Biden says the government spent hundreds of millions of dollars during the Obama-Biden presidency to put power lines underground and replace wooden poles with steel ones in Florida, making the power network less susceptible to extreme weather.

"I wonder what would have happened now, if we didn't?", he adds.

He says this type of action "costs a lot of money but it works" and that it saves money in the long run.

Biden continues by saying he doesn't think anyone can deny the impact of the climate crisis in the wake of extreme weather events such as Hurricane Idalia.

He touches on recent floods, droughts and fires, adding: "We've never seen this much fire."

He goes on: "While we are dealing with this latest extreme weather event, I'm staying laser-focused on recovery and rebuilding efforts in Maui", in reference to the recent wildfires in Hawaii.

"It's devastating what happened there," he adds.

Speaking from the White House, Biden tells reporters the storm is "still very dangerous with winds of up to 75mph (121km/h)" and that the impacts are being "felt through the south-east."

Biden also says he spoke with all the governors today, including Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

He boosted personnel in Florida ahead of the storm "to help move people quickly to safety and out of the danger zone".

He adds that he approved an early emergency declaration requested by Gov DeSantis to mobilise resources as much as possible in advance of the hurricane.

"If there's anything, anything the states need right now, I'm ready to mobilise that support," Biden said.

Image source, Reuters

US President Joe Biden is now speaking to the media at the White House. We were expecting it a little earlier, but the president has been delayed.

Stay with us and we'll bring you updates on what he says.

You can watch live by clicking the play button at the top of this page.

More than a quarter of a million people are without power in the state of Florida, according to poweroutage.us, which tracks outages across the United States.

The website's latest estimates show that more than 275,000 people have lost power in the state, while Georgia's number stands at more than 123,000.

Florida's Suwannee County and Columbia County are the worst hit at the moment.

In Suwannee, more than 24,000 people are without power, which represents about 99% of the customers the website tracks, and in Columbia more than 35,000 are without power, which represents 87% of tracked customers.

In Georgia, it's Clinch, Echols, Lowndes and Brooks County that are the worst hit, with between 92% and 99% of power outages among tracked customers.

Hurricane Idalia is now entering Georgia, with heavy rains and strong winds expected in parts of the state, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Maximum sustained winds of 80mph (128kph) have already been reported, the center said in an update.

Georgia Governor Brian Kemp declared a state of emergency in the state on Tuesday that will expire just before midnight on Friday.

"Georgians in the expected impact can and should take necessary steps to ensure their safety and that of their families," Kemp said in a statement. "We are well positioned to respond to whatever Idalia may bring."

Image source, EPA

The National Hurricane Center has released an update, external saying the Gulf Coast of Florida is still under storm surge warning for Wednesday evening. The surge is expected to be "dangerous" along the south-eastern US Coast tonight and Thursday.

Hurricane-force winds are likely to hit southern Georgia and southern North Carolina on Wednesday evening in the US. And strong winds are expected to head north-eastward on Thursday. There will be power outages.

More flooding is expected in northern Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina.

Image source, Casey DeSantis

During his press conference a few moments ago, Ron DeSantis said a 100-year-old oak tree fell on his mansion in Tallahassee during the storm.

The Florida Governor said an ancient oak tree split in half and fell. He said the whole tree might have to be cut down but "in some way it's nice as there's more room for my kids to hit baseballs in".

His wife, Casey, and their children Mason, Madison, and Mamie, were home at the time, but no one was injured.

President Joe Biden is about to give an update on the government's response to Hurricane Idalia.

Stay with us as we bring you the latest.

Asked about whether climate change plays a role in the recent natural disasters, Fema administrator Criswell says she will not attribute the cause of this particular storm.

But, she adds, "we are seeing an increase in the number of severe weather events".

Criswell says storms are intensifying more rapidly due to higher temperatures in the Gulf, Pacific and Atlantic.

As a result, local emergency officials have less time to prepare communities for these types of storms.

Asked about the predicted cost of this storm, she says it is too early to say.

Fema administrator Deanne Criswell says it is too soon to know the damage, but given that the storm made landfall at category 3, wind speeds and rainfall were intense.

She says the storm surge has peaked right now at 4.6m (15ft), but it could surpass this once they are able to assess further.

Hurricane Idalia is the strongest storm to make landfall in this part of Florida in more than 100 years, she adds.

We are now hearing from Fema administrator Deanne Criswell, who urges people to stay alert and listen carefully to advice given by local officials.

She says her biggest concern is the people who chose not to evacuate and emergency responders are doing their utmost to help those people.

For days, officials had warned residents along Florida's western coast to evacuate.

We are now hearing from the White House, where press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre says the government is prepared to support "any needs that may arise as Idalia moves through Florida and into Georgia".

She says US President Joe Biden will speak later today about the government's efforts to respond to Hurricane Idalia, and the tragic wildfires in Maui earlier this month.

Jean-Pierre urges people to listen to local officials, and avoid floodwaters as there may be chemicals and debris.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has finished addressing the media alongside Florida officials. Here's what they said:

• There are 250,000 homes without power across Florida, and utility workers are working to restore power to these areas
• There are "no confirmed fatalities" from Idalia so far, despite Florida Highway Patrol earlier reporting that two people were killed in road accidents during the storm
• Tampa Airport will reopen for incoming flights at 16:00 Eastern Time (21:00 BST), Gainesville Airport will reopen tonight and Tallahassee Airport will reopen tomorrow morning local time
• The biggest impact is in Perry County where some businesses have caught on fire and roofs have been damaged
• Florida National Guard has deployed 5,500 personnel to affected areas
• Nearly 1,000 bridges need to be inspected in the worst-affected areas and several major roadways are impassable due to high water

Governor DeSantis says that while there are no confirmed fatalities, the could quickly change as investigations continue.

Earlier, Florida's Highway Patrol reported two people had been killed in road traffic incidents during the storm.

DeSantis says there has yet to be an official accounting of potential storm-related fatalities carried out by local police and medical examiners.

He adds that, in previous hurricanes, reports of deaths later had to be adjusted to account for incidents in which people died during the storm, rather than because of the storm.

Kevin Guthrie, director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, says the next phase will be damage assessments at local levels, looking at public infrastructure as soon as Thursday local time.

"We already have Fema (the Federal Emergency Management Agency) standing by and ready to do joint damage assessments," he says.

The hurricane update from officials has now finished, but stick with us as we continue to bring you further information on what was said.

Asked by reporters about recovery in the impacted area, DeSantis says the primary focus for now is on "stabilising" the situation, as well as rescue and recovery operations.

Afterwards will come damage assessment.

"There will be debris," he says, adding that some counties will be unable to afford the total cost of clearing areas that have been struck by the storm.

"The state will want to help," he says.

Jared Perdue, secretary of the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), says nearly 1,000 bridges need to be inspected in the main areas of impact from the hurricane.

He says several major roadways are impassable due to high water, and bridge crews are inspecting those, with operations due to be finished in the next hour.

We're now hearing from Major General John Haas, who says the Florida National Guard has deployed 5,500 personnel to affected areas.

The Guard personnel are also conducting damage assessment operations throughout the impacted area.

Additional National Guard forces, including helicopters and truck companies, are being deployed from South Carolina, Tennessee and Maryland, he says.

A total of 2,400 vehicles are taking part in the operation, including high-water vehicles that can operate freely in flooded areas, he adds.

DeSantis says authorities are still assessing what's going on in areas that felt the initial impact of the hurricane, and he'll try to visit some of those counties today.

Now it's on to Kevin Guthrie, Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM), who says the biggest impacted area seems to be in Perry County in Florida.

A couple of businesses there have caught on fire and roofs have been damaged, and crews are working on rescues, he says.

He adds that Maddison County has a lot of debris on the ground, and resources are heading in that direction.