County seeks input on Hazard Mitigation Plan

Reed Anfinson

Grant County Herald

Grant County seeks input on its Hazard Mitigation Plan that outlines how it will respond to natural and industrial disasters.

 When powerlines become coated with ice, and the winds are blowing, causing them to sway, it can cause the lines to snap, sending large areas of the county into darkness. 

Lost power and cold temperatures can be life-threatening if they last for an extended time.

Blizzards with white conditions can strand travelers on area highways as temperatures fall below zero.

Severe thunderstorms with powerful straight-line winds and supercells that spin up tornadoes are another threat to residents, businesses, schools, and local governments.

Grant County has been no stranger to severe weather in recent years.

On Aug. 14, 2020, five tornadoes were confirmed in Grant County. They passed by Charlesville, Wendell, and Elbow Lake. The tornado that passed to the south of Elbow Lake was an EF2 with winds of 95 to 100 mph. 

One tornado traveled “across the southern part of Pomme de Terre Lake and its campground. It then damaged homes and the clubhouse on Tipsinah Mounds Golf Course,” the NWS reported.

Memorial Day, May 30, 2022, several tornadoes passed just to the north and to the south of Elbow Lake.

A tornado tore the roof off the Tipsinah Mounds clubhouse and damaged dozens of trees. Numerous powerlines were down in the area.

A downburst from one storm cell generated winds estimated at 70 to 90 mph winds as it moved across Pomme de Terre Lake and into northeastern Grant County causing damage to buildings and trees.

Grant County has seen 19 disaster declarations approved for it over the past several decades.

To ensure that it is prepared to respond to disasters, Grant County is adopting a new five-year Hazard Mitigation Plan (HMP) and is seeking public feedback on it.

The plan can be found on the county’s website at the link address at the end of this story.

The plan sets up a chain of command that involves Grant County’s Emergency Management office, the sheriff’s office, the highway department, Horizon Public Health, environmental services, the cities and townships, and fire departments and EMS.

It also details what each city in the county needs to prepare for potential disasters.

“Like all Minnesota counties, Grant County is vulnerable to a variety of natural hazards such as tornadoes, windstorms, severe winter storms, flooding, drought, and extreme temperatures, which can threaten the loss of life and property in the county,” county’s plan says.

“Planning for natural disasters minimizes the impact of events that can cause vast economic loss and personal hardship,” it says.

Grant County Emergency Manager Jeremiah Ulrich urges all the county’s local governments, emergency service providers, health providers, entities that provide essential power to the area, schools, and businesses to review the plan and comment on it. 

The review and comment period are open for a period of 17 days through Dec. 27.

Working with U-Spatial at the University of Minnesota Duluth, Grant County developed its plan with input from representatives from county departments, city and township governments and other participating stakeholders, he said.

“Together, the planning team worked to identify cost-effective and sustainable actions to reduce or eliminate the long-term risk to human life or property from natural hazards,” the plan submitted by Ulrich says.

Examples proposals that the group developed include “infrastructure projects for areas that experience repetitive flooding; construction of safe rooms in areas where residents and visitors are vulnerable to tornadoes and severe storm events; burying powerlines that may fail due to heavy snow, ice, or wind storms; ensuring timely emergency communication to the public through warning sirens and mass notification systems; and conducting outreach to increase public awareness of severe weather and personal preparedness,” the plan states.

Through the planning discussions, the county identified vulnerabilities and has developed strategies to reduce or eliminate the effects of a potential hazard, the plan submitted by Ulrich says.

It is important that the county work to increase public awareness of the hazard mitigation plan. “In addition, increasing public awareness of natural disasters and encouraging personal preparedness helps to create a community that is resilient to disaster, and breaks the cycle of response and recovery,” the plan says.

Climate change is now playing a role in hazard planning as storms become stronger and the frequency of heavy rains increases.

“Rain is falling more frequently in extreme, heavy, localized events, leading to some parts of our state experiencing flooding while other parts experience drought,” the plan states.

“Increased frequency and severity of heavy rainfalls can lead to flooding, which results in both direct and indirect health impacts like:

• Injury or even death from drowning.

• Illnesses from being exposed to contaminated drinking water or recreational sources.

• Mental health stress from experiencing the trauma of the event or later from being displaced or dealing with damaged homes and businesses.

• Respiratory ailments from exposure to mold from flooded basements.

• Carbon monoxide poisoning from exposure to carbon monoxide when using secondary power sources, like generators.

• Flooding can also disrupt economic and social networks and put a strain on essential services.

“Community feedback is vital to the success of the plan. Grant County invites public review and feedback of the draft plan prior to submitting it to the State of Minnesota and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for review,” Ulrich said. 

The Hazard Mitigation Plan (HMP) is a requirement of the Federal Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000. The development of a local government plan is required every five years to maintain eligibility for federal hazard mitigation grant funding programs. For communities to be eligible for future mitigation funds, they must adopt an HMP.

Feedback can be provided via the online comment forms or directly to Grant County Emergency Management.