A Florida reporter used a condom to protect her microphone from Hurricane Ian during a live broadcast on Wednesday.
NBC2's Kyla Galer held a digital anemometer used to measure wind speeds as she noted conditions were worse than an average windy day. However, she noted the current conditions were only a preview of what the full storm would bring. Galer continued her report urging residents to seek shelter indoors. Viewers took notice of the reporter's microphone, which appeared to have a condom wrapped over it throughout her broadcast.
"Nothing screams Florida like a condom on your mic!" said one Twitter user.
"Hey I need some money for some supplies. What do you need? Some condoms to protect my mic. Your WHAT! My microphone come on man! #HurricaneIan #Florida," said another user joking about the equipment's safety measures.
Galer's colleague ABC 7's Jeff Butera cheekily confirming she was in fact using a condom to protect her microphone."** WE PRACTICE SAFE HURRICANE REPORTING ** Yes, it's a condom. Nothing better to waterproof a microphone. My Waterman Broadcasting colleague @kylagalerhas been fielding lots of questions, haha. Moment of levity in this nasty storm... #HurricaneIan."
Galer further confirmed viewers’ suspicions on her Instagram story later that morning.
"A lot of people are asking what is on my microphone. It is what you think it is, it's a condom. It helps protect the gear, we can't get these mics wet, there's a lot of wind, there's a lot of rain, so we gotta do what we gotta do and that is put a condom on the microphone.
The New York Post cites that over 2.5 million Floridians are under mandatory evacuation orders though the outet notes the orders are not enforceable.
Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis delivered updates on Hurricane Ian around 5:30 p.m. EST Wednesday saying residents still remained in high risk zones that had not evacuated, noting their calls for help were being logged. DeSantis confirmed first responders could not risk their own safety to perform rescues until conditions cleared.
"In some areas we think [the storm] has hit 12 feet," the Governor reported. "Now it is our meteorologist's view that the storm surge has likely peaked and will likely be less in the coming hours than it has been up to this point.”
DeSantis warned central Floridian residents could experience Hurricane force winds: “It may end up being a category 5 but at a minimum it's going to be a very strong category 4 that's going to rank as one of the top five hurricanes to ever hit the Florida peninsula."
