Is Iowa prepared for the next weather related disaster?

DES MOINES - Iowa's weather-related disaster planning focuses on the present and lacks a long-term vision, according to a report published Wednesday.

Iowa earned a C+ grade in 'States at Risk,” which assessed all states on their level of preparedness for weather-related disasters such as floods, droughts and extreme heat.

A spokesman for the state's disaster response agency said he disagrees with some of the report's assessments.

The report, published by the scientific group Climate Central and consulting firm ICF International, says Iowa has taken strong action to address current risks but has not developed a plan to address vulnerability to future weather-related disasters possibly caused by climate change.

'Iowa faces a moderate threat level compared to other states, and is educating its citizens and taking action to address current risks and assess future changes,” the report says. 'However, the state has taken almost no action to plan and prepare for them.”

The report warns that climate changes may cause an increasing number of weather-related disasters in the future.

The report says Iowa averages fewer than five days each year that are classified as dangerous or extremely dangerous for heat levels according to the National Weather Service, but by 2050, the state will see almost 40 such days each year.

Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management spokesman John Benson said he disagrees with the report's assertion that the state is not taking action to plan and prepare for future severe weather. Benson noted the state's Enhanced Hazard Mitigation Plan - as does the report - and said he believes the report's analysis of state policies fails to recognize the work being done at the local level.

'I don't think they went down far enough,” Benson said. 'You want to see it at the state level, but the bottom line is it has to happen at the local level, and we have a lot of local partners that are really actively engaged in mitigating not only the historical threats but what those threats are going to look like in the future.”

A panel of experts, city officials and a farmer discussed the report Wednesday in Des Moines.

Des Moines Mayor Frank Cownie said the city has taken proactive steps in an attempt to prevent or limit future flooding. He said similar preparations at the state level will require collaboration.

'In order to prevent the high cost in recovery later, we must invest in preparedness today,” Cownie said. 'To avoid future disasters like flooding, we cannot build a wall around the city. The best thing for us to do as Iowans is to work together - urban, suburban and rural - to come up with solutions.”

Dr. Yogesh Shah, the associate dean of global health at Des Moines University, said climate change already affects Iowans' health by causing increases in allergies and childhood asthma.

'Each century has its public health challenge, and climate change is ours,” Shah said.

Chris Anderson, assistant director of Iowa State University's climate science program, said Iowa has been affected by climate change in ways many people don't consider. While the effects of rising sea levels and ocean temperatures may feel foreign to Iowans, Anderson said a changing climate in Iowa has led to increases in spring rainfalls and summer humidity, warmer summer nights and fewer cold winters.

Ann Wolf, who owns farmland in eastern Iowa near the Maquoketa and Mississippi rivers, said extreme weather events in recent years have caused severe flooding. She said a flash flood in August dumped 10.5 inches of rain on her farmland in four hours.

'I really couldn't believe what I was seeing,” Wolf said. 'People who had lived in this area of the state said they had never seen anything like it before.”

Cownie said events such as those show why Iowa must have a plan to limit the impact of severe weather.

'We need to have a long-term solution to all these problems, whether it's agriculture or whether it's business and industry, or where people live or how we power the industry and businesses and homes for the future,” Cownie said. 'We all need to work together to find solutions.”