Transcripts For KNTV Today In The Bay 20170910

Today Hurricane Irma. With matt lauer and savannah guthrie. Live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. And lester holt live from florida. And good morning, everyone. Welcome to a special edition of today on sunday morning. Lester and al are in tampa. If used just visiting us, its going to a special day on the florida state. Lets get the very latest now on the storm. It has been battering the florida keys all morning long. But its center just made official landfall there at 9 10 a. M. Eastern time. Utility officials in florida now say more than 1 million customers have lost power as irma has hammered that state. That number is expected to keep rising throughout whats going to be a long day down there. And to give you an idea how big the storm is, a Tropical Storm warning was just issued for atlanta, georgia. Yes, thats 600 miles north of southern florida. It is inland and north of the storm. And yet that Tropical Storm warning for atlanta. We have correspondents all over florida beginning with nbcs Gadi Schwartz. Hes made his ways to the keys this morning or at least the northern part or eastern part. Gadd d gadi, take it away, whats happening . Reporter yeah, matt, did you see that, debris is about to get ripped off and go over there and banging against the trees. Over on the other side, if you walk with me, were protected by this ed sed by building but we strongly considering going to the other side of the street. It looks like a building that is sturdier. Were going to wait to see what the situation brings. Just be careful, theres some that debris, just flying over there. Got stuck in the bushes over here. This right here, this is cardboard we just checked. So, this cant pose any damage to us. We have been trying to clear this area of debris that can hit us. Were going to try to stay close to this wall here. Gadi, can you hear us . As much as we love your images, we wouldnt mind in your camera person and crew backed up and got away from that overhang. Reporter yeah, thats what were thinking. It looks like its going to fall that way. Right now, were devising a plan to get back to the other side of the street where theres not an awning starting to wobble. As soon as were done here, thats what were going to try to do. Yes, the storms evolve, the winds can be volatile. We dont want you so close to the danger, gadi, you and your crew. Thank you so much. Lets go to nbcs Miguel Almaguer, in florida city this morning. Hows it looking, miguel . Reporter well, savannah, conditions continue to deteriorate, its not just the flooding rain thats been pounding us, but its this relents wind thats knocked out power to so many people in the city. As a matter of fact, so many are still without electricity. Were actually staying embedded with the Police Department. I want to give you a tour of how were able to broadcast here. The Police Department is actually working out of this building right here. And were taking cover, our crew is, underneath the awnings here so were able to broadcast live to you. Theyre so concerned about all across the street and the winds that are just whipping right now here. If you even take 20 or 30 steps out into the center of this street, you can feel the winds increase and pick up their speed. Theyre saying power will be out likely for days. And theyre calling these conditions potential catastrophic, so the First Responders that are hunkered down right beside us actually tell us they wont be making their way on the streets to make rescue because its simply too dangerous. At this hour, they havent received any calls for help, one reason may be because power lines are down, phone lines are down and cell towers are starting to go down in the area. Expect the conditions to deteriorate over the next couple of hours here. Inside of city hall, we could actually hear what was like the roof beginning to peel off. This building was brought down during hurricane andrew. But 15 years ago, it was rebuilt with better building codes. The building has stood up very, very well over the last 24 hours. They say its really going to be a test. Its about every home, every neighborhood, every business on the street is shuttered. The mayor tells us the majority of the city did not evacuate. That means theyre hunkering down. Theyre going to have to ride out the storm. Back to you, guys. Miguel, thank you so much. So, the 10 00 update on this storm has just come in from the National Weather center. Still category 4. Winds at about 130 miles an hour. And the storm is moving 8 miles an hour to the north and northwest. And theyve been seeing wind gusts up to 95 miles percent hour near key largo. 80 Miles Per Hour plus at the Orlando International airport. Lets go to miguel, where Mariana Atencio is in miami beach for us this morning. It looks a little calmer there, mariana. Whats the scene . Reporter a little bit calmer, but any second now, savannah, i just want to you look at the debris thats been flying around for the past hour, its sustained completely. I stepped away from the beach now to one of the side streets here along miami beach. The trees flying everywhere. I want our cameraman to pan this way. This is where things can get really dangerous, as we you just saw with our Gadi Schwartz, you have no idea what can be flying around. We saw awnings with buildings and roofs with structures peel off. Dont forget you have modernized buildings here in miami. But here on the beach, a lot of the buildings i stepped on some debris to my right. A lot of the buildings as i was saying are older structure so theyre not equipped to sustain the winds. I also want to report to you guys that the Miamidade Police has officially tweeted out that the officer, sheltered up for the moment. They cannot respond to any emergency calls. They say do not venture out. Do not leave your homes. We saw one person, im on air with you, but people walking around. Not officials want to be looking at right now. And we look at some of these structures that have fallen here. A lot of businesses, dont forget, this is a very commercial area, people boarded up, and other businesses didnt. You dont know how they will fare with the wind gusts and the water that were seeing. Well see if our producer will take us up to where we stayed, to put the camera on the back of an suv to keep moving around to show you guys. Just what the streets here in miami look like. It is insanity right now. Ive been living in miami for five years. For hurricane matthew, and i was here for hurricane andrew when i was younger. This is something that i havent seen in a long time. Especially here on the beach. Especially when youre not even talking about a direct hit. Youre seeing the last of the hurricane pounding southeast miami right now. Its getting worse by the minute. First responders telling us, the next couple of hours are going to be incredibly dangerous. People should hunker down. We are doing the same. Were not on the air with you. Were sheltering to safety and coming out to bring you images live. Mariana, have you and your crew as safe as possible. We want to go to jo ling kent in ft. Lauderdale this morning. We have flooding and other damage. What do you have now . Reporter savannah, we have brandnew numbers in Broward County. 230,000 people now going without power. We have just stepped outside where we have been taking shelter. It would seem very large sustained winds here, you can see some of the local structures here. This stop sign was turned 180 degrees in the other direction. It is now down and facing the street. Were going to take you down this very busy thoroughfare here. Its isolated today. Its starting to flood a little bit. You can see more signs drifting in the wind here. You can see here, most of the debris in ft. Lauderdale, palm tree fronds, branches, trees splitting in half. What we expect to see as Hurricane Irma makes its way up towards fort myers, very huge bands of rain. It feeling very much were getting pelted in the face. Come with me over here. I want to show you, this is cal caller calvary chapel, one of the beg mega churches here. The sign has blown down. As mariana mentioned were not in the eye of the hurricane, but ft. Lauderdale very well prepared. Residents here mostly heeding the evacuation warnings. Most people are taking shelter in their shelters or churches or their own homes. You but ft. Lauderdale residents are optimistic, they made the right preparation. They overprepared. And it seems like you cant overprepare in this situation, because of how much the winds starting to pick up here, savannah and matt. Thank you, jo, we appreciate it. The rain is picking up in tampa. Lester and al are there. Guys we came on the hair at 6 00, about four hours ago. Describe the condition . Ill give it to the nonweatherman. Luckily, we havent gotten the winds yet, but weve got feeder bands coming in. And this is just the beginning of this. We are going to be in this all day. And its going to deteriorate, and tonight in a way, for tampa, this is probably the worst Case Scenario in that the worst of this is going to come overnight. When its pitch black out. You cant see anything. Power goes out its going to make it even harder for things to happen. Lets give you the latest with whats happening with the storm. Irma is a category 4. This is a visible satellite picture. This is infrared. This isnt using the temperature of the clouds. This is an actual photo of the system. And so, you can see, basically, 25 miles northeast of key west, florida, 130mileperhour winds. Its moving northnorthwest at 8 Miles Per Hour. And the track of this system is going to bring it right now, right along the coast. So, heres what we expect. Right now for key west, 100 to 122mileperhour winds, 5 to 10foot waves i should say storm sturge. Now, we continue to push this up, our friends in the southeastern part of the state, 100 to 75 mile per hour winds. Fort myers, 10 to 20foot storm sturge. In the tampa bay area, overnight, 75 to 100mileperhour winds. You know, if this wobbles just a bit it could be a direct hit on tampa. Were not saying that its going to happen. But it is very close. Its still close. Its something that we have to consider. Jacksonville tomorrow, winds 50 to 75 Miles Per Hour. And those winds will continue to push on up. The storm sturge is going to be something thats going to be fierce. On the rainfall, were talking anywhere in total 10 to 15 inches of rain generally, the keys will probably, all in all, when all said and done, see 25 inches of rain, in the panhandle of florida, that will probably be the least amount, 8 to 10 inches of rain. Here, in the midsection of the state and along the coast, we are probably looking at anywhere from 10 to 20 inches of rain, lester. And that storm sturge, that is the thing that is of most concern. I mean, theres going to be a lot of wind damage. But the most zadamage comes and unfortunately the most deaths comes from the storm sturge. Especially here, the storms are the greatet. Were not experiencing any wind right now, the rain is coming this way and maybe directly to tampa. Its a good chance to bring in the mayor, mayor buckhorn, good to see you. Thanks, sir. You got the mythical hurricane phoenix, 500,000 homes destroyed. 2,000 people dead. There are people that say this is the most vulnerable city in the country. Are they wrong . History would indicate they are. We are due for a hit. We train as if were going to get one every year. Most of this area that you see here will probably be under water. Davis island, harbor island, all of which you heard al talk about with the surge. Your home included . My home concluded. And the surge is what we worry about, thats what we talk about all the time. We want people out of the surge but i think well have a long difficult night, guys. And you also deal with sea level on a normal basis and a good size storm can cause flooding. What are you doing, or what are you prepared to do to mitigate what could be a catastrophic storm sturge . Well, i dont know if we can mitigate anything. At this point, its in gods hands. Were prepared for the cleanup afterwards and prepared to help people get back in their homes. We spent the last two years trying to strengthen our inf infrastructu infrastructure. To the extent that were ready for this, as city city might be ready, i mean, were dealing with 100yearold pipes that weve been duct taping for the last three decadinedecades. If its not done, its not going to get done. Youve got a lot of people in shelter. I worry about the folks we encountered on the roads like i need gas. How much of the population do you think atrisk population is in a safe place this morning . You know, my hope is most of them. The reality is, probably not as many as i would prefer. A lot of floridians get hurricane amnesia. Theyve ridden these things out. They think they can survive. This is going to affect every part of the state. So, weve really worked hard to evacuate people. Obviously, we didnt have as much time as the folks in miami did to prep for this. Weve been warning this for three or four days not to necessarily trust of the models because we know how they wobble. Weve been watching you for a week now. Weve been preparing them, we put an evacuation notice on all of this area 36 hours ago. So, a lot of people have left. But again, there are going to be those people that will hunker down and say i can withstand this . Whats your biggest fear . Surge. Were going to live through the rain and the wind. What im concerned about the impact of the surge. Most particularly, the surge will occur at the same point that the high tide curse here. Monday morning, 6 00, 7 00, 8 00, same time, youll see high tide on the bay and on this river, so youre going to add to that surge level. For those lowlying areas its going to be increasingly problematic. Its good to talk to you. The six circumstances are lousy. We are indeed. Its game time. Matt and savannah, he doesnt paint a good picture. No, thats scary when you talk about high tide and high surge at the very same time. And hes a guy who knows what thats going to be like. And when you look at it, geography is just not on the side of the folks who are living in tampa, boy, were worried for them right now. And the u. S. Coast guard as you might imagine is very busy during a storm like this. And were joined on the phone by rear admiral peter brown. Admiral good morning. What are you dealing with and what are your concerns . Good morning. And thank you for having me on the show and give an opportunity to explain how the entire coat guard is preparing to respond to the storm. Im in charge of what covers South Carolina, georgia and most of florida, the area under the direct impact of Hurricane Irma right now. For the past several days weve been repositioning and protecting our people, and our operational assets, our airplanes, our small boats. And mostly, weve taken them to shelter outside the threat area of Hurricane Irma. And weve positioned them and readied them, to be able to respond to our Top Priorities which are lifesaving search and rescue operations. And then restoring the ports, especially the fuel critical ports of ft. Lauderdale and tampa. You know, obviously when a storm passes through, its not like someone flips a switch and the seas calm down and the water waves calm down. How quickly after irma goes through, admiral, do you think youll be able to get those resources you talked about into action . Thats a great question. And those resources are positioned as close as we safely can. In alabama, in georgia, in South Carolina and north carolina. But as you state, were going to be hampered by the unusual size, intensity and impact of this storm, all of those aspects will have to traverse the whole length of the state of florida to get to the florida keys. It remains my top priority. Its the top priority of the entire coast guard right now. All of our operational forces, particularly from the east coast, are available to respond to this storm, just as you saw them respond to Hurricane Harvey a few weeks ago in texas. Well, rear admiral peter brown, thank you so much, send our regards to the people doing the good work for the u. S. Coast guard. Thank you. Thank you. Good luck. Lets take a shot again that we took much earlier in the morning. This is mike sidell of the weather channel. Hes right along the coast. Take a look at how the sea is churning. Can we listen into what hes saying, guys . Reporter three, two before when we saw him, he was in the streets, he had a foot of water rushing past him. Look at whats going on behind him now. I know, i wish we had a better idea of how this location relates to the one we saw earlier. He, all morning long, has just been getting battered and giving us a good idea of what folks in miami are dealing with. As we look at that, we remember, theyre not in the eye of the storm. This is the Southeast Side of the storm, not as intense as whats going to be bearing down on fort myers there and tampa and the western coast of florida. Apparently now, were looking at the miami river. So what is that, about a block or so from the coastline . Something like that . And its just going crazy there. I want to bring dylan dreyer in, i dont know, dylan, if you can see what were showing people, mike sidell in miami. Even though its that side of the storm. People know it gets gnarly on that. Is that surprising at all to you . Reporter i was just looking at where he is. It is surprising, because we saw the storms and we always know the Northeast Quadrant of those storms certainly has the most effect. But miami is so far from the center of the storm. Its incredible to see the wind gusts theyre seeing 80 to 100 Miles Per Hour. And then to see with winds like that how much it churns up the water. So it really is incredible in just those outer bands. We are driving from sarasota to tampa. I want to take a look out of the front of the car. Because we are driving through one of the extreme outer bands right now. Were so far away from the center of the storm, still 300 miles away. And were not dealing with that much wind. Although every once in a while we do get a gust that tosses the car a little bit. Were on the outer edge of the band. I want to bring it back in and show you what the radar looks like. You can see the yellow area and oranges, thats the heavy rain that were driving through. The reason why we left sarasota and headed to tampa because there are no hotels in sarasota. And we needed to get out before the storm got really bad because we do have a hotel in tampa. Everybody heeded the evacuation warnings it seems from zone a. The six outer Barrier Islands and also the lower levels along the coast in sarasota. Everyone evacuated and the hotels are full in that area. Thats why we decided to head north to get back to our hotel so we have a place to ride out the area. The whole area, you will see conditions deteriorate because of heavier bands moving through. Were not going to see the eye until closer to 9 00, 10 00 tonight from here on out, its only going to get worse. Dylan, please be careful as you drive along that road. We want to check in with Kerry Sanders who is in naples on floridas west coast. We checked in with you earlier, about 7 22 west coast time. Hows it going there, kerry . Reporter the winds are picking up, the gusts are up on the naples pier. I want to keep a hand here in case we get another one of those gusts. As you look, you can see the trees beginning to sway here. What were really looking at here is the storm is sending its wind right now from the east coast to the west coast. So, its coming across land. Its when the storm, when irma makes her way off the coast here, you can see, that wind is actually even keeping the gulf of mexico kind of flat, you know . But when the eye comes here and passes us, then its the back side thats going to be the real hell to pay here. The wind is going to come up, drive the water up, and were going to get that storm sturge. And thats when were going to be much farther inland. Because were talking 15 feet of water. The city here in naples could find itself completely under water. Depending on how this happens. If the calculation is right. We may see that the eye wall passes through here around 2 00 or so. That means that 4 00 is high tide here. It couldnt be worst timing, savannah, because that means the back side of the winds which are counterclockwise and start pushing in here, will be coming at a time when you can see the line right here of the debris, thats the normal high tide line. The water will be high tide then more pushed in. So, 15 feet probably is not is probably not, you know, a guesstimate number. Its probably a very real number. And, of course, thats a serious problem, because i think weve repeated this enough. More people die in hurricanes from drowning than anybody else. Its very often as a result of a storm sturge, savannah. Its scary knowing in a couple hours what a situation it will be. Thank you. Well check back in. All of this happening to the people in florida on an anniversary . The anniversary of donna hitting the keys on this date. As we take a look and try and anticipate whats going to be happening in tampa bay, this is an area thats invested billions in highrises now. In enhancing their piers, their hospitals, built on an island in the bay. And theyve just been very lucky to have avoided a storm like this. But i think it was just last year that the mayor said if a category 3 or greater storm hits here wed be under 15 feet of water. Thats a very big fear. And also happening at the peak of this the climatological peak of the hurricane season, atlantic hurricane season, september 10th. To say nothing about high tide. Thank you. Well continue to cover this. Were back in a moment, after a check of this messages. The all new 2018 camry. Toyota. Lets go places. That Airline Credit card yout . Have. It could be better. Its 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 catchup. Whats in your wallet . Returns in a moment as Hurricane Irma slams florida this morning. Here s some local perspective. Wipe vo there are crews from the bay area in florida. Poised to help with rescue and relief efforts. The California Air National Guard s rescue wing is there. They specialize in chopper search and rescues. Wipe vosame banner California Task force three based in menlo park also is there to help. Wipe vosame banner and pg e is sending staff to help with Power Outages from the storm. Kira meteorologist rob mayeda with a quick look at the micro climate forecast. Wx kira cu i ll have another local news update for you in half an hour. 10 30 now on this sunday morning september 10th 2017. This is a special edition of today. Weve been tracking, trying to track Hurricane Irma, wobbling a little bit, moving east to west. Its a massive storm. It did make its official landfall in the u. S. The lower keys. That happened a little more than an hour ago. 7 30. Weve been all morning long. Weve been showing you monster winds at 100 miles an hour. Category 4 storm and not showing signs of slowing down. Conditions getting worse. Were seeing winds and rain pick up. All of it with Major Concerns over storm sturge, that could get as high as 15 feet some some areas. Power obviously, people losing power. A major concern. A number of people without power is increasing by the power. When we first came on the air at 6 00 east coast time. This morning, 200,000 people without power. That number is now over 1 million. Well probably continue to see it climb. Weve got a team of correspondents across florida, as Hurricane Irma hammers the area. Lets start with correspondent Miguel Almaguer in florida city. Miguel good morning again. Reporter the wind is still blinding out here, the and ten miles inland from the coastline, they say the storm sturge is is not going to be a major issue. But these winds here that continue to knock down power lines and knock out power to this entire city. Still, much of this region remains in the dark here. The winds are Strong Enough that First Responders now say they will not leave the station. They are hunkered down. Were actually here at the Police Department. Theyre hunkering down here overnight, with city officials and the Police Department. They say at this hour, in these condition, they will not respond to emergency calls simply because it is too dangerous for First Responders to go out here. We rode out this storm overnight. It did sound as though parts of the building were beginning to come off. The building was completely destroyed during hurricane andrew. But 15 years ago, it was rebuilt to tougher and better building codes. Its made it through the night here. Many of these homes and businesses up and down the downtown area are completely boarded up. The mayor says this is a hurricanehardened community. Theyve been through storms like harvey before. Theyve been through hurricanes in the past. Theyre used to these conditions. He says the majority of the cities did not evacuate. Were actually at the door step to the keys which is experiencing a lot of flooding at this hour. Weve seen a few cars driving down this area. As a matter of fact, we saw one 45 minutes ago. It was a neighbor canning inas were okay, which we are. The wind is powerful enough to potentially push a car down the road. The water is slowly beginning to rise. Its not an issue here. Flooding is not a concern. Whipping winds still many without power and will be so for several days. Savannah, back to you. Lets check in with Gadi Schwartz down the road in the florida keys. Gadi, good morning to you. Youve come indoors, were happy to see that. Reporter yeah, savannah and matt, immediately after we talked we spotted a policlace. We found a church. You see it there, you see the winds whipping through. Were in a wonderful shelter. This is the Baptist Church here. It is made out of solid concrete. Weve found a couple families here. Weve actually got an audience. You guys are sitting here watching the hurricane, right . First of all, some of you guys were saying you were a little bit nervous earlier. Im going to just show you what were looking at. I know Cell Phone Service is kind of hard out here. Weve got this image and thats the hurricane right there. And its going this way. And this is where you guys are. Eventually, this is going to go up this way in the next couple of hours. And were going to see this go by. So, maybe two or three more hours of you guys sitting tight and watching out the windows and everything is going to be okay. Let me ask you, what do you guys think . Youre here, youre watching the winds, whats going through your minds . Were scared. And wind. Very mad. Reporter mad at the hurricane . No, because it wont let me go outside. Reporter mad at the hurricane because it wont let you go outside. Thats what were hearing here at the Baptist Church in key largo. For now, were safe, were dry. More like the mom and dad, gadi never wants to have. Le. Glad you guys are safe. Lets go to willie in the orange room. Interesting news youve got. Earlier this week, the city of miami issue a warning to residents about the danger of construction cranes in the storm. Take a look at this photo posted by a twitter user named savannah. It shows a collapsed crane on top of a building. This was a great fear that many people had in the city of miami. Officials saying those things can become missiles in some of these winds that were seeing, as dave price told us 80 to 100mileperhour gusts. One has gone down. At least two dozen cranes still standing. It takes too much time to get them down. It could be a week or more to dismantle one of those. The counterbalance on those can weigh up to 2,000 pounds that, too, very dangerous if the crane collapses in high winds. Guys, these are 900 feet tall in some cases. There are more than 20 in the miami area. Many people watching this anticipating this over the last week, were very worried about this exact scenario. And now, we do have one of the cranes collapsed on top of the highrise in miami. Not a good sign, willie. Appreciate that. Jo ling in ft. Lauderdale. Jo, were been tracking you. Hows the weather now . Lost her microphone. Well get word that shes not technically being heard right now. Well get back to her. Lets go to lester and al. Live weather coverage, boy, our crews are doing yeomans work trying to get those shots on the air. Lester and al in tampa, hi guys. Youre right, hi. And hats off to these crews working to get us on tv. We saw that image shared a moment ago about a crane collapse apparently in miami. When you take a picture, were right across the river from a couple of these cranes. Theyre meant, of course, to swing, kind of weathervane. But theres a lot of attention put on this at a time like this. Well be keeping an eye on those as well as other major cities. We had the mayor on a while ago who reinforced what is widely known, is this an atrisk city. They havent had a major hit of a hurricane, al, since 1921. Somebody pointed out the population was around 100,000 then. There are about 3 Million People in this tampa area . Thats right. This is a vulnerable section. Hillsborough river. And davis island. Theyve spent millions upgrading the Childrens Hospital there. Theres a lot of Residential Homes on this island. I mean, this is really a this is the most vulnerable city in america. We do not expect to be able to broadcast during the height of the hurricane here. We were doing the math, it becomes to high tide. I was looking at the clearance, you can see the marks where the high tide normally is you add 8 to 10 feet, we would be standing in water. Thats right, were starting to get into one of those feeder bands. You take at look at where we are, as far as irma is concerned. Its still a category 4 storm with 130mileperhour winds. It is currently 25 miles north east of key west, moving northnorth west at 8 Miles Per Hour. So, its been fairly steady in its forward progress. And as you can see, were going to start to get a little forward movement. It is near fort myers, by this afternoon. Later today, into tonight, and the overnight hours, its right here in tampa. We worry about that wobble, could we see a direct hit in tampa . We cant rule that out. By monday afternoon, its in tlc, motlc tallahassee, and by as the system moves on, theres a Tropical Storm warning for atlanta. Storm sturge is the other big problem. Anywhere from 5 to 15 feet, especially along the west coast of florida. That heavy area from marco island all the way down to the keys. Weve got storm sturge and sanibel. All around this region. We are talking about anywhere from 9 to 15 feet of storm sturge. And thats going to be a big, big problem. Tornado watches also. Weve had numerous tornado warnings, they spin up very quickly. Theyve been in effect. And then they drop out. But everybodys got to be concerned about that. And on the lookout for a possibility of waterspouts and tornadoes. Rainfall. The heaviest rainfall will be in the keys. Upwards of twi in25 inches. 8 to 15 inches of rain locally up to 20 inches. The least amount will be probably in the panhandle, 4 to 8 inches, maybe 10 or 12 in some isolated spots. Right now, all eyes watching this. And when you seal the radar, you see how massive the system is, affecting both coasts at the same time. As advertised. As advertised. Virtually everyone in the state is at some risk from Hurricane Irma. Back to the studio. Lester and al, lets take a look at the monitor. We want to show you whats going on on the east coast. This is a location where our good friend mike sidell is. This is brickle key, in miami. Take a look at what the water is doing there. Wow. You know what, matt, in the next couple of hours, this is going to get worse. As the storm system, if we put the radar back up, as irma starts to parallel miami, and southeastern florida, that return flow into the system that counterclockwise low is going to get stronger. Theyre by no means out of the woods yet. They probably are getting into whats going to be their storm surge, as the system slowly makes its way northnorthwest. Theyre going to get that strong onshore flow and thats going to push that water right in there. Thats the east coast. You guys are on the west coast, and youre going to get to yo each other very well over the course of the next several hours over there. And right now, the storm in tampa, and theyre going to have move because the fear is that spot will be under water. Lets go to the mayor of fort myers on the phone, mr. Mayor, glad to have you with us. I wonder whats on the top of your worry list right now . Well good morning, our concern, is the preservation of life. As we speak, were moving citizens into safer shelters. But that time is growing to a close. We are now just beginning to embark on getting the message out that if you have not mobilized at this point, its not safe, and you need to stay in place. Do you feel like you had enough time . Because of course, we all knew that the whole state was at risk. But yet, there was a thought that it was going to be miami and southeastern florida that got the direct hit. Do you find that you had to scramble, or some people really had to scramble . Well, there were certainly some who felt that they wanted to ride it out. And for those who made that decision, there was certainly a scramble. And, of course, in large part, theyve been able to get out. This thing is pointed to us and were bracing for a direct hit, yes. We wish you luck. Obviously, were going to keep a close eye on whats happening in your city and all up and down the west coast. Mayor henderson, thank you very much. Thank you. Weve got jo ling kent back with us in ft. Lauderdale. Jo, whats the latest . Reporter hey, matt, the clouds are really moving in. The skies are darkening as the outer bands of irma come and make landfall here. Of course, were far away from the eye of the storm. You still feel the winds and rain picking up. Its doing significant damage here. You can see, were out if ft. Lauderdale and some big tree branches have fallen in the last couple of hours. In fact, were following along with the Broward County sheriff. They have issued a curfew until 10 00 a. M. Monday morning. What theyre saying with irma making landfall, you need to find the safest room in your house in Broward County and get to it. You need to put your cell phone in safe mode to keep your battery recharged if you do need to reach Emergency Services and if your phone lines go down. Take a look where well be. These streets continue to be empty. These winds are below 40 Miles Per Hour. Theyve been patrolling to make sure that the debris is out of the roads. So far, we remain with power in this particular section of ft. Lauderdale. But the issue really is 200,000 people in the area. Completely lost power there. Theyre bearing down. Weve seen major signs come down along this street. But ft. Lauderdale, well prepared. They thought the eye of the storm was coming here. So, theyve hunkered down. They got their supplies early. And theres really no one on the street. Weve seen a couple of people drive by, taking a look at the storm. But it really is coming down now. And you can feel the clouds are moving super fast. And its getting quite dark. Matt. Jo, thank you very much. We have been showing you video this morning. Its pretty incredible. This is a storm chaser in the florida keys who got out of his car. He said he was testing the wind speeds there. His name is justin drake. Hes been at this for years. We spoke to him earlier and started asking how he was doing after that . Im good. Yes, thats correct. Me and the meteorologists, we know exactly where we can get to when it comes to hurricane and stay safe. Because i was out there as well. Were exactly were looking at this video of you kind of bracing yourself into the teeth of the wind. Where exactly were you at that moment . We were up on the key, on the causeway, its a higher area in the region where we know we can avoid the storm sturge. We just picked a spot where we knew there was nothing downwind of us if any debris started blowing around, you were not able to hit us. You broke up. Youre on a causeway in what area . Saddlebunch keys. Justin, we see the picture. The picture tells the story quite well. What did it feel like to be facing down that wind . It was, by far, the strongest winds that ive ever experienced. We actually got a wind gust measurement of 117 Miles Per Hour. But i have no doubt there are wind gusts stronger than that the anemometer were unable to measure. You can see the video where i fell down. Justin did you see much damage to the local structures . We actually sue kaw key west earlier today, there was a lot of damage on the outer feeder bands. Because we wanted to get in the eye of the hurricane, we decided to head east to get in the eye of the hurricane after it made landfall on one of the keys. Everybodys worried about the storm surge here. Have you seen any flooding, seen any of that or heard about it . We have experienced a 15foot storm sturge when we were exiting out of key west. When we were on the causeway trying to get out of one of the other keys, we ended up on the road and actually got up to vee how deep the water was to drive over it, knee deep, 2 1 2 to 3 feet high. Justin, you said a second ago, you said those were the strongest winds youve personally felt. Again, you do this as your hobby or living. Compare it to what youve experienced . What was the next severe winds youve felt . Id compare these winds to Hurricane Harvey. We were actually facing that hurricane at the rockport airport when it made landfall. Up to that point, that was the strongest hurricane that ive experienced. This one, even stronger, to put everything in perspective, just how powerful this hurricane is. The conversation earlier with a storm chaser with those dramatic images. Philip levine is the mayor of miami beach. Mr. Mayor, good to talk to you again this morning. As we say hello, were staying that the storm sturge in biscayne bay where you are, is 4 feet at the moment. The bad news youve got high tide coming there about 12 50 early this afternoon. Thats very, very true. As a matter of fact, were getting reports that the tides are 3 feet above predicted. Thats virginia key on key biscayne. This threat remains. And flooding for us is likely to occur. As i said before, we have portable generates, some in the city, but theyre no match, no match whatsoever, for the tidal surgeriy surges youre about to experience. For everyone listening, number one, we want to you know, you should stay inside. This is very dangerous. Assumer powerful and potential flooding theres no place for anyone to be outside. We dont want anyone to return to miami beach. And our curfews tonight and tomorrow are fully in effect. Mayor when we talked to you first thing this morning, we were remarking that it was somewhat of a relief that miami and miami beach werent a direct hit of the storm. And yet, since then, the worst images weve seen have been from your area, from that area. Has it been worse than expected . No, this listen, we could have been a direct hit, a category 5 hurricane, were somewhat relieved for that. But of course, as weve been saying were a lowlying barrier island. Were so susceptible for flooding. When you have a tidal surge like were having right now, its a very, very big deal. Its very serious. You had a evacuation in your city. You deserve the credit for that. You gave the alarm early. Do you have an idea when youll send crews to check communities to make sure people didnt ride it out . Right now, about two minutes going into an Emergency Operations meeting well be talking to all of our department heads. Our plan is as soon as this storm ceases, well be able to put First Responders on the streets. Then our crews from the mainland will begin being deployed coming back into miami beach. And the first order of business is going to be able to clear the roads. Once we clear the roads well have an opportunity to assess any issues going on. That is the mayor of miami beach, philip levine. Mr. Mayor, good luck to you. Thank you very much. Thank you. That combined with the devastation of Hurricane Harvey in texas of course say major test and stressor on washington and the trump administration. Were going to talk about that more with chuck todd who joins us more. Chuck, these backtoback disasters really stress the system. It does stress the system. And its really going to be a test for fema. I want to echo something because i remember this in my personal experience during andrew, and i echo something that marco rubio, senator rubio said, south florida, and southeast, its going to be delayed when some of the reinforcements which come in. Because theres only one way to get back in. And that is going to be yet another stress on vocations of folks living down there and fema to find the ways to get down. Neb mind the evacuees who are wanting to come back home. So, the system is getting stressed. And because of what the biggest damage is going to be and geographically where its locateded. This is going to stress fema. Its beyond the financial issue. Its simply getting down there. And months now, every time we see you, were talking about some kind of Political Division in this country. Right. This is one of those episodes, or situations where politics simply does not apply. It doesnt. And it hasnt. And by the way, i should update you what the president s been doing this morning. He hunkered down at camp david. Hes already spoken to four different governors in some states, as we saw als forecast, the remnants ever this is now going to hit places like alabama and tennessee and georgia. And the president of the United States has been on the phone with those governors already this morning, as they need to prepare for, while its not going to be hurricanes forrican winds, obviously, theyre going to have torrential rain and concerns with tornados and things like that. Youre right. I think weve seen politics almost take a backseat. Although we saw last week, even harvey aid got political there at the end when they start defining things like the debt ceiling and things like that. Yes, politics for the most part does take a backseat. But it is still in the backseat, matt. Chuck, thank you. Thank you very much. Theyre telling us they have new video of that crane that toppled in the city of miami. There you can see its now come down over the side of the building. That is what so many people worried about. All of those construction cranes in south florida. And if the wind got ahold of one of those in just the wrong way. That could be the result. Weve seen that in the past. We just got the 11 00 readings in. The storm is maintaining its strength. 130mileperhour winds. Its moving now to the north. That is of note. So, not to the west. But due north at this 30i7b9poi. Now, its picking up speed just a touch at 9 miles an hour. Pressure up to 933 millibars. You know, al and lester are with us. Do we still have them . Right now, guys . Yeah, were here. We were talking about where you guys are and the fact that the water would probably be right over that area at this point. And where safe space is. In looking at the tampa area, the Salvador Dali museum, this is a good example of postandrew construction. Salvador dali museum, built to standards, and now they have 18inch reinforced concrete walls. And glass, which is both 1 1 2 inch thick and pressuresensitive. So, that is one thats interesting because its actually its actually better reinforced than the hospital is on the same island. So, you know, they really made a decision to change that and make that better. Yeah. One of the points that the mayor said, we can take the wind, but it was the flooding. Yeah, the storm sturge is the big problem. Thats keeping him up at night. Yeah, without a doubt. And again, were expecting the possibility of winds gusting up to 125 Miles Per Hour. In that area. And, you know, we talked about it before. But this water will overtake you in minutes. So, lefter and al, dave not only helping us outside here but doing location scouting for you later on. We will take it. To say nothing of yes. Yes. Weve got folks out scouting and doing that research as we speak. All right. Guys, thank you very much. Well see you in a while. Well see you in a while. Hi. Oh, hi welcome to the neighborhood. I brought you this pie to see if youre weird. Wow, that smells intrusive. It is. Did you want to come in, maybe snoop around a bit . Thats why im here. Wouldnt it be great if everyone said what they meant . Ooh, i smell onions the citi® double cash card does. Only citi lets you earn 1 cash back when you buy, and 1 as you pay. The citi double cash card. Double means double. Perfect. When i walked through for a cigarette, thats when i knew i had to quit. For real this time. Thats why im using nicorette. Only nicorette gum has patented dualcoated technology for great taste, plus intense craving relief. Every great why needs a great how. That trop50 could taste so good and still have 50 fewer calories. Can i stop, jane . No. Trop50. Tastes so good you wont believe it has 50 fewer calories. The best things in life theyre free stars belong to everyone they cling there for you and for me flowers in spring the robins that sing the sunbeams that shine theyre yours and their mine love can come to everyone the best things in life theyre free returns in just a moment. Wipe vo snipe first we want to tell you about people who flew to the bay area to take refuge from Hurricane Irma. You can hear their stories right now on our website. Wipe vosame snipe also on nbc bay area. Com. We speak with with a former bay area couple riding out the storm in florida. Kira fs and our own vianey arana is in south florida covering irma. Follow her on facebook and twitter. She s constantly posting new pictures, videos and stories. Kira meteorologist rob mayeda has a look at the local forecast. Wx anchor cu i ll have another local news update for you in half an hour. Were back, sunday morning, 1 00 a. M. Eastern, 8 00 a. M. On the west coast. Hurricane irmas fury is being felt all across the state of florida. The whether channels mike seidel is in miami being battered by this storm. Just about the entire boardwalk on the other side of the sea wall. Can you imagine being in the upper floors of these condos right now and these hotels . The sound of the wind down here at this level, and the roar higher up. As you go up to 25 stories, the wind increases about 17 . Thats another category up. So you fe