COLUMBUS – The state has asked the Federal Emergency Management Agency to determine if 10 Ohio counties struck by tornadoes during a record-setting outbreak Monday are eligible for a major disaster declaration that would clear the way for federal and state assistance.
UPDATED 5/31/19 4:29 p.m.
State officials Thursday asked FEMA to conduct a joint Preliminary Damage Assessment in 10 Ohio counties.
“The PDA will enable the State to determine whether the impact and magnitude of this event warrants a Major Disaster Declaration,” Ohio EMA executive director Sima Merick wrote to FEMA regional administrator James Joseph.
If the request is approved, the surveys will begin June 4 in Auglaize, Darke, Greene, Hocking, Mercer, Miami, Montgomery, Muskingum, Perry, and Pickaway counties.
Between Monday evening and Tuesday morning, at least 20 tornadoes hit Ohio, including an EF4, two EF3s and four EF2 twisters, Merick said.
The National Weather Service says one of the tornadoes was the strongest in the state since 2010.
The Weather Service on Thursday upgraded one of three reported EF3 “severe” tornadoes to an EF4 , which signifies “devastating.” The service says the tornado that hit Brookville and swept through western Dayton had 170 mph winds.
The state’s last EF4 was in northwest Ohio’s Wood and Ottawa counties.
Thousands of people in the Dayton area remained without power Friday. Authorities are seeking volunteers to help with clean-up efforts.
An 82-year-old man in Celina was killed during the storms. More than 100 people were injured.
In addition to 18 tornadoes confirmed by the weather service’s Wilmington office, reportedly a record for the coverage area which includes Columbus, the weather service’s Pittsburgh office reported that an EF1 tornado with 100 mph winds struck west of Roseville in Perry County and two EF0 tornadoes struck Elizabeth Township in Miami County and near Roseville in Perry County. The service’s Charleston office confirmed an EF0 twister touched down northwest of Zaleski in Vinton County.
First Lady Fran DeWine and Trotwood Mayor Mary McDonald will visit first responders and tornado victims Friday at Trotwood Fire Station 72 and at the Red Cross shelter at Corinthian Baptist Church in Dayton.
The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services will provide $150,000 in federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families disaster assistance to help low-income families, pregnant women and children who were affected by the storms in Montgomery, Greene and Mercer counties. The agency also will provide $25,000 in state-funded assistance to each county to help childless residents age 55 or older and disabled individuals.