sirens and real concern outside yet another location. and word as i mengtsed vice pr

>> victor oquendo, thank you. >>> let's get right to chief meteorologist ginger zee. the next 24 hours, of course, will be crucial with the track of this thing. >> reporter: it is. and it's right already in the gulf of mexico. as you said, david, it is coming fast. it's moving north at 9 miles per hour. you have the florida panhandle that has the bulk of the action happening. from the alabama state line to swanee river, florida. but the effects will be felt beyond that. now, the cone itself, where the most will happen, takes it tracking over panama city beach wednesday afternoon. the right side, or the dirty side, is where you could see some of the heftiest winds. even inland, you could see some roofs pulled. you could have, of course, power lines and trees down. and then that surge, in the big bend, very vulnerable spot. the rainfall up to a foot. and this will actually move -- lookal raleigh, areas that don't need all that rain, four to six inches of rain. what this storm has is a steering factor. that's what florence didn't have. >> it will move quickly, but it's g

abc's victor oquendo in florida with how authorities were tipped off. >> reporter: police in florida say two girls, just 11 and 12 years old, planned on using these knives and this pizza cutter to kill at least 15 of their classmates. allegedly moments away from executing their plan, until it came to a teacher's attention. >> these girls went to the bathroom to carry out this plot that they had designed on the previous weekend. >> reporter: allegedly designed while watching scary movies at a sleepover. police say the girls admitted their plan was to meet in the bathroom after first period and target smaller students they believed they could overpower, and stab to death. the investigation revealing police also say, disturbing communication between the girls, like this handwritten note that read "go to kill in bathroom" with childlike drawings of their middle can school. police say the pair told them they worship the devil. one of their last texting to each other read egg, "we shouldn't have met each other lol. now death is near." police say these girls were planning on committing suic

the cleanup beginning. >> and victor oquendo live from the mansfield dam at lake travis in austin. and victor, i know that whole region is bracing for more rain. >> reporter: that's right, david. the water levels haven't been this high at lake travis in decades. there is more heavy rain on the way. every drop is bad news for people here and in flood-prone areas. a flash flood watch remains in effect through tomorrow morning. david? >> victor, thank you. >>> a major new arrest in the usa gymnastics scan doll tonight. the organization's former president was arrested overnight, more than a year after he resigned. tonight, months after he pleaded the fifth in front of congress and the country, what he's now accused of doing. here's abc's linsey davis. >> reporter: tonight, the former head of usa gymnastics is behind bars. steve penny arrested overnight by u.s. marshals at a tennessee cabin. he's accused of tampering with evidence in the investigation of disgraced olympic doctor larry nassar. >> i've been instructed by my attorney to invoek the fifth amendment. >> reporter: penny refuse

here's abc's victor oquendo. >> reporter: police say two girls just 11 and 12 years old brought these knives and this pizza cutter to school and were just moments away from carrying out a plot to attack and kill their middle school classmates tuesday. >> we're afraid, and she's afraid. >> reporter: according to police, the girls were discovered together in a bathroom after first period allegedly planning to overpower and stab other students who came inside. according to investigators, the plan was hatched while watching scary movies during a sleepover. police also say their investigation revealed disturbing communication between the girls, child-like drawings of the school and this handwritten note that reads, go to kill in bathroom. overnight police crediting fellow students for reporting rumors about a possible school attack. >> we had other students that heard a rumor and reported that information. got it to us quick enough where we could prevent a catastrophe in our community. >> reporter: the pair being held on several charges allegedly told police they were satan worshippers. on

>> victor oquendo leading us off tonight. victor, thank you. chief meteorologist ginger zee is also right here in the storm zone tonight, she has the newest track just in, before we came on the air. and ginger, i know you're going to take us through this hour by hour, when this hits tomorrow. >> reporter: yeah, david. i'm actually seeing the tops of thunderstorms that help denote those outer bands, so, michael is here and less than 24 hours from landfall. the maps show you where it will likely make landfall. that's between here and apalachicola and panama city, somewhere in that region. it will slice across wednesday night into thursday, georgia. then thursday, south carolina, north carolina, out by friday. in its wake, it will have major impacts, even for places like raleigh, with flash flood watches in place. biloxi to tampa. but the heart of thebe wind d as you mentioned. so, you can see some of the gusts. we stop the clock at 2:00 p.m. 80 pile per hour gusts here in apalachicola. 62 for panama city. move it to 5:00, it only intensifies. the

here's abc's victor oquendo. >> reporter: this morning, investigators descending on an atlanta postal facility with a bomb containment vehicle and remote-controlled robots. the package was addressed to cnn headquarters, and the fbi says it looks like other bombs mailed across the country last week. hours later, suspect cesar sayoc appearing before a judge, chatting with his attorneys. his lawyer says they'll press for forensic testing on the sole fingerprint allegedly linking sayoc to one of the packages. so you're going to be calling the fingerprint into question? >> right now, the fingerprint is in question. >> reporter: tonight, a law enforcement source tells abc news the fbi found sayoc's list of potential targets and has notified everyone on that list, including other politicians, media figures, and celebrities. these videos obtained exclusively by abc news show sayoc before his arrest, working as a door host at a florida strip club on what looks like a typical work day. but his social media accounts filled with posts lashing out at targets like the obamas and clintons. sayoc's v

>> victor oquendo from florida. >>> on wall street today, the dow plunging 608 points to 24,583. that's down 2.4%. analysts say disappointing corporate earnings reports, tariffs and rising interest rates played a part. the dow has now lost 7.1% so far this month, all of its gains for the entire year now. >>> there is still much more ahead on "world news tonight" this wednesday. megyn kelly's emotional apology. some of her colleagues deeply critical, after she caused an lloween.defending blackface on her coworkers including al roker speaking out about who he says she should really be apologizing to. >>> also the breaking headline at this hour, the deadly supermarket shooting. police are on the scene right now. and there is news on the victims coming in. >>> and the military mistake today. the c-17 plane dropping a two-ton humvee from the sky onto an unsuspecting neighborhood. the training exercise gone wrong. lot more news aheadd here. lot more news ahead here. (vo) and vaporize it with an intense rush of vicks vapors. (acapella) ahhhhhhhhhhh! (vo) new dayquil severe with vicks va

>> victor oquendo with us tonight. victor, thank you. >>> and, of course, the hurricane still tearing a path at this hour. they are bracing in georgia and the carolinas. and abc's steve osunsami is in macon, georgia, tonight. >> reporter: more than 50 miles from the coastline, the winds from this hurricane are still so furious that homes are being ripped apart and big trees are falling tonight, over roads and across power lines. this one was recorded on a home security system. >> it was terrifying, honestly. there was a lot of noise. i mean, we thought the windows were going to break at any time. and we did whatever we could to hunker down and try to wait it out. >> reporter: for the first time, areas far inland are seeing a real bona fide hurricane. tornado warnings are up tonight in georgia, where they worry they'll see more scenes like this one. >> we're not accustomed to the magnitude of a hurricane such as this hitting in the direction that it is traveling and with the intensity with which it will hit our state. >

and abc's victor oquendo is in apalachicola, florida, tonight, leading us off. >> reporter: tonight, winds from hurricane michael already blowing in mexico, as the rapidly intensifying storm makes its way into the warm waters of the gulf, on a collision course with the u.s. coastline. some coastal flooding already along alabama's beaches. michael's outer bands reaching key west. >> every family must be prepared. every family. remember, we can rebuild your house, but we cannot rebuild your life. >> reporter: drivers headed out of panama city beach tonight. tomorrow, these evacuations will be mandatory. there are long lines for gas in tallahassee, and sandbagging is in full force. to the south, we met cole, stocking up. >> we weren't nervous last night when we went to bed and when we woke up this morning and all of a sudden it was -- well, first it was a category 2 and now it's looking like it's going to be worse than that. so, we're a little nervous. >> reporter: some cruise ships altering their routes to avoid the storm. also offshore, oil and natural gas platforms are shutting down

>> victor oquendo tonight. victor, thank you. >>> and next here, you're about to see the remarkable new images of russia's military spy agency, the gru. authorities say they were hard at work. the fbi indicting seven of them today. several caught on camera, after a daring spy operation. here's abc's chief justice correspondent pierre thomas with the images tonight. >> reporter: tonight, for the first time, we're seeing what authorities say was a russian hacking plot stopped in the nick of time. the fbi and dutch officials say these four russian military intelligence operatives loaded this rental car full of electronic equipment. >> they would deploy a remote team, a close access team, as we say in the indictment, that would go on-site and they would take sophisticated hacking equipment. >> reporter: their alleged mission? to hack the dutch lab testing for the nerve agent used to target a former russian spy and his daughter in britain a month earlier. an attack blamed on russia. investigators stopping the men ou

victor oquendo, abc news, apalachicola, florida. >> it's not just the florida panhandle coast that isrricane michael. >> no, not at all. paul williams to give us a sense of what's ahead. >> well, what i'm sensing is i've been doing some calculations since our last report. we're at 130-mile-per-hour winds so it's a category 4 hurricane. i continue to be concerned about this strengthening more because you add sun on top of this thing it's like adding water on to a grease fire, it spreads and becomes even worse. we're looking at 130-mile-per-hour winds. the movement is actually to the north at about 12 miles per hour. leaning more so towards mobile, alabama actually. because of the girth of the storm in excess of 400 miles in diameter, it's just so big. now it is just so powerful. so it's already a category 4. as it moves further, it's going to stay a category 4. as it begins to make landfall, it's expected to become a strong category 4, not necessarily a 5, but at least a strong category 4 by the latest calculations we have. one quick note about the storm surge. we're looking at between

abc's victor oquendo, also in florida with dramatic pictures from one of the cruise ships out at sea. >> reporter: tonight, the ferocity of hurricane michael seen first-hand on the high seas. the awesome display of raw power captured in slow motion. those outer bands lashing the empress of the seas cruise ship off the coast of cuba as michael roared by. >> we battled 13 to 15-foot swells last night. there was heavy rains at point. there was lightning out in the distance. >> reporter: we're told all passengers are safe tonight. michael now taking aim at the gulf coast. the surf already churning near key west. in cedar key, sirens announced mandatory evacuations. in the storm zone, shelves are emptying. supplies dwindling. first responders filling the tanks of their ambulances. florida's governor calling the storm monstrous. >> the storm is dangerous and if you don't follow warnings from officials, this storm could kill you. >> reporter: in apalachicola, we met ben coogle getting his boat to safety. why so important to get it out of here? >> i don't want it to sink. i just hauled it bac

abc's victor oquendo rounds up our team coverage with the latest from tallahassee. >> reporter: a hurricane'sramatic realtime destruction. category 4 michael shredded the florida panhandle today, unfolding under the light of day. around 12:40 central time, michael making landfall east of panama city with 155-mile-per-hour winds. a magnitude not seen on the florida panhandle in more than 100 years. whipping winds. flying debris. roofs ripped off houses. trees uprooted and tangled up. >> it's pretty intense out here right now. >> reporter: and everywhere coastal water rising. spilling over, flooding. a hurricane so powerful, so destructive, it's the third strongest to ever hit the continental united states. our abc news team spread across michael as path, noting that michael is like no other. >> this now is the strongest, as far as winds go, this far north from the gulf of mexico since camille. >> reporter: the first outer bands began thrashing just after noon central time. the winds quickly picking up speed. >> i'm not standing outside because i can't and i won't, it is just too dangerous. we

abc's victor oquendo tonight. >> reporter: new video tonight of the 14 americans and their guides in costa rica moments before their whitewater rafting adventure turned deadly. the group from miami, on a bachelor party. the video also shows the popular naranjo river raging following days of heavy rain. minutes into the ride, all three rafts capsized. one survivor telling abc news, "all of us were careening down the river with life jackets and helmets just trying to stabilize and find something to hold on to." but four of the american tourists and a local guide, disappeared into the rapids. authorities searched for hours by air and by boat, eventually recovering all five bodies just before nightfall. the bachelor, luis beltran, survived, but his brother, sergio lorenzo, did not, nor did friends jorge caso, ernesto sierra and andres denis. the bachelor's fiance posting this photo on instagram, the caption saying "what was supposed to be a celebration for the best day of our life, turned into a nightmare." now families face the tough task of bringing their loved ones back to the u.s. th

abc's victor oquendo in florence, south carolina, tonight. >> reporter: tonight, the haunting sounds of relentless gunfire. as we're learning new chilling details about the standoff in an upscale south carolina subdivision that left one officer dead, six more wounded. >> this has been a very tragic and devastating time. >> reporter: police say the incident unfolded just after 4:00 p.m. wednesday, when the florence county sheriff's office was executing a search warrant on an adult for allegations of sexually assaulting a minor. that's when fred hopkins who, according to sources, was not the subject of the warrant, allegedly opened fire. >> suspect has a high-powered rifle and is firing at officers as we speak. >> reporter: the sheriff's office forced to bring in this bulletproof car to retrieve the wounded. >> situation not getting better. please, please stay out. >> reporter: ambulances rushing from the scene. the neighborhood locked down. >> his view of fire was several hundred yards, so he had an advantage. >> reporter: one of the bullets tragically killing a beloved 30-year vetera

abc's victor oquendo is right there tonight. >> reporter: tonight, grim news from florida. the death toll there has doubled to 16, raising the overall toll from hurricane michael to 26. bay county officials say they've completed 99% of their initial search and at least two deaths were in the tiny town of mexico beach. mexico beach took a direct hit but tonight, we're hearing from the homeowner who built this impervious house and calls it the sand palace. >> so, we're on all these regulations, and then we toughened them up on our own. >> reporter: russell king and his nephew finished this home last year to withstand 250-mile-an-hour winds with solid rebar, reinforced concrete and smaller windows. as the storm bore down, king watched wind and debris fly by his home from this security camera. >> it's awful. i can't imagine anything worse. all these -- it's such a wonderful community. and these people losing their homes, and, you know, we thought we might go down. >> reporter: the family is confident this town they call mailp mayberry by the sea, will be back, but for those who

abc's victor oquendo reports from florence. >> reporter: the haunting sounds of relentless gunfire asling details about the standoff in an upscale south carolina subdivision that left one officer dead, six more wounded. >> this has been a very tragic and devastating time. >> reporter: police say the incident unfolded just after 4:00 p.m. wednesday when the florence county sheriff's office was executing a search warrant on an adult accused of sexually assaulting a minor. that's when fred hopkins, who according to sources was not the subject of the warrant, allegedly opened fire. >> the suspect has a high-powered rifle and is firing at officers as we speak. >> reporter: the sheriff's office forced to bring in this bulletproof car to retrieve the wounded. ambulances rushing from the scene. the neighborhood locked down. >> his view of fire was several hundred yards, so he had an advantage. >> reporter: one of the bullets tragically killing a beloved 30-year veteran of the force, florence city police department sergeant terrence carraway. >> he was a giant of a man but he was the proverbia

abc's victor oquendo has more. >> reporter: grim news from florida. death toll there has doubled to 16, raising the overall toll from hurricane michael to 26. bay county officials say they've completed 99% irnitial search and at least two deaths were in the tiny town of mexico beach. >> mexico beach took a direct hit but we're hearing from the homeowner who built this impervious house and calls it the sand palace. >> so we're on all these regulations and we toughened them up on our own. >> reporter: russel king and his nephew finished the home last year to withstand inforced conc. he watched the wind and debris fly by his home. >> it's awful. i can't imagine anything worse. it's just such a wonderful community. these people losing their homes, you know, we thought we might go down. >> reporter: the family is confident this town they call maybury by the sea will be back, but for those who do rebuild, king has this advice. >> you've got to raise it. you have no choice. i'd build a concrete house. >> reporter: there is still at least one person unaccount

victor oquendo, abc news, austin. >> forecasters say it could be as much as 2 inches that fall there.th accuweather is checking it out. >> no relief of rain in texas across the lower plains today. all this moisture continues to come in from the gulf of mexico. we're looking at a few extra inches of rain as we go through your friday. this will especially be the case down towards houston and corpus christi. dryer air will settle in for saturday and we should stay mostly dry for sunday. more rain returns on monday. meanwhile, in the northeast, it's incredibly cold this morning. temperatures below freezing in several spots. growing season has come to a close. it will be milder as we head into the afternoon with temperatures in the 50s to 60s. another front sweeps through on saturday. that's going to bring in some showers in the form of a rain and snow mix. kendis? erielle? >> julia, thank you. yeah, rain and snow, we're back to that. >>> most asian stock markets lost ground overnight following another serious tumble on wall street. the dow and s&p 500 both shed more than 1% yesterday. tho

here is abc's victor oquendo. >> reporter: police in florida say two girls, just 11 and 12 years old,st 15 of their classmates. >> these girls went to the bathroom to carry out this plot that they had designed on the previous weekend. >> reporter: allegedly designed while watching scary movies at a sleepover. police say the girls admitted their plan was to meet in the bathroom after first period and target smaller students they believed they could overpower and stab to death. the investigation revealing, police also say, disturbing communication between the girls, like this handwritten note that read, go to kill in bathroom. with child like drawings of their middle school. police say the pair told them they worship the devil. one of their last texts to each other reading, we shouldn't have met each other, lol, now death is near. >> police say these girls planned on committing suicide to, quote, be with satan. both are in custody and facing several charges. victor oquendo, abc news, coral gables, florida. >> both girls facing several charges including conspiracy to commit first-degree

we'll go back to abc's victor oquendo who is there on the scene for us. obin. part of this upscale neighborhood is still on lockdown this morning. it unfolded at the house at the end of the block here. one police officer is dead. another six shot after a standoff with the suspect. florence county sheriff's deputies were serving a search warrant at a home when a man opened fire and hit three of those deputies and four florence police officers. officer terrence carraway, a 30-year veteran on the force, 52 years old, he was killed. that suspect barricaded himself inside along with children for about two hours. more than 100 officers responded. that suspect eventually surrendered after speaking to a negotiator. he's now in custody. thankfully those children inside the home with him were rescued unharmed. another man in his 20s, also shot, he and those six officers transported to the hospital for treatment. there's still no word on the suspect's identity. >> all right, victor, thank you very much. thinking of the family of the fallen officer. 30 years, 30 years

victor oquendo is in miami with more. >> reporter: good morning, george.ral courthouse where cesar sayoc will make his first appearance in just a matter of hours. this morning, we have that exclusive video showing us what he was doing just before he was arrested. this is the man prosecutors say is behind those explosive device that terrorized a nation. >> what we saw here today was an effort to terrorize. >> reporter: 56-year-old cesar sayoc, seen here in these videos obtained exclusively by abc news, at a strip club the morning of his arrest, casually chatting with co-workers, eating his meal, writing through stacks of papers. sayoc was arrested by the fbi at an autozone in plantation, florida. >> we took him into custody. >> reporter: it began last monday, when democratic philanthropist george soros received the first ied in suburban new york. over the course of a week, 13 other packages were sent to prominent democrats, including president obama and secretary clinton, culminating with sayoc's arrest friday. >> it's almost seemed like he knew he was goin

>> our thanks to victor oquendo there in miami.tz. >> she's the former head of the democratic national committee. for the first time since the plot started, we're hearing from wasserman schultz and former vice president joe biden, the target of two suspected explosive devices. biden saying the u.s. has to turn off this hate machine. >> my hope is this recent spat of these pipe bombs being mailed might wake everybody in my business up a little bit. we have to begin to put this country back together again. i've never, never, never, ever looked at a political opponent as an enemy. >> my brave staffers and i saw those weapons of hate. everyone in this room and so many others will always choose love, compassion and honest communication to make our world a better place. >> wasserman schultz was speaking at a campaign event for florida's democratic candidate for governor andrew gillum. she also said democrats won't be cowed into submission by people who hate. >>> moving on to president trump's plan to send at least 800 active duty troops

victor oquendo has the story. good morning, victor. >> reporter: good morning, george.vor told us the ride down the river was delayed because of bad weather. we know that the area had seen heavy rain for days and officials say that no other company was out on the water that day. so investigators want to know why the decision was made to head out. this new video was taken just before the trip of a lifetime took a tragic turn. 14 american tourists celebrating a bachelor party. all geared up for a whitewater rafting adventure down costa rica's popular naranjo river, rapids rougher than normal after heavy rain. moments later the group from miami boarded three rafts and within minutes all of them capsized. one survivor telling abc news, all of us struggled to stay above water, swallowing lots of it on the way down as our bodies ricocheted against the rocks in the water while struggling to survive. four of the american tourists and one costa rican guide was swept away. authorities searched for hours by air and by boat. eventually recovering all five bodies just before nightfa

victor oquendo has more from miami. good morning, victor. >> reporter: good morning, michael. that list including celebritie, media figures and other politicians. according to a law enforcement source even though cesar sayoc is in custody, there is the possibility of more bombs still out there. the renewed warning from the fbi, additional explosive devices could still be traveling through the mail system. late monday night, according to an internal memo from "the times," a suspicious envelope addressed to that "times" editor was discovered in the newsroom. everyone on high alert. the nypd called in later determining it was a false alarm borne out of hypercaution and law enforcement sources telling abc news the fbi compiled a list of what it says are mail bomb suspect cesar sayoc's potential targets. they include politicians, media figures and celebrities. the fbi now notifying everyone on that list including an editor at "the new york times." meanwhile, sayoc is in federal custody after his brief initial appearance in court monday flanked by three private attorneys speaking so

abc's victor oquendo is on the scene in bartow, florida, this morning. good morning, victor. >> reporter: good morning, michael. the details from police are chilling. these girls in just sixth and seventh grade allegedly told them they wanted to kill at least 15 of their classmates at this middle school and then commit suicide. this morning, police say two girls, just 11 and 12 years old, brought these knives and this pizza cutter to school and were just moments away from carrying out a plot to attack and kill their middle school classmates tuesday. >> how can this happen, you know? we're afraid and she's afraid. >> reporter: according to police, the girls were discovered together in a bathroom after first period allegedly planning to overpower and stab other students who came inside. >> both of these girls went to the bathroom to carry out this plot that they had designed on the previous weekend. >> reporter: according to investigators, the plan was hatched while watching scary movies during a sleepover. police also say their investigation revealed distu

, has taken in thousands of evacuees but it was also hard hit by the monster storm, and abc's victor oquendo is on the ground with more. good morning, victor. >> reporter: good morning, michael. this was our fear all along here in tallahassee. there are downed trees across the city. this massive one coming down right on top of that car. there are about 200 roads in this area blocked this morning. we found two homes, trees fell right on top of their roofs crushing them. so much of tallahassee waking up in darkness. at least 100,000 without power across four states there are about 650,000 customers without power. late last night we were there when tallahassee mayor andrew guillum checked on the residents. now it is time for those cleanup efforts. crews were out overnight but >> thank you very much. >>> we'll bring in the florida governor rick scott from tallahassee. governor scott, thanks for joining us. you leveled warnings out there. how bad does it look this morning? >> well, i've been getting assessments all morning. all night we've had search and rescue teams going -- heading down towards

abc's victor oquendo has the story. >> reporter: these are the four american tourists killed in a tragicng accident over the weekend in costa rica. they were part of a group of 14 from south florida who traveled to the central american country for a bachelor party. on saturday, the longtime friends who all attended the same miami high school, set out with costa rican guides on three different rafts. every single one capsized. survivor chris gomez told abc news, all of us were careening down the river, just trying to stabilize and find something to hold onto. as our bodies ricochetted against the rocks. gomez adding, most of us were ultimately able to await rescue teams. unfortunately, not all of us were so lucky. the search lasted hours. authorities flew above the river. this video from the ministry of public security of costa rica. by nightfall, all five bodies were found. the groom survived, but his brother, sergio lorenzo, did not, as well as ernesto sierra, jorge caso and andres denis. in a statement, denis' family said they're devastated. he had just graduated college and was studyi

abc's victor oquendo is in austin with all the latest on that situation. morning, victor. >> reporter: good morning, amy. more rain again this morning. every drop is bad news at this point. this is the mansfield dam. you can see the water just gushing out of those floodgates as lake travis approaches record levels. this morning, central texas bracing for more rain. the floodgates are open on multiple dams across the area. more than a foot of rain in the last week has turned rivers into raging rapids. families rescued by boat. high water vehicles bringing others to higher ground. at the buchanan dam eight floodgates are open. in austin officials hoping they don't have to open more flood gates on the mansfield dam. if they do, communities downstream will flood. lake travis has taken on more water than the city of austin normally uses in four years. bill lockett is one of thousands whose home may be in peril. >> i have some concern that this is going to get more serious than we've ever seen it. >> reporter: across the flood zone, at least two bodies have been

abc's victor oquendo is in apalachocola, florida where they are expecting up to 12-foot surges. od morning to you, victor. >> reporter: good morning. we're looking at potentially life-threatening storm surge. that is the major concern along the coast. and just to give you an idea of what it would look like, imagine this boat completely under water. this marina still needs to get cleared out. a lot of these boats will have no chance against hurricane michael. we'll start feeling the first of the winds in just a matter of hours. this county not taking chances. there is a mandatory evacuation in place. later this morning the county will be bussing people out of town and they're calling that a one-time opportunity to get out. time is quickly running out here. michael. >> thank you so much. time is of the essence. robin. >> all right, michael. thank you very much. >>> florida governor rick scott is declaring a state of emergency in 35 counties across that state calling on residents to prepare right now and he joins us now from tallahassee. first of all, governor, i know it's a very bu