Photos show Florida preparations and evacuations ahead of Hurricane Milton

Local authorities said Wednesday that Floridians only have a few hours left to evacuate the storm surge area as Milton, which is currently a Category 4 hurricane, is projected to make landfall on the western coast of the state late Wednesday night or early Thursday morning.

Gas stations around the state have already run out of fuel as people attempt to either leave the state or have fuel on stock for at-home generators. Around 23% of the state’s gas stations are currently without fuel, up from around 17% on Tuesday, according to data from GasBuddy.

Floridians are still recovering from Hurricane Helene, which devastated the state in late September, and now are scrambling to prepare or escape the projected storm areas.

Hurricane Milton is expected to bring life-threatening storm surges, as well as isolated tornadoes and dangerous flooding. Rain has already hit the Tampa metropolitan area and winds are likely to increase Wednesday afternoon.

Tampa, Florida

CNBC’s Danielle DeVries contributed to this report.