A Florida man took an uncommon method to survival as Hurricane Helene’s storm surge turned his house right into a waterlogged catastrophe zone. Matt Heller, from Tampa, was caught on digital camera paddling by way of his flooded lounge in a kayak meant for emergencies, in accordance with the New York Publish.
Heller documented the second the waters started flooding his house in a TikTok video that rapidly went viral.The storm surge from Hurricane Helene “got here out of nowhere,” quickly rising to 4 toes inside his home.
“The kayak was my escape plan in case stuff received too furry,” Heller informed CNN. “I didn’t assume I used to be gonna want it in my lounge.”
“Impulsively the storm simply form of got here in and [the waters] been rising and rising,” he mentioned. “Inside most likely an hour and a half it went up about 4 toes from nothing.”
Heller’s house nonetheless had energy as he paddled by way of the rising waters, however ultimately, he was pressured to depend on candlelight as electrical energy failed.
As Heller paddled by way of his lounge, he mentioned, “That is undoubtedly the most important flood we’ve ever had.”
Tampa Bay noticed record-breaking storm surges. Some areas witnessed water ranges as excessive as 7 toes, with officers warning residents that surges between 5 and eight toes had been doable. Tampa Basic Hospital, positioned on Davis Islands, put in a 15-foot water- barrier to battle the rising floodwaters.
In response to the US National Hurricane Center, Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida’s Huge Bend space as a Class 4 storm late Thursday. The storm has left hundreds of thousands with out energy and claimed at the very least three lives. Helene was later downgraded to a Class 2 storm because it crossed into Georgia, inflicting intensive harm to all the things in it is path.
