breaking news, hurricane irma is headed for a direct hit on florida and could bring catastrophic damage from one end of the state to the other. new forecast is just out. let s go to our meteorologist allison chinchar, she s at the cnn severe weather center. what can we expect, allison? we had a lot of changes with the update that came out at the top of the hour, so let s break it down for you. forward speed is at 120 miles an hour. that s actually slowed since the last advisory. wind gusts have increased up to 190 miles per hour, and we expect more intensification once it gets just a little further north on the coast of cuba. once it does, it will once again be in the warmest water in this region. that s what hurricanes like. they like to be in that
survey right after the hurricane right on miami beach. do you feel at this stage you have everything you need in terms of resources and manpower to respond to irma if it is as devastating as feared, as expected? well, we hope so. and of course the proof will be in the pudding. after this hurricane hits, we ll be counting on the county, the state and of course the federal government. we ve been in contact with all branchs of government. so we re hopeful we ll be able to have the full cooperation. all right, mayor levine, you have a lot to get on with. we re thinking about you guys, all of you there in miami, in florida as a whole during this really stressful time. well wish you the very best in the days ahead. thank you so much. bye, isha. thank you, bye. all right. we of course thinking about everyone in florida right now. and we ll continue our coverage of hurricane irma as this storm makes its way towards florida there is also another big story that we are following for you
in getting the money for fema that s needed for harvey and presumably for irma very soon and funding the government. you know, when trump did this sort of surprise turnaround and caught republicans off guard, i don t think he was thinking so much about this republican chess match with democrats on capitol hill. he was thinking more probably about what s going to look good on tv which i don t think it s any surprise that that is more of his focus. yeah. and he wants a win. he badly needs a win, right? and so this at least in the short term, this gets him a win. what does it do for the republican legislative strategy, though, coming into the beginning of december? you know, and what you said there is important. it gets him a win. it doesn t get republicans a win. that s the distinction. he was elected outside of the party almost. for him, a win is not what mitch mcconnell and paul ryan see as a win. that s the real difference here.
190 miles an hour. this can do not just a little damage. this will do substantial damage. you re talking roofs being ripped off of buildings, siding coming off, not to mention your smaller homes, say like mobile homes. this will not only take them off their foundation but may chuck them a few blocks down the road. this is going to be substantial with some of these wind speeds that we are expecting in some florida. all right. thank you very much. and, you know, as alison is talking about these winds, whatever it may end up being, 150, 160 or more per hour, it is expected to intensefy. joining me is richard, a flight director for the national ocean yanic and atmospheric administration. he is flying through hurricane irma. i know you are gathering crucial data for all of us to understand what s happening and maybe stop it in the future. tell me what you just saw.
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