unclear but we are hearing early reports of what may be substantial loss of life. tonight, what we know about the damage, the loss of life and the rescue efforts plus the daunting prospect of rebuilding in an era of climate catastrophe. and as ian regains hurricane status, what we know about preparations beyond florida. senator raphael warnock of georgia. and what we are learning about what ginni thomas turn told the january six committee. did you speak with your husband when all in starts right now. good evening from new york. i m chris hayes. more than 24 hours after hurricane ian slammed into florida s west coast, it s not clear it will go down as one of the most destructive storms in the state s history. he came ashore just shy of a category five hurricane bringing 150 mile per hour winds, more than a foot of rain in some areas over just 12 to 24-hour period. that is a one in 1000 rain moment. we also saw record storm surge bringing the water level up 12 feet in
our thoughts remain with those impacted by hurricane ian. for those who need help, please ask for it. and if you can give help, please, give it. on that note, i wish you all a very good and safe night. from all of our colleagues across the networks of nbc news, thanks for staying up late with us. i will see you at the end of tomorrow. when hurricane ian came ashore yesterday afternoon and what was one of the stronger storms to ever hit the united states, period, and after a terrifying night in southwest florida daylight today brought harrowing evidence of the destruction of a storm like that brings. this is fort myers beach, one of the barrier ion islands that in slammed into as a near category five storm. for the hurricane it was a popular beach destination full of resorts and restaurants. as you can, see much of it has been leveled. when local resident told his local tape paper, quote, fort myers beach is gone. this is the causeway leading to sandoval island, just west of
a law professor at nyu of so he will grade me on this. but i think one, it doesn t matter, it s kind of an academic ruling at this point since the investigation investigation on the classified documents. good evening. and two, she might be right. donald trump should be able to protect his right to a criminal defense in court on the question of what about these documents, possibly, being planted. the normal place for that to come up, is in cross-examination of fbi agents in court. it may be that it is a good thing, that he is allowed to continue to hold on to that, all the way through a criminal trial, because, would we be running the risk of reversible error in an appeal if donald trump lost that right to that argument, now, through a special master? all of that is for, professor weisman, later, actually coming right up in our first segment. i guarantee, politically, the ultimate legal outcome. we will hear donald trump repeat a lot, his claims, that may be something happen
at least 12 people have been reported killed, and it brought epic rain and flooding to the central part of the state. hundreds of people have been rescued, that work continues overnight. over 2 million homes and businesses are without power. today president biden visited fema s headquarters in washington, d. c. and said federal aid is on its way to florida. this could be the deadliest hurricane in florida s history. when conditions allow it, i ll gonna be going to florida. will you be talking to florida ron desantis when you re down there? the answer is yes if he wants to see. let s go right to nbc meteorologist, michelle grossman. i know michelle, that we got the 11 pm update from the national weather center just moments ago. what did you learn? hi there stephanie great to see you. well it s strengthened even further, so back to a category one storm. we re looking at 80 mile per hour winds. it did weaken earlier this morning to a tropical storm, dropped into the at
everywhere. i ve never seen damage like this in my whole life. it s unreal. reporter: boats tossed like toys. the lone bridge connecting the island cracked and crumbled with the storm s winds putting some sections totally under water. we had about 200 households that didn t evacuate on the island that we know of. reporter: anyone still trapped on the isolated island now waiting for rescue by boat or air. we joined the lee county sheriff as he surveyed some of the hardest hit areas to see the full scope of ian s power. you know that as we are speaking right now, there are people that want us and need us and we can t get to them. reporter: people like jack and betty. an elderly couple who hasn t been heard from since the storm hit their continue dope. the worst part is the waiting and the unknown and not knowing that they re okay. reporter: their son scott says his parents were unable to evacuate in time and forced to hunker down on their ground floor. but rescuer