Flood Watch

March 31 marks anniversary of 2003 spring flood in Kings

“Hope is not a strategy,” Kings County’s regional emergency management officer says of preparation for the big melt.

“If we have a heavy rain with a couple warm days and nights and a high spring tide, we’re in trouble,” Brian Desloges said.

Desloges, who is the county’s supervisor of administration and public safety, said the municipality is preparing for flooding, but remains hopeful the cycle will be broken.

Kings Regional Emergency Management Organization (Kings REMO) is planning for the worst, taking lessons learned from widespread flooding in late March and early April 2003 and ramping-up preventative measures.

Of particular concern is the amount of snow on the ground. There’s even more in higher elevations.

“Right now, there’s a tremendous snow pack on the ground, about twice as much as we’d expect to have at this time of year,” Desloges said.

At the end of February, there was double the snow depth compared to the seven-year average and March has seen significantly more snow accumulate. There was as much as 1.5 meters on the North and South Mountains, which would equate to 150 mm or a half-foot of water, Desloges said.

Runoff from higher elevations feeds into rivers on the Valley floor. With a quick melt, this will generate a tremendous volume of water and increase the potential for flooding, especially if it happens to coincide with rain and a higherthan-usual tide.

Using GIS mapping, flood-prone areas and communities have been identified. Desloges pointed out that the 18 areas listed in his staff report won’t necessarily flood this spring but they are prone and could flood anytime under the right conditions.

“We intend to notify the public of any threats or vulnerabilities through various news and social media in advance of the flood, during the flood and during recovery to make sure we best utilize our resources and help everyone through a flood crisis,” wrote Desloges, in his staff report to county council.

They are posting flooding preparedness bulletins on the Kings REMO website and they will be continuing conversations with county fire departments. He asks citizens to contact Kings REMO if they see water rising.

“We’re asking the community to be our eyes out there,” Desloges said.

Meadowview and Kentville’s West Main Street were particularly hard-hit by spring flooding in 2003. Basements were inundated with muddy water and furnace oil contamination became a great concern.

The County of Kings has 4,000 empty sandbags in stock and has ordered another 4,000, with the ability to get more through EMO Nova Scotia. Desloges said they intend to make empty sandbags available to citizens for pick-up at the county’s public works yard in Kentville. REMO is making arrangements to provide sandbags and sand to emergency responders on the scene if requested.

made to open the Kings Regional Coordination Centre in the event of a flood. In the event of evacuations, Kings REMO will contact community halls prepared to open as shelters. Kings REMO will coordinate the registration, feeding and housing of evacuees, under the direction and assistance of the Canadian Red Cross.

For more information on flood preparedness in Kings and for emergency contact numbers, visit www.countyofkings.ca/information/remo.aspx.

– Kirk Starratt, www.kingscountynews.ca County of Kings supervisor of administration and public safety Brian Desloges and Warden Diana Brothers fill sandbags behind the municipal complex in Kentville on March 24. The county has 4,000 empty sandbags in stock and has ordered another 4,000....

– Kirk Starratt, www.kingscountynews.ca On the morning of March 31, 2003, Hall’s Harbour area residents were shocked to learn Highway 358 had washed out. It wasn’t a high tide but storm runoff and melted snow from the North Mountain that caused the damage.

– Kirk Starratt, www.kingscountynews.ca This is what it looked like after the rear of the Lovelace building in Kentville collapsed into the Cornwallis River in early April 2003. The foundation had been destabilized by the high water level in the river associated with a high tide, heavy rain...

– Kirk Starratt, www.kingscountynews.ca The outside oil tank at this house on Brooklyn Street in Meadowview had to be tethered down to keep it from floating away on March 31, 2003. In the days and weeks ahead, the full extent of furnace oil contamination in the Kentville area became known.