Naples man defends home from flood waters

Reporter: Taylor Wirtz Writer: Elyssa Morataya
Published: Updated:
Naples man defends home from flood waters

One Naples man did not mess around when it came to Hurricane Milton prep. Guy Lollino got five feet of water in his home on Vanderbilt Beach during Hurricane Ian.

This time, before Milton, he decided to stack a ton of sandbags and fill the cracks with sprayable styrofoam. His daughter recorded his preps and it went viral on TikTok.

Lollino will never forget what Hurricane Ian did to his Vanderbilt beach home.

“Oh, my god, this house had almost more than five feet of water,” said Lollino.

So when he heard hurricane Milton could also bring feet of storm surge, he decided to tell Mother Nature: not today.

“I’m saying to myself, ‘the sandbags are going to work, but there’s always somewhere where the water is going to get in’,” said Lollino.

Lollino, who works in construction, decided to try a type of sprayable styrofoam called I-Foam to seal the cracks between the sandbags resulting in a wall around every entrance to his home.

“They thought it was a little nuts. Everybody thought, everyone was, thought it was nuts. And I’m like, okay, you’re gonna see after what’s going to happen?” said Lollino.

But when Lollino went to see how it fared:

“Bone dry,” said Lollino, “There wasn’t a drop of water. I couldn’t believe it. I’m like, ‘thank god’.”

His daughter found it amusing and posted his efforts on TikTok which captivated the internet garnering millions of views.

“I’m getting phone calls from people. Hey guy, you know, and I got insurance companies want to talk to me,” said Lollino.

And now Lollino’s thinking about turning into it a business, to help more people keep their homes dry.

“If I can help somebody, that’s my goal,” said Lollino.

While he admits it’s not the cheapest option, he says it’s a lot cheaper than having to gut his home again.

“It was kind of expensive, but to deal with it and to not worry about it and have a peace of mind. It is definitely worth it,” said Lollino.

Lollino says the makers of I-foam have even gotten in touch with Governor DeSantis, who was intrigued by their idea and mentioned a possible collaboration.

Lollino said it only took a few hours to clean up, he’ll be able to use the sandbags again.

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