STEUBEN COUNTY, NY (WENY) -- Some Steuben County residents are still piecing things back together, about nine months after the remnants of Tropical Storm Debby ravaged the area. Ann Zeltwanger, a Canisteo resident, lived through the 2021 and 2024 floods and had major damage to her home.

Earlier this week, heavy rain caused more flash flooding in some areas that were hit hard in the past, but Zeltwanger said she got lucky this time around... But for how long?

"Most of us were on edge because nine months have gone by and here we are doing it all over again. It’s frustrating and we need the problem fixed. If it wasn’t for the field down below... I would’ve had water like everybody else," said Zeltwanger.

Steuben County Legislature Chair Kelly Fitzpatrick is calling for immediate action on the state and federal levels regarding flood recovery efforts.

"What I am finding in government is that the wheels of action in government move slowly. Sometimes, we need to light fires under organizations, groups, and departments to say; 'Thank you for all of the work that you've done up to this point, but there is still more work to do.' We need help because we have more road damage... We want to get the infrastructure in place so that it doesn't continue to happen and our constituents should expect no less," said Fitzpatrick.

Fitzpatrick said that in our current environment, we have to accept that there are going to be more extreme weather events. She said there are necessary steps that need to be taken to protect homes, farmland, and businesses.

"There are levee systems that need to be re-certified [and] creek beds and streams that need to be cleaned out. We wanna protect every organism and animal and critter that lives in the stream and the creek bed. We should be mindful of other things that live in this ecosystem. We also need to be concerned about the people [who] live here, the farmland... I think there needs to be a broader call to action. I mean, it's not fair to say that they haven't been help/other organizations haven't been helping us [because] they have. We need to take a bigger, broader approach to this to keep these events from causing so much damage," said Fitzpatrick.

Meanwhile, Zeltwanger, whose property borders Bennett's Creek, hopes something can be done sooner rather than later.

"I’m hoping someone comes in and reevaluates the issue and what work needs to be done the correct way. As far as funding goes, some of us could use so much more because like I said, they’ve gotten their money, fixed their places, and they’re right back to square one where everything got washed away. You’ve got your farmers, neighbors, just so many people have been impacted by this over and over again. Should we expect this again in another nine to twelve months? When does it stop? When do we get things fixed so [I] don’t have to worry about where I’m going to sleep the next night it rains?" said Zeltwanger.

Fitzpatrick said moving forward it's not just about rebuilding what was damaged, it's about protecting what's still here.

"If you have community members [who] rebuild and they're resilient and they wanna stay in their homes, it's important for us to put in the infrastructure in place that protects them," said Fitzpatrick.

Fitzpatrick said that the county isn't asking for a handout with the flood recovery efforts, but rather what's long overdue.

"There are programs in place [and] we would like to see the program processes streamlined so that the funding comes through faster and people can get back to their ordinary lives faster. We're talking about stability and security, and what is the most secure and stable thing in a person's life? Their home. It's their livelihood. We need to do whatever we can to fix it, and fix it quickly," said Fitzpatrick.

Fitzpatrick said the county is going to continue to work and improve things like infrastructure to help prevent devastating floods in the future.