Meet TikToker Lt. Dan: The Man Riding Out Hurricane Milton on His Boat

Lieutenant Dan isn't leaving his boat behind.

With nearly 100,000 Floridians spending the night in shelters across the state amid Hurricane Milton's destruction, Joseph Malinowski wasn't interested in riding out the storm inside.

The 54-year-old captivated TikTok and concerned Tampa officials with his decision to stay in his boat for the storm that eventually slammed the area. As social media fans waited with bated breath to see if Joseph made it through the hurricane safely, he gave an update under his Oct. 9 TikTok. 

"I'm alive, woowoo," he commented after the storm. "God is good."

But who is the eccentric man who refused to heed advice from officials? Joseph's nickname refers to Forrest Gump veteran amputee Lt. Dan (Gary Sinise), whose shrimp boat was the only vessel to survive Hurricane Carmen in the film. 

The name was given by University of Tampa student Terrence Concannon, who crossed paths with Joseph in mid-September after helping him pull his boat back to safety when it began drifting to sea. The senior ultimately began documenting his journey living on the boat.

Joseph told NBC News that his leg was amputated after he was hit by a car at 16 and that he accepted the nickname because he believes it embodies the character he portrays on TikTok. From then on, he curated a fanbase online as he weathered Hurricane Helene and Milton.

He caused such a stir online that Tampa Mayor Jane Castor shared yesterday that the Tampa Police Department attempted to bring him into a shelter, which he initially agreed to.

"Our public safety team has had multiple conversations with this individual to persuade him to make the decision to go to a shelter for safety as the hurricane approaches," the mayor's spokesperson told People. "At one point [on Wednesday], just prior to the press conference, he’d agreed to leave his boat, however, it appears that he has not followed through."

As the storm battered the city, journalists on the ground did check in with Joseph, who was under a massive tarp laid over his vessel.

"I have a secure anchor point," he told News Nation before the hurricane landed. "If the tide goes up, I go up. As long as the water stays out of the boat, I'll be fine. I don't care what anybody says or wants to do about it. I do what I think is right."

And although Joseph made it out of Milton safely, the damages caused by the natural disaster have been catastrophic. More than 3 million Floridians are without power, according to PowerOutage.us. The winds from the storm shredded the room of Tampa Bay Rays' Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg. City officials across the state have urged residents to remain at home and to stay far away from power lines and off the roads.

However, among the most surprising aspects of Hurricane Milton was the 19 confirmed tornadoes that ripped through counties before its landfall.

"This storm did spin off a lot of tornadoes," Governor Ron DeSantis said on Squawk Box Oct. 10. "That happens but I think we probably saw more tornadoes. We anticipate there will be confirmed casualties."

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