The City of Cherokee in northwest Iowa officially becomes an “Impact City” today.Project Impact is a program of the Federal Emergency Management Agency designed to get communities to try and lessen the effects of natural disasters. David Miller of the Iowa Emergency Management Division says there are many things communities can do to make an impact. Cherokee bought out a lot of flood prone properties and turned the area into a greenway. He says other cities improve their building codes or build storm shelters.Miller says the “Project Impact” program can save cities thousands of dollars that would’ve been lost in natural disasters such as flooding.He says there is federal help available to implement disaster plans.Other cities in Iowa that’ve been accepted to the “Project Impact” program ate Denison, Des Moines and the Linn County metro area that includes Cedar Rapids, Marion and Hiawatha.
