CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY, N.Y. -- Jacqui Riggins of Brocton spent her day drying out items that were damaged when her basement flooded during the recent heavy rainfall.
"I wanted to sit down and cry, is what I wanted to do... but I knew I had to get to work," said Riggins.
Crews were also out repairing Lake Avenue in the village after sections were washed away.
"It's bad. It's very bad. If there's a major emergency right on the other side here, its going to take a lot longer to get to it," said Randy Harriger of Brocton.
The village has taken steps to mitigate water flow by rebuilding creek beds and upgrading storm drains after the flood of 2012.
"When you get almost six inches of rain, storm drains aren't going to handle it, so then it started to overflow," said Brocton Mayor David Hazelton.
Despite the upgrades, Hazelton said this flood could have been worse.
In the town of Portland, Chautauqua County highway crews were busy at work removing sections of culvert, big heavy pieces of twisted metal after Wolben Road opened up during the flood -- just one more example of the cleanup these communities face as they look to put the pieces back together.
"If we really are having a change in weather overall, this isn't going to be that isolated event," said Hazelton.
Hazelton said given the recent trend of devastating July weather, the village but will continue to focus on long-range planning and re-examine its budget.
"If it's a sewer issue, then we have to look into that budget, if it's water or electric we have to go to those specific budgets," said Hazelton.
Riggins said she plans to ensure the items in her basement are stored up off the floor.
"It can happen again, and if it does, and if you're not prepared, shame on me," said Riggins.