City of Neosho Recognized as Missouri's Latest Project Impact Community 

Release Date: July 31, 2000
Release Number: R7-00-27

» 2000 Region VII News Releases

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Neosho, Mo. next week formally celebrates becoming Missouri's most recent community to join Project Impact: Building Disaster Resistant Communities, an initiative of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) that aims to change the way America deals with disasters.

A signing ceremony to officially welcome Neosho into the program will be held at 11 a.m., Thursday, August 3, 2000, at the Municipal Auditorium located at 109 W. Main Street. FEMA Region VII Acting Regional Director Arthur L. Freeman and Jerry Uhlman, Director of the Missouri State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) will be among the governmental and community partners present for the ceremony.

"Neosho has identified through an assessment of natural and man-made risks and hazards that flooding is the city's number one concern, and through this partnership among governmental entities, businesses and private citizens, we believe the impact of future disasters can and will be reduced," Freeman said. "The community already has taken great steps to move toward becoming more disaster resistant."

Project Impact: Building Disaster Resistant Communities is a national FEMA initiative that encourages communities to take steps to lessen the impact of a disaster before it strikes. These steps can include actions such as developing contingency plans that will keep businesses up and running, helping citizens with their own disaster preparedness including safe rooms and buyout or relocation of homes and businesses within the floodplain.

The City of Neosho feels strongly about mitigation. The buyout of flood-prone homes along Hickory Creek and the High School Branch is just one example of the city's approach to building a disaster resistant community. The city has already identified all public and critical facilities as well as residential and commercial property subject to natural or man-made hazards and risks.

Last Modified: Tuesday, 09-Dec-2003 17:12:05