Due to its autonomous status, the university does not have to abide by standard building regulations designed to curtail construction in floodways. Hence the repeated flooding. But on this evening more is at stake than the flooded campus bookstore and library. The rain continues unabated, with large quantities of water flowing through the campus into the drainage of a small creek which, for much of the year, has little more than a trickle in it. The creek is already overflowing with runoff from the deluge.
Water begins to back up behind a railroad embankment that runs parallel to one of the main streets.
The culvert through the embankment is clogged with debris. The berm protects a mobile home park downstream from floodwaters. By late evening the water has backed up nearly to the top of the earthen berm, forming a reservoir of water backing up to the west. A train comes along the tracks. The water is lapping at the top of the embankment.