From the Lawrence Daily Journal-World for May 10, 1974:

Rain struck Lawrence “with a special vengeance” early this morning, and the possibility of more rain was mentioned in the evening forecast. The storm had begun about 5 a.m. and had stayed for three hours, dropping 2.43 inches of rain here but leaving surrounding towns only slightly damp. The railroad underpass on North Second Street flooded for a short time during the morning and had to be closed briefly, according to Arnold Wiley, city street department superintendent. Almost every storm sewer in town was backed up, Wiley noted. “There was just too much water all at once. There was no way the system could handle it.” Properties showed serious flooding on East 12th and East 13th Streets, and Lawrence Mayor Jack Rose had toured the area immediately to inspect the damage, at the request of residents. Rose later said he thought perhaps city cleaning of the Brook Creek drainage ditch had helped somewhat, “and to be real honest I think probably that water came out of the storm sewer.”