Crisis brings out the best in some people -- and it certainly did during the inundation of the Cowichan Valley this weekend.
As the worst of the flooding in Duncan and North Cowichan passed, people started pitching in to help eachother rebuild.
"I'm very proud of the way the community came together," North Cowichan mayor Tom Walker said.
Area businesses did their part too. Home Depot donated 5,000 sandbags to keep floodwaters at bay. Thrifty Foods delivered truckloads of groceries, free of charge, to residents who couldn't get in to town.
In Pictures: Vancouver Island flooding
"It's times like this that we desperately need to make sure we're helping out," manager Ray Gudmundsen said.
But the flooding disaster will take more than good will and charity to repair.
The provincial emergency program held a closed-door meeting Sunday to tell residents how to go about applying for provincial relief funds.
The program covers 80 per cent of losses, offering up to $300,000 in assistance. But not everyone qualifies.
"I've just found out as a home owner who rents out their home on a flood plane I get dick," landlord Devon Mills said.
Cutting through the bureaucratic red tape is Island Savings Credit Union. They're urging residents to dig deep and help their neighbours.
"Make a financial donation and we'll match it, up to $50,000," Island Savings member relations vice president Randy Bertsch said.
Island Savings plans on distributing the funds through a relief agency, such as the Red Cross.
Disaster financial assistance forms are available by clicking here.
With a report from CTV British Columbia's David Kincaid
