After Stormy, Rainy Week, Governor Makes Disaster Declaration

COLUMBUS, Ohio (News Talk 1480 WHBC) – With some Cleveland-area residents still waiting for the lights to come back on after last Tuesday’s severe weather, Governor Mike DeWine has declared a state of emergency for eight counties.

Those counties include Summit and Portage.

The declaration comes at the request of elected officials like Congresswoman Emilia Sykes.

It makes state services available to residents, businesses and government in those counties.

Over 300,000 were without power after the storms initially hit.

As of 8 a.m. on Monday, there were still about 5000 Ohio Edison outages in the Cleveland area.

And as much as 6.75 inches of rain fell Thursday in parts of Wayne, Summit and Portage Counties from a Debby-related rain cell.

The state is also asking FEMA to conduct a damage assessment.