Millions under evacuation orders as Florida braces for Milton to make landfall

Oct. 9 (UPI) -- Florida was bracing Wednesday for Hurricane Milton to make landfall, as officials are warning that it could be the most destructive storm on record to hit the region.

More than 5 million people were under mandatory evacuation orders in the state, according to Florida's Division of Emergency Management map , with the first issued on Monday.

According to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis ' website , 313 healthcare facilities have reported evacuations.

As of 3:40 a.m. EDT Wednesday, 11.3 million people were under a hurricane warning, according to the National Weather Service .

DeSantis, in a press conference Tuesday, said recent models predict Milton will fall near Manatee County, just south of Tampa Bay, but its impacts will be far-reaching.

"There's pretty much warnings and watches on almost the entire Florida Peninsula," he said.

Though the west coast is expected to be hardest hit, the central and east regions of the peninsula will not be spared, according to DeSantis, who said Milton should still maintain hurricane strength after crossing the peninsula and entering the Atlantic.

"This is not just an event about the west coast of Florida," he said. "That will be where the initial impacts are, and probably the most significant, but the impacts will not be limited there."

Forecasters expect the storm to make landfall along Florida's west-central coast either late Wednesday or early Thursday as a "dangerous major hurricane." The National Hurricane Center had clocked it with winds of 160 mph early Wednesday.

"Milton has the potential to be one of the most destructive hurricanes on record for west-central Florida," the NHC said, informing residents in the storm's path to evacuate and complete preparations before Thursday.

"This is a very serious situation and residents in Florida should closely follow orders from their local emergency management officials," it said.

President Joe Biden has postponed planned trips to Germany and Angola this week to oversee the response to Hurricane Milton, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement Wednesday night.

Both the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Tampa Bay Lightning left the state early ahead of the storm.

The Lightning were to face the Nashville Predators at Amalie Arena, originally rescheduled from Sept. 27 due to Hurricane Helene, but puck drop was again postponed as Tampa Bay was preparing for Milton. The team left early for Raleigh, N.C., where they will face the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday.

The Buccaneers left the state Tuesday morning as it relocated its operations to the New Orleans area for the remainder of the week leading up to its game Sunday against the New Orleans Saints .