At least 13 dead after Hurricane Milton hits Florida as Category 3 storm

"It's looking like the storm of the century," Biden said during a Wednesday briefing.

Although evacuating can be difficult, he urged residents to listen to local officials, calling it "literally a matter of life and death."

President Joe Biden is urging Floridians to take this "storm of the century" seriously.

The briefing, which was held at the White House complex, was intended to highlight safety concerns and demonstrate that the administration was prepared for Milton.

"Many of you I know are tough, and you've ridden out these hurricanes before," Harris said. "This one is going to be different."

At a Wednesday briefing, DeSantis responded to a question about social media messages falsely suggesting federal emergency officials aren't going to let residents back into their homes after Hurricane Milton strikes.

"We live in an era where if you put out crap online, you can get a lot of people to share it and you can monetize that. That's just the way it is," DeSantis said.

"If you're hearing things - something that's just outrageous - just know, in the state of Florida none of that stuff would ever fly," he said. "FEMA is not leading this show, we are leading this show here in the state of Florida. We're marshaling whatever assets are available to us, we're leveraging that."

"There's not going to be anything where FEMA is ever going to be able to keep you from your home," he said.

"Be careful about the nonsense that gets circulated, and just know that the more titillating it is, the more likely somebody is making money off it," he added. "And they don't really give a damn about the well-being and safety of the people that are actually in the eye of this storm, it's all just trying to monetize what they're doing."

Over 1,800 flights have been canceled across the country on Wednesday as Hurricane Milton closes in on Florida.

The St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport, Tampa International Airport, Orlando International Airport, Orlando Sanford International Airport, Palm Beach International Airport and Sarasota Bradenton International Airport are all closing for the storm.

The Florida Division of Emergency Services said it has partnered with Uber to provide free rides to and from shelters as residents evacuate ahead of Milton.

FEMA administrator talks about how the agency is preparing as Hurricane Milton closes in

Even though Hurricane Milton is miles southwest of Tampa, officials in Florida are doing all they can do to brace for impact at around 9 p.m. on Wednesday, as FEMA warns that the storm could "be like nothing they have seen before."

FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell told Robin Roberts on "Good Morning America" Wednesday morning that "while you can ride out a storm and hide from the wind, you need to move away from the water."

"The water is what kills people," Criswell said. "Nobody has to die from this storm. They just need to move out of the evacuation zone area into a place that is going to be safe from the storm surge. I believe there's still time in some areas. But listen to your local officials. They're going to tell you what you still have time to do."

Milton regained Category 5 status with 165 mph winds on Tuesday, becoming the strongest Atlantic hurricane so late in the calendar year since Hurricane Wilma in 2005. The storm is in the Gulf of Mexico moving northeast towards Florida at around 12 mph but it has the potential to be one of the most destructive hurricanes on record for west-central Florida.

"We are sending in additional resources to help supplement all of the staff Gov. DeSantis has mobilized across the state," Criswell said. "We have sent in additional search and rescue teams and assets to include air lift, highwater vehicles. We're moving in commodities, food and water, to be able to get into areas. We're bringing in power assessment teams so they can quickly help assess what areas and what critical infrastructure might need power restored fast ... they are working side by side with the mayor's team [in Tampa] so we can quickly mobilize these resources to help them with whatever their needs are right after the storm passes."

Meanwhile, officials in St. Petersburg issued a public safety advisory Tuesday for residents and businesses near tower cranes ahead of Hurricane Milton making landfall in Florida. Due to anticipated wind gusts from the storm exceeding 100 mph, the high winds could potentially exceed the safe operational limits for tower cranes and pose a risk of malfunction, the city said in a press release.

"We've done this before. We've done multiple events before," Criswell said of FEMA's efforts in advance of the storm. "I'm not saying it's going to be easy. We plan for this. We've done this. We're going to make sure nobody has needs and we'll keep people there to support them."