GreenStep City Best Practices: Resilient Economic and Community Development
Climate Adaptation and Community Resilience No. 29
Plan and prepare for extreme weather, adapt to changing climatic conditions, and foster stronger community connectedness and social and economic vitality.
Prepare to maintain public health and safety during extreme weather and climate-change-related events, while also taking a preventive approach to reduce risk for community members.
Minnesota Department of Health Climate and Health webpages contain information on extreme heat, water quality and quantity, air quality, planning tools, and emergency management regional profiles (2018). [Applicable to 1, 2 and 3 Star implementation.]
See guidance on hazard mitigation planning from MN's Homeland Security and Emergency Management Division of the MN Department of Public Safety.
Communicating vulnerabilities to climate change provides PDF brochures to communicate climate vulnerabilities for eight populations of concern: children, EJ communities, indigenous peoples, occupational groups, older adults, people with disabilities, people with existing health conditions, and pregnant women. [Applicable to 2 and 3 Star implementation.]
The Social Vulnerability Index uses U.S. tract-level census data to estimate vulnerability due to socioeconomic status, race/ethnicity/language, household status, and housing/transportation. [Applicable to 2 and 3 Star implementation.]
In consultation with the county, every two years review the county (or city if there is one) Hazard Mitigation Plan and identify who is responsible for city preparedness, emergency response, and recovery efforts for each hazard. Routinely participate in updating the County/City Plan to include equitable actions for climate adaptation and community resilience. (Category A & B cities must achieve a 1-star rating plus either a 2- or 3- star rating for Step 3 recognition). Report community engagement efforts under BPA 29.3.
Address how all diverse populations in a jurisdiction are served by emergency communication, evacuation and sheltering, mitigation and prevention, planning and preparedness. Develop targeted emergency communications in appropriate languages (or get access to existing versions) for each population of non-English speakers in your community for each hazard.
In consultation with the county, designate appropriate and accessible facilities -- that are available to the public and trusted by the underserved communities who will need to use them -- as community safe shelter for each hazard as applicable. Arrange for adequate provisions (including food and potable water) and backup power sufficient to meet minimum daily run-time requirements as a shelter for one week or longer during utility grid failure; develop coordinated strategies with private sector emergency facilities and essential services that require backup power during widespread outages and disasters; document agreed-upon procedures and backup power sources. Report permanent resilience hubs under BPA 29.3.
Who's doing it
Brainerd - 3 star
Date action report first entered:
Date of last report update:
Year action initially completed: 2017
Implementation details:
The City of Brainerd utilizes the Crow Wing County Hazard Mitigation Plan to ensure the safety of all community members during severe storms, fires, flooding, etc. The plan is regularly reviewed and is currently being updated. The plan is headed by John Bowen, the Crow Wing County Emergency Management Director, and is implemented in the City by the appropriate agencies for each hazard, such as the fire Dept. and DNR. The Plan focuses heavily on the education and outreach to all citizens. Information is made available through the Emergency Warning System(EWS) that everyone is encouraged to sign up for. EWS has been recently updated to provide warning through social media platforms as well as through the City and County websites, the local newspaper, and TV. The Plan also focuses on educating vulnerable populations such as the youth and elderly about staying safe during periods of extreme heat and cold.The Plan also identifies and prepares buildings and schools within the city that can be prepared with backup generators, HVAC, and water and sewer that can be used as critical facilities in case of a major power outage.
Duluth participates in St Louis County's Hazard Mitigation planning. The plan (reviewed every 5 years) is currently going through the review and update process. The plan is FEMA and Homeland Security approved and includes federal funding for proposed mitigation projects. Projects currently being drafted include rerouting Minnesota Ave on Park Point further inland and reinforcing the shoreline by the water treatment plant. Duluth is also working with the DNR on their hazard mitigation strategies. The DNR focuses on shoreline issues and ecological stability.
Duluth has its own Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) that takes an "all hazards approach": rather than be divided up by potential emergency, general responses are detailed that can be tailored to almost any emergency situation including those climate related. The plan includes contact lists and delegation of responsibilities associated with emergency response. There is also an initial checklist to assist in determining whether the situation warrants the activation of the Emergency Operations Center. While the plan is continuously updated in minor ways, it is also part of the MN Walk system where various sections are scrutinized and updated every year. The local school district and MN Power have their own EOPs that are reviewed with the City yearly. St Louis County, the Fond du Lac band of Ojibwe, the Duluth Transit Authority, and the 148th Fighter Wing also have their own EOPs that are reviewed with the City to insure that regional responses can be coordinated. The City also runs a yearly exercise with UMD to review various aspects of the university's emergency plan.
The City's EOP includes a list of all facilities that have large quantities of chemicals that may become public hazards in the event of an emergency. Mass sheltering options are listed (all are ADA compliant) as are the locations of all backup generators in the city along with their tank size, fuel type, and maximum run times.
The City has multiple ways of communicating information with the public in times of crisis. Traditional tornado sirens are maintained within the city. The City can also utilize the FEMA run IPAWS to automatically communicate with any cell phones in the area. Landlines can opt into this network. Most recently this was utilized during the Husky Refinery fire in 2018 and during a storm in 2019 when Park Point residents were told to shelter in place. Everbridge is a county run alerts system that is opt in for residents of the area. And of course the traditional print and television media as well as social accounts are used to spread information as quickly and accurately as possible. To facilitate communication between city, county, and state agencies the City uses WebEOC which allows information to be shared between different groups without being shared with the general public.
The City has agreements with private ambulance companies to assist in the evacuation of local hospitals if such actions are needed.
Outcome measures/metrics/money saved:
Descriptive File:
Descriptive links:
For more information contact:
Alex Jackson, Energy Coordinator (City staff) | ajackson@DuluthMN.gov | 218-730-4433
The City of Fridley utilizes the Anoka County Hazard Mitigation Plan, which was last adopted on October 21, 2019. The City also meets with Anoka County Emergency Management on a quarterly basis to review the plan. The Plan focuses on hazard and risk identification, analysis, response, and public communication, as well as identifies action steps for the City. Most of Fridley's actions steps in the 2019 plan are related to flood control. The City also maintains its own Continuity of Operations Plan which is updated on an ongoing basis.
The City coordinates with many partners on emergency response training and preparation. This includes an annual multi-jurisdictional training with BNSF on railroad response; an active shooter training with a focus on inter-jurisdictional communication, and pipeline safety drills.
The City has multiple options for communicating with the public during natural disasters/emergencies ranging from social media to neighborhood patrols. The City's Facebook page has over 4,900 followers and a Fridley Public Safety specific Facebook page has over 2,200 followers. The Fridley Public Safety Department also utilizes Tip411 which allows the City to send out mass messaging via text in addition to the PAWS system. The City fully upgraded the control heads and sirens for its tornado warning system in 2012.
The City's most frequent natural disaster response is to flooding. In the spring of 2019, the Fridley Public Works department prepared bags of sand for residents to prevent property damage. The Fridley Public Works department and Public Safety Department also coordinate to manage flooding through the City's stormwater lift stations.
The Fridley Water System is mainly gravity fed; however, the City's main water treatment systems have backup generators and the City owns additional portable generators.
Park Plaza Cooperative, a manufactured housing community in Fridley, received a Minnesota Housing Grant and used Co-Op's funds to construct a new storm shelter that also serves as community center. The shelter was completed in March 2019. The new Fridley Civic Campus is an emergency shelter for the residents of the adjacent town homes and slab-on-grade patio homes. The City Hall has a generator backup.
On 12-23 and 24, 2022 the Lake Crystal Fire Department and the Lake Crystal Recreation Center were approached by the Blue Earth County Sherriff's department and asked to house stranded motorists during a blizzard. There is no public lodging in Lake Crystal, so the fire department housed and fed 19 stranded motorists and the Recreation Center took in 8 more people. They were able to make things work, but they realized they needed a few more cots and blankets if they were to do this again. Also, a plan going forward.
Outcome measures/metrics/money saved:
This was an emergency instance that has led to a long term plan. The fire department began working to secure more cots and blankets and plans to be prepared to offer this service to stranded motorists in the future. They are continuing to work with the Rec Center to make to help the facility be more prepared in the future to accommodate stranded motorists. They want to make sure they can also provide them with more to eat than just candy and snacks. I love the innovation in finding a way to make this work in an emergency and growing it into a long-term solution!
The latest City of Lakeville’s ‘Emergency Operation Plan’ was presented to the City Council in October 2019. This plan includes a hazard mitigation plan that is reviewed by the county and state every 2-4 years and the plan identifies shelters to be used in the event of an emergency as well as arrangement of adequate provisions and backup power for one-week or longer. This includes agreed-upon procedures and sufficiency of backup power sources. This plan is reviewed yearly and is updated as needed.
The City of Moorhead rewrites the Hazard Mitigation Plan every fifth year, and reviews and updates it yearly. The state of Minnesota and FEMA verify the plan. In 2019, the city will update its Emergency Operation Plan to be congruent with the county. City and county staff are prepared in the case of emergency to distribute provided resources. Mutual aid agreements exist for emergency medical and fire services for both Cass and Clay counties.
The Moorhead Fire Department provides a metro-wide ‘Are you Prepared?’ manual in multiple languages and takes part in Emergency and Community Health Outreach (ECHO) to provide information and assistance in multiple languages. Translators are open to these populations via the Language Line, which can be accessed over the phone during an emergency. The fire department works with stakeholders such as daycares, nursing homes, long-term care facilities and schools for emergency response.
The city and county provide outreach events at the fire departments for first responders to be prepared and open forums for the community. Outreach events occur in the spring and fall about severe weather and winter weather preparedness [events which are predicted to increase in frequency as a result of climate change]. They also provide large-scale training and exercises for nonprofits and organizations like the Red Cross.
The city utilizes 24-hour open businesses as mercy shelters. They communicate and post to residents in manufactured homes so they know where to go during an emergency. They provide outreach and education events for residents to find safe areas within their own complex. Rally points and designated shelters are divided within each ward and are used to evacuate the city. At each shelter location, the city evaluates its backup generation. Plans are in place to get local resources, then regional resources, and then state resources. The city has outreach and yearly training with the gas utilities and Moorhead Public Service (MPS). MPS also has procedures set in place for emergency preparedness.
On April 9th, Morris adopted the newly updated Stevens County Emergency Operation Plan (which it does each time the plan is updated). The plan names Dona Greiner and Reggie Welle as being in charge of both emergency preparedness and emergency response. The plan includes information and measures to ensure the safety of the Morris community during natural disasters such as tornados, wind events, and floods and also industrial disasters such as gas leaks, train derailments, and explosions resulting from such events.
Morris is coordinating with the University of Minnesota- Morris, the Center for Small Towns, and Morris Transit to ensure that emergency communications can be available in both English and Spanish. Morris Transit is an integral part of some of the various emergency planning and makes some instructions available in Chinese as well.
The Emergency Operation Plan lists several locations as emergency shelters, including our various churches, Morris Area Schools, and UMN-Morris. The National Guard Armory has also been requested as an emergency shelter, and all of the locations are being evaluated by the Red Cross to make sure they meet all standards for emergency shelters.
Each Spring the Richfield Department of Public Safety meets with a representative from the Hennepin County Emergency Management department. The meeting focuses on updates that have been made to our plan, reviewing the Hazard Mitigation Plan, and reviewing protocols and procedures for our Emergency Operations Center along with Technology that will assist us in a Natural or Man-made disaster. The representative from Hennepin County will check off that we have met the standards and criteria established by the county and our South Metro Emergency Managers group. Jay Henthorne, Richfield Police Chief and Public Safety Director, met with Hennepin County representatives on April 12, 2018.
As part of our emergency operations plan for the city we have several established shelters located throughout the city. These primarily consist of churches, schools, and some private businesses. These shelters have been used in exercises to practice sheltering of the public and training for our staff and our Community Emergency Response Team, (CERT). We have these Shelters set up to be sustainable for two weeks with supplies and availability for additional supplies until we can move people to more of long term housing.
Robbinsdale’s City Manager is responsible for implementation of emergency preparedness, response, planning, and training, with the assistance of the Robbinsdale Police Department as the emergency preparedness coordination agency. The Robbinsdale Chief of Police acts as the Emergency Manager, and serves as the liaison in the North Suburban Emergency Management Planning Group (NSEMPG). The NSEMPG revised the Emergency Operations Plan in 2018. The Emergency Operations Plan plans for a variety of emergencies, including natural disasters, hazardous materials, medical disasters, exotic animals, etc. The Plan also designates an Emergency Operations Center in a central location to enable the NSEMPG to coordinate policy decisions and manage resources when responding to disasters and emergencies.
Robbinsdale is also included in Hennepin County’s 2018 All-Hazard Mitigation Plan. The Plan identifies vulnerable populations and characteristics of Robbinsdale and identifies the City’s top 3 mitigation priorities. The plan includes goals, actions, and priorities to plan for hazard mitigation and resiliency. This plan is updated on a regular basis.
The City utilizes several resources to communicate potential and impending emergencies with residents, businesses, and visitors. The City uses Tip411 to notify subscribers of hazardous weather, road closures, critical incidents, and other real time information about emergencies that could threaten the health and safety of our residents, businesses, and visitors. Tip411 can be accessed via app, phone call, email, or text. The City also posts real time alerts about emergencies and other pertinent information on our website banner. Additionally, the City has several social media outlets with which we post emergency notifications and updates. The City also uses social media frequently to share resources from Hennepin County about shelters, warming spaces, tornado drills, severe weather, etc.
North Memorial Hospital is located in Robbinsdale and is verified as a Level I Adult Trauma Center with air medical transport service. Robbinsdale’s water treatment plant has a backup power generator in the case of power loss.
Robbinsdale annually updates the Capital Improvement Plan to account for infrastructure updates and improve the resiliency of the City. The Comprehensive Plan is updated every ten years and plans for the updates and improvements to a variety of City resources including land use, housing, transportation, resiliency, parks and trails, and water, sewer, and solid waste. The City is in the process of creating an Energy Action Plan which will plan for energy use and production in changing climatic conditions and foster stronger social and economic vitality. All City plans are available publicly in presentations to the City Council and on the City website.
Watonwan County officially adopted a new Hazard Mitigation Plan and it was approved by FEMA on December 19th, 2022. The plan duration is 5 years. St James adopted a resolution supporting the plan earlier in the process as part of its path to approval.
Watonwan County (including St James) is a subscriber to CODE RED which translates emergency messages automatically into Spanish, the predominant non-English language spoken in Watonwan County. In addition, we are increasing our social media posts translating them to Spanish as well. In addition though community involvement, we seek contacts in the various culture groups that help us deliver messages effectively and in a trusting manner. The sheltering and evacuation plans for Watonwan County address vulnerable populations which include diverse populations. The challenges of effectively carrying out this is an ongoing effort at all levels of emergency and community personnel. Planning the preparedness of the population is addressed in the county's Emergency Operations Plan and incorporated into other plans the city and county develop.
At this time Spanish is the only language spoken (and TTD for the deaf and hard of hearing) due to its prominence and software limitations of CODE RED and social media posts. Efforts are ongoing to address other languages as they grow in the area. We maintain a pulse of the diversity by working with the local food plants and schools that employ and educate the bulk of our diverse communities.
1 Star
-City of Warren in accordance with Marshall County’s Hazard Mitigation Plan (2016) has prepared to maintain public health and safety during extreme weather and climate-change related events, while also taking a preventive approach to reduce risks for community members
-Josh Johnson, the Marshall County Emergency Manager is responsible for the planning process as well as ensuring the plan meets the needs of the county, citizens, and is in compliance with the code of federal regulations
-Emergency Manager is assisted by a Hazard Mitigation Steering Committee and a Hazard Mitigation Planning Team
-Steering Committee is utilized to prepare a 5-year mitigation update effort to best reflect the risks on a yearly basis, and then the committee ensures implementation and support in terms of necessary resources for implementation
-Scott Jorgenson (County Emergency Management Deputy Director), Jason Boman (Marshall County Sheriff), Gail Larson (Public Health Director), and Mark Jones (Safety Director) are some of the individuals on the committee whom are responsible for city preparedness, emergency responses, and recovery efforts in the event of natural disasters such as extreme heat/cold, blizzards, flooding, and tornadoes as well as updating the plan as climate conditions change
2 Star
-The Hazard Mitigation Planning Team is responsible for providing technical guidance, documenting the planning process, and writing the mitigation plan with the Emergency Manager serving as the coordinating entity
-The committee is also tasked with modeling disasters, conducting capability assessments and risk assessments, and creating a hazard and community profile for the county’s most vulnerable population groups relative to each event
-The committee is in constant contact with participating jurisdictions to provide relevant information pertinent to their jurisdictions to act an official conduit between their respective cities and their citizens
-The Hazard Mitigation Plan’s community profile revealed that since much of Marshall County exists in the floodplain, flooding is seen as the most significant hazard with changes in precipitation and winter storms as having the next most significant impact
-The elderly (men and women older than 65), children (under the age of 12), and the disabled have been identified as the most at-risk populations in terms of being vulnerable to extreme cold, blizzards, or tornadoes in regards to climate events
-Warren’s Police Department, Volunteer Ambulance Services, and Fire Department work in hand with Local Public Health Agencies to assure adequate public health infrastructure, protection against environmental health hazards, and with the county to prepare for and respond to disasters and assist communities in protecting vulnerable populations. The County utilizes Wireless Emergency Alerts in addition to traditional emergency broadcasts on radio/television as well as emergency response systems within the city sirens.
3 Star
-Marshall County courthouse has been determined to be an appropriate facility available to the public as a community safe shelter for the City of Warren for the significant climate related events (flooding, extreme cold, tornadoes)
-Moreover, because the County courthouse is located directly across from City Hall, the latter is able to sustain the former with its generators to provide potable water and backup power for a period of 5-7 days.
Freeborn County has a Hazard Mitigation Plan that applies to the City of Albert Lea. This plan and emergency procedures are reviewed on a quarterly basis by representatives from cities in Freeborn County. The demographics of the County are addressed in section 2.2 of the plan.
The person responsible for city preparedness, emergency response and recovery efforts is Rich Hall, the Director of Freeborn County Emergency Management.
The City is beginning to develop materials that would be useful in emergency situations. There is a sizable Latino and Karen population in town for which materials will need to be developed.
Homeland Security Emergency Management Minesota assists with translating materials into other languages, as do the VOADs.
Scott County Emergency Management and several local jurisdictions, including the City of Belle Plaine, have created and updated an all hazards mitigation plan (link). The effort includes a multi-jurisdictional planning, participation, administration, and updating process. The scope includes natural and man-made hazards. Profiles of each hazard have been developed along with a vulnerability assessment and capability and hazard mitigation strategies. The plan includes a schedule for monitoring, evaluating, and updating. Various city departments (fire, police, public works, community development - building official) participate in emergency preparedness drills including severe weather drills. All City wells have back-up generator capabilities. The Police Department has used City Hall as an emergency shelter (large water main leak at an affordable senior apartment building which left it uninhabitable) and operations center (June 2014 flooding/mudslides) in the past.
Fire Chief Ulie Seal is in charge of developing the Continuity of Operations Plan that provides the structure for responding to significant business interruptions that may last 48 hours or more. Within this plan are a number of Emergency Support Functions assigned to different city departments, which are then responsible for developing plans to address possible emergency scenarios.
City of Bloomington uses an All-Hazards emergency plan approach consistent with National Response Framework (NRF) and National Incident Management System (NIMS), which creates a scalable system that can be adapted to each scenario. This is more efficient than creating individual plans to address every possible scenario that might occur.
Every 5 years, City of Bloomington conducts a Jurisdictional Risk Assessment (JRA)/Threat and Hazard Identification Risk Assessment (THIRA) with input from hospitals, public health, and local business to identify and understand potential scenarios that are more likely to happen and to develop possible responses.
Bloomington has identified six languages in addition to English that its residents regularly use in conducting business with the City. Some documents and resources are routinely available in these languages on the City website. In emergency scenarios, City of Bloomington uses translation services provided by Language Line or Garden & Associates. Additionally, targeted emergency communication is coordinated with ECHO (Emergency, Community, Health, and Outreach) Minnesota, which is a service of Twin Cities Public Television. This program provides a series of emergency communications via television, telephone, radio, internet, and other media, translated into languages used across the metro region.
3 Public Works managers, 2 Fire Department Officers and 2 Police Officers are now certified emergency managers.
City Hall, Public Safety, Fire Stations and Public Works all have on-site backup power generation.
The City of Brooklyn Center is part of the North Suburban Emergency Management Planning Group. The group has established a regional Emergency Operations Plan which describes strategies and mechanisms through which cities will mobilize resources and conduct activities to guide and support emergency management efforts using the National Incident Management System. This includes a crisis communication plan that identifies spokespersons and how public information would be disseminated in the event of a disaster.
Hennepin County has an All-Hazard Mitigation Plan which addresses hazards including climate-related hazards such as extreme heat, storms, flooding. The County Emergency Management staff keeps maps that show critical facilities and hazardous facilities which are used to target areas during response, including where vulnerable populations may be present. Hennepin County has a website that utilizes a survey as a proactive process for community involvement and feedback on its hazard mitigation plan in order to assess vulnerabilities to climate change impacts and identify strategies and activities to increase resilience and lessen the impact of future hazards. Brooklyn Center also has a Hazard Mitigation Plan (copy attached) and has completed nearly of the Goals and Mitigation Actions identified in the plan (EOC has upgraded technology, electric reader boards have been purchased by PD and FD, emergency notification system Code Red is being implemented and backup emergency generators are on site at West Fire, East Fire, PD, City Hall, Public Works, Water Treatment Plant and Lift Station 2 and 6, mobile backup power generation is available to all other utility facilities).
The City of Brooklyn Center works hard to serve all of its residents and businesses, and understands that there may be populations that are considered vulnerable or more susceptible to the impacts of weather and climate related events and service disruptions. These populations include elderly, children, persons with mobility or health issues, renters, immigrants, and economically disadvantaged.
The primary purpose of this plan is to provide a guide for emergency operations. It is intended to assist key city officials and emergency organizations to carry out their responsibilities for the protection of life and property under a wide range of emergency conditions.
Tornadoes, floods, blizzards, droughts and other natural disasters can affect the City of Coon Rapids. In addition, major disasters such as train wrecks, plane crashes, explosions, hazardous material’s incidents, terrorism, pipeline leaks, nuclear power plant incidents, and national security emergencies pose a potential threat to public health and safety in Coon Rapids.
An emergency plan is needed to enable government to continue to operate and carry out emergency functions, and to protect the public, and in some cases the environment, from the effects of the above-mentioned hazards.
The City of Cottage Grove works with Washington County to update the All-Hazard Mitigation Plan (last approved by FEMA in 2012 and currently under review) and Washington County Emergency Operations Plan as appropriate.
Washington County’s All Hazard Mitigation Plan is aimed at helping cities and townships (including Cottage Grove) mitigate (prepare) for a variety of hazards such as flooding, tornadoes, and terrorism before they occur. In addition to the Washington County Plans, the City maintains an All Hazard Plan (Last updated in 2009) which identifies methods utilized for information dissemination during emergencies.
In the event of weather related emergencies, Washington County is responsible for disseminating all watches and warnings to the City of Cottage Grove (except warnings for conditions generated within the City itself). Washington County has the ability to utilize IPAWS to disseminate weather emergency information in English and Spanish, and ECHO Services to disseminate weather emergency information in English, Spanish, Hmong and Somali.
The key City Staff for notifications are as follows: Craig Woolery (Director of Public Safety), Rick Redenius (Fire Chief), Myron Bailey (Mayor) and Charlene Stephens (City Administrator). Cottage Grove specifically identifies the protocol to notify residents by activation of the outdoor warning sirens and to notify the population not covered by the outdoor warning system by house-to-house contact, including alerting individuals with special needs. In addition to information dissemination within the City by the County, there are other available resources to residents for weather related emergencies including local and regional television and radio stations. The City of Cottage Grove identifies KSTP as the primary media outlet utilized for weather related updates and information for the area during weather emergencies.
KSTP maintains multiple media platforms within the greater metro area and includes three radio stations (KS95, 1500 ESPN and myTalk 107.1) and two local broadcast television stations (Channel 5 KSTP-TV and Channel 45 KSTC TV) which broadcast periodic weather updates and include warning tickertape banners (television) during weather events. These media sources provide additional means for the City to effectively disseminate information to its citizens during emergencies.
We have a “Severe Weather Emergency Management Plan” which is primarily directed at thunderstorm, tornado, wind, flash flood or blizzard type events. However, the same plan could and would be used in an extreme heat event. The plan includes opening designated shelters, disseminating information and warnings to the public, activation of the City Emergency Operations Center and dispatching appropriate emergency responders to deal with the particular emergency. For evacuation shelters we utilize the Crookston Sports Center, the High School gymnasium, the University of Minnesota gymnasium and several of the local churches. The Crookston Sports Center, the High School gymnasium, the University of Minnesota gymnasium are all equipped with back-up generators. We have Resident lists broken down by Ward, that identify individuals with special needs. These are updated annually and we try to be as comprehensive as possible. We have a Community Emergency Response Team program which is made up of about 30 volunteer members of the community. These team members are trained in disaster response and basic first aid, and are trained to check on the citizens that are on the list of individuals with special needs first. These people are in addition to police, fire and medical responders.
The Public Safety Commission was established to oversee and review the emergency management plan that is in place with Crow Wing County. In addition, the city has promoted joining the Crow Wing County ALERT emergency notification system. This provides a means for County and City officials to notify the user by phone, email, SMS TXT, and/or TTY/TDD, as elected by the user.
Crow Wing County Sheriff's Office notifies users directly of emergencies including requirements or recommendations for residents and property owners.
The following alerts are included in this system:
Community Events & Information
Weather Alerts (Flood, Winter, Non-Precipitation, Fire and Severe Weather)
In addition, with the construction of the new City Hall in 2019, the Crosslake Fire Chief worked to have an emergency shelter prepared in the basement being cognizant of need for a safe area for campers at the heavily used Crosslake Campground that is within city limits.
Crystal is part of the West Metro Fire-Rescue District, which serves as our emergency preparedness coordination agency. We recently (earlier in 2016) updated our Hazard Mitigation Plan and submitted it to Hennepin County. We are part of the North Suburban Emergency Planning Group. City Manager is responsible for implementation of emergency preparedness and response planning and training, with the assistance of West Metro Fire. The City also uses our website and social media to post severe weather alerts, tips for staying safe (dressing appropriately in cold weather, hydrating and staying cool during extreme heat, etc.).
With the city's updated website, we can put banners/alerts on the website in cases of severe weather. We also post real time information about severe weather.
Outcome measures/metrics/money saved:
Minimizing injuries or loss of life or property damage.
The City of Golden Valley is part of the North Suburban Emergency Management Planning Group. The group has established a regional Emergency Operations Plan which describes strategies and mechanisms through which cities will mobilize resources and conduct activities to guide and support emergency management efforts using the National Incident Management System. This includes a crisis communication plan that identifies spokespersons and how public information would be disseminated in the event of a disaster.
Hennepin County has an All-Hazard Mitigation Plan which addresses hazards including climate-related hazards such as extreme heat, storms, flooding. The County Emergency Management staff keeps maps that show critical facilities and hazardous facilities which are used to target areas during response, including where vulnerable populations may be present. Hennepin County has a website that utilizes a survey as a proactive process for community involvement and feedback on its hazard mitigation plan in order to assess vulnerabilities to climate change impacts and identify strategies and activities to increase resilience and lessen the impact of future hazards.
The City of Golden Valley works hard to serve all of its residents and businesses, and understands that there may be populations that are considered vulnerable or more susceptible to the impacts of weather and climate related events and service disruptions. These populations include elderly, children, persons with mobility or health issues, renters, immigrants, and economically disadvantaged. Approximately 25% of all persons living in Golden Valley are age 65 and older and are spread throughout the community. 10% of all persons living in Golden Valley have one or more disabilities and 29% of individuals 65 and older have one or more disabilities. 9% of all Golden Valley residents are foreign born and 3.5% of all residents speak English less than very well.
Outcome measures/metrics/money saved:
The City regularly updates databases and maps that identify critical facilities, hazardous materials, high density employment centers, high density housing areas, and vulnerable populations. Areas where vulnerable populations may be concentrated include properties with health care facilities, nursing home and assisted living facilities, senior housing, group homes, schools, child care centers, high-density housing areas, floodplains and other flood prone areas. High density housing areas include rental properties that may have a higher percentage of persons who are transient, immigrant, young, elderly, mobility-challenged, or economically disadvantaged.
The City is in the process of updating its communication strategies for emergencies and weather and climate related events. This work will include strategies for educating and communicating with residents before events (disaster preparedness, weather aware) and targeting specific populations before and during events. This work will also include exploring the use of assistive technologies for those who are deaf, hard of hearing, or speech-impaired. Among the vulnerable population areas listed in the section above, focused attention will be given to neighborhood watch groups, rental property managers, schools, and senior programs.
Following are communication methods the City currently uses to reach residents, including vulnerable populations, during an event:
• GV Emergency (automated call, text, email and landline notification system)
• City Website
• City Facebook site
• Press Release or Press Conference if necessary
• Email listserve
• Public Address system on emergency vehicles
In the event of a small local incident, Golden Valley has an agreement with Metro Transit that buses will be sent to shelter residents until the American Red Cross arrives or until people can be returned to their homes. In these short windows of time the City will do what it can to accommodate basic needs such as provide bottled water. During these events, if necessary, The Salvation Army could also be brought in for limited food. The City may ask for permission to use certain buildings as short-term shelters in the event of an emergency but there are no set shelters identified currently for this purpose. The American Red Cross maintains a national list of facilities that could be used as emergency shelters. If local governments need a long-term shelter the American Red Cross would be notified for assistance and the North Suburban Emergency Management Planning Group could support the shelter with cots, pillows, blankets and toiletry items. Plans for opening, staffing and operating a shelter is a coordinated effort between the American Red Cross, Local, and County government.
In the event of extreme heat, Hennepin County Emergency Management publicly lists cooling centers. Last summer three Golden Valley locations were listed but these may be subject to change based on continued evaluation and cooperation with partners.
In the event of a vector-borne illness outbreak, depending on the expected impacts to the community, various elements of the Emergency Operations Plan may be pressed into action. The Minnesota Department of Health would be the lead agency to identify, track and provide guidance on how communities should respond to such an incidence.
In addition to maps and databases kept by the City, Hennepin County Dispatch maintains a database of properties with alert information and special needs, based on prior experiences, for use in an emergency.
In Dakota County, both emergency management and homeland security are coordinated in a comprehensive program under Dakota County Emergency Management. Dakota County works with local municipalities (including Hastings), neighboring counties in the metro region, private and non-profit organizations, and state and federal partners to better prepare for, respond to, and recover from incidents ranging from weather to terrorism. Hastings’ Emergency Management Team is made up of police and fire officials. The function of emergency management is to prepare and maintain state and federally approved Emergency Disaster plans; assist businesses and other departments within the city with developing contingency emergency plans; locate and secure resources from within and outside the city; regularly execute drills to ensure the highest possible state of readiness; develop and maintain volunteer groups with appropriate training to assist in situation; disseminate information regarding disaster and emergency preparedness; and maintain outdoor warning sirens. Information and instructions about emergency situations will be disseminated to all major local media outlets (TV, Radio, Newspapers) by the Community Relations Coordinator to ensure all community areas are reached. The City of Hastings’ Emergency Management plan has been approved by the State of Minnesota, Division of Homeland Security and identifies who is responsible for City preparedness. The City of Hastings partners with Dakota County to create our All-Hazard Mitigation Plan, which has been approved by FEMA. Current plan was approved in 2014.
The City of Inver Grove Heights has several emergency response plans such as city emergency operation plans and an All-Hazard plan written by the County and adopted by the City. Act of 2000 requires counties and cities to prepare All-Hazard Mitigation Plans every five years. The All-Hazard Mitigation Plan includes a list of buildings that are designated as public shelters in the event of an emergency. We also have TYY and a language phone line that provide additional communications resources. Plans must address potential natural and manmade hazards and develop mitigation strategies to reduce the impacts of hazard events both in dollars and lives saved. The City's first All-Hazard Mitigation Plan was approved by the Minnesota Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (HSEM) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in 2006. In 2017, the City has participated in the planning process and developed its own mitigation strategies as part of the multi-jurisdictional plan.
The City of Jordan uses an Emergency Operations Plan developed for situations specifically like those produced by catastrophic weather events. The plan is updated by the Jordan’s Chief of Police and Emergency Manager in order to maintain it to standards set by the State of Minnesota and Scott County. Extreme weather events, reinforced by climate change, are among the most likely emergencies and specific precautions and policies are outlined to respond to such events. Responsibilities for every type of emergency event are assigned to city staff members. Jordan Public Schools will partner with the city in the event that emergency housing is needed, the schools also assist in alerting families of severe weather. The plan also covers what to do in public health, terrorist, and other types of emergencies. Other city responsibilities include regular testing and maintenance of emergency sirens and regular safety commission meetings to address concerns from traffic management to natural resource issues.
Jordan partners with Scott County in emergency preparedness efforts. Scott County runs an Emergency Management and Homeland Security program which addresses anything from severe weather to terrorist acts. Jordan’s Emergency Manager attends regular meetings with other municipal and county officials. Through this partnership, Jordan’s residents and businesses have access to the Code Red Weather Warning service which informs them via text or phone call about severe weather conditions including, but not limited to, tornadoes, hail, floods, blizzards, and extreme heat and cold. Jordan also works with Scott County to hold preparedness exercises in order to maintain staff readiness for extreme events.
Jordan is in the process of working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to update its floodplain maps. This is critical for the city and its residents to understand where vulnerabilities to flooding exist.
Construction of a new library which also serves as a shelter. The project was originally applied for as a Pre-Disaster Mitigation grant program for a concrete, domed structure to serve as a library with the dual purpose of a FEMA shelter. The FEMA grant was denied and the project was downscaled, but it was still constructed with the FEMA design to be a temporary shelter during extreme weather events. (near-absolute protection from high wind events and tornadoes.). A response plan is in place for activation as a community shelter, led by the Fire Chief, Police Chief and other staff.
Outcome measures/metrics/money saved:
Construction of the concrete, domed library/community shelter was completed in 2016.
We are a full and active participant in the Washington County Hazard Mitigation Plan. Residents are able to sign-up for CodeRED alerts. These alerts deliver geo-targeted, time-sensitive information via email, SMS, voice, mobile app push notifications, IPAWS and more depending on the severity of the situation. Alerts are provided in the recipients native language to ensure understanding Cimarron Park maintains 2 storm shelters on their property. These shelters are inspected annually by the Fire Marshal and checked one a day by park staff during the storm season. City has the ability to provide all communications in various languages through the city website, social media channels and direct mailings. The city owns and operates 9 Outdoor Warning Sirens throughout the city. The City of Lake Elmo and Washington County have identified several hazard safe shelters in and around the city. The Lake Elmo Library is a heating and cooling shelter location. The City of Lake Elmo has back-up power facilities at the City Center and Public Works buildings along with water and sewer infrastructure facilities.
We have our own FEMA approved Hazard Mitigation Plan.
We have 14 Weather Warn Sirens that send out voice and tones. Not bi-lingual.
We have 12 shelter sites identified with the American Red Cross, some have power back up and food and some do not. We usually rely on the Casinos to cater food in and they all have back up. We also have a store of bottled water kept on hand with a local bottle company- 2 pallets on hand donated at all times, plus the casino stores more water than it needs to keep on hand in case of emergency, another 2 pallets.
The City of Lexington per Resolution 19-05 adopted on February 21, 2019 agreed to participate in the Anoka County All Hazard Mitigation Plan which outlines what is to be done in the event of emergency conditions including but not limited to Tornadoes, floods, blizzards, droughts and other natural disasters as well as train wrecks, plane crashes, explosions, hazardous material’s incidents, terrorism, pipeline leaks, nuclear power plant incidents, and national security emergencies.
Our City web-page includes local information and who to contact in the event of an emergency (The Centennial Police Department is our 1st point of contact) under our Emergency Management link on the home page. There are links included to Anoka County, State of Minnesota & FEMA.
The Lyon County Hazard Mitigation Plan documents the multi-jurisdictional, multi-hazard mitigation planning process in Lyon County, Minnesota, which is intended to meet the requirements of the federal Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000. The Lyon County All-Hazard Mitigation Plan brings resources together to mitigate and respond to hazards, protecting public health, safety and welfare in a useful and easily understood all-hazards approach. This project was undertaken so that all local units of government in Lyon County that wished to participate could become eligible to adopt the plan. All cities participated in Lyon County’s hazard mitigation planning process: Balaton, Cottonwood, Florence, Garvin, Ghent, Lynd, Marshall, Minneota, Russell, Taunton, and Tracy. The Lyon County All-Hazard Mitigation Planning Team, comprised of a number of stakeholders, identified the natural hazards which are High Rank Hazards for Lyon County. This planning process was conducted by the Southwest Regional Development Commission (SRDC) and Lyon County Emergency Management.
Lyon County utilizes the CodeRed Community Notification System that provides emergency notification to residents and businesses. Climate related warnings and instructions related to severe weather, lightening, hail, floods, tornadoes and extreme heat would be distributed by telephone, cell phone, text message, email, and social media.
The City of Marshall’s Emergency Operations Plan was updated in 2015 and approved at the February 10, 2015 City Council Meeting. The Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) to guide the City’s response plans for major natural disasters (i.e., floods, tornadoes, storms, etc.) or man-made events. The Police Department on behalf of the Mayor has primary responsibility in the City of Marshall for emergency preparedness and has recently finished revising the plan. It is all-hazards and incident command based following the NIMS national framework. This is a living document both expanding to address areas that it doesn't provide at this time and to reflect future environmental changes. This has been extensively reviewed by senior city staff and community members with an interest in emergency preparedness, through the community emergency preparedness planning group.
Outcome measures/metrics/money saved:
The City of Marshall Emergency Operations Plan was updated in 2015
The Lyon County Hazard Mitigation Plan is being updated in 2016.
A Climate Resilience Workshop, like the one held in Burnsville, MN is being discussed for agencies in southwest Minnesota.
Partners: Lyon County; City of Marshall Administrative Divisions; Southwest Regional Development Commission; Law Enforcement; Minnesota Pollution Control; Emergency Preparations Planning Group; Marshall Fire Department; Red Cross
Mendota Heights is included in the Dakota County All-Hazard Mitigation Plan which covers all cities in Dakota County for extreme weather events, pandemic, water supply contamination, cyberattacks and civil disturbance. Each city participated in the development of this plan through submission of city-specific mitigation strategies. Chief of Police Kelly McCarthy leads city preparedness and emergency response within the city.
Residents of Mendota Heights can sign up for Emergency Alert Notifications through Dakota County to keep aware of emergency situations. Residents are able to specify the best way for them to receive these notifications, such as through home phone, cell, email, text message, hearing impaired devices, and more.
The City of Minnetonka does not have its own mitigation plan. The city signs off on the Hennepin County Mitigation Plan as a full partner every two years, when the county revises the plan. The latest revision of the mitigation plan is complete and in the county approval process. The city’s all-hazard emergency plan also identifies the lead and support city department for all-hazard events, as well as a matrix identifying the ranking of the various hazards that the city could potentially face.
The City of Minnetonka also works with Hennepin County Emergency Management and utilizes ECHO (Emergency, Community, Health and Outreach) and other resources to access emergency communications in various languages. Additionally, the city staff have access to Language Line translation services. Fire, police, and other city departments do a number of annual public presentations specifically targeting the various known population groups in the city.
Lastly, the American Red Cross, in coordination and cooperation with the Salvation Army, Hennepin County Emergency Management, and the City of Minnetonka, maintains a list of emergency shelters and their points-of-contact along with contracts for use. The American Red Cross, with the Salvation Army, handles provisions for the listed shelters, while the city and county provide additional resources and coordination.
As of 2021, the city is using a mass communication system enabled through our web site provider - Revize; that allows residents to sign up for alerts from the city regarding emergencies and other critical or important events (development, zoning, etc.) and receive the alerts via email or text, or both if the resident/business owner so chooses. All alerts will occur thru the web page which will provide complete details. The web page is linked with our social media platform which will also alert residents who have connected to those forums.
Approximately one year ago the City gatherer representatives from Police, Fire, Public Works, Finance, HR and Administration and undertook a complete re-writing of our Mounds View Emergency Operations Plan which was done in concert and consultation with Ramsey County Emergency Operation Plan. The effort culminated this week with the actual publication of the updated EOP. In combination with our Comprehensive Plan which includes storm water management - the two work to prevent or limit risk while simultaneously mitigating when extreme weather events occur.
The Spring Lake Park – Blaine – Mounds View Fire Department provides a district wide fire and emergency prevention program with special focus on at risk populations such as seniors, manufactured home communities (11 total with 4,000+ units. The fire department works with stakeholders such as daycares, nursing homes, long-term care facilities and schools for emergency response.
In 2019 and again this year, the City and Fire Department partnered with the Red Cross to install smoke alarms in every unit in a specific manufactured home park with two of the three now completed. We have worked with those parks to ensure there emergency shelters are maintained, code compliant, and accessible in times of emergencies.
Due to the joint fire department (SBM) the City of Mounds View has significant focus and resources on emergency communication as SBM is dispatched by Anoka County but all 911 calls for Mounds View originate in Ramsey County. To ensure no interruption of service, communication delays, or conflicts in communication between fire and public works and/or police we have increased training, back up radios, programmed all radios to scan the other agency frequencies, and conduct joint training exercises and meet regularly as needed.
The City and Fire Department also share premise information specific to known hazards, owner contact, and property history. A "Joint Command/Communication" vehicle is maintained by SBM Fire but available and utilized by all three police agencies as needed. The vehicle has state of the art computer, communication, telescoping camera, internet, satellite phone, First Net, and weather station equipment.
New Brighton partners with Ramsey County in order to maintain a comprehensive and coordinated Emergency Operations Plan and All-Hazard Mitigation Plan. The Ramsey County Emergency Management and Homeland Security Department and New Brighton work together, along with neighboring communities, organizations, and state resources to properly prepare for, and recover from, major emergencies that threaten the health, safety, property, and resources of the communities with Ramsey County.
New Brighton has established an emergency line of succession, emergency staff organization, and an emergency operating center in case of disaster that can be found in the Emergency Operations Plan. The emergency management team is made up of a designated emergency staff that includes members from the police, fire, and public works departments. Together, the emergency management team will carry out the following functions: secure and direct resources, coordinate the city government response, coordinate with any adjacent local governments affected by the disaster, coordinate with any businesses or industries affected by the disaster, generate appropriate public information, and coordinate volunteers. The emergency management director is responsible for ensuring operational readiness of the emergency operations center. Each department that has a staff member included in the emergency operations center staffing list is responsible for ensuring that its representative is familiar with the duties they are expected to perform.
The city is part of the West Metro Fire-Rescue District, which serves as our emergency preparedness coordination agency. In 2016, the city updated the Hazard Mitigation Plan and submitted it to Hennepin County. The city is also part of the North Suburban Emergency Planning Group. The city manager is responsible for implementation of emergency preparedness and response planning and training, with the assistance of the West Metro Fire-Rescue District.
In 2014, the City passed an Emergency Preparation Document, to be prepared in case of an emergency, including extreme weather and climate-change related events. The Police Chief is also responsible, according to the plan, as the Emergency Management Director. City coordinates with counties on notifications to public through CodeRED and media communications. Emergency shelters identified with support of provisions in place.
The City of Nisswa is part of the Crow Wing County Hazard Mitigation Plan that they monitor and update on a regular basis. The plan outlines natural disasters such as Tornadoes, Floods, Fire, Hail, and the like. It also aims to educate on a number of topics such as climate change, water quality, and how to handle extreme weather (hot and cold). Crow Wing County provides a system to inform citizens of potential hazards and emergencies through either text, email, or phone call. Everyone if encouraged to sign up for this alert system at no charge. The city of Nisswa also has an Emergency Management Director, Craig Taylor. The city of Nisswa is currently looking into modifying their own Emergency Plan.
City uses service such as CodeRED and social media such as facebook to inform, alert and educate community on all safety concerns.
CodeRED is a free community notification system that keeps citizen's informed of emergency notifications, general community notifications, and severe weather warnings. If you want to sign up to receive free texts alerts.
The City of Pierz adopted the Morrison County Mitigation Hazard Plan in 2017, that plan gets reviewed with the County.
In 2018, the City created a committee for Disaster Planning & Preparedness. Includes emergency management officials (Fire Chief, Police Chief) and City Administration, as well as local community members. The City has designated facilities to use in the event of a disaster as command posts, media centers, and community gathering places.
Outcome measures/metrics/money saved:
In 2019, the Disaster Planning & Preparedness committee worked with Initiative Foundation to established a Disaster Relief Fund, to start putting money aside for disasters.
The City of Red Wing works in close partnership with Goodhue County in emergency management planning efforts. With the Prairie Island Nuclear facility being within the community, an extensive emergency management plan is in place and annually practiced. The State of Minnesota Dept. of Public Safety Homeland Security and Emergency Management works closely with Goodhue County and Red Wing in conducting radiological drills on a regular basis and having thorough evacuation, sheltering and communication plans in place.
The City of Red Wing has a designated emergency manager who is a police administrative captain, Tony Grosso. In early 2017, Captain Grosso completed his emergency manager certification with the State. He is currently working on a Railroad Emergency Response plan and conducting a city drill in the late summer of 2017.
Roseville partner’s with Ramsey County in order to maintain a comprehensive and coordinated Emergency Operations Plan and All-Hazard Mitigation Plan. The Ramsey County Emergency Management and Homeland Security Department and Roseville work together, along with neighboring communities, organizations, and state resources to properly prepare for, and recover from, major emergencies that threaten the health, safety, property, and resources of the communities with Ramsey County. Roseville has established an emergency line of succession, emergency staff organization, and an emergency operating center in case of disaster that can be found in the Emergency Operations Plan. The emergency management team is made up of a designated emergency staff that includes members from the police, fire, and public works departments. Together, the emergency management team will carry out the following functions: secure and direct resources, coordinate the city government response, coordinate with any adjacent local governments affected by the disaster, coordinate with any businesses or industries affected by the disaster, generate appropriate public information, and coordinate volunteers. The emergency management director is responsible for ensuring operational readiness of the emergency operations center. Each department that has a staff member included in the emergency operations center staffing list is responsible for ensuring that its representative is familiar with the duties they are expected to perform.
Rush City utilizes the Chisago County Hazard Mitigation Plan to ensure the safety of all community members during severe storms, fires, flooding, etc. The plan is headed by the County Emergency Management Director, and is implemented in Rush City by the appropriate agencies for each hazard, such as the Fire Dept. and DNR. The Plan focuses heavily on education and outreach to all citizens. Rush City uses the CodeRED service and social media such as Facebook to inform, alert and educate community on all safety concerns. CodeRED is a free community notification system that keeps citizens informed of emergency notifications, general community notifications, and severe weather warnings. Citizens can sign up to receive free texts alerts. The Plan provides guidelines for dealing with present and future hazards. More specific steps are outlined in the county Emergency Response Plan, Watershed Plan, County Water Management Plan and Zoning ordinances. The finished plan depicts a unified and continuous effort and commitment by many people in Chisago County, all participating jurisdictions, as well as Minnesota Homeland Security Emergency Management.
The City of St. Cloud collaborates with Stearns, Benton, and Sherburne Counties to provide emergency management services and Hazard Mitigation Plans. For the County Emergency Management Plans that St. Cloud operates under, the City provides input and reviews on an annual basis. St. Cloud falls primarily under the supervision of Stearns County Emergency Management. The Stearns County Hazard Mitigation Plan is reviewed annually and provided to FEMA every 5 years. These emergency action plans outline resilience and climate risk mitigation actions, including responses to severe weather, fires, flooding, and other similar events.
Additionally, a dedicated representative from the City and area counties are members of the Central Minnesota Emergency Management Advisory Committee (CMEMAC), which coordinates planning, training, and the purchase and use of equipment to ensure the most effective response to emergencies, both natural and other. This committee meets quarterly to discuss legislation, the communication system, public health concerns, funding, and more.
The Emergency Management Advisory Committee extended an open invitation to its stakeholders, in its January 2024 meeting, to improve communication between the public and the committee. Stakeholders were encouraged to submit a question or concern as an agenda item and to attend meetings to provide updates.
Emergency communication/alerts are available in multiple languages, including Spanish and Somali which are two of the most common non-English languages spoken in the area. Counties can craft emergency communications and disperse them via multiple avenues and languages if needed through various services and agencies.
There are designated community shelters, if an emergency event merited its use. Alerts and education can be released in multiple languages from various sources to increase accessibility and awareness.
Counties reach out to community groups in several ways, seeking public comment on plans, advertising plan updates through multiple avenues such as social media sites, posting in public places, etc. Agencies and groups across the community, who do work with underserved communities, are reached out to when plans are updated, such as our Health and Human Services Division.
The City of St Louis Park is part of the Lakes Region Emergency Management Planning Group. The group has established a regional Emergency Operations Plan which describes strategies and mechanisms through which cities will mobilize resources and conduct activities to guide and support emergency management efforts using the National Incident Management System. The City has developed a crisis communication plan that includes our reverse 911 system, our own PSAP Public Safety Answering Point and a full time staff in the Communications and Marketing including our own Public Information Officer. The City utilizes Emergency Support Functions (ESF) that identify resources to meet the needs of any incident and point to the Hennepin County All-Hazard Mitigation Plan for any instances that exceeds local control. The City maintains within its current Emergency Operations Plan and identifies specific SOGs that relate to evacuation, mass Care, heat and cooling shelters and severe weather shelters. The City’s GIS department maintains maps of flood prone areas, outdoor warning sirens and other specific information tied to hazards and mitigation. The coordination of the Cities EOP and the Hennepin County EOP is critical to maintaining continuity of operations and allows for access to real time weather and climate date on the Hennepin Mesonet. We have a connection to the Hennepin EOC through both WEB EOC and video conferencing that allows for management of incidents locally and access to resources such as specialist, interpreters and Incident Management staff if needs exceed local control. The City of St Louis Park works hard to serve all of its residents and businesses, and understands that there may be populations that are considered vulnerable or more susceptible to the impacts of weather and climate related events and service disruptions. The Fire Department has created a work group with all Senior Facilities to address common challenges and to provide information. The City has embarked on a City wide effort to address and advance racial equity within our community. All City Staff have been trained to the awareness level by the Center for Social Inclusion and the Governmental Alliance on Race Equity (GARE). We have invested in the creation of Cohort teams and each department is working on a strategic plan to advance racial equity and to identify gaps where needs might exist to better serve our diverse populations. This partnership with GARE and the cohort teams will us help identify what the needs are from vulnerable populations directly, so that we can incorporate those solutions into our procedures going forward. At this point we think directing non-English speakers to translators through our emergency dispatch is the best way to convey information, and are further researching best practices in this evolving area.
Responsible Staff: Fire Chief Steve Koering
952.924.2595
In 2017 the city of Saint Peter, and others in the surrounding areas part of Region 9, participated in a National Climate Assessment. The National Climate Assessment provides a detailed assessment of climate change and the impacts it has on the United States. It explores regions of the nation by sectors: water; energy; transportation; agriculture; forests; ecosystems; human health, energy, water, and land; urban; indigenous peoples; and use and land cover change; and biogeochemical cycles. In order to create some symmetry, Region Nine Development Commission, working in tandem with a Climate Change Adaptation Task Force (CCATF), identified the seven top priority sectors to prioritize its planning process (and added one: business and economy): agriculture, water, human health, energy, transportation, forests, and ecosystems.
The action plan which resulted form this Region 9 collection of work involves a seven step, multilayered approach to plan and prepare for extreme weather, adapt to changing climatic conditions, and foster stronger community connectedness and social and economic vitality. The seven larger steps are:
1.) Maximize Soil and Water Conservation (With subsections with action plans for: Increase conservation best management practices, Retain topsoil and agriculture productivity during extreme rain, drought, and freezing events, Manage impact of flooding, Promote water conservation, Decrease impacts from extreme storms, and Manage the floodplain.
2.) Expand Alternative Genetics and Crop Choices (With subsections with action plans for: Increase cover crops and invest in diversified cropping and Investment and development strategies.)
3.) Infrastructure Management (With subsections with action plans for: Limit power outages, Maintain transportation and traffic flow, and Support regional transportation initiatives [biking, walking, autos]).
4.) Increase Adaptive Capacity for Livestock and Human Health (With subsections with action plans for: Increase immunization and Keep livestock cool in extreme heat.)
5. ) Expand Risk Management and Management Planning Across Planning Platforms (With subsections with action plans for: Utilize airports for disaster planning, Add extreme weather into emergency planning, and Include climate change in local, regional, statewide, and national plans.)
6.) Special Focus on Resilience Sector Strategies (With subsections with action plans for: Implement urban resiliency strategies, Focus on renewable energy programs and initiatives by diversifying electricity generation, and Implement conservation of energy practices.)
7.) Strengthen Local Food Production
These specific action plans, as laid out in the region nine climate change report (https://www.rndc.org/download/community_economic_development/climate-change-plan-final-for-web.pdf), are both proactive and reactive in different cases where citizens will be in a position of need or help. An example within step 5 would be Saint Peter's public plan of keeping certain air conditioned municipal spaces open extended hours for those without air conditioning at home during extreme hot spells and extreme weather with similar outcomes.
The City of Savage uses an Emergency Operations Plan developed for situations specifically like those produced by catastrophic weather events. The plan is updated by the City's Chief of Police in order to maintain it to standards set by the State of Minnesota and Scott County. Extreme weather events are among the most likely emergencies and specific precautions and policies are outlined to respond to such events. Responsibilities for every type of emergency event are assigned to city staff members. One item the City went above and beyond on was to develop a flip chart version of the preparedness plan for all employees to keep at their work stations. The purpose is to present the procedures in a quick, bullet format for use during an emergency.
The City of Savage partners with Scott County in emergency preparedness efforts. Scott County runs an Emergency Management and Homeland Security program which addresses anything from severe weather to terrorist acts. For residents, the County identified community shelters that can be used to provide heating or cooling or other areas of refuge to residents in time of need. The City's Emergency Manager attends regular meetings with other municipal and county officials. Through this partnership, Savage residents and businesses have access to the Code Red Weather Warning service which informs them via text or phone call about severe weather conditions including, but not limited to, tornadoes, hail, floods, blizzards, and extreme heat and cold.
The City of Scandia works with Washington County to update the All-Hazard Mitigation Plan (last approved by FEMA in 2018) and Washington County Emergency Operations Plan as appropriate. Washington County’s All Hazard Mitigation Plan is aimed at helping cities and townships (including Scandia) mitigate (prepare) for a variety of hazards such as flooding, tornadoes, and terrorism before they occur. In addition to the Washington County Plans, the City is creating its own Emergency operations plan using Bold Planning which identifies methods utilized for information dissemination during emergencies. In the event of weather related emergencies, Washington County is responsible for disseminating all watches and warnings to the City of Scandia (except warnings for conditions generated within the City itself). Washington County has the ability to utilize IPAWS to disseminate weather emergency information in English and Spanish, and ECHO Services to disseminate weather emergency information in English, Spanish, Hmong and Somali and Code Red for landline and cell phone notification via call and text. The key City Staff for notifications are as follows: Adam Hawkinson (Director of Public Safety), Mike Hinz (Fire Chief) and Neil Soltis (City Administrator). Scandia will notify residents by activation of the outdoor warning sirens and to notify the population not covered by the outdoor warning system by house-to-house contact, including alerting individuals with special needs. In addition to information dissemination within the City by the County, there are other available resources to residents for weather related emergencies including local and regional television and radio stations.
Scandia’s fire station is designated as the community’s location for help in the event of a community medical emergency.
The City of Shakopee participates in Scott County's Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan and was last updated in 2019. The Police Chief is identified as the City’s Director of Emergency Planning; Scott County has continual maintenance and updates of the hazards identified in their initial 2013 plan as proposed by the mitigation steering committee in accordance with the Minnesota State Hazard Mitigation Plan. Scott County maintains an Emergency Operations Plan, which is designed as a guide for emergency operations and adopted the MN State Hazard Mitigation Plan for use (pgs. 99 – 125; specific mitigation actions – pgs. 281 - 293). It is intended to assist key county/city officials and emergency organizations to carry out their responsibilities for the protection of life and property under a wide range of emergency conditions, including debris clearance. Scott County has created Hazard Profiles for Summer Storms (Tornados, windstorms, lightning and hail), flash flood/riverine flood, severe winter storms – blizzards, ice storms, cold temperatures and assessed vulnerability to various likely events due to climate change; flooding, hail, drought, dam/levee failure, lightning, extreme heat, wildfire, winter storms, extreme cold, windstorms, erosion, earthquakes, tornadoes, land subsidence (sinkholes and karst), terrorism, infectious disease outbreak, fires (structures and vehicles), nuclear generating plant incidents, hazardous materials incidents, transportation incidents, ground/surface water supply, contamination.
In the event of emergencies or hazardous conditions that require timely and targeted communication to the public, Scott County utilizes the CodeRED Mass Notification System. All school districts within Scott County have a school closing policy and communications plan in place if inclement weather or temperatures create a hazardous situation for students or staff. The plan identifies seniors above the age of 65, children under the age of 5, and those with pre-existing conditions are most susceptible to the extreme heat and cold.
South St. Paul is included in the Dakota County All-Hazard Mitigation Plan which is in place to prepare cities in Dakota County for extreme weather events. Within the city, Police Chief Bill Messerich is responsible for city preparedness and emergency response.
Residents of South St. Paul can sign up for Emergency Alert Notifications through Dakota County to keep them aware of emergency situations. The notification system allows you to specify how you would like to receive the emergency notification, such as your home, cell, email, text message, hearing impaired devices, and more.
West St. Paul is included in the Dakota County All-Hazard Mitigation Plan which is in place to prepare cities in Dakota County for extreme weather events. Within the city, Police Chief Brian Sturgeon is responsible for city preparedness and emergency response.
Residents of West St. Paul can sign up for Emergency Alert Notifications through Dakota County to keep them aware of emergency situations. The notification system allows you to specify how you would like to receive the emergency notification, such as your home, cell, email, text message, hearing impaired devices, and more.
On 7-20-15, the Council, via resolution, adopted the Sibley County Hazard Mitigation Plan. The cities were invited to attend multiple workshops to assist in drafting the Plan. The Mayor appointed Tim Haggenmiller as the City's Emergency Manager at its first meeting in January, 2016. The City's Emergency Operations Committee meets annually to assess risks and hazards and to update its Emergency Operations Plan.
Outcome measures/metrics/money saved:
As a result of adopting the County Hazard Mitigation Plan and during last year's annual meeting of the Emergency Operations Committee, As part of this year's budget cycle, the City budgeted for a generator at its newly appointed Emergency Operations Center (at the Fire/Police/Ambulance Building). Partial funding will be sought through a FEMA grant.
A link has been provided to the Sibley County Emergency Management Department to view the Hazard Mitigation Plan.
The City coordinates with Mower County for emergency and disaster management planning and siren testing. Steve Lang, City Engineer does emergency preparedness drills with staff to make sure crews are ready for efficient implementation of procedures, including flood mitigation procedures.
Sustainability and resilience planning is included in the updated Comprehensive Plan which will be adopted in November of 2016.
Brian Ross, consultant, held a public workshop on Land Use Sustainability and Resilience in Austin on April 14, 2016 with several members of the Sustainability Task Force and Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee in attendance.
Person responsible for city preparedness: Officer David Powers. Officer Powers is developing an emergency preparedness plan in conjunction with Dakota County. The process is beginning in March of 2016 and includes a threats/vulnerability analysis. It will be completed at the end of July 2016.
Hosted a Climate Resiliency Workshop on September 24, 2015. Partnered with Eagan and Apple Valley. See flyer for more details.
Outcome measures/metrics/money saved:
45 city/county staff/elected/appointed officials attended the Climate Resilience Workshop in September 2015. Surveyed the attendees on weather impacts on their jobs, key challenges of climate change and the most valuable thing departments could do.
The McLeod County Hazard Mitigation Plan was updated and adopted by then McLeod County Board of Commissioners in April 2015. Kevin Mathews is the Director of McLeod County Emergency Management for the McLeod Country Sheriff’s Office and is responsible for Hazard Mitigation for McLeod County. Chief Daniel Hatten, the Director of Police and Emergency Management and Police Chief of the City of Hutchinson, is responsible for Hazard Mitigation for the City of Hutchinson.
The City of La Crescent participates with Houston County and other cities in the county in the All-Hazard Mitigation Plan. This plan includes goals, objectives and strategies for each city to better prepare for disasters both natural and man-made as well as plans for the appropriate emergency response by each level of government.
In Ramsey County, both emergency management and homeland security are coordinated in a comprehensive program under the Ramsey County Emergency Management and Homeland Security department (RCEMHS). RCEMHS works with local municipalities (including Maplewood), neighboring counties in the metro region, private and non-profit organizations, and state and federal partners to better prepare for, respond to, and recover from incidents ranging from tornadoes to terrorism.
Maplewood's Emergency Management Team is made up of emergency management, police, fire, and public works departments. The function of emergency management is to prepare and maintain state and federally approved Emergency Disaster plans; assist businesses and other departments within the city with developing contingency emergency plans; locate and secure resources from within and outside the city; regularly execute drills to ensure the highest possible state of readiness; develop and maintain volunteer groups with appropriate training to assist in situations; disseminate information regarding disaster and emergency preparedness; and maintain outdoor warning sirens.
Maplewood's Emergency Management Team consults with the county to review the Hazard Mitigation Plan and identify who is responsible for City preparedeness.
The City of Marine on St. Croix adopted both the Washington County All-Hazard Mitigation Plan (approved by FEMA in 2012) and the Washington County Emergency Operations Plan in 2013. The county is currently updating the All-Hazard Mitigation Plan, and Marine Public Safety Chief David Denn has been part of this process. Chief Denn and Mayor Glen Mills are responsible for city preparedness, emergency response, and recovery efforts for any event.
The City of North Saint Paul has adopted the July 2012 Ramsey County Multi-jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan. Fire Chief Scott Duddeck is responsible for City preparedness. Chief Duddeck attends monthly meetings with personnel from all county jurisdictions to discuss emergency management, review the Hazard Mitigation Plan and prepare for potential extreme weather emergencies. The steering committee updates the Ramsey County Multi-jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan as needed. The City also integrated the Hazard Mitigation Plan into the City's Continuity of Operations Plan. The Plan helps to ensure that the City will be able to continue to operate in the event of a weather emergency.
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Adoption of Ramsey County's Multi-jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan, City attends monthly meeting with jurisdictions throughout the county to prepare for extreme weather emergencies and update the plan as needed.
City Staff integrated the Hazard Mitigation Plan into the City's Continuity of Operations Plan, to ensure that in the event of an extreme weather emergency the City will be able to continue operate. The plan involves all City Departments; electric, police, fire, finance and administration.
Oakdale participates with Washington County and other cities in the county in the All-Hazard Mitigation Plan. This plan includes goals, objectives and strategies for each city to better prepare for disasters both natural and man-made as well as plans for the appropriate emergency response by each level of government.
The City of Saint Paul has an Emergency Management Department, which is responsible for the coordination of the City's response to emergency situations and disasters. Rick Larkin is currently the director of the department.
The City has an All-Hazard Mitigation Plan. It was developed to promote hazard mitigation and manage post-disaster recovery. Representatives from the following departments and agencies provided input to the City's plan:
-Each City department involved in emergency response and planning
-County government
-State government partners
-Private industry
-Government-operated and public utilities
-Business owners and managers
-Organizations active in disaster response
-Private citizens
The Emergency Management Department is currently reviewing and updating the most recent Hazard Mitigation Plan.
The City collaborates with Stearns and Benton Counties on their respective Hazard Mitigation Plans. The City also has its own Emergency Operations Plan which outlines staff and department responsibilities in the event of an emergency.
The City of Sherburn has a public alert system that residents can utilize for notices regarding snow removal and water main breaks. We also post the information are the City of Sherburn facebook page. Martin County also have a red system that is used for notification of severe weather events. City also reviews the County Hazard Mitigation Plan and has plans in place to respond to emergencies.
Currently, we have a City of Ely Employee designated as the City Emergency Manager. The city currently has plans for fire evacuations, and other natural disasters using a mapping location system, and having the city set up in quadrants. The City of Ely currently uses Northland Alerts to send messages to residences in times of emergency. Also, in times of water emergencies, the city can send out alerts via our online utility billing system.
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For more information contact:
Scott Kochendorfer (City Staff) | pzadmin@ely.mn.us | 218-226-3224 Ext 3
