FORT MYERS BEACH, Fla, Oct 8, (AP): Florida's Gulf Coast braced Tuesday for the impact of Hurricane Milton's winds and expected massive storm surge, which could bring destruction to areas already reeling from Helene's devastation 12 days ago and still recovering from Ian's wrath two years ago. Almost the entirety of Florida's west coast was under a hurricane warning early Tuesday as the storm and its 155 mph (250 kph) winds crept toward the state at 9 mph (14 kph), sucking energy from the Gulf of Mexico's warm water.

The strongest Atlantic hurricane on record is 1980's Allen, which reached wind speeds of 190 mph (306 kph) as it moved through the Caribbean and Gulf before striking Texas and Mexico. Milton was downgraded early Tuesday to a Category 4 hurricane, but forecasters said it still posed "an extremely serious threat to Florida.”

Milton had intensified quickly Monday, becoming a Category 5 storm at midday with maximum sustained winds of 180 mph (285 kph) before being downgraded. Milton's center could come ashore Wednesday in the Tampa Bay region, which has not endured a direct hit by a major hurricane in more than a century. Scientists expect the system to weaken slightly before landfall, though it could retain hurricane strength as it churns across central Florida toward the Atlantic Ocean.

That would largely spare other states ravaged by Helene, which killed at least 230 people on its path from Florida to the Appalachian Mountains. Tampa Bay has not been hit directly by a major hurricane since 1921, and authorities fear luck is about to run out for the region and its 3.3 million residents. President Joe Biden approved an emergency declaration for Florida, and US Rep Kathy Castor said 7,000 federal workers were mobilized to help in one of the largest mobilizations of federal personnel in history.

"This is the real deal here with Milton,” Tampa Mayor Jane Castor told a Monday news conference. "If you want to take on Mother Nature, she wins 100% of the time.” The Tampa Bay area is still rebounding from Helene and its powerful surge - a wall of water up to 8 feet (2.4 meters) it created even though its eye was 100 miles (160 kilometers) offshore. Twelve people died there, with the worst damage along a string of barrier islands from St. Petersburg to Clearwater.