this is cnn. the most trusted name in news. we are keeping a close watch on atlantic has another hurricane heading to a region devastated by the last one. now we are watching hurricane maria following the destructive path. quickly maria is gaining strength and one of three main storms churning in the atlantic. maria taking direct aim at puerto rico. let s go straight to san juan our correspondent there is standing by live. leyla, what s happening there? reporter: well, a lot of people are getting ready right now, brooke, you know, there are no schools open today. yet you still see a lot of traffic, even on this gorgeous
so, you know, i don t want to be somebody on record saying, anyplace has dodged a bullet until this thing has passed, until this is done. certainly in terms of where we have seen this storm heading, this hurricane heading over the last several hours, it is better news for tampa than might have been. had the storm been to the west of tampa and tampa been in the northeast quadrant, the north you know, the upper right quadrant of this hurricane you hear so much about, that would have been the worst case scenario for tampa. at a time yesterday, it looked like that might take place. so, the worst case scenario has not taken place for tampa. everything we ve heard over the last couple of hours from tom sater about the dispags of this storm, the disorganization of it and some of the questions about the storm and also what tom s tach said was an easterly push on this storm, all of that is better news for tampa than it might otherwise have been.
this area has a series of canals that lead out to the gulf of mexico to give homeowners an easy way to get out to the gulf if they want to. via boat while it does make some parts of the city more attractive for homeowners, it is not a good thing when you are talking about a major hurricane heading towards the city. storm surge is the main concern of many city officials out here. they are worried that that canal system can only help increase the flooding in some areas more inland, areas that would not normally see storm surge but because of this canal system, it may help to push some of that water further inland. we re talking about neighborhoods not right on the coastline. these are areas that are several miles inland here in the city of cape coral and they could see several feet potentially of storm surge. if i can, ari, i want to mention
please stay safe. thank you. we re just getting started here on cnn. we re going to be covering this throughout the duration. and when we come back, much more on this deadly category 5 hurricane heading for the u.s. and the two others just behind it well the one wer behiothe it in the atlantic. officials tracking and preparing for the storm will join us next. dental professionals recommend using an electric toothbrush. for an exceptionally fresh feeling choose philips sonicare diamondclean. hear the difference versus oral b. in a recently published clinical study,
again, we know your busy. thank you very much we ll check back with you later on this evening or tomorrow here on cnn. you guy haves your hands full. please stay safe. we re just getting started here on cnn. we re going to be covering this throughout the duration. when we come back much more on this category 5 hurricane heading to the u.s., and the two more bind it. firms tracking for the storm. they ll join us next. f every da. tempur-pedic helps you recover every night. tempur material provides up to twice as much pressure relieving power. so you won t toss and turn. through september 17th, save up to $500 on select adjustable sets. tempur-pedic sleep is power.