OHIO — Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced Monday he has requested a Presidential Disaster Declaration for eight counties who dealt with severe storms, flooding and tornadoes in early April. 

DeWine said the request was made despite the Federal Emergency Management Agency's assertion that the damage doesn't reach the threshold for federal assistance.

The storms, which took place between April 1 through April 4, caused damage in Belmont, Monroe, Jefferson, Guernsey, Noble, Washington, Morgan and Meigs counties. 

The letter DeWine sent to the White House state the total damage cost is $33.8 million, as determined by local officials and the Ohio Emergency Management Agency, which is above the $21.7 million federal threshold for disaster assistance. Initially, FEMA's estimate was around $17.4 million, which is below the threshold. 

"Frankly, we think FEMA's estimate is incorrect," said DeWine. "The federal government's reliance on Google Earth and its failure to give local officials the opportunity to provide additional information to support its estimate is concerning. These eight Appalachian counties cannot afford to fix the tremendous amount of infrastructure damage on their own, and I believe it's the President's duty to step in and help."

Earlier in May, President Joe Biden declared a major disaster in Ohio after multiple tornadoes struck several areas in March. That money was allocated to Auglaize, Crawford, Darke, Delaware, Hancock, Licking, Logan, Mercer, Miami, Richland and Union counties.

The declaration allows federal funding to be made available for those affected by the natural disasters.