During times of turbulence and turmoil, one cannot help but put some measure of respect on field journalists’ names. Be it man-made or natural disasters, they often put their lives on the line to bring to the public firsthand accounts of significant events.
After dire warnings about how hurricane Milton would impact many Florida counties – Tampa Mayor Jane Castor called it “literally catastrophic” in comparison to Helene — and with millions fleeing the evacuation areas, one would think only the most foolhardy storm chasers would dare go where others are running away from. But then, we turn on the news and are reminded how reporters from different networks are out there risking their bodily integrity for the sake of public information by bringing awareness to the devastating nature of these disasters.
According to his CNN profile, Anderson Cooper, one of the network’s most recognizable faces, has reported on major news events from “nearly eighty countries” since the start of his career in 1992.
This time, Cooper went to Bradenton, Florida, to cover Milton after it made landfall. As shown above, while making his way south, the widely beloved anchor offered his Instagram followers a heads-up of his destination a couple of hours before he went on-air amid the terrifying and unequivocally dangerous weather conditions.
What happened to Anderson Cooper while covering Hurricane Milton?
On the evening of Oct. 9, Anderson Cooper went live on-air in Bradenton, standing precariously close to the tumultuous waters of the Manatee River, when he was slapped by airborne debris.
“Okay, that wasn’t good,” Cooper said after he got hit. Although being hit with a piece of Styrofoam isn’t “good,” it must be conceded that it could have been much worse had the material been heavier or sharper.
“When we do this kind of stuff, we have several fallback locations,” Cooper explained later during the live coverage, “which we’ll probably shortly go to.”
The Weather Channel reported that winds in Bradenton reached 96 mph (155 kph), which is, per the Saffir–Simpson scale, equivalent to a Category 2 hurricane. Before the sun rose on the morning of Oct. 10, Bradenton police chief Melanie Bevan speculated that about 60% of the city was without electricity.
Several netizens who watched the video above were upset by Cooper’s willingness — and other journalists, for that matter — to risk himself by being outside as the hurricane raged. “I’m sorry but we don’t need to see it that bad!!!!!” wrote @amywarnock2325, “You have kids Anderson!!!!”
Others shared similar sentiments. “Do we need this? We have remote cameras that can tell us this! Go home!” wrote one user. “This is beyond stupid. This is 2024. We don’t need to see a reporter risk his/ her life to show what strong wind looks like,” complained another. “This is so stupid,” yet another said plainly. Up and down the video’s comment section, frustrated viewers chastised CNN for putting one of their top anchors — any reporter, for that matter — in harm’s way.
CNN’s Kaitlin Collins assured viewers of Cooper’s safety in a follow-up message, saying, “I do want to note for everyone watching who is very concerned obviously about all of our correspondents and anchors on the ground, Anderson is okay.”
While Cooper’s safety is cause for comfort, the reason for such a dangerous storm is just as discomforting. Climate change and global warming are the main contributors to the increased likelihood and clear intensification of hurricanes’ destructiveness that has been painfully felt in recent days. On Oct. 9, the World Weather Attribution reported how climate change is a “key driver of” the “catastrophic impacts of Hurricane Helene,” which resulted in the highest death toll from a hurricane on the U.S. mainland since Katrina.
