By CALEIGH WELLS

Catastrophic floods can be difficult to prepare for. Sometimes evacuation is the right call, but if it’s too late the best bet is to find higher ground nearby. The stakes can be high, because a flash flood may give those in its path only minutes or seconds to react.

The right moves depend on the storm and the geography, said James Doss-Gollin, an assistant professor who teaches civil and environmental engineering at Rice University. For example, the advice won’t be the same for people who live near a beach and those who live by a river, he said.

“Some places you’re worried about the water moving really fast in the river. Some places you’re worried about roads getting flooded, but the water might not be moving very fast. So often your local community is going to have the best information,” he said.

Regardless of the storm or where it’s happening, Richina Bicette-McCain, an emergency physician with Baylor College of Medicine, said preparation is key.

“One of my favorite phrases is if you stay ready, then you don’t have to get ready,” she said.

FILE – Ohio River floods Strader Avenue, April 9, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

Before the flooding starts

If you live in the United States, make sure the National Weather Service’s automatic weather alerts on your phone are activated. If you live in another country, find out what the weather agency and how they provide alerts.

If you don’t have a phone or it’s not working, the weather service recommends NOAA Weather Radio, local news coverage and listening for the Emergency Alert System on TV and radio broadcasts. These alerts typically include a few key phrases that indicate how serious the threat is. Here’s a quick glossary:

1. Flood watch: Hazardous weather is possible. Be prepared.

2. Flood advisory: Flooding is expected to be inconvenient, but not necessarily dangerous. Be aware.

3. Flood warning: Hazardous weather is imminent, or already happening. Take action.

4. Flash flood warning: Flooding is imminent or already happening, and the flood is especially sudden or violent. You might only have seconds to find higher ground.

5. Flash flood emergency: There’s a severe threat to human life, and catastrophic damage is about to happen or is already happening. This is exceedingly rare, and at this point, officials are typically reporting evacuations and rescues.

Doss-Gollin said before the National Weather Service issues a warning or emergency alert, it’s important for people to know where the nearest high places are that will not flood, so evacuees can move quickly if needed.

Bicette-McCain has her go-bag ready and refreshed every hurricane season that includes flashlights, spare batteries, food and water. And she said patients seeking medical care in flood emergencies typically face one of two problems: either they can’t use their regular medications or medical devices once the power goes out, or they’re dehydrated. So, she said, the most important items to throw in are medications, batteries and lots of drinking water.

“I don’t know if you’ve ever been so thirsty that you’re just desperate for a morsel of liquid to drink, but sometimes people get into that situation and they’ll resort to drinking flood water. And if you survive the flood, the implications of drinking flood water may be what does you in,” she said.

The National Weather Service, FEMA and American Red Cross all have emergency go-bag recommendations that include personal hygiene items, warm blankets and a whistle to signal for help. Doss-Gollin’s go-bag includes diapers and milk for his baby, and a weather radio that’s designed to pick up radio frequencies from far away in case the power is out or the local tower goes down. “We have one that’s hand-crank, which I really like because I’m not going to check the batteries on those every couple of months to make sure that they’re working,” he said.

Once the storm has arrived

Find out what local officials are recommending, and follow their instructions.

If it’s time to evacuate, do it before the storm comes. “We see a lot of casualties from people attempting to stay at their home,” Bicette-McCain said. “Don’t be that person.”

Related Articles

Breaking down the force of water in the Texas floods

FACT FOCUS: Trump misrepresents facts about wind power during Cabinet meeting

Layoffs hit UMN Extension food educators as MN grapples with Trump’s budget

Burning of fossil fuels caused 1,500 deaths in recent European heat wave, study estimates

Pope prays for world to recognize urgency of climate crisis as he celebrates Mass’ using new rite

Bicette-McCain said it is never a good idea to touch the stormwater because it is impossible to know how contaminated it is. The only exception is if the space you’re in is so dangerous that you have to trudge through water to get somewhere safer. In that case, she recommended finding an umbrella or big stick to judge how deep the water is or whether there is debris in front of you. “We’re talking very turbulent, very putrid waters that you can’t see through,” she said.

If it’s too late to evacuate, don’t. Trying can be fatal. Just 6 inches (15 centimeters) of moving water can knock a person down, and a foot of moving water can move a car.

“Very often the people that die during floods … are driving across bridges or they’re trying to drive through water,” Doss-Gollin said. “The one piece of advice that everyone will give you is don’t drive through floodwaters, ever.”

The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

In my opinion, a wedge salad should have a boatload of tasty garnishes. The cold, crisp, knife-cut Iceberg lettuce needs plenty of delicious blue cheese dressing, and the toppings should include some kind of onion, thick-cut crunchy bacon, and tomatoes. I’ve been known to throw in some sliced pickled beets and a few thin slivers of salami on the side of the plate.

The wedge salad recipe in Cook’s Illustrated magazine offers a dandy take on the onion element. Instead of sliced red onion, it suggests thinly sliced pickled shallots, a sweet-sour element that is quick to prepare and scrumptious. Their formula also includes a last-minute scattering of snipped fresh chives.

I’ve noticed that guests appreciate a place setting that includes steak knives. The sharp blades make cutting Iceberg lettuce much easier.

Wedge Salad

Yield: 4 servings

INGREDIENTS

Pickled Shallots:

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

2 shallots, thinly sliced

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Dressing:

2 ounces blue cheese (1/2 cup), crumbled

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup sour cream

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 teaspoons red wine vinegar

1/4 teaspoon hot sauce

Salad:

6 slices thick-cut bacon, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-wide pieces

1 head Iceberg lettuce (1 1/4 pounds), stem trimmed, chilled, see cook’s notes

1 plum tomato, cored and cut into 1/4-inch pieces, or 12 cherry tomatoes cut in half

4 ounces (1 cup) blue cheese, crumbled

2 tablespoons fresh chives, cut into 1/2-inch lengths

Cook’s notes: The lettuce’s core should stay intact to hold the leaves together in a tight stack.

DIRECTIONS

1. Prepare pickled shallots: Combine vinegar and sugar in a small microwave-safe bowl or glass measuring cup with a handle. Microwave until sugar is dissolved and vinegar is steaming, 30 to 60 seconds. Add shallots and stir to combine. Cover and cool completely for about 30 minutes. They can be refrigerated airtight for up to one week. Drain before using the shallots on the salad.

2. Prepare the dressing: While the shallots are pickling, mash the blue cheese in a medium bowl with a fork. Add the mayonnaise, sour cream, juice, vinegar, and hot sauce; stir to combine. Season with freshly ground black pepper.

3. Prepare the bacon: Cook bacon in a 10-inch skillet over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until fat is rendered and bacon is a deep, golden brown, adjusting heat to keep bacon from browning too quickly. Transfer bacon to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.

4. Halve lettuce through core and cut each half into 2 wedges, leaving core intact. Arrange lettuce wedges, rounded side down, on rimmed plates or shallow bowls. Drizzle about 3 tablespoons dressing across the top of each wedge, using a spoon to help it cascade down the sides. Divide tomato(es), 1 cup crumbled blue cheese, and bacon among wedges. Garnish with drained pickled shallots and chives. Season generously with freshly ground black pepper. Pass remaining dressing separately.

Source: Adapted from Cook’s Illustrated magazine

Award-winning food writer Cathy Thomas has written three cookbooks, including “50 Best Plants on the Planet.” Follow her at CathyThomasCooks.com.

Related Articles

A simple recipe for tsukudani, an everyday Japanese side dish to eat with hot rice

Five super simple summery recipes

Grilled chicken slathered in a homemade barbecue sauce stars in this $25 dinner for four

Savory-spicy peanut dressing complements the sweetness of this tomato salad

Quick Cook: How to make Cherry Almond Ice Cream at home

By MICHAEL CASEY

BOSTON (AP) — Plaintiffs in a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s campaign of arresting and deporting college faculty and students who participated in pro-Palestinian demonstrations spent the first few days of the trial showing how the crackdown silenced scholars and targeted more than 5,000 protesters.

The lawsuit, filed by several university associations, is one of the first against President Donald Trump and members of his administration to go to trial. Plaintiffs want U.S. District Judge William Young to rule that the policy violates the First Amendment and the Administrative Procedure Act, a law that governs how federal agencies develop and issue regulations.

The government argues that no such policy exists and that it is enforcing immigration laws legally to protect national security.

Investigating protesters

One of the key witnesses was Peter Hatch, who works for the Homeland Security Investigations unit of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Over two days of testimony, Hatch told the court a “Tiger Team” was formed in March — after two executive orders that addressed terrorism and combating antisemitism — to investigate people who took part in the protests.

Hatch said the team received as many as 5,000 names of protesters and wrote reports on about 200 who had potentially violated U.S. law. The reports, several of which were shown in court Thursday, included biographical information, criminal history, travel history and affiliations with pro-Palestinian groups as well as press clips and social media posts on their activism or allegations of their affiliation with Hamas or other anti-Israel groups. Hamas has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, Canada and the European Union.

Until this year, Hatch said, he could not recall a student protester being referred for a visa revocation.

“It was anything that may relate to national security or public safety issues, things like: Were any of the protesters violent or inciting violence? I think that’s a clear, obvious one,” Hatch testified. “Were any of them supporting terrorist organizations? Were any of them involved in obstruction or unlawful activity in the protests?”

Among the report subjects were Palestinian activist and Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil, who was released last month after 104 days in federal immigration detention. Khalil has become a symbol of Trump’s clampdown on the protests.

Another was Tufts University student Rumeysa Ozturk, who was released in May from a Louisiana facility. She spent six weeks in detention after she was arrested while walking on the street of a Boston suburb. She says she was illegally detained following an op-ed she cowrote last year criticizing the school’s response to the war in Gaza.

Hatch also acknowledged that most of the names came from Canary Mission, a group that says it documents people who “promote hatred of the U.S.A., Israel and Jews on North American college campuses.” The right-wing Jewish group Betar was another source, he said.

Hatch said most of the leads were dropped when investigators could not find ties to protests and the investigations were not inspired by a new policy but rather a procedure in place at least since he took the job in 2019.

What is Canary Mission?

Weeks before Khalil’s arrest, a spokesperson for Betar told The Associated Press that the activist topped a list of foreign students and faculty from nine universities that it submitted to officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who made the decision to revoke Khalil’s visa.

The Department of Homeland Security said at the time that it was not working with Betar and refused to answer questions about how it was treating reports from outside groups.

Related Articles

Mistaken reports of ICE raids are stoking fear, troubling law enforcement in Southern California

US is selling weapons to NATO allies to give to Ukraine, Trump says

Trump plans to hike tariffs on Canadian goods to 35%

Rubio and Wang stress cooperation after talks in Malaysia as US-China tensions simmer

State Department is firing over 1,300 employees under Trump administration plan

In March, speculation grew that administration officials were using Canary Mission to identify and target student protesters. That’s when immigration agents arrested Ozturk.

Canary Mission has denied working with administration officials, while noting speculation that its reports led to that arrest and others.

While Canary Mission prides itself on outing anyone it labels as antisemitic, its leaders refuse to identify themselves and its operations are secretive. News reports and tax filings have linked the site to a nonprofit based in the central Israeli city of Beit Shemesh. But journalists who have visited the group’s address, listed in documents filed with Israeli authorities, have found a locked and seemingly empty building.

In recent years, news organizations have reported that several wealthy Jewish Americans made cash contributions to support Canary Mission, disclosed in tax paperwork filed by their personal foundations. But most of the group’s funding remains opaque, funneled through a New York-based fund that acts as a conduit for Israeli causes.

Were student protesters targeted?

Attorneys for the plaintiffs pressed a State Department official Friday over whether protests were grounds for revoking a student’s visa, repeatedly invoking several cables issued in response to Trump’s executive orders as examples of policy guidance.

But Maureen Smith, a senior adviser in the State Department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs, said protest alone wasn’t a critical factor. She wasn’t asked specifically about pro-Palestinian protests.

“It’s a bit of a hypothetical question. We would need to look at all the facts of the case,” she said. “If it were a visa holder who engages in violent activity, whether it’s during a protest or not — if they were arrested for violent activity — that is something we would consider for possible visa revocation.”

Smith also said she didn’t think a student taking part in a nonviolent protest would be a problem but said it would be seen in a “negative light” if the protesters supported terrorism. She wasn’t asked to define what qualified as terrorism nor did she provide examples of what that would include.

Scholars scared by the crackdown

The trial opened with Megan Hyska, a green card holder from Canada who is a philosophy professor at Northwestern University, detailing how efforts to deport Khalil and Ozturk prompted her to scale back her activism, which had included supporting student encampments and protesting in support of Palestinians.

“It became apparent to me, after I became aware of a couple of high-profile detentions of political activists, that my engaging in public political dissent would potentially endanger my immigration status,” Hyska said.

Nadje Al-Ali, a green card holder from Germany and professor at Brown University, said that after the arrests of Khalil and Ozturk, she canceled a planned research trip and a fellowship to Iraq and Lebanon, fearing that “stamps from those two countries would raise red flags” upon her return. She also declined to take part in anti-Trump protests and dropped plans to write an article that was to be a feminist critique of Hamas.

“I felt it was too risky,” Al-Ali said.

Associated Press writer Adam Geller in New York contributed to this report.

By MELINA WALLING and JOSHUA A. BICKEL

BEND, Texas (AP) — Across a wide swath of Texas, the inundated rivers that ravaged communities also tore through farms and ranches.

Related Articles

Breaking down the force of water in the Texas floods

A decade of missed opportunities: Texas couldn’t find $1M for flood warning system near camps

New Mexico governor calls the deadly Ruidoso flooding ‘unfathomable’ as more damage is found

Burning of fossil fuels caused 1,500 deaths in recent European heat wave, study estimates

Texas flooding, and politics around it, underscore the challenges Trump faces in replacing FEMA

In the town of Bend, about two hours north of Austin, Boyd Clark waded into rising waters to help one of his stranded ostrich hens. Matthew Ketterman spent several agonizing hours trapped on top of his truck amid coursing rapids after driving out to check the fences on his exotic game ranch outside Burnet, about an hour south of Bend. And the overflowing San Gabriel River knocked Christmas trees sideways and staff had to get petting zoo animals into a temporary pen at Sweet Eats Adventure Farm in Georgetown, about 65 miles east of Ketterman’s ranch.

As authorities work to understand the extent of the loss of human life—as of Friday at least 120 people were killed more than 160 missing —farmers and ranchers are working to assess damage to their properties, crops and animals. Many are facing the task of caring for livestock while salvaging what crops they can and cleaning up the wreckage.

While many farmers lean on a relentless optimism to get through the uncertainty of relying on the weather for a living, extreme weather disasters like catastrophic floods, droughts and wildfires can take a toll. The weather events also pose unique challenges to those who rely on seasonal tourist rushes or who might not have crop insurance.

It’s a double-edged sword: as some farmers turn to agritourism or niche crops to weather unpredictable markets, climate change is also intensifying many of the natural disasters that can make it more difficult for those experiments to succeed. Even the larger operations are not immune; farmers who produce all kinds of crops must plan for emergencies.

“We expect it to happen again. It’s never a question of if, but when,” said Jon Meredith, co-owner of Sweet Eats, an agritourism outfit that mainly grows Christmas trees. “And so we just continue to try to mitigate our losses and reduce our risk around events like this.”

Still surveying the damage, starting repairs

Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller said there has been so much rain so quickly that some farmers are seeing complete loss or severe damage to their crops and infrastructure, in several counties and beyond the banks of overflowing rivers.

Christmas trees bend toward the ground as a result of recent flooding Wednesday, July 9, 2025, at a farm in Georgetown, Texas. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)

“We’ve had farm equipment washed down the river. We’ve had tractors underwater, so they’re totaled, won’t be able to use those. Irrigation equipment wadded up like a bowl of spaghetti,” Miller told The Associated Press. “We’re finding cattle dead on top of trees downriver. So it’s pretty devastating.”

Miller said there are resources available for farmers. Those include the State of Texas Agriculture Relief Fund, which helps farmers access disaster funding, the Hay and Feed Hotline, which donates animal feed and the AgriStress Helpline that provides 24/7 mental health support.

Now comes the task of cleanup: repair miles of destroyed fence line, tally lost livestock and move debris from foliage and mud to piled-up picnic tables.

After a harrowing night waiting for hours to be rescued, Ketterman, who had gotten stuck on his vehicle, felt lucky to be alive. But he and his team were also grieving the loss of a member who died in the flooding on his way to work. They lost some animals to the churning water, as well.

“We’re in the hundreds of thousands of dollars of damage, but you know, at the end of the day that’s just monetary and we’ll recover from that,” he said.

Disasters like floods can be tough for specialty farmers

Small farms that offer experiences to visitors, don’t sell to wholesalers or don’t have crop insurance are especially vulnerable, said Hannah Burrack, professor and chair of the entomology department at Michigan State University, who has worked with fruit farmers in the aftermath of floods.

Clark said ostrich growers can access some U.S. Department of Agriculture programs that cover the loss of grass that birds graze on, but otherwise there isn’t much assistance. Ostriches also get too cold in heavy rain. And it cuts down egg production; the hens almost stop laying eggs and mud and water can ruin what few they do.

“It does definitely affect our production this year and our profitability,” Clark said.

Burrack said that other crops for consumption like fruits and vegetables get submerged, they can no longer be sold. Unharvested plants in fields can build up, causing pest issues or creating an unpleasant experience for visitors. And once submerged, “long-term echoes of these short-term stressors” can make trees more vulnerable to disease.

Meredith said Sweet Eats was lucky the Christmas season is still months away; they still had a chance to put the trees back up. They would’ve had a harder time if they were still doing peach trees like they used to. “Because so much of our stuff is pick-your-own, so if we can’t be open for customers, then it magnifies the challenges that we face because of cash flow issues,” he said.

All farms need to plan for emergencies, climate change

It’s not just floods: farms across the country have taken hits due to extreme weather in recent years. Wildfires have damped farm-based businesses in California including pick-your-own apple orchards in the southern part of the state and wineries in the north. An unusually warm winter had Midwestern maple syrup producers scrambling in 2024, while pinching drought has hit pumpkins, along with many other crops, across the West.

It’s good business sense to observe how climate change might affect your operation and make adjustments accordingly, said Rob Leeds, an extension educator at Ohio State University who works with farmers, especially those interested in agritourism. He described how after watching a barrage of tornadoes and high winds in recent years, some cattle producers in Ohio have been building tougher barns that more typically would be seen in windswept areas of the West. Some fall-themed agritourism operators have started installing fans and misters, anticipating more hot days later into the fall.

It will take a while for Texas farmers to fully recover, but some are already building back stronger. Ketterman said he thinks they’re going to put up sturdier fence posts in the coming weeks as they secure the fence line.

They’ll lean on each other, too. Many farmers described the tight-knit sense of community as they weathered the storm.

“We all started calling each other, to make sure we could get our animals out and anything else that we needed to save,” said John Meredith, owner of Sweet Eats. “Just because this is a fact of life. When you live on a river, it’s beautiful and enjoyable, but there are occasionally times where things can go south very quickly.”

Walling reported from Chicago. Amy Taxin reported from Orange County, Calif.

Follow Melina Walling on X @MelinaWalling and Bluesky @melinawalling.bsky.social. Follow Joshua A. Bickel on Instagram, Bluesky and X @joshuabickel.

The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org