Authorities in the US state of Florida have ordered more than 5 million people to evacuate before Hurricane Milton hits the state’s Gulf of Mexico coast.

The Category 5 hurricane, the highest on the hurricane intensity scale, is expected to make landfall late today or early Thursday, threatening part of Florida’s densely populated west coast, which is still reeling from the devastation of Hurricane Helene, which hit the region less than two weeks ago.

The National Hurricane Centre warned that the maximum sustained winds associated with Hurricane Milton were 270 kilometres per hour.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said 5,000 National Guard members had been deployed and another 3,000 were on standby to deal with the storm’s aftermath.