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State of emergency declared in Warren County
By Denise G. Callahan
Staff Writer
Warren County commissioners declared a state of emergency Monday afternoon, Sept. 15 to make the county government and others eligible to apply for federal disaster aid.
Individual homes, however, would have to have sustained damage to more than 60 percent of the property and County Commissioner Pat South she does not believe any houses would qualify. But local governments will be able to apply, South said..
The county, by declaring an emergency, will also be able to provide generators to gasoline stations without power. She said there is no shortage of fuel in the county but the gas cannot be pumped from underground tanks without electricity. Duke Energy officials have said power is likely to be off across southwest Ohio until at least Thursday.
Officials also urged everyone to be careful during the cleanup from Sunday’s storm, in which wind speeds were reported as high as 78 p.m. in Lebanon, according to the National Weather Service.
“We had no injuries due to the storm,” she said. “We don’t want any accidents due to the clean up.”
South said county officials have been in constant contact with Duke Energy and it could be three days to a week to get power back up to some areas.
County Commissioner Dave Young urged everyone to look out for their neighbors, especially the elderly.
South said 140 county roads were closed due to the storm at 11 a.m. Monday, but only five are closed at 4 p.m. by down trees and wires.
With long lines of traffic county-wide at gas stations, groceries and fast food establishments, South said “courtesy, patience and common sense are the name of the game.
Contact this reporter at (513) 696-4525 or dcallahan@coxohio.com.
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