COLUMBUS, Ohio -- It's nearly been six months since Hurricane Ike tore through Central Ohio, damaging homes and businesses, and knocking out power to millions of Ohioans.
Those affected by the storm are still waiting for promised federal help.
Winds on Sept. 14, 2008 reached hurricane force speeds -- up to 78 mph. 1.9 million Ohio homes and businesses were in the dark and hundreds of schools around Ohio had to cancel school for multiple days.
How much money were local schools and counties promised, plus who's still waiting for their funding?
For schools, thousands of pounds of food were wasted. For municipalities, thousands of dollars are needed for cleanup and repair costs, NBC 4's Marcus Thorpe reported.
There is a process, which accounts for why some federal funding is slow to reach Central Ohio groups.
Each group affected had to submit applications for the money. From there, projects had to be approved before money is distributed.
The City of Columbus and Columbus Public Schools have yet to receive any money. The city is expected to receive $1.5 million and the school district should receive $360,000.
Clinton Township, Grove City and Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority have yet to see funding either.
Westerville, Worthington and Dublin schools have seen some money and Ohio Emergency Management Agency officials said there is no pecking order for who is reimbursed and when.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency first processes the projects. The state then receives those projects in that order and from there, the state issues the reimbursement checks.
Projects are processed in spurts, so the money arrives the same way -- by project.
EMA officials said that by the end of April, the remaining money should be handed out.
In all, Ohio counties will get more than $32 millions. Approximately one-third of that money is already in the hands of the individual counties.
For additional information, stay with nbc4i.com and NBC 4 and refresh nbc4i.com -- Where Accuracy Matters.
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