Gov. Mike DeWine declared a state of emergency for Franklin County on Thursday, Aug. 13, two days after straight-line winds up to 100 mph tore through Upper Arlington and dropped trees on at least 10 homes along Wellesley Drive, one block from Upper Arlington High School.
The declaration activates state disaster-assistance programs for homeowners with uninsured damage and mobilizes agencies including the Ohio Emergency Management Agency, Ohio Department of Health and Ohio National Guard to support local cleanup, 10TV reported.
For UA families juggling wrecked homes and a delayed school start, the timing matters. The declaration is the formal step that can open the state's Individual Assistance program, which provides grants for uninsured damage to owner-occupied homes and essential personal property such as appliances and furniture, according to the Ohio EMA.
There is a catch: homeowners must first apply for a U.S. Small Business Administration disaster loan and be denied before they can access the state IA grants.
What it looks like on Wellesley Drive
Stephen Bell, a Wellesley Drive resident, described the damage in an ABC 6 report the day after the Aug. 11 storm: "It's absolute devastation that the winds came this direction. The front of my house is fine. The backyard however has been totally wiped out. There's a shed which is now adorning my neighbor's yard."
The storm lifted concrete sidewalk slabs and uprooted trees across the neighborhood. UA police and fire crews responded to roughly 225 calls for service that evening. No injuries were reported.
School start and storm cleanup collide
Upper Arlington City Schools pushed the first day of school to Monday, Aug. 17, after the storm knocked out power at Upper Arlington High School, Windermere Elementary and Wickliffe Elementary. As of the evening of Aug. 12, roughly 7,000 UA homes remained without electricity. The revised schedule phases students in over three days:
- Monday, Aug. 17: Grades 1–5, 6, 9 and kindergarten orientation
- Tuesday, Aug. 18: Grades 1–12 and kindergarten orientation
- Wednesday, Aug. 19: All students K–12
Burbank Early Childhood School opens on schedule Monday.
Superintendent Robert Hunt told ABC 6 on Aug. 12 that damage to students' homes weighed as heavily as damage to buildings in the district's decision. "If we can get our buildings open, that's one thing," Hunt said. "But we have to understand and realize that there's an impact at our homes as well."
The district also opened charging centers at Hastings and Jones middle schools on Aug. 13 and Aug. 14 for residents still without power.
What comes next for federal aid
The state emergency declaration does not automatically trigger federal FEMA assistance. DeWine said while touring storm damage on Aug. 13 that the next step is damage assessments across Franklin and other affected counties. If damage totals meet the federal threshold, the governor could request a Presidential Disaster Declaration, which would unlock grants for temporary housing, home repairs and low-interest SBA loans.
Separately, the state's Disaster Relief Program reimburses local governments and eligible nonprofits for debris removal and emergency repairs. Whether UA Schools qualifies for that reimbursement has not been confirmed.
Residents seeking assistance can contact the FEMA helpline at 800-621-3362. The Ohio EMA's individual assistance page at ema.ohio.gov outlines the full application process, beginning with the required SBA loan application.
