tonight, breaking news. hurricane ian slams into florida as a category 4 hurricane. making landfall along florida's southwest coast. winds at 150 miles per hour. the strongest september hurricane in two decades. the images coming in at this hour of catastrophic damage. a life threatening storm surge along the coast. we're now seeing dangerous winds and massive flooding in fort myers. homes destroyed. elsewhere, cars disappearing under water. reports of families trapped. one on the second floor of their home. fire trucks trying to navigate through the deep waters. some communities suspending emergency operations, saying it's just too dangerous to answer calls. tonight, the power already out for more than a million

customers in florida. and the other major concern at this hour, the tornado watches in effect into the night. airport closures, the ripple effect now, and this hurricane now headed inland. headed straight for orlando before then tracking north. alerts at this hour up across florida, georgia, and now the carolinas. our meteorologists ginger zee and rob marciano both on the ground again tonight with our team across florida. also, the acting deputy director of noaa's national hurricane center right here with us tonight. what concerns him most as we head into the evening hours. the other major news this wednesday night, the u.s. state department now urging americans to leave russia immediately. the american embassy warning russians may force americans with dual citizenship into military service. and the allegations involving potential russian sabotage of the pipeline that would deliver russian natural gas into europe. ian pannell inside ukraine tonight. in this country, the major news tonight on alzheimer's. a potential breakthrough.

a promising new drug and what it's shown so far. also tonight, police responding to reports of an active shooter inside a hospital. the search for a famous american skier who disappeared in the himalayas is now over. her body recovered. and we now learn what happened. and katie couric tonight revealing her very personal battle. what she's saying. good evening and it's great to have you with us here tonight. and we are thinking of the millions in the path of this hurricane. the category 4 hurricane slamming into florida's southwest coast this afternoon. ian making landfall right near fort myers, 3:05 p.m. winds of 150 miles per hour. one of the strongest september hurricanes to strike the u.s. in decades. already tonight, catastrophic damage. storm surges that have destroyed homes and wiped away cars. devastating winds, and now the rain.

up to 30 inches of rain expected in some places. still a category 4 hurricane as we come on tonight, winds 130 miles an hour. it is just inching across florida now. 8 miles an hour, moving very slowly toward the very populated orlando area. it could still be a hurricane when it gets there. images of the eye wall that came ashore in pine island, florida. accuweather video of the fierce wind and storm surge from just before the hurricane made landfall. in fort myers, evidence of that storm surge just ahead of the hurricane. cars and backyards in this neighborhood disappearing. in fort myers, that powerful wind ripping the roof off of this home. the moment the eye wall hit, the pictures right here. the torrential rains. winds destroying this building. a traffic camera capturing landfall in punta gorda. trees blowing and the gusting rains. tonight, more than a million and a half customers in the dark. and look at the sparks flying near those lines in downtown naples. there in naples and in other communities tonight, curfews now in effect. first responders finding it very difficult at this hour.

the storm surge flooding this naples fire station, in fact. the hurricane, as we said, now headed inland. orlando now bracing, where many took cover in hotels. and we have told you here, this could be a category 1 hurricane tracking north, and there are states of emergency tonight in georgia and in the carolinas, as well. our team across the storm zone. senior meteorologist rob marciano leading us off tonight from st. petersburg, florida. >> reporter: tonight, entire buildings swept away. families trapped by floodwaters. monstrous hurricane ian now lashing the florida peninsula. ian roaring on shore as a strong category 4 with winds of 150 miles per hour. official landfall, 3:05 p.m. eastern time. hurricane ian now making landfall, and the wind is just ripping across tampa bay. look at the action here on these waters. we've got a reverse surge, where the bottom of the bay is exposed in places that probably have never seen the light of day, and at the same time, these huge swells on a normally calm bay,

with big white caps smashing into that jetty, which protects the airport. so you got water that's exiting, and water that's piling up, and the power of the wind and water combined is relentless. landfall coming after hours of intense wind. as ian came closer, our ginger zee in fort myers, broadcasting live in the eye wall. >> david, we are in the eye wall of hurricane ian. that is the strongest part of the storm. you can see almost nothing behind me, but if you could, the eye is only about five miles to my west. look at what's happening right here. we finally saw the wind start to shift. and we've got the surge starting to take over the pool here at our hotel. if you look a little further, there was a dock. there's a little house at the end of that dock that has been surrounded by the water. surge here anticipated anywhere from 12 to even 18 feet.

that's the type that takes cars and homes. it's not just life threatening, it's not survivable. >> reporter: then, about an hour later. >> the storm is moving north of us, but we see those winds and that little house that we were talking about all day has gone. succumbed to the storm surge. now the blue roof is all that's left, floating in the water. >> what you need to be doing right now is getting away from walls and windows. treat this like a tornado warning. >> reporter: families trapped by the storm surge. >> and you're on the second floor already? >> yeah, we're all -- >> there's six of us in here. >> reporter: our affiliate wzvn facetiming with a group in fort myers beach. >> there's 15 feet of water now. >> there's 15 feet of water. and it's still coming in? >> yeah, it's still steady rise, and the waves keep pushing it through the window sills. >> reporter: the fire department unable to reach them due to conditions, offering this advice -- >> they need to get as high as they can from the water and try to ride out the storm. that's the best advice i have.

>> reporter: accuweather capturing the eye wall piling water onto pine island as the storm moved on shore. naples fire station taking on water. the storm undergoing rapid intensification ahead of landfall, increasing the hurricane-force wind field out 45 miles from the center. hurricane hunters flying into ian knocked around by extreme turbulence. >> there goes the bed. holy cow! whoa! >> reporter: one hurricane hunter describing it as one of career. that he'd never experienced that much lateral turbulence, or seen that much lightning. one of the most powerful hurricanes to ever make landfall in florida now expected to cut across the state like a slow-moving buzz saw. >> this is where we're expected to be by 8:00 tonight. it's 3:00 right now, and look, the hurricane moves barely 50 miles. this is an exceptionally now

slow-moving storm. >> reporter: orange county fire trucks using loudspeakers to alert residents in this mobile home park -- >> and evacuation of all mobile homes is recommended. >> reporter: -- to seek shelter, the storm is coming. fema ready to respond as soon as it is safe. >> we've prepositioned quite a bit of equipment so we can respond immediately. once we know what the impacts are and what the additional needs are, we're just going to continue to move that equipment in. but i think we're positioned really well to meet those immediate needs in the first few hours. >> reporter: president biden speaking with governor desantis, promising help. >> we'll be there to help you clean up and rebuild, to help florida get moving again, and we'll be there at every step of the way. that's my absolute commitment to the people and the state of florida. >> this is a really, really significant storm. it will be one of the storms people always remember when they think about southwest florida, probably be the big one that they always remember. >> just extraordinary rescue images coming in there. rob now dealing with the winds still. rob, you and i were on the air this afternoon and you were telling us, this is very

slow moving, it continuess to inch across florida, now headed inland, so, take us through the evening hours here and through tomorrow. >> reporter: yeah, david, because of that slow movement, the wind here and rain has been consistent and slowly increasing as that storm gets a little bit closer to us. and that exposed bottom of the bay still stands behind me. but we've got an extreme wind warning out for a good chunk of southwest florida, because of winds of over 115 miles an hour for the next hour or two. we've already had that in punta gorda and port charlotte. so, here you go. that will be going into central florida before 8:00, 9:00. then we should see some slow weakening. but even with weakening overnight, we've still got that tornado watch that includes a big chunk of highly populated east coast of florida, includes the space coast, it includes orlando. this is in effect until at least 1:00 in the morning. rain and wind on the northwest flank of this storm where i stand, that is very intense. it's very far-reaching. and when this thing moves north and east tonight, tampa, orlando

gets the brunt of it. jacksonville tomorrow. a strong storm surge on the east side of this. it comes off the atlantic as a tropical storm. a strong one making another landfall in south carolina come friday. with that, we'll have more rain in south carolina, but up to 15 to 30 inches of rain here in central florida, because, david, it is so slow moving. we are far from done with this hurricane. >> wow. potentially 30 inches of rain. that could bring the second wave of this emergency. rob marciano, our thanks to you all day long here. of course, this is still a very dangerous situation for millions in the path of this storm, now headed inland as a hurricane still. i spoke with michael brennan, the acting deputy director at noaa's national hurricane center in miami just before we came on the air. michael, thank you for coming back on with us. you and i were on the air just before landfall this afternoon. at this hour, what are you seeing now? what concerns you most? >> well, we're seeing the center of hurricane ian move inland. it's past port charlotte and moved inland along the southwest coast of florida.

the winds are starting to come down a little bit, but we're still seeing really dangerous storm surge along the southwest coast of florida. we're seeing the hurricane force winds spread inland and they're going to continue to spread inland across central florida tnight, reaching places like orlando, so, we're going to have really dangerous conditions overnight, in addition to the really heavy rainfall that's going to develop across florida tonight and on thursday. >> you mentioned the storm surge. you warned of catastrophic surge, 8 to 12 feet possible in some places, even more. we've seen the images now, cars disappearing under the sea water. homes destroyed. families trapped. this was a really serious situation. it's the kind of situation you cannot survive if you don't heed the warnings. >> yeah, that's very true. we were seeing -- expecting storm surge of 12 to 18 feet above ground level, so, that's really not survivable in these areas along the southwest coast of florida. those water levels are going to stay high well into the day on thursday as this onshore flow keeps holding the gulf of mexico water up into the bays and canals and creeks into this

area. >> and as we head into the evening hours now, always particularly dangerous when it's dark, especially with no power for more than a million. as this now heads inland, walk us through what we could see next. we know it's heading towards orlando, a very populated area, potentially category 1 hurricane still? >> yeah, we have these hurricane warnings in place all the way across the florida peninsula, including areas like orlando, melbourne, cape canaveral area. so, we're expecting hurricane-force winds, especially in gusts. it's going to be gusts that do a plot of the damage, bring dwn trees and power lines, so, we can expect widespread power outages overnight tonight and early thursday. >> all right, michael brennan, the acting deputy director of noaa, we know your time is extremely valuable. we appreciate you coming back on with us. thank you. >> thanks, david. >> there you have it, the concerns from the national hurricane center tonight, and that this is still not over. hurricane ian's landfall this afternoon led to immediate storm surge. now the inland flooding. but it's not just the surge bringing the flooding. in some places, as you heard rob marciano say, the rain, up to 30 inches now expected. and so abc's victor oquendo on

the flooding already tonight. >> reporter: the water rushing into fort myers, swamping roads. the tops of cars still visible. but a little more than an hour later, those same cars completely submerged, water now reaching treetops and roofs. let's give you a view from our vantage point. that's the storm surge -- that's coming right onshore here. those waves just incredibly powerful. you can't even make it out right now, but there is a pool directly underneath all of this. now it is covered in all that debris. you see some floating doors there. this map showing how much of the area has been flooded by storm surge, with the hurricane still raging. christopher barcia, who has lived in naples for more than 30 years, recording this video from his front door today. >> that house halfway under water. there goes my car, floating away. >> reporter: inland flooding the deadliest component of hurricanes for the past 30 years. hospitals in the area prepared for the worst. several now on lockdown, their

doors shut to protect patients and staff until the storm passes. backup generators on-hand to continue vital services with the power out. david, i spoke with the main hospital system in the area, lee health. they tell me their biggest concerns were maintaining power, water, and oxygen. the surge is starting to slowly recede behind me, but as you see those waves, it's going to take some time. david? >> victor oquendo. our thanks to you, victor. more than 2,000 flights canceled today, another 1,800 already canceled for tomorrow. that number continues to grow as we're on the air tonight. and operations at several major florida airports in the storm zone suspended until further notice. gio benitez back from tampa tonight, and gio, the ripple effect expected for days from this? >> reporter: oh, absolutely, david. just about every major airport in florida has been affected by this. as you said, many are shut down. and like you said, it's going to take days to get these back up and running. in fact, the faa is telling us that airports in tampa, fort myers, and orlando, they will

not reopen until at least friday around noon, with one exception, of course, if there's damage. it's going to take a lot longer. and we'll have to wait until the storm moves through to find that out. without a doubt, these closures will impact travel across this country, not just here in florida, for days, david. >> gio benitez with us and our team there in florida. gio, thank you. as we said, they're now preparing in orlando. let's go to janai norman. she's live in orlando tonight. janai, we know a lot of people actually left southwest florida, they headed inland and many headed to orlando to seek cover and now ian's headed your way. >> reporter: that's exactly it, david. we saw those images of cars jamming onto roadways as residents fled southwest florida to try to escape hurricane ian, but now -- and forgive me that there's a siren -- now with that rain and more rain and wind expected to move through central florida, many of those people who evacuated are now forced to hunker down and ride out the storm here in orlando. and i spoke to many of them here at our hotel, many of them with pets, all of them with cherished belongings they brought with

them when they left their homes to try to get away from the storm, that will now meet them here. and david, i spoke with the mayor here. i asked him, how are you making sure that floridians are taking this storm seriously? he said, because the hurricane season has been so quiet so far, there's no fatigue. this is their first real storm of the season and as you can see from the very empty roads behind me, many people seem to be taking it seriously. >> we like to see that. janai norman, fighting the sirens behind her, a very familiar sound across florida tonight. janai, thank you. our team coverage and we'll check back in with ginger a bit later here. in the meantime, to the other major news this wednesday night, the u.s. urging americans to leave russia immediately. warning that those with dual citizenship may be stopped from leaving and even drafted into military service. here's our chief international correspondent ian pannell in ukraine tonight. >> reporter: tonight, all americans living in russia warned to leave immediately amid rapidly rising tensions over the war in ukraine. the u.s. embassy issuing an alert warning that russia may stop dual citizens holding u.s. passports from leaving the

country, and even conscript them into the military. meanwhile, the exodus over putin's military draft is growing. hundreds of thousands have fled across russia's borders. crossing it clennett is at the >> all tseeople behind me have been on a days long journey from russia. they say that they don't have any plans, but they just needed to get out. many of them are relieved, they are exhausted, but they say, they had no choice. >> reporter: dmitrije spent seven days trying to escape russia, breathless from two days on foot crossing into georgia. >> i don't want to kill people and i don't want to be killed. i don't need this war. i don't support putin. >> reporter: and tensions escalating over a bogus referendum in occupied parts of ukraine. putin is expected to use the results to declare the regions are now part of russia as early

as this friday. tonight, the white house calling it an illegal move that they'll never recognize, saying more sanctions are coming, and announcing a $1 billion package of weapons and equipment for ukraine. the administration also adding its voice to growing accusations that the leaks that appeared in two gas pipelines under the baltic sea were apparent sabotage. david, the administration calling this annexation move outrageous and fraudulent. this new aid package they've announced includes 18 new himars rocket systems. remember, those are the american-made weapons that have already made such a big difference on the battlefield here. david? >> all right, ian pannell in kyiv for us again tonight. ian, thank you. back to the news here at home and to the promising news tonight in the fight against alzheimer's. a new drug showing encouraging results in slowing alzheimer's. makers of the drug says it reduced cognitive and functional decline by 27%. 1,800 patients in early stages injections of the drug. it starts plaques accumulating in the brain. the fda already looking into this new drug and could authorize its use by january. we'll stay on it for you.

when we come back here tonight, police responding to reports of an active shooter inside a hospital tonight. and later, that very personal news from katie couric. if you have copd, ask your doctor about breztri. breztri gives me better breathing and helps prevent flare-ups. before breztri, i was stuck in the past. i still had bad days, flare-ups, which kept me from doing what i love. my doctor said for my copd, it was time for breztri.

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hurricane ian now moving inland, 8 miles an hour, towards orlando. so, let's check back in with ginger zee tonight. >> reporter: what i'm most worried about, david, is this storm is not yet done. right out my window, that surge that i was showing you, the home gone, the pool barely visible. it's gone down a little. this is a long time for first responders to have to wait to get to people that inevitably need their help. david? >> no question. that's the next wave. we'll have much more on "gma" first thing in the morning and i'll see you tomorrow night. i'm david muir. good night advise though. okay is gonna be working a

school shooting versus accessibility independent study school. six people are injured some of them critically in a shooting on an oakland school campus. it's a surreal feeling and you start to feel panic. you're like i just want to get to my daughter streets are closed off. parents shake and by what happened and community leaders expressing their anger. it doesn't borders don't matter when we have bullets that are showing up and guns that are showing up in our classrooms. abc 7 news at six starts right now now from abc 7 live breaking we are -- baffle and everything because this type of stuff could be interviewing. outrage and anger after six people were injured in a shooting at an oakland campus that houses for schools parents anxious to make sure their children are okay. good evening. thanks for joining us. i'm liz croight and i'm dan ashley. the shooting happened at the king estates campus that houses

multiple schools. it's a on fontaine street, right along interstate 580. not far from the keller avenue exit. we have team coverage for you tonight unser. hassan is live at eden medical center ryan curry at highland hospital. that's where victims were taking to be treated abc 7 news reporter lee ann. melendez is speaking with parents, but we're going to begin with abc 7 news reporter tim johns tim. yeah, dan. now as you say of those sits people who are injured to have life-threatening injuries one person has been released to our pending release and one is sustaining non-life threatening injuries now of the oakland police department says they are looking for one shooter. although they believe others may also be involved. this is still an ongoing and active investigation and opd is asking the community to step forward and help if they have any information to try and bring these folks responsible to justice now switching gears a little bit. i have to tell you we have talked