In this village, this is normal. Most people in the older houses just have a sump pump to get rid of the water little by little and let the basement dry out. They were built with stone foundations, essentially assuming that water would come into the basement, and then drain out.
However, the house we are renting is a newer one (only 40 years old) and the basement is finished, with carpeted floors; it is clearly not supposed to get water in it.
Fortunately, the water did not come up over the carpet, but it was all wet and squishy.
The garage is half the basement, with the driving running down into it. This is part of the problem. The eaves troughs also drain into the base of the driveway, or the entrance to the garage. The main drain is located here, but it clearly does not have the capacity needed. It was also blocked with leaves and other debris. This means the water all began backing up into the garage, and through there into the basement. I also suspect that some water came in at other places.
During the strongest point of the downpour, I tried to unclog the main drain, but I couldn't find the right hole (there are 4 and I only found the upper 2, which both lead in rather than out.) After the rain slowed down, my dad, who had come to help, found it and unclogged it, keeping the basement flooding to a minimum.
We spent hours vacuuming out the rugs. They are damp right now, and drying little by little.
Apparently, this is the 3rd time in 9 years that this has happened! Hopefully, they get this fixed.
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