Solving active sump issues
I have experienced massive water flow in the sumps when they've been unplugged or just not running while water continues to build up around the foundation.  If you have a lot of clean #57 stone around the footer, under the slab, and even up the exterior walls some, it will "store" water in the voids between the stone.  This water can travel quickly to the sump when it is "stored" between the stone in this situation, which is precisely why the stone is used in the first place.  Sand will do the same thing, but slower.  

In torrential rains, you need to move a lot of water fast... and clean #57 or larger stone allows you to do that.  Basically, the stone is a big pipe or conduit.... and water can travel both horizontally and vertically through it, so long as it's not infiltrated with sediment.  

Is the "every 12 seconds" you speak of measured just after you plug in the sump?  Depending on how much 4" pipe you have around your foundation, a gigantic amount of water can be stored in it.  Eventually, though, the pump will "catch up" and all that stored water will be gone.  Then I would expect that it slows back down to a more reasonable rate...even if it's still raining outside.  

The time to be most worried is when the sump ISNT working.  That's when you start to get differential settlement and buckling walls in freeze-prone areas.