Tropical Storm Milton is now a Category 1 hurricane as South Florida braces for more heavy rain: 'Not on a good track'

Tropical Storm Milton has been upgraded to a Category 1 hurricane before it hits Florida - as the vicious natural disaster threatens to derail Kamala Harris' campaign ahead of the election. 

People across Florida were given notice Sunday that Milton, which was a tropical storm off the coast of Mexico, is now a Category 1 hurricane. It is set to slam into the storm-ravaged Gulf Coast and make its agonizing landfall midweek.

The impact is expected to engulf much of the Sunshine State - as Governor Ron DeSantis expanded a state of emergency to 51 out of 67 counties on Sunday. 

With the fierce presidential election taking place in just 30 days, the devastation already caused by this season's hurricanes and urgent bracing for Hurricane Milton is expected to become a sticking point in the voting booths. 

FEMA and the Biden administration have already faced intense criticism for their lackluster response to Hurricane Helene - which took the lives of nearly 230 people.

Hurricane-ravaged residents in the Carolinas and Florida may be physically unable to vote if their infrastructure is not rebuild in time for November 5, experts warned. 

Meanwhile, those going to the polls may have had their politics radicalized after witnessing the help - or lack thereof - from local and federal agencies. 

'A major hurricane is the most likely outcome,' DeSantis said. 'This is not a good track for the state of Florida.' 

It comes as Chris Cooper, a political scientist at Western Carolina University, said Hurricane Helene's destruction in crucial swing states could 'dramatically change who is in the electorate'.

'In a state like North Carolina, where margins matter, then every little tweak could be the tweak that makes the difference,' he said, noting that North Carolina is 'right on the razor's edge between red and blue.' 

Ahead of Milton barreling in, residents on the west coast of Florida are preparing for a potentially historic mass evacuation.

Kevin Guthrie, head of Florida's Development of Emergency Management, urged residents to prepare to evacuate ahead of the potentially ' life-threatening' storm surge. 

'We are preparing for the largest evacuation we have seen since, most likely, 2017 Hurricane Irma,' he said. 

The Tampa Bay region is still reeling from devastating flooding brought by Hurricane Helene.

Meanwhile, residents in other areas ravaged by Helene have blasted the federal government's disaster response agency, FEMA, for being painfully slow to deploy first responders. 

In one tiny North Carolina town which was almost completely obliterated by the hurricane, residents revealed that FEMA agents even told them a 'road closed' sign had prevented them from coming in to help. 

'FEMA called me and told me they wanted to inspect my house then called me back to say they couldn't drive around the 'road closed' sign. They weren't allowed,' Bat Cave local Chelsea Atkins, 38, told the New York Post. 

'You can drive it by car for sure, it's not that bad, you just have to drive around the 'road closed sign'. I explained that to them. They said they couldn't.'

It comes just days after the agency took a beating for its boss Alejandro Mayorkas admitting it will not be able to foot the bill for this historic hurricane season.   

While forecast models vary widely, the most likely path suggests Milton could make landfall Wednesday just north of Tampa Bay and remain a hurricane as it moves across central Florida into the Atlantic Ocean.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Sunday that while it remains to be seen just where Milton will strike, it's clear that Florida is going to be hit hard. 

'I don't think there's any scenario where we don't have major impacts at this point,' he told Floridians. 

'You have time to prepare - all day today, all day Monday, probably all day Tuesday to be sure your hurricane preparedness plan is in place. 

'If you´re on that west coast of Florida, barrier islands, just assume you´ll be asked to leave.'

DeSantis expanded his state of emergency declaration Sunday to 51 counties, and said Floridians should prepare for more power outages and disruption, making sure they have a week's worth of food and water and are ready to hit the road. 

The Federal Emergency Management Agency, meanwhile, coordinated with the governor and briefed President Joe Biden Sunday on how it staged lifesaving resources to be ready.

The state has prepared emergency fuel sources and EV charging stations along evacuation routes, and 'identified every possible location that can possibly house someone along those routes,' Kevin Guthrie said. 

People who live in homes built after Florida strengthened its codes in 2004, who don't depend on constant electricity and who aren't in evacuation zones, should probably avoid the roads, he said.

As many as 4,000 National Guard troops are helping state crews to remove debris, DeSantis said, and he directed that Florida crews dispatched to North Carolina in Helene's aftermath return to the state to prepare for Milton.

'All available state assets ... are being marshaled to help remove debris,' DeSantis said. 'We're going 24-7 ... it's all hands on deck.'

FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell defended her agency's response to the destruction wrought by Hurricane Helene after Republicans´ false claims, amplified by former President Donald Trump, created a frenzy of misinformation across devastated communities.

'This kind of rhetoric is not helpful to people and it´s really a shame we´re putting politics ahead of helping people,' Criswell told ABC´s George Stephanopoulos. 

'It's created fear and mistrust among residents against the thousands of FEMA employees and volunteers on the ground across the southeast,' she said.

Despite this, Criswell said the agency is already preparing for Milton, well before it's clear exactly where it will move across the Florida peninsula this week. 

'We´re working with the state there to understand what their requirements are going to be, so we can have those in place before it makes landfall,' she said.

Tropical Storm Milton´s center was about 860 miles (1,385 kilometers) west-southwest of Tampa, Florida, early Sunday, heading east at 5 mph (7 kph) with maximum sustained winds of 60 mph (95 kph), the National Hurricane Center in Miami said.

The hurricane center said Mexico´s Yucatan peninsula, the Florida Peninsula, the Florida Keys and the northwestern Bahamas should monitor the system´s progress. 

Heavy rainfall was expected Sunday ahead of the storm itself, and will likely then combine with Milton's rainfall to flood waterways and streets in Florida, where forecasters said up to a foot (30 centimeters) of rain could fall in places through Wednesday night.

Meanwhile in the open Atlantic, Hurricane Kirk diminished to a Category 2 hurricane on Sunday, with top winds of 105 mph (165 kph), sending large swells and 'life-threatening surf and rip current conditions' to Bermuda and northward along the U.S. and Canadian coasts, the center said. 

Hurricane Leslie was also moving over the Atlantic Ocean, well away from land, with top winds of 85 mph (140 kph).