Extension > Extreme weather > Prepare for floods
Prepare for floods
Find information you can trust as you prepare for potentially devastating floods.
Table of contents
Minnesota Climatology Working Group
University of Minnesota, Minnesota State Climatology Office, Department of Natural Resources — The most up-to-date information on Minnesota weather conditions.
Family
Five steps to prepare your family for floods
- Get the right insurance
- Inventory your household property
- Protect your important financial documents
- Make a plan to protect your family and pets
- Keep an emergency fund
This 2013 Flood Resource Fair: for professionals working with families and Know the FACTS of Resilience webinar was held April 18 for family serving professionals. (Resources included for NW MN, MN and ND, and national use).
Financial Preparation for Disasters and Emergencies — FEMA; co-presented by University of Minnesota Extension— Webinar recorded April 2013 discusses how to incorporate financial preparedness tools, like Recovery After Disaster: The Family Financial Toolkit, into local disaster education efforts.
Housing
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Lawn care: spring floods and drought....really?
Prepare your lawn for moisture stress.
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Preparing your home for floods
Prepare your home to resist seasonal flooding. Print fact sheet (398 K PDF)
Other housing resources we recommend
- Advice for field staff who may come into contact with bed bugs during flood response (95 K PDF) — Minnesota Department of Health
- Floods: General Tips for Reducing Flood and Water Damage Inside the Home — eXtension: Cooperative Extension System — Things you can do to reduce water and flood damage in your home.
- Steps to Reduce Flood and Water Damage — North Dakota State University — Checklist helps you reduce severe damage to your home and property.
- Water-Related Emergencies and Outbreaks - Septic Systems — Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — Prepare your septic system before an emergency such as a flood.
- Drinking Water Emergency Preparedness — U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — Identify issues to prepare for floods that may threaten the health of your family.
Farm
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Preparing livestock in a flood zone
Plan for a safe location, feed, water, loss of power, injury, transportation and more.
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Horse owners: prepare for floods
Plan if your facility is in a low area, close to a stream or river, or in or near a flood plain.
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Weather-related livestock sales
Explains how some livestock sales may be tax deferred during weather related disasters.
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An ounce of protection: Dairy farmers
Prepare for major widespread spring flooding: take an inventory of problem low spots from previous years, protect feed and bedding, check road spring load restrictions from MNDOT, and more.
Other farm resources we recommend
- Prevented Planting Insurance Provisions: Flood (PDF) — USDA — A failure to plant the insured crop with the proper equipment by the final planting date designated in the insurance policy...
Flood fact sheets
- Talk to children about floods (407 K PDF)
- Red File: Your grab & go case for emergencies (382 K PDF)
- Preparing your home for floods (398 K PDF)
- Preparing livestock in a flood zone (354 K PDF)
- Preparing wells and septic systems for a flood (396 K PDF)
Shared Extension flood resources
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Handout - 5 1/2" x 8 1/2"
View handout
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Poster - 8 1/2" x 11"
View poster
Other prepare resources we recommend
Extension
Watersheds and Floods — University of Minnesota Extension and University of North Dakota — An interview on watersheds, why the Red River floods and how impacts can be reduced.- Before the Flood — North Dakota State University — Includes information on sump pumps, sandbagging and generators.
- eXtension: Cooperative Extension System — Floods: Prepare | Plan for a Flood | Reduce Potential for Future Flood Damage
- Disaster Handbook: Flood Preparedness and Response (650 K PDF) — University of Wisconsin Extension Service — The complete Extension resource.
- Extension Disaster Education Network (EDEN) — A collaborative multi-state effort by Extension Services across the country to improve the delivery of services to citizens affected by disasters.
Minnesota
- Red River Basic Decision Information Network — Red River Basin Decision Information Network
- 511 Traffic and Road Conditions — Dial 511 — Minnesota Department of Transportation — Weather, construction, delays and more, online or by phone at 5-1-1.
- Minnesota Duty Officer Program — 800-422-0798 (Greater Minnesota only) or 651-649-5451 (Twin Cities Metro Area) — Homeland Security and Emergency Management — Assistance and additional resources for a wide range of emergency situations, including reporting hazardous spills.
- Emergency & Community Health Outreach (ECHO) — 1-888-883-8831 — Minnesota/North Dakota flood resources in several languages common in Minnesota, Severe weather warnings.
- Lake Level Minnesota — Minnesota Department of Natural Resources — Get information for specific lakes with the Lake Finder.
- Severe Weather Awareness — Minnesota Department of Public Safety: Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management — Subscribe to email announcements and updates.
- Emergency Preparedness, Response and Recovery — Minnesota Department of Health —Individual and family preparedness, emergency communications, legal issues and more.
National
- Are You Ready? — FEMA — Asks you pertinent flood preparation questions depending on what scenario you may encounter.
- DisasterAssistance.gov — Collaboration of U.S. Government agencies — Use this questionnaire to determine if you qualify for assistance. Additional information on how to get help from the U.S. Government before, during and after a disaster.
- Emergency response plan - Guidance for wastewater systems — This 83 page report references information and data that should be included in an emergency response plan.
