NORTH SEATTLE - Yes, it’s been raining - but that alone did not cause the floodwaters that filled several homes on Woodlawn Avenue North in Seattle.

Bales of straw, apparently stacked up to prevent erosion, slid down into a creek and backed up a large drain.

That caused several feet of water to back up, filling backyards and spilling right into several homes.

Ryan Hatch lives in one the houses - he waded through an area that's normally grass, where his daughter could play.

It's a good thing the kids weren't out there, he said - because the water backed up quickly.

"Within like half an hour we had like three feet of water back here," Hatch said. "Our whole basement's flooded (and) the couches are ruined. So it's going to be a total loss, it looks to me."

When they rushed down to the basement they found water pouring through a closed door.

Hatch said he and his roommates quickly moved everything they could - up off the floor.

"I didn't know how deep it was going to get I came down here," he said. "I mean there's nothing we could do. I wanted to get stuff that meant a lot to us, like photos and that kind of thing."

One of the property owners called the city and crews came out to clear the drain - for the water to recede.

Property owner Todd Linnabary said, "We're dealing with the city right now. The inspectors are coming out. I guess we'll be talking with the inspectors and seeing what they're planning on doing here."

KOMO News also called the city for answers, but they didn’t have too much right away.

City spokesman Cornell Amaya did say that he’s trying to figure out who put the bales of straw out there, because they are the ones who will be responsible for compensating the homeowners for the cleanup.