A Hudson, Que. resident of 25 years was in danger of losing his house to the rising flood waters when a few passersby came to his rescue.
Katie Mitchell and her friends were driving along when they saw the homeowner, known as Nelson of St. Claire, single-handedly trying to protect his property.
âI said, âOh my God you canât do this alone!â So I stayed,â she told Âé¶čŽ«Ăœ.
Mitchell, along with a couple others, helped Nelson stack sandbags around his house.
Before they knew it, a whole army of strangers had gathered to lend a hand.
âI canât imagine what heâs going through,â said a volunteer who gave his name as Bobby. âYou donât wish that on your worse enemy, right?â
âThatâs just what makes a community a community,â added another helper.
Sandbag after sandbag, everyone made sure the house was protected.
âSometimes when itâs your own place youâre kind of paralyzed because you donât know what to do,â said Nelson. âIt was pretty scary. I didnât think [the water] was going to come this high.â
Water levels rose 10 centimetres overnight but by late Monday, it looked like everyoneâs hard work had paid off.
The water had been kept at bay and Nelsonâs basement was dry.
Nelson is grateful for all his new friendsâ help. Heâs a chef, so he hopes to pay everyone back with some good food.
âAfter the water goes down weâre going to empty all of the bags and weâre going to have a beach party,â he said.
With a report from CTVâs Vanessa Lee in Hudson, Que.