Newsman Tim Russert received good news in April when he passed a cardiac stress test: Statistically, he had only a 1 percent chance of dying of a heart attack during the coming year.

The people of Baraboo and Reedsburg, of LaValle and Pardeeville, the motorists who drive Interstate 94 between Milwaukee and Wisconsin Dells could certainly feel confident as they began the month of June. Statistically, there was only one chance in 500 their communities and highways would flood.

We all know what happened. Russert died. Many Southern Wisconsin communities became lakes, except for Lake Delton, which lost its lake to the floods.

What happened? How can a seemingly healthy man pass a cardiac stress test in April and drop dead of a heart attack in early June? How can communities that have survived any number of high-water days in the past unexpectedly find themselves under water today?

Dr. Jon Keevil, an assistant professor of medicine at UW-Madison who specializes in preventive cardiology, has a simple answer when it comes to Russert, an answer that is equally applicable when it comes to flooding: "We can take actions to lower your risk. But we can never bring the risk to zero."

I spoke to Keevil recently because I've been impressed with all the radio talk show segments and newspaper columns devoted to telling people how to avoid Russert's fate.

It seemed to me, from everything I've been able to read, that Russert took care of himself. He got exercise. He took cholesterol-lowering medication. He watched his diet. He saw his doctors. Ninety-nine men, approximately, in his condition could expect to live at least another year without experiencing a heart attack. Russert was the one in 100.

What should he have done differently? Nothing. At some point, he have to play the cards we are dealt. We can't live our lives in constant fear of dying. Nor would have living his life in constant fear extended Russert's stay on this earth by even a day.

The floods, obviously, have also been in the news. The communities that were deluged didn't do anything wrong. Some had levees. Some had dams. Few had experienced major flooding before. The difference this year is there was far more rain than usual and the water level rose not inches above flood stage but feet above flood stage.

What can we do in the face of impending doom?

We can take a second look at our precautions and ask whether they are still adequate for the risks we face.

If you are overweight, diabetic, smoke a couple of packs of cigarettes a day and never check your blood pressure, this might be a good time to clean up your act.

If you live in Gays Mills, where floods have devastated the town twice in the last 10 months and where the Kickapoo River is a scenic but dangerous companion, this might be a good time to consider moving to the surrounding hills.

We will never cut our risk to zero. What we can do is to change those things we can change and, then, show some compassion for those whose best efforts didn't turn out to be good enough to avert catastrophe.