Footage of a man getting hit by a wave as Hurricane Irma comes down on the Florida coast. Source: the Sun
As Hurricane Irma approaches after wreaking havoc on the Caribbean, some Florida Keys residents are staying put and taking selfies next to massive waves despite orders to evacuate.
Florida and Georgia officials have encouraged six million people to evacuate before the storm hits.
But shocking photos from the US's Southernmost Webcam show Floridians are brazenly ignoring their instructions and are snapping photos next to giant waves.
One man was knocked over by a wave that crashed over the barrier as he took a photo.
He stood on top of the barrier to get the perfect view of the churning waters before getting smacked by the wave and being pushed back onto the ground. The man stood up and walked away as if nothing happened.
Even though Irma is projected to be one of the most vicious hurricanes to make landfall in the Sunshine State, some Floridians aren't letting it affect their daily routine.
From a bar stool at Mac's Club Deuce at Miami Beach, Kathleen Paca told the New York Post: It's not going to be that bad. I'm on the second floor and have impact windows. I've thrown coconuts at my windows and they don't break.
Carl Roberts, a lawyer, justified staying put to the paper, saying: "No. 1, I don't have anywhere to go."
"Hurricane damage is primarily water rising. And I'm on the 17th floor. I have security shutters, so I should be quite safe here."
However Florida's Governor Rick Scott has said "the storm is here" as the outerbands of Hurricane Irma start to lash the state's southern tip and warned "our state has never seen anything like it".
Governor Scott said time is fast running out for 6.3 million Americans ordered to flee Hurricane Irma and warned them to take shelter immediately or "you will not survive".
"If you have been ordered to evacuate, leave now - not tonight, not in an hour, now," Governor Scott told residents. "This is a deadly storm and our state has never seen anything like it."
