<P> One way of reducing the damage caused by flooding is to remove buildings from flood - prone areas, leaving them as parks or returning them to wilderness . Floodplain buyout programs have been operated in places like New Jersey (both before and after Hurricane Sandy), Charlotte, North Carolina, and Missouri . </P> <P> In the United States, FEMA produces flood insurance rate maps that identify areas of future risk, enabling local governments to apply zoning regulations to prevent or minimize property damage . </P> <P> Buildings and other urban infrastructure can be designed so that even if a flood does happen, the city can recover quickly and costs are minimized . For example, homes can be put on stilts, electrical and HVAC equipment can be put on the roof instead of in the basement, and subway entrances and tunnels can have built - in movable water barriers . New York City began a substantial effort to plan and build for flood reslience after Hurricane Sandy . </P> <P> An elaborate system of flood way defenses can be found in the Canadian province of Manitoba . The Red River flows northward from the United States, passing through the city of Winnipeg (where it meets the Assiniboine River) and into Lake Winnipeg . As is the case with all north - flowing rivers in the temperate zone of the Northern Hemisphere, snow melt in southern sections may cause river levels to rise before northern sections have had a chance to completely thaw . This can lead to devastating flooding, as occurred in Winnipeg during the spring of 1950 . To protect the city from future floods, the Manitoba government undertook the construction of a massive system of diversions, dikes, and flood ways (including the Red River Floodway and the Portage Diversion). The system kept Winnipeg safe during the 1997 flood which devastated many communities upriver from Winnipeg, including Grand Forks, North Dakota and Ste . Agathe, Manitoba . </P>

Causes and ways to prevent a flash flood