All year round can be flood time. That’s why municipalities across Nova Scotia are aiming to be flood ready.

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I remember 82-year-old Ralph Walsh of Crescent Avenue in Kentville telling me after he let me look in his basement full of water: “we’ve always had floods, but this is the worst.”

About 40 Crescent Avenue residents had to leave their beds that winter night. Volunteers helped carry seven children and elderly folks to safety. Ice cakes had clogged up Mill Brook, preventing run-off in the darkness.

A few years later in 2003, heavy rain, snow melt and high tides caused major overland flooding that affected homes on West Main Street in Kentville.

In low-lying areas like that, rising tides don’t allow for drainage. Hit again in 2019 and in 2024, Kentville’s storm drains were simply overwhelmed.

One of the worst tales – one that affected the whole region – took place over four days, Jan. 10 to 15, 1935. The province was hit hard by flooding caused by unusually high temperatures, torrential rains and ice jams. Some rivers reached levels that were eight to 14 metres higher than normal.

Dikes and highways were damaged, 25 bridges were........

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