Florida man paddles around Tampa home as Helene storm surge floods living room
This Florida man took channel surfing to a whole new level.
Stunning home camera video captured Matt Heller paddling around his flooded Tampa living room in a kayak that he intended to use as an “escape plan” as Hurricane Helene’s historic storm surge “came out of nowhere.”
The brave Floridian documented the rising waters in a viral TikTok video, showing off the dry interior moments before water flooded through the cracks of his home.
“The kayak was my escape plan in case stuff got too hairy, we could get out,” Heller told CNN. “I didn’t think I was gonna need it in my living room.”
Heller estimated the water rose to at least four feet as the storm surge barrelled into his house.
He sheltered inside the purple and white kayak that he had nearby for an emergency situation and began paddling around his home, which still had its lights on, according to the video he posted.
The video became an instant viral hit, garnering nearly 12,000 views in the first three hours.
“I was floating around, I was surprised the power stayed on for as long as it did,” he added.
However, Heller soon lost power and used candles to illuminate his home.
Heller, the founder of automotive train horn company HornBlasters, recalled that Helene’s impact on Florida started “real slowly” — but the situation turned serious rather quickly.
“All of a sudden the storm just kind of came in and [the waters] been rising and rising,” he told the outlet. “It came out of nowhere, within probably an hour and a half it went up about four feet from nothing.”
Heller recalled his area in Tampa Bay not getting much rain but the wind and the storm surge forced the water up to his house.
“We’ve had an inch of water here or there but nothing like this,” he said. “This is definitely the biggest flood we’ve ever had.”
Before the monstrous floods entered his home, Heller took his TikTok Live viewers on a tour of the Hillsborough County waterfront property.
He showed off the garage where he opened the doors, and dirt-filled water rushed inside.
“Come on in, look at that,” Heller said in a video posted to the social media site. “That was a bad idea, we’re gonna close it. Why would I open that.”
After finally getting the garage door closed, Heller showed that the water was flooding his home through cracks in a door frame and a back room overlooking a large body of water.
“The water is over the seawall, the boat will probably be in the backyard in a couple of moments,” Heller said, half-jokingly.
Tampa General Hospital was forced to install a water-impermeable barrier around its building to stop the storm surge.
The barrier is designed to withstand storm surges up to 15 feet and was created by AquaFence to protect the building, which is located on Davis Islands surrounded by Hillsborough Bay.
Record flooding was measured in the Tampa Bay area as storm surges as high as 7.19 feet were recorded in the East Bay neighborhood.
Other parts saw water levels rise between 6.15 feet and 6.78 feet, according to WTSP.
Officials had previously warned residents, that storm surges could range between five and eight feet high.
Hurricane Helene made landfall on Florida’s Big Bend area at around 11 p.m. Thursday as a Category 4 storm.
It was downgraded into a Category 2 storm as it crossed over into Georgia early Friday morning.
The storm has left millions without power, and killed at least three people.
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