A man from Lower Sackville, who’s found himself in the middle of one of the most catastrophic storms the continental U.S. has ever seen, says he’s lucky to have made it out unharmed.
Jamie MacQueen says his home is on higher ground and not nearly as damaged as some of his neighbours.
“Literally the neighbours across the street are loading up their kayak to go see if they can help out with any water rescue,” says MacQueen.
MacQueen’s office complex has been completely submerged, with boats filling the parking lots. He says he ventured out of his home Tuesday night for the first time since Sunday to see how he can help.
“Some nerves every night. When you go to bed, you don't know if you're going to wake up and your house is going to be flooded,” MacQueen says. “All there is to do is to move forward, start cleaning up and help wherever we can.”
Maritimers are also trying to lend a hand. A Sydney call centre is handling calls from victims of Hurricane Harvey. Officials say they received over 100 calls from people offering to assist.
The Canadian Red Cross has been collecting money for victims, as well. They'll have a better idea of how much has been raised in the coming days.
For Jamie MacQueen, evacuation was never the answer.
“There's such a huge risk of having four-to-six million people on the streets at any one given time, stuck on the freeway with absolutely nowhere to go, and that would have been way more disastrous than what we're seeing right now,” MacQueen says.
MacQueen says over the next couple days he’ll move forward with gratitude, knowing he’s one of the lucky ones.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Laura Brown.
