VIDEO shows the moment CNN anchor Anderson Cooper is drilled in the face by flying debris during his live coverage of Hurricane Milton.
The monster storm made landfall in Florida‘s Gulf Coast at around 8:30 pm on Wednesday, battering the region with ferocious winds of up to 120 mph and life-threatening rainfall.
Like many reporters, Cooper was on the ground reporting live near Manatee River, a short drive north of Sarasota, as Milton thrashed the area with pounding rain.
“You could see it in the light there [the wind] is just whipping off the Manatee River. It’s coming in from the northeast,” Cooper, 57, said as he struggled to keep his head up.
“The water is really starting to pour over. If you look at the ground,” he added when, seconds later, a rectangular piece of styrofoam smacked Cooper in the face.
“Woah. Okay, that wasn’t good,” the CNN anchor said before continuing to report.
“We’ll probably go inside shortly, but you can see the amount of water here on the ground.
“This is water from the Manatee River.”
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As the live shot returned to CNN’s New York studios, anchor Kaitlin Colin reassured viewers that Cooper was safe.
“I do want to note for everyone watching who is very concerned obviously about all of our correspondents and anchors on the ground, Anderson is okay,” Colins said.
“Just obviously understandably difficult to establish a connection when you’re seeing what’s happening with the wind and rain.
“And obviously, the deteriorating conditions by the minute.”
Milton struck west-central Florida as a Category 3 storm, devastating a region still reeling from Hurricane Helene in late September.
As Milton approached the state, it whipped up a barrage of tornadoes across southern Florida, knocking out power for over three million residents.
The Category 3 storm has left at least four people dead in St. Lucie County, officials confirmed.
“Numerous homes and structures across St. Lucie County, including the City of Port St. Lucie and unincorporated areas, suffered significant damage,” the county said.
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In St. Petersburg, Milton’s powerful 120 mph winds completely ripped off the roof of Tropicana Field, home to the Tampa Bay Rays MLB team.
Chunks of the stadium’s non-retractable roof were seen flapping in the wild.
The stadium was being used as a shelter for first responders before it was breached.
No injuries were reported, but at least 13 people were inside the stadium when the roof was torn off.
The fierce winds also toppled a construction crane that sent debris crashing to the street below.
In Tampa Bay, many parts of the city saw at least 10 to 15 inches of rainfall overnight.
The roof of Tropicana Field -home to the Tampa Bay Rays MLB team – was completely ripped off by Milton’s powerful winds[/caption]
Milton’s fierce winds also toppled a construction crane[/caption]
President Joe Biden advised those impacted by Milton to stay indoors and off the roads.
“Downed power lines, debris, and the road washout are creating dangerous conditions,” Biden said on X.
“Help is on the way, but until it arrives, shelter in place until your local officials say it’s safe to go out.”
Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida, said while Milton was destructive, it could have been worse.
“We will better understand the extent of the damage as the day progresses,” DeSantis told reporters on Thursday.
“First responders have been working all through the night to help people in distress.
“What we can say is the storm was significant, but thankfully, this was not the worst-case scenario. The storm did weaken before landfall, and the storm surge, as initially reported, has not been as significant overall as was observed with Hurricane Helene.”
What is a hurricane and how do they form?
A HURRICANE is another name for a tropical cyclone – a powerful storm that forms over warm ocean waters near the equator.
Those arising in the Atlantic or eastern Pacific are called hurricanes, while those in the western Pacific and Indian Ocean are dubbed typhoons or cyclones.
North of the equator they spin anticlockwise because of the rotation of the Earth, however, they turn the opposite way in the southern hemisphere.
Cyclones are like giant weather engines fuelled by water vapor as it evaporates from the sea.
Warm, moist air rises away from the surface, creating a low-pressure system that sucks in air from surrounding areas – which in turn is warmed by the ocean.
As the vapour rises it cools and condenses into swirling bands of cumulonimbus storm clouds.
The system grows and spins faster, sucking in more air and feeding off the energy in seawater that has been warmed by the sun.
At the center, a calm “eye” of the storm is created where cooled air sinks towards the ultra-low pressure zone below, surrounded by spiraling winds of warm air rising.
The faster the wind, the lower the air pressure at the center, and the storm grows stronger and stronger.
Tropical cyclones usually weaken when they hit land as they are no longer fed by evaporation from the warm sea.
But they often move far inland – dumping vast amounts of rain and causing devastating wind damage – before the “fuel” runs out and the storm peters out.
Hurricanes can also cause storm surges when the low air pressure sucks the sea level higher than normal, swamping low-lying coasts.
