TL;DR: President Trump approved a Major Disaster Declaration on October 2, 2026, for seven Ohio counties after August severe weather, activating FEMA Individual Assistance and SBA low-interest loans.
On October 2, 2026, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine was notified by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) that afternoon that President Trump had approved a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration for seven Ohio counties impacted by severe weather in August, according to the Ohio Governor's office announcement titled "Presidential Major Disaster Declaration Approved for Seven Ohio Counties." The action supplements state, tribal and local recovery efforts in areas affected by severe storms, straight-line winds, tornadoes, flooding and landslides, according to the FEMA announcement titled "President Donald J. Trump Approves Major Disaster Declaration for Ohio."
The declaration is designated FEMA-4945-DR and is dated October 2, 2026, with an incident of severe storms, straight-line winds, tornadoes, flooding, and landslides, according to the Small Business Administration notice tracked as "Presidential Declaration of a Major Disaster for the State of Ohio."
Seven counties approved for Individual Assistance
The counties approved for federal disaster assistance are Clermont, Franklin, Hamilton, Licking, Morgan, Muskingum, and Perry, according to the Ohio Governor's office.
FEMA stated that the President's action makes federal funding available to affected individuals in Clermont, Franklin, Hamilton, Licking, Morgan, Muskingum and Perry counties, according to the FEMA announcement.
The same seven counties are listed for Individual Assistance in the FEMA Major Disaster Declaration summary for Ohio severe storms, straight-line winds, tornadoes, flooding, and landslides, identified as DR-4945-OH, according to the Safeguard Properties summary of the FEMA alert.
What the declaration activates
The declaration activates FEMA's Individual Assistance Grant Program, according to the Ohio Governor's office.
That program includes grants for temporary housing and home repairs, rental assistance, replacement of personal property, crisis counseling, disaster unemployment assistance, and disaster legal services, according to the Ohio Governor's office.
FEMA described the available assistance as grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses and other programs to help individuals and families recover from the effects of the disaster, according to the FEMA announcement.
U.S. Congressman Troy Balderson's office described the declaration as making federal assistance available to eligible individuals and communities in the affected areas, including assistance for disaster-related needs, temporary sheltering, hazard mitigation, and small business recovery, according to the announcement titled "Balderson Applauds Approval of Federal Flood Relief for Ohio Communities."
SBA low-interest loans also available
The declaration also makes low interest loans available through the Small Business Administration (SBA), according to the Ohio Governor's office.
As a result of the President's major disaster declaration on October 2, 2026, applications for disaster loans may be submitted online using the MySBA Loan Portal at https://lending.sba.gov or in person at other locally announced locations, according to the Small Business Administration notice.
For further SBA assistance, applicants can contact the SBA disaster assistance customer service center by email at [email protected] or by phone at 1-800-659-2955, and deaf, hard of hearing or speech-disabled applicants can dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services, according to the Small Business Administration notice.
How residents can apply for FEMA help
Residents who sustained losses in the approved counties can begin applying for assistance at www.DisasterAssistance.gov, by calling 800-621-FEMA (3362), or by using the FEMA app, according to the Ohio Governor's office.
Individuals and families who sustained losses in the designated areas should first file claims with their insurance providers and then apply for assistance online at www.DisasterAssistance.gov, by calling 1-800-621-3362 or by using the FEMA App, according to the FEMA announcement.
FEMA added that people who use a relay service, such as video relay service (VRS), captioned telephone service or others, should provide FEMA the number for that service, according to the FEMA announcement.
August storms, flooding and tornadoes
Beginning on August 10 and continuing through August 23, multiple rounds of heavy rainfall and severe storms caused flash flooding and 17 confirmed tornadoes, according to the Ohio Governor's office.
FEMA described the incident period as severe storms, straight-line winds, tornadoes, flooding and landslides from Aug. 10-22, 2026, according to the FEMA announcement.
Congressional announcements also described the event as devastating storms and flooding that moved through the state from August 10-23, 2026, according to the Balderson announcement, while Sen. Jon Husted's office described severe storms that moved through Ohio from Aug. 10 to 23, 2026, according to the announcement titled "President grants disaster declaration for state of Ohio after Husted, Ohio delegation request."
Damage documented in preliminary assessments
Preliminary damage assessments found that at least 50 homes and businesses were destroyed, 806 had major damage, and 475 had minor damage, according to the Ohio Governor's office.
Sen. Husted's office said federal assistance is necessary to supplement the efforts and resources available to the state, local governments and disaster relief organizations as Ohio communities recover from the storm damage, according to the Husted announcement.
Balderson said the federal assistance will help families, businesses, and communities across Ohio begin rebuilding after the storms, according to the Balderson announcement.
Request covered 23 counties; 16 remain under review
Governor DeWine requested the declaration for 23 counties on September 2, according to the Ohio Governor's office.
The 16 counties not addressed in the October 2 notice of approval are still under review, according to the Ohio Governor's office.
The request for statewide hazard mitigation support is also pending, according to the Ohio Governor's office.
A WHIZ News report on the declaration stated that the Presidential Major Disaster Declaration was requested by Gov. Mike DeWine on Sept. 2, followed by a request signed by Balderson, Senator Jon Husted, and Senator Bernie Moreno on Sept. 3, according to the report titled "Presidential Major Disaster Declared for Ohio floods."
Delegation pressed for expedited approval
The declaration, made October 2 in the afternoon, follows Governor Mike DeWine's September 2 request and Balderson's letter to President Trump urging the administration to quickly approve the request, according to the Balderson announcement.
Balderson said he worked with federal, state, and local officials throughout the disaster declaration process to help Ohio communities access resources for recovery, according to the Balderson announcement.
The announcement of the approval came after Husted helped lead the effort requesting an expedited disaster declaration from Trump and FEMA, according to the Husted announcement.
Husted also sent a letter to FEMA Administrator Cameron Hamilton and U.S. Small Business Administration Administrator Kelly Loeffler requesting they begin conducting damage assessments in Ohio as soon as possible due to the repetitive and ongoing storm impacts, according to the Husted announcement.
Federal coordinator named; more counties possible
Brian F. Schiller has been named the Federal Coordinating Officer for federal recovery operations in the affected areas, according to the FEMA announcement.
Additional designations may be made at a later date if warranted by the results of further damage assessments, according to the FEMA announcement.
That means households in the 16 requested but not-yet-approved counties remain in a waiting status while review continues, and the statewide hazard mitigation request also awaits a decision, according to the Ohio Governor's office.
What households should do now
For households in Clermont, Franklin, Hamilton, Licking, Morgan, Muskingum, and Perry counties, the immediate planning step stated by officials is to file insurance claims first, then submit a FEMA application through one of the three listed channels, according to the FEMA announcement.
The three FEMA application channels listed are www.DisasterAssistance.gov, 1-800-621-3362, and the FEMA App, according to the FEMA announcement, with 800-621-FEMA (3362) also listed by the Ohio Governor's office.
For SBA loan applicants, the listed entry point is the MySBA Loan Portal, with in-person applications at other locally announced locations, according to the Small Business Administration notice.