Heller said he never expected Helene to hit his Tampa home so hard, but as his living room filled with water, he decided to make the best of his situation. Grabbing his kayak, Heller began paddling through his flooded home, which was caught on his home camera and on TikTok, sharing the chaos with tens of thousands of viewers.

Speaking to CNN, he said, “The kayak was my escape plan in case things got too hairy,” although he hadn’t anticipated needing it indoors. In just 90 minutes, the water surged from nothing to dangerous levels.

Tampa Bay resident Matt Heller posted unbelievable footage showing him kayaking through his flooded living room after Hurricane Helene made landfall.

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.