A few hours before the Hurricane Milton’s landfall, a video become viral on social media. The video was about a man named Joseph Malinowski also known as Lieutenant Dan who was spotted in his boat in the Tampa Bay. The video was shared on the social media by University of Tampa senior Terrence Concannon. The man was refusing to leave his boat which was his home and only possession.
Joseph Malinowski was repeatedly requested by officers to evacuate from his boat ahead of Hurricane Milton’s landfall but he refused stating that it was his only possession. However after a lot of persuasion he finally agreed to evacuate and was escorted to a safe shelter.
Tampa Mayor Jane Castor also confirmed at a press conference that the Tampa Police Department, this morning, just saved Lieutenant Dan.
The TikTok video which was shared by University of Tampa senior Terrence Concannon, has managed to get millions of views and the TikToker has also started a Lieutenant Dan GoFundMe account to raise funds so Lieutenant Dan is able to get a new boat. Lieutenant Dan’s GoFundMe page has raised over $22,000 and counting.
Concannon recalled that he was walking from his school in mid-September when he saw a man in a sailboat being dragged out to sea caught in the wind. The man was later rescued and his boat towed back to the dock — where he vowed to stay, rain or shine. Concannon later posted the video on TikTok and Joseph Malinowski’s story spread on the internet.
Who Is ‘Lieutenant Dan’ Facing Hurricane Milton?
Lieutenant Dan a.k.a. Joseph Malinowski lives in a houseboat in Tampa Bay and has claimed that he had survived Hurricane Helene which had hit the Florida coast a couple of weeks ago. Joseph Malinowski is differently abled with one leg and had refused to leave his boat and said that Almighty had told him to buy the boat. He also stated that he was homeless for the past 10 years and was living on his scooter and later on the sailboat.
Considering the severity of Hurricane Milton authorities were sure his boat would not survive and after a lot of efforts were able to convince him to evacuate to a safer location.
According to the US Meteorological Department, Hurricane Milton made landfall near the coastal community of Siesta Key and is now a Category 3 storm weakening from an earlier Category 5 storm on Wednesday. However it is growing in size as it approaches Florida and is extremely dangerous with maximum wind speed reaching 120 mph (195 kph),
According to media reports, over I million homes and businesses were without power in Florida. The Hurricane will also cause heavy rains and flooding is expected inland along rivers and lakes as Milton barrels inland. More than 2 million people have been ordered to evacuate.
