Hurricane Michael closed in on Florida's Gulf Coast Wednesday as an "extremely dangerous" category four storm packing winds of up to 140 mph (220 kph) and a huge sea surge, the National Hurricane Center said.

Forecasters were calling it an "unprecedented" weather event for the area.

The center said the storm could grow and is expected to slam ashore later in the day in Florida as a "life-threatening event."

As outer rainbands from the storm lashed the coast, it said a storm surge of up to 13 feet (four meters) was expected in some areas.

Some 375,000 people in more than 20 counties were ordered or advised to evacuate, news reports said.

The National Weather Service office in the state capital Tallahassee issued a dramatic appeal for people to comply with evacuation orders.

"Hurricane Michael is an unprecedented event and cannot be compared to any of our previous events. Do not risk your life, leave NOW if you were told to do so," it said.

- Disaster warnings -

The storm was forecast to make landfall somewhere along the Florida Panhandle -- a finger-shaped strip of land in the Gulf of Mexico.

It was expected to bring hurricane force winds and heavy rainfall, the Miami-based NHC said.

It will then move across the southeastern US for another day or so as it heads toward the Atlantic.

The NWS office in Tallahassee said it had found no record of any previous category four hurricanes that made landfall in the panhandle or the "Big Bend" coastal region.

"This situation has NEVER happened before," it said on Twitter.

Category four is the second highest level on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale.

Governor Rick Scott has activated 2,500 members of the National Guard.

He warned Michael could be the most destructive storm to hit the Florida Panhandle in decades.

President Donald Trump issued an emergency declaration for the state, freeing up federal funds for relief operations and providing the assistance of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

State officials issued disaster declarations in Alabama and Georgia, both of which are also expected to feel the impact from the storm.

As of 1000 GMT, Michael was about 120miles (195 km) south of Panama City and moving north at 13 miles per hour (20 kph).

- Flash flood, tornado warnings -

The NHC said some areas of the Florida coast could expect storm surges of nine to 13 feet and as much as a foot of rain.

The heavy rains could cause flash floods, the NHC said, and spawn tornados in northwestern Florida.

About 120,000 residents were under mandatory evacuation orders in Bay County in the Panhandle, a low-lying area of beachfront resorts and retirement communities.

In other areas, residents of mobile homes were urged to leave.

Michael was forecast to have the power to uproot trees, block roads and knock out power for days when it hits Florida. It is expected to weaken as it moves up into the southeastern United States.

Drivers waited in long lines at gas stations and residents hurried to fill sandbags.

Tolls were suspended on some roads to aid movement ahead of the storm's landfall.

"Since 6:00 am it's been backed up. We're just now running out of regular (gasoline)," Danny Hess, an employee at a gas station in Panama City, told local WJHG television.

The Carolinas are still recovering from Hurricane Florence, which left dozens dead and is estimated to have caused billions of dollars in damage last month.

It made landfall on the coast as a Category 1 hurricane on September 14 and drenched some parts of the state with 40 inches of rain.

Last year saw a string of catastrophic storms batter the western Atlantic -- including Irma, Maria and Harvey, which caused a record-equaling $125 billion in damage when it flooded the Houston metropolitan area.

Scientists have long warned that global warming will make storms more destructive, and some say the evidence for this may already be visible.

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Florida braces for lethal floods as hurricane nears
Miami (AFP) Oct 8, 2018
Florida was warned Monday to plan for "life-threatening" flash flooding as Michael heads for the US Gulf Coast, where it is expected to make landfall midweek as a major Category 3 hurricane. The alert came as the tropical storm system strengthened to a Category 1 hurricane, packing maximum sustained winds of 75 miles (120 kilometers) per hour, earlier in the day. By 1800 GMT it was nearing the western tip of Cuba, off Mexico's Yucatan peninsula, and was forecast to push through the Gulf of Mexic ... read more