ERIE COUNTY, N.Y. — The Town of Evans is under a State of Emergency after being hit by quite a bit of flash flooding Thursday night.
It's the worst flooding that area has seen in more than five years.
Now neighbors in the Town of Evans are running on little sleep after temperatures were above freezing for two days which ultimately melted a frozen Big Sister Creek.
"Water, it was like an island. Our house was like an island. The water was all around," said Tom Latimore, who lives in the area.
It caused ice jams and a whole lot of flooding for homeowners.
"I would imagine 20 to 30 homes," said Guy Canonico, Town of Evans disaster coordinator.
Now the Town of Evans is in a state of emergency through February 20.
That has allowed for additional resources from the state such as sandbags and equipment, and the possibility of more funding in the future should it be needed.
Several roads have also been shut down after being washed out, including part of Route 5. The state will have to inspect them after they're cleared of all the elements.
Town of Evans supervisor Mary Hosler says there's not a whole lot the town can do besides remove debris from the creek or allow anyone else who gets displaced shelter at the fire hall in town if they don't have anywhere else to go.
"I just hate being helpless and I hate that we can't give them any real solution," Hosler said.
She says the New York State DEC, who has jurisdiction over the creek, won't let the town redirect the "S" shape of the stream, which creates more ice jams, into a straight line.
Hosler says it's because the state DEC wanted to protect the wildlife.
"It's really hard to see that a fish would take precedence over residential property," Hosler said.
Meanwhile, Latimore is going to have to clean up a flooded basement.
"There's nothing you can do about it because the ice backs all the way up to the bridge and when it dams up at the bridge, the water comes down Route 5 and comes down here and it has nowhere to go," Latimore said.
Hosler says the state has told her the 30-year-old bridge on Route 5 can be replaced in three years, which she hopes could provide a solution.
"During that replacement, it would talk about wing walls, giving the water a more direct course of action and lifting the bridge. So just think if that bridge was just a little bit higher and there was some cement wing walls to keep the water in the creek instead of pushing it over the bank," Hosler said.
The state DEC has not responded to a request for comment.
Hosler says she's worried about more flooding on the way with temperatures rising early next week.