Hurricane Milton debris hits Anderson Cooper on camera

Anderson Cooper was struck by flying debris Wednesday portion connected the crushed successful Florida to screen the onslaught of deadly Hurricane Milton.

CNN’s prima broadcaster, 57, was reporting from Bradenton, astir 13 miles northbound of Sarasota, erstwhile the incidental occurred during the Category 3 storm.

“And the h2o present is truly starting to determination over—” Cooper says erstwhile he’s chopped disconnected by a flying entity hitting him.

He turns to wherever the debris landed and then, taken aback, proclaims, “OK, that wasn’t good. We’ll astir apt spell wrong shortly. But you tin spot the magnitude of h2o present connected the ground. This is h2o from the Manatee River.”

The clip past cuts to anchor Kaitlan Collins, assuring viewers that Cooper “is OK.”

Noting that the network is “concerned astir each of our correspondents and anchors connected the ground,” Collins said it’s “understandably hard to found a transportation erstwhile you’re seeing what’s happening with the wind, the rain, and evidently the deteriorating conditions by the minute.”

At the clip of publication, four deaths had been confirmed successful Florida and an estimated 11 cardinal radical were astatine hazard of important flooding from the monolithic storm.

The hurricane, antecedently a Category 5 storm, made landfall 8:30 p.m. Wednesday adjacent Siesta Key. It brought with it implicit 100 mph winds and triggered a reported 45 tornadoes successful the Sunshine State, according to Accuweather.

“We expect there’s going to beryllium confirmed casualties connected the tornadoes, and that was each the mode connected the eastbound seashore of Florida,” Gov. Ron DeSantis told CNBC Thursday morning.

By mid-morning Thursday, nearly 3.4 cardinal successful Florida were reported to person mislaid power.

Mandatory evacuation orders had antecedently been issued to 15 counties, affecting implicit 7 cardinal Floridians.