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 2024 Kossuth County Hazard Mitigation Pan was reviewed and approved by the Iowa Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (HSEMD) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

The final approved plan is available in the following links:

County Upfront Section 

Community Appendix - includes community profiles for the Cities of Algona, Bancroft, Burt, Fenton, Lakota, Ledyard, Lone Rock,  Lu Verne, Swea City, Titonka, Wesley, and Whittemore.

Special Jurisdictions Appendix - includes profiles for Algona Community School District and North Kossuth Community School  District.

Procedural Appendices