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that is going to be a huge problem with this as these winds just continue to push inland. pushing all that water inland up those into those inner coastal waterways. the lagoons and the rivers. that s why those mandatory evacuations were ordered all up and down the coast and do it. we know that a lot of people evacuated here in brevard county, which is a great sign. we know a lot of the shelters are full because emergency crews can t get to you. they can t get out in this. so, they have to wait until the storm passes. and then, you know, by then who knows what they will find. so, that s why it s so important to get out ahead of the storm. chris, we re going to still be in this and beaten around for the next couple of hours before we start to get out of this system. but it is going to inch closer and closer to you throughout the day and i think the storm surge is really concerning me for you, as well as the damaging winds, chris. so, i want you to explain to me, jenni ....
palm bay just outside of melbourne, and the eyewall came very, very close to us. within just a couple of miles. and it s crazy to say, but that made all the difference when you re talking about the proximity of this powerful storm, and the coastline. with that eyewall staying just offshore, it spared us winds that could have been 100 miles per hour, which is which can cause much greater damage than winds of about 80 miles per hour. and then unfortunately, just to our north, cape canaveral, as you mentioned, recorded winds of about 100 miles per hour-plus. and it battered cape canaveral for quite awhile. they are still in the thick of it as we re talking. and then that eyewall only about 30, give or take a few miles, away from daytona beach. so, quickly, within the next two to three hours, daytona beach will be feeling the brunt of the storm. and then it will continue northward from there. chris you are right, south of that eye, and south of melbourne, people are breat ....
theatrical. i asked do you have body bags? if people do not leave and we get 140-mile-per-hour wind gusts in some of our mobile home places, we re going to have fatalities. this is like no storm in the record books. we re concerned about people staying in areas under major evacuation orders. thousands of people took that advice and made for safer ground but others decided to stay to ride out the storm and hope matthew weakens as it comes ashore. good morning. it s friday, october 7th. welcome to msnbc s continuing coverage of hurricane matthew. with us, white house correspondent for the huffington post. there s a big political impact with this storm. we ll get to that in a moment with sam. the strongest hurricane to hit the u.s. coast in a decade is showing signs of weakening. matthew has been downgraded to a category 3 but the danger is still very real. sustained 120-mile-per-hour winds recorded parallel to the coastline with an 88-mile-per-hour gusts on the shor ....
always, we should say that these numbers are very early and very fluid. elsewhere, well, just take a look. this is the island of barbuda. at least one fatality reported there. these are some of the first pictures of the devastation. they were taken from a chopper flying the prime minister of barbuda and antigua over the scene. i spoke with the prime minister a few minutes ago. we ll play that shortly. what he saw, he called the destruction unprecedented saying, in his words, barbuda is barely habitable. and now this monster storm, this already destructive and deadly storm has started slamming americans, millions of people with no way out in puerto rico. in a moment, the newest forecast of exactly where on the continental united states this may hit and just how hard. but first, let s go to leila santiago who is in san juan for us. what are the conditions there? reporter: we are certainly starting to feel the winds. or not starting we have still feeling. we have been fe ....
destructive hurricane irma is, and so does the sound, just listen. that image is from st. martin, the island got hammered, so did nearby st. barts. as always we should say that these numbers are very early and fluid. elsewhere, just take a look. this is the island of barbuda, at least one death reported there. these are some of the first pictures of the devastation taken from a chopper flying the prime minister of barbuda and antigua over the scene. i spoke with the prime minister moments ago. we ll play you that interview shortly what he we saw. he calls it unprecedented. in his words, he says that barbuda is barely inhabitable. and now these storms are destructive, with people having no way out in puerto rico. and exactly where this on the continental u.s. may hit, just how hard first. let s go to layla santiago, who is in florida for us, what are the conditions there? reporter: anderson, we are still starting to feel the winds, feeling them for several hours now as ....