Home › Tools & Resources › Flooding Information & Preparedness
Flood & El Niño Preparedness in California 2026–27
Practical information and trusted resources to help Californians prepare for flooding, understand El Niño, respond during emergencies, and recover after a flood.
CIWR and UC Agriculture and Natural Resources connect research, extension expertise, emergency information, and practical tools for households, agricultural communities, local governments, and water professionals.
El Niño 2026–27: Current Outlook
Understanding the outlook can help communities prepare before winter impacts arrive.
What could El Niño mean for California?
NOAA reports that El Niño is strengthening, with a greater than 90% chance of a very strong event during fall and winter 2026–27.
A very strong El Niño can increase the likelihood of warmer coastal conditions, elevated coastal water levels and wave action, a wetter-than-average winter in parts of California, and individual heavy precipitation events that may increase inland and coastal flood risk.
El Niño does not guarantee flooding or a specific seasonal outcome. Conditions can vary widely by region and individual storm.
Prepare, Respond, Recover
Find the information you need before, during, and after a flood.
Before a Flood
Know your flood risk, sign up for local alerts, prepare evacuation routes, protect important documents, plan for pets and livestock, and assemble emergency supplies.
Know your local risk
Make an emergency plan
Prepare property, farms, and equipment
During a Flood
Follow evacuation orders, move to higher ground when needed, monitor trusted alerts, and never walk or drive through floodwater.
Follow official alerts
Avoid flooded roads and waterways
Protect people before property
After a Flood
Return only when authorities say it is safe. Watch for contaminated water, electrical hazards, structural damage, mold, debris, and other health and safety risks during cleanup.
Document damage
Use protective equipment
Connect with recovery assistance
UC ANR Resources
Research-based information, preparedness resources, and extension materials from UC ANR.
What Is a Strong El Niño and What Does It Mean for California?
UC ANR climate scientist Daniel Swain explains the 2026–27 El Niño event, potential California impacts, and why a strong event changes—but does not determine—the odds of extreme weather.
UC ANR Flooding Fact Sheet
Do you know what to do in case of flooding? A UC ANR fact sheet with practical information about flooding, preparedness, and flood-related risks. It provides guidance to help communities understand potential impacts, reduce exposure to hazards, and prepare before, during, and after flood events.
El Niño Amplifies Compound Coastal Flood Risk
Christina Richardson explains how El Niño can interact with tides, waves, storms, groundwater, and elevated coastal water levels to increase compound flood risk. Follow her for more coast information.
Flood Preparedness for Farmers
Practical guidance for farmers, ranchers, and agricultural communities preparing for flooding and related hazards, including planning considerations for farm operations, livestock, equipment, and recovery before, during, and after a flood.
Understanding Natural Climate Variability
Learn how natural climate variability affects California water systems and why understanding these patterns can improve preparedness.
Explore the Water Resilience, Climate Change, and Water Systems in California Blog →
UC ANR Disasters Happen
Explore UC ANR's existing disaster preparedness, response, and recovery resources for communities and extension professionals. This legacy resource collection includes the UC ANR Disaster Guide and materials developed for multiple disaster types.
Maps, Alerts & Real-Time Information
Use forecasts, emergency alerts, river conditions, coastal observations, and hazard information to understand changing conditions.
California MyHazards
Explore California hazard information and learn about flood and other natural-hazard risks in your area.
Emergency Alerts
Sign up for local emergency alerts for the places where you live, work, or regularly spend time.
Weather Forecasts & Alerts
Check local National Weather Service forecasts and current weather alerts.
Rivers & Flood Conditions
View river observations, forecasts, and flood information through NOAA's National Water Prediction Service.
Tides & Coastal Water Levels
View California tide predictions, water levels, currents, and coastal observations.
Coastal Inundation Dashboard
Explore real-time and historical coastal flooding information from NOAA water-level stations.
Post-Fire Debris Flow Hazards
Explore USGS information about debris-flow hazards in recently burned watersheds, especially when intense rainfall follows wildfire.
Watch Duty
Real-time wildfire and major flooding information, river gauges, incident updates, evacuation information, and alerts.
Explore Flood Resources & Disaster Expertise
Explore additional flood resources, connect with University of California expertise, and learn about emerging UC ANR disaster preparedness initiatives.
Flood Information & Resources
Explore preparedness guidance, forecasts, monitoring tools, agriculture and livestock information, flood-risk research, infrastructure, response, recovery, and additional resources from UC and partner organizations.
UC Flood Experts
Find researchers, UC Cooperative Extension professionals, and collaborators working on weather and climate, hydrology, coastal flooding, flood risk, water management, disaster preparedness, planning, and community resilience.
COMING SOON
UC ANR Disaster Preparedness Institute
UC ANR is expanding its statewide capacity for disaster preparedness, response, recovery, and resilience. Additional information and resources from this emerging initiative will be added as they become available.
Help Build the Resource Hub
Have a flood preparedness resource, extension material, research product, or expertise that should be included? Connect with CIWR.