Households in florida are reportedlyfl without power and thousands have been ordered to evacuate from their thhomes. As you can see from these satellite images, helene is huge and is expected to effect nearly the entire state of florida with damaging winds and heavy rain. Still what mayea bring the most danger areri the Storm Surges. Earlier today residents experienced flooding in places like pine island, which is just outside of fort myers. But flooding will likely get much worse across the state as the night continues. A Storm Surge Warning is in place for almost the entirety of floridas west coast. This video is a simulation of what could happen if the Storm Surge rises to approximately 10 feet. But in some parts of florida officials warn that Hurricane Helene could cause Storm Surges of c up to 20 feet, around doub the amount shown in in simulatiOn And those officials are calling that a level of Sto Surge potentially unsurvivable. Earlier today the first bands of Wind Andt Rain Lashed the tamp bay area, giving us just a taste of the strength of the storm. Atr strength that is not expect to weaken once it makes landfall. Five states, florida, georgia, north carolina, and south carolina, have all declared states of emergency, and more than 40 Million people are either under hurricane or tropical storm warnings. For more on all of this joining meof now is nbc News Correspondt Kathy park, she is live from tallahassee, florida. Kathy, i hope you are safe out there. What can you tell us about they latest on y the ground . Reporter alex, good evening. It seems like were getting a bit of a tease from Hurricane Helene right now because the weather has pulled back, we are getting some rain at this point. Things will ramp up over the nextra few hours. Here in tallahassee especially the big concern will be the Wind Damage Becausell were a bit farther inland so Storm Surge not as much of a concern, but here in tallahassee roughly 55 of these city is under Tree Canopy. Soer when you factor in the 100 mile per Hour Windse that wille moving into Thiser Area pretty soon,re officials are really worried about toppled trees, debris, toppled Power Lines and of course the extended Power Outages that will soon follow. Now, earlier today we had a chance to speak with some Residents Whok decided to leav their homes behind and hunker in place at an emergency shelter. Here is what they told me. Take a listen. I just feel like this storm was different. I just got a feeling. It was just a different. Its big, its size, the wind speed, itsi just felt like this was different and this was the best Thing Towa do. Ive never been in a storm like a category 3 or 4 and what im doing right now is using wisdom. Wisdom tells me to get out of theom home. I live in a great home but the home may not be enough to forego and toou take on this storm. I feel so much comfortable being here. Reporter and, alex, i can tell you thesE Emergency shelters filled up pretty quickly throughout the Day Today Andro i was told if you are the, you areld expected to stay ther to ride out the storm. Obviously for safety reasons. We should also point out this is a big College Town so a lot of local universities have shelters on campus as well, open to students. Tallahassee officials have been preparing for days ahead of this storm, but obviously this is Mother Nature that we are even though you prepare for days, its still unclear what it s could do, but were told theyre leaning on Mutualni Aid from Resources Reay from all across the country. Tomorrow will be extremely telling but once again if this comes in as a Category 4 here in the tallahassee region, this will be the most catastrophic Storm Themo Region has seen eve. Nbc News Correspondent kathy park. Thanks for joining me, thanks for theor update. Please take care of yourself down there. Im joinedyo by Nbc News Meteorologist Bill karins. What can you tell us about the latest path of the storm . Were only about two hours from landfall and its going to have devastating, destructive, this will be a retired storm. This is historic. Weve never seen a storm this powerful hit this region of the country before. The pictures when we get them in tomorrow once the storm is gone everything is going to be flattened wherever this eye goes. Thewh Hurricane Center updated are now up to 140 mile per hour. This is a solid Category 4, it is still strengthening all the way up until landfall. Its been over extremely warm water. So this m eye, look at all thes white things. Our computers can tell us where the Lightning Strikes are. I mean, this is incredible intensification at the last minute. Te there was hardly any and its filling in, thunderstorms are wrapping around the center. Pressure is still dropping. This is a Buzz Saw. Wherever this movesbu its goin to destroys houses, its goingo destroy all the trees, going to be laying down. S were trying andng praying thate want this to affect the slimmest number of people possible as we move this on shore over the next couple hours. Now the center of the storm only 60e miles from the coast that northern ans this Eyewall Isec only about 40 mile from the coast. We expecthe landfall between 110 p. M. And about midnight. Theres tallahassee, 200,000 people call that home and about 50,000 students. Perry is right in here, these are the areas of greatest concern. The eye itself is roughly about 40 miles wide. Why is that important . Because when we project that north wards, tl to perry is 45 miles wide. If wes Take That eye in the middle here we could get tallahassee on the Backside And Perry on the front side, 140 Mirp Wind gusts possible even as farss inland. I mean, you can get why it is suchge a serious situation. These are areas that werent evacuated by the way. Theres going to be people in tallahassee to perry that I10 Corridor that will be in their safe rooms, bathrooms, in the tub with pillows or blankets on top of them as this Storm Rolls and races through in the next couple hours. Scary as it gets. Almost like beingy in the midd of a tornado when this blows through. We also iflo youve seen the pictures, we have Storm Surge thatses increasing rapidly. Were getting near record levels in areas like tampa up towards cedar key, Old Port is near 4 feet. Clear Water Beach Water levels iste 6 feet above where they should be. If you are at the beach and your feet are barely in the water that would be above most peoples heads. Eastport, all h through Tampa B there is water in places that people have never seen before and this water is still going up. Again, that 10 to 20 feet is going to be in isolated remote area, where we get that eye making landfall, and then we watch that Buzz Saw moving in. Of course, alex, we have problems with the rainfall with this storm, too. A lot of Flash Flooding going on. I ofmean, we are going to have historic Amounts Ofoi Rain By t time were done with this in the mountainous areas of upstate south carolina, north carolina, that is going to cause tremendous amounts of damage and possibly take lives there, too. Alex, I Cant say enough, i know people if they are watching still, probably still have power, tallahassee, that I10 Corridor. Now is the time, gather whatever you can to protect yourself and your familyro and put as many walls betweenpu yourself as you can with the outside. Nbc News Meteorologist Bill karins. Thank you for that update. Really appreciate it. With us now is Tallahassee Mayor john daly. Ee mayor, Thank You so much for being here tonight. Ihe know this is a very intense and scary time for the people of tallahassee. I wonder if you could tell us a little bit about how youre feeling in h terms of preparatis and evacuations in your neck of theou woods. Well, i appreciate you having me on. Weve been preparing in tallahassee for the past week, thats The City as an institutiOn And as a community with alln the residents. Weve been stressing how important it is to be prepared for this storm. As it has been mentioned, if we take a direct hit from a Category 4 hurricane, it will be the most powerful storm in the history of The City of tallahassee. I think for the most Part Everybody is taking it very seriously and have done a very good job preparing. As for The Cityob itself, weve spent the weekit checking all aspects of municipal government and services that we provide to make sure everything is up and running top peak as the storm comes in. We have tripled our Work Forsz by Callingd In Mutual Aid agreements from all across the united states as farro away as oklahoma,y driving in to help , theyre all here. We have our assets spread out across the community with personnel and were ready for the storm. Mayor, can you talk a little bit about what your most immediate concerns are . Because it soundse like youve done all the preparation, any town,on any city could possiblyo for something like this. Whats keeping you up right now particularly . Sure. Well, health, Safety And Welfare of course. Now is the time for everybody to stay inside. A lot of people left, quite honestly, a lot of the College Students left at the recommendation of the universities and the state college, which was great. A lot of w people have gone to E Emergency shelters here in Town And Everyone else is staying put inside and thats great, but now is the time to stay in. Greatest concern for me is were not a coastal community so we wont have the Storm Surge, although our thoughts are with our neighbors down south. Its ther wind. Wind, trees and Power Lines. We know, obviously, that this is going to be a significant Wind Event and were known for our natural beauty and were known for our trees. But trees and Power Lines and wind do not mix. Weo know that a hurricane this strong a is going to spring significant damage, No Doubt about T Weve been shooting straight with the residents so they understand it as well. As soon as the storm is over we will t roll up our sleeves, go our professional assessment and get to work. Mayor, one nor just in terms of we talk about the damage. Are you confidentut that tallahasseesid Utility Grid ca withstand idthis . Im surest there are outages an the like but are you at all concerned about the mediumterm impacts . There is a reason why we have the Number One Public Utility in the natiOn And we are very proud of that. Ha nonetheless, we know that a storm of this sizene is going t bring significant damage. I dont care where you are, if you are hit directly by Category 4 storm, youre going to have a lot of damage. We have told our residents that recovery will be a marathon. It will not be a sprint. We have called in our friends from all across the country to help us out and we truly appreciate it. State of florida has been great, the federal government has beene great, The City, the county and the School Board have been working seamlessly. But, yes, to answer your question, we will have significant damage, No Doubt about it. If a Category 4 Hurricane Hits you headon its going to bring devastation. Tallahassee mayor john dailey, Thank You for spending a few minutes with me in such an important moment. Were sending you our strength from upyo north. Thank you. We turn to a very different kind of storm, a political storm That Has been brewing for years right here in new York City. You guys are from turkey. Brooklyn loves turkey. Brooklyn is the istanbul of america. That was new York City Mayor Ericwa adams playing himself in 2017 turkish film in which turkish Men Attempt to bribe new York City mayor Eric Adams. Today an indictment was unsealed in the southern district of new York T alleging that not only W Mayor adams accepting bribes from Turkish Nationals at least a year before that film came out, but that those bribes were consistent and ongoing throughout his time as mayor. Now, i should say that mayor adams denies all of it. He says the charges against him are entirely false and based on lies. And there is good reason for him to try to dissociate himself from this indictment. Hi the charges in it are not just illegal, but the actions are embarrassingly brazen. Not onlysi does the indictment allege that adams accepted more thant 100,000 worth of bribesn the form of Luxury Travel and hotel stays and food and entertainment, but the ways in which adams allegedly took those bribes were comically transparent. For example, in June Of 2021 while adams was actively campaigning to be the mayor of new York City a Turkish Official and a Turkish National allegedly arranged for adams and his partner to travel to turkey, stay at the four seasons hotel, a yacht tour, a Luxury Beach Resort and their own car and driver. Here are the O Texts setting up that excursion. Adams estaffer. Adams isam asking where else th can go in turkey, do you have a recommendation . STurkish National, four seasons. N Adams Staffer, its too expensive. Turkish national, why does he care . He is not going to pay. His Name Wont be on anything, either. Adams staffer, super. Super. Adams did allegedly pay for at least one thing, though, he paid 1,000 for Business Class tickets on an international flight that would have otherwise been 15,000. Here are the texts showing how they allegedly landed on that 1,000 price. Turkish national im going to charge m 50. Adams o staffer, no. Turkish national that wouldnt work, would it . Adams staffer, no, dear. 50 . What . Quote a proper price. Turkish national, how much should i charge smiley face. Adams staffer his every staff is being watched right now, 1,000 or so. Let it be somewhat real. I should note that that particular trip ended up being canceled, thede Indictment Doest tell us why, but that trip is one of thetr many trips this indictment alleges adams was gifted. Da the indictment alleges that adams flew free or severely discounted Business Class flights on Turkish Airlines to india,li france, turkey, hungar sri lanka, ghana and china. Now, if you are familiar with the shape of the Globe Youno Wod know that shopping in turkey to get to most i of those places ds not exactly make sense, but because this alleged bribe was specific to Turkish Airlines, as Mayorai Adams put it in a text his partner, you know the first stop is always istanbul. So that practically means nothing to a place like nice in France Mayor adams would take flights from new York City to Turkey Andfl Turkey back to france. Heba allegedly once even tried see if Turkish Airlines could get him to new York City to turkey to Eastern Island in chile which would require crossing seven time zones to the east and nine time zones to the west. E but, hey, Business Class seats, i guess. The thing is all of the personal grift alleged in this indictment is really just small potatoes compared to the alleged political legrift. Not only does the indictment say that he accepted foreign donations foror his mow i dont recall campaign from Turkish Nationals but also that he compounded gains by donations as disguising them as fake, small Dollar Donations so they would qualify for new York Citys public Campaign Fund Matching program, a program that ultimately gave Adams Campaign more than 10 Million of taxpayer money. So that is what mayor Eric Adams allegedly got out of this scheme, luxury vacations and millions of dollars in campaign cash. But what did C Turkey get in exchange . Well, the indictment alleges turkey got some Policy Items like mayor adams promising to never publicly acknowledge the armenian genocide, but there were also more direct, more obvious dfavors, like, for instance, back in 2021 some of theom Turkish Nationals That Ha allegedly bribed adams in the past were eager to open this building, the new 36story turkish consulate in manhattan. They wanted it opened in time for turkish president erdogans visit to the u. N. General assembly that year so that he could stop by, check it out. But i the new York City Fire Department Hadnt inspected the building yet so it wasnt allowed to open. In a Phone Call to an Adams Staffer a Turkish Official said that they had supported mayor adams and that it was now his turn to support turkey. Adams allegedly responded, i know. The indictment alleges that Adams Theneg pressured the new York City Fire Department Commissioner and it turns out the building had over 60 Fire Safety defects and could not legally be allowed to open, but mayor adams allegedly kept pushing and the building