A sweet story has come from the devastation of Hurricane Florence.
A photo of a weary Robert Simmons Jr. and his adorable kitten, Survivor, went viral over the weekend after journalist Andrew Carter snapped a picture of them escaping the storm’s floodwaters in New Bern, North Carolina.
Meet Robert Simmons. Was stuck in his house since last night, when floodwaters began to rise in New Bern. A boat came and rescued him just now. He was sad to leave his father but left with his kitten hugging his neck. Cat’s name: Survivor, Simmons said. #HurricaneFlorence2018
pic.twitter.com/vRR3lANDJe— Andrew Carter (@_andrewcarter) September 14, 2018
Simmons was rescued after the streets surrounding his house were flooded. The 40-year-old says he ended up with the cat after he began to feed him. Simmons and Survivor both left a parent behind.
Simmons said his father refused to leave, and Survivor’s mother is “a wild cat" who roams the streets. Their house was still dry when the man and his cat left.
“[My father] wanted to wait it out. I didn’t want him to wait it out,” Simmons told The News & Observer. “Yeah. Didn’t want him to wait it out. Man, it’s bad.”
Father, son and cat had stocked up on supplies ahead of the storm, but as water began to engulf their neighborhood, Simmons decided it was time to get out. His rescuers were strangers patrolling the area, helping others to escape.
“I’ve got food,” he said. “I’ve got water. That’s no problem. I just got tired. I’m ready to go.”
Simmons said he had survived other hurricanes, but Florence proved different from the rest.
“We done been through Bertha, Fran, Irene, Matthew,” he said. “And this is the worst it’s ever been, in this part right here.”
Hurricane Florence’s impact on the Carolinas has been deadly. Seventeen people died in North Carolina, while South Carolina’s death toll is six, according to ABC11.
"Our hearts go out to the families of those who died in this storm. Hurricane Florence is going to continue its violent grind across our state for days. Be extremely careful and stay alert,” Roy Cooper, governor of North Carolina, said on Monday.
"We are expecting several more days of rain," Cooper said. "Our focus now is getting people away from immediate danger. And then it will shift to putting our communities back together."
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