Update on man nicknamed 'Lieutenant Dan' who refused to leave boat as Hurricane Milton batters Florida

A man who is trying to ride out Hurricane Milton in a boat recently confirmed that he was still OK.

Joseph Malinowski has been going viral on TikTok under the name 'Lieutenant Dan' for his refusal to budge in the face of the hurricane that's bearing down on Florida at the moment.

The major weather event has already taken lives and efforts are underway to evacuate people from Hurricane Milton's path, though Malinowski seems to be refusing to budge from his boat.

In his videos he claims that 'God told me to come out here and get a boat', and Malinowski is convinced that God has 'got my back'.

His logic is that even if the water is coming in and causing floods 'I'm in a boat and the boat goes up with the water' so he reckons that even as Hurricane Milton heads his way he's in the safest place possible.

According to Newsweek, Tampa mayor Jane Castor had yesterday (9 October) said police had 'saved Lieutenant Dan', telling a press conference that he'd been 'rescued' and was 'now in a shelter'.

However, it turned out he was still on board his boat, and the mayor's office later clarified that they'd had multiple conversations with Malinowski and he seemed to have agreed to go with them, but did not follow through.

A number of people have been in touch with Malinowski, including NewsNation correspondent Brian Entin.

He recently posted a video to Twitter showing him approaching Malinowski's boat and calling out to 'Lieutenant Dan'.

The man's head and hands poked out of the boat in response, as Entin said he thought the man had 'made it through the worst of it'.

Entin would later post that he had made it back to his hotel room, but there was no water or electricity currently available.

While the latest update on Malinowski appearing to show that his plan of riding out Hurricane Milton is still going, people in the area would be best advised to follow the advice to get the hell out of the way.

On Monday (7 October), Mayor Castor told people 'you are going to die' if they didn't evacuate.

Lieutenant Dan is okay! pic.twitter.com/0uthxRigRT

— Brian Entin (@BrianEntin) October 10, 2024

Others in Florida have been posting about having to stock up on the essentials including food, water and toilet paper.

People are also buying wood to try and create barricades, and have been told to stay away from windows as well as 'not go outside during Wednesday and Thursday evening'.