Florida man who secured home with plastic straps and hooks survives Hurricane Milton

A man was able to protect his home from devastating using a bizarre method that involved plastic cargo ship straps.

As the category 3 storm wreaked havoc across the state, Orlando resident Pedro Casares came up with a wild idea to strap down his family home - and found viral fame. Puerto Rico-born Casares embedded metal hooks into eight feet of cement in the ground and used large plastic straps - the same kind typically used to secure cargo containers on ships - attached to the ground hooks.

The cement anchors and specially designed straps, which cost Casares $22,000 (£16,833), were placed around the roof of the family home and are reportedly capable of supporting 5,400 pounds (2449 kg) of weight. The family's aluminium roof nearly flew off during a hurricane that hit Guaynabo, a island, prompting Casares' clever preparations.

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To update fans on the condition of the house, Casares' daughter, TikTok user SimplyUniqueSmiles93, gave viewers a much-anticipated tour of the property, reports .

"The house, thankfully we're good. There's just a lot of leaves everywhere but everything is still intact. There's a lot of affected areas near our home," she explained during a walkabout. "The home is intact. Not a single shingle nor tile has lifted from the roof. Everything is good. We're not taking the straps off until hurricane is over!"

Social media users had already taken a keen interest in Casares' technique ahead of the storm. Most were tipping their hats to him for his "thinking outside the box" attitude, hailing him as a "legend," and expressing admiration for his innovative efforts. "This is the most Florida thing I've ever seen," one user joked.

"Everyone is laughing now, but this man will be a legend when all the other houses are floating down the road and he's sitting in his new living room swimming pool watching TV powered by a Starlink terminal," commented someone on the scene. "I truly appreciate the effort. I hope it works," another voiced their support.

"He thinks outside the box, and we need more people like him" praised another social media denizen in a post. A fifth observer humorously remarked, "Bro secured his house like a piano when moving. Absolute legend." Following the rampage of Hurricane Milton which tore through coastal towns and unleashed a barrage of lethal twisters, Floridians waded through inundated streets, picked up the strewn mess and took stock of the havoc wreaked on their homes.