During the past half dozen times or so during a heavy rain storm, water has backed up through the basement floor drain & is flooding my basement. Although I didn't talk to them about it, I noticed nearby neighbors were having water problems as well. Subsequently, I called the local metropolitan sewer district & they sent a tech out to inspect. By this time the water had receded. They had me flush the upstairs toilet to ensure that more water did not come up through the drain. Next, after pouring a few gallons of water in the drain, they plunged the opening which seemed to help the water drain a little better. They suggested that the problem was between the drain & the main stack - and to auger the line. Upon further inspection, I noticed quite a bit of pea gravel in the trap portion of the drain & proceeded to remove it with a shop vacuum. Is it normal to have that much pea gravel in my drain? Also, I remember several years earlier I tried to get a rented drain auger through the drain opening but could not get through & eventually burned up the motor on the rig. Should I get a snake camera down there to see what I'm up against?

do you know for 100% certain that the floor drain is connected to your house sewer ???
if the rain is entering your house sewer somewhere then you have much bigger problems than just a partially clogged floor drain pipe..

Once you get it cleared, consider installing a floodguard into it:

[www.plumbingsupply.com]

That's what the sewer district tech said. No sewage or odor comes from the floor drain. But I agree there's bigger issues. I saw a guy on a video use a cutting bit with a rented auger and actually cleaned tree roots out of his drain pipe. Could this be an option for me?