Good Samaritan risks life to rescue cat as raging waters from Hurricane Ian surround it

As Floridians braced for Hurricane Ian making landfall late Wednesday afternoon, a resident risked his life to save a cat vulnerable to the raging storm.

A video posted on Twitter by Megan Cruz Scavo has received massive attention for a portrayal of good humanity in action.

The video, shot in Bonita, on the state’s southwest coast, shows Cruz Scavo’s friend, Michael, wading through knee-high water, trudging toward an air conditioner that had a cat perched on top.

Many residents in southwest Florida were told to evacuate on September 27, but some did not and chose to remain inside their homes.

“My friend rescues a cat from the water at Bonita Beach,” the woman captioned the video.

Michael gently picks up the cat and holds it close to his chest as he walks toward the shelter.

The video, which is only 44 seconds in length, has been viewed more than 620,000 times since it was posted just after noon on September 28.

Cruz Scavo also tagged the video with “Hurricane Ian,” “Naples,” “Bonita” and “Fort Myers,” all cities currently experiencing or expected to experience severe conditions from the tropical storm.

Fortunately, the cat doesn’t fight the man who tries to rescue them from the high water

Commentators were quick to ask for an update on the situation.

“Safe,” the Florida resident said on Twitter when someone asked how the cat was doing. ‘He [Michael] has given it food and water and is in its parents’ house.’

She also clarified that the video was shot at Michael’s parents’ house, “on the beach.”

Cruz Scavo responded to one person who asked if anyone had abandoned the cat by saying, “I’m not sure — it could be a stray cat.”

The man in the video holds the cat close to his chest to protect him from the water brought in by ‘catastrophic’ Hurricane Ian

The selfless act shown in the video is enough to make anyone believe that humans are naturally good, and the comments reflect the nature of the video.

‘He’s a keeper! (the friend) (and the cat!),’ a woman replied.

“I’m sorry, Megan, but he’s everyone’s boyfriend now. I don’t make the rules,” said another person responding to Cruz Scavo’s post.

More than 1 million homes in the state are without power, according to poweroutage.us.

That number is expected to rise in the coming hours and days.

As of lunchtime, Governor Ron DeSantis also said he expects more than $45 billion in damage from the historic storm.

Hurricane Ian is only the fifth storm in U.S. history to hit the country with winds of up to 255 miles per hour.

Hurricane Ian makes landfall on Florida’s south coast, leaving more than a million Sunshine State residents without power

DeSantis had previously warned that the tropical storm would cause “catastrophic” flooding and urged residents to heed state evacuations and warnings.

“Mother Nature is a very formidable adversary, please pay attention to those evacuation warnings. You could see power outages, inland flooding, different types of tree damage from wind, so be prepared for that.”

Photos show water retreating from Tampa Bay, due to the hurricane’s movement, as the same phenomenon occurred just before Hurricane Irma hit.

Tampa, north of Bonita, braces for a 6-foot storm surge before it makes landfall this afternoon as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis tells those left in the red evacuation zones it’s time to ‘squat’ and ‘prepare for the storm’.

Officials have warned the storm surge could reach 18 feet, with deadly winds and flooding along the state’s densely populated Gulf Coast from Bonita Beach to the Tampa Bay region — with rainfall up to 18 inches.