Photo: The Weather Channel
In the video, which was taken in Wilmington, North Carolina, Mike Seidel can be seen repeatedly shifting his footing while bracing against the winds. Meanwhile, in the middle of the clip, two men can be seen casually walking around without any apparent difficulty.
“This is about as nasty as it’s been,” Seidel can be heard saying during the clip.
Wroteone social media user, “I like the Weather Channel. But look at this guy acting like the wind is about to blow him over as he rocks back and forth. Meanwhile, I guess he missed the guys walking behind him casually talking on their phones. OOPS!!”
The Weather Channel went on todefend their reporterin a statement to PEOPLE.
“It’s important to note that the two individuals in the background are walking on concrete, and Mike Seidel is trying to maintain his footing on wet grass, after reporting on-air until 1:00 a.m. ET this morning and is undoubtedly exhausted,” a spokesperson wrote.
However, David Shuster, who was previously a news anchor for MSNBC, went on to share that hewasn’t buying the explanation.
“I’ve stood on wet grass and concrete while reporting from hurricanes. The Weather Channel defense of their reporter is utter bull—-,” he wrote on Twitter.
RELATED VIDEO: Hurricane Florence Weakened but Still Expected to Be Devastating as Some Refuse to Evacuate
The slow-moving storm — which began at sea as a Category 4 hurricane,made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane on Friday, and has since beendowngraded to a tropical storm— is currently parked over eastern North Carolina, FEMA said in a press conference on Saturday morning.
CNN reported Saturday that Florence has wiped out power toabout 950,000 customersthroughout the Carolinas.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Florence’s first two casualties were reported on Friday in Wilmington, North Carolina, when a tree fell through the roof of a home with a family of three inside at about 9:30 a.m.,killing a mother and her 8-month-old infant. According to officials with the Wilmington Police Department, who confirmed the death in a statement to PEOPLE, the father was taken to the hospital with injuries.
One woman in Hampstead, North Carolina, died of a heart attack when first responders weren’t able to reach her in time “because of all the downed trees in the roadway,” Pender County public information officer Tammy Proctor told PEOPLE in a statement. “They were using a front-end loader to clear the roads. During that, a tree went into the windshield of that equipment.”
Lenoir County Sheriff Ronnie Ingram said in a video update on theLenoir County Emergency Services Facebook pageon Friday that two people had died, both when they were outside in the rain. One was a 78-year-old male who was electrocuted in the rain as he tried to plug in his generator via two extension cords. Another was a 77-year-old man who suffered a cardiac arrest after he slipped and fell while trying to take care of his dogs.
Meanwhile, Carteret County Director of Emergency Services Stephen Rea confirmed to PEOPLE that two people in Harkers Island, North Carolina had died on early Friday. Details were not immediately available.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty
The National Weather Service reported on Saturday thata record 30.58 inches of rain was recordedin Swansboro, North Carolina — making it the most rain from a tropical cyclone. Those numbers are expected to rise throughout the day.
Forecasters are also anticipating landslides near the Appalachians, the National Weather Service reported.
source: people.com
