Bay Area Woman Had Minutes To Escape Hurricane Harvey, Leaving Fiancee Behind
SANTA ROSA (KPIX) -- As Hurricane Harvey roared ashore, Kimmy Bisagno of Santa Rosa was in North Padre Island, Texas where she shares a home with her fiancée Steve Maccaferri, a Coast Guard rescue swimmer. He told her it was time to go.
"When I was leaving, I was given a few minutes to leave," said Bisagno. "I grabbed a couple of outfits for myself, thinking I'd be right home."
Instead, she drove to Austin and then eventually all the way back to her parent's home in the Santa Rosa. She believes her house had some damage, but is probably still intact. Steve stayed behind in Texas to be part of the heroic Coast Guard rescue effort.
"I'm just worried and scared for him -- I just want him safe. I'm glad that he's doing what he loves," she said.
She says Steve is working almost nonstop in Houston. Pulling people to safety one by one. She says she doesn't need anything, but it breaks her heart that the people of her adopted state are struggling so much.
"My heart breaks for them because I'm so happy that we have a house to go home to," says Bisagno. "But so many of them lost everything. And he's in those houses where they lost everything. He went into houses where they have children in Tupperware bins so that they can float. And that's how anybody should ever have to live. Like, I would deal with an earthquake over that any day."
Steve is going to be busy for quite a while, but she knows he will be back in time for their wedding next month.
"Going through this together just shows me like how much more important it is for us to tell each other how much we love each other and show everybody. Because at this point, I don't think much else matters," she said.