Winds for the last hour or so. But this is the first of some of the rain bands that we have just started to get. We may lose actually our signal. But well just keep on going as long as we can. I want to go to Patrick Oppmann who is stand big in cuba. Patrick, what is the situation there . Well, along the northern coast here in florida, weve been feeling rain bands as well as squalls coming in. It has been knocking out the power here for the last several hours. We only have lights up because we have a generator. No one else in this small town along the cuban coast where we are appears to have one. All the tourists in this area have been evacuated. The cuban government says it has evacuated tens of thousands of people along these coastal areas. I was speaking to someone who is in the next town over, and they are feeling the conditions much more because they are to the east of us. They say theyre getting absolutely hammered by the storm. And so those are the kinds of conditions we can expect in the hours ahead, anderson. I just want to show viewers what what our viewers saw of you earlier during a live shot where one of the outer bands of the storm hit you and hit pretty hard. Lets just take a look at that. Yep, yep. Let me just get my jacket on. Woo explain what that was like. And how close together are those bands now . You know, you cant really space them out. You have this dead calm, it just stopped raining since we started talking. It was coming down hard before. It stopped like someone turned off the faucet, yet it will begin again and become more and more frequent. This morning when i first started reporting from here, i had my rain jacket on and it was hot sunny day. It didnt make sense to visit. Until that band came in, we hadnt had a drop of rain. And all of the sudden just unleashed this incredibly strong pelting rain, almost blinding me. I could have looked at it. The sky became black. And it just didnt seem to stop. It covered a number of hurricanes, but never had it start up so violently where you just had a gust of wind. Rain absolutely coming at you. It speaks to the power and unpredictability of the storm. We havent had one come through in a little while. But you can certainly sense that more and more of this storm is going to be coming ashore here in cuba. And for people who have very old houses, houses in bad condition, that kind of wind, that kind of rain can bring a house down. So the cuban government has also been encouraging people to evacuate, to go to the shelters they have set up. And hundreds of thousands of people have taken them up at that offer to get out of this area and get to safety, anderson. All right. Were going to continue to check in with you throughout the night. Stay safe. I want to check in with Allison Chinchar who is at the cnn weather center. Alison, obviously the most important questions where. Is the storm now . And how strong is it and how strong is it going to be when it makes landfall and where . Right now it is a very strong category 4 storm, winds 155 Miles Per Hour. Thats only 2 Miles Per Hour short of a category 5. And we expect it to intensify back up to that strength in the coming hours. Right now its currently located between the bahamas and cuba. But its over that really warm water. And thats whats going to be one of the ingredients that is going to help fuel this storm to intensify. We expect it to be a category 5 as it crosses over the florida keys. And likely a category 4 as it makes its way over the main peninsula of florida, but then weaken relatively quickly. Because of that, we have the hurricane warnings out in the south portion, talking ft. Pierce, sarasota south. And then we have hurricane watches for places like orlando and tampa. But these are likely going to spread north, anderson, in the coming hours as we get closer to landfall and they have a more defined track for some of the northern counties. You know, so many people of course remember hurricane andrew and the devastation of that. Can you give us a sense of the scale of that storm compared to hurricane andrew . The big glaring obvious thing is size. Take a look. This is actually to scale. This is andrew. This is irma. You can notice right off the bat that they are way different in terms of size. But also winds. At landfall, hurricane andrew was 165 Miles Per Hour. Irma is expected to be around 150 for the main peninsula. Slightly higher than that as it goes over the florida keys. But the time is the big concern. Andrew only spent four hours over florida. Irma is expected to spend 30 hours over florida. And you have to keep in mind when youre talking about that in terms of these speeds, that makes a huge difference. At the ground, anderson, were talking maybe 145 Miles Per Hour. But when you talk about all the highrises, the condos, the hotels that are there, if you talk about a 30story building, now those winds actually increase as you go up. So now were looking at wind damage that would be around the 175mileperhour range. You go up even higher to an 80 story building. Now youre looking at the winds to be nearing 190 Miles Per Hour. Thats going to be a concern, anderson, because we have so many highrises across florida, especially south florida. Yeah. Allison chinchar, were going to check in with you throughout this hour as the winds continue to pick up. Theyre just a fraction of what is to come. This area, were in miami beach, were very close to the ocean right now. Probably by tomorrow night, even before the storm makes landfall, we will not be able to be broadcasting from this location in miami beach. Well probably be a little further inland. I want to go now to the fire chief in naples, florida, pete demaria in naples for the latest on the situation there and what they are expecting. Chief, i appreciate your time tonight. What is your biggest concern at this hour for the folks in naples . Well, biggest concern right now is storm surge. Were very concerned about the water coming up throughout the city of naples. And it causes a major hazard to our community. What sort of storm surge are you expecting . What kind of storm surge have you seen in the past also . We actually had a fivehour rain about three weeks ago that caused us about a foot and a half storm surge. We had vehicles all over the streets of naples that we had some difficulty there. But now were anticipating a possible 6 to 10foot storm surge in some areas. We have evacuated, or asked for mandatory evacuations for all residents that are west of u. S. 41. And in terms of those who have not evacuated, because obviously in a mandatory evacuation, not everybody heeds those warnings as they should, are you able to respond in the height of the storm to 911 calls . Or i assume like many first responder, you just have to wait it out until the storm dies down . Yeah, thats our policies as well. Well respond as long as its safe for our First Responders to get out there on the streets and do the work they do. Well normally shut down about 40, 55 Miles Per Hour of sustained winds. And then pick back up when the winds start to die after the storm passes. Do you have a sense of how many people have heeded the evacuation warnings . Well, i think naples right now is pretty vacant. A lot of people have left the area. And we do know that there are some residents still here. But were encouraging anyone that is in an evacuation area or has stayed and fears for their safety to get out of the city of naples and off the coast and get to some of the local shelters that the community is providing. Chief di maria, i know youre going have a lot of busy days ahead and weeks ahead. I appreciate all youre doing. Thank you. Stay safe. Well check in with you. Earlier, i talked to the miami beach mayor, mayor levine. Lets take a look at that conversation. The winds are just now kind of getting the first taste of this. What is your message to those who have not evacuated, who are here now . We have another two or three hours, and then the buses stop and trolleys stop, anderson. At this point were telling people bunker down where you are. Its too late after that . I think so. Because the winds are picking up. You can feel whats going on. And we want now for them to be safe where they are. But theyve got another couple of hours to go. We hope they go to these evacuation centers, that they leave miami beach. As you know, its a lowlying barrier island. Its not safe for a hurricane of this magnitude. For the people who are staying, it seems pretty calm. At the supermarket, they had plenty of food. I filled up a shopping cart. They seemed to be ready for this, or at least very much aware of it. I think so, anderson. Weve been preparing for about five or six days now. Literally putting in portable generators, portable pumps, sandbags to all of our residents. Locking down Construction Projects so there is no debris flying around. Weve been communicating so aggressively with our entire residents and visitors so that they hear our message, what to do, what not to do and hopefully evacuate. So for you is it storm surge . I think its a combination of wind and storm surge. As you know, miami beach is no stranger to flooding. We understand how devastating it can be. When you have a hurricane, especially a hurricane of that magnitude, there is not much you can do. Right. In terms of wind, a lot of the building codes were changed. The newer buildings are supposed to be able to sustain i think 150mileperhour winds. Absolutely. No question about it. The newer buildings that were built after hurricane andrew uhave much higher protocols in the construction codes. They will be able to withstand. And a lot of the art deco buildings you see behind us on ocean drive were built in the 1920s and theyve been here for many, many years and theyve withstood a lot. But there are many structures that wont. Who knows . How do we know . Why take the chance. Thats what i tell people. Rather be safe than sorry. In terms of recovery after the storm passes, whether its late sunday, monday, and people start to come out again, do you have a sense of gas station, how quickly they may be able to get up and running . Because i know a lot of gas stations by law have to have a generator. Let me tell you what were doing. Ill be bunkering down at mount sinai, one of our big hospitals on miami beach. Bile with a Central Command staff. It will be a skeletal staff. And then were going to keep our First Responders, the majority across the bridgeton mainland. Theyre going to come over after the storm ends. Theyre going to be able clearing the roads. You have to have the roads clear. We cant do anything unless the roads are clear. We cant even have the residents come back. Thats the first thing . Thats the first thing. From there based on the assessment, well move forward and go to step 2 and step 3. So bottom line for anybody listening that is in this area, whats your message . At this point you have another couple of hours to take one of our bus, our trolleys and go across to the mainland. Woe we have multiple shelters. If you have pets we have shelters that accept pets. We have shelters for seniors. Convincing a lot to get on the buses and go to shelters. A lot did. By 10 00 at night, my suggestion is bunker down where you are and stay safe. Mr. Mayor, thank you very much. I appreciate it. Thank you. I want to repeat that the mayor saying by 10 00 or 11 00, by 10 00, which is the end of this broadcast, if youre in this area, just hunker down and stay safe, or 11 00. Well check on preparations just north of here in ft. Lauderdale coming up. And later we want to take you back to the keys. It could be the first place to feel a cat 5 hurricane in this country. Well show you the danger there and what people are doing about it. Has grown into an enterprise. Thats why i switched to the spark cash card from capital one. Now, im earning unlimited 2 cash back on every purchase i make. Everything. Which adds up to thousands of dollars back every year. And helps keep my passion growing. In every direction. Whats in your wallet . Been trying to prepare for this day. And im still not ready. 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Thats mom taking care of business. And with the 25 cent event, Office Depot Officemax takes care of mom now, all this just 25 cents each taking care of business were joining you live tonight from miami beach. About 36 hours from now, where im standing very close to the ocean in miami beach, it wont look anything like this. A few hours after that it very well could be under water because of the storm surge. The same is true north of here in ft. Lauderdale. Thats where cnns alex marco rubio is. Ive been surprised the number of people. A surprising number trying to ride out the storm. Weve seen a lot of people on the beach that is the beach. The water line right out there beyond the palm trees. Now this is a mandatory evacuation zone. They will be imposing a curfew at some point tomorrow. The people we have spoken to that are staying tell us they are not in the evacuation zone. Thaw say their structures are strong. Their homes can withstand the winds. They have hurricane shutters. They boarded up their homes and have the supplies to last the storm. The major concern is the storm surge. We spoke with the mayor of ft. Lauderdale earlier this afternoon. And he said that is his number one concern. Take a listen. When you look at this storm, if you end up pushing all that water that came across the atlantic with this storm, and you push it up on our shores and you combine that, if were unlucky to be at a high tide, especially during a seasonal high tide season. And combine that with a little rain thats going to be there anyway, that precipitation. And then the last element, the east wind pushing that waterton surface, those factors could all lead to a serious water issue here in the city of ft. Lauderdale. Now the mayor was confident besides that. He says all the preparations have been made, that they have gotten all the information and resources they need from the state and federal government. He told us it is not the storm that he is particularly afraid of, but the aftermath. Anderson . I understand there is still a few bars and businesses open in ft. Lauderdale. Yeah, its fewer and fewer by the hour. Certainly more inland away from the water. This entire stretch along beach boulevard has been boarded up for most of the day. All except one very famous bar called elbow room which is a block away. They were packed all day long with what the mayor said is people trying to get a few more cold ones in. They have just closed up shop before the storm hits. We expect any activity out here in the streets to grind to a halt tomorrow as people take shelter. Anderson . All right. Alex, thanks. Stay safe. Given what happened in the Fukushima Nuclear disaster in japan after the tsunami, there are some reassuring words tonight on floridas coastal Nuclear Plants. The energy tonight saying it is confident about preparations at the turkey point and the st. Lucie reactors, both of which survived hurricane andrew, we should point out. For more now on federal preparation, lets go to rene marsh at fema headquarters in washington. Rene, with fema following so closely behind hurricane harvey, is fema prepared for this in terms of manpower and money . Theyve got to be stretched thin. I just got briefed by fema leadership here and asked that very question. They say that theyre ready. But the truth of the matter is with a massive storm like this, every need will not be met in the immediate aftermath of this storm. All of that being said, they say theyre ready and prepositioned. We are locked down to this specific location because this is an active operation that youre seeing behind me. But i do want to kind of give you a feel of the way things are working here. This is a 24 7 operation here you. Are looking at essentially the nucle nucleus, the brain of the entire federal response. Its been coordinated in this room. The people here are working 12hour shifts. Theyre working seven days on, seven days off. And tonight their primary focus is hurricane irma. Again, its safe to say that this is the brain of the federal response operation. Now we have some roughly 200 people in this room. People from various agencies, whether its epa, its the department of energy, theyre all here coordinating this response effort. Theyre trying to determine where should the resources be sent, what sort of resources do they need to send. And tonight we know they are buying things like tarps in extra preparation for this storm. But they tell me the most frantic moments inside of this room is the moments before the storm as well as the moments after the storm. Those two Nuclear Power plants we talked about, do you know about precautions being taken to protect them . We do know that in this room they are monitoring that very closely. You mentioned at the top there the fukushima disaster. They obviously dont want a replay of that. All that being said, we do know the two Nuclear Plants in florida, theyre taking precautions by shutting them down. We also know that they have been built to really withstand really strong winds as well as storm surge. We know that it sits about 20 feet above sea level. So all of those precautions are in place. All that said, though, you have members from the department of energy in this room, and they are watching that is one of the many things theyll be monitoring when this storm blows through. Really what youre seeing behind me, a lot of people when you consider on a normal day when there is no storm threat, when there is no bad weather, there are about five people in this room. Tonight were talking about more than 200 people crammed into this room, watching this storm as it inches closer and closer to florida, anderson. Rene marsh, appreciate that thanks very much. New s