Hamburg, N.Y. (WBEN) - For anyone who has lived in Western New York for any length of time, it's no surprise to hear about devastating damage to homes along Hoover Beach along the Lake Erie shoreline during ferocious storms like the damaging wind storm Saturday.
It's become part of life along the Lake Erie shoreline and for residents a source of continued frustration as Mother Nature let's them know who's in charge.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul is no stranger to the plight of the homeowners of Hoover Beach. Hochul was once a resident of Hamburg, a council member and her parents lived along the shorleine as well.
"It's hard. People are exhausted. It's too much."
Like so many years before, Hochul was on a tour of the damaged neighborhood Sunday morning, consoling residents and listening to their concerns. But this time Hochul was listening as governor.
"We're going to continue building back resiliency, having to build projects that will withstand Mother Nature to the extent possible" Hochul said following her tour.
Hochul's words may be encouraging to residents along Hoover Beach, but they may also be too late for one resident whose home sits wide open to the lake's fury as a result of a storm last year, and now Saturday's storm.
"I'm done," Janet Carr told WBEN as she stood on a new protection wall she had constructed in front of her Northshore Drive after last year's storm left her home exposed to the lake. The damaged home was boarded up, only to be torn apart again Saturday, leaving her kitchen and living room looking more like a 'deck' than a home.
"At this point I think the house has to be torn down," Carr said as she looked at the home. "The lake is different than it was 28 years ago. It's much higher, it's much more volatile."
"We used to get these storms every ten, fifteen years, now we're getting them every year," Carr noted.
Hochul agrees with Carr, noting these major storms are occurring with more frequency and are stronger than in previous generations.
Regardless of what's leading to more frequent storms, the question from Carr and other residents along the lake remains certain. What can be done?
Just west of Hoover Beach, in Athol Springs, a massive federal project sits in the waters of Lake Erie just offshore, protecting the shoreline from crashing waves. Numerous public officials and property owners agree it's had some positive impact.
"A rebuilding project to try and stop the water of Lake Erie from coming to land here is something we certainly can look at but it's not something that would help in the short term," said Hochul.
Hochul says the project in Athol Springs took some 20 years from its planning to completion and dates back to her years in Hamburg government. "We most certainly would have to do something in coordination with the Federal government."
In the meantime, dozens of property owners spent Sunday along Hoover Beach clearing debris from their lawns, repairing damage to their homes and cutting downed trees and limbs with chainsaws.
The seemingly annual battle with Lake Erie has many asking residents like Carr, why they stay.
"I ask myself the same question," quips Carr. "The sunsets, the lake is beautiful, but Mother Nature is nasty."
And for Hochul, she admits frustration with little to offer residents in the way of hope.
"I don't know what to say to the homeowners other than God bless you."
Janet Carr's Hoover Beach home, exposed to the elements
The lake-facing facade of Janet Carr's Hoover Beach homeWBEN Photo
The street-facing garage of Janet Carr's Hoover Beach homeWBEN Photo
