--- description: FEMA urged Californians to buy flood insurance on Friday in preparation for the torrential rain El Niño is expected to bring. title: FEMA Urges Californians to Prepare for Flooding image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7f49a14cb2de75e3/698869bcbc6cfc48f23da107/fea0fad2254f48079f933f983c016464-0.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [weather](/tag/weather/) ## weather Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # FEMA Urges Californians to Prepare for Flooding ## Video: A Town Without Water [Watch (HLS stream): A Town Without Water](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Q3shMofn.m3u8) (9:35)  _Published 2015-08-31. Watch how a town in California is trying to survive without water_  by [Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Oct 25, 2015 2:39 PM CUT  Craig Fugate, Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), in Miami on Oct. 1, 2015. Craig Fugate, Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), in Miami on Oct. 1, 2015.Lynne Sladky—AP  by [Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Oct 25, 2015 2:39 PM CUT The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) urged Californians to buy flood insurance on Friday in preparation for the torrential rain El Niño is expected to bring over the coming months. “If there was ever a time to buy flood insurance, this is the time,” said Roy Wright, deputy associate administrator for insurance and mitigation at FEMA, at a press conference [reported](http://www.latimes.com/local/weather/la-me-ln-el-nino-flood-insurance-20151023-story.html "undefined") by the _Los Angeles Times_. The conference was timed to provide California homeowners with adequate time to purchase flood insurance before the storms hit. Flood insurance takes 30 days to take effect. **Read More**: [See What Winter Will Be Like Where You Live](http://time.com/4084931/winter-weather-forecast-el-nino-noaa/ "undefined") More than a third of flooding insurance claims in recent decades have come during just four El Niño year, he said. The last El Niño event, which occurred in 1997, led to more than $30 billion in damages worldwide, according to a Climate Central [report](http://www.climatecentral.org/news/el-nino-floods-risks-18206 "undefined"). Forecasters say this year may bring the [strongest El Niño](http://time.com/3996227/el-nino-forecast/ "undefined") ever recorded. El Niño will bring water to the doorsteps of Southern California residents, but it’s unlikely to come close to solving issues related to the state’s historic drought. While [forecasts](http://time.com/4084931/winter-weather-forecast-el-nino-noaa/ "undefined") suggest that drought in Southern California will weaken, most of the state’s water supply comes from mountains in the north of the state, where drought is actually expected to intensify. \[[_LA Times_](http://www.latimes.com/local/weather/la-me-ln-el-nino-flood-insurance-20151023-story.html "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4086234/fema-flooding-california-el-nino/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4086234/fema-flooding-california-el-nino/"},"headline":"FEMA Urges Californians to Prepare for Flooding","datePublished":"2015-10-25T14:39:58.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T12:03:34.256Z","description":"It could be a tough rainy season","url":"https://time.com/4086234/fema-flooding-california-el-nino/","keywords":["weather"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7f49a14cb2de75e3/698869bcbc6cfc48f23da107/fea0fad2254f48079f933f983c016464-0.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/justin-worland/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7f49a14cb2de75e3/698869bcbc6cfc48f23da107/fea0fad2254f48079f933f983c016464-0.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Craig Fugate","caption":"Craig Fugate","creditText":"Lynne Sladky—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/weather/","name":"weather"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4086234/fema-flooding-california-el-nino/","name":"FEMA Urges Californians to Prepare for Flooding"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"A Town Without Water","description":"Watch how a town in California is trying to survive without water","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/Q3shMofn/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-08-31T21:59:53.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Q3shMofn.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4086234/fema-flooding-california-el-nino/","duration":"PT9M35S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4086234/fema-flooding-california-el-nino/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```