A man took extraordinary measures to ensure his home remained unharmed by Hurricane Milton and plans to keep it secured for a while longer.
You might have come across the viral video of Pedro Casares securing his entire house to the ground using yellow safety straps, and remarkably, his house withstood the storm.
As reported by NBC News, the death toll for this ‘storm of the century’ has reached 17. Six deaths occurred in St. Lucie County, four in Volusia County, two in both Hillsborough County and Pinellas County, and one each in Orange County, Citrus County, and Polk County.
Hurricane Milton approached with winds of 180 mph before downgrading to a category three storm when it made landfall on Wednesday night in Sarasota County, near Siesta Key, approximately 70 miles south of Tampa Bay.
In addition to wind speeds of up to 129 mph, the hurricane was accompanied by at least 19 confirmed tornadoes and a formidable display of lightning.
This is the third hurricane to hit Florida this year, leaving over three million people across the state without power.
The hurricane wreaked havoc, destroying everything in its path, including the Tampa Bay Rays’ stadium, Tropicana Field, which had its roof torn off.
Despite the widespread displacement of Floridians, Casares and his family chose to stay put to protect their property.
The safety straps he used to secure his home were anchored into hooks set eight feet deep into the ground with cement.
Even though Hurricane Milton has passed, Casares plans to leave the straps in place for several more weeks.
Discussing their decision, Casares’ daughter Raisa explained on TikTok: “We’re not taking these straps off until hurricane season is over because the weather is crazy and we don’t even know but yeah everything is good guys.
“We tried to do our best to secure, you know, what’s ours, I mean, again my parents came a long way, you know, to the United States and really had to bust their butts to get them to where they’re at.”
https://www.tiktok.com/@username/video/7424193477359045930
The Atlantic hurricane season is a concern for Florida from June 1 to November 30, so those yellow straps will likely remain in place for a while.
She also provided an update on their situation via social media: “Thankful we’re okay, house is good from crazy damages or anything. Straps are still strapped in.”
Casares noted that their home is in a ‘no-flood’ zone, allowing them to avoid water damage.
“Everything is intact. Not a single shingle or tile has lifted from the roof,” she mentioned.
After sharing her video, some viewers pointed out that other houses in the neighborhood remained intact even without Casares’ strapping method, though Raisa mentioned that the street behind them sustained significant damage.