Governor Mike DeWine has declared a state of emergency for 63 of the 88 counties in Ohio.

Columbiana, Mahoning and Trumbull counties were included in the governor's proclamation.

According to the release, the counties included have suffered damage to roads and bridges from weather events that began in June.

The ground became thoroughly saturated in these areas, causing dangerous road damage with some roads still closed or having lane restrictions.

"This emergency proclamation will allow the Ohio Department of Transportation and local governments to access federal emergency relief funds that are needed to help fix road damage caused by these weather events," said Governor DeWine.

ODOT officials from both local outposts say the declaration is an 'insurance policy' for the department and local governments if road problems would occur from the severe weather that happened in June.

The disaster declaration gives the opportunity to compile a list of roads that could be damaged from the June flooding.

ODOT says they usually add any road they believe could have been damaged to the list and conduct an examination on those roads along with a federal representative.

The federal representative would ultimately decide if the road is eligible for the funding.

ODOT representatives say that the funding would have to be federally approved before it is handed out to ODOT or local governments.