The preparation for the flood here has been impressive, and that’s an understatement.

The cooperation between the county and the city and state and federal agencies has been something to see.

Of course, as the Corps of Engineer’s Greg Raimondo pointed out recently, many lessons were learned from the record flood of 2011 and are being put to work here now.

Mayor George Flaggs Jr.’s leadership and the good work of his administration, as well as the leadership of the Warren County Board of Supervisors and other county officials, Emergency Management Director John Elfer, Warren County Sheriff Martin Pace and staff, Vicksburg Chief of Police Walter Armstrong and staff, Fire Chief Charles Atkins and staff, has been exemplary.

And the continued lowering of the crest level — it was reduced to 52 feet on Friday — is great news for many here.

Despite that, and the excellent planning and preparation, the fact remains a number of Warren County residents will suffer devastating loss in this flood.

I’ve never lived through a flood — no tornado, no hurricane, no natural disaster, thank the good Lord — and I simply can’t imagine what it would be like to lose your home and your possessions.

I’m a homebody. I don’t move around — the last two years being exceptions. I would rather be at home than anyplace else in the world. During this time of preparation before the floodwaters arrive, I’ve been thinking much about people who will suffer water damage and lose possessions, and my heart aches for them.

Yet, every day all over the world, people live through disasters, natural and otherwise. And they pick up the pieces of their lives and move on. Afterward, many who suffer loss of property say such helped them put in clear perspective exactly what is important in life, and what is not.

If given the order to pack up and leave my home, what I would protect most are my memories. I have a little safe in my house, but nothing in it has any value to anyone except me. It contains no passport or birth certificate. No important home or insurance documents. It does contain a flash drive with my cats’ baby pictures, backed up on a CD — we never know what technology changes are coming. In it you’ll also find a plethora of photos of my nieces and nephews, sisters, brothers, mother and family no longer with me, and other mementoes.

Those are the things I hold most dear, the things I can never replace.

Because of the excellent planning and preparation, the number of people who will suffer devastating loss here during the next week has been minimized. But some will suffer.

Let’s keep them in our thoughts and prayers and lend a helping hand however we best can.

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Jan Griffey is editor of The Vicksburg Post. You may reach her at jan.griffey@vicksburgpost.com.