When they called it a "rainy day fund" they likely didn't have THIS in mind.
Flooding in Saskatchewan recently forced Premier Brad Wall to abandon plans to attend a western premiers meeting in Yellowknife. Wall instead opted to tour the Saskatchewan command centre that oversees flood evacuation plans and relief efforts.
At the same he also pledged support for flooded Saskatchewan communities as he ventured through areas where water has overcome highways and flowed into businesses and homes, forcing even more residents into temporary shelters.
"We're going to do everything we can to be shoulder-to-shoulder and side-by-side with the people in southeast Saskatchewan to help them through this," Wall told reporters, after meeting with municipal officials and Environment Minister Dustin Duncan at Weyburn City Hall.
"We've just told (local officials) to do what you need to do and we'll be there for you. We're lucky. We have a balanced budget in this province and we have a rainy-day fund... We've told all the officials today if they have other suggestions to make that program more responsive over and above the changes we've already made we'd be interested in hearing those."
The current disaster assistance program is supported by both the provincial and federal levels of government. But beyond relief programming, Wall says he wants to talk about plans for a national disaster mitigation strategy.
"There are some things we need to do soon in this region for responsible relief of the water pressures. We need to identify what diversions are possible now and that's mitigation."
Provincial, federal, municipal and with any luck even the cooperation of mother nature - there are many Saskatchewan residents who are going to be in need of a helping hand. Let's keep the assistance coming and pull through this together.
