Millions of people in Florida are rushing to leave their homes, as Hurricane Milton races towards the state's west coast. Photo: EPA

Milton - a category five storm - is expected to hit the Tampa area tonight, packing ferocious winds of up to 165mph (270km/h).

US President Joe Biden warned that leaving was a matter of "life and death", as the state undertakes its largest evacuation effort in years.

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

Hurricane Milton is currently located around 300 miles (485 km) south west of Tampa, Florida, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC).

It has a maximum sustained wind speed of 160 mph (260 km/h) and remains a category 5 hurricane.

The NHC expects Hurricane Milton will make landfall on Wednesday night (local time) as an "extremely dangerous hurricane".

It is forecast to hit near the city of Tampa, an area with a population of more than three million people, who are being told to prepare for the state's largest evacuation effort in years.