ROCK HILL, Mo. — Emmanuel Lare thanked Rock Hill Fire Department after he was rescued by boat in the overnight hours Tuesday.
"The fire department came and saved me and brought me here. So thank you for the help," Lare said.
It happened on Rock Hill Industrial Court off Manchester Road.
The truck driver said he was sleeping inside his truck waiting for Forest Products Supply Company to open to deliver wood.
"I saw the water around me and I tried to open the door but the water was touching my door a little bit. That's why I just called 911 to let them know I'm not safe," Lare said.
By Tuesday morning, businesses were sucking up the water and cleaning up mud and debris that washed up from Deer Creek.
"We've had people out in the parking lot with power washers in the parking lot since 7 a.m. this morning," Muller said.
Robb Muller, the sales manager at Schillers Camera, said there was no physical damage to the building. However in years past there was up to the front steps of the business during flash floods.
Across the street, Trainwreck Saloon flooded so bad in 2022 that they had to close for some time.
During this week's flood they only had dampness in their basement, their owner Captain George Hansford told 5 On Your Side's Diamond Palmer.
Muller said the constant flooding is emotionally taxing.
"Our building is elevated a little bit. We've been very fortunate that water hasn't come into our building," Muller said.
Neighboring city of Brentwood spent $120,000 a couple years ago to clear out Black Creek to hopefully improve the flow of Deer Creek.
But still Muller says more needs to be done for ongoing flooding problems.
"Unfortunately this happened numerous times last year. And we thought things would get better with the construction and the things they [the city] were working on but apparently there is more that needs to be done," Muller said.
For the past 15 years, the Deer Creek Watershed Alliance has advocated with community members to help with water quality and rainwater slow down to avoid flooding. The alliance is a project of the Missouri Botanical Garden and funded by Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District, Mabel Dorn Reeder Foundation, the Holton family, and US EPA Region 7 through the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.
They are urging people in the area to install rainscaping features including catch basins, plantings and pavement to reduce storm water runoff.