HOMEOWNERS have revealed how they were left in 2ft of flood water within minutes of the Humber bursting its banks.
A state of emergency was declared as East Yorkshire battled the worst flooding since 2007, which destroyed property, closed schools and caused chaos on the roads.
Last night, as flood warnings were lifted, allowing residents to begin the clean-up operation, communities were praised for their resilience during "testing times".
Worst-hit areas for flooding on Thursday night included a cluster of low-lying cul-de-sacs near Hull Marina, as well as Hessle Foreshore and the village of Paull, although the whole of East Yorkshire contended with gale-force winds.
Janet Dugdale, of Admirals Croft, off Wellington Street West, Hull city centre, said: "Within a few minutes, we were up to our knees in the North Sea.
"But it was strange – half an hour later, after high tide had passed, the water was gone."
Graham Barnfather, 32, and Christopher Dean, 25, who live a few doors away from Ms Dugdale, described the suddenness of the deluge, which happened as the pair travelled to the nearby Nuffield Health gym.
Mr Barnfather said: "It happened so quickly. I saw the water on the road, but just thought a water pipe had burst.
"Then we saw cars turning around near the Odeon. The water was getting really deep."
Mr Dean, who took a video of Thursday's carnage on his mobile phone, said: "We saw one car just die. The water was above wheel arch height."
The pair returned to their rented home to find water rushing inside.
Mr Dean said: "Literally, five to seven minutes earlier the place had been bone dry. It all happened incredibly quickly.
"The water was freezing cold. I was shaking and wet through.
"I carried Archie, my golden retriever, who was in the car, upstairs to get him out of the way and we just tried our best to save the furniture.
"We heard a loud bang and then the power went out. No one in our close had power."
Despite their best efforts, a leather sofa, white goods and a television were destroyed.
Mr Barnfather said: "If we had insurance, it would be a £10,000 claim."
A thick layer of mud and silt covered the cul-de-sac yesterday.
Mr Barnfather, who owns Hull Jetwash, spent the day hosing down his neighbours' property.
"It only took me five minutes to get rid of the mud with a machine – it would have taken them two hours by hand," he said.
"People were pretty thankful."
Dozens of homes were flooded, while at the height of the storm on Thursday evening, 6,500 households were without power.
Stuart Donald, Humberside Police's Assistant Chief Constable, said contingency plans had stood up well to the force of nature.
He said: "The region has been subject to exceptionally high tides with some levels the highest recorded in 60 years.
"Many flood defences were breached, with hundreds of people being rescued from their homes.
"At the peak, 16 severe flood warnings were issued in our area, which are only issued when flooding poses a significant threat to life.
"As the strategic commander, I was delighted with the multi-agency response in the area, who worked in difficult circumstances through the night, many in flooded areas, protecting the public and in some cases rescuing them.
"Now the emergency is over, our response is in the recovery stage with local authorities now assisting those affected by the incident.
"I would also like to thank members of the public for their co-operation and support during testing times and the local media also deserve a lot of praise for keeping the public informed of developments quickly and effectively."
Northern Power Grid said last night it expected electricity supplies to be restored to all affected properties by this morning.
A spokesman said: "We had engineers on site in all the problem areas, with 12 serious faults and dozens of smaller ones.
"The main problems were around the city centre, where the substations flooded."
