Water already was dripping from the ceiling above the front showroom of Roger Morgan’s florist shop when he arrived at work at 6:30 this morning.

Still, he had a casket spray due for a 10 a.m. funeral at a funeral home across the street near downtown Lancaster. And other orders to fill, too. He put out buckets. Rain kept falling.

He and three workers continued working until just before 8:30 a.m. when a noise “like an earthquake,” Morgan said, rocked the shop and the roof collapsed.

Morgan and three of his employees at Flowers Designed by Roger at 500-502 N. Columbus St. ran out the back. No one was injured.

Heavy rain overnight is to blame for the collapse of the flat, rubber roof, said Lancaster Fire Captain Tom Dempsey.

Firefighters responded at 8:26 a.m., shut off the gas, and closed down the front showroom, which is now roofless and open to the sky.

The rear of the business, a separate structure where Morgan and his employees prepare flower arrangements, was deemed stable and remained open this morning.

Morgan’s insurer came to the shop to determine a damage estimate. Morgan and his workers sloshed through standing water left when the roof collapsed and rain poured in.

“It’s a mess,” said Morgan, a former Lancaster city councilman who has been in business for 28 years, including 25 at this location.

He was grateful that no one was hurt, and that he was able to fulfill that casket-spray order.

“Luckily we got it out,” he reported.

Portions of nine roads in Fairfield County were closed this morning because of high water, a county sheriff’s dispatcher said.