A St. Malo home would be underwater right now if it were not for the generous volunteers and equipment donations the homeowners received on Sunday.

Jenn Funk says her mother’s residence is located near the banks of the Rat River; the same body of water swelling from extreme flooding in Stuartburn.

Funk had plans to camp with her boyfriend Friday night a ways behind her mother’s property. Despite the location’s proximity to the river, the two had little concern. The waters were higher than usual, she notes, but nothing worrisome. “Then we woke up Saturday morning to our tent in water.”

The startling wake-up-call prompted the couple to retreat to their property, which was on higher ground, and pay more attention to the river’s behavior. As they began measuring its progress, they noticed the waters rising consistently by one inch every hour. They dozed off again Saturday night, aware of the threat but still largely unperturbed.

The Sunday morning report was a bit more menacing. Funk says the lower portion of the backyard had become swallowed by a “raging river”. After taking temporary advantage of her lake-like-lawn by lounging in a tube, Funk came to realize that the water levels were not stopping and would not likely be doing so any time soon.

“We were like, okay, we need to start getting people here cause in 48 hours this will rise another four feet.”

Funk began by texting her boyfriend’s family who quickly responded to help. That response seemed to trigger a sort of chain reaction of willing volunteers.