COLUMBUS, Ohio -- For all the damage Hurricane Ike did along the Gulf Coast, its remnants also left many in the Midwest with big cleanup bills.

The Ohio Insurance Institute said this week that it could hit $500 million or more in Ohio, making it one of the state's costliest natural disasters. And that's just a preliminary figure.

The Sept. 14 storm knocked out power for 2.6 million customers in Ohio. Wind reaching 78 mph swept across the region, and at least seven of the 56 deaths blamed on Ike from Texas to Pennsylvania were in Ohio.

The hurricane's remnants also dumped as much as 8 inches of rain on parts of Indiana, Illinois and Missouri, and it spawned a tornado in Arkansas that damaged several buildings.

Ohio officials said the storm cost local governments at least $34.5 million. However, a spokeswoman for the Ohio Emergency Management Agency said that estimate is based on reports from less than half the affected counties.

More directly in the storm's path, CenterPoint Energy in Houston said Saturday that it has restored power to 85 percent of its customers who lost power when Hurricane Ike hit southeast Texas, but more than 348,000 are still in the dark two weeks later, KPRC Local 2 reported.

The U.S. Senate has passed a spending bill to keep the government running until the next president takes office, and it includes aid for Hurricane Ike victims.