Forecasters are predicting the hurricane will bring winds of up to 193 kilometres per hour upon landfall.
Meteorologists are particularly worried about an impending life-threatening storm surge that could rise up to 3.5 metres above sea level, potentially leading to catastrophic flooding.
TRANSCRIPT
Mass evacuations are underway in at least 28 counties in the U-S state of Florida as a powerful hurricane heads towards the Gulf Coast.
Forecasters say Hurricane Idalia could bring winds of up to 193 kilometres per hour when it makes landfall.
There are fears a life-threatening storm surge of up to 3.5 metres above sea level will cause mass flooding in some areas.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is urging people to run and hide.
"You run away from the water and then you hide from the wind. And so in Florida, if you get away from where the storm surge is going to hit, you know, most of the structures we have, particularly things that have been built in the last 20 or 30 years. Those are going to be fine for a category-three storm and so you can hunker down there on higher ground where the storm surge isn't going to be a threat."
Idalia is projected to come ashore in the lightly populated Big Bend region, where the Florida Panhandle curves into the peninsula.
Deanne Criswell is the head of the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA).
"This storm surge, this is one of the highest risk parts of a hurricane and is especially problematic along the West Coast of Florida due to the underwater geography. The coastal shelf gets shallow very quickly, which increases the amount of the storm surge, putting more people at risk. Very few people can survive being in the path of major storm surge. And this storm will be deadly if we don't get out of harm's way and take it seriously."
The National Weather Service in Tallahassee called Idalia “an unprecedented event”, with Tampa International Airport suspending commercial operations.
Governor DeSantis says the last time a hurricane passed through that area of Florida was more than 120 years ago.
"This is going to be a major hurricane, likely a category three. And it's where it's scheduled to hit along this big bend. And we've not really had a hurricane strike this area for a long, long time. I think you got to go back to the 1800s before you would see a path like this."
US President Joe Biden has also warned about the storm surge.
"I spoke to the Governor last night. We're providing everything that he could possibly need. We're in constant contact, I had the Director of FEMA in here today, earlier talking about it. It's going to be a - I think what we're worried about is the surge, the ocean surge. We don't know exactly - it's hour to hour we're watching this, but I told the Governor and the Mayor that we're there as long as it takes. We're going to make sure they have everything they need. Thank you.”
Tolls were waived on highways out of the danger area, shelters were open and hotels prepared to take in evacuees.
And more than 30,000 utility workers are on standby to make repairs as quickly as possible in the hurricane's wake.
Thousands of Florida National Guard troops have also been deployed.
Jordan Keeton is the co-owner of restaurant 83-West in Cedar Key which is on the waterfront, facing the approaching hurricane.
He is hoping for the best, but expecting the worst.
“If it’s a large hurricane, then pretty much the last eight years that we’ve been working for this restaurant, it’s going to be wiped out; and we’re not going to have much left after this. But we’re just hoping it’s going to go through pretty quick.”
Taylor County Florida resident Richard Davis says Floridians have weathered hurricanes before and doesn't seem to be too concerned.
"Well my brother lives in California. He says: You deal with the hurricanes, I'll deal with the earthquakes.' Friends of ours live in Hawaii, they say: 'We'll take the volcanoes, you keep the hurricanes.'
"We've gone through a lot of hurricanes. We pray, God turns them around (and) fizzles them out so we believe that this is a safe place, and if hurricanes come, it's still going to be a safe place even anywhere in Florida."
Andy Bair owns the Island Hotel and he's going to stay put.
“Being the caretaker of the oldest building in Cedar Key, I just feel kind of like I need to be here. We’ve proven time and again that we’re not going to wash away. We may be a little uncomfortable for a couple of days, but we’ll be okay.”
Inmates from a local jail joined Florida preparation efforts by filling and distributing sandbags to local residents in the small city of Perry.
Prisoners, clad in their distinctive black and white stripes, have become a common site at sandbag distribution locations throughout Florida when storms threaten the state.
