Americans open fire, point fans at Hurricane Irma; cops issue 'don't shoot' warning

Hours before monster storm Hurricane Irma hit Florida in the United States, many residents seemed to be under the impression that shooting bullets at the hurricane would be a good idea in an attempt to stop it.

The initiative was started on Facebook with an event titled 'Shoot at Hurricane Irma', scheduled for 10 am local time on Sunday. The event's description read: "Let's show Irma that we shoot first."

The Facebook event gradually garnered thousands of "attendees", where more than 25,000 people said that they will participate in the event, and another 53,000 said they were interested in the prospect of shooting down the hurricane with guns.

This came to the notice of Florida police, prompting the officials to set off a warning notice stating not to shoot at the hurricane. 

The official Twitter page of the Pasco Sheriff's Office tweeted the warning saying: "To clarify, DO NOT shoot weapons @ #Irma. You won't make it turn around & it will have very dangerous side effects."

Florida residents using fans to blow away storm

While some people thought shooting at the hurricane was a novel idea, some others reportedly tried to blow the storm away with the help of fans.

There were reports during rounds that some of the residents in Florida attempted to blow monster storm away by pointing their fans towards the hurricane to prevent it from making a landfall.

Another Facebook Event was created for this purpose, where nearly 60,000 people said that they are attending the public event titled 'Everybody Points Their Fans At The Hurricane To Blow It Away'.

An additional 45,000 people said that they were 'interested' in the public event, where participants will attempt to blow the storm away through their fans. The event will reportedly last until September 13. 

The description of the event read: "Everyone takes their fans outside and points them at Hurricane Irma to blow it away from us. Air compressors with a blow gun attachment also a plus, or anything else. Get creative. Date/time subject to change due to the unpredictable path it may take.

*Not responsible for any collapsed lungs should you choose to blow manually."

Hurricane Irma, which arrived in Florida on Sunday, is continuing to blast up its west coast with gushing floodwaters, leaving millions of home without electricity.

Reports state that the storm, which measured more than 400 miles wide was downgraded from category three to one on Monday morning, but still has maximum sustained winds of 85mph.