Image by Joey Conti, courtesy of Village of Fredonia Police.
MAYVILLE – The effort to clean up areas of northern Chautauqua County hit hard by flooding earlier this week continues today, with county officials saying it’s likely the impacted communities will qualify for the needed federal aid to help in the effort.
County executive Vince Horrigan was joined by several other officials on Wednesday afternoon in Mayville to offer an update on the flood damage that took place in Westfield, Brocton and Silver Creek – along with several other communities.
Beginning late Monday night, the communities were hit by a large amount of rainfall in a very short period of time – more than 5 inches in just two hours – causing creeks, ditches, and drainage basins to be overwhelmed with water and leading to widespread flooding. Horrigan said no injuries were reported, thanks in large part to the work by local emergency crews.
“This operation started 11 p.m. Monday and teams were working around the clock, 24 hours a day without sleep,” Horrigan explained.
As water swept through Chautauqua County Tuesday, more than 250 basements were flooded and many roads and culverts were completely washed out. As of this morning, a boil water order remains in effect for areas of Westfield, with the entire village currently under a conservation order because the water plant being overwhelmed by the storm.
Horrigan said he thinks there was enough damage created by the storm to surpass, the $400,000 threshold needed in order to be eligible for federal aid. However, it’s not known if a disaster declaration for the entire state can be declared, because the total amount of damage needs to be more than $20 million. However, Horrigan said he will be reaching out to other counties to determine what the overall cost will be.
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