Dozens of risk-takers ignored warnings to flee or die and faced the wrath of Hurricane Milton by frolicking in the storm’s bad weather.
Milton brought high winds, deadly storm surge and flooding to much of Florida Wednesday night after making landfall along the Gulf Coast as a Category 3 storm.
Before the cyclone arrived, thousands of residents evacuated their homes in a bid to survive after The authorities warned that “if you stay, you will die.”
But dozens of stubborn locals stayed behind, choosing to embrace the storm, and some were seen surfing, running near the beach, posing for photos in heavy rain and doing push-ups along a pier as the waves rushed in.
One man was even caught on CCTV braving the severe conditions in Milton to share his support for former President Donald Trump by battling strong winds and downpours to display a campaign flag on a pier.
One idiotic couple ignored urgent pleas to evacuate and opted to take selfies at the southernmost point of Key West as Hurricane Milton moved on.
A man braved Hurricane Milton on Wednesday to plant a Trump 2024 flag on a pier in Naples, Florida, as strong winds and waves battered the pier.
The Southernmost Point buoy was battered by rain and high winds Wednesday, but that didn’t seem to stop people from enjoying the iconic Key West landmark.
Cameras captured scores of people visiting the buoy to take selfies and pose for photographs as Milton made his way through Florida.
The livestream later captured a runner, apparently playing for the cameras, jumping to the ground and doing a series of push-ups as waves crashed above him.
Thousands of people tuned in to watch Milton arrive, and one person commented that those who frolicked in the storms are evidence of “natural selection at its finest.”
Nearby, beachgoers could be seen running along the shoreline, taking a dip in the ocean and even surfing as the storm moved.
Another live stream, coming from a pier camera in Naples, captured the moment a man holding a Trump 2024 flag successfully secured the banner to the pier.
As it moves away, the flag prevails against the strong winds; although it is not clear how long it lasted. Currently, the live camera is offline.
A Tampa man also made headlines Wednesday after he decided to go for a run after the city was locked down to prepare for Milton’s arrival.
As thousands of people watched a live stream from the area to see Milton arrive, one runner, apparently playing for the cameras, jumped to the ground and did a series of push-ups as waves crashed above him.
A group of surfers are seen hitting the strong waves in Key West on Wednesday as Milton pushes ahead
A man poses for a photo with the Southernmost Point buoy in Key West as the iconic landmark was battered by rain and high winds Wednesday.
A Tampa man also made headlines Wednesday after he decided to go for a run after the city was locked down to prepare for Milton’s arrival.
Milton is “one of the most destructive hurricanes ever recorded in west-central Florida,” the National Hurricane Center said.
The hurricane brought high winds, deadly storm surge and flooding to much of Florida on Wednesday night after making landfall along the Gulf Coast as a Category 3 storm.
The cyclone, which has since weakened to a Category 1 storm, was expected to cause catastrophic damage to the Tampa Bay region, prompting a mass evacuation order and stern warnings from authorities that ” If you stay, you will die.”
Despite evacuation orders, dozens of stubborn people decided to hunker down and wait out the storm.
Milton had maximum sustained winds of 120 mph when it made landfall on Siesta Key, south of the populated Tampa Bay region, the National Hurricane Center said.
The hurricane was causing deadly storm surge across much of Florida’s Gulf Coast, including densely populated areas such as Tampa, St. Petersburg, Sarasota and Fort Myers.
It weakened to a Category 1 storm as it moved across the state early Thursday. Power outages were widespread and deaths have been reported due to the bad weather.
Debris along Commonwealth Drive, Siesta Key clogs the road Thursday after Hurricane Milton made landfall overnight
A tornado severely damaged a home on the Binks Estate in Wellington, Florida, on Wednesday before Hurricane Milton made landfall.
A boat rests on a road in Port Charlotte, Florida, on Thursday after Hurricane Milton made landfall.
A man walks through water that flooded the street after Hurricane Milton made landfall in the Sarasota area on Wednesday.
Storm debris blocks a road in Sarasota, Florida, on Thursday, just hours after Hurricane Milton passed through the area.
The center of Milton was moving off Florida’s east coast early Thursday with maximum sustained winds of 85 mph, the National Hurricane Center said. The storm is expected to continue moving away from the peninsula and toward the northern Bahamas.
As Milton moved northeast toward the Atlantic Ocean, all hurricane and tropical storm warnings for the state’s west coast were lifted.
Storm surge warnings remained in effect for parts of Florida’s west coast and along the state’s east coast to Altamaha Sound, Georgia. Hurricane and tropical storm warnings were also in effect for much of the state’s east-central coast.
The cyclone’s destruction in central Florida has left more than 3 million homes and businesses without power, according to outage data. Florida’s central Gulf Coast was hardest hit by the outages, including Hardee, Sarasota, Hillsborough and Manatee counties.
At least two deaths were reported at a retirement community following a suspected tornado in Fort Pierce on Florida’s east coast, NBC News reported, citing St. Lucie County Sheriff Keith Pearson. His department did not immediately respond to a request for details.
A flash flood emergency was in effect for the Tampa Bay area, including the cities of Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater, the hurricane center said, and St. Petersburg already received 16.6 inches of rain on Wednesday.
Although Milton weakens to Category 1, officials warn that the danger remains in Florida as strong winds and heavy rain continued Thursday morning.