A disaster recovery center will provide information to victims.

A disaster recovery center will provide information to victims.
By NORMAN LEIGH
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
LISBON -- Columbiana County residents and businesses affected by last month's flooding will be eligible for state and federal assistance.
Columbiana County officials learned Tuesday from state and federal officials that the county has been added to the list of Ohio counties that have been declared federal disaster areas as a result of the July flooding, said Mary Smith, deputy director of the county's emergency management agency.
The declaration will provide aid only to families and businesses affected by the flooding, Smith emphasized.
It's unclear yet how much in aid will be provided or when it will be made available, she said.
Those who believe they were affected by the flooding and who have yet to apply for help are being urged to contact the emergency management agency at (330) 424-7139 between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.
A disaster recovery center will be established in the county next week to help flood victims with questions, Smith said.
A location for the center has yet to be determined and will be announced later, she said.
Determining estimate
Officials are still compiling an estimate of damage experienced by homes and businesses in the county during two periods last month -- one from July 4 through July 11 and the other from July 21 through July 27.
Public entities are not included in Tuesday's disaster declaration, although a separate application seeking to include them is pending, Smith said.
Estimates of public property loss and the cost to local governments to respond to the flooding has been estimated at between $700,000 and $1 million, Smith said.
Tuesday's declaration means that Columbiana County joins Mahoning, Trumbull, Portage, Summit and Medina counties on the list of Ohio counties declared federal disaster areas as a result of the July flooding.