right now at 11:00, the majority of americans are not prepared for disasters, and the trend is particularly dangerous here in california. we'll show you what the experts say are must-haves in an emergency. plus, rebels in libya arrest an aide to moammar gadhafi. plus, did china agree to sell weapons to gadhafi this past summer? and deja vu on the football field for the second day uin a row, severe weather brings a football game to a halt, twice. the news starts right now. good evening. i'm diane dwyer.

with the anniversary of the san bruno explosion and september 11th coming up in the next week, emergency officials have some advice. get prepared for the next disaster before it happens. nbc bay area's kimberly tere has a look at some surprising surveys, and one teenager who has some advice for children. >> reporter: according to a recent survey, 64% of americans are not prepared should a natural disaster strike. we found one family in the east bay who isn't taking their chances. they're ready. >> when we moved into this house about five years ago, we thought we're a lot closer to the hayward fault line here. our house is really old, and we have small children. so it's probably a good idea if we get the things we need now so we can focus on our family's safety if a disaster does strike. >> reporter: september a national emergency preparedness month. state, federal, and local officials are urging families to have a plan in place in case of an emergency. families should have enough supplies to survive without help for at least three days. >> we have cereal.

we have water. we have nonperishable goods that we can just add water to or we could eat to get along for a few days. >> reporter: the chicas family is off to a good start. emergency officials say you should also add a first aid kit, a flashlight with extra batteries or a battery or hand-cranked radio. in palo alto, a high school senior motivated after seeing the numbers on just how few people are prepared set out to change that. today she had a booth set up in front of city hall. she is working with the city and nonprofit organizations to bring the public, specifically young people, information on how and why it's important to be ready for a natural disaster. >> we believe that since we are youths, we can reach out and affect those people who are close to us in age, and they hopefully in turn will go back home and talk to their parents and convince them that they really need to get on preparing for a disaster. >> reporter: emergency officials say most people procrastinate. but right now is the time to prepare so you can be a step ahead of mother nature.

>> well, it definitely makes me feel more comfortable that i won't have to worry about how we're going to survive if we do have a disaster. i can focus on my family and how we're going to move on. >> reporter: a lot of these things are items people already have. emergency officials say it's just a matter of getting them all together in one place so you have them should a disaster strike. in san leandro, kimberly tere, nbc bay area news. at least 100 homes were evacuated tonight as a wildfire sparked by a deadly plane crash continues to burn out of control in southern california. the fire burning in a rural area south of bakersfield has destroyed one home already and continues to threaten hundreds more. an estimated 3500 acres of steep mountainous terrain has burned so far. 600 firefighters and 11 air tankers are battling the fire tonight. at least one person died in a small plane crash that sparked that fire. but authorities do not know at this point how many people were on board that aircraft. there have been no reports of injuries from the fire.

in the gulf coast, tropical storm lee made landfall tonight, dumping as much as a foot of rain. officials downgraded the storm to a tropical depression this evening. they say after causing severe flooding along the coast, the storm weakened as it moved inland along louisiana and mississippi. tornadoes and flash flooding are now feared across the tennessee valley into the appalachians where the storm is headed next. and the tropical storm came right on the heels of hurricane irene. that storm caused damage all along the east coast, and today the president paid a visit to one of the hardest hit areas, patterson, new jersey. and that's where we find nbc's kristen welker with the very latest. >> reporter: a federal show of force. president obama walked the streets of wayne, new jersey with governor chris christie, new jersey's senators, and fema administrator craig fugate to view the damage left by hurricane irene. >> we'll be here to help.

i know it's very hard. >> reporter: his next stop patterson, where he visited the newly created fema office and assessed the recovery efforts. he also delivered a message to those still struggling. >> i know there has been some talk about whether there is going to be a slow-down in getting funding out here. as president of the united states, i want to make it very clear that we are going to meet our federal obligations. >> reporter: and while the president was met mostly by cheering crowds, amy allen, who caught a glimpse of the motorcade says the visit hasn't done anything to get her power become on. >> this is day six without any electricity or hot water. >> reporter: even before the hurricane hit, patterson was struggling economically, with an unemployment rate above 16%. irene caused 1500 people to be evacuate and knocked out power to thousands in the area, destroying some homes and businesses completely. >> whether they were unemployed, underemployed, they had a tough

time before this. so now this catastrophe leaves them with basically nothing. >> reporter: the president's challenge now is not only to help this community recover from irene, but also much like the rest of the country, to put people back to work. his other task, to keep their confidence. mr. obama won new jersey in 2008, but his approval rating has been dwindling. now the stricken people of patterson just want to see something done. >> it will be a week tomorrow. basically, it's very hot. the water -- i have a lot of mold. >> again, that was nbc's kristen welker reporting. here in california, the state supreme court is set to hear arguments this coming week on a key issue in the battle over same-sex marriage. the court must decide if state law allows supporters of prop 8 the right to appeal a federal court ruling that found the ban on gay marriage to be unconstitutional. the key here is who is allowed to represent prop 8 in court. governor brown and the state's attorney general have both said

they will not defend prop 8, and just because someone sponsors an initiative doesn't mean they have the right to represent that initiative in court. if the state supreme court decides the sponsors do have that right, the issue of same-sex marriage could likely make it to the u.s. supreme court. san francisco may have the highest rate of same-sex couples in the nation, but there is a city close by that is also very welcoming to gay couples. and now oakland is appealing to more gay families than ever before. nbc bay area's elise kirschner went to oakland pride today where organizers say they enjoyed a record turnout. >> reporter: 20,000 more came to this year's event than last year. part of the reason is that oakland pride is geared to the growing number of gay families that now live in the east bay. >> oakland pride, baby! >> reporter: in its second year, oakland pride is bigger than ever, with a record 60,000 people coming out to celebrate diversity. >> she likes movement.

>> reporter: partners vanessa daniels and tricia speed say part of the draw is the event is all about being around family. that's why they brought their 5-month-old baby. >> the first pride was in san francisco. that's a lot of fun too, but it's more younger and more commercial feeling. this feels kind of down the community. >> reporter: among the nation's biggest cities, oakland now has the third highest rate of same-sex couples after san francisco and seattle. and historically, oakland has had the highest concentration of lesbian couples in the nation. >> in terms of raising kids in a safe place where they're going to see families like them, and, you know, there is going to be people looking out for them and not getting bullied, there is a lot of great support network like that here in oakland. >> reporter: life-long oakland resident chela delgado isn't surprised oakland rivals san francisco as one of the country's most gay-friendly communities. >> i mean, there has been a long history particularly of queer

folks living over here in oakland. it's always been a long strong place for like lesbian organizing. a lot of strong political work has always come out of oakland. >> reporter: and with so many same-sex families living in the city, it's no coincidence organizers say they chose this year's family of "we are family". >> just realizing in the city it's okay. it's okay to be proud and to be who you are. you don't have to hide from it. it doesn't matter anymore. >> reporter: and with so many people coming to the event, a lot of money is generated. event organizers tell me around $1.1 million will be dumped back into the local economy. they also say this year's event was so successful, they plan to add a parade to next year's celebrations. live in oakland tonight, elise kirschner, nbc bay area news. >> thank you, elise. coming up, as investigators learn more about that pipeline explosion in cupertino this past week, pge is on the defensive yet again. plus, what made a grimacing

rafael nadal slide entirely out of his chair and under the table while talking to the media after his tennis match? we'll also have an update on his condition. and a penguin who ended up hundreds of miles from home was returned to his rightful waters today. we'll share his remarkable story of survival. and a pretty mild labor day weekend so far as we watch more low clouds spilling into san francisco. once again, wake up to drizzle tomorrow morning. but 90s coming back to your san frscweo.e right back.

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tonight we're learning more about a possible relationship between china and libya. there are reports that china actually offered to sell weapons worth about $200 million to libyan leader moammar gadhafi's forces just two months ago. "the new york times" is reporting that the documents found in tripoli indicated that chinese companies offered to sell rocket launchers, anti-tank missiles and other arms to gadhafi, despite u.n. bans on such sales. meantime in tripoli, rebels have apparently arrested one of moammar gadhafi's closest aides after storming his house. this amateur video reportedly shows fighters going into a home in tripoli and arresting gadhafi's close aide and his sons. the aide is a good friend of gadhafi, as well as the head of the military college. rebels say the aide is not an important figure in the gadhafi regime, but they hope that his secret files may reveal important information about gadhafi. we're learning tonight that

the pg&e pipe that exploded in cupertino this week was made from a material that had a history of failure. the mercury news reports the pipe responsible for wednesday's blast at a condo complex was made of specific material which was the subject of at least two federal safety advisories, a number of lawsuits, and accidents across the nation in the past ten years. pg&e says it plans to remove all 6,000 feet of the pipe and begin a review of more than 1200 miles of the same type of pipe across the state. no one was hurt in the blast at the condo complex. pge is already under firfoe r the deadly san bruno pipeline explosion, which happened a year ago this coming week. on friday we'll be airing an nbc bay area news special report called "san bruno, remembrance and recovery." join us for that at 4:00. now on to some good news i suppose about that emperor penguin known now as happy feet. ever since he got lost into the southern ocean. well, he finally was released

near one of new zealand's remote subantarctic islands. he needed a little coaxing. there you go, before he slid down a slide on a research vessel and splashed into the antarctic waters 40 miles north of campbell island. he washed up. more than six pounds of sand had to be removed from his stomach. expert says he probably thought the sand was snow. he now has a gps tracker so scientists can keep an eye on just how he is doing. probably pretty happy. since 1975, the bay area's marine mammal center has rescued and treated thousands of sick and injured animals as well. part hospital, part education facility and part scientific research institution, the center is known worldwide. nbc bay area's doug mcconnell gives us a look inside and shows us the big milestone it reached last month. >> you can think of the marine mammal center like a major city hospital and so much more, only for marine mammals. >> reporter: nestled in the

golden gate national recreation area's marin headlands, volunteers at the marine mammal center are feeding sea lions recovering from kidney infections. what are they going to have this morning? >> they're getting -- >> reporter: and the healing hands are treating a young male sea lion with a severely fractured flipper. >> it's a pretty extensive injury. we took an x-ray and he's got a fracture. it's basically his wrist. we'll hope for the best. put him on some good medicine, get him all fixed up here. >> reporter: since it opened in 1975, the center has treated 17,000 sick and injured marine mammals of many species, rescued along the coast from mendocino to san luis obispo counties. but saving lives isn't the only goal here. so is saving the environment. >> if people today and decades from now are owning their responsibility to be better stewards of the planet, not just the ocean, that would be a huge

success. >> reporter: more than 30,000 people every year participate in the center's educational programs and learn what it takes to be good stewards of the planet. and important scientific research is conducted here too with the animals teaching us about the health of the ocean. >> things are changing out there. it's a very dynamic ocean system. and we're in a prime position to be there to watch, to describe what is going on. >> reporter: with pollution, climate change, and overfishing, the news from the sea is often bleak. but on this day, the news here is very bright. milestone and zodiac girl are about to be given a new lease on life. and it's a huge milestone. they're the 10,000 and 10,001st sea lions treated over the past 36 years. after a little rounding up and a drive to point reyes national seashore, they're offered their freedom, and they seize it. zodiac girl starts first.

but milestone, number 10,000, soon dashes by to lead the way. a tribute to the past and a promise to the future. doug mcconnell, nbc bay area news. >> now they look happy. all right. i was pretty happy as well. the weather is gorgeous. what is going on, rob? >> a pretty nice day around the bay area today. we did see the wave heights starting to come down on the coast, which is good news. but still be advised for stronger than usual rip currents if you're heading along the seashore tomorrow. 59 degrees in san jose. starting to see overcast skies around the central bay area, including oakland back over to san francisco. still a healthy sea breeze tonight will pump in the clouds and probably throw some drizzle our way tomorrow morning. right now 50s and low 60s outside. not much change from this hour last night around the same time. and there you see the wind still coming in. southwest through 23 at fairfield. northwest at 10 at livermore. those indications how cool the marine layer is going to push inland.

if you can have the onshore winds all the way into our east bay valleys you know we'll wake up to low clouds tomorrow morning. yes, some drizzle. a strong possibility for the morning. 70s and 80s inland tomorrow afternoon. but i think by tuesday and wednesday, mid-90s making a return to the bay area. air quality wise not too bad, thanks to the sea breeze we're in a pretty good range. the exception to the rule moderate air quality around san jose southward for the santa clara valley. we did have some interesting weather. you saw some of the mid level clouds coming up from the south. thunderstorms in the sierra. thunder just to our south across southern california. you can see some of the clouds drifting towards san luis obispo county. what i think is going to happen is we'll see most of the thunder stay around the sierra, but we'll have to watch some of the mid level moisture through the week. through the day tomorrow, we'll see the low clouds clearing back to the coast again. on tuesday, high pressure is going to build in a little more strongly so we'll see less low clouds on the coast, and that's the day we'll start to see our temperatures start to climb into the 90s inland. tomorrow morning 50s to start

the day with low clouds and drizzle. there you see the numbers. 60s and 70s inland. eventually hitting the 70s and 80s again tomorrow wrapping up labor day weekend with more relatively mild temperatures. but just in time pour the middle part of the week that is when we're going to see the temperatures climb into the mid-90s again. tuesday, wednesday, and thursday, cooler towards next weekend. the item to watch, though, the slight chance of mountain thunder and maybe coastal range thunder as we go lew the week. >> all right, thank you, rob. coming up, we'll show you why rafael nadal fell out of a chair during a news conference today. plus, for second day in a row, lightning interrupted a college football game twice. we'll show you. plus -- >> good evening. i'm laurence scott. giants broadcaster and stanford football voice dave flemming joins us. plus, mixed martials arts goes to u t our stanford astro physics ph.d candidate who has his eye on the olympics. that and much more coming up tonight.

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last night we showed you the dramatic picture of lightning striking notre dame stadium during a football game. well, tonight another scary scene, this time during the marshall-west virginia football game. lightning struck the upper deck of the stadium in morgantown, west virginia. the game was delayed twice as the stadium was evacuated after the lightning and wind gust of 68 miles per hour. espn reported that a fan was struck by lightning in the upper deck, but west virginia disputed that claim. in the end, west virginia won the game, which was called due to severe weather in the fourth quarter. and we'll be right back with a looknnis ppened to tennis star rafael nadal when he collapsed during a press conference today.

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here is a quick look at some of today's sports. the giants lost to the arizona diamondbacks, 4-1 and fall to

seven games out of first place. the a's steal their first sweep since june. after his win at the u.s. open, rafael nadal grimaced in pain during a post match interview and he slid to the floor. we're told he had an apparent leg cramp. he should be fine for the fourth round. thanks for watching nbc bay area news at 11:00. we've got "sports sunday" coming up next with laurence scott.

and now an nbc bay area editorial. >> i'm suzanne shaw, editorial director. after the horrible fights and shootings at the 49ers-raiders game last month, we applaud the new tougher security and the curfew on tailgating. they're good steps, but not enough. 49ers ceo was on the right track last week, leaving his skybox to sit in the stands with his wife. it was a nice photo op, but not what the rest of us experienced.

nbc bay area challenges you, mr. york, and raiders ceo amy trask to walk through your stadiums and parking lots incognito, wearing the rival team's jersey. until you feel safe doing that, the public won't feel safe. owners must be willing to cut or even ban alcohol. may must permanently ban violent fans, and take whatever step is needed to assure us that what happened never happens again. join our debate. nbceditorials.com. tonight on "sports sunday," we bring in one of the most recognizable voices in the bay area sports scene. dave flemming joins us to talk giants and the action on the farm with stanford football. plus, we introduce you to

the stanford ph.d candidate in astro physics who also plays the role of the marathon man. and we preview the coming strike force event in the soon to be released film "warrior in our mma segment. plus, baby giraffes. for cute overload, we bring out the bell, right now. . good evening. i'm laurence scott. we're into the third month of a new format here on "sports sunday" with a focus on conversations and feature stories. we're going beyond sound bites to bring you complete thoughts. and we will have an in-depth conversation with giants broadcaster dave flemming in moments. but first, the 49ers have their regular season home opener next sunday against seattle, and they split their games in the preseason after the first dismal