Hurricane Milton is rapidly intensifying into a category five storm

Hurricane Milton quickly intensified into a category five hurricane as it made its way toward the US Gulf Coast, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.

Winds of up to 175 mph (281 km/h) were recorded as Milton headed toward Florida, where it is expected to make landfall Wednesday night or early Thursday morning, the NHC said.

Floridians have been told to prepare for the state’s biggest evacuation effort in years, with Governor Ron DeSantis warning that time to get out is quickly running out.

“We have to think this is going to be a monster,” Governor DeSantis said at a press conference Monday afternoon.

The Hurricane Milton warnings come 10 days after Hurricane Helene – the deadliest storm since Katrina in 2005 – struck the southeastern US, killing at least 225 people. Hundreds more were lost.

At least 14 of those deaths are in Florida, where 51 of 67 counties are now under emergency warnings as Milton approaches.

“Unfortunately, some of the victims of Helene are in the path of this storm,” DeSantis said.

“I can imagine that [Milton] it could be very dangerous to life… because of the strength of this storm and where it may hit.”

He urged residents to start preparing for the storm and heed warnings to evacuate early.

Ken Graham, director of the National Weather Service [NWS]said Milton was a category five hurricane with record speed – wind speeds of up to 80 knots (148km/h) in 24 hours.

“That’s the third highest on record,” he said.

Hurricanes are divided into five categories according to their wind speed.

Those that reach category three and above are considered major hurricanes because of their potential for significant loss of life and damage, according to the NWS.

Hurricane Milton is expected to weaken on Tuesday as it moves through the Gulf of Mexico, downgrading to a category three by the time it makes landfall in Tampa Bay in Florida late Wednesday or early Thursday, CBS News, the BBC’s US news partner, reported.

Milton is then forecast to continue to track northeast, crossing the Florida peninsula as it heads toward the Atlantic Ocean.

The Monday before Milton’s landfall, long lines began forming at gas stations in south Florida, with reports that the stations were running out of gas.

Traffic in some areas is up to 90 percent above average, DeSantis said.

The government has opened additional lanes in some areas to improve traffic flow.

School closures in many districts begin on Tuesday.

Keith Turi, a spokesman for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema), said: “I am encouraged by the number of evacuations that are happening right now.”

“This is actually a good sign.”

The NHC has warned of heavy rain and possible flooding across parts of Florida starting Monday.

It added that life-threatening storms and damaging winds along parts of Florida’s west coast are possible from late Tuesday or early Wednesday.

Rainfall totals could reach heights of 15in (38cm), and coastal areas could see storm surges of 5-10 feet (1.5-3.5m).

DeSantis warned residents in the path of the storm, especially in areas that may be hit by the storm, to leave as quickly as possible.

“Time will start to go by a lot, very soon,” he said.

Counties began issuing evacuation orders Monday, and tolls will be suspended on roads in west and central Florida.

DeSantis also warned Floridians that the storm is likely to strengthen as it moves across the state.

“It’s still going to be a hurricane to some extent when it comes off the east coast of Florida,” he said.

“This will cause a lot of damage, no matter what happens,” he added.

Parts of Pinellas County, where at least a dozen people were killed by Helene, were placed under evacuation orders Monday.

Tampa International Airport has announced it will suspend flight operations starting Tuesday due to the storm.

The approach of the new storm comes as the US government warns that cleanup efforts could take years after Hurricane Helene.

More than 12,000 cubic yards of debris have been removed from areas affected by Helene in Florida in less than two days, officials said.

DeSantis said debris removal will continue “until it is no longer safe to do so”.

Hundreds of roads in the affected areas remain closed, hampering efforts to send aid to hard-hit communities.

Helene made landfall in late September as a category four hurricane – damaging buildings, causing flooding and knocking out power to millions of homes.

As well as Florida, deaths were recorded in Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia – as well as the hardest-hit state, North Carolina.

President Joe Biden has ordered an additional 500 troops to be sent to North Carolina. The soldiers – now about 1,500 in total – will work with thousands of government aid workers and the National Guard.

Biden has so far approved almost $140m (£107m) in government aid. The use of this money has become the subject of lies by Donald Trump, who is running for the Republicans in the presidential election next month, who said that the money to help immigrants was used.

Trump has been accused of making “dangerous” lies by the head of America’s disaster relief agency.