operations center. the interesting media needs, obviously search and rescue operations are under way in a number of areas. is the state equipped to handle the needs that people are facing right now? reporter: so the state, florida does this as well as anybody, because of the experience. unfortunately it comes in handy in situations. but i would sa i the most immediate, it will be there to provide assistance that needs backup. here s sort soft short term, in the short term the most important need to have is to get communications up. verizon is the lead provider in this area. it still is not working. at&t which phone i m on now is working a little bit. but that s a big deal the general public does not have access to each other or information. and then even the sort of first responder radio system, it s finally coming out live, damage, so communication is critical. i think starting tomorrow the shelters where people have been
appreciate the time you talking to us. i m sorry for all you are going through and all your neighbors. we wish you the best. thanks, anderson, as soon as we rebe i would this area, we love tourism so much, obviously, the councilwoman said now is not the time. as soon as we get things back up and running, the best way is to contribute to our local small economy. we greatly appreciate that and appreciate everyone that comes to visit. you take care, we ll be in touch. thank you. coming up next, people waiting to hear from loved ones who were in places like mexico beach. you saw folks talking to brooke baldwin, one woman heard from her brother there. we ll talk to her, later how all the devastation, people are planning how they re going to rebuild. we ll have that and much more as our live coverage continues.
will stay and rebuild. i thought i had. all of this stuff going in here, it s hard no talk about i to about it. reporter: all over the area, we heard this high pitching beeping. they are fire alarms, buried in the rubble, warnings that perhaps came too late. again and again i heard from survives here who told me they re simply grateful to be alive. these three friends were searching for one of their homes. it was hard for them to even recognize the street. wow, no there are just no there are no words. no, there s not. there s so many memories here. reporter: this woman named sherry says she didn t have time to grab anything but some
charge a phone for example or communicate that way. i think my biggest concern is being able to survey all this area. it s going to take a bit. so, yeah, great people doing everything they can, but we ve got some real challenges here. and obviously people without power are not going to be hearing you tonight, but what is your message to the people of florida tonight who do have power as they start to try and put things back together or figure out what the next step is? well, first thing i always tell them is that tease things are very disruptive, even if you didn t have property damage. it takes kids weeks to get back to school and everything else. but i want them to know the best people in the world from disaster response are on the case. they re the best in the world at what they do. all that said it is going to be weeks before people have power. i hope they re staying here at a hotel room after evacuating.
annette cofield and her 92-year-old mother, they barely made it through, she said. the houses are gone, mother s in a wheelchair, but they are probably getting out in an ambulance if they are not already gone by now. but they are all okay. and obviously any family members or friends of people who are out there and heard that, please call other members of the family to let them know. miguel, just quickly, where are people tonight? i mean, if somebody s home has been zrodestroyed, where are th staying? some of them are staying in their homes, no matter how bad they are. fortunately it s not too hot and miserable a night here. a lot of people we met there s an area just up the road where a lot of the emergency personnel are gathering. we couldn t do our live shots there because there was too much interference with the satellite signal. but a lot of them are staying there. there are convenience stores with everything, all the potato chips, juices, everything has