The cities of Omaha, Nebraska and Council Bluffs, Iowa assessed the damage early Sunday after a massive thunderstorm deluged the area.
Several inches of rain fell in some locations along with dramatic scenes as vehicles quickly became submerged and with passengers trapped in a flooded elevator.
The National Weather Service Reported at least six rescues out of stranded vehicles as downtown Omaha turned into a series of rivers. In one area 2.08 inches of rain was recorded in a half-hour. Just ten minutes later the report was upped to five inches.
"I have never seen anything like this firsthand," one local meteorologist said.
Nearly 15,000 outages were reported due to hail, wind and torrential rain. Visibility became near zero for drivers at the height of the storm.
The scene on Jones Street in downtown Omaha's Old Market (@kimberlyvilh on Twitter)
(@dkaplar on Twitter)