Hurricane Harvey forces Red Deer expats from Houston-area home

“My three-year-old doesn’t really know what’s going on — she just kind of thinks we’re going to a fun sleepover. My six-year-old son does know, he gets it and he was pretty scared when we had to evacuate and leave the house,” she explained just 20 minutes after being told their evacuation was now mandatory. “He was pretty good up to that point, but evacuating and getting in the car – he’s also been watching the news with me and you see the people that are underwater or stuck out there, it’s very scary.”

Clermont said until today, her block was pretty much dry, except for the rain, but with the nearby Brazos River reaching record high levels, the risk of staying put has become too great.

“You’ve got to praise the Texas people — they are so friendly and nice. Pretty much strangers let us in their house today, it’s a friend of a friend and they just said come on over. It’s pretty amazing,” she said.

Clermont added the family was fully prepared with an emergency kit that would last them at least a week.

But it hasn’t just been Harvey’s rain and wind that’s caused death and destruction. Several tornado warnings have been issued with at least one touching down in nearby Sienna Plantation. It tore the roofs off close to 50 homes, according to local media reports.

Clermont says it’s still raining and, “very much so.”

“As bad as it is, I’m just thankful we were able to make such good friends so fast,” Clermont goes on. “We just want the rain to stop and hope it doesn’t flood as bad as they’re thinking with the river flooding.”

The family’s plan from the beginning is to move back to Alberta once her husband’s work project is complete.

The latest forecasts show Harvey, now a tropical storm, is headed towards Louisiana.

by Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

Hurricane Harvey forces Red Deer expats from Houston-area home

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