Hurricane Milton, a Category 5 storm, has hit the US state of Florida

Hurricane Milton quickly intensified to Category 5 status in the southern Gulf of Mexico, a level reached only by eight Atlantic storms since records began, and Florida officials urged evacuations for much of the West Coast.

According to the New York Times and Reuters, Hurricane Milton's winds have reached 180 miles per hour, and President Joe Biden declared a state of emergency in Florida on Monday.

After issuing a state of emergency declaration for 51 counties, Florida Governor desantis held a press conference and said: "The power of the storm is enormous, and residents are asked to take appropriate precautions." This storm could do a lot of damage."

Desantis also said uncertainty about the storm's track would lead to mass evacuations and "we have to assume this is going to be a violent storm."

As people in low-lying areas began to flee to higher ground, highways were clogged.

Milton is expected to make landfall late Wednesday somewhere between the Grand Bend area and Fort Myers Beach, Florida. The two regions have been hit by several storms in recent years. But based on the forecast track Monday afternoon, the hurricane appeared to pose the greatest threat to the heavily populated Tampa Bay area.

Tampa Mayor Chris Castor urged residents to "quickly prepare to evacuate."

With Hurricane Helene wreaking havoc in southern Appalachia and flooding, wildfires, tornadoes and other disasters in other areas, FEMA is severely understaffed, with less than 10 percent of its personnel currently available for deployment.