As Hurricane Harvey devastates Houston, some Maritimers are trying to ride out the storm in their adopted city.

Jamie MacQueen is originally from Lower Sackville but has been working in Houston for about a decade. He says he's heeded the warnings and is staying close to home, but he's concerned about what's to come.

“(Sunday) night it really picked up. That’s when the thunder and the lightning storms started to come through and when the tornado warnings kicked back up,” says MacQueen.

MacQueen says he’s doing his best to keep in touch with other Maritimers living in the city.

"I know there's another lady from Sackville who lives just north of here and there's a lady that I know from Bedford who lives just west of here, so we've also been checking in on each other throughout the last couple of days to make sure we're all okay," says MacQueen.

Rainfall totals are now over a metre and there's more to come. At this point, five people have died from the impact of the storm, which is said to be affecting about 7 million people.

On the Halifax waterfront, Ellen Joyce and her mother Elizabeth are visiting from California and New Hampshire. They have relatives in Houston who have already lost more than their fair share.

“They live there. They're teachers, both of them. Their son is in high school. The high school is flooded. His brother lives there, their house is flooded, two cars are ruined, so it's kind of touchy,” says Elizabeth Joyce.

“These people, we feel for them,” says tourist Angele LaPointe. “If we were there, we would be right there helping as much as we could because that is what makes a difference, people helping people.

And that concern is trickling over to the Canadian Red Cross, which has opened up a Hurricane Harvey appeal for any Canadians wanting to give some financial help.

“We have been getting calls into our service centre here in Dartmouth, just asking how they can help those affected by Hurricane Harvey,” says disaster relief staff member Nick Williams. 

The American Red Cross did not formally ask for the help, but are aware and welcome the support.

“We are ready should other requests come in,” Williams says. “From what we've heard the American Red Cross is able to support up to 50,000 evacuees. If they pass that threshold we will be ready if they do make the request.”

The storm is forecasted to remain over Texas for the next several days. Jamie MacQueen says he, like many others, are hoping it will end sooner than later.

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Laura Brown.