Florida Braces for 'Life-Threatening' Hurricane Hermine

Doug LeFever inspects the seawall near his home at the Sandpiper Resort on Sept. 1 in Holmes Beach, Florida.

Hermine strengthened to a hurricane Thursday afternoon, with winds near 75 mph, as Florida braced to be thrashed by what the governor is calling a "life-threatening" tropical storm.

A member of Manatee County Marine Rescue updates beach visitors after surveying the rip currents and weather conditions at Manatee Beach Park on Sept. 1 in Holmes Beach.

The last hurricane to make landfall in Florida was Wilma in 2005.

Residents of the Sandpiper Resort survey the rising water coming from the Gulf of Mexico into their neighborhood on Sept. 1 in Holmes Beach.

Fifty-one counties in Florida were placed under a state of emergency ahead of Hermine's landfall. 

Daniel Fink, left, and Pete Stefani fill sandbags at the Cedar Cove Hotel as they prepare for Hermine on Sept. 1 in Cedar Key, Florida.

From left, Tim and Joe Allen board up the front of an outdoor bar as they prepare for Hermine on Sept. 1 in Cedar Key, Florida.

A surfer gets into the tube while surfing the swell from Hermine at St. Andrews State Park in Panama City Beach, Florida on Sept. 1.

A dog wades through the shallow water at Shell Point Beach on Aug. 31 near Crawfordville, Florida.