(Reuters)

Most Florida ports including Tampa and Sarasota were closed on Tuesday to all vessel traffic ahead of Hurricane Milton, while terminals in South Carolina including Charleston began imposing navigation restrictions, reports by the U.S. Coast Guard showed.

Milton weakened into a Category 4 hurricane, moving on Tuesday toward the east-northeast with maximum sustained winds of 145 miles per hour (230 kmh) before making landfall in Florida on Wednesday, the National Hurricane Center said.