Photo of Hurricane Florence Survivor and Kitten Breaks Onlookers' Hearts

A photo of a North Carolina resident surviving Hurricane Florence with his adorable kitten named [...]

By Daniel S. Levine

A photo of a North Carolina resident surviving Hurricane Florence with his adorable kitten named "Survivor" holding onto his shoulder for dear life has gone viral, melting hearts across the country.

On Friday, News & Observer journalist Andrew Carter shared a picture of Robert Simmons Jr. being rescued from his home in New Bern, North Carolina. Simmons told Carter he had to leave his father behind, but he could not leave his small cat, who was hugging his neck. He said the cat's name is Survivor.

Simmons said he wanted his father to leave on the boat, but he wanted to stay behind.

hurricane florence survivor cat getty images
(Photo: Travis Long/Raleigh News & Observer/TNS via Getty Images)

"He wanted to wait it out," Simmons told Carter of his father in an interview published later. "I didn't want him to wait it out. Yeah. Didn't want him to wait it out. Man, it's bad."

Simmons, 40, said he has lived in the area for his entire life, and Florence left everything unrecognizable.

"We done been through Bertha, Fran, Irene, Matthew," Simmons said, referring to past hurricanes that hit North Carolina. "And this is the worst it's ever been, in this part right here."

Simmons said Survivor's mother was a wild cat he found near his home.

Carter's original tweet with the photo of Simmons went viral, with more than 3,900 retweets and 11,000 likes.

"This photo has me in tears in my driveway. Stunning in a way I wish photography never had to be. Praying for him and his father (and the kitty)," one Twitter user wrote.

"Photo of the year right here, Drew," added another.

"This picture convey the tragedy/sadness/kindness/humanity/hope all at once! Powerful! [Love] to Robert and Survivor. A man who cares for a kitten under such conditions is a hero in my books! Wishing him, his kitten and his father all the best," wrote another Twitter user.

Hurricane Florence made landfall in North Carolina early Friday and continues to move slowly through the Carolinas as a tropical storm, pounding the states with rain. According to Weather.com, Swansboro, North Carolina alone has already received 30.58 inches of rain, which could break the state record rainfall total previously set during Hurricane Floyd in 1999. The National Hurricane Center predicts southeastern North Carolina and northeastern South Carolina could see between 20 and 40 inches of rain.

Five deaths in North Carolina have already been linked to the storm, including the deaths of a mother and infant in Wilmington. According to the Associated Press, one death in South Carolina has been blamed on the storm. A 61-year-old woman was killed Friday when her vehicle hit a fallen tree near Union, South Carolina.

The 2 p.m. ET update from the NHC reports the storm now has sustained winds at 45 mph, but is moving west at just 3 mph, meaning that the Southeast will continue to see rain from Florence through the weekend and into next week.

Photo credit: Travis Long/Raleigh News & Observer/TNS via Getty Images

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