Benton County Seeking Input on Updating Hazard Mitigation Plan

FOLEY (WJON News) -- Benton County is updating its Hazard Mitigation Plan and wants feedback from the community.

The county is working with a research team at the University of Minnesota-Duluth to update the plan. It's designed to assess natural hazards that pose a risk to the county like tornadoes, flooding, wildfires, and others.

The county is asking residents, business owners, community leaders, and other organizations to call (320) 968-8108 or email comments to the county's Emergency Management Office.

Examples could be improving management systems to handle heavy rain events, building safe rooms in vulnerable areas, or burying power lines to avoid failure from freezing rain or snow.

The feedback will be used to draft a preliminary plan. The draft will be made available to the public before it's sent to state and federal officials.