Hurricane Milton, the Category 4 storm headed toward the southeastern United States, could be the worst to hit Florida in a century, President Joe Biden said on Tuesday.
"This could be the worst storm to hit Florida in over a century. God willing it won’t be, but that’s what it’s looking like right now,” Joe Biden told reporters at the White House.
"You should evacuate now, now, now. You should have already evacuated. It's a matter of life and death, and that's not hyperbole," he said as advisors briefed him on the storm.
Mr Biden said he had postponed a planned trip to Angola and Germany this week because "I just don't think I can be out of the country at this time."
He said he would try to reschedule the visits.
Mr Biden also condemned misinformation that Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and his party have spread about hurricane relief efforts ahead of next month's US election.
"Those who do it, do it to try to damage the administration," Mr Biden said.
He said that "we can take care of ourselves" but expressed concern about the impact that it could have on the ground.
"It's un-American. It really is. People are scared to death. People know their lives are at stake, all that they've worked for, all that they own, all that they value," he said.
