Communities in Florida are preparing to get hit head-on by a potential Category 3 hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico days after Hurricane Helene made landfall in the state – killing 20 people, leaving thousands without power and paving a trail of wreckage.

Days after Helene struck Florida's Big Bend coast as a Category 4 hurricane, Milton rapidly intensified into a hurricane and appeared to aim at Florida.

It is expected to rapidly intensify into a Category 3 hurricane before it makes landfall across the west coast of Florida on Wednesday.

The death toll from Hurricane Helene inched up to 227 on Saturday as the grim task of recovering bodies continued more than a week after the monster storm ravaged the Southeast and killed people in six states.

More than 200 people have died in Helene’s path, making it one of the deadliest hurricanes to hit in the mainland U.S. since 1950.