(Cleveland) — President Barack Obama has declared a major disaster in Ohio following Superstorm Sandy and ordered federal aid to help in recovery efforts in areas affected by the storm.

The federal funds freed by Obama's order Thursday will be available on a cost-sharing basis for state and local governments, and certain private nonprofit organizations in Cuyahoga County.

Federal funding is also available for hazard mitigation measures statewide.

About 250,000 Ohio electricity customers were left in the dark after high winds from Sandy's outer bands uprooted trees and brought down power lines from Oct. 29-30.

Most of the outages were in the Cleveland area where some people were without power for a week.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich requested the federal disaster declaration on Dec. 21.

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