Of all the places where parents might bring their children to play, the shoreline during a hurricane does not top the list. But that was exactly what one person witnessed during the recent Hurricane Milton in Florida.
In video live-streamed by professional storm chaser Reed Timmer, several people — including young children — can be seen making their way off the beach as winds and rain rage around them.
"I told those people they've gotta get out of here," he says to the camera. "It's coming onshore!"
One person posted the clip on Reddit, where it was met with strong reactions.
"Great job unnecessarily endangering other people's lives (your own children and potentially first responders)," one viewer commented angrily.
When asked for more details, the person who posted the clip wrote: "It's Venice beach near Sarasota, which had the highest storm surge forecast. It was, in fact, not the place you want to be unless you're chasing the storm, which is precisely why these guys were there."
They further explained that Sarasota County had issued a three-tiered evacuation warning, and this beach was in the top-priority category. Essentially, the OP wrote, "It was not time to go to the beach with the family."
Some shared a slightly different perspective, but they agreed with the OP. "My parents would let me play in tropical storms and cat 1s when they would hit the Outer Banks," one such person said, "but this was something no one should have been out in."
Indeed, while Category 1 hurricanes can clock wind speeds of 74-95 mph, Category 3 storms — which is the level at which Hurricane Milton made landfall — are much more intense, with winds reaching 130 mph.
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Obviously, this causes debris and detritus to blow around dangerously and haphazardly; in the video, palm fronds and other objects can be seen shooting across the roads. But additionally, storms of this size trigger immense storm surges and flooding, which are most intense near the coast.
One Redditor condemned the behavior on the part of the parents, writing: "This is not safe. At. all. Those riptides will pull anyone under."
As hurricanes grow stronger and more intense because of human-caused atmospheric warming, it's more important than ever to take them seriously. Prompt evacuation when ordered, and proper planning and preparation ahead of time, is life-saving.
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