US Edition Kevin Kearney, 26, is in a critical condition in hospital after ignoring appeals to take shelter as Tropical Storm Fay hit Fort Lauderdale beach in Florida.
The kite surfer was whipped into the sky by a sudden gust of wind, thrown down on the sand and then picked up again by a second gust which carried him over the heads of a local camera crew. Their footage can be seen here.
The wind hurled him across the street and into the side of a building, where eyewitnesses rushed to his aid. He is now being treated at Broward General Medical Center in the town.
"The wind was whipping around, picking him up and dragging him around," said Lois Bowman of the Fort Lauderdale fire service.
"Is there a lesson here? Whenever there's a storm warning, use common sense."
"I'm surprised he didn't get hit by a car, said Anthony Romano, an engineer with the CBS4 crew that filmed the accident. "I think it was a miracle that he just flew over the street and into the thing."
Friends of Mr Kearney told the station that he was wearing emergency releases on his harness, but was swept away so quickly that he may not have had time to use them.
He had just been strapped into his sail when the first gust of wind struck, they said.
Tropical storm Fay swept across southern Florida for the second time after hitting the state's long coastline on Monday. Forecasters now warn it could turn back in from the Atlantic and hit a third time.
Kite surfing, which is also known as kite boarding, is a popular seaside sport in which a surfer is pulled across the water by a large kite to which he is strapped.