A group to help plan before disaster strikes is being created in Washington County. The group is called the Washington County Preparedness Consortium and Jeffrey Gauthier explained at Friday’s Local Emergency Planning Committee meeting it will work with Washington and Keokuk Counties Emergency Management Coordinator Larry Smith and will have representatives from a variety of entities from secondary roads to public health to emergency medical services.

The LEPC group focuses on hazardous materials and potential issues with those, while the new consortium will work on preparedness for others, such as tornadoes or an outbreak. The LEPC is beginning to plan for a full scale drill to happen in the fall.