A Highland family that moved to the US has been living in a hotel ever since filthy, surging flood waters destroyed their home.
The Mackies left Inverness nine years ago and have a house in Brazoria, south of Houston, Texas.
But they have been staying in a hotel for about three weeks due to the havoc wreaked by Hurricane Harvey.
Colin Mackie, who has a wife, a teenage son and two dogs, said nearly all of their possessions had been lost.
“A lot of our belongings are out on the driveway,” said Mr Mackie, who works for an oil and gas recruitment consultancy.
“That’s everything from fridges, cookers, dishwashers, washer-driers, mattresses, sofas, TV stands, beds and kitchen cabinets.
“Across the road from me, my neighbour is in exactly the same situation. Down the road, my next neighbour is the same.
“From where I’m standing I can see four houses. Carpets are piled up, there’s plasterboard everywhere.
“But people’s houses are still standing, it’s just the contents that have been taken out.”
Brazoria was not in the direct path of Harvey, but it would not escape the aftermath of the deluge.
Residents were well warned about the potential for serious flooding, however.
Mr Mackie took his wife and son − Cindy and Ben − to a hotel in another nearby town, where they would be safe.
He then returned to his house and “hunkered down” before the high waters arrived.
“When the water arrived it happened quickly,” said Mr Mackie, vice president for the Americas region at JAB Recruitment. “I was in the house when it came in.”
“I was there for hours pumping water out, but when the river decides it’s coming into your house, it’s coming in. You can’t do anything about it.
“I fought it for half a day, then gave up and left for the hotel.”
When he returned in the morning, he was greeted by 18inch-deep, “nasty water”.
Mr Mackie said his family would probably stay in the hotel until the end of the month before seeking temporary accommodation.
He thinks it will take about three months to repair his “shell of a house”, which is insured against flood damage.
In the meantime, life goes on, Mr Mackie said.
Like most people, he took some time off work before the hurricane’s arrival so that he could “get organised”.
But since the storm moved on, barely a day has gone by when Mr Mackie and his wife, who is a cost engineer, weren’t working.
“We have to get on and live our lives,” he said. “We can still enjoy ourselves – we’ve got things to do. We have to earn a living. My son has got to go to school.
“I don’t want to make light of things, but this has been more of an inconvenience.
“None of us were harmed or injured. Nothing was lost that can’t be replaced. It’s just material possessions.
“We can rebuild the house. It’s just going to take time.”
For all of their troubles, the Mackies remain positive.
“As a family, we’re not negative people,” Mr Mackie said. “It’s my job to keep my wife and son as positive as possible. If I get negative it impacts them. I can’t let that happen.”
Mr Mackie said he was heartened by the local community’s response to the flood.
“There are things I’ve seen during this event that where amazing,” said Mr Mackie, who is also a volunteer firefighter.
“The way people have helped each other, the volunteers who don’t ask for any thanks, it has been amazing.
“We’ve had numerous volunteers from the community we live in and friends from Houston helping at the house.
“It makes the process go more quickly and leads me to be positive.”
Asked whether he would consider leaving Texas, Mr Mackie said: “No, I wouldn’t. We moved here for work and ended up enjoying our time.
“I have no intention of letting this set us back and moving back to the UK.
“I’m not looking for sympathy. A lot of people are way worse off than us. We can put everything back together.”
