A fundraiser has been launched for a popular stop along a Vancouver Island highway, after it was flooded.
Heavy rains that caused flooding in multiple communities Friday night and Saturday morning hit the Russel Farms Market near Crofton hard.
Their business, along with the adjacent Highway 1, where inundated with water. The highway was closed for several hours.
a GoFundMe page was set up by a close friend Alexis Puttick.
“I think at one point the flooding was five or six feet high… there is nothing really they can save… all their freezers and dairy, all gone,” she said.
“It’s pretty devastating. They have reported it to the insurance company.”
Even though they expect insurance will cover some costs, Puttick says there is a $10,000 deductible along with other expenses that will likely not be covered.
“Just seeing how devastating it is, the owners don’t know what to do,” she said.
“Even the employees… they employ a lot of younger people and they won’t be able to work for a while.”
The business sits right along the highway, and is known as a stop for ice cream and other snacks, along with local products and produce.
Surveillance footage from inside the business shows the water inundating the building. The GoFundMe page can be found here, Puttick says the goal is the $10,000 deductible.
The business is still recovering from the major wind storm on December 20, 2018.
The heavy rain is being blamed on an “atmospheric river” which caused significant flooding for areas in the Cowichan Valley. The area declared a local state of emergency.
READ MORE: Flooding on Vancouver Island shuts down highways, state of emergency declared in Cowichan Valley
Julian Kolsut
