TikTok Stars Defy Evacuation Orders, Share Experiences of Hurricane Milton

Joseph Malinowski, a man nicknamed “Lieutenant Dan," talks to the police who try to persuade him to leave for his safety as residents prepare for the arrival of Hurricane Milton, in Tampa on Oct. 9, 2024. Spencer Platt/Getty Images

In the wake of Hurricane Milton, TikTok users took to the platform to document their experiences as they rode out the Florida storm.

Defying evacuation orders statewide, a number of social media influencers living directly in Milton’s path refused to leave after the hurricane made landfall on Oct. 9 as a Category 3 storm.

Joseph Malinowski, a Tampa man nicknamed “Lieutenant Dan,” captured the public’s attention when he went viral in a TikTok video earlier this week, claiming he would be facing the storm on his boat.

He has since been marked safe after surviving the night on his 20-foot sailboat and told local Fox 13 news anchor Kevin O’Donnell that he was doing “fine,” saying the experience wasn’t as bad as he initially thought it would be.

“God told me to come out here and get a boat. I came out here, I got a boat, and everything that He’s been telling me over the last two days, I’m doing the right thing. He’s got my back. I’m in good shape,” he told TikTok user Terrence Concannon at the time of the viral video.

Malinowski, an amputee, said that the safest place for him is on board his boat, noting that in dire circumstances, he would swim “in circles” if necessary.

“I mean, the water’s going to come in, it’s going to rise. If you’re on land, it’s going to flood. You’re risking drowning. I’m in a boat. The boat goes up with the water. So even if the boat goes up 100 feet here, I’m going to be up 100 feet in the air with the water. So, really, the safest place in the world for me is on my boat,” he said.

Meanwhile, another Tampa resident, Morgan Roos, braced the storm from her high-rise riverfront apartment and took to TikTok to give followers a real-time update.

“I decided not to evacuate. I live on the 11th floor of a high-rise building. I’m in the heart of downtown. You know, they say run from water, hide from the wind. Water ain’t coming up 200 feet. So I decided to stay,” she said.

Roos documented most of her footage from the comfort of her balcony but included some shots from the rooftop of her building. As the storm progressed, she found herself tackling some obstacles, and aside from losing power, her sealed windows “failed” and water entered her apartment.

From the ground, lifestyle TikTok influencer Jacqueline Goldrich said she considered flying or driving out of Florida prior to the storm’s arrival. Still, traffic and high fares contributed to her decision to stay at her Lutz area home.

“I started looking at flights out of here ... it was almost two grand for one seat. And it was like to Chicago, two stops,” said Goldrich. “And then traffic—if I wanted to go to the other coast, it’s at least taking 10 hours. So ... I’m staying.

“My dad actually just called me, and he was like: ‘You’re okay. Like, you literally are in the best position. You have the best house. You have a generator that’s the most badass generator. You have two floors.’ So he actually is making me feel way better,” she said.

Making landfall near Sarasota County’s Siesta Key, Milton brought 28-foot waves, strong winds, heavy rainfall, multiple tornadoes, and a devastating storm surge. More than 3 million homes and businesses across Florida were left without power.

Despite sustaining winds of 120 mph at landfall, Milton was downgraded to a Category 1 as it moved inland across the state, and has since transitioned to a tropical storm as it moves toward the Atlantic.