“This is a matter of life and death, and that’s not an exaggeration,” Biden warned, urging anyone ordered to evacuate to do so immediately.
The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) reported that Milton reached Category 5 hurricane strength on Tuesday with gusts of 270 kilometers per hour (75 meters per second).
“Fluctuations in intensity are possible as Milton moves across the eastern Gulf of Mexico, but Milton is expected to be a dangerous major hurricane by the time it reaches the west-central Florida coast Wednesday evening,” the NHC said.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced that virtually all of the Florida peninsula has been declared under a state of emergency for the approaching storm.
Airlines are operating additional flights from Tampa, Orlando, Fort Myers and Sarasota as highways are congested and gas stations run out of fuel.
Two weeks ago, Hurricane Helena raged in the southeastern United States, causing extensive flooding and killing at least 230 people.