Community rallies to help East Hants man who lost home during historic floods

During the historic rainfall in July, Christopher Gillis was sound asleep.

The 65-year-old has cerebral palsy along with hearing and speaking impairments. He had no idea the storm raging outside caused his South Rawdon, N.S., home to flood.

Baby, Gillis's 13-year-old cat, was biting him to wake him up. 

"That cat is pretty incredible," said Rosemary Furlong, Gillis's sister. "She's pretty arthritic, just like Chris. God bless her, she woke him up."

Emergency responders eventually had to rescue Gillis from his home, she said, which was pushed off its foundation by the flood waters. 

More than a foot and a half of water, about 45 centimetres, was in the house, destroying everything touching the floor, Furlong said. 

The house was damaged beyond repair and Gillis needs to find a new place to live. He's currently staying in his sister's basement. 

She said nearly 90 millimetres of rain fell in their area in the matter of hours. 

Furlong and her brother have lived in East Hants their whole lives. She said they've had flooding before, but they've never seen it rain like that.

"Nothing like this," she said. "And I hope to never see it again because it was terrifying."

'Everybody knows Chris'

Members of the community didn't waste any time after learning about what happened to his home.

"Everybody knows Chris around here," said Diana McCabe, who helped organize an auction and dance at the West Gore Fire Hall on Saturday night in support of Gillis.

Hundreds of people came to the event, she said. More than $8,600 has been raised so far and more money is coming in.

"This is a wonderful area," said McCabe. 

She said many people in the community are struggling themselves because of the cost of living or damage to their own properties from flooding, but they still wanted to help Gillis. 

"It's pretty overwhelming," Furlong said. "That's the only word I have. Just overwhelming for the both of us."

The donations from the community and support from a charity will help Gillis furnish and decorate his new home. 

Furlong said a new tiny home for her brother to live in has been purchased and should arrive in the coming weeks.

The goal is to have it ready for Gillis to move in by Christmas, she said, but they're just happy he's able to stay close by.

"He likes to live here because of nature and the birds and he gets to see the deer."