Hurricane Milton has rapidly intensified into an extremely dangerous category five storm as it tore its way towards the US state of Florida. Ferocious winds of up to 180mph prompted stark warnings of ‘potentially catastrophic’ storm along the coastal areas. Florida residents have been told to prepare for the state's largest evacuation effort in years. Warnings over Hurricane Milton come just 10 days after Hurricane Helene - the deadliest mainland storm since in 2005 - pummeled the US south-east, killing at least 225 people.