In March 1936, the Connecticut River rose faster than anyone in Western Massachusetts had seen in living memory. Floodwaters surround the former Hadley Fire Department during the March 1936 Connecticut River flood. The disaster prompted the construction of federal flood control systems that still shape the valley today. The proposed Mass Ready Act seeks to expand state tools for addressing climate-driven hazards, including capital funding for inland flood control projects. Before federal levees and pumps, residents of the Connecticut River Valley accepted flooding as an unavoidable part of life.