SUDBURY -- A big storm that hit Capreol in Greater Sudbury Tuesday night caused some major damage, with flooding and sewage backups hitting several homes.

Residents along Lakeshore Street in Capreol were particularly hard hit. Larry Boucher said water suddenly came rushing into his basement.

"It was unbelievable," Boucher said. "It was going all over the place, you couldn't even see across the road here. And it just kept going. I just went downstairs to check out my basement and there was water all over the place the sewers were backed up."

Air purifiers are now running in Boucher's basement as crews take out the damaged materials. He's lived on the street for 40 years and just renovated his basement last year. The sewer back up damaged all that work.

"It just grossed me right out," he said. "So I called the insurance company and they were here within the hour. They said they had one heck of a time driving here, the storm was so wicked."

Greater Sudbury said so far, 17 homes in Capreol are reporting water and sewage back up damage. Deputy Fire Chief Jesse Oshell, of Greater Sudbury Fire Services, said a large amount of rain fell in a very short time, overwhelming the system in some areas.

"It was just the volume of rain," Oshell said, "that did in fact overwhelm so of the storm sewer areas. We do know from public works that there were some lift stations that were without power for a short period of time."

There were also flooding problems in the Dennie Street and Ormsby Avenue area in Capreol.

City officials are reminding people they should never enter a flooded basement because of the risk of electrical shock and other health hazards posed by water being contaminated with sewage and other pollutants.