BATAVIA, Ohio — The federal disaster recovery center that has been helping Clermont County storm victims apply for aid in person will permanently close Friday, according to Clermont County.
The center, at 1701 Patricia McCollum Way in Cincinnati’s Bond Hill neighborhood, will shut its doors at 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 16, the county said in a social media post.
Residents and business owners affected by the storms can still apply for federal disaster assistance through Tuesday, Dec. 1, by phone at 800-621-3362, online at DisasterAssistance.gov or through the FEMA mobile app, according to the county.
The center opened earlier this month after President Donald Trump approved a major disaster declaration for Clermont County on Oct. 2, covering damage from storms that swept the region in mid-August and brought flooding, downed trees and extended power outages. The declaration also covered Franklin, Hamilton, Licking, Morgan, Muskingum and Perry counties.
The declaration activated FEMA’s Individual Assistance Grant Program, which can cover temporary housing, home repairs, rental assistance, replacement of personal property, crisis counseling and disaster unemployment assistance, in addition to low-interest loans through the U.S. Small Business Administration.
The center was staffed by representatives from FEMA, the Small Business Administration, the Ohio Department of Insurance, the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles, the Ohio Emergency Management Agency and Hamilton County’s Emergency Management & Homeland Security Agency, who walked residents through the application process one-on-one.
Clermont County officials encouraged anyone who hasn’t yet applied to do so before the Dec. 1 deadline, even if they can no longer visit in person.
The information contained in this story was obtained from Clermont County.