- Hurricane Milton LIVE: Florida cities in lockdown with millions hit with curfews as eerie footage shows desolate beach towns bracing for monster storm
A one-legged Florida man nicknamed Lieutenant Dan compared himself to Noah with his ark as he revealed he would not be heeding Tampa Bay’s evacuation orders ahead of Hurricane Milton.
The monster storm is due to hit Florida today and residents in its path have been warned to ‘flee or die.’
And yet Joseph Malinowski, known affectionately among locals as Joe Sea or Lieutenant Dan, has no fears about staying put.
Speaking from his 20ft boat in Tampa Harbor as strong winds circled overhead, Joe said: ‘The safest place to be is on a boat in a flood. We learned that with Noah.
‘Everyone that stayed on land drowned. Noah and the animals lived.’
Earlier, he said: ‘I’m not worried. My life, this is nothing compared to what I’ve been through. This doesn’t scare me.
‘This is not even a minor inconvenience because all that’s going to happen is everyone is going to get wet but I’m going to be fine because I’m in a boat that floats.’
Joe lost his leg in a car accident when he was 16 years old. He said he’d just taken his eyes off the road ‘for a second’ when he ran into another car going about 45mph.
‘I was expecting to be home in time for dinner. I got to the hospital, within minutes my entire family started showing up.’
Joe, dubbed ‘Lt Dan’ after the character in Forrest Gump, said he will stay on his boat
His leg was amputated below the knee, which earned him the nickname he still has to this day. In Forrest Gump, Lieutenant Dan lost both of his legs below the knee during the Vietnam War.
Joe said he expects the wind to pick up further, but has faith in the strength of his anchor.
‘My anchor is tied to the dock, I’m not going to go anywhere. It’s all going to be good. I’m going to be fine.’
Joe, in video now circulating widely online, explains that ‘God’ told him to ‘come out here and get a boat. He’s got my back. I’m in good shape. I’m not sweating it.’
He has already rejected a lifejacket and said he can swim ‘in circles’ if needed as he tries to ‘stick it out’ in the bay.
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) warned this week that people should not stay onboard or venture out in rough conditions as it risks ‘your life and the lives of potential responders.’
In Forrest Gump, Lieutenant Dan lost both of his legs below the knee during the Vietnam War
Terrence said police had tried to convince him to move on ahead of Milton’s arrival
Joe said he will not be wearing a lifejacket and has placed his faith in God to keep him alive
Fans have offered to sponsor him for a motel room or offered shelter in other states.
Read More
Scientists brave 165mph Hurricane Milton as trapped tourists are told it may be too late to flee
But Joe remains convinced he is better off at sea.
‘Tampa Terrence’ has documented Joe’s stand against Hurricane Milton and set up a GoFundMe to support him to buy a new ship ‘to sail the seas’.
The fundraiser has raised over $19,000 so far.
Terrence also said he had offered Joe a room in a hotel near Tampa Airport, but that he was ‘still hesitant on going.’
‘God’s got my back,’ Joe reiterates in another video. ‘I’m doing what he told me to do. He didn’t send nobody to get me out of here.
‘And anybody that tries to get me out of here, they’re not of God because God told me that this was right for me and that’s why I’m doing it.’
Tampa Police have been among those urging Joe to move on and seek shelter. A man believed to be Chief of Tampa Police was seen urging Joe to leave.
The sailor is told they have ‘nine shelters that are open’ in video shared yesterday.
For now, Lt Dan remains on the 20ft sailing boat, despite offers of shelter elsewhere
GOES-19 captured a high resolution look of Hurricane Milton
Fans offer their best wishes and say they hope he stays safe through the storm.
‘The more you go through it, the more you learn,’ he told The Weather Channel. ‘I’m confident in my ability to ride it out unless it turns into a situation, and I wind up in Kansas.’
Hurricane Milton is expected to make landfall late on Wednesday, bringing winds of up to 175mph and floods 15ft high in what could be one of the worst storms to hit Florida in over a century.
Read More
Brit tourist stuck in Florida as Hurricane Milton looms shares how she’s preparing
Milton has ‘the potential to be one of the most destructive hurricanes on record for west-central Florida’, according to NHC forecasters.
Millions have already been evacuated from their homes, with large shelters set up in stadiums and venues across the state.
School districts have been closed, businesses shut down and mandatory evacuation orders issued for some six million as weather officials declared the tempest could be one of the most destructive hurricanes on record.
Florida is still reeling from Hurricane Helene, which tore through the state in late September.
By October 6, 227 people were reported to have died from the storm, marking the deadliest hurricane since Katrina in 2005.
Latest satellite picture of Hurricane Milton captured at 7:51 UTC (8:51 UK BST) as it approaches Florida on Wednesday
Members of the Florida Army National Guard check for any remaining residents in nearly-deserted Bradenton Beach on October 8
Donald Trump was criticized for spreading misinformation after he accused the government of withholding aid from Republican victims of the hurricane.
Kamala Harris hit back that he was ‘extraordinarily irresponsible’ for the claims.
FEMA also disputed his claims, warning misinformation was ‘extremely damaging’ and adding that they believed his claims had deterred some survivors from seeking help.
Trump also said ‘Kamala spent all her Fema money—billions of dollars—on housing for illegal migrants’ – a claim promptly debunked.
Hundreds of lineman trucks staged at The Villages, Florida, on Tuesday. Thousands of trucks will be staged and deployed after Hurricane Milton hits Florida. Hurricane Milton 2024
