PERHAM – The Otter Tail County Commissioners approved a new countywide Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan recently.

The plan helps the county and the cities and townships in its borders to identify potential needs should a disaster occur.

The mitigation planning grant opportunity was offered about four years ago with the assistance of the Department of Homeland Security. Once funding was secured, the mitigation planning began in 2020.

The plan reviews potential natural hazards, including: flooding, tornadoes, windstorms, severe weather and drought. The county and its cities also dove into hazard mitigation opportunities should a natural weather event impact those populated areas.

“Hazard mitigation is any action taken to eliminate or reduce the long-term risk to people and property from natural hazards,” said County Emergency Manager Patrick Waletzko. “Having this updated plan in place will allow the county and cities to pursue activities that will contribute to life safety, reduce property damage and economic losses, and keep critical community facilities in working order.”

Waletzko said the mitigation plan asked participating cities to create a minimum of two projects that may improve the safety of residents in their community.

The city of Perham identified its concerns in a disaster to include electrical grid failure due to downed power lines, which has occurred in the past during heavy snow and ice storms. Should the power go out, extreme cold could be a health hazard.

The city also identified a mobile home park without a storm shelter as a concern, should a windstorm or tornado blow into town.

The city of Dent’s concerns included loss of electricity to city sewer lift stations, which could cause sewage backup.

There was also a concern that if electricity were to go out for an extended period of time, some residents would lose the ability to heat their homes. To address the concern, the city is looking to obtain portable backup generators for large gathering spaces, such as the community center, should electricity go out.

The city of Vergas stated extreme cold could be a concern if the power went out. The city had power lines and poles fail in the past due to weather conditions.

Tornadoes were also identified as a potential threat, as several downtown businesses do not have a basement to shelter employees should a tornado approach during business hours. There was also a concern expressed about not having a location for those visiting the town to go during extreme weather.

The disaster plan also noted that Vergas is the only community within the county that has more than 50% of its land classified as wildland-urban interface (WUI), where structures other than human development meet or intermingle with wildlife vegetation. This meeting of two different worlds is stated to make the area more vulnerable to wildfires.

Wadena noted some city buildings are vulnerable to natural hazards, including its wastewater treatment plant. The mitigation plan for the city also reported overhead electrical lines and substations are also vulnerable to natural hazards along with underground lines.

A concern was also expressed about flooding in the water system, as there is aging infrastructure.

The full city list mitigation plan can be found starting on page 42 and 383 at https://ottertailcountymn.us/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Otter-Tail-2021_HMP.pdf

The natural disaster mitigation report stated from 1980 to 2020 damages due to Mother Nature, in the U.S., exceeded $1.875 trillion.

The costliest year was 2017, accounting for $306 billion in damages.

Otter Tail County has 22 cities and 62 townships in its borders and an estimated population of 58,416 as of 2020.

The county also has 1,048 lakes. Of those, 682 lakes are larger than 10 acres. Of its lakes more than 70 are considered impaired due to pollutants and/or invasive species infestations.