Mandatory evacuations continued for many low-lying areas along the Florida coastline as Hurricane Floyd swept through the Bahamas early Tuesday on its way toward the U.S.

On Monday, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush declared a state of emergency in preparation for a possible direct hit from Floyd, recalling memories of Hurricane Andrew in 1992.

"We all remember Hurricane Andrew and all the damage it caused in South Florida in 1992," Bush said in his declaration Monday afternoon. "Hurricane Floyd is almost three times the physical size of Andrew, three times."

At 8 a.m. EDT, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) reported that Floyd remained a strong category four hurricane with maximum sustained winds near 150 mph.

Floyd was moving toward the west-northwest near 14 mph and was located near Eleuthera, Bahamas, and about 250 miles east-southeast of Palm Beach, Fla. The hurricane is expected to remain at its present strength for at least the next 24 hours, the NHC said, and it is expected to make a turn toward the northwest later today.

Floyd was already sweeping through the Bahamas early Tuesday, dumping between 8 and 10 inches of locally heavy rains over parts of the island chain. The NHC said rainfall amounts of 5 to 10 inches were also possible in parts of the areas covered by hurricane warnings in Florida.

Hurricane warnings remained in effect early Tuesday for all of the mainland Florida east coast, from Florida City to just south of Brunswick, Ga. A tropical storm warning remained in effect for the Florida Keys, from Seven Mile Bridge northward.

Floridians will begin feeling Floyd's effects as early as Tuesday morning, the NHC said, as tropical-storm force winds were forecast to move into the Miami and Ft. Lauderdale areas between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. today.

Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 125 miles from Floyd's center, and tropical-storm force winds extend outward up to 290 miles from the center.