- Patrick Oppmann was stationed in Caibarien to report on Hurricane Irma
- The CNN reporter braved the winds and rain for a heroic broadcast on Friday
- He was filmed as his jacket blew in his face and rain pounded his face
- Oppmann had to retreat into a closet later as conditions in Cuba worsened
- Irma’s eye has now moved away from Cuba and is coming towards Florida
As Hurricane Irma gripped Cuba on Friday and Saturday, a CNN reporter braved the 100mph-plus winds to give a frightening live broadcast from the heart of the storm.
CNN’s Patrick Oppmann and his team were stationed in Caibarien and had to take cover intermittently as they rode out 160mph winds and rain.
On Friday, before conditions reached their worst in the city, he took to the airwaves for a heroic broadcast where he was filmed being thrashed in the face by his own clothes as the winds blew.
CNN’s Patrick Oppmann in Caibarién, Cuba, on Saturday morning battled winds of more than 100 mph. He had to retreat inside shortly after this broadcast
On Friday night, he was forced to retreat into a house with his camera crew to take shelter.
Once inside, Oppmann continued updating fans on Twitter.
He described how the hurricane was giving Cuba ‘holy hell’ and watched as ‘waves’ gushed through the streets he said he had walked on hours before.
Cuba was tortured by the hurricane for hours over Friday and Saturday.
Oppmann continued to struggle with his clothes as he tried to deliver his broadcast
Oppmann carried on tweeting through the day and night to describe the conditions
Irma made landfall there on Friday night at 11pm and battered the coast and parts of The Bahamas.
It finally began moving away from the island nation on Saturday afternoon and is now on track to hit the Florida Keys later on Saturday night.
Then, it will barrel up the southwest coast of Florida before making a direct hit on Tampa on Monday.
The east coast has been given a sudden lifeline by its change of course but people are still being warned to take the storm seriously.
Storm surges will see water in parts of Miami rise up to up to 10ft. There will still be hurricane force winds in most of southern Florida, no matter where Irma hits.
An abandoned van sits in the street in Caibarien in Cuba on Saturday afternoon