Hurricane Ian Brought Couple Together. Now Engaged, They Just Weathered Hurricane Helene Side by Side (Exclusive)

"It was just sad to see this happen again," Michele Vikartofsky tells PEOPLE

In 2022, when Hurricane Ian hit Florida's Sanibel Island, Michele Vikartofsky decided to stay put in her second-floor condo. When she learned that only a handful of people remained at the complex — all in first-floor units — she texted everybody and said, "Hey guys, if you need to shelter in place up here, please come."

Soon, neighbor Larry Leventhal, who she had never met before, was ringing her doorbell with a small parade of neighbors behind him, and the group rode out the storm as the water surged 13 feet high into the building.

Leventhal, whose wife died in 2021, and Vikartofsky, who was divorced, soon learned that Ian had taken away their cars and destroyed the contents of their storage units. These new friends bonded by Ian's wrath spent two days walking around Sanibel as the viewed Ian's vast destruction together. "We kind of got to know each other that way," she tells PEOPLE.

Over the next 14 months, their friendship deepened. Vikartofsky, 69, and Leventhal, 73, walked their dogs together every day and talked forever, and soon she realized she was in love. "He is kind, generous, has a great sense of humor and does everything for everybody," Vikartofsky says.

Leventhal realized he was in love in December and three weeks ago, the pair became engaged. 

Related: Florida Student, 21, Goes Viral Documenting How She Sheltered on Campus from Hurricane Helene

When Hurricane Helene was forecast to hit Florida, the pair knew that they would ride out the storm together. They drove their cars to higher ground four miles away at a restaurant, and were painting the interior of Michele's condo when winds hit about 70 miles per hour.

While the winds never reached hurricane force where they were located, the water started to surge about 5 p.m. "We really thought we made it, that we skirted through this storm and then that happened," Vikartofsky says.

Adds Leventhal: "We just started watching the water come up and up."

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Concerned about a repeat of the high surge during Hurricane Ian, the couple went out to see what was going on, with the water coming up to his knees near a building elevator, but no further. Relieved that this storm wouldn't be as bad as Ian was for them, they returned to Vikartofsky's condo and slept for a few hours until rising at 2:30 am to take a walk out to the beach.

"I think after living through Ian, I think we kind of feel invincible," she says. "It wasn't frightening, it wasn't threatening. It was just sad to see this happen again."

Related: Meteorologist Rescues Woman from Rising Hurricane Helene Floodwaters During Broadcast: 'Couldn't Wait'

The pair tried to walk the four miles in the pitch dark to retrieve their cars, but Vikartofsky turned back after a half mile, when the water reached above her ankles. "I got a little frightened," she says, adding, "I went home and Larry, he's a little bit more adventurous, he walked the four miles to where our cars were parked."

But Leventhal had trudged through water up to his knees at points and decided "it's stupid to drive the car back in that water," and walked the four miles back. 

Their condominium buildings ended up receiving a foot of water, and many streets still remained underwater and impassable by mid-afternoon on Friday, Sept. 27, as the couple walked four miles to try to retrieve their cars.

Despite the foot of water, the contents of their storage units got wet but are salvageable. They both feel terrible for the damage Helene brought to areas further north. Adds Leventhal, "We're just very fortunate people."

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