Hurricane Michael swiftly intensified into a Category 2 over warm Gulf of Mexico waters on Tuesday amid fears it would strike Florida on Wednesday as a major hurricane, Aljazeera reported.

Mandatory evacuation orders went into effect Tuesday morning for some 120,000 people in Panama City Beach and across other low-lying parts of the coast as Hurricane Michael approaches.

Residents were boarding up homes and seeking evacuation routes to get out of the way of the storm, which is expected to bring strong winds and flooding rain. 
A hurricane hunter plane that bounced into the swirling eye off the western tip of Cuba found wind speeds rising.

By Tuesday morning, top winds had reached 155 kilometres per hour, and it was forecast to strengthen more, with winds topping 179km/h, capable of causing devastating damage.