Anderson Cooper was struck by flying debris Wednesday while on the ground in Florida to cover the onslaught of deadly Hurricane Milton.
CNN’s star broadcaster, 57, was reporting from Bradenton, about 13 miles north of Sarasota, when the incident occurred during the Category 3 storm.
“And the water now is really starting to pour over—” Cooper says when he’s cut off by a flying object hitting him.
He turns to where the debris landed and then, taken aback, proclaims, “OK, that wasn’t good. We’ll probably go inside shortly. But you can see the amount of water here on the ground. This is water from the Manatee River.”
The clip then cuts to anchor Kaitlan Collins, assuring viewers that Cooper “is OK.”
Noting that the network is “concerned about all of our correspondents and anchors on the ground,” Collins said it’s “understandably difficult to establish a connection when you’re seeing what’s happening with the wind, the rain, and obviously the deteriorating conditions by the minute.”
At the time of publication, four deaths had been confirmed in Florida and an estimated 11 million people were at risk of significant flooding from the massive storm.
The hurricane, previously a Category 5 storm, made landfall 8:30 p.m. Wednesday near Siesta Key. It brought with it over 100 mph winds and triggered a reported 45 tornadoes in the Sunshine State, according to Accuweather.
“We anticipate there’s going to be confirmed casualties on the tornadoes, and that was all the way on the east coast of Florida,” Gov. Ron DeSantis told CNBC Thursday morning.
By mid-morning Thursday, nearly 3.4 million in Florida were reported to have lost power.
Mandatory evacuation orders had previously been issued to 15 counties, affecting over 7 million Floridians.
