Seventeen tornadoes, two deaths and more than 1,300 damaged homes and businesses across Ohio have prompted Gov. Mike DeWine to ask the White House for help.

DeWine sent a letter to President Donald Trump on Sept. 2, requesting a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration for 23 Ohio counties, including Hamilton County. If approved, the declaration would unlock the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Individual Assistance Grant Program. That means grants for temporary housing, home repairs, rental assistance, replacement of personal property, crisis counseling, disaster unemployment assistance and disaster legal services.

Residents in Springdale, Sharonville, Evendale and Woodlawn, all within Hamilton County, would be eligible to apply if the declaration goes through.

"These storms resulted in a disaster of such severity and magnitude that it exceeds the capabilities of the State of Ohio, local governments, and disaster relief organizations to provide comprehensive support," DeWine wrote in his Sept. 2 letter to Trump, the Journal-News reported.

The severe weather ran from Aug. 10 through Aug. 23. The National Weather Service confirmed 17 tornadoes statewide during that stretch. Two people were killed, at least four were injured and emergency crews performed roughly 59 water rescues, according to WLWT.

FEMA and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) conducted preliminary damage assessments across the 23 counties and found at least 50 homes and businesses destroyed, 806 with major damage and 475 with minor damage. No county-by-county breakdown has been released.

The 23 counties also include neighboring Butler and Clermont counties, along with Adams, Athens, Brown, Champaign, Clark, Darke, Fairfield, Franklin, Greene, Highland, Licking, Logan, Madison, Morgan, Muskingum, Perry, Preble, Richland, Shelby and Washington.

DeWine's letter also asks for SBA low-interest loans to cover uninsured property losses and activation of FEMA's Hazard Mitigation Grant Program to reduce future disaster losses.

The declaration request marks a shift from Hamilton County's experience after separate July 2026 flooding. County officials said at the time the damage from that earlier event likely would not meet FEMA's threshold, WLWT reported. The August storms triggered a broader, 23-county assessment that cleared the bar for a formal federal request.

Sima Merick, executive director of the Ohio Emergency Management Agency, said on Sept. 2 that the federal assistance would support long-term recovery for homeowners, renters and businesses affected by the storms.

No timeline has been announced for when the White House will act on DeWine's request.