A man was discovered floating 30 miles off the coast of Florida clinging onto a cooler after Hurricane Milton.
Video footage shows the man being rescued by a US Coast Guard helicopter on Thursday.
He was found off Longboat Key, a town along the state’s central-west coast. reports ABC News.
The coast guard said they had been in contact with the individual on Wednesday, some hours before the hurricane hit land, but lost contact with him at 6:45pm local time that night.
‘This man survived in a nightmare scenario for even the most experienced mariner,’ said Lt. Cmdr. Dana Grady, Sector St. Petersburg’s command center chief.
‘To understand the severity of the hurricane conditions, we estimate he experienced approximately 75-90 mph winds, 20-25 foot seas, for an extended period of time to include overnight.
‘He survived because of a life jacket, his emergency position indicating locator beacon, and a cooler.’
Hurricane Milton struck the region on Wednesday night as a Category 3 storm, bringing with it a storm surge, strong winds and heavy rain.
About 80,000 people spent the night in shelters, and thousands of others fled after authorities issued mandatory evacuation orders across 15 Florida counties which has a total population of about 7.2 million people.
It’s believed at least 16 people died in the hurricane.
Despite the destruction and loss of life, many people expressed relief that Milton was not worse.
The hurricane spared Tampa a direct hit, and the lethal storm surge that scientists feared never materialised.
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