About Shannon County Emergency Management
We coordinate preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation for Shannon County, Missouri — the communities of Eminence, Winona, Birch Tree, and the rural areas along the Current River and Jacks Fork.
Shannon County Emergency Management works year-round to help residents and visitors stay safe from the natural hazards of the Missouri Ozarks — above all, flooding. Our director is Mary Ficker.
What we do
Under Missouri's emergency-management statutes (Chapter 44 RSMo), the county Emergency Management Director is responsible for:
- Maintaining the county Emergency Operations Plan and coordinating fire, EMS, law enforcement, public health, and public works before and during emergencies.
- Serving as the county's liaison to the Missouri State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) and FEMA.
- Supporting the county Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) for hazardous-materials planning.
- Helping develop the multi-jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan that keeps the county eligible for federal mitigation funding.
- Coordinating local disaster declarations and damage assessment that feed state and federal aid.
Our county
Shannon County is home to about 7,000 people across roughly 1,000 square miles of forested Ozark hill country, with Eminence as the county seat. The spring-fed Current River and Jacks Fork — the heart of the Ozark National Scenic Riverways — draw visitors year-round and make flooding the county's number-one hazard.