November 3, 2024 — 7:27 PM. Chest-mounted bodycam footage from inside a flooded airport baggage-claim terminal shows a rescuer in a fluorescent lime-yellow waterproof jacket wading through gray stormwater toward an unlikely survivor: a tiny calico kitten, soaking wet, perched on top of a black suitcase beside the baggage carousel.

The kitten — black, orange, and white fur plastered to its small body — stares at the approaching rescuer with large round eyes, frightened but hopeful. As two black-gloved hands extend slowly with palms open, the kitten gives a quiet meow, sniffs the nearest glove, and cautiously steps forward, leaving small wet paw prints on the suitcase.

With both hands supporting its entire tiny body, the rescuer gently lifts the kitten clear of the floodwater. The kitten doesn’t struggle — it blinks, pressed close to the rescuer’s chest, as the camera turns toward a nearby elevated baggage-handling platform. By the final seconds, the little calico has settled into the gloved hands, calm, looking toward the camera.

Around them, the terminal tells the story of the storm: suitcases floating in the murky water, empty waiting chairs, rain streaking the tall glass windows, parked airplanes visible outside, and the red-and-blue lights of emergency vehicles reflecting across the floodwater.