Sherburne County Seeks Public Input on Natural Disaster Plan

(KNSI) – Sherburne County is asking residents to weigh in on a draft plan aimed at identifying the area’s biggest natural disaster risks and finding ways to reduce them.

The problems it points to range from new homes built without basements to the lack of a designated shelter in St. Cloud during extreme heat or cold. Comments are being accepted through November 15th.

Updating the county’s Hazard Mitigation Plan keeps local governments eligible for FEMA grants that help pay for projects to reduce future disaster damage. The cities taking part are St. Cloud, Baldwin, Becker, Big Lake, Clear Lake, Elk River, Princeton and Zimmerman. The draft ranks windstorms, tornadoes, flooding, winter storms and hail as the county’s highest priorities.

Finding shelter during severe storms is one of the biggest concerns. Zimmerman has approved two housing developments with up to 80 homes built on concrete slabs, while Clear Lake says many of its 60-plus new homes also lack basements. Big Lake reports a larger development without basements, along with a mobile home park that has only a small shelter.

The county also says mobile home parks and campgrounds in some areas don’t have a storm shelter or tornado safe room, and that finding money to build them is a barrier. Seven tornadoes have been reported in the county since 1996, with no deaths or injuries. The most recent was an EF-1 near Orrock in March of 2017.

St. Cloud, which sits partly in Sherburne County, reports it has no designated facility or plan for sheltering people during extreme heat or cold. The city also says its growing number of non-English-speaking residents makes emergency alerts harder to deliver, and that not everyone has signed up for county notification systems.

The draft estimates a major flood, the kind with a 1% chance of happening in any given year, would damage 343 buildings and cause about $9.3 million in losses. Among cities, Baldwin would have the most damaged buildings at 45, followed by Elk River with 38. No hospitals, police or fire stations, or schools included in the analysis are in that flood zone.

Wildfire is another growing concern. The county averages about six wildfires per year, and housing continues to spread into wooded and brushy areas. In Zimmerman, 75% of the land falls in that category. The county doesn’t have a community wildfire protection plan and says it would need significant grant money to develop one.

To start addressing those risks, the draft lists 21 county goals for 2027 through 2032, including adding backup generators at critical facilities, burying or strengthening power lines where feasible, building storm shelters and upgrading flood-prone roads and culverts. Many would rely on existing budgets, while some larger projects could seek federal grants. Local needs identified in the plan include a backup generator for Zimmerman City Hall and Becker’s move away from outdated warning sirens.

After the comment period, the plan goes to the state and FEMA for review. Each city and the county would then adopt it.

Residents can read the draft and submit feedback at z.umn.edu/SherburneHMP or by calling Sherburne County Emergency Management at 763-765-3500.

Read the draft plan by clicking here.

___