Three disaster recovery centers are opening to help residents in seven Ohio counties designated for federal disaster assistance due to severe August weather that brought widespread flooding, tornadoes and significant property damage.
President Donald Trump and the Federal Emergency Management Agency last week approved federal major disaster assistance for Franklin, Licking, Clermont, Hamilton, Morgan, Muskingum, and Perry counties.
Preliminary damage assessments from multiple rounds of heavy rain, flooding and 17 confirmed tornadoes statewide between Aug. 10 and 13 found that at least 50 homes and businesses were destroyed, 806 had major damage, and 475 had minor damage, according to a press release from Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine's office.
Homeowners
and renters who were affected by the storms can visit the three disaster recovery centers operated by the state and federal Emergency Management Agencies serving the seven counties to learn about available assistance.
The centers and the counties they will serve are at the following locations:
- Reynoldsburg Community Church, 1636 Graham Road, Reynoldsburg. This location will serve residents of both Franklin and Licking counties.
- William H. Barker Community Center, 13047 Karl Brown Road, Roseville. This location will serve residents of Perry, Morgan, and Muskingum counties.
- Hamilton County Central Campus, 1701 Patricia McCollum Way, Cincinnati. This location will serve residents of Hamilton and Clermont counties.
The centers will operate from Oct. 7 through Nov. 1, according to an Oct. 6 news release from the Ohio Department of Public Safety. Recovery specialists will be available to check applications and explain available recovery programs, according to the news release.
The centers will open on Oct. 7 from noon to 8 p.m., according to the Ohio DPS. They then will be open Mondays through Fridays from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. On Saturdays, they will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and on Sundays they will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. But DPS notes that the hours and dates are subject to change depending on attendance.
Homeowners and renters in these affected areas can also apply for federal assistance at DisasterAssistance.gov or DisasterAssistance.gov/es. More information is available at FEMA.gov and the FEMA Helpline at 1-800-621-3362.
Reporter Shahid Meighan can be reached at smeighan@dispatch.com, at ShahidMeighan on X, and at shahidthereporter.dispatch.com on Bluesky.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Disaster recovery centers opening for those affected by August storms
