MOSCOW, Idaho — Moscow saw its highest flood waters on record due to heavy rains on Tuesday night.
The rainfall caused Paradise Creek to surge, flooding several homes and businesses.
On Wednesday, city crews were still assessing the damage. Some homeowners were left wondering how this happened so quickly.
KREM 2’s Taylor Viydo said a home on East D street appeared to have it the worst. He said multiple pumps were working to get rid of water that had flooded the garage.
Across the street, a family was clearing out their garage while waiting for their insurance company to look at the mess.
They're not sure what the extent of the damage will be. The City of Moscow said a pocket of heavy rain unexpectedly slammed the city Tuesday night and that caused the highest flood on record.
"My son is 6’4” and he was on the street that we're on right now and it literally was almost to his waist," Moscow resident Ricki Martin said.
Multiple homes and some businesses were damaged but nothing was catastrophic, the city says. Community support helped limit the impact. Workers with a local conservation district stopped to lend a hand.
Mark Schemmer said the flooding forced him to get to know several neighbors and it's helped him stay upbeat.
"It was a lot of water real quick. I wish I had a sign out front that said, 'No fishing,'" he said.
The city's acting public works director said it took just minutes for volunteers to show up and help when sandbags became available.
On Wednesday morning, officials with the City of Moscow said all streets in the city are open except for Sixth Street between Park Road and Mountain View and Harding Street north of D Street.
Kiwanis Park, Hordemann Pond, Heron's Hideout, and the Highway 8 and Troy Road underpass are all closed in Moscow.
Rain is expected to taper off on Wednesday, which will allow flood waters to slowly recede.
See more related coverage about flooding in the Palouse:
