Hurricane Milton is again a Category-5 storm as it barrels toward the Florida coastline, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said Tuesday afternoon.

Milton looms in the Gulf less than two weeks after the catastrophic Hurricane Helene devastated the coastline. Hurricane Helene killed more than 230 people across several Southeast states. On Tuesday, as Milton moved closer to Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis and emergency management officials urged residents to evacuate immediately.

Milton had previously weakened to a Category 4 storm, but its wind speeds have increased once again past the Category 5 threshold. The storm, located about 775 kilometers from Tampa as of about 5 p.m. EDT, has sustained wind speeds of 270 kph, the hurricane center said.

The hurricane center also extended a storm surge and hurricane warnings on Florida and Georgia's east coasts.

Throughout Tuesday, Florida officials told residents that the time to evacuate "is now."

Hurricane Milton is expected to make landfall on Wednesday afternoon.

(Cover a still from the video)