make a significant impact. what is the latest you are seeing there on the ground? reporter: yasmine, we have seen a good amount of damage in miami. yesterday, we were looking at debris across the streets, trees blocking roads. most of the state is without power, as you know. 8 million people are dealing with a power outage. as the people are waking up in the dark, we know there are search and recovery efforts under way in the florida keys south of us. that island is cut off from the mainland. it has no food, no water, no phones. today, a navy, the navy ship is supposed to come in there and help people out to give much needed supplies. with search and rescue under the way, people are unaccounted for. damage so bad in areas you can only get to them by air. the category 4 hurricane, that s what irma came on to the florida keys as. a storm so powerful, it caused a
you. we are getting our first glimpse at the massive path of destruction in florida, particularly the florida keys. they took a direct hit when they made land fall there. many parts of that area are difficult to reach. nbc news miguel almaguer took to the skies and has more on the devastation. reporter: this is one of our first looks at the damage. it really does stretch neighborhood-to-neighborhood, homes in the water, boats in the water. this is the way in to the hardest hit islands in the keys. irma obliterating homes, swamping neighborhoods and likely taking lives. looks like a nuclear bomb took off. reporter: brian holly rode out the storm. going to take months or years to clean up. hurricane irma the eye swirling across the keys,
engolfed by water there. the main road in and out was still impassable for anything but truck or boat. the water reached four or five feet at the height of the storm surge there. at least ten people died in cuba in the capital of havana. the storm made land fall on friday as as category 5 hurricane. the most powerful to hit the island in more than 80 years. the deadliest was 2005 and did not completely pass through until sunday. the government says an early evacuation of 1 million people prevented more deaths. many of the countries romantic and dated buildings were no match for irma s fury as the wind and rain destroyed homes and buildings across the island leaving thousands homeless. havana s iconic seawall causing widespread flooding through the
debris outside his home when a tree limb fell on him. elsewhere, there was serious flooding. tourists saw the savannah river spill its banks with stores and restaurants. water lapped over the docks. tie bee island, the nearby beach, was rendered unreachable as the storm surge surpassed that. the town s 911 system is not functioning, according to the mayor and the bridges remain closed. the mayor had to helicopter in to reach his own town. we are going to get an update from him in the next hour. meanwhile, in south carolina, more than 50,000 people are without power this morning. charleston with the ancient drainage system is prone to wash out anyway, even in heavy rain. yesterday, the iconic market area downtown is under water.
water splashed over railings, flooding out historic streets. here is how the local nbc affiliate reported it. we are in east battery and south battery. the scene is incredible. we have people walking along the wall. it is one of the dumbest things you could be doing right now. the water has been coming over the wall for the past, i would say couple of hours. it s only getting worse by the minute as high tide comes in. i have been through a couple hurricanes. i was not expecting this as we continue to stand here, the water is going to come up into downtown charleston. if i could have my photographer show you, it s like the ocean has come into downtown charleston. there s not a way to drive-through the area. incredible images there. out on the beaches, the flooding was so vicious. this came from james islands as the waves rolled over the shoreline.