Water, water everywhere.

If you’ve ever seen a sofa cushion floating in your basement, inhaled the rank stench of drying carpet or sought hopelessly for a contractor to quickly begin flood repairs, you begin to feel the pain of many southern Albertans. Bad as they are, media images of flooded streets and families leaving a watery wake as they drive away to shelter barely touch the edges of the calamity touching tens of thousands of our fellow citizens.

Of course, nothing can compare to the devastation of losing a loved one. For family and friends of the four known to have lost their lives in the past week’s flooding, and for those worrying about the person still missing in High River, the worst material loss will mean little.

Still, for the huge number now returning to badly damaged homes, it will be months at best before a semblance of normalcy returns. No matter how generous various levels of government are, residual costs will dent savings and retirement plans and irreplaceable possessions will be gone forever.

Already, talk has begun of ”what if’s” and “should have beens.” We’ve heard, for example, of a provincial report that has been gathering dust since 2006 which called for greater flood-mitigation efforts and restrictions on home-building in flood-prone areas.

You can be sure there will also be conversations about flood insurance and the justification for direct provincial compensation.

But for the moment, the country’s attention rightly falls on more immediate matters: first, on the stoic resiliency, courage and adaptability so many people have found within themselves. Here in Alberta, we applaud our politicians for their personal attention and visibility on the scene, the willingness of outsiders to send police, firefighters, soldiers and technicians to support overburdened local personnel, and especially the Alison Redford government’s quick action on a $1-billion relief plan.

It’s as yet unclear what the province will contribute directly to homeowners to make good their losses. There likely won’t be much left from the initial sum when help with relocation expenses, the operation of relief centres and repair of infrastructure has been covered.

But Premier Redford sent out an unmistakable signal Monday that more will be forthcoming, and that neither the government’s political commitment to a balanced budget nor an arbitrary limit on relief spending will get in the way of helping people get back on their feet.

“We are going to do — please listen to my words — whatever it takes to get everyone back to a place where they can continue to live their lives.”

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has been equally quick to promise significant help to stricken communities.

Some might say that the priority being placed on salvaging this year’s Calgary Stampede is misplaced, arguing that flooded homes are more important than flooded fairgrounds.

On the contrary, however, preserving Calgary’s signature event is a profound statement about the strength and determination of the community that will surely boost morale when that is as badly needed as money and contractors.

Let’s also hope that debates about building in flood zones and the related issue of flood insurance don’t become distractions until as much as possible of the losses are made good.

In the first place, this disaster was an extremely low probability event in many of the affected areas, and people who lived in them reasonably assumed that the authorities would not have allowed construction if it was unsafe.

In the second place, even if it was available, flood insurance would be a poor and very expensive option unless the cost was borne equally by everyone regardless of elevation.

Natural disasters can strike anywhere, as the Slave Lake fire reminded us last year. It is the nature of our province and our people to pitch in when one strikes.