PARMA HEIGHTS, Ohio – Cleanup continues after Tuesday’s severe storm caused major damage and power outages throughout Northeast Ohio.
In Parma Heights, Mayor Marie Gallo’s focus the next day was to ensure seniors were taken care of.
“Most of our apartment buildings have backup generators, but our senior center at Educators Apartments does not currently have a working generator,” she said.
“So I contacted the company headquarters about this.”
The mayor visited the building personally.
“I am currently at the Educators Apartments, knocking on doors and making sure the seniors are OK,” she said.
“I’ve been checking on the seniors here, especially those who rely on oxygen. We’re making sure they have backup tanks and enough oxygen to get through this.”
Since there is no generator in the building, the city will provide the seniors with food over the next few days, the mayor said.
Since last night, more than 300,000 Ohio residents have been without power.
FirstEnergy expects it will take several days to restore services.
“There are significant power outages, probably in half the city or more,” she said.
“Because of the many downed power lines and power poles, (FirstEnergy) tells us it may take several days. There is also significant storm damage in our city.”
In addition to the numerous downed trees and power lines, the Kingsdale Apartments garage was destroyed and its roof was scattered across the property on Pearl Road.
“Fortunately, there were no fatalities,” she said. “Our first responders were great. Our service teams were out helping to clean up the storm damage.”
“We ask our residents to simply be patient and throw all waste onto the lawns of the trees. Our service teams will be out several times over the next few weeks to clean up.”
Gallo praised area mayors, including Parma Mayor Tim DeGeeter, Brook Park Mayor Ed Orcutt and Seven Hills Mayor Tony Biasiotta, for their support following the storm, as well as Parma City Schools for making Valley Forge and Normandy high schools available as charging stations.
“The safety of our residents is our top priority,” she said. “When natural disasters like this happen, we do our best to keep them under control.”
“We will continue to stay on the ball until everything is cleaned up and ensure that our residents get through safely.”
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