LEWISTON — (NEWS CENTER Maine) -- The Lewiston-Auburn area saw some quick rising areas across the region Thursday afternoon.
According to the NWS, approximately 2.5 inches of rain fell over a two hour period, causing localized street flooding in many areas.
Great Falls Plaza in Auburn was under about an inch of water shortly after the deluge.
Parking areas on Maple and Lisbon streets in Lewiston also were impassable for a time Thursday.
NEWS CENTER Maine spoke with Lewiston's fire captain who says he hasn't seen flooding like this in the 35 years he's been in the industry.
"People were panicking, they had water coming in everywhere and were like -- what do we do?" Captain Paul Fournier said.
Fournier says calls started coming in just before 3 p.m. on Thursday. Some people were experiencing a leaky roof, others had water streaming up and out of their toilet.
"It was like you didn't want to get out of your car," Fournier said. "I've never seen it so bad."
PHOTOS | Street flooding in Lewiston/Auburn
AAA warns drivers to stay safe in localized street flooding situations with the following tips;
- Avoid hard breaking and sharp turns, and drive in the tracks of the vehicle ahead of you.
- Allow ample stopping distance between you and the car in front of yours. Instead of the usual recommendation of 3-4 seconds following distance, increase space to give yourself 5-6 seconds to stop when driving on wet roads.
- Before you drive in wet weather, make sure your tires are properly inflated and have enough tread depth. Insert a quarter upside down into a tire groove. If you can see above George Washington’s head at any point, it’s time for new tires.
- While cruise control works great in dry conditions, when used in wet weather, it can increase your chance of losing control.
- Driving through deep standing water on a flooded road can cause a vehicle to stall and result in severe damage to the vehicle, including flooding the engine, warping brake rotors, loss of power steering, shorted electrical components, etc.
Meteorologist Ryan Breton expects the rain to stop within the next few minutes, so flooding conditions should subside.
NEWS CENTER Maine will update this story.