October 29, 2024 — 8:13 p.m.

Chest-mounted bodycam footage recorded during an evening storm shows a flood rescuer wading through a submerged luxury hotel lobby to reach a tiny gray-brown tabby kitten stranded on top of a suitcase.

The 15-second video, timestamped 2024-10-29 20:13:37, opens beneath the hotel’s golden chandeliers. Muddy floodwater covers the marble floor, carrying scattered suitcases past elegant furniture and a brass luggage trolley. On a dark blue suitcase stacked on the trolley, alone above the water, crouches the kitten — its soaked fluffy fur plastered down, its large round eyes fixed on the approaching rescuer, heavy rain visible through the glass entrance doors behind it.

Wearing a tan waterproof emergency rescue jacket and black protective gloves, the rescuer extends both hands slowly toward the frightened animal. The kitten blinks nervously and lowers its tiny body closer to the suitcase, its wet whiskers trembling, but it does not flee.

Seconds later, one gloved hand slides carefully beneath the kitten’s chest while the other supports its hindquarters. Lifted clear of the suitcase with a quiet meow, the tiny animal is held securely in both cupped hands. In the final frames it looks up toward the camera with calmer eyes, its small paws resting against the rescuer’s gloves — wet, exhausted, and safe.

The footage was recorded during flood-response operations as heavy rain continued to fall outside the hotel. No other animals were seen in the lobby, and the kitten appeared unharmed as it was carried toward a dry, elevated area near the reception.

The rescue is one of many small-animal recoveries documented by bodycam during recent flooding, as emergency crews check submerged buildings for pets left behind by rising water.