Tallahassee within the next few hours. Now, right now, helene is an extremely dangerous category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 140 miles per hour. So, for more than 545,000 households in florida, they are reportedly without power and thousands have been ordered to evacuate from their homes. As you can see from these satellite images, helene is huge and is expected to affect nearly the entire state of florida with damaging winds and heavy rain. So, what may bring the most danger are the storm surges. Earlier today, residents experienced flooding in places like pine island, which is just outside of fort myers. But, flooding will likely get much worse across the state as the night continues. A storm surge warning is in place for almost the entirety of florida's west coast. This video is a simulation of what could happen if the storm surge rises to approximately 10 feet. But, in some parts of florida, officials look worn that a hurricane helene could cause storm surges of up to 20 feet, around double the amount shown in this simulation. Those officials are calling that level of storm surge potentially unsurvivable. Earlier today, the first bands of winds and rain bashed the tampa bay area, giving us just a taste of the strength of the storm, a strength that is not expected to begin once it makes landfall. Five states, florida, georgia, south carolina and north carolina have all declared states of emergency, and more than 40 million people are either under hurricane or tropical storm warnings. For more on all of this, joining me now is nbc news correspondent, kathy park. She is live from tallahassee, florida. Kathy, i hope you are safe out there. What can you tell us about the latest on the ground? reporter: alex, good evening. So, it seems that we are getting a bit of a tease from hurricane helene right now, because the weather has kind of pulled back. We are just getting some rain at this point, but we do know that things will start to ramp up over the next few hours, but here in tallahassee, especially, the big concern will be the wind damage because we are a bit farther inland. So, storm surge not as much of a concern, but here in tallahassee, roughly 55% of the city is under tree canopy. So, when you factor in the 100 mileperhour winds that will be moving into this area pretty soon, officials are really worried about toppled trees, debris, toppled power lines, and of course, the extended power outages that will soon follow. Now, earlier today, we had a chance to speak with some residents who decided to leave their homes behind and hunker in place at emergency shelters. Here's what they told me. Take a listen. I just thought this storm was different. I just had a gut feeling. It was just different. It's big, in its size. The wind speed i just felt this was different and this was the best thing to do. Never been in a store that is a category 3 or 4. What we are doing now is using wisdom. Wisdom tells me to get out of the home. I live in a great home, but that home may not be enough to forgo and to take on these storms. I so feel much more comfortable being here. Reporter: and alex, i can tell you, these emergency shelters filled up pretty quickly throughout the day today, and i was told if you are there, you are expected to stay there to ride out the storm. Obviously, for safety reasons. We should also point out this is a big college town, so the local universities have shelters on campus, as well, open to students. Tallahassee officials have been preparing for days ahead of this storm, but obviously this is mother nature we are working with and even though you have prepared for days, it is still unclear what it could do. We are told they are leaning on mutual aid from resources really from all around the country. So, tomorrow will be extremely telling, but once again, if this comes in as a category 4 here in the tallahassee region, this will be the most catastrophic storm the region has seen, ever. Nbc news correspondent, kathy park. Kathy, thanks for joining me, thanks for the update. Please, take care of yourself down there. I'm joined now by nbc news meteorologist, bill karins. What can you tell us about the latest path of the storm? only about two hours from landfall and it will be devastating, destructive. This will be a retired storm. We have not seen a storm this powerful hit this region of the country before. So, the pictures we are getting in tomorrow once the storm is gone, everything is going to be flat wherever this eye goes. The hurricane center just updated, now it is it 140 miles per hour. This is a solid category 4. It is strengthening all the way up until landfall. It has been over extremely warm water. So, this eye look at all of these white things. Our computers can tell us where the lightning strikes are. I mean, this is incredible intensification in the last minute. Look at, there is hardly any, now it is filling in, these thunderstorms are wrapping around the center, the pressure is still dropping. This is a buzz saw. Wherever this moves, it is going to destroy houses, it is going to destroy all of the trees, everything will be laying down. So, we are praying we want this to affect the slimmest number of people possible as we move this onshore over the next couple hours. Now at the center of the storm, only 60 miles from the coast. That means this northern eye wall is only about 40 miles from the coast. We expect landfall between 11:00 p. M. And midnight. There is tallahassee, 200,000 people called out of home at about 50,000 students. And then, to dallas park and perry, right here. These are the areas of biggest concern. The eye itself is about 40 miles wide. Why is that important? because when we project that northward, tallahassee to perry is 45 miles wide. So, if we take that eye in the middle here, we could get tallahassee on the backside and perry on the front side, 140 mileperhour wind gusts possible even this far inland. You can get why it is such a serious situation, and these are areas that weren't evacuated, by the way. Some people did it on their own, but there are going to be people in tallahassee, parody, that will be in their safe rooms, they will be in their bathrooms, whether they have tubs, pillows, on top of them as this storm rolls and races through over the next couple of hours, scary as it gets. Almost like being in the middle of a tornado when this blows through. We also if you have seen the pictures we have storm surge that is increasing rapidly. We are getting your record levels in places like tampa, up toward cedar key, and i know these numbers don't mean a whole lot you guys, but we have never really seen higher than about 60 in the tampa area. Clearwater beach has water levels at about six feet above where they should be, so in other words if you are at the beach and your feet are barely in the water, that would be above a lot of people's heads. Six feet, that is how high the water has risen because of the storm, where it should be. Eastport, all through tampa bay here, there are these places that people have never seen before and this water is still going up. So again, that 10 feet to 20 feet, that will be in isolated, remote areas where we get that eye making landfall, then we just watch the buzz saw moving in. Of course, alex, we have problems with rainfall with this storm, too. A lot of flash flooding going on. We are going to have historic amounts of rain by the time we are done with this in the mountainous areas of upstate south carolina and north carolina, that is going to cause tremendous amount of damage and possibly take lives there, too. But, alex, i can't tell you enough, and of the people if they are watching, still, if you have power in tallahassee or that i10 corridor, now is the time, gather what you can to protect yourself and your family, and put as many walls between you and the outside as you can. Nbc news meteorologist, bill karins. Bill, appreciate that update. Appreciate it. With us now is tallahassee mayor, john daly. Maher, thank you for being here tonight. I know this is a very intense and scary time for the people of tallahassee. I wonder if you could tell us a little bit about how you are feeling in terms of preparations and evacuations in your neck of the woods? well, i appreciate you having me on. We have been preparing in tallahassee for the past week. Both with the city as an institution and the community. We have been stressing how important it is to be prepared for this storm. As mentioned, if we take a direct hit from a category 4 hurricane, it will be the most powerful storm in the history of the city of tallahassee. And i think for the most part, everybody is taking it seriously and have done a very good job preparing. As for the city itself, we have spent the whole week checking aspects of municipal government and services that we provide to make sure everything is up and running, top peak, as the storm comes in. We have tripled our workforce by calling in mutual aid agreements from all across the united states, from as far away as oklahoma, driving in to help us. They are all here, we had our assets spread out throughout the community with personnel and we are ready for the storm. Mayor, can you talk a little bit more about what your most immediate concerns are? because it sounds like you have done all the preparation, any town, any city could possibly do for something like this. What is keeping you up right now, particularly? sure, well, health, safety, and welfare, of course. Now is the time for everybody to stay inside. A lot of people left, quite honestly, a lot of college students left, at the recommendation of the universities and the state college, which was great. A lot of people have gone to the emergency shelters here in town, and everyone else is staying put in side, and that is great. But, now it is time to stay in. Greatest concern for me is, we are not a coastal community, so we won't have to storm surge although, our thoughts are with our neighbors down south. It is the wind. Wind, trees, and power lines. We know, obviously, that this is going to be a significant wind event and, you know, we are known for our natural beauty, and we are known for our trees. But, trees and power lines and wind do not mix. We know that a hurricane this stong is going to bring significant damage, no doubt about it. And we have been shooting straight with the residents, so that they understand that, as well. So, as soon as the storm is over, we will roll up our sleeves, we will go do our professional assessment, and we will go to work. Mayor daly, one more for you in terms of the damage are you confident that tallahassee's utility grid can withstand this? i am sure there are outages and the like, but are you at all concerned about the mediumterm impacts? well, there is a reason why we have the number one public utility in the nation. And we are very proud of that. Nonetheless, we know that a storm of this size is going to bring significant damage. I don't care where you are. If you are hit directly by a category 4 storm, you are going to have a lot of damage, and we have told our residents that recovery will be a marathon. It will not be a sprint. We have called in our friends from all across the country to help us out, and we truly appreciate it. The state of florida has been great, the federal government has been great, the city, the county, and the school board have been working seamlessly. But, yes, to answer your question, we will have significant damage, no doubt about it. If a category 4 hurricane hits you head on, it is going to bring devastation. Tallahassee mayor john daly, thank you for spending a few minutes with me in such an important moment. Our thoughts are with you, we are sending you our strength from up north. Thank you for your time. Thank you. We turn now to a very different kind of storm, a political storm that has been brewing for years. Right here, in new york city. You guys are from turkey? brick and loves turkey. Brooklyn is the istanbul of america. That was new york city mayor eric adams, playing himself in a 2017 turkish film in which turkish men attempt to bribe new york city mayor eric adams. Today, an indictment was unsealed in the southern district of new york, alleging that not only was mayor eric adams accepting bribes from turkish nationals at least a year before that film came out, but that those bribes were consistent and ongoing throughout his time as mayor. Now, i should say that mayor adams denies all of it. He says the charges against him are entirely false and based on lies. And there is good reason for him to try to disassociate himself from this enticement. The charges in it are not just illegal, but the actions are embarrassingly brazen. Not only does the indictment allege that adams accepted more than $100,000 worth of bribes in the form of luxury travel and hotel stays, and food, and entertainment, but the ways in which adams allegedly took those bribes were comically transparent. For example, in june of 2021, while adams was actively campaigning to be the mayor of new york city, a turkish official and a turkish national allegedly arranged for adams and his partner to travel to turkey, stay at the four seasons hotel, take a. Org, stay at a luxury beach resort, and have their own private car and driver. Here are the texts setting up that little excursion. Here is adams staffer. He is asking where else they can go in turkey, do you have a recommendation? turkish national, four seasons. Adams staffer, it's too expensive. Turkish national, why does he care? he's not going to pay. His name won't be on anything, either. Adams staffer, super. Super! adams did allegedly pay for at least one thing, though, he paid $1000 for business class ticket on an international flight that would have otherwise been $15,000. Here are the texts showing how they allegedly landed on that $1000 price. Turkish national, i am going to charge $50. Adams staffer, no. Turkish national, that would work, would it? adams staffer, no, dear. $50? what? create a poor offer price. Turkish national, how much should i charge? adams staffer, his every step is being lost right now, $1000 or so. Let it be somewhat real. Now, i should note that particular trip ended up being canceled. The indictment doesn't tell us why, but that trip is just one of the many trips this indictment alleges adams was gifted. The indictment alleges adams flew free or severely discounted business flights business class flights on turkish airlines to india, france, turkey, hungary, sri lanka, ghana, and china. Now, if you are familiar with the shape of the globe, you would know that stopping in turkey to get to most of those places does not exactly make sense. But, because this alleged drive was specific to turkish airlines as mayor adams put it in text to his partner, you know the first stop is always istanbul. Oh, that practically means to go to a place like nice in france, mayor adams would take flights from new york city to turkey and then from turkey back to france. He had legibly once even tried to see if