Trapped for 5 day as water dwindled, Cape Breton couple thankful for snowmobile delivery
CBC
A Cape Breton couple is thankful after receiving supplies by snowmobile after going nearly five days without power or water.
Samantha Lowes and her spouse Darryl Boudreau live in Dutch Brook, a rural community on the outskirts of Sydney.
Lowes said her house lost power on Saturday evening after a days-long storm brought as much as 150 centimeters of snow to some areas in her community.
Thanks to a wood stove and a large generator purchased following an 11-day power outage after post-tropical storm Fiona, the family was able to stay warm throughout the week.
But by the middle of the week, they were running out of drinking water needed to feed their two young children, aged two months and 18 months.
"By Wednesday, we were kind of in an emergency situation without water," said Lowes.
"It's not a good feeling to wonder if you're going to be able to feed your baby through the night so we were honestly in tears."
Lowes reached out to her municipal representative for help.
District 7 councillor for the Cape Breton Regional Municipality, Steve Parsons, said the call for help from Lowes isn't the only one he's received in recent days.
"Today I'm actually going to a lady's house now who can't get out and she needs her prescription and I'm going to go down to her pharmacy, pick it up for her and deliver it to her," said Parsons.
"We will get this cleaned up and we will get through it. We're strong-hearted people and everybody has a role to play."
After calling the municipality's Emergency Management Office, Lowes and her family were connected with the province's Department of Natural Resources.
Two conservation officers arrived at their property Wednesday after driving through some areas with snow drifts more than two metres high.
"It was very humbling to make that call in tears that I couldn't get through the night to feed our babies," said Lowes.
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