Idalia brings 18” floodwater to Town ‘N’ Country homes along Rocky Creek | Rebecca Petit
“At 5:18 am, I timed it, and I started filming it when the water started breaching the man cave,” said Jack Leonard.
Jack Leonard spends a lot of time in his man cave, located on the first level of his house.
“This is where I live, primarily doing a lot of my fishing tackle and my man cave business,” Leonard said.
His home backs up to Rocky Creek, which flows into Tampa Bay, so ahead of Hurricane Idalia, he put the furniture and appliances on blocks to prevent them from getting wet. Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough.
“This amount of water that came in, in less than two hours, was quite significant. We got over 18 inches of water in less than two hours,” said Leonard.
Homeowners living on Brunswick Lane in Town ‘N’ Country saw significant flooding as Hurricane Idalia moved through the Tampa Bay area.
“I’ve got water damage on the refrigerator; the water came up over and into the electrical components of that and the freezer that’s over in the back,” Leonard said.
Though he anticipated the flooding, he says it's the worst he’s seen.
“This is like the third time in 20 years that I’ve actually had water in the man cave, but this time was a little harsher,” said Leonard.
Leonard’s home and others in this flood-prone area are built on stilts designed to withstand an influx of water.
With cleaning in full swing, he is looking forward to returning to his man cave's solace soon.
“In a couple of days, it will be back to normal... God willing,” Leonard said.
