tornado, flipping a car in south carolina. our team across the storm zone, and al roker with the new track. also tonight, another alarming moment for mitch mcconnell. the senate gop leader appearing to freeze on camera for more than 30 seconds aides coming to his side it comes just weeks after a similar episode on capitol hill what his team says happened and rudy giuliani found liable for defaming two georgia election workers with false claims of ballot tampering. how those workers, a mother and daughter, are reacting >> announcer: this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt good evening, and welcome. almost 12 hours since it slammed ashore along florida's big bend region as a major hurricane, idalia is tonight a tropical storm, but forecasters warn still a dangerous force to reckon with as it works its way across southeastern georgia tracking up the carolina coast this morning, the fast-moving storm came ashore in florida with wind gusts of over 80 miles per hour, so powerful, they toppled this massive service station awning in perry, florida near the coast homes were destroyed or cut off as the much-feared storm surge inundated structures left standing the storm surge in cedar key topping 8 1/2 feet tampa bay spared the worst of the storm still saw a storm surge of five feet many residents near the heart of the impact zone cut off forcing high-water rescues. at least two deaths are said to be related to the hurricane tonight, with sustained winds still reaching 70 miles per hour, people along parts of the carolina coast are on alert for heavy flooding we have a large team across the storm zone. we begin with tom llamas in florida. tom, good evening. >> reporter: lester, good evening to you. as we're dealing with the emergency situation here in florida, we want to show you some live pictures tonight georgia and charleston, south carolina, where this is right here feeling the outer bands, and it is getting dangerous there tonight. here in florida idalia has cut off communities, surrounded them with water. rescues are under way. some are under curfew. search and rescue teams, along with the national guard, are in response mode right now. the only way to describe florida's big bend, small towns with big damage tonight, our first look at the incredible fury of hurricane idalia powerful bursts of wind, relentless sheets of rain, and devastating storm surge combining into a destructive force of historic proportions. >> i don't think anybody expected it to be this bad. >> oh, my god. >> reporter: the category 3 hurricane is the strongest to hit the big bend area in more than a century. landfall came this morning at keaton beach with maximum sustained gusts of 125 miles per hour homes here didn't stand a chance in nearby perry, this gas station toppled by fierce winds, and across the region, roofs ripped off buildings. >> oh, oh, my gosh >> have you ever seen anything like this in perry? >> absolutely not. nobody is going to get power for weeks. >> reporter: the governor touring hard-hit perry today >> what's your message to floridians who are trapped or stranded right now? >> well, if you are in distress, you can call 911, and there will be rescue efforts that will commence. the storm has passed the first responders are active >> reporter: in steinhatchee, water is everywhere the town under curfew and neighborhoods completely inundated by the rising tide because of that storm surge, many communities were cut off. people were stranded or trapped in their homes. units like this from the national guard have been deployed because of their high-water vehicle and those rescue boats up top. the keim family is safe, but their yankeetown home is underwater >> why did you decide to evacuate? >> this surge right here, man, if we had been in our property, we would have gotten flooded, and we wouldn't be able to leave. >> the tree just went down. >> reporter: with trees down and roads submerged all over the area, moving can be as treacherous as staying put. already two separate car crash fatalities reported by florida highway patrol blamed on the weather, a total that would have grown if not for daring swift-water rescues that saved dozens outside of tampa. >> didn't know what i was going to do until these guys showed up i was going to actually stay and swim in my house. >> reporter: florida's first responders pushed to the limit. the president offering help >> anything the state needs right now, i'm ready to mobilize that support for what they need. >> there goes power lines right there. >> reporter: as officials feared, idalia overpowered the big bend area's electrical infrastructure hundreds of thousands of homes affected. even the governor was left in the dark this morning. >> that's going to be legitimate surge it's going to be a big, big deal, and it's going to be very, very dangerous, and there we go with our power here. >> rest in peace >> reporter: other landmarks weren't so lucky. this bed and breakfast in cedar key engulfed by storm surge some of idalia's worst impacts happened in this small town of less than a thousand in pasco county, several homes burned in electrical fires. >> my heart just dropped out of my chest when they called and said the house was on fire, because we prepared for a flood, not a fire. >> reporter: and back in perry, one family lucky to be alive. idalia knocked down these massive trees crushing their home. huddled inside of this car, we met two of the survivors, mom summer and baby amelia >> it was kind of terrifying, honestly. >> reporter: summer told me how her husband, brandon, heard the tree snapped and jumped on top of them. >> he came, and he jumped over top of us. you could hear it cracking, you know, collide on top of the house. >> reporter: brandon telling me he did what anyone would do who loves their family >> has it hit you kind of what did? >> no, not really. i figured it would be what anybody would do. >> reporter: and, lester, that family you just heard from right there, they lived in this house just behind me, and you can see how big those trees are. they heard those trees snap, and those thick tree trunks just came crashing down on the home it is incredible that anyone survived that you can see right there, the top of those trees crashing right into the roof, but that family including that baby, baby amelia, they are alive tonight. lester >> all right, tom llamas starting us off. thanks. south carolina next in the bull's-eye as we continue to track the storm. kathy park is there. kathy, the weather is starting to pick up where you are. >> reporter: lester, good evening that's right idalia is still packing quite a punch. heavier bands of rain and wind expected to come in later on this evening, but as you can see behind me, this is the charleston harbor, and the waves are already crashing along the seawall right now, and the timing of this storm will be extremely critical, because it could coincide with the high tide and lead to even more flooding. now, earlier today, we saw residents, as well as store owners, stacking up sandbags to keep the floodwater out, and also pockets of downtown charleston saw some flash flooding today, but it's not just the high wind and rain, but there is the threat of tornadoes. in fact, there was a tornado that touched down in goose creek, south carolina, injuring two people inside a vehicle obviously you can see here, lester, idalia still very much a strong and dangerous storm. lester >> all right, kathy park, thank you. and idalia's effects still being felt across coastal georgia where it could bring up to ten inches of rain. lindsey reiser is in savannah lindsey, what are you seeing >> reporter: lester, it's calm right now. hopefully it stays that way, but we have seen rough and rising waters here in the savannah river, and we're going to keep an eye on them. we are still under a storm surge watch, and we have yet to reach high tide, but take a look at some of the conditions we've seen today. periods of heavy rain and wind. all schools in the county went virtual. all flights at savannah hilton head airport were canceled, and more than 100,000 people in the state have been without power. if you take a look at valdosta, georgia, that's closer to the florida/georgia line, they saw flash flooding that prompted water rescues, and camden county is asking residents to conserve water back out here live, one bright spot here is this is a fast-moving storm, lester >> lindsey reiser, thanks. let's bring in al roker, who has been tracking this all day long good point. it's been moving quickly. what does the track look like? >> it is right on target currently 40 miles west of savannah, georgia. 70-mile-per-hour winds. that's a tropical storm moving northeast at 21 miles per hour we have tornado watches, as lindsey mentioned, from wilmington all the way down to charleston some tornado warnings embedded in there. these tornado watches in effect till 10:00 p.m. this evening. 17 million are under tropical storm warnings from daytona beach to cape hatteras we are looking at the path of the storm to pass by wilmington sometime early tomorrow, then by tomorrow afternoon, it's out into the atlantic, good riddance. we do have storm surges possible, two to five feet charleston's high tide, 8:24, so we'll be watching that carefully. the possibility of tornadoes from savannah to morehead city, and rainfall amounts, lester, four to eight inches generally but could have another ten inches throughout the carolinas. >> all right, al roker, thank you. and we have been talking about that catastrophic storm surge, up to nine feet of it, and those powerful winds hitting florida. our gabe gutierrez was on the ground the moment of impact and reporting live as it roared ashore. >> reporter: lester, this is where idalia officially made landfall a lot of the structures here are vacation homes, and many people had evacuated inland, but these winds were among the most powerful that this part of florida's coast had ever seen. this was idalia roaring onshore, the violent water mixing with howling winds just before dawn as the hurricane officially made landfall in keaton beach. its eye wall brushing past perry 20 miles inland this is the power of hurricane idalia, and we're right in the thick of it. the winds here have really picked up in the last hour or so. after sunrise the damage becoming clearer. remarkably, the storm surge wasn't as brutal as expected here, but the wind was idalia is the strongest hurricane to make landfall on the big bend in 127 years, tying the unnamed hurricane of 1896 with 125-mile-per-hour winds. you can see right now how many first responders are lining up here. the national guard is on the move. richard and deanna carr returning to keaton beach late today. how terrifying was it to feel those winds this morning >> it was pretty bad pretty bad >> reporter: we also met tammy perry. >> the aqua house is mine. >> reporter: as she came back for the first time to see how her beach home fared >> it made it. >> it made it. >> reporter: nervous because several houses around hers had been ravaged, but after an agonizingly long walk -- >> thank you, lord. >> reporter: relief, her home intact. the eye had missed gabe gutierrez, nbc news, keaton beach, florida. there is, of course, other news we're following. in fact, let's turn to another alarming moment today for senator mitch mcconnell. the top senate republican appearing to freeze for several seconds at an event in kentucky here's ryan nobles >> reporter: tonight, another health scare for one of the most powerful members of congress >> did you hear the question, senator? >> reporter: top senate republican mitch mcconnell freezing and unresponsive for more than 30 seconds after being asked a question about his plans to run for re-election. >> all right, i'm sorry, you all we're going to need a minute. >> reporter: the episode coming after the 81-year-old gave a 20-minute speech to a group in covington, kentucky, without issue. it's the second time in two months that mcconnell has froze during a press conference in july he was led away after staring blankly for more than 20 seconds when he was asked about it afterwards, he joked about president biden's stumbling during an event. >> well, the president called to check on me. i told him i got sandbagged >> reporter: mcconnell missed more than a month of work after falling and suffering a concussion in march. today president biden offered mcconnell his support. >> we have disagreements politically, but he is a good friend, and so i'm going to try to get in touch with him. >> reporter: senate republicans have been supportive of mcconnell staying in his leadership position tonight his spokesperson saying that he was feeling lightheaded during that press conference. he's expected to see a doctor before his next event. lester. >> all right, ryan nobles, thank you. also tonight, rudy giuliani has been found liable for defaming two georgia election workers by falsely claiming they tampered with ballots in 2020. a federal judge ordered giuliani to pay their attorney fees, and a civil trial will determine any damages. the workers, a mother/daughter duo, said it confirms there was never any truth to giuliani's claims. giuliani's spokesman said he is wrongly accused. in just 60 seconds, the dramatic new images from maui as the wildfires spread and the new fire threat for the island back now with the new fire weather watch issued for maui. it comes as more controversy flares over those emergency sirens and questions about who was really in charge of the response sam brock reports. >> reporter: the search and rescue operations in maui are almost over with a fraction of water left to search, but countless questions remain like when emergency sirens might be activated in the future >> we haven't used sirens in the past for wildfires. we are looking at changing systems to improve how we notify the public. >> reporter: this latest briefing contentious as local and state agencies struggle to provide a time line for alerts or even who was calling the shots. >> i'm not sure who was in charge. i think herman andaya was still in charge. he just wasn't present. >> reporter: this week, west maui bracing for a fire weather watch with conditions so dry and windy, they already produced a fire just days ago. >> lahaina is burning. oh, lord help us. >> reporter: kimo clark recorded the flames from a rooftop as he responded twice to fires that day with his personal water tanker and team. >> describe the heroism from sort of every aspect of what was going on >> i seen neighbors grabbing their garden hoses and putting out their neighbors' houses i've seen people in the fire grab an elderly person or a child. >> reporter: the president today pledging 95 million to harden hawaii's electric grid. >> to make sure electricity can continue to reach homes, hospitals, water stations even during intense storms. >> reporter: as maui looks to strengthen its safety protocols, its spirit remains strong >> the specialness of people that are born here, the generations, the families, the traditions, that's what makes lahaina lahaina. >> reporter: sam brock, nbc news, west maui still ahead tonight, as students head back to class, allegations of a hostile takeover in a major texas school district district big changes this year in some houston, texas, school districts. a district eliminating dozens of school librarians the controversial reason why and how some families are fighting back. here's antonia hylton. >> cherries and blueberries. >> reporter: houston mom jessica campos has spent the entire summer dreading the return to school. >> i feel like i've spent my entire summer fighting, so coming here, it kind of -- i can breathe. >> reporter: ever since her daughter's elementary became 1 of more than 28 schools in the houston independent school district replacing their library with a center for work and discipline >> what's happening to the houston schools? >> it feels like they're being taken apart, dismantled, destroyed. >> reporter: this summer the state of texas took over hisd, a district of almost 200,000 kids in a red state. they replaced the elected school board members and swapped the superintendent for a charter school owner and former leader of dallas schools some like houston mayor sylvester turner say it's a hostile takeover >> houston has been its own state government for years, okay, so let's not be fooled. >> reporter: everyone agrees houston schools needed to change some were failing. many students fell behind in reading and math district leaders tried to improve, and the state even gave them a "b" rating in 2022 they took over anyway and laid off employees and replaced libraries in underperforming schools, so they could give some teachers higher salaries. >> i can't afford a laptop for my kids, so books is where we get to travel, you know, to dream >> reporter: jessica's daughter sophie is starting fifth grade at one of the new education system schools. >> i barely know how to read. i just started reading in fifth grade because my english teacher helped me a lot. >> strike. >> reporter: she says the library was a place where she could practice >> i say and -- >> reporter: superintendent mike miles understands families are anxious about change, but he argues books will still be available on shelves, and these team centers where students will work or go when they are disruptive will help kids like sophie catch up. >> in a district where there are so many kids who are struggling to read, why disrupt the library of all places? >> so, reading is key. we may not have librarians, but even in this room, books are on the shelves >> do you believe librarians are important? >> every single position has value we can't be all things to all people, and we can't have everything we want. >> so does that mean you're robbing peter to pay paul? >> no, i mean, i wouldn't phrase it that way what i would say is we're putting in a bold, different model that works >> reporter: jessica campos considered busing sophie to another school away from her neighborhood and friends. >> i'm not going to do that because i'm not going to leave those kids there >> reporter: she says parents aren't going to let their school change without a fight. antonia hylton, nbc news, houston, texas tonight we are honoring the legacy of an nbc news legend don browne has passed away he was an institution here, a newsman to his core he was a respected journalist and dear friend to so many during his decades leading nbc news, our miami station wtvj, and later telemundo. he was honored with a place in the broadcasting and cable hall of fame he was 80 years old. when we return, al roker is back with where idalia is heading next finally tonight, idalia has made its way across florida into georgia al roker joins me with a late update. still dangerous as nightfall approaches? >> sure is, lester even though it's a tropical storm, don't let that fool you. 70-mile-per-hour winds moving northeast at 21 miles per hour we have tornado watches from north carolina all the way down to savannah, georgia, with tornado warnings in there. path of the storm brings it to the south of wilmington overnight tonight, and by tomorrow afternoon, it is out to sea but not before dropping another four to eight inches of rain, lester, storm surges along the southeastern atlantic coast anywhere from one to five feet. >> all right, al, thanks for the update. that is "nightly news" for this wednesday. thank you for watching, everyone i'm lester holt. please take care of yourself and each other. good night right now on nbc bay area news tonight, you see all that haze? just how bad is the air quality this evening, and will it get better by labor day weekend? also -- >> holy -- holy -- that car's flying! what the -- >> tropical storm idalia downgraded from a hurricane, but still, as you can see, wreaking havoc. our crew is there, documenting the rescues on the east coas