MILLIONS of people in Florida were urged to evacuate their homes today to escape Hurricane Milton as it raced towards the US state’s west coast.

The category four storm was expected to hit the Tampa Bay metropolitan area last night, with US President Joe Biden warning that leaving was a matter of “life and death.”

Authorities issued mandatory evacuation orders across 11 Florida counties with a combined population of about 5.9 million.

Forecasters have warned of torrential rain, flash flooding, high winds and possible storm surges, with Milton expected to be the worst storm to hit the area in a century.

“Milton has the potential to be one of the most destructive hurricanes on record for west-central Florida,” the National Hurricane Centre said.

It comes less than two weeks after Hurricane Helene hit the Gulf Coast, killing at least 225 people across Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and North Carolina.

“I’m still in shock over the first one and here comes round two,” Anna Maria Island resident Evan Purcell said.

“I just have a pit in my stomach about this one.”