Hurricane Milton survivor dubbed 'Lieutenant Dan’ stayed in boat after refusing to leave

Joseph Malinowski, who lost a leg in a car accident when he was 16-years-old, defied evacuation orders in Tampa Bay and decided to ride the night out at sea.

A Florida man nicknamed "Lieutenant Dan" has miraculously survived the ferocity of Hurricane Milton after he chose to ignore evacuation orders and stay on his boat.

Joseph Malinowski, who lost a leg in a car accident at 16-years-old, defied police warnings to leave Tampa Bay, despite being told there were "nine shelters that are open". His below-the-knee amputation earned him the moniker from the character in Forrest Gump, who lost his legs during the Vietnam War.

Last night at 11pm, Joseph was seen reassuring reporters that he "was fine" after sharing an update on TikTok about his situation aboard the vessel. "They're saying the storm is still about an hour and a half out, and if that's the case and I'm feeling double of what it is now, that's not a problem, not a problem now," he said.

He attempted to calm concerns by stating his boat was "secure" amidst the 120mph winds and had sustained no serious damage. He told his more than 242k followers: "I'm not taking on any water, I haven't even spilled my coffee yet. I'm good, I've got everything I need, I've got plenty of water, I've got plenty of food. I could be in here for two weeks. I've got everything I need - coffee, creamer, everything."

Despite attempting to alleviate any concerns, the hurricane's life-threatening winds could be heard whirling around in the background during the seven-minute video. He expressed gratitude for the concern shown by his fans, some of whom offered to pay for a hotel or take him to a shelter, but he declined these offers, reports the Mirror.

"I didn't plan this, I didn't expect this, but this was God's plan for me to bring the world together," he said. "I'm doing my thing and whatever happens happens."

A GoFundMe campaign has been set up to help Joseph purchase a new boat to fulfil his 'seafaring dreams', and it has so far raised £30,000 of its £80,000 target. Despite ignoring pleas to leave his boat, multiple powerful tornadoes tore across Florida hours before Hurricane Milton made landfall on Wednesday, ripping off roofs, overturning vehicles and sucking debris into the air as the black V-shaped columns moved through.

Join the Daily Record's WhatsApp community here and get the latest news sent straight to your messages.

Deaths were reported in St. Lucie County on Florida's Atlantic Coast, but local authorities did not specify the number of residents killed. By Wednesday evening, more than 130 tornado warnings associated with Milton had been issued by National Weather Services offices in Florida.

Scientists say that the appearance of tornadoes before and during hurricanes isn't unusual, but the intensity of these twisters was.

Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - Sign up to our daily newsletter here.

Story SavedYou can find this story in  My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.