In recent hours, some daring tourists or young people who have had a bit too much to drink have not been deterred by the deteriorating weather in the Florida Keys, caused by the proximity of Hurricane Helene, and have taken photos next to the famous buoy marking the 90 miles to Cuba.
Images published on social media show families, including minors, posing as usual next to the monument despite the flooding in the area and the visibly deteriorated condition of the sea in the zone.
Videos from early Thursday morning showed young people directly climbing the monument in an act that involves great irresponsibility and danger.
"What else can you do at 2 in the morning than watch drunk people in Key West live during a hurricane?" joked one of the internet users who shared images from the webcam located next to the buoy on X.
A video of the area taken shortly after 7 a.m. this Thursday showed the flooded zone and the force with which gigantic waves were crashing.
There is a flood watch for all of South Florida with accumulations that could be in the range of 3-5 and up to 6 inches.
Hurricane Helene reached Category 2 on the Saffir-Simpson scale on the morning of this Thursday and is approaching the Florida coast as a dangerous cyclonic system.
At 11:00 a.m. (local time), Helene was about 405 kilometers southwest of Tampa, with maximum sustained winds of 165 km/h.
Helene, which hit the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico and the western part of Cuba this Wednesday, is heading towards Florida with a high possibility of arriving as a devastating storm.
According to the National Hurricane Center (NHC), catastrophic storm surges are likely along the Big Bend coast, where flooding could reach up to six meters.
Helene could intensify to category 3 or 4 before making landfall, which is why Florida has already begun evacuating people living in areas vulnerable to the impact, as well as closing schools and declaring a state of emergency in several counties.
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