US President Donald Trump has been criticised online for claiming that Hurricane Isaias is ‘under control’.
The storm made landfall at Destin, Florida, on Friday and footage showed it sending debris flying and bending metal signs out of shape, while authorities reported 594,000 homes and businesses in Florida and Alabama were left without power.
Meanwhile, low-lying areas have been evacuated due to warnings a storm surge could see sea levels rise by up to 9ft, despite windspeeds beginning to slow.
Mr Trump responded to questions about Hurricane Isaias by telling reporters: ‘We’re watching the hurricane very closely. We think we have it under control. We’re watching very closely – Alabama.’
The video of Mr Trump’s response prompted users to recall a series of gaffes the US president has made regarding hurricanes in recent years.
One person asked: ‘How the f*** do you have a hurricane under control? Do you control the weather?’
‘What exactly are we doing to a hurricane in order to keep it under control? Like are we lassoing it or diverting it to a different location?” another user queried.
Some recalled comments by Mr Trump in 2019 when he allegedly suggested hurricanes should be ‘nuked’ in order to stop them.
According to news website Axios, the president said in a meeting with topsecurity officials: ‘I got it. I got it. Why don’t we nuke them?
‘They start forming off the coast of Africa, as they are moving across the Atlantic, we drop a bomb inside the eye of the hurricane and it disrupts it. Why can’t we do that?’
Mr Trump has previously been criticised for cutting funding to the Federal Emergency Management Agency that responds to natural disasters.