MADRAS – The flood at Don and Connie Gilbert’s home had subsided on Tuesday morning, but the mass of soggy carpet piled outside their door made clear that their problems didn’t disappear with the water.

The Gilberts and four friends from their Jehovah’s Witnesses congregation spent the morning scraping up vinyl flooring that was ruined when floodwaters rose to 4 inches deep inside their home.

”We had Lake Gilbert here for a while,” Connie said. ”You can’t cover that up.”

The Gilberts were some of the hardest hit by the water that drenched parts of downtown Madras – and much of Central Oregon – on Friday. But in all, city officials said, the torrent of rain caused more headaches than widespread destruction.

”In terms of damage, I would describe it as moderate,” said Madras City Administrator Mike Morgan. Morgan praised volunteer firefighters and Jefferson County Sheriff Jack Jones for quickly responding to the rising water.

Water reached 24 inches deep on parts of Highway 97, closing the thoroughfare for 4 1/2 hours, said Jones.

The sheriff’s office and county public works departments are still compiling countywide estimates of flood damage, Jones said. People whose property was damaged by the flood are asked to call Sheriff Jones at 475-6520.

The sheriff’s office and county public works departments are still compiling countywide estimates of flood damage, Jones said. People whose property was damaged by the flood are asked to call Sheriff Jones at 541-475-6520.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the 54 Road, which links Rams and Grizzly roads in eastern Jefferson County, was the only road still closed due to flooding, Jones said. Because of saturated soil, drivers of vehicles heaver than 50,000 pounds shouldn’t drive on gravel or unimproved roads, according to a public works department statement.

During the flood, Willow Creek overflowed, sending sheets of water through downtown Madras and threatening several businesses.

Daniel Bueno, owner of Discount Carpet, was drying out one damp-but-undamaged roll on Tuesday as part of his continued cleanup effort. Bueno, who moved his 8-year-old business to the downtown building two months ago, said he found a ”nightmare” when he came to his shop Friday night.

”Everything was covered in mud and water,” Bueno said. Bueno was out of town as the water rose and couldn’t sandbag his store, which he believes could have prevented some of the $4,000 in damage to his inventory, he said.

”Those, they’re bad,” Bueno said, gesturing to a massive shelf stacked with ruined carpet.

Madras Auto Parts also saw some flooding, but nothing was damaged, thanks to volunteers who helped sandbag his business, said owner Cory Dejarnatt. The business has survived four floods since Dejarnatt’s father, George, started the business in 1955, he said. Of the four, Friday’s flood was the least severe, he said.

”We just pick it up and we clean it up,” Dejarnatt said.

But cleaning up wasn’t as easy for the Gilbert family, which suffered its second disaster. Their son, Matt Gilbert, owns the Redmond home that was set ablaze Dec. 12, resulting in $225,000 in damage, according to law enforcement officials. Two dogs and a cat were also found at the home, shot to death, allegedly by three teens, who are also charged with the arson. Two other cats died in the fire.

Don and Connie Gilbert’s animals were at risk on Friday, but their son-in-law, Mykl Kofahl, rescued their seven dogs and one cat while they were away. Like Bueno, they had left town and didn’t return until Friday night. They were taking Don’s mother home to Cherry Grove, in northwest Oregon, Connie said.

The Gilberts say they’ll repair their home. Don, head custodian at Jefferson County Middle School, plans to do the work himself, with the help of a few friends.

It could take months, they said, but Connie did take a brief break on Tuesday to poke her head outside when a few drops of rain started to fall. ”

Don’t worry,” Connie said to her friends. ”It’s not flood rain, just normal rain.”