Viral Florida man Joseph Malinowski, affectionally referred to as "Lieutenant Dan," is very lucky to be alive after choosing to ride out the storm in his sailboat amid Hurricane Milton's landfall along Florida's Gulf Coast on Wednesday (October 9) evening.
According to People, Malinowski went viral on social media for ignoring evacuation orders (put in place earlier this week), telling newscasters that he was going to stay behind in his sailboat. When asked why he was not planning to leave the region (in a TikTok video that has since went viral), Malinowski replied:
"My faith in God. God told me to come out here and get a boat. I came out here and got a boat. He’s been telling me in the last two days I’m doing the right thing. He’s got my back. I’m in good shape. We’re gonna ride this one out."
FOX13 anchor Kevin O’Donnell went to check up on the sailboat captain following Milton's landfall, only to find him, and his boat, in perfect shape.
"I'm doing fine," Malinowski assured, commenting on the water being pulled back to sea.
NewsNation correspondent Brian Entin also went out to check on Malinowski following the catastrophic storm's initial surge. Once again, Malinowski explained that he was "fine," casually revealing that he was "stuck" there anyways.
Hurricane Milton made landfall in Siesta Key yesterday evening and some residents began evacuating as early as Monday morning (October 7). On Tuesday (October 8), Tampa mayor Jane Castor warned residents choosing to stay behind that they would likely perish.
"I can say this without any dramatization whatsoever, if you choose to stay in one of those evacuation areas, you are going to die."
For more information about Hurricane Milton's path of destruction, check out: Hurricane Milton Makes Landfall In Florida