It's a case of too much rain falling too quickly. At Carl Sandburg College, about three inches of rain came down in just a half-hour.
Staffers were moving furniture at the college on Wednesday morning. They're clearing debris from flash flooding that swept through the campus just hours earlier.
"It created what I would call a tidal wave," said CSC President Lori Sundberg.
Security cameras captured the rushing water as it pushed in doors while taking out computers and desks along the way.
Nobody was hurt in this dramatic deluge.
"It just looked like an ocean out here," said Jim Matthews, surveying the damage. "There was so much water everywhere."
Along Galesburg's Fremont Street, water overflowed Cedar Creek. It stranded cars while flooding homes and businesses.
Inside the Galesburg Animal Hospital, work is just starting.
"It's going to be a lot of clean-up," said office manager Phil Medina. "I think it's going to go on for days."
There's water everywhere in the long-time vet practice. Pets and records are safe, but there's quite a mess inside.
"We got as many people we could to mop mud and debris," said Dr. Greg Weech.
And at the kind-hearted clinic, there's a rescue they'll remember.
"We heard a loud crying in there this morning," Dr. Weech recalled.
The vet and his daughter, Mandy, pulled a baby raccoon that was lodged in a pipe.
"I saw its head sticking out of the top," Mandy said.
Back at the college, feeling lucky it isn't even worse.
Clean-up crews will be busy on campus for the rest of the week. It's possible that they could re-open by the middle of next week.
"This is just clean-up," Sundberg concluded. "We're very grateful."
At CSC, grateful for all the hands reaching out to help.