Heavy rains hit Central Texas last night , causing flooding in Austin and the surrounding area. 30 Days of Night writer Steve Niles lives in the area and awoke this morning to find his house flooded. He posted on Tumblr this morning that getting to his turtle, Gil, was the hardest part:

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.

To help Niles and his family, you can send funds via PayPal to HelpSteveNiles@gmail.com. According to Mike Mignola, Niles and his family lost "just about everything" and have no flood insurance. "Steve has gone above and beyond raising $ for Hurricane Sandy relief and other tragedies and can really use some help right now," wrote Mignola on his Facebook page. "Let's pay it forward to a guy who's always been there for others."