Russell County Emergency Management
RUSSELL — Local, state and federal officials are working to reduce the effects of severe weather and natural disasters.
On Thursday, Sept. 17, the Kansas Department of Agriculture Division of Water Resources (DWR), in collaboration with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), will hold an in-person Open House in Russell at the Russell County 4-H Building South Room at 702 Fairway Drive.
At this event, the DWR and FEMA will answer Russell County residents' questions about flood risk and flood insurance and have draft flood risk data available to view.
FEMA, the Kansas Department of Agriculture DWR and Russell County community officials invite residents to join them at the Open House for any length of time. Residents can also see draft flood risk information at https://gis2.kda.ks.gov/gis/russell/.
The Open House will not have a formal presentation. Residents can attend at any time between 2 to 6 p.m.
Experts at the Open House will teach residents about flood risk and flood insurance. They can also explain floodplain development regulations and the mapping process. Residents can meet with experts one-on-one to look at their own addresses on the new maps. They will learn about their specific risk. They will also learn ways to help prevent flood loss.
Once in effect, the maps will inform flood insurance rates and local floodplain management rules adopted under the National Flood Insurance Program. FEMA urges public officials to use the maps to help plan and prepare communities to quickly respond to and recover from future events.
Property owners, realtors, lenders and insurance agents will benefit from this chance to learn more about flood risk and hazard mitigation in Russell County.
For questions about this Open House, please contact Joanna Rohlf at 785-221-3809.