One household has taken an interesting approach to securing their home, and people are curious to see how it fares during the current hurricanes.
Hurricane Milton has gripped the country recently, with all eyes on Florida to see how it copes with the previous category-five storm.
Hurricane Milton as seen from space. Credit: NASA/Getty
When the storm made landfall near Siesta Key in Sarasota County at 8:30PM last night, it had been downgraded to category three.
As Milton moved inland, its winds weakened to 90 mph overnight, downgrading it to a category one storm.
Regardless of the storm weakening, it still poses a threat to life and many Florida residents have fled their homes.
It’s difficult to know what the state of your home will be when you come back, but one man has taken extra precautions to keep his property intact.
Mohammed Nijem went viral when local news outlet Spectrum Bay News 9 shared an image on X (formerly Twitter) showing his unique storm preparation.
Nijem wrapped six enormous straps around his one-story home in an attempt to prevent it from being swept away by the high winds and floodwaters expected from the hurricane.
“Viewer Mohammed Nijem is getting prepped for Hurricane Milton,” Spectrum Bay News 9 posted, alongside a photo of his strapped-down house.
The post, which has been viewed more than 1.8 million times, sparked a wave of reactions from social media users, many of whom were fascinated by Nijem’s unorthodox approach to storm preparedness.
Some praised his efforts, calling him a “legend” and applauding his creative thinking. Others expressed curiosity about whether the method would prove effective.
One person wrote: “Hate to say it, but I actually respect the effort. I hope it is effective.”
A second added: “We gotta know if he pulled on the straps and said ‘that ain’t goin nowhere’ before I can make a judgement on if this works or not.”
A third person added: “He should put a half twist in those straps between the roofline and the ground. Otherwise they will flog horribly in hurricane winds, possibly to failure.”
Another person said: “Even if it doesn’t work, you really can’t say it isn’t worth a shot, huh?”
One of the greatest dangers, however, is the anticipated storm surge.
Experts warned of a potentially record-breaking 12-foot wall of water that could cause catastrophic flooding along Florida’s west coast.
While Nijem’s straps might help counter the wind, they sadly won’t have any impact on flooding.
At least two people have been confirmed dead in St. Lucie County, where a tornado spawned by Hurricane Milton hit the southeastern region of Fort Pierce.
A spokesperson for the St. Lucie Fire District confirmed the deaths and said multiple other people had been hospitalized, per NBC News.
Sky News correspondent James Matthews, reporting from Tampa as the storm made landfall, described the immense power of Milton, despite its downgrade to a Category 3 storm.
“You can hear it in the roar, and sense it. You can feel it in the wind,” he said, adding: “They have called this a historic hurricane, the strongest to hit this part of Florida in more than 100 years.”
