Al Roker Calls out Rush Limbaugh for Evacuating Florida After Calling Hurricane Irma a Hoax

Following a full week of telling radio listeners Hurricane Irma was “fake news,” political commentator Rush Limbaugh has fled his home in Palm Beach, Florida in anticipation of the storm and receiving backlash from NBC’s Al Roker for it.

On Thursday, the 66-year-old proclaimed he would not “be able” to host his nationally syndicated radio show on Friday due to “the security nature of things,” adding he was heading to “parts unknown.”

After the news of his fleeing was reported by CNN, Roker was confused, writing, “Wait. What?”

For days leading up to his sudden and unexpected departure, Roker had been quick to admonish Limbaugh’s comments that perpetuated the rhetoric of “fake news,” ripping into the radio show host with his own take on the subject matter.

Roker’s defense…

All week long, Limbaugh was sharing with listeners how Irma was not real and one of the “fastest and best ways” to “advance this climate change agenda.”

But Roker was quick to jump at the lies from the radio host, writing on his Twitter that his comments were not just irresponsible, but jeopardizing the lives of thousands.

“Do not listen to [Rush Limbaugh] when he says [Irma] is not a dangerous storm and is hype,” Roker wrote on Twitter. “He is putting people’s lives at risk.”

He added in a second tweet, “To have [Rush Limbaugh] suggest the warnings about [Irma] are fake or about profit and to ignore them borders on criminal.”

Roker concluded his tweet with the hashtag, “Shame on Rush.”

Limbaugh’s claims…

On Monday, Limbaugh claimed in an episode of his syndicated radio show that the hurricane was false and conjured up by the media to deceive people.

“There is a desire to advance this climate change agenda, and hurricanes are one of the fastest and best ways to do it,” he said. “You can accomplish a lot just by creating fear and panic.”

“You don’t need a hurricane to hit anywhere,” he continued. “All you need is to create the fear and panic accompanied by talk that climate change is causing hurricanes to become more frequent and bigger and more dangerous, and you create the panic, and it’s mission accomplished, agenda advanced.”

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Limbaugh went on to share that once these storms actually hit, they are never as strong as they’re reported.

The next day, Limbaugh doubled down on his comments and stood by them, lashing out at the media in his defense saying the media takes “every extreme” and runs with it “as though it is the gospel.”

“And then they hype it and hype it and hype it,” he said. “And then they tie it to climate change, and they tie it to whatever. And it’s not the hurricane center doing that. That is the media.”

Florida officials heed warnings…

With Hurricane Irma’s imminent arrival to the Florida Keys, officials have been warning everyone to get out before the storm hits with an alarming statement that is clear as day: “Get out.”

Monroe County Administrator Roman Gatesi told a CBS News affiliate that Irma is bringing along life-threatening winds with even scarier potential, adding that the Coast Guard is evacuating all of its personnel and first responders will not be in the Keys.

The National Weather Service Key West posted to Twitter, urging people to evacuate, stating nowhere in the Keys is safe now.

On Saturday, Gov. Rick Scott made one final plea, sharing that the winds would pick up tonight and advised all remaining residents in the area “to leave right now.”

Photo credit: Twitter / @trump8U