(AP/Toledo News Now/Findlay Courier) – As of 3 p.m. Monday, American Electric Power Ohio has restored power to approximately 98 percent of the approximately 660,000 customers affected by the catastrophic storm that moved through Ohio June 29, and the additional customers who lost power in subsequent storms July 4 and 5.
The majority of the customers still without power are located in the Athens and Newark service areas. Those who remain without power across the Athens service area primarily are in Athens, Lancaster and Wellston. In the Newark area they are primarily in Cambridge, Newark and Zanesville.
Federal Emergency Management Agency officials are working with state officials and relief workers to determine the biggest needs in Ohio after severe storms swept through the state.
Estimated restoration times, restoration maps, shelter locations, details of the storm and outage map by county are available online at AEP.
Hancock and Putnam Counties
Many roads remain closed. Click for a list compiled by Tina Shaerban.
Findlay Mayor Lydia Mihalik is asking residents not to leave everyday trash and spoiled food on the side of the street, and not to leave any tree limbs in the street.
Storm-damaged tree limbs and branches left on the curb or sidewalk are being picked up by city crews, according to spokesman Jeremy Horne.
Meanwhile, the mayor said the city continues to operate its call center to help direct calls and answer non-emergency questions. The number is 419-424-7000.
Administrators continue to provide AEP Ohio with an updated list of outages. She said AEP Ohio has "a significant presence on the ground" working to regain power. Crews even worked through the Fourth of July holiday to restore power.
The shelter in Findlay has closed, but a cooling and feeding center is open in the multipurpose building of the Hancock County Humane Society. The Red Cross says the biggest problem right now are power outages, so they're focusing efforts on providing a cool place and meals for those residents.
Additional resources have been and will be moved into the Findlay area once restoration has been completed in other areas of western Ohio.
The Hancock County Red Cross continues to operate the shelter located at the Agency on Aging. High temperatures in the 90s combined with the power outages leaving no air conditioning is increasing the occupancy.
Federal Emergency
President Barack Obama on June 30 declared a federal emergency in Ohio. His action followed a request by Gov. John Kasich, who had declared a state emergency and called out the National Guard.
Donate Supplies
ISOH Impact is looking for bottled water and personal care items. They are asking for first aid supplies, pet supplies and non-perishable food items. Donations can be dropped off at the organization's distribution center at 905 Farnsworth Road in Waterville. Leaders want to pass along that they're not accepting any clothing at this time or anything made of glass.
The Red Cross is accepting monetary donations to help provide food and shelter. You can either call 1-800-RED-CROSS or text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation.
Mitt Romney Helping in Columbus
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's campaign is helping storm relief efforts in Ohio. The state campaign headquarters in Columbus opened July 1 to accept donations and collected nearly 25,000 bottles of water and thousands of granola bars, trail mix bags, peanut crackers and other food items.
A Romney tour bus delivered those donations to hard-hit areas July 2 and 3.
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