COLUMBIANA COUNTY Municipal officials will get together with emergency management agencies

Officials estimate county losses at $1.3 million.
By NANCY TULLIS
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
SALEM -- Representatives of county and municipal governments that experienced flood damage to publicly owned property will meet with Federal and Ohio emergency management agency officials at 9 a.m. Wednesday at Kent State University Salem Campus.
The meeting is a follow-up to a similar meeting Thursday attended by about 75 representatives of local governments, said Jay Carter, director of the Columbiana County Emergency Management Agency.
Loss estimate
Carter said emergency management officials are still tallying damage, but the loss estimate to date in Columbiana County from recent flooding is about $1.3 million.
About 450 individuals have sought assistance at the emergency management agency's response center at United High School in Hanoverton, Carter said. He said emergency management agency officials will continue to staff that center through Monday.
At KSU on Thursday, FEMA and OEMA officials gave the officials of county, city, village and township entities information about how to apply for assistance. Carter said they can, for example, seek help to pay for cleanup of municipal buildings or for reimbursement for overtime costs of street crews and other employees who worked in response to flooding.
Working long hours
Carter said local emergency management agency officials have been working nearly nonstop the past three weeks in response to flooding.
Saturday's storm, which flooded downtown Salem, Leetonia and several areas of Salem Township in particular, dumped 3 to 5 inches on the area in two hours, Carter said.