TL file photo A car drives through water covering a state highway in Bridgeport during flooding in early April. Gov. Mike DeWine is seeking a presidential disaster declaration for the weather event.
COLUMBUS — In the wake of a storm that caused millions of dollars in damage, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine believes Belmont, Monroe and Jefferson counties may be eligible for federal funding.
Governor DeWine sent a letter to President Joe Biden on Monday requesting a presidential disaster declaration to help counties affected by the severe storms, flooding and tornadoes in early April. Governor DeWine said in a news release that he made the request despite assertions from the Federal Emergency Management Agency that the damage did not meet the threshold for federal assistance.
Bad weather occurred from April 1st to 4th. “Severe damage to critical public infrastructure in Belmont, Monroe, Jefferson, Guernsey, Noble, Washington, Morgan and Meigs counties.” According to DeWine.
In a letter to the White House, Governor DeWine wrote that local officials and the Ohio EMA estimated damages at $33.8 million, well above the federal threshold of $21.7 million for disaster assistance to Ohio. FEMA estimated damages at $17.4 million, $4.3 million below the federal threshold for public assistance.
“Frankly, I think FEMA's estimate is wrong.” DeWine said. “It's concerning that the federal government relied on Google Earth without giving local officials an opportunity to provide additional information to support their estimates. Eight Appalachian counties cannot afford to repair the extensive infrastructure damage on their own, and I believe it is the President's duty to step in and help.”
Locally, more than 4 inches of rain fell over a four-day period, causing flooded roads and landslides as early as April 1. As the week progressed, creeks overflowed their banks, and the Ohio River overflowed its banks on April 4. In Wheeling, the water level reached 41 feet, 5 feet above flood stage.
Floodwaters covered roads and playgrounds, inundated homes and businesses, and at one point threatened to overflow into the Austin Master Services fracking waste treatment facility in Martins Ferry, threatening to leach hazardous and radioactive materials into the water before the water subsided.
Some businesses along the highway in Bridgeport were forced to close, the basement of the Brookside Fire Station had to be emptied in preparation for flooding, and at higher elevations, saturated soils caused massive landslides that covered or ripped up roads.
Biden has already approved disaster declarations for several West Virginia counties hit by the same series of storms, including Ohio, Marshall and Wetzel counties.
If approved in eastern Ohio, the presidential proclamation would be “Provides grant funding to state and local governments and certain nonprofit organizations to help defray costs associated with infrastructure repair, debris disposal, and emergency protective measures, including designating a statewide disaster mitigation grant program.” DeWine pointed out.
“The greatest impact from this event is the damage to critical infrastructure in multiple counties, including roads and culverts.” “There are reports of hundreds of roads flooded, whether due to the washout of road materials or the collapse of embankments,” DeWine said in a letter to Biden.
“These are rural Appalachian counties with small populations. With small populations, the county engineer's office and township tax revenues are small. Funding day-to-day operations is difficult, and it is not feasible for them to fund the costly repairs resulting from this incident on their own budget.”
