Halsey fans didn’t get to hear her perform her song “Nightmare,” but they did get to live through one Wednesday night.

The singer canceled her show at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland, after heavy rain flooded the amphitheater, drenching concertgoers who had been waiting at the venue for hours. Rain was in the forecast, but Merriweather Post Pavilion tweeted that the show would go on — rain or shine. Around 7:30 p.m., the show was delayed and scheduled to restart at 9:30 — until around 10 p.m. when it was called off for good.

Videos from fans on Twitter show rainwater funneling down the steps and off the roof, flooding the floor in front of the pit barricade. While some fans managed to find shelter in the venue’s bathrooms, one video shows a sopping wet squirrel seeking refuge on stage, only to be punted back into the flood water by a crew member as concerned onlookers yell “it’s a squirrel!” One fan can be heard naming him Chuck, begging “someone save Chuck.”

In an Instagram Live later Wednesday evening, Halsey succinctly described the chaotic evening as “literally fucking insane.”

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According to Halsey’s Instagram Live, a team of “weather experts” works with the tour to advise on any weather precautions for each concert. The weather experts had assured Halsey, whose show was a part of a Live Nation tour, that there would certainly be rain, but it wasn’t “going to be a big deal,” she said. A big deal, it was: Around 7 p.m. the National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning for eastern Howard County, and later issued a tornado warning for Columbia around 8:40 p.m.

The opening act was pulled from the stage, and Halsey said local authorities advised keeping everyone in place to prevent a stampede or traffic jam. It started to look like things might improve, according to Halsey, so the final word on the show’s cancelation didn’t come until around 10 p.m., when she saw the images and videos shared by fans of the conditions at the amphitheater.

“I was trying to do the show by any means necessary, however not wanting to break your heart is not as important as wanting to keep you guys safe,” Halsey said in the Instagram Live. “Ultimately, through looking at the weather, also seeing all of your tweets and seeing the conditions that you guys are in, it became really apparent that I had to cancel the show.”

On Twitter, Halsey described feeling “heartbroken and panicked” about the evening, adding that she was “beyond disappointed” with Merriweather Post Pavilion and vowed to reschedule the show elsewhere.

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Audrey Fix Schaefer, a spokesperson for I.M.P., the company that oversees venues like Merriweather Post Pavilion, The Anthem, and the 9:30 Club, told DCist/WAMU Thursday morning that she was surprised to see Halsey’s tweet, as its the artist’s decision when and if to call off a show.

“We’ve been working with the artist and her people all day and night,” Schaefer said. “They are the ones who made the calls on when the show was put on hold for a bit, and then also when they made the decision not to take the stage.  We were just honoring their choice.”

Later, Schaefer followed up to add that it was a collective decision to cancel the show, made in the interest of the performers’ and fans’ safety. “All parties involved wanted to provide the best possible concert experience for last night’s patrons,” the emailed statement reads. “When the storm hit last night, everyone was provided cover and told to shelter-in-place. It was everyone’s sincere hope that the show would go on, but ultimately the decision was made to cancel the show.”

According to Schaefer, the venue has been inspected since the storm and nothing was broken that could have caused the intense flooding conditions. Merriweather Post Pavilion also has a pumping system, she said, that was ready to be implemented to clear the water had Halsey chosen to take the stage.

“It’s a type of thing that’s brought in as needed, so the systems were up and ready to go and operate,” Schaefer said, adding that no one was injured on Wednesday night. “But then the show was called, and it resolved itself pretty quickly.”

While Halsey claims a new location will be selected for the rescheduled date, Schaefer told DCist/WAMU that Merriweather Post Pavilion is still working with Live Nation to see if there’s an upcoming date for a rescheduled show.

“It’s unfortunate when Mother Nature and tour schedules don’t cooperate with one another, but that’s a part of the outdoor experience. And that’s why we work with the artist to make determinations on how they want to proceed.”

Live Nation did not immediately return DCist/WAMU’s request for comment.