GIBSON CITY, Ill. (WAND): Nearly one week after a historic flood in Gibson City, community members and national response teams are hitting the streets to help the community get back up on its feet. 
 
 
It's many people's worst nightmare.
 
"It's their worst day that they have come across during their life," Jarrett Brown, the Incident Commander for Team Rubicon, told WAND News. The nonprofit organization is a veteran-led disaster response team. With 9 to 11 inches of rain that faced Gibson City on Aug. 12, the cleanup has been a tough battle. 
 
The amount of flooding Brown has seen is shocking.
 
"No town in the United States would be prepared for the type of rain the city received," Brown said. 
 
The flooding has been devastating to people's homes and businesses, city officials said. One resident had water that came up within half an inch of his basement ceiling, while others lost their homes. 
 
"Some people just pretty much had the clothes on their back and maybe a cell phone or a wedding picture, and that's all they have left," said Brenda Kelly, who is working with Team Rubicon as a general responder. 
 
Brown said the team is working on getting Gibson City back to normal after the flooding.
 
"We came in to assist with mucking out the homes, taking out drywall, personal belongings and debris management separated out so the city can do their cleanup," Brown said. 
 
The hardest part for these volunteers is not the cleanup, but dealing with homeowners whose lives changed in a matter of hours.
 
"We're here for the physical labor and that's not the hard part - it's, you know, working with the homeowners, trying to you know go through the emotions and stuff with them," Brown said. 
 
The nonprofit is set to be in Gibson City through the end of August. They rely on donations to continue helping the community, which you can help with by going to teamrubiconusa.org.

Although flooding is a natural disaster that may be hard to avoid, there are ways to prepare. According to Team Rubicon, sandbagging the area around your home, especially low areas, can help divert water outside of the home.  Also, having sump pumps that are battery powered, since power outages are common during flash floods. Having a go-bag prepared with important documents such as passports, social security cards and birth certificates is also important in the case of evacuation.Â