A DESPERATE man strapped his entire home to the ground as Hurricane Milton hurtled towards Florida.
Mohammed Nijem anchored down his one-storey house in Tampa with giant yellow straps in a frantic bid to stop it being blown or washed away.
A now-viral image shows six massive straps pinned in his front lawn and stretched over the top of his property.
It was shared by his local news outlet Spectrum Bay News 9 with the caption: “Viewer Mohammed Nijem is getting prepared for Hurricane Milton.”
Social media users were left fascinated by Monhammed’s extreme precaution – with some dubbing him a “legend”.
One user wrote: “I actually respect the effort. I hope it is effective.”
Another added: “Bro secured his house like a piano when moving. Absolute legend.”
As Milton barrelled into Florida, it brought its deadly storm surge to much of Florida’s Gulf Coast, including densely populated areas such as Tampa, St. Petersburg, Sarasota and Fort Myers.
Milton plowed into the state on Wednesday as a Category 3 storm, bringing misery to a coast still ravaged by Helene.
It pounded cities with winds of more than 100mph and triggered a barrage of tornadoes.
But the hurricane – seemingly less destructive than feared – has now been downgraded to Category 1.
Officials had issued dire warnings to flee or face grim odds of survival as the hurricane swept towards Florida.
Cathie Perkins, emergency management director in Pinellas County, which sits on the peninsula that forms Tampa Bay, said on Wednesday: “This is it folks.
“Those of you who were punched during Hurricane Helene, this is going to be a knockout.
“You need to get out, and you need to get out now.”
But by late afternoon, some officials warned the time had passed for such efforts, suggesting that people who stayed behind hunker down instead.
Some counties were even forced to suspend emergency services by the evening.
Flash flooding caused chaos in the Tampa Bay area, with up to 16 inches of rainfall so far.
The entire roof of the Tropicana Field’s stadium was ripped off as it suffered the wrath of the hurricane.
Shocking footage shows the roof being torn apart by ferocious winds.
The stadium – home to the Tampa Bay Rays – was being used as a base for thousands of emergency workers who set up camp there ahead of the hurricane.
More than three million homes and businesses have been left without power.
And at least 125 homes have been destroyed after Tampa Mayor Jane Castor’s grim warning houses would be turned into “coffins”.
Two deaths have been confirmed by local officials in St Lucie County, with multiple others rushed to hospital after the hurricane spawned at least 19 powerful tornadoes.
Milton has sparked 126 tornado warnings in Florida – the most ever in a single day.
Millions of terrified residents have fled the state after President Joe Biden warned Milton would be “one of the most destructive hurricanes of the century”.
But after days of warnings of apocalyptic-style devastation, the hurricane appears to be weaker than feared after twice making Category 5.
The storm slammed into a region still reeling two weeks after Hurricane Helene flooded streets and homes in western Florida and left at least 230 people dead across the South.
In many places along the coast, municipalities raced to collect and dispose of debris before Milton’s winds and storm surge could toss it around and compound any damage.
