MIAMI (AP) — People across Florida were told Sunday that Milton, for now just a tropical storm off the coast of Mexico, could quickly grow into a major hurricane before slamming into the storm-ravaged Gulf Coast by midweek .

The center of Tropical Storm Milton was located early Sunday about 860 miles (1,385 kilometers) west-southwest of Tampa, Florida, moving east at 7 mph with maximum sustained winds of 95 mph, the National Hurricane Center said. Miami said.

“Milton is moving slowly but is expected to gain strength quickly,” the center said. “There is increasing confidence that a powerful hurricane with life-threatening hazards will hit parts of the west coast of Florida around the middle of this week.”

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said on Sunday that while it remains to be seen where exactly Milton will strike, it is clear that Florida will be hit hard.

“You have time to prepare – all day today, all day Monday, probably all day Tuesday, to make sure your hurricane preparedness plan is in place,” the governor said. “Know your evacuation zone – there will be mandatory and voluntary evacuations.”

DeSantis said as many as 4,000 National Guard troops are helping the Florida Division of Emergency Management and the Florida Department of Transportation remove debris ahead of the next storm, and he declared a state of emergency in 35 counties. He said Floridians should prepare for more power outages and disruptions.

“All available state resources … are being marshaled to help remove the debris,” DeSantis said. “We operate 24/7… it’s all hands on deck.”

FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell defended her agency’s response to the devastation wrought by Hurricane Helene after Republicans’ false claims, amplified by former President Donald Trump, sparked a frenzy of misinformation among devastated communities.

“This kind of rhetoric doesn’t help people and it’s really a shame that we put politics over helping people,” Criswell told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos. It has created fear and distrust among residents toward the thousands of FEMA workers and volunteers on the ground in the Southeast, she said.

Still, Criswell said the agency is already preparing for Milton long before it is clear where exactly it will move across the Florida peninsula this week. “We are working with the state there to understand what their demands will be so that we can implement them before landfall,” she said.

The hurricane center said Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, the Florida Peninsula, the Florida Keys and the northwestern Bahamas should monitor the system’s progress. Heavy rain was expected Sunday ahead of the storm itself, and will then likely combine with rainfall from Milton to flood waterways and streets in Florida, where forecasters said up to 12 inches of rain could fall in some places through Wednesday night could fall.

“There is an increasing risk of life-threatening storm surge and wind impacts for portions of the west coast of the Florida Peninsula beginning late Tuesday or Wednesday. Residents in these areas should ensure they have their hurricane plan ready, follow the advice of local officials and check back for forecast updates,” the center said.

The Atlantic hurricane season has become more active rescuers in the southeastern US continue to search for people missing in the aftermath of Hurricane Heleneleaving a huge one trail of death and catastrophic damage from Florida into the Appalachians.

Hurricane Kirk early downgraded to a Category 2 hurricane in the open Atlantic Ocean, with top winds of 100 mph (165 km per hour), sending large swells and “life-threatening surf and current conditions” toward Bermuda and northward along the U.S. and Canadian coasts. said. Hurricane Leslie also moved northwest across the open Atlantic Ocean, with top winds of 90 miles per hour, but posed no threat to land.