Franklin County Emergency Management wants New Albany and Gahanna residents who suffered property damage during the Aug. 11 derecho to file official damage reports, saying the data will help officials gauge the storm's full impact and could support a federal disaster assistance request.

The agency posted the call on X on Tuesday, Aug. 18, directing residents to the county's online reporting form. It was the second time the agency urged residents to act; Franklin County Emergency Management & Homeland Security first asked for reports on Aug. 14, writing that residents should not wait to document damage.

Residents can submit reports at the county's ArcGIS Survey123 portal. The agency said reports help officials understand where damage occurred and how significantly the community was affected.

Why it matters

The reporting feeds directly into the disaster-assessment pipeline that began when Gov. Mike DeWine declared a state of emergency for Franklin County on Aug. 13. That declaration unlocked state resources and opened the door to potential federal disaster assistance. Whether Franklin County has formally submitted a request to FEMA has not been confirmed.

During a tour of storm-damaged areas in Franklin, Perry and Muskingum counties on Aug. 12, DeWine said the next step was "to conduct assessments to determine the extent of the damage across Perry, Muskingum, and the other Ohio counties impacted by flooding and wind damage."

The storm's toll

The Aug. 11 derecho produced wind gusts up to 82 mph at John Glenn Columbus International Airport, snapped utility poles, downed trees and knocked out power to more than 130,000 AEP Ohio customers at its peak, according to Spectrum News 1. The Storm Prediction Center classified the system as a derecho after it traveled from Iowa through Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky.

AEP Ohio restored power to more than 200,000 customers by Aug. 14, bringing the remaining outage count below 8,000 across central and south-central Ohio, NBC4 reported.

A second round of severe weather hit overnight Aug. 15 into Aug. 16, triggering a tornado warning for parts of Franklin and Fairfield counties and dumping 3 to 5 inches of rain. Gahanna was specifically placed on alert during that warning.

How to report

No deadline has been announced for submitting damage reports, but the agency has urged residents not to delay. The same reporting form is being used across Franklin County municipalities; Upper Arlington's city government also directed its residents to the portal.

Separately, Franklin County Auditor Michael Stinziano has announced that homeowners with storm-damaged properties can apply for a temporary reduction in assessed value, as we reported Aug. 11.