vladimir putin illegally annexes four regions. there s no checks on mr. putin. can the west keep him under control? plus the road to 2018, virginia becomes a battleground for one of the most competitive house races in the country. you look across the spectrum, the number is 218. i spent time in a district that could prove decisive. hello, i m dana bash in washington where the state of our union is picking up the pieces after a devastating storm. the numbers and images are staggering. at least 67 are dead in florida, four in north carolina, more than 850,000 still in the dark this morning. hundreds of thousands now essentially refugees days after hurricane ian swept ashore and swept away life as many know it. already more than a thousand civilians have been rescued and evacuated according to the governor s office. we re getting a clearer view of ian s map-altering impact. entire stretches of florida s coastline are gone. once sprawling community like sanibel island
hello again, everyone. thank you for joining me. i m fredricka whitfield. we begin with a new update on the devastating toll hurricane ian has taken on florida. at least 64 people were killed across the state. as recovery efforts continue, the number is expected to rise. governor ron desantis at this hour giving a briefing on the storm response and recovery. hurricane ian slamming into florida as a category 4 storm, leveling entire communities. and today severe flooding is complicating rescue and recovery efforts. let s go back to boris sanchez anchoring from ft. myers, florida, for us. reporter: hey, fred. as you reported just a moment ago, the tragic news that the death toll has again climbed earlier today. it was sitting at 45 fatalities. now cnn has confirmed from state officials that it has reached 64 people killed as a result of hurricane ian. and those devastating, nearly category 5, storm force winds. obviously, this is a difficult time for so many across the stat
what those folks do. so, bless them for all their efforts and i m really glad you put that story on your show. so, we will see you next sunday, my friend. see you next time. meantime, a very good day to all of you from msnbc headquarters here in new york. welcome, everyone, to alex reports. we are tracking hurricane ian at this hour. it is now a post-tropical cyclone. it s making its way north along the east coast and leaving a trail of devastation in several cities and states. in fact, right now, at least 34 people are confirmed dead. and rescue efforts are ongoing, with crews searching for survivors inside flooded and destroyed homes across that state. the coast guard is out today, assessing damage in several areas. survivors say, it has been a terrifying experience. it was terrifying. i ve never experienced winds, the howling, ears popping. i will never forget it. it was scary, it s the worst thing in the world. today, you know, we need basics and they
top of the hour, we will take you back to the fema directors that are going on right now. this news conference and we will listen to the very latest from winter park, florida, and get an update on recovery and rescue operations there. fema back to flood insurance. what kind of turnaround or how long until you expect people to be able to receive to face what s needed in their homes? how long do the inspections and claims take? yeah, one of the very first things that everybody should do is contact their insurance company to see what is going to be eligible. this includes flood insurance, which is by fema and also some of the other insurances they have for wind damage, et cetera. they are going to have to file that claim. one of the first thing that s going to have to happen is an inspection of that home, so they can determine the extent of damages. that will depend on the availability to access the homes. we know that there are still many homes that might be underwa
let anyone know that if they have a boat, get people. our coverage of hurricane ian continues now with anderson cooper 360. the sheriff here in lee county told reporters about the afternoon destruction that is everywhere tonight. no words to describe what we saw and are seeing in the present tense, which is important to note, because this is an ongoing disaster in florida and potentially in coastal carolina. hurricane in yes, it is a hurricane again taste is taking ada. this is what it did to fort myers beach. is the most impressive storm ever to hit this part of florida. here is our first look at the area from above. it is far from the only look at the destruction that can be revealed from the air. in struct the barrier islands hard severing the bridge to pine island, as you can see here, along with the santa bell causeway which is impassable tonight. it also did considerable damage to marinas up and down the coast, pushing even larger boat around like toys. florida