“Lieutenant Dan” is first seen from the passage of Hurricane Milton after refusing to abandon ship

The man named “Lieutenant Dan” has been seen for the first time since Hurricane Milton hit.

Joseph Malinowski had refused to leave his boat in Tampa Bay when the storm hit Florida. The devastating weather has led to deaths in the Sunshine State, with more than three million people without power as evacuation plans were put in place.

Milton intensified into a life-threatening Category 5 hurricane before making landfall south of Tampa as a Category 3 storm with winds of 120 mph.

But despite all this chaos and fear, the one-legged sailor ignored the advice to take shelter inside and refused to move from his ship.

The stubborn sailboat did not move. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Going viral on TikTok, Malinowski claimed that “God told him to come here and get a boat” as he felt he was in the safest place possible.

However, as the storm hit Florida last night (October 9), his new online fans were worried for the man’s life as they waited for updates to see if he survived the storm.

NewsNation correspondent Brian Entin took matters into his own hands as he headed down to the bay to ask Malinowski.

Sharing a video on X with the caption “Lieutenant Dan is OK!”, Entin showed the sailboat had been tied to a pier where much of the water had been washed away by the storm.

Entin yelled at him a few times before the top opened and the stubborn sailor poked his head out.

“I’m fine,” Malinowski said rather casually. But looking around at the low water he added, “I’m fine right now. I’m stuck here, I can’t go anywhere.”

Another user shared a TikTok of the “weather warrior” at 4:39am this morning, proving he’s still alive after the storm.

Glad to see he has survived, users said they had been checking their phone “hourly for an update from Lt. Dan.”

Others joked that the journalist “woke him up” because he was “having the best sleep of his life”.

Florida was hit by the storm. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

The police had tried to “rescue” Malinowski before the hurricane made landfall, but the guy refused to follow official advice and wouldn’t leave his boat for anything.

Before the storm, Cathie Perkins, director of emergency management in Pinellas County, which sits on the peninsula that forms Tampa Bay, had said, “This is it, folks. Those of you who have been hit during the “Hurricane Helene, this is going to be a knockout. You need to get out, and you need to get out now.”