President Trump has declared a pre-landfall emergency for Florida, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands ahead of Hurricane Irma, which is barreling toward the U.S.

Trump's declarations, announced by the White House late Tuesday, authorize the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to coordinate all disaster relief efforts in the three areas.

"This will free up much needed federal funding and assistance as we prepare for Irma," Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) said during a news briefing, calling the Category 5 storm "incredibly dangerous."

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Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossello (D) also addressed Trump accepting his request to declare a state of emergency for the U.S. territory ahead of the storm, which is expected to bring winds up to 185 miles per hour.

Rossello said in a statement that the National Guard and police in Puerto Rico would begin evacuating "flood-prone areas" in the north and east parts of the island.

Scott declared a state of emergency for all of Florida's 67 counties on Monday, and officials signaled that mandatory evacuations would begin in the southernmost parts of the state starting Wednesday morning.

The governor on Tuesday also ordered all tolls in Florida be waived to allow residents to more easily leave affected areas as the hurricane barrels toward the coast.

"Do not sit and wait to prepare. Get prepared now," Scott said.

Irma is the second major hurricane sending officials in the southeast U.S. scrambling, after Hurricane Harvey slammed into southeast Texas and parts of Louisiana late last month.

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“While the storm is not predicted to make landfall until later this week, the state and federal government must work together in order to help reduce the potential loss of life and destruction of property," Florida Sens. Marco Rubio Marco Antonio RubioFlorida senators pushing to keep Daylight Savings Time during pandemic Hillicon Valley: DOJ indicts Chinese, Malaysian hackers accused of targeting over 100 organizations | GOP senators raise concerns over Oracle-TikTok deal | QAnon awareness jumps in new poll Intelligence chief says Congress will get some in-person election security briefings MORE (R) and Bill Nelson Clarence (Bill) William NelsonDemocrats sound alarm on possible election chaos Trump, facing trouble in Florida, goes all in NASA names DC headquarters after agency's first Black female engineer Mary W. Jackson MORE (D) wrote to Trump on Tuesday, urging him to approve the Irma declaration.

"As we recently witnessed with Hurricane Harvey, preparation and up-front resources are paramount.”

Updated: 7:49 p.m.