On this day in 1950, a flash flood in Nebraska killed 23 people. Since the flood was unexpected, many victims died from drowning in their vehicles.

Southeastern Nebraska is the rainiest region in the state, usually getting 35 inches of rain annually. The rain level of the spring and summer of 1960, blew the region’s average out of the water. The deadly flash flooding was part of a series of floods that hit the area near Lincoln, Nebraska, where the Big Blue River feeds into the Kansas River, between May and July of that year because of thunderstorms.

Although the flash flood was deadly, the rainfall amount wasn’t a record.  The world record for the most rainfall was recorded in Lloro, Columbia, with a whopping 1,000 inches of rain. The vast majority of deaths from flooding are from flash floods—most of the fatalities are among people who become trapped in their vehicles and drown.