'I could be dying right now': Rising floodwaters trap group in lift

The decision to check out the floods could have cost them their lives. Photo / Tony Luu

Three people narrowly escaped a flooded lift following a storm that hit Omaha, in the US state of Nebraska on Saturday night.

Omaha man Tony Luu said he and his two friends got in his apartment lift to check out storm damage, KTRK-TV reported.

Before the lift doors could open, Luu said water started pouring in through the vents as they descended.

"It was coming in pretty fast," Luu told local media. "Once it got to my stomach, we kind of figured, 'ok, this is real,'"

Luu called his roommate for help as they waited in chest-high water for emergency responders to arrive.

"We might die if you don't come help us," he said on the phone.

The group were trapped inside the lift. Photo / Tony Luu

Luu's roommate and two other people managed to open the elevator from the lobby by the time the water was up to his neck.

"Once I got down to try and open the door then it was up to my neck, yeah, it got pretty high," Luu said. "We just got it open and started swimming out and once I got out I just couldn't believe like wow this is something you see in a movie," Luu said.

None of them was hurt.

Suzanne Fortin, the meteorologist in charge at the National Weather Service's Omaha forecasting office, said it has been roughly two decades since such severe flash flooding hit the area.

She said as much as 12cm of rain fell in a short time period, and Omaha's lower elevation caused much of the floodwater to flow downtown.

Fortin said there have been no reports of injuries.

- Associated Press, additional reporting NZ Herald