Anderson Cooper braved Hurricane Milton to report for CNN, leaving viewers stunned as he battled the weather.
Clips of the 57-year-old journalist being pelted by rain and debris as he delivered updates on the storm have since gone viral.
During the live broadcast, Cooper was explaining the deteriorating conditions when he was suddenly struck by flying debris.
"The water now is really starting to pour over," Cooper said, drenched by the downpour. "If you look at the ground, whoa—," he continued, before being interrupted by the impact of the debris hitting his face.
“Okay, that wasn’t good,” he added, calmly addressing the situation. “Um, we’ll probably go inside shortly, but you can see the amount of water here on the ground. This is water from the Manatee River."
In response to the incident, CNN anchor Kaitlin Collins reassured concerned viewers about Cooper’s well-being.
"I do want to note for everyone watching who is very concerned obviously about all of our correspondents and anchors on the ground, Anderson is okay," Collins stated.
She acknowledged the challenges of reporting during such extreme weather, adding: "Just obviously understandably difficult to establish a connection when you’re seeing what’s happening with the wind and the rain. And obviously the deteriorating conditions by the minute."
Viewers flooded social media with their thoughts, with some people in utter disbelief that Cooper was battling the elements.
"He is fighting for his LIFE and I cannot look away," one user said, as a second added: "The fact that you can barely see or hear Anderson Cooper should be alarming."
Another person added: "Assuming Anderson Cooper isn’t swept out to sea tonight, our next group watch of him will be when he’s drunk off one shot of tequila on NYE."
Hurricane Milton has claimed 16 lives at the time of writing, as reported by BBC News.
On Thursday, a man in his 60s was found dead after reportedly stepping on a downed power line while clearing debris from the storm, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office told CNN.
Deputies arrived at the man’s home on Pine Island Place, just north of downtown Orlando, around 5:00PM ET, where they found him unresponsive.
The investigation into the incident is ongoing, and no further details have been released by authorities.
Here is the breakdown of deaths by county:
- St. Lucie County: 6
- Pinellas County: 2
- Volusia County: 4
- Citrus County: 1
- Hillsborough County: 1
- Polk County: 1
- Orange County: 1
Our thoughts are with those impacted by Hurricane Milton.
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