Barbara Amrozowicz used to manage the Silver Village trailer park in Silver Creek.
- August 2009 marks 10 years since major widespread flooding
- Several organizations launched a countywide response
- Several homeowners lost everything during the storm
She recalls, through old photographs, how she helped evacuate those living there after flood waters decimated the area 10 years ago.
"It just doesn't seem that long. We lost everything. Everybody lost everything. The trailers had to be totally demolished," said Amrozowicz.
August 2009: Two storm systems over Cattaraugus and Chautauqua counties rapidly dumped several inches of torrential rain, causing major flash flooding.
The surge washed away cars, sent appliances floating down streets and destroyed homes.
"It just shifted trailers everywhere. I mean they were in the road, they were on top of each other. It was just a mess," said Amrozowicz.
"Totally turned the community upside down. The closer I got to Silver Creek, and I could hear the radio conversation and I could tell by the tone of the voices that things were happening very, very quickly. And that community was in a lot of trouble," said Julius Leone, former Chautauqua County emergency services director.
Leone helped orchestrate the response as the water was racing through the village.
"There were a lot of people in jeopardy, a lot of citizens in jeopardy, first responders in jeopardy. Trapped on roofs and porches. We actually had a pregnant lady that was on the roof of a porch," said Leone.
"Oh I couldn't believe it," said Regina Kaiser, of Silver Creek.
Regina Kaiser, 87, has lived in Silver Creek near Lake Erie for about 55 years and recalls her backyard and car tires were underwater.
"It cost a bundle of money. Whole basement full. Ruined the furnace and the water tank. One thing we didn't have much of anything in there," said Kaiser.
"It was a scary time because early in any disaster there's always chaos," said Vince Horrigan, former American Red Cross Southwestern Chapter executive director.
To help minimize that chaos, former Red Cross leaders mobilized a team of about 50 volunteers to offer shelter, food, clothing and comfort for those in need.
"Having mud everywhere. Not knowing where everyone was. A lot of people calling in, ‘Is my family safe?’ So, it was devastating. A lot of people very scared, crying," said Horrigan.
"Mostly shock as I think is very typical," said Gregory Edwards, Former Chautauqua County executive.
Edwards spent several weeks on scene touring the area and connecting people with county, state and federal resources they needed to rebuild their lives.
"What was amazingly impressive and scary was the timelessness of the damage, the importance and capabilities of our volunteers, and as the next two weeks rolled out in particular the resiliency of the community," said Edwards.
Though the area has experienced less severe flooding since 2009, several measures have been taken over the last decade to help prevent another widespread disaster.
"There was work on the creeks. It's a constant challenge to make sure they monitor the level, the depth of the creeks to be sure that it can handle flooding," said Leone.
Thanks to an emergency FEMA declaration, the area received $35 million in residential and community infrastructure grant funding — allowing homeowners like Amrozowicz to get a brand new trailer placed on slightly higher and safer ground.
"It was a freak thing. It's not going to happen again," said Amrozowicz.
A couple of footnotes to pass along: Community leaders worked around the clock to clean up and get the area back on its feet in time for Silver Creek's annual Grape Festival a few weeks later.
And while there were no reports of loss of life in Silver Creek, the storm did claim took two lives in Gowanda.