PHOTOS: State of emergency declared in Humboldt after heavy rains cause flooding

Humboldt Mayor Rob Muench declared a local state of emergency Sunday after several inches of heavy rainfall flooded portions of the city.

The storm began around 3 p.m., hitting the northwestern portion of the city the hardest, and lasting anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour and a half.

“It overwhelmed a lot of the systems we have here, backing up onto the roads and that type of thing. It was a little bit scary there for a while,” he said.

Muench said the rain flooded yards and streets and was made worse by some residents driving at high speeds with trucks through the flooded areas. The subsequent waves then flooded some basements.

Several roads were closed, including Fifth Avenue – one of the main thoroughfares in the city. Ninth Street was also flooded, but it’s not clear yet whether the water made its way into the stores in the area

The water had receded by Sunday evening.

“Some of the areas are down,” said Muench. “Some of the areas, the water level is still quite high, but within an hour or two it should subside.”

The city has been hit with severe storms several times in the last few years, but a lot of infrastructure work was recently completed on the storm sewer and drainage systems.

It wasn’t clear as of Sunday evening how many home or businesses were affected.

No storm-related injuries or accidents were reported, added Muench.

“It was just a really hard rain, with some lightning afterwards. A really hard rain that came down really quick.”

He says anyone with issues or concerns should contact Humboldt city hall Monday, and in the meantime they should avoid driving through flooded areas if possible.