A state of emergency has been declared for Summit County and several surrounding areas after last week’s storms brought tornadoes and flooding.
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine declared a state of emergency in Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain, Portage, Summit and Trumbull counties on Saturday.
“Declaring a state of emergency gives the state the ability to provide rapid assistance to these communities,” DeWine said in a press release. “We currently have no open requests for services the state can provide to our communities in the wake of these storms.”
“However, we will remain on the ground for the duration of the crisis and will continue to help Northeast Ohio communities recover from the damage left by the storm should we receive new requests for services that the state can provide.”
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The storm caused widespread flooding in the region and many people, especially in Cuyahoga County, are still without power.
As of Sunday morning, nearly 44,000 FirstEnergy customers in Ohio were without power. That’s nearly 2.1 million customers in the state.
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DeWine also called on the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to come to Ohio to conduct a damage assessment in the region.
“I encourage local authorities in need of assistance to contact their county emergency management agencies,” DeWine said.
Video shows cars stranded during flash floods in Akron, Ohio
Summit County was hit by heavy rains Thursday evening, causing flash flooding in the Akron area.
Courtesy of Gordon Dix
