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WASHINGTON, D.C. - Ohio's U.S. senators joined Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine on Wednesday in calling for President Joe Biden to declare a disaster in eight Appalachian counties impacted by severe weather in early April.
U.S. Sens. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, and Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, called on Biden to issue a disaster declaration in Belmont, Monroe, Jefferson, Guernsey, Noble, Washington, Morgan and Meigs counties following destructive flooding and tornadoes that occurred as a result of storms that blew through the region from April 1-4. Their letter follows a request by DeWine for a Presidential Disaster Declaration. The declaration would allow the Federal Emergency Management Agency to provide additional resources to help Ohio communities recover from the damage.
"Tornados, severe storms, and flooding in Eastern Ohio over the month of April led to significant damage, causing widespread destruction of homes, apartments, and businesses. The State and local governments in the affected areas do not have the capability to sufficiently respond to this major disaster, and therefore, federal assistance is necessary to supplement recovery efforts," the senators wrote to Biden and to FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell. "Should FEMA have any concern that the damage from these storms does not meet the threshold for public disaster assistance, we urge you to work with Governor DeWine and local officials so that they may provide the evidence necessary to ensure FEMA has a full picture of the recovery assistance that Ohioans need."
Locally, more than 4 inches of rain fell over the course of four days, causing street flooding and slips as early as April 1. As the week progressed, streams overflowed their banks and, by April 4, the Ohio River flooded. It crested at 41 feet at Wheeling, 5 feet above flood stage.
The flood water covered streets and athletic fields and infiltrated homes and businesses. At one point, it threatened to enter the Austin Master Services frack waste processing facility at Martins Ferry, where hazardous and radioactive materials could have leached into the water before it receded.
Businesses along portions of National Road in Bridgeport were forced to close, and the basement of the Brookside firehouse had to be emptied ahead of the coming flood. At higher elevations, the saturated soil caused massive slips that covered roads or pulled them apart.
DeWine's previous letter to the White House states that local officials and the Ohio EMA calculated total damage of $33.8 million, well above the $21.7 million federal threshold for public disaster assistance in Ohio. FEMA's damage estimate was $17.4 million, which is $4.3 million under the federal threshold for public aid.
"Frankly, we think FEMA's estimate is incorrect," DeWine said. "The federal government's reliance on Google Earth and its failure to give local officials the opportunity to provide additional information to support its estimate is concerning. These eight Appalachian counties cannot afford to fix the tremendous amount of infrastructure damage on their own, and I believe it's the President's duty to step in and help."
Biden already approved a disaster declaration for several counties in West Virginia that were affected by the same round of storms. Among those were Ohio, Marshall and Wetzel counties.
Vance and Brown on Wednesday encouraged Biden to move quickly on the matter in Ohio.
"We write to urge you to act swiftly on the request by Ohio Governor Mike DeWine for a
Presidential Disaster Declaration for 8 counties in Ohio," they wrote. "… We fully support Governor DeWine's request and urge your prompt consideration."
If granted for Eastern Ohio, the presidential declaration would "provide grants to state and local governments and certain nonprofit organizations for infrastructure repairs and to address the costs associated with debris operations and emergency protective measures. This also includes the designation of the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program statewide," according to DeWine.