Hurricane Ian: Journalist stuns viewers by using condom to protect microphone while reporting from Florida

Hurricane Ian continues to batter Florida, United States, trapping several residents and leaving millions without power, even as authorities carry out desperate rescue operations across the state.

As one of the fiercest hurricanes to land on Florida's west coast, Ian crashed into southwestern Florida near Cayo Costa on Wednesday afternoon. As it pushed closer inland, Ian pounded the state with catastrophic 150 mph gusts and sent rising ocean water ashore.

Also read: Hurricane Ian ravages Florida after landfall; many houses swept away

According to PowerOutage.us, as of early Thursday, more than 2 million customers were without power due to the enormous storm, which also caused trees to be uprooted, sent automobiles floating down the streets, and flooded roads and homes.

Authorities reported heavy rain and flooding early on Thursday morning in the Orlando metropolitan region, where 8 to 12 inches of rain had already fallen, and up to 4 more inches of rain were forecast.

As it makes its way toward the east coast, the storm, which has subsequently fallen to a Category 1 hurricane, is meandering across central Florida while dropping a lot of rain on low-lying areas.

While Hurricane Ian rages on, NBC's 3-times Emmy award-winning journalist Kyla Galer is practising safe reporting, proudly and deftly rolling out latex covering for her microphones while in the field.

"It is what you think it is. It's a condom. We can't get these mics wet so, we gotta do what we gotta do," said Kyla Galer to her viewers on an Instagram story. The video was also shared on Twitter, which sparked a massive user reaction.

In the Naples area, Kyla Galer is outside in the elements, getting beaten by the wind and rain, along with many other TV reporters, but a little preventive preparation may go a long way.

In the meantime, another video that has gone viral across social media is that of The Weather Channel meteorologist Jim Cantore, who was at the epicentre to record the storm's approach.

Also read: Hurricane Ian: Cuba suffers complete blackout after storm, Florida on high alert

Cantore was conducting a live man-on-the-street broadcast when a tree limb swept across the street, smacked him in the leg, and knocked him over. The winds were steady at 61 mph, with gusts as high as 110 mph.

As more evidence of how difficult it is for Cantore to remain in place, let alone upright, in the video, a street sign is shattered behind him as he clings onto another for balance.

Two individuals were killed when the hurricane tore into Cuba prior to making landfall in Florida. Eleven million people were left without electricity as a result of the collapse of the nation's electrical grid. Twenty Cuban migrants were reported missing by US border police when their boat capsized off the Florida coast as the hurricane neared the coast.

The federal government sent 300 ambulances with medical teams while the hurricane caused widespread flooding around Florida, and it was prepared to distribute 3.7 million meals and 3.5 million litres of water once the storm passed.

US President Joe Biden assured people that the government will "be there to help you clean up and rebuild, to help Florida get moving again." He added, “We’ll be there every step of the way. That’s my absolute commitment to the people of the state of Florida.”

Here's a look at some of the other videos of Hurricane Ian that has gone viral across Twitter: