Five soldiers from the New Hampshire National Guard are deploying to Florida early this week to help prepare for Hurricane Milton.

Troops will head to Camp Blanding in the northeast corner of the state, about halfway between Gainesville and Jacksonville. As of Monday afternoon, the hurricane was expected to make landfall on the western coast of the Florida peninsula on Wednesday.

They’ll serve as a “logistics hub” for other state services and aid throughout the storm and in its aftermath, Lt. Col. Greg Heilshorn said. From Oct. 7 to Oct. 14, they’re on what he called the Movement Control Team. They’ll coordinate and track incoming aid like equipment, personnel and vehicles.

National Guard members prepare with a “soldier readiness process,” which Heilshorn said entails checking that all their medical and legal records are up to date, as well as physical preparations.

Heilshorn said Florida requested New Hampshire’s help in anticipation of the hurricane. This is the first request of this kind that they’ve received this season, Heilshorn said, but the National Guard is prepared to help more if they’re asked.

Hurricane Milton is the second major storm to hit the South in as many weeks. It comes on the heels of Hurricane Helene, which wreaked havoc from Florida to Virginia. Catastrophic flooding decimated roads and towns throughout the region, particularly in areas like western North Carolina. As of Monday, Milton had intensified to a Category 5 hurricane and was expected to pass east across the Florida peninsula instead of heading north toward the U.S.

Charlotte Matherly is the statehouse reporter for the Concord Monitor and Monadnock Ledger-Transcript in partnership with Report for America. Follow her on X at @charmatherly, or send her an email at cmatherly@cmonitor.com.