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Anoka County Multi-Jurisdictional All Hazards Mitigation Plan 96 to which the population is most vulnerable are St. Louis encephalitis, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Colorado tick fever, tularemia and Hanta-Virus. The likelihood of Western equine encephalitis and St. Louis encephalitis infecting the population is greater in the high mountainous areas of the state. Colorado tick fever and Rocky Mountain spotted fever have been small problems in the state. The state should be considered vulnerable to future incidence of tick fever. Most, but not all cases of tularemia appear to be associated with ticks in the southeastern part of the state. Anoka County has had no reported cases of these diseases. While the probability of future events exists, the risk is low for all jurisdictions. Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) is a highly infectious and difficult to control disease of cloven- hoofed mammals including cattle, swine, wild sheep, goats, deer, and pigs. Should an outbreak occur anywhere in the United States, routine livestock movements could rapidly spread the disease making early detection, combined with immediate eradication of affected animals, crucial for controlling the disease. Left unchecked, the economic impact of FMD could reach billions of dollars in the first year. Deer and other wildlife would likely become infected and be a source for re-infection of livestock. FMD is not known to cause illness in humans. Anoka County has not experienced FMD. Livestock in the rural areas of the county would be at greatest risk for FMD. The probability of this disease-affecting Anoka County is low. West Nile Virus (WNV) is one of several mosquito-borne viruses in the United States. The virus exists in nature primarily through a transmission cycle involving mosquitoes and birds. Mosquitoes become infected with WNV when they feed on infected birds. Less than one percent of humans infected may develop meningitis or encephalitis, the most severe forms of the disease, which occur primarily in persons over 50 years of age. Symptoms of encephalitis or meningitis may include severe headache, high fever, neck stiffness, stupor, disorientation, tremors, convulsions, paralysis, coma and sometimes, death. Tests performed in 2004 on a dead bird confirmed the presence of WNV in Anoka County. No human cases have been reported. While the probability for future events exists, this hazard presents a low risk to Anoka County and its municipalities. 4.3.1.8 Severe Weather – Thunderstorms-Hail/Lightning/Wind Thunderstorms are formed from a combination of moisture, rapidly rising warm air, and a force capable of lifting air (i.e. warm and cold front, a sea breeze, or a mountain). Thunderstorms may occur singly, in clusters, or in lines. It is possible for several thunderstorms to affect one location in the course of a few hours. Most severe weather occurs when thunderstorms affects one location for an extended time. All thunderstorms contain lightning, an electrical discharge that occurs within the clouds or between the clouds and the ground. A bolt of lightning reaches a temperature approaching 50,000 degrees F. In the United States, 75 to 100 Americans are hit and killed each year. Hailstones are products of thunderstorms and are developed by downdrafts and updrafts that develop inside the cumulonimbus clouds of a thunderstorm, where super cooled water droplets exist. The transformation of droplets to ice requires a temperature below 32 degrees and a catalyst in the form of tiny particles of solid matter, or freezing nuclei. Continued deposits of super cooled water cause the ice crystals to grow into hailstones. Hail can be smaller than a pea or larger than softballs and can be destructive to property, crops, livestock, and people.