A daredevil kitesurfer has been labelled an “idiot” after he hit the waves of Miami Beach as deadly Hurricane Irma made landfall in Florida.
Winds in excess of 130mph have battered the Florida Keys, on the southern tip of the peninsula, as the devastating eye of the storm slammed into the US coast.
Miami looked set to miss the worst of the hurricane but still faced fierce winds and storm surges, with residents told by authorities to “hunker down” indoors.
Yet some took their lives into their own hands and ignored the warnings. In broadcaster MSNBC’s coverage from Miami Beach, a kitesurfer was seen riding powerful waves behind a soaked and windswept reporter.
The dramatic sight prompted the channel’s news anchor to comment: “Wait, is that somebody kitesurfing behind you? Oh, come on!”
Earlier this week, Miami Beach mayor Philip Levine warned residents the record-breaking storm was set to be a “nuclear hurricane”.
Reporting from the beach, Journalist Mariana Atencio said: “This is not the scene that officials here, first responders, want to be looking at.
“Because the storm has shifted slightly west, you’re starting to see people here in Miami Beach – which is under a mandatory evacuation order – doing watersports behind me, there are onlookers taking photos.”
Twitter users were quick to comment, with one branding the thrillseekers “idiots” another describing the scene as “crazy”.
User Sara Cecilia observed: "I fail to see the point of doing this while in a hurricane, I really do."
