Police blocked off sections of North Grand Avenue between Stadium Way and Northeast Whitman Street Tuesday after flooding made the road impassable and trapped several people inside buildings.

Parts of the Dissmore’s IGA parking lot were submerged, along with the foundations of several other buildings.

Officials rescued two or three individuals from Sunshine North Laundromat on North Grand Avenue after floodwater trapped them inside, said Pullman Fire Marshal Chris Wehrung.

“They were in there, and the waters were too swift, and the city had a piece of heavy equipment in the area,” Wehrung said. “We just grabbed it and went over the building and got them out safely.”

Officials also assisted several other individuals to get out of buildings in the affected area.

The last time Pullman had a flood on a similar scale was in 1996 when the South Fork of the Palouse River and several smaller streams flooded.

Information from the police scanner indicated some areas on North Grand may have reached over a foot of water.

Pullman Fire Captain Mark Johnson said people should avoid the area from north of Grand Avenue and Stadium Way all the way to the Neill Public Library.

If people need to travel through Pullman, Wehrung said they should plan to take alternate routes.

“Please stay away from North Grand,” he said. “If you do need to travel anywhere, Terre View is open, and I believe the south end of town is dry.”