When floodwaters covered I-35 Sunday night, dozens of drivers found themselves trapped both in the water and behind it.
"There was water in front of me, water to the left, water to the right, miles of cars backed up behind me," said Rick Smith, who was caught on I-35 while traveling back to his home in Dallas. "I was basically trapped."
Smith said it was raining so hard he could barely see the taillights of vehicles ahead of him.
Then he saw water spilling over the concrete barrier separating the lanes of the interstate.
"It looked like a miniature Niagara Falls. It was just pouring down into our lane," he said.
For almost three hours, traffic on northbound I-35 was at a standstill. And for a moment, Smith didn't know how the night would end.
"I asked that trooper, 'Are we gonna die?' ... I have children," Smith recalled.
Emergency crews eventually arrived, and as the rain eased, the water began to recede.
But the flooding wasn't limited to the interstate. Across the Waco area, creeks quickly spilled beyond their banks, blocking roads and flooding residents’ property.
"It was a case of just the right — or wrong — amount of water in a very short amount of time and in just a perfect spot to cause the maximum amount of issues," Emergency Management Coordinator Ryan Dirker said.
While the Waco area only saw an average of three to four inches of rainfall Sunday night, Dirker said that can add up fast.
"That's three inches in your rain gauge, but it's also three inches a foot from there. And again and again," Dirker explained. "That's three inches over an entire area all at once. The volume of water multiplies exponentially very, very quickly."
In the Sendero Springs neighborhood, Will Burney woke up Monday to find his backyard transformed.
"The first thing I noticed is, I have this big shed here, and the first thing I come out and see is it in the middle of the yard. And my first thought is, that's not where it's supposed to be," Burney said.
He said floodwater came up a 10 foot embankment and within about 20 feet of his house, damaging fencing and moving structures across his property.
"I got a little freaked out last night, not gonna lie. I've been through hurricanes ... but I've never seen that before," he said, adding that Sunday night, it was hard to see where the water line was in his yard.
Many residents, like Burney and his neighbors, say they've never seen water rise this quickly in areas that don't typically flood.
Burney says the experience has left him with questions.
"I guess the big thing I want to know is why it happened," Burney said.
As cleanup continues, emergency officials are asking residents to document any uninsured damage through the state's online damage assessment tool.
"If you had damage to your property at all, it's better to report it than not," Dirker said, adding that even if the survey doesn't ask for damage to out houses or vehicles, you should include it anyway.
Those reports help determine whether McLennan County qualifies for additional state recovery assistance.
On Monday, Governor Gregg Abbott issued a disaster declaration for 101 counties following Sundays rains, including McLennan County.
