El Niño storms wash away the hillsides in Studio City, crushing the homes in the canyon below and leaving the other home
Russian River, California, 3/3/1998 -- El Niño storms flood the Russian River.
Laguna Canyon, Calif., 3/3/1998 -- Laguna Canyon, where the El Nino rains swept mud down hills.
Laguna Niguel, Calif., 3/19/1998 -- Friends and neighbors pitch in to save the belongings of a condominium.
Rio Nido, California, 3/3/1998 -- El Nino storms deluge Northern California neighborhoods with the Rio Nido mud slides.
Our goal is to provide the best and most current, information and resources needed to be ready for El Niño. Information suggests this year could bring weather heavily affected by El Niño which could be anything from floods and droughts to land slides and other severe weather this winter.
El Niño is a weather pattern that is characterized by unusually warm ocean temperatures along the equator in the Pacific Ocean, and has important consequences for weather and climate over the United States, particularly during winter. El Niño in general acts to tilt the odds toward wetter and cooler than average conditions across much of the south, and towards drier and warmer conditions in many of the northern regions.
Preparedness Resources
- Create your family communication plan
- Protect your critical documents & valuables
- Home flooding
- Research and buy flood insurance
- Landslides & debris flows
- Severe weather
Other Resources
- NOAA El Niño information
- Landslide Preparedness and Reponse
- National Seed Strategy for Rehabilitation and Restoration
- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Emergency Response Fact Sheet
- U.S. Geological Survey Emergency Response Resources Fact Sheet
- FEMA Hazard Mitigation Assistance (HMA) Fact Sheet
- U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Utility Service
NOAA has developed fifteen tailored, region-specific PDF fact sheets on El Niño. They can be found here:
In the News
- Don't blame all these rains and floods on El Niño
- El Niño Events: 1982-83, 1997-98, and today
- El Niño could be most powerful on record
- Winter is coming, and so is an El Niño pattern in Florida
- Time to buy flood insurance for El Niño is now
- How San Diego is preparing for El Niño (video)
- Storm surge fast draw (video)
State Level Resources
West Coast
Southwest
Shareables
- FEMA & State SICCL El Niño Communication and Planning (Audio Recording)
- Flood Risk Flyers (Multiple Languages)
Additional Resources
Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)
- Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) Program: EWP provides financial assistance of up to 75 percent of a project’s construction costs to help local communities relieve imminent hazards to life and property caused by floods, fires, wind-storms, and other natural occurrences that cause watershed impairments. For more information, visit the EWP website.
- Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP): EQIP provides financial and technical assistance to help qualified agricultural producers implement conservation practices that address soil, water, air, plant, animal, and energy resource concerns. For more information, visit the EQIP website.
Forest Service (FS)
- Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) Program: BAER is the post-fire emergency response program that precedes rehabilitation and restoration. BAER assessments, conducted on National Forest System lands after a fire has occurred, will recommend rehabilitation activities often to include emergency slope stabilization to mitigate post-fire flooding. For more information, visit the BAER website.
Farm Service Agency (FSA)
- Emergency Conservation Program (ECP): ECP provides financial and technical assistance to farmers and ranchers to repair damage to farmlands caused by natural disasters, and helps to put in place methods for water conservation during severe drought. For more information, visit the ECP website.
- Emergency Loans (EM): EM provides assistance to agricultural producers who own farms or operate in counties declared by the President or designated by the Secretary of Agriculture as a primary disaster area or quarantine area. For more information, visit the EM website.
- Livestock Forage Program (LFP): LFP provides compensation to eligible livestock producers that have suffered grazing losses for covered livestock on land that is native or improved pastureland with permanent vegetative cover, or is planted specifically for grazing. For more information, visit the LFP website.
- Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP): LIP provides benefits to livestock producers for livestock deaths in excess of normal mortality caused by adverse weather. For more information, visit the LIP website.
- Non-insured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP): NAP provides financial assistance to producers for non-insurable crops when low yields, loss of inventory, or prevented planting occur due to natural disasters. For more information, visit the NAP website.
- Tree Assistance Program (TAP): TAP provides financial assistance to qualifying orchardists and nursery tree growers to replant or rehabilitate trees, bushes, and vines damaged by natural disasters. For more information, visit the TAP website.
Rural Development (RD)
- Rural Utilities Service (RUS) – Circuit Rider Program: The Circuit Rider Program provides technical assistance to rural water systems having day-to-day, financial, or management issues. Assistance may be requested by officials of rural water systems or RUS staff. For more information, visit the Circuit Riders Program website.
- RUS – Emergency Response Plans: RUS works with States to identify the rural communities most at risk for flooding as a result of drought or wildfires. An updated Emergency Response Plan and Vulnerability Assessment are requirements for a rural utility to be eligible for a RUS loan or grant. For more information on grant and loan programs, visit the RD website.
USGS Water Data Collection and Resources for Emergency Management (U.S. Geological Studies)
US Department of Housing and Urban Development