Hurricane Michael is gaining strength as it makes its way towards the Florida coast. <br /> The Category 3 storm is expected to make landfall by Wednesday afternoon, local time.<br />It is packing near 200 kilometer-per-hour winds and threatening dangerous storm surges and flash flooding.<br /> Alabama, Florida and Georgia have declared states of emergency.<br />Hundreds of thousands of people face evacuate orders along the East Coast covering Panhandle and Big Bend.<br />President Trump declared a state of emergency for the entire state of Florida, freeing up federal assistance. <br />Officials have described the storm as "monstrous" and the most powerful hurricane to strike the mainland United States so far this year. <br />
