BINGHAMTON, N.Y. – Tuesday was beautiful day in the Southern Tier, but it was a much different story this week back in 2006.

Heavy rain caused historic flooding throughout Broome County, destroying homes and displacing up to 20,000 people.

The director of Broome County's medical services was on scene that day, and says it was a miracle no lives were lost.

"We expected around 50 fatalities just based on anecdotal information that we got from evacuees along the lines of, well we just barely got out but we're sure our neighbors didn't," said Raymond Serowik, Broome County Emergency Medical Services Coordinator.

First responders from throughout the county were forced to make rescues by boat or even helicopter throughout that week. Binghamton's Fire Marshall says it was something he'll never forget.

"It was a tough time for the city and the residents. It was really heartbreaking seeing the families displaced temporarily or in some cases permanently  from their homes," said Binghamton Fire Marshall Alan Gardiner.

Since then, fire departments like Binghamton have made a number of changes, including adding new rafts and new better equipment.

“We made a lot of revisions and we've done a lot of analysis on that flood to see what we can do better and where we can move some equipment and have boats stages and the number of personnel to man them,"said Gardiner.

Following the 2006 flood, the county was able to utilize brand new inundation models which show exactly where future floods will happen and just how bad they will be.

"We used that inundation modeling in 2011 to actually evacuate a lot of people, thousands of people, ahead of the flood water," said Serowik.

First responders say to this day, some are still recovering from the damage.