Kossuth County, Iowa is at risk to a wide range of natural and manmade hazards. Some examples include tornadoes, floods, winter storms, dam failures, chemical releases, agricultural disease, and more. In response to these risks, the Kossuth County Iowa Emergency Management Commission, in collaboration with JEO Consulting Group, Inc., is seeking to better understand how these hazardous events impact the area in order to increase community resilience. To that end, Kossuth County Emergency Management will be updating its multi-jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan (HMP) over the next year, with the goal of reducing risk to hazards before they happen.

A hazard mitigation plan is a community-guided document that identifies vulnerability to hazards and mitigation projects to reduce or eliminate this vulnerability. Having an approved and updated plan enables your community to be stronger and more resilient by:

1. Reducing your community’s risk and impacts from disasters,

2. Gaining eligibility for pre- and post-disaster mitigation grants, and

3. Building partnerships within your community and across Kossuth County.

Residents, communities, schools, fire departments, hospitals, and more from Kossuth County are invited to participate in this process by attending meetings and providing information for the plan.

For more information about Kossuth County Emergency Management, please visit their website here.

The planning process includes public meetings to provide an opportunity for participants and interested stakeholders to learn about the plan and provide input. The meetings were hosted at the Kossuth County Emergency Response & Training Complex in Algona, Iowa.

The Round 1 Risk Assessment Meeting took place on August 9, 2023.

The Round 2 Mitigation Strategy Meeting took place on January 10, 2024. 

If you have any questions, please contact JEO or Charissa Mueller, Kossuth County Emergency Management Coordinator. Charissa can be reached at (515) 295-5904 or cmueller@kossuthcounty.iowa.gov

The Public Review Period for the draft 2024 Kossuth County Hazard Mitigation Plan has now ended.

The draft was available for review Thursday, March 21, 2024 to Wednesday, April 17, 2024.

The draft Plan is available to view below.

Draft County Upfront Section

Jurisdictional Profiles:

City of Algona

City of Bancroft

City of Burt

City of Fenton

City of Lakota

City of Ledyard

City of Lone Rock

City of Lu Verne

City of Swea City

City of Titonka

City of Wesley

City of Whittemore

Algona Community School District

North Kossuth Community School District