water, water everywhere

i guess my parents' house is flooding. last night, mom said that it was predicted to crest with another 3' by tonight & the house could only withstand another 1 1/2' before the basement filled with water. in the 30+ years since my parents' built the house, they've never had water get into the basement. despite the fact that the river is directly across the road from the house, the foundation is built up enough to keep all but the worst flooding out.
my brother is activated with the national guard, so he can't help out much as they're sandbagging other places besides the folks' house down in that area & stationed at the armory 10 miles away. dad is running all over helping other people out, but not bothering about the antique dressers in the basement, the bedroom sets from my grandma's house, etc. as if mom could hoist a full size mattress up the stairs or the dressers on her own. she's already pooped from numerous trips up & down the stairs over the last week, trying to move things as the water threatened. her knees aren't that great to begin with & 100 trips up & down the stairs isn't much fun for the strain.
yesterday my dad was interviewed by the local news about the flooding and my mom had to one-up him by walking to the bridge nearby and running into the nd state governor inspecting the area. they had a nice chat.
my bff of 25 years sent me some pics her mom e-mailed of their place and the bridge near ours. you can see them on my facebook page. we all live within half a mile and then next door is the family business for the past 40 years. good luck selling that now once it's completely flooded.
the last flood i remember in that area was during my junior prom in 1996. almost didn't make it out for the banquet because water was running across the roads. and not that i remember it, but the spring after i was born, in 1979, my folks' had to bring me to my aunt & uncle's place in town rather than stay in the valley. in 2001, my college town flooded and then last summer iowa city. maybe s was right in that he told my mom last night that i'm a jinx.