SARASOTA, Fla. >> Hurricane Milton began thrashing the west coast of Florida with rain, driving wind and walls of seawater on Wednesday, leaving millions to wait in anxiety as one of the strongest storms on record in the Gulf of Mexico began what was expected to be a destructive path across the state.

Milton’s eye was expected to make landfall around midnight, with the storm continuing to pack hurricane-force winds as it barreled inland, crossed the Orlando region and headed toward the Atlantic coast.

The National Hurricane Center warned of rainfall totals up to 18 inches over parts of the Florida Peninsula.

Forecasters also warned that a storm surge of up to 15 feet could swamp low-lying communities along more than 70 miles of Florida’s western coastline, from Anna Maria Island to Boca Grande. Even miles inland, forecasters warned that water levels could surge to 8 feet above ground.

Parts of Sanibel Island, about 20 miles southwest of Fort Myers, were already flooding, according to the fire chief, Kevin Barbot.

“The island is extremely saturated,” he said, adding in a warning to residents earlier in the day: “If you have chosen not to leave, your life is in danger.”

Gov. Ron DeSantis said 149 emergency shelters were open throughout the state, housing about 31,000 people but with room for nearly 200,000. More than 50,000 utility workers and 8,000 National Guard troops were ready to respond to the damage, he said, part of what he called the largest deployment of personnel and resources for a storm in the state’s history.

Milton exploded in strength and intensity at near record pace earlier this week, becoming one of the most intense hurricanes on record in the Atlantic basin, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. As of Wednesday afternoon, it had weakened slightly but was still a Category 3 hurricane with sustained wind speeds of 120 mph.

Across Florida, officials and residents were racing to limit the damage.

In Orlando, crews had drained lakes to the lowest possible level, hoping to prevent flooding. Hospitals, clinics and nursing homes across the west coast of Florida had closed or put up barricades, and some had evacuated patients and canceled surgeries. Many prisons were not evacuating inmates, but were moving them to what they said were safer spots within prisons.

At MacDill Air Force Base, which juts into Tampa Bay, personnel were ordered to evacuate and planes were flown out of harm’s way to McConnell Air Force Base in Kansas. MacDill, which houses the headquarters of the U.S. Special Operations Command and the U.S. Central Command, is only about 14 feet above sea level.

At least two communities, including Charlotte County, on the southwest coast, and Osceola County, near Orlando, enacted curfews to keep roads open for emergency responders and protect lives and property.

Milton was arriving less than two weeks after Hurricane Helene destroyed thousands of homes in Florida and left a trail of flooded communities, downed electrical lines, flattened homes and damaged roads and bridges across a wide swath of the southeastern United States. Many communities in Florida were still scrambling to clear debris from Helene even as Milton began hammering the state.

The expected storm surge from Milton was “the biggest issue” facing Tampa, the mayor, Jane Castor, said Wednesday. She said that the surge could be between 12 and 15 feet, which would be more than double what the city saw during Helene. “That is something that is historical,” Castor said.

More than 5 million people had been told to leave their homes before Milton arrived, including many who live in coastal and low-lying areas of Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater. Carrying fresh memories of the damage from Helene and Hurricane Ian in 2022, many appeared to heed evacuation orders, as they jammed roads and emptied gas stations of fuel over the past several days.

Some moved only a few miles inland, squeezing in with friends or relatives, while others headed north out of the state or to emergency shelters, holding sleeping bags and pets in crates and backpacks.

After considering the dire weather warnings, congested highways and gas shortages, Lennie Rodriguez left his Fort Myers home for an emergency shelter in a local school.

“It’s too late to do anything else,” said Rodriguez, 61, who owns an auto detailing business. “I just want to be on the safe side.”

Although the storm was battering the Gulf Coast first, people on the Atlantic coast of Florida were rushing to prepare as well. Residents of downtown St. Augustine were fleeing to taller buildings or higher ground. Ormond Beach residents received text messages warning them to leave before a bridge over the Halifax River closed.

Some of those who had fled Milton’s path went to the grounds of the North Florida Fair in Tallahassee, where dozens of cars, trucks, SUVs and campers were parked in the grass.

Jayleena Bizzell, 45, had arrived there with her two daughters after driving about four hours from St. Petersburg, riding on the shoulder of the road, which had been opened to ease traffic.

After Milton strengthened into a “monster storm,” Bizzell said, “I wanted to get as far as I could from it.” She said her family might spend the night in her car.