If you haven’t heard already, yesterday, after up to a foot of rain fell during a 12-hour period in the Austin, Texas area, flash floods quickly moved through and closed roads which iniated rescues and even canceling the final day of the Austin City Limits Music Festival. Among those affected was horror writer Steve Niles (30 Days of Night)  who posted this update on his Facebook page yesterday:

“Woke up at 6am to water rushing into the house. Already ankle deep by the time we saw it. We got as much as we could off the ground and tried to block but there wasn’t much we could do. The worst was trying to get to Gil. It was waist deep almost and strong enough to throw around logs. I reached him and he was submerged and freaking out. Don’t remember much more then lifting him and carrying him all the way back to the house. Looking back I can see how scary it was.

We are securing the house as much as we can and going through the damage. A scrapbook full of original art I’ve kept for 30 years is gone. A lot more.

Our friends Belinda and Steve are setting up a fund to help. I feel terrible about this but once things settle I’ll have to face up that we need help. I just wish I could catch my breath for 5 minutes and I can make my own money. Austin has had other ideas I guess.

We’ll keep you posted. We’re sort of trapped here for right now. Going to pack and move as much as we can before the next storm hits.

Thank you guys so much.”

A lot of the original art and the pets are safe with help from Bernie Wrightson, however, Niles does not have flood insurance and there’s a lot of damage that needs fixing. If you would like to help a PayPal account has been created to aid in paying for the damages. The email address for the PayPal is HelpSteveNiles@gmail.com.