i was on the police department for 25 years, saw a lot of storms here. this is by far the worst storm i have ever witnessed. i promise you, i m never going to sit through another storm ever again here. i am one of the lucky ones. just some of the survivors of hurricane ian after the storm decimated wide sections of florida, and now the storm is on track to make a second u.s. landfall threatening the carolinas and georgia. good morning, and welcome to morning joe, it is friday, september 30th. joe is off this morning, but we ll get right to the latest with ian. intensing into a hurricane again, heading to south carolina after leaving a trail of devastation in florida. it is expected to make landfall near charleston around noon today as a category 1 storm. the national hurricane center is warning it could unleash life threatening storm surge, floods and strong winds. a state of emergency is in place for the carolinas, georgia and virginia. the damage from hurricane ian is
hurricane-force winds already recorded offshore from charleston. the national weather center warns storm surge is expected there. people are warned to take this storm seriously especially after what was seen and happened from ian in florida. more striking images are emerging as well. capturing the level of devastation especially where the storm came on shore in southwest florida. you re looking at have i had from sanibel island showing the community torn apart, completely severed from the mainland. people stranded without water and power. cleanup efforts have begun in some areas, including fort myers beach. residents still reeling from all of this destruction. i mean, there s just stuff going everywhere. i ve lived here my whole life, it s unreal. we thought possibly we were one of the lucky ones. unfortunately it s really too sad for me to talk about. thank you, guys. some areas, high floodwaters are still a major concern, not yesterday receded. governor ron desant
good day, everyone. i m andrea mitchell in washington. president biden will speak this afternoon about the federal government s coordination with leaders in georgia, south carolina and, of course, hurricane ravaged florida. we expect to hear from ron desantis later this hour. let s begin with nbc s kathy park in charleston, south carolina. residents are used to flooding in that historic district. this looks like it s going to be an unprecedented event. reporter: yeah. good afternoon. that s absolutely right. hurricane ian is still barrelling this way. we are getting slammed with these heavy bands of rain and wind. every so often we get slammed with wind gusts you see right now. this is the pattern that we have been experiencing all morning long. i want to show you what s happening behind me. that s the ashley river you are seeing behind me. there s sawgrass, and it s almost covered by the water. it s high tide. that s the big concern throughout the day. the combination of
to the mainland. and above the shear scale of the wreckage, the storm left some areas completely unrecognizable. one person told the tampa bay times lee koth looks like a bomb has been dropped. momentarily, we ll go live to fort myers beach where this side by side shows the destruction to the popular pier. here s a man from fort myers who had a terrifying experience. i stayed here as long as i could until i got scared for my life and went across the street. the it didn ts last too long. the big bad wolf puffed it away. i watched my house disappear with everything in it. right pfr my eyes. right before his eyes. i want to bring in kat park in south carolina where hurricane ian is expected to make landfall soon. what are the conditions you re seeing? what are you hearing about what you re expecting in the next couple hours or so? reporter: so we have been out here for several hours now. i can can tell you the landscape has changed dramatically. behind me is the ashley riv
people are now in 257 shelters like this woman right here. florida says it needs 5.5 million meals to feed them all. and 6.6 million liters of clean water. 2 million people still do not have power. water isn t running in five counties. 19 counties have boil water notices. and more than 200 health care facilities are evacuating, or considering doing so. 10 airports are closed. along with 24 ports. 31 transit systems. and nine railways. and then there is the death toll. the official number is now 14. though those same officials say that number is very likely to rise. and they are warning, just because it has a weaker wind speed, making it a category one storm, hurricane ian, that does not mean that the danger has passed. as we have learned over and over again, it is the water, the rain, the storm surge, and the flooding that is often the most dangerous. that right there is where we begin, looking at what the storm is doing now, joining me from charleston, south carolina, is nbc