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Joseph Malinowski, who goes by Lieutenant Dan connected TikTok aft the Forrest Gump character, decided to upwind Hurricane Milton successful a vessel connected the h2o successful Tampa.
By Brahmjot Kaur Oct 10, 2024 2:02 PMTags
Influencer Caroline Calloway Won’t Evacuate Florida Home Ahead of Hurricane Milton
Lieutenant Dan isn't leaving his vessel behind.
With astir 100,000 Floridians spending the nighttime successful shelters crossed the authorities amid Hurricane Milton's destruction, Joseph Malinowski wasn't funny successful riding retired the tempest inside.
The 54-year-old captivated TikTok and acrophobic Tampa officials with his determination to enactment successful his vessel for the tempest that yet slammed the area. As societal media fans waited with bated enactment to spot if Joseph made it done the hurricane safely, helium gave an update nether his Oct. 9 TikTok.
"I'm alive, woowoo," helium commented aft the storm. "God is good."
But who is the eccentric antheral who refused to heed proposal from officials? Joseph's nickname refers to Forrest Gump seasoned amputee Lt. Dan (Gary Sinise), whose shrimp vessel was the lone vas to past Hurricane Carmen successful the film.
The sanction was fixed by University of Tampa pupil Terrence Concannon, who crossed paths with Joseph successful mid-September aft helping him propulsion his vessel backmost to information erstwhile it began drifting to sea. The elder yet began documenting his travel surviving connected the boat.
Joseph told NBC News that his limb was amputated aft helium was deed by a car astatine 16 and that helium accepted the nickname due to the fact that helium believes it embodies the quality helium portrays connected TikTok. From past on, helium curated a fanbase online arsenic helium weathered Hurricane Helene and Milton.
He caused specified a disturbance online that Tampa Mayor Jane Castor shared yesterday that the Tampa Police Department attempted to bring him into a shelter, which helium initially agreed to.
Terrence Concannon/TikTok
"Our nationalist information squad has had aggregate conversations with this idiosyncratic to transportation him to marque the determination to spell to a structure for information arsenic the hurricane approaches," the mayor's spokesperson told People. "At 1 constituent [on Wednesday], conscionable anterior to the property conference, he’d agreed to permission his boat, however, it appears that helium has not followed through."
As the tempest battered the city, journalists connected the crushed did cheque successful with Joseph, who was nether a monolithic tarp laid implicit his vessel.
"I person a unafraid anchor point," helium told News Nation earlier the hurricane landed. "If the tide goes up, I spell up. As agelong arsenic the h2o stays retired of the boat, I'll beryllium fine. I don't attraction what anybody says oregon wants to bash astir it. I bash what I deliberation is right."
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
And though Joseph made it retired of Milton safely, the damages caused by the earthy catastrophe person been catastrophic. More than 3 cardinal Floridians are without power, according to PowerOutage.us. The winds from the tempest shredded the country of Tampa Bay Rays' Tropicana Field successful St. Petersburg. City officials crossed the authorities person urged residents to stay astatine location and to enactment acold distant from powerfulness lines and disconnected the roads.
However, among the astir astonishing aspects of Hurricane Milton was the 19 confirmed tornadoes that ripped done counties earlier its landfall.
"This tempest did rotation disconnected a batch of tornadoes," Governor Ron DeSantis said on Squawk Box Oct. 10. "That happens but I deliberation we astir apt saw much tornadoes. We expect determination volition beryllium confirmed casualties."
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