Hurricane Milton has now been categorized as a category 3 Hurricane, extremely dangerous and causing extreme damage and hurt to the people affected. The Hurricane first landed near Siesta Key, Florida, on October 9th, 2024. Over Three Million people were left without Power. Their homes flooded with nowhere to stay. Officials have confirmed with CBS News that at least 24 people have died, and the citizens of Florida believe that the death rate will continue to rise. Just weeks before on September 24th, 2024, right before Milton, Florida, had faced Hurricane Helene. “You face two hurricanes in a couple of weeks — not easy to go through — but I’ve seen a lot of resilience throughout this state,” the governor told a briefing in Sarasota.
Florida had already faced two hurricanes in a month, leaving the state with tremendous damage and cleanup. They were in 5-10 feet of water with large debris. Heavy rain and winds reach a low of 60 mph and a high of 180 mph. All around, it was a danger to those who were stranded. But even those with shelter, their power was out, and the first story of their homes was in 3-5 feet of water. Therefore, many people didn’t want to stay at their houses, so close to 80,000 people spent the night in shelters, and others went because authorities issued mandatory evacuation orders in 15 Florida counties, with a total population of about 7.2 million people being evacuated. Hurricane Milton has left a devastating impact across Florida, and many are still trying to recover.
An example of people who were affected by Hurricane Milton is a man named Joseph Malinowsky. He is a resident of Florida, and the media has given him the nickname “ the real-life Lieutenant Dan’’ due to his brave actions of choosing to stay on his small sailboat and ride out the storm despite the police warnings to evacuate because of the dangerous situation and proximity of the hurricane. Malinowsky gained popularity on social media platforms like TikTok, where he is seen being interviewed. In one interview, Many asks, “ Dan, you weren’t afraid of anything last night ?’’ He answered, “ No, I’m not scared of anything, and what I’ve been through this weather is nothing. And I put my faith in God. God told me to come here…”
On Oct. 18, Joseph Malinowski, now known as “Lieutenant Dan,” not-so-clean record came to light. It was released that he was arrested in Hillsborough County, Florida, where he was detained because of several warrants for failing to show up to court. As if that’s not enough, he also faces a misdemeanor charge for trespassing in a park after a previous warning against it. After spending two nights behind bars, Malinowski was released from jail on a $150 bail, per the arrest records. His sailboat was unfortunately impounded. In 2023, Malinowski was criminally charged for “sinking a sailboat,” per the outlet. Later that year, Malinowski was arrested after it was said that he tried to “set a woman on fire with gas.” According to the outlet, there’s also an ongoing legal battle about the ownership of Malinowski’s now-infamous sailboat.” Even after all of the chaos this hurricane has inflicted, this is only one of many stories of those affected by Milton.
