On Saturday, Gov. Mike DeWine declared a state of emergency for several Northeast Ohio counties after Tuesday's storms left communities with widespread damage and power outages.
A state of emergency applies to the following eight counties:
- Ashtabula
- Cuyahoga
- Geauga
- Lake
- Lorain
- Transport
- Top
- Trumbull
“This declaration of a state of emergency will allow the state to provide rapid assistance to these communities. At this time, we have no outstanding requests for services that the state can provide to our local communities to assist in the aftermath of these storms .” DeWine said. “However, we are in it for the duration and will continue to assist local communities in Northeast Ohio as they recover from the damage caused by the storm if we receive any new requests for services that the state can provide.”
Earlier in the day, Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne urged DeWine to make that call, stating the need for additional resources and funding warrants to waive threshold requirements.
In order to qualify for aid, a county would need to reach $5.9 million in aid costs.
On Friday, DeWine issued a declaration of assistance stating that “all state departments and agencies are on standby and using their personnel and resources as necessary to protect the life, safety, health and property of citizens of Ohio and to assist with recovery efforts in communities affected by this severe weather event, if needed and requested by local authorities.”
In addition to declaring an emergency, DeWine said he has asked the state emergency management director to have the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) come to the area and conduct a damage assessment.
DeWine said that, to date, the request for state assistance has been for portable oxygen generators, which have been sent by the Ohio Department of Health.
Other state agencies are monitoring the situation in Northeast Ohio, and county emergency management agencies (EMA) are working with communities to conduct damage assessments for possible compensation.
County EMAs will then submit their requests for assistance to the state EMA, DeWine said.
“I encourage local governments that need assistance to contact their County Emergency Management Agency offices,” DeWine said.
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