House in Newfoundland almost disappears under thick blanket of snow

PORT AU CHOIX, N.L. – A couple in northwestern Newfoundland say repeated, heavy snowfalls have left their home almost completely buried under a thick blanket of snow.

Janice Gould said she and her partner Rick Cooper were away most of the winter, but started to get calls from neighbours earlier this month telling them their house in Port au Choix was in trouble.

Gould said they rushed home to discover it was completely covered, with only its roof poking out of the snow.

As fast as people could remove it from the roof, she said it drifted back in again and has caused the porch to cave in.

More snow on Monday forced the couple out, giving them a short time to grab some clothes and a few belongings.

“I was told to get out in the afternoon about 4 p.m. so I just grabbed some clothes, dressed and ran,” said Gould. “I didn’t take anything with me, actually everything we own is there.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "I was told to get out in the afternoon about 4 p.m. so I just grabbed some clothes, dressed and ran," said Gould. "I didn't take anything with me, actually everything we own is there."

She said they returned to the house to get some more clothes, but the house was buried again.

“They cleared her off last night down to the shingles,” said Gould, who is staying with her sister.

The couple were unable to get government help to bring in an excavator to remove the snow.

“That’s the only hope,” she said. “If we could get the government to help us there, like kind of declare it an emergency, we were hoping to get an excavator and a dump truck.”