The frequency of and damages caused by severe storms and other natural hazards in Iroquois County will be discussed when the Iroquois County Natural Hazards Mitigation Planning Committee meets at the MABAS 37 Building, 103½ Main St., Crescent City (behind Ailey’s Welding Shop), at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 25. This Committee, comprised of County, township, municipal, school, fire protection district (FPD), and EMS representatives as well as technical partners and stakeholders, will meet over the next several months to update the Iroquois County Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan. All Committee meetings are open to the public. “The goal of this meeting is to identify how often severe weather events occur within the County and what kinds of damages have resulted. Based on this information we will begin to compile lists of activities and projects to reduce damages caused by these events,” said Iroquois County Emergency Management Agency Coordinator, Scott Anderson. The focus of this effort is on natural hazards — severe thunderstorms with damaging winds or hail, tornadoes, snow and ice storms, floods, drought, and excessive heat. Interested people can provide input at these Planning Committee meetings or submit their comments and questions to their appropriate representatives. Participants to date include the County, Ashkum Township FPD, Ashkum, Beaver FPD, Beaverville FPD, Belmont Township, Buckley FPD, Central CUSD #4, Chebanse Township Rural FPD, Chebanse, Cissna Park FPD, Cissna Park, Concord FPD, Crescent City, Crescent Township, Crescent-Iroquois EMS, Crescent-Iroquois FPD, Danforth FPD, Danforth, Gilman Community FPD, Gilman, Iroquois County CUSD #9, Iroquois-Ford FPD, Iroquois-Kankakee Regional Office of Education, Loda FPD, Lovejoy Township, Milford FPD, Milford, Onarga FPD, Onarga, Ridgeland Township, Watseka Fire Department, Watseka, Wellington-Greer FPD, Woodland FPD, Woodland Firefighters Association, and Woodland. Jurisdictions that have yet to participate in a committee meeting are encouraged to attend. “This Plan will be our best resource for determining how to prepare for storms and other natural hazards. After the Plan is completed, comprehensive information will be available in one document to help guide those who are making decisions about how to better protect Iroquois County residents,” added Anderson.