Forecasters are urging people in Florida to make preparations or leave their homes today, as the National Hurricane Center confirmed that Milton is a "catastrophic Category 5 hurricane" and will hit Florida later today or early tomorrow as a major storm.

Highways grew clogged, gas stations were running out of fuel and stores were stripped of necessities as Hurricane Milton roared toward Florida's beleaguered west coast on Wednesday, a "catastrophic" behemoth on a collision course with one of the state's most densely populated areas.