Florida Man Wakeboards Down Street of Hurricane Ian Floodwaters

A Florida man has gone viral for his relaxed reaction to Hurricane Ian’s approach. The historic storm is slated to make landfall on Wednesday evening, but its effects began to impact the Tampa area by Tuesday. A video from Tuesday shows a local man wakeboarding through a flooded street, to the delight of many viewers.

The video shows a street that is already flooded, but not deeply enough to make it completely impassable. A powerful pickup truck comes charging towards the camera through the water, kicking up water as tall as its cab on either side. Behind the truck, a young man can be seen skimming over the top of the water on a wakeboard, gripping a line tied to the truck’s hitch to maintain momentum. It’s unclear where the video originated, but as local reporters shared it online, it quickly became a viral sensation.

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According to a report by TMZ, the video was taken in Marathon, Florida – a town in the Florida Keys that has likely already felt powerful effects from Hurricane Ian. Still, many commenters pointed out that the people in this video are not out of danger yet, and felt that their relaxed attitudes were incongruous to their situation.

“It’s all good fun until you realize that in a few days you won’t be able to get gas to do anything because power is out and the pumps, credit card readers don’t work. But hey… ‘I’m trending,’” one person tweeted. Another wrote: “The shenanigans have begun,” while a third added: “I’d like to think if that were me I’d be wearing a helmet.”

Some of the mixed reactions are likely due to the impacts the storm has had so far, and the ominous signs of what it will do in the Tampa area. Hurricane Ian has ravaged the Cayman Islands and Cuba, where it already claimed two lives and knocked out electricity for millions of people. The hurricane continued to gain strength after that, and in the early hours of Tuesday morning it had nearly become a Category 5 storm. The wind speeds were measured at about 155 miles per hour, and meteorologists expect storm surges to reach heights of up to 18 feet.

Hurricane Ian is expected to make landfall on Wednesday evening, but its effects are already clearly underway. Watch out for local alerts and advisories, including evacuation orders where necessary.