Hurricane? I'll drink to that! Thousands of Floridians - led by Vanilla Ice - ignore calls to evacuate to surf, party and mess around on the beach dressed as DINOSAURS

  • People who didn't evacuate were seen drinking, partying and surfing
  • Residents were warned to leave as Hurricane Matthew approached
  • The storm made landfall in Florida in the early hours of Friday  
  • Some people tweeted about going looting as the storm passes through
  • Once-in-a-lifetime storm in the most powerful to hit the coast in a decade 

As thousands of people across Florida seek shelter from Hurricane Matthew, some brave - or stupid - residents have opted to party and even surf as the deadly storm hit US shores.

People across the state held 'Hurricane Parties' at home, while others hit the beach in bikinis or took their dogs for a walk just feet from the wild waves.

Pictures taken on Thursday and Friday showed some Floridians packed into bars on the beach, seemingly more committed to Happy Hour than evacuating the under-threat area.

On Friday, one adventurous soul took to Daytona Beach, beer in hand, to take a video of the effects of the hurricane. 

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'Hurricane Matthew can suck my a**,' a young woman was filmed shouting before she downed multiple beers
The young woman in the video at a 'Hurricane Party' appeared to be holding two beers and a bottle of Malibu

'Hurricane Matthew can suck my a**,' a young woman was filmed shouting before she downed multiple beers

Brian Johns is hit by a wave as he tries to video the effects of the hurricane in Daytona Beach
Great time for a beer and a selfie

Great time for a beer and a selfie: Brian Johns is hit by a wave as he tries to video the effects of the hurricane in Daytona Beach

Florida residents were seen in bikinis at the beach just hours before Hurricane Matthew hit in the early hours of Friday morning 

Florida residents were seen in bikinis at the beach just hours before Hurricane Matthew hit in the early hours of Friday morning 

Two people dressed in dinosaur suits were spotted having a blast by the beach in Stuart 

Two people dressed in dinosaur suits were spotted having a blast by the beach in Stuart 

One bar in Fort Lauderdale was particularly busy, with dozens of people crowding into the Elbo Room.

The crowd happily tossed back beers and sang along with a guitar player while a smaller group of revelers partied at another bar one block over.   

Although Fort Lauderdale was initially in Matthew's crosshairs, forecasters said the hurricane didn't move inland as far south as first expected. 

So rather than hunkering down with their bottled water and bread, many residents took to the beach and the bars to celebrate instead.   

Michael Levi and his friend went swimming in the ocean, bobbing down the beach in foamy white spray kicked up by Matthew.

'It's not the brightest idea in the world, but it's fun,' said Levi of Pembroke Pines, Florida. 

Kayleigh Black, 14, and her friend Amber Olsen were photographed running from wild seas at Cocoa Beach Pier

Kayleigh Black, 14, and her friend Amber Olsen were photographed running from wild seas at Cocoa Beach Pier

Charleston visitors were pictured getting soaked by waves and lashed by high winds as they explored the waterfront

Charleston visitors were pictured getting soaked by waves and lashed by high winds as they explored the waterfront

Families seemed to have no fear as they took young children to look at the wild water created by Hurricane Matthew in South Carolina

Families seemed to have no fear as they took young children to look at the wild water created by Hurricane Matthew in South Carolina

Some brave surfers even headed out into the wild waves to take advantage of the swells created by Hurricane Matthew

Some brave surfers even headed out into the wild waves to take advantage of the swells created by Hurricane Matthew

Dozens were seen packed into a beach-front bar in Florida on Thursday afternoon despite warnings to evacuate

Dozens were seen packed into a beach-front bar in Florida on Thursday afternoon despite warnings to evacuate

Smile! One man on Deerfield Beach in south Florida decided to take his shirt off and snap a selfie as the storm approached

Smile! One man on Deerfield Beach in south Florida decided to take his shirt off and snap a selfie as the storm approached

Others had massive 'Hurricane Parties' throughout the night just before the Category 4 storm hit about 1am on Friday

Others had massive 'Hurricane Parties' throughout the night just before the Category 4 storm hit about 1am on Friday

'A lot of people are afraid to look at this, and actually it's quite beautiful. It's quite amazing. It's a one-in-a-lifetime type thing.' 

Two Floridians dressed as dinosaurs were spotted having a blast as they danced and frolicked through the strong winds on the beach in Stuart on Thursday.

Images from the 'Hurricane Parties' were posted to social media throughout the night.

'I tried to hold off....time for a hurricane beer,' one person tweeted, along with a photo of a fully-stocked fridge.

'Hurricane Party tonight! Because who else is in the hot tub during a cat 4 hurricane,' another person said on Instagram, while also sharing a picture of the packed hot tub.

'It's a hurricane party,' another captioned a pair of pictures.

A video posted as the storm made its way towards the coast showed a young woman in what looks like a college dorm room partying.

'Hurricane Matthew can suck my a**,' she said, before downing multiple beers at once.

Record waves attracted many surfers in South Carolina who hit the water despite evacuation orders

Record waves attracted many surfers in South Carolina who hit the water despite evacuation orders

Daredevil surfers were still braving the water in South Carolina despite safety warnings

Daredevil surfers were still braving the water in South Carolina despite safety warnings

People posted pictures of their parties on Thursday night as the storm got nearer, with many using the hashtag, '#HurricaneParty'

People posted pictures of their parties on Thursday night as the storm got nearer, with many using the hashtag, '#HurricaneParty'

One person could not wait to crack open their first beer on Thursday night as they waited for the storm to arrive

One person could not wait to crack open their first beer on Thursday night as they waited for the storm to arrive

Another Floridian to stay at home and try to ride out the Category 4 storm was rapper Vanilla Ice, who live tweeted his experience.

'Riders on the storm. I am right on the ocean in Palm Beach looking at evil darkness sky coming with the hurricane,' he wrote at 4:11pm.

'It's starting to get nasty here in Palm Beach,' Ice added at 8:25pm.

Then shortly before 10:30pm his tone took a turn for the worse.

A swimmer does a front flip as he jumps into the very choppy waters at Jupiter in Florida - on the northern tip of Palm Beach

A swimmer does a front flip as he jumps into the very choppy waters at Jupiter in Florida - on the northern tip of Palm Beach

A young boy and his dog play in the water at a beach in Jupiter as the wild weather whipped waves into a frenzy

A young boy and his dog play in the water at a beach in Jupiter as the wild weather whipped waves into a frenzy

Rapper Vanilla Ice was live-tweeting from his Palm Beach home as he waited for the storm to arrive

Rapper Vanilla Ice was live-tweeting from his Palm Beach home as he waited for the storm to arrive

Handled well: He got back in touch with his followers on Friday morning to say that Palm Beach looks a mess but overall handled it well

Handled well: He got back in touch with his followers on Friday morning to say that Palm Beach looks a mess but overall handled it well

'This is crazy - riding the storm here in Palm Beach...  #HurricaneMatthew is pounding Palm Beach right now. Flooding and debris flying everywhere.'

Fortunately he survived to tell the tale, posting this morning: 'It looks like a mess with debris and some flooding here but overall Palm Beach handled it very well.' 

On Thursday, Weather Channel hurricane specialist Bryan Norcross urged people to flee the storm, which he said was, 'like no storm in the record books'.

'We are concerned about reports of people deciding to stay in areas under mandatory evacuation orders. This is a mistake,' Norcross said. 

'This is not hype. This is not hyperbole, and I am not kidding. I cannot overstate the danger of this storm.' 

Some people on social media also made comments about looting once the storm hit, but it is unclear how serious the tweets were.

'As soon as this hurricane hit, it's looting season,' one person wrote.

'Who tryna (sic) carpool to Jacksonville after this hurricane for when the looting starts?' another said.

'If I was in Florida during a hurricane I'd be looting,' another added.

Another local man shouted, 'D***s out for Harambe! D***s out for Harambe!' during a local news broadcast. The interruption was in reference to the gorilla that was shot at the Cincinnati Zoo in May.

He was quickly ushered away from the camera. 

A young blonde man shouted, 'd***s out for Harambe' to interrupt a local news broadcast on Thurday

A young blonde man shouted, 'd***s out for Harambe' to interrupt a local news broadcast on Thurday

 

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