>>> AND GOOD MORNING, EVERYONE. IT'S 6:31 ON THE EAST COAST.
WE'RE COMING ON THE AIR RIGHT NOW BECAUSE HURRICANE MARIA HAS
MADE LANDFALL ON PUERTO RICO. >> THIS IS THE SCENE IN PUERTO
RICO RIGHT NOW. A POWERFUL CATEGORY 4 STORM.
MARIA IS HITTING WITH 155 MILE-AN-HOUR WINDS, TORRENTIAL
RAIN. THE STRONGEST STORM THIS ISLAND
HAS FACED IN A CENTURY. GABE GUTIERREZ IS LIVE FOR US IN
SAN JUAN RIGHT NOW. GABE, GOOD MORNING.
>> Reporter: GOOD MORNING. THE SITUATION HERE IS DIRE.
WE'VE BEEN POUNDED BY FEROCIOUS WINDS THE LAST SEVERAL HOURS AND
IT IS ONLY GETTING WORSE. HURRICANE-FORCE WINDS NOW ARE
SLAMMING INTO SAN JUAN. AUTHORITIES SAY THIS COULD BE A
POTENTIALLY CATASTROPHIC SITUATION.
WE HAVE SOUGHT SHELTER INSIDE A CONCRETE STRUCTURE.
OTHERS ON THIS ISLAND WILL NOT BE SO FORTUNATE.
AUTHORITIES FOR DAYS HAVE BEEN PRACTICALLY BEGGING PEOPLE IN
WOODEN STRUCTURES AND FLOOD PRONE AREAS TO EVACUATE.
THEY'VE OPENED 500 SHELTERS AND MORE THAN 10,000 PEOPLE THIS
MORNING ARE IN SHELTERS. AS YOU CAN SEE BEHIND ME, IT IS
BLINDING CONDITIONS HERE. WE'VE SEEN DEBRIS PEELED OFF
BUILDINGS ALREADY. MOST ROADS ARE IMPASSABLE.
IT IS SIMPLY -- IT -- IT IS DIFFICULT TO BE OUTSIDE AND WE
ARE TAKING -- BEING VERY CAREFUL AS TO HOW WE'RE BRINGING YOU
THESE LIVE IMAGES. BUT SAVANNAH AND MATT,
AUTHORITIES HERE FEAR THIS COULD BE POTENTIALLY DEVASTATING FOR
THIS REGION. THE STRONGEST STORM TO HIT
PUERTO RICO IN NEARLY A CENTURY. IRMA JUST GRAZED THIS ISLAND,
BUT -- IRMA JUST GRAZED THIS ISLAND, BUT MORE THAN 60,000
PEOPLE WERE LEFT WITHOUT POWER AND NOW WITH A WEAK POWER GRID
THERE'S NO TELLING WHAT TYPE OF DEVASTATION MARIA COULD BRING.
BACK TO YOU. >> ALL RIGHT, GABE.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH. WE SHOULD MENTION HE SAID ALL
THOSE SHELTERS HAVE BEEN OPENED. CAN THOSE SHELTERS WITHSTAND
WINDS OF 150, 160 MILES AN HOUR? TAMMY LEITNER ALSO IN SAN JUAN
THIS MORNING. WHAT'S THE SCENE WHERE YOU ARE?
>> Reporter: HEY MATT AND
SAVANNAH. WHERE WE ARE ON THE ISLAND THE
CONDITIONS HAVE DESTEERUATED VERY QUICKLY.
WE'VE ACTUALLY HAD TO MOVE SEVERAL TIMES BECAUSE OF DEBRIS
THAT'S FALLING DOWN. THERE ARE SEVERAL HUGE TREES
THAT HAVE GONE DOWN JUST ABOUT 20 YARDS BEHIND ME.
THERE ARE ABOUT 10,000 PEOPLE THAT HAVE TAKEN REFUGE IN
SHELTERS, BUT I CAN TELL YOU WE'VE SPOKEN WITH A LOT OF
PEOPLE ON THIS ISLAND IN THE LAST FEW DAYS THAT HAVE SAID
THEY ARE GOING TO HUNKER DOWN AND WAIT THIS STORM OUT IN THEIR
HOMES. WE'VE ALSO SPOKEN WITH TOURISTS
WHO ARE TRAPPED HERE ON THE ISLAND.
I CAN TELL YOU WHERE WE ARE FEMA HAS SET UP THEIR HEADQUARTERS
AND THEY HAVE ABOUT 300 FIRST RESPONDERS THAT ARE READY TO
HEAD OUT AS SOON AS THIS STORM PASSES BY AND MAKE RESCUES.
BACK TO YOU GUYS. >> ALL RIGHT.
THANK YOU SO MUCH. AND LET'S TURN TO AL.
I MEAN, THIS IS A VERY DIRE SITUATION.
>> THIS IS WHAT WE FEARED. IT IS COMING TO FRUITION,
UNFORTUNATELY. RIGHT NOW AS YOU HEARD 155
MILE-PER-HOUR WINDS. WE'VE HAD GUSTS UP TO 190 MILES
PER HOUR. AND IT IS MOVING NORTHWEST AT 10
MILES PER HOUR. SO HERE'S WHAT WE LOOK FOR AS
FAR AS THE IMPACTS. THE WINDS ARE GOING TO BE
DEVASTATING. WE'RE TALKING ABOUT GUSTS UP TO
150 OR MORE. HURRICANE FORCE WINDS THROUGHOUT
THE AFTERNOON. THE STORM SURGE WHERE WE GET
MOST OF THE DEATHS AND DAMAGE, 6 TO 9 FEET FROM SAN JUAN ALL THE
WAY THROUGH THE SOUTHERN TIP OF THE ISLAND.
AND THE FLOODING. WE'RE TALKING ABOUT RIVER AND
HIGHWAY FLOODING, MUDSLIDES. TOTALS OF 20 TO 25 INCHES BEFORE
THIS IS ALL OVER. AND IT CONTINUES AFTER IT
DEVASTATES PUERTO RICO, IT'S AT THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC TOMORROW.
4 TO 8 INCHES OR MORE OF RAIN. THEN ON INTO THE TURKS AND
CAICOS ON FRIDAY. WINDS 100 TO 125 MILES PER HOUR.
A STORM SURGE UP TO 15 FEET. THAT COULD BE ULTIMATELY
DEVASTATING FOR THESE ISLANDS. AND THEN CONTINUES OUT INTO THE
ATLANTIC. GUYS, WE'LL LOOK AT THIS A
LITTLE BIT LATER BECAUSE NOW WE STILL HAVE TO WATCH THIS TRACK
AS FAR AS THE SOUTHEASTERN UNITED STATES IS CONCERNED.
>>> BY THE WAY, THERE'S ANOTHER NATURAL DISASTER UNFOLDING RIGHT
NOW. THE DEATH TOLL FROM THE POWERFUL
EARTHQUAKE IN MEXICO SOARING TO OVER 200 PEOPLE OVERNIGHT.
COUNTLESS OTHERS SAID TO BE TRAPPED IN THE RUBBLE.
FRANTIC EFFORTS UNDER WAY TO FREE THEM.
MIGUEL ALMAGUER IS IN MEXICO CITY.
MIGUEL, GOOD MORNING TO YOU. >> Reporter: GOOD MORNING.
A SCENE OF DEVASTATION ACROSS THIS COUNTRY.
I WANT TO SHOW YOU WHAT'S UNFOLDING OVER MY SHOULDER HERE.
THIS IS THE SCENE IN CITY ACROSS CITY HERE.
RESCUE WORKERS HAVE COME TO WHERE DOZENS HAVE BEEN PULLED
OUT OF THE RUBBLE. AND THEY ARE LOOKING FOR
APPROXIMATELY 30 TO 40 MORE PEOPLE THAT ARE STILL BURIED
UNDERNEATH ALL OF THIS RUBBLE. IT'S AN ACTIVE SCENE HERE.
OVER MY OTHER SHOULDER THERE IS FAMILY MEMBERS HERE WAITING FOR
ANY NEWS OF ANYONE THAT MAY STILL BE INSIDE AND TRAPPED
INSIDE. THE DEATH TOLL HERE RISING TO
ABOUT 200. WE'RE TOLD THAT THE SITUATION
HERE IS STILL VERY FLUID. NOT JUST ON THIS ONE CITY BLOCK.
BUT ALL ACROSS MEXICO CITY. >> MIGUEL, THANKS.
A LOT OF NEWS THIS MORNING. UNFORTUNATELY, NOT A LOT OF IT
GOOD. >> WE'LL BE FOLLOWING WHAT'S
HAPPENING IN MEXICO CITY IN TERMS OF THE RECOVERY EFFORTS
AND WHAT'S HAPPENING AS WE SPEAK WITH HURRICANE MARIA HITTING
PUERTO RICO. WE'LL SEE YOU IN A FEW MINUTES
ON "TODAY." I'M