DeWine Seeks Federal Disaster Declaration for August Storm Damage Across Ohio

Lake County governments and qualifying nonprofits gained access to federal recovery reimbursement after the Aug. 6, 2024, storm, but Mentor-area households did not gain access to FEMA’s principal direct-aid program.

Gov. Mike DeWine’s request for a presidential major-disaster declaration led to a declaration approved Sept. 24, 2024. Lake County was included for FEMA Public Assistance, which covers eligible public recovery costs rather than direct payments to residents.

The declaration followed a storm in which the National Weather Service documented five EF-1 tornadoes and widespread straight-line wind damage across Northeast Ohio.

What the declaration covered

Public Assistance was approved for Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain, Portage, Summit and Trumbull counties. No Ohio county was designated for Individual Assistance under the declaration.

FEMA Public Assistance can reimburse eligible government agencies and certain private nonprofit organizations for emergency protective measures and for repairing, replacing or restoring eligible facilities.

For Lake County, that created a potential reimbursement path for eligible recovery work by the county, municipalities such as Mentor and qualifying nonprofits. It was not a household relief fund.

Mentor’s response

Mentor relied first on local services in the storm’s immediate aftermath. On Aug. 7, the city reported that FirstEnergy had restored power to all Mentor customers. The city also arranged a food-waste drop-off and planned Public Works collection of excess storm debris.

Mentor asked residents to report storm-related flooding or property damage. Those announcements concerned the city’s immediate 2024 response, not continuing federal aid for residents.

The household gap

FEMA’s Individuals and Households Program provides financial help and direct services to eligible residents with uninsured or underinsured necessary expenses and serious needs caused by a declared disaster.

Because Lake County was not designated for Individual Assistance, local households could not seek that help through the August 2024 declaration. The federal action opened a reimbursement channel for the public systems responding around them, but not FEMA’s direct household-aid channel for the residents those systems served.