DANVILLE, Va. – "We've been watching it ever since it started coming up," said Danville resident Alan Garbisch, who lives on Bridge Street.
He's referring to the Dan River overflowing its banks and flooding half of the parking lot behind his apartment complex.
He said residents at the complex tell him the flooding has been worse before and he's not concerned.
"Mother Nature's going to do what Mother Nature's going to do," Garbisch emphasized. "We moved our cars all up to the front. If we have to, we'll go out the other door and out the other end of the building."
Roads were also flooded Tuesday.
Advance and Trade streets and part of Goodyear Boulevard were closed.
Starting around midnight, water had to be pumped off River Street.
The National Weather Service in Blacksburg said the Dan River was at major flood stage Tuesday, which begins at 25.5 feet.
"After that, it can rise fairly high before it starts coming into other streets, big streets like Memorial Drive. Fran was right on the verge of flooding a lot of areas," Danville Public Works director Rick Drazenovich explained.
Richard Bliss said his curiosity got the better of him Tuesday, so he decided to head down to the Y and see what the river looks like when it's up so high.
"[It's] about the highest I've ever seen it. It's amazing that the dam they've been talking about taking down is just completely covered right now. I haven't seen it this high since Hurricane Fran or Agnes back in [1972], I think," Bliss said.
The National Weather Service expects the river to crest at just over 26 feet at 8 p.m. Tuesday and remain there until 2 a.m. Wednesday.
Drazenovich said once the rain finally moves out, the river should recede back into its banks within 24 hours.