Elderly Florida couple who fell in love during last hurricane vow to ride out Helene together: 'Yolo!'

An aged mates who fell successful emotion during 2022's devastating Hurricane Ian ignored calls to evacuate Thursday and said they would observe their hurricane-iversary by riding retired Helene unneurotic arsenic well. 

Michele Vikartofsky and Larry Leventhal met each different during the devastating Category 5 Ian that killed 161 people, due to the fact that they were 'both brainsick radical that stayed' astatine their homes connected Sanibel Island, Florida. 

And contempt Florida officials urging residents to evacuate earlier Helene made landfall connected Thursday night, the mates remained astatine location this clip arsenic well. 

When asked by NBC News wherefore they remained, Michele had a one-word answer: 'Yolo.' 

Michelle and Larry said portion Helene brought wide demolition crossed respective states, including leaving implicit 3 cardinal without power, the harm does not comparison to erstwhile Ian struck 2 years ago. 

The mates said they each mislaid cars that were swept distant by Ian, but felt safer this clip and rode retired Helene successful their 'hurricane safe' property. 

'We mislaid power, but it's not arsenic atrocious arsenic Ian was,' Michelle said. 'But it's inactive worse than we thought it was going to be.' 

Asked wherefore they stay surviving connected Sanibel Island aft it has been continually battered by utmost upwind events successful caller weeks, Larry said the land is 'paradise' 99 percent of the time.  

The mates revealed to Wink News that they were some strangers erstwhile Ian brought them together, arsenic they were some 'crazy' neighbors who decided to upwind the tempest astatine the time. 

'We had not met. We conscionable met during the hurricane, spent 2 days walking astir after, truthful Ian brought america together,' Michelle said, adding 'and present this happened' arsenic she pointed to an engagement ring. 

They said that they felt acold safer this clip around, due to the fact that 'after surviving done Ian, it’s similar you could get done anything.' 

Michelle said: 'Ian was destructive. Ian taught america each a acquisition that we ne'er thought would hap here. 

'Storm surge is ever predicted, but [it] ne'er happened similar Ian, so, yeah, we’ve learned to ticker a small bit, beryllium a small spot much careful.' 

The mates spoke arsenic Hurricane Helene barreled done respective states aft touching down successful the Big Bend country of Florida connected Thursday evening, leaving implicit 3 cardinal without powerfulness and sidesplitting astatine slightest fourteen people. 

At slightest 23 radical person been killed truthful acold crossed Florida, Georgia and North Carolina.

These deaths included a motion falling connected 1 operator connected a Tampa highway, 2 radical drowning successful coastal Pinellas County, and a four-year-old miss mislaid her beingness successful a weather-related clang successful North Carolina. 

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said the decease toll whitethorn proceed to ascent arsenic rescue teams enactment done the wreckage near behind. 

The information of the tempest was highlighted arsenic Floridians who decided not to evacuate were told to constitute their names connected their bodies truthful they could beryllium identified if they died successful the storm.

'Please constitute your name, birthday, and important accusation connected your limb oregon limb successful a PERMANENT MARKER truthful that you tin beryllium identified and household notified,' the sheriff’s bureau successful mostly agrarian Taylor County warned those who chose not to evacuate successful a Facebook post. 

Helene first made landfall with maximum sustained upwind gusts of up to 140mph, prompting upwind warnings far beyond the Florida seashore up into bluish Georgia and occidental North Carolina.

On Friday morning, more than 3 cardinal homes and businesses were without power, including 1.2 cardinal successful South Carolina, 1.1 cardinal successful Florida, 1 cardinal successful Georgia, and 400,000 successful North Carolina, according to the tracking tract poweroutage.us.

The governors of those states, arsenic good arsenic Alabama and Virginia, each declared emergencies.

'When Floridians aftermath up time morning, we're going to beryllium waking up to a authorities wherever precise apt there's been further nonaccomplishment of beingness and surely there's going to beryllium nonaccomplishment of property,' Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said astatine a quality league Thursday night.

By aboriginal Friday, Helene was downgraded to a Category 1 tempest arsenic it moved past Georgia, aft leaving a way of demolition successful its wake.

As the hurricane moved done Georgia, Fox Weather newsman Bob Van Dillen was forced to interrupt his unrecorded changeable to rescue a woman trapped successful her car, starring to stunning footage. 

Van Dillen sprang into enactment arsenic helium was filing a unrecorded study successful bluish Atlanta, Georgia, wherever Helene tore done connected Friday greeting aft making landfall successful Florida hours earlier.

Van Dillen began by pointing retired the stranded pistillate 'drove close into the flood waters', and she could beryllium heard screaming for assistance arsenic helium told the workplace helium had dialed 911 and was waiting for the occurrence department.

As the screams continued done his broadcast, Van Dillen chopped his unrecorded changeable abbreviated to wade successful and assistance the woman, with Fox anchors successful the workplace branding him a 'hero' arsenic helium carried her to information successful chest-deep waters. 

Van Dillen returned to the aerial aft redeeming the pistillate and said helium waded into the floodwaters due to the fact that helium mislaid religion that 911 firefighters would rescue her successful time.

'It's hard not to, due to the fact that 911 person truthful galore calls,' helium said arsenic helium returned to Fox and Friends. 'They're going to instrumentality a agelong clip to get here, but the occurrence section yet did get here.'

The weatherman said that erstwhile helium archetypal approached the woman, she was 'panicking' and 'wasn't truly making excessively overmuch sense.'

'She was inactive had the spot buckle on. And she had her model astir this overmuch down and she's trying to speech to maine done that,' helium continued.

'So, I'm trying to unfastened up the doorway and the h2o unit wasn't allowing maine to bash it,' helium said, explaining that the pistillate had to fto h2o into her car truthful helium could prevention her.

'(The h2o was) up to my thorax and there's a small spot of a current, but she was a abbreviated woman too, she was astir apt astir 5 feet.'

He concluded: 'I deliberation the panic origin was mounting in. And erstwhile you commencement to panic and you're successful h2o and it starts getting cold, you tin really, things could truly spell downhill quickly. So, I conscionable - I couldn't wait.'