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Florida residents in Hurricane Milton’s path were ordered to take shelter Wednesday afternoon ahead of the storm’s expected landfall in the evening.

While Milton’s intensity continues to fluctuate and weakens to a Category 3 hurricane by Wednesday afternoon, the National Hurricane Center predicts it will be “one of the most destructive hurricanes on record for west-central Florida.”

The storm continues to grow in size and winds are expected to increase on the west coast of Florida this afternoon, the NHC warned.

In Pinellas County’s latest emergency warning, officials implored residents to “LEAVE NOW. THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE TO GO OUT BEFORE THE STORM.”

Federal and state officials have urged those in Milton’s path to evacuate to avoid “catastrophic” winds, up to 18 inches of rainfall and up to 15 feet of storm surge, before the major hurricane hits Florida’s west-central coast.

‘This is the eleventh hour. If you are in an evacuation zone, now is the time to get out,” Hillsborough County Sheriff Chard Chronister told CNN on Wednesday.

Vice President Kamala Harris warned that even the toughest Floridians will not survive the “historic” hurricane, she said. The late show on Tuesday evening.