hello, and welcome to our viewers joining us from the united states and all over the world. you re watching cnn newsroom. i m kristie lu stout. it is now 2 am on the u.s. east coast. almost the entire state of florida is bracing for the impact of hurricane ian, a monster storm stretching 700 miles across and getting stronger. causing a nationwide blackout in cuba, ian is turning in the gulf of mexico as a category three hurricane with sustained winds just shy of a category four. and along with life-threatening storm surge, florida is facing catastrophic flooding and powerful winds. now, conditions will deteriorate throughout the night ahead of the expected landfall in the coming hours. more than two and a half million people are under some form of evacuation warning. state authorities say the time to leave is quickly running out. people in southwest florida, this is going to likely make landfall as a category 4 hurricane. there will be catastrophic flooding, and life-threat
hurricane. this storm will only continue to intensify. if you want to leave, now is your last chance. the entire state is going to be touched by this storm. it s going to be in our stream. it s going to be in our canals. it s going to be in our stormwater drains and dishes. i m not scared. i m prepared though. you can already start to see what it is doing to the waters in the gulf just slamming these waves up against the sea wall right here. it is wednesday, september 28th. 4 a.m. here on the u.s. east coast where a monster category 3 hurricane is at this hour churning towards florida and parts of the state are already feeling the effects. now these are images from key west where major flooding is being reported and hurricane force winds and strong storm surge warnings are already out there on the coast. now right now it s all hands on deck. thousands of national guard members as well as urban search and rescue teams are mobilized ahead of the hurricane s expected
this storm will only continue to intensify. if you want to leave, as the governor has said, now is your last chance. we cannot send first responders into harm s way because you decided not to leave. 155 mile per hour winds. that is what hurricane ian is now producing as it bears down on florida s coast. i m john berman live in tampa this morning. brianna keilar is in washington. this is cnn s special live coverage of a storm that is getting more powerful by the minute. the national hurricane center just reported it had a plane flying through the center of this storm measuring sustained winds, sustained of 155 miles per hour. that is just 2 miles per hour short of a category 5 storm and it could still strengthen before it makes impact over the next few hours. expected to make landfall, direct landfall southwest of where i am south of where i am near the fort myers area. the wind speed just one of the major concerns here. the storm surge, which the wind speed only exacerbat
their respects to brazilian football legend pele, as he lies in state at his former club, santos. american football player damar hamlin is in a critical condition in hospital after collapsing during a game. and coming up we ve been talking to a guide dogs charity that s recruiting for more volunteers to tackle a shortage of trainers. we are at the moment looking very heavily to recruit lots of volunteers, and we ve been very lucky lot of people have been so generous with their time, and we are in recovery mode and hopeful for the future but do need a little bit of patience for a little bit longer. hello and welcome if you re watching in the uk or around the world. politicians in russia have called for commanders in the russian military to be held to account for the deaths of dozens of soldiers in a ukrainian rocket strike. in a rare admission moscow announced that 63 of its servicepersonnel had been killed ukraine says the figure was actually in the hundreds. one senator sa
reporter: but christmas in buffalo did come with some unexpected holiday hope on friday a bus full of korean tourists heading for niagara falls got stuck outside their buffalo area home. i said come on in everybody because you re going to be here for a while. reporter: without hesitating the couple welcomed ten strangers in for two nights sharing homemade korean food and the bills game with new friends. you might have saved those people s lives what do you think of that? i feel very grateful we were able to help them because it could have been a very terrible outcome. and i feel like we made ten extra family members reporter: meanwhile, the bills themselves digging out when they got back from chicago. now millions waking up to another frigid day as the northwest braces for more heavy rain, ice, and mountain snow some signs of warmth amid this terrible storm. now to the travel chaos that s still unfolding, thousands of flights canceled over the weekend and the ri