From expats to tourists, there are a number of Canadians being impacted by the intense storm walloping Texas.
Two scheduled flights from Vancouver to Houston have been cancelled as Harvey, which peaked at Category 4 on the hurricane scale over the weekend, continues to wreak havoc in the state.
Corey Schrader, a Canadian whose family moved to the Houston suburb of Katy about six years ago, said they carried some of their furniture to the second-floor of their home Sunday to brace for potential flooding.
Fortunately, though there is water pooling on the roads outside, their home remains safe for the time being. Schrader said neighbouring suburbs have been hit much worse.
"The surrounding communities are being evacuated right now," he told CTV News over the phone. "There's waist-deep to chest-deep water, or higher. Some people are having anywhere from four-five feet of water in their houses."
Officials have confirmed at least eight people have died, and there is already speculation that Harvey could be the worst natural disaster in Texas history.
Schrader said his family has been fortunate; they have been hunkering down, watching updates on TV and playing board games.
He can't get to work in downtown Houston because of flooding on the roads, school is cancelled for the couple's two daughters, and the shelves at nearby grocery stores are getting bare.
"We went two days ago and water, bread, canned goods – it's pretty scarce," Schrader said.
Others are feeling the effects of Harvey in very different ways; North Vancouver residents Rick and Sally Chan are among thousands of passengers who have found themselves trapped on cruise ships because the storm is preventing them from docking.
"There are worse places to be stranded," Rick Chan told CTV News over the weekend. "I feel quite sorry for the people that we have been watching on the news in Houston."
On Monday, the couple said their Royal Caribbean cruise is headed to Miami for supplies, and that passengers will be allowed to disembark on Tuesday afternoon. The Chans intend to board a flight home from the city the next day.
The U.S. Coast Guard is also remaining in touch with the cruise ship, and was quick to respond to three medical emergencies on Sunday.
With files from CTV Vancouver's Breanna Karstens-Smith
