After another flash-flooding death, expert says N.S. needs robust alert system — now

A retired Environment Canada meteorologist says it’s good past clip for Nova Scotia to activity pinch nan national authorities to built a robust prediction, discovery and alert strategy for flash flooding.

Police said Friday that a young personification was killed nan nighttime earlier erstwhile they were swept distant by a flash-flood successful a Wolfville, N.S. park.

RCMP said they sewage a telephone astir nan younker being pulled into a flooded ditch astatine 7:30 p.m., and a location emergency guidance coordinator says nan province’s Emergency Management Office issued alerts astir flash floods successful nan region astir an hr later.

Jim Abraham, who was nan first head of nan Canadian Hurricane Centre, says a well-developed flooding alert strategy would person seen alerts sent to people’s phones overmuch earlier, asking them to shelter successful spot because of nan precocious consequence of flooding.

Trending Now

He says that strategy should besides impact nationalist acquisition that would pass group successful areas prone to flash floods astir some nan risks and nan parts of their neighborhoods considered particularly dangerous.

Last year, flooding successful nan municipality of West Hants killed 4 people, including 3 children, prompting a reappraisal that recovered nan municipality faced respective challenges successful transmitting timely emergency alerts to nan public.