Florida residents have begun stocking up on food, evacuating low-lying areas, and storm-proofing buildings as they prepare for hurricane Hermine.

The Governor of Florida has declared a state of emergency in 51 of the 67 counties after the tropical storm was upgraded to hurricane status on Thursday after it gained strengths with wind speeds of 75 miles per hour.

Members of the Florida National Guard are also preparing to be mobilised.

Hermine is expected to be the first hurricane to hit the state in more than a decade, and is expected to make landfall late on the Gulf Coast late on Thursday or early on Friday local time.

Hermine is expected to dump as much as 20 inches (51cm) of rain in some parts of the state, with isolated tornadoes and storm surges as high as eight feet (2.45m) were also forecast.

Residents on barrier islands and low-lying shore areas are being evacuated.

After battering coastal Florida, Hermine is expected to barrel across the northern part of the state into Georgia, then slam southern US coastal regions on the Atlantic. Tropical storm warnings have been issued through parts of North Carolina.

On its current path Hermine could dump as much as 10 inches (25cm) of rain on coastal areas of Georgia, which is under a tropical storm watch, and the Carolinas.

Flash flood watches have extended from Florida into Virginia.

Georgia Governor Nathan Deal has signed an executive order declaring a state of emergency for 56 counties that runs until Saturday.