Posted on 01/26/2005 5:54:16 PM PST by NormsRevenge
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Wednesday asked the White House to declare disaster areas in eight Southern California counties ravaged earlier this month by a spate of deadly storms.
If the request is approved, the move should help municipalities fund repairs to roads, bridges and other structures damaged by flooding and mudslides triggered by days of heavy rain in the counties of Kern, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Santa Barbara and Ventura. Twenty-eight deaths were linked to the effects of the storms that began Jan. 7.
"I have determined that this incident is of such severity and magnitude that effective response and recovery efforts are beyond the current capabilities of the state and the affected local governments and that supplementary federal assistance is necessary," the governor wrote in the letter to President Bush.
Schwarzenegger pegged the total cost of storm-related damage to public facilities at $235 million, with about 60 percent of the costs due to the expense of removing debris and damage to water installations and roads.
More than 300 highways and roads were closed at any given time because of storm damage. Earlier this week, CalTrans said it cost more than $43 million to reopen roadways.
Around 1,200 homes were also damaged and 21 of those were destroyed or close to it, the letter said.
As of Friday, more than 21,000 home and flood insurance claims had been filed by people reporting storm damage, said Pete Moraga, a spokesman for the Insurance Information Network of California, a trade group that tracks the insurance industry.
Los Angeles County had an estimated $101.5 million in damage to public facilities alone, more than any other county. San Bernardino was second with $44.3 million, according to the governor's office estimates.
Including private and public property, the most recent estimate of damage in San Bernardino was $52.1 million, said David Wert, a county spokesman.
"But we certainly expect that number to grow," Wert said Wednesday.
Schwarzenegger also asked for more than $8.5 million in federal aid to help individuals repair their homes, obtain temporary housing, seek crisis counseling and other needs. The governor also requested millions of dollars more in federal home and small business loans.
Even with federal aid, California's state and local governments will still be required by law to shoulder 25 percent of the total costs, or more than $58.9 million.
Meanwhile, after weeks of dry weather following the storms, parts of Southern California saw some light rainfall Wednesday, but forecasters said the rainfall would be negligible.
"We are expecting a little more substantial rain on Friday, but nothing in comparison to what we had a couple of weeks ago," said Mike Wofford, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Oxnard. "The rest of the weekend into next week looks dry."
Still, Moraga said any rain could be reason for concern.
"The big question mark right now is just how saturated is the ground and how is it going handle even a small amount of rain at this point," he said.
Schwarzenegger pegged the total cost of storm-related damage to public facilities at $235 million, with about 60 percent of the costs due to the expense of removing debris and damage to water installations and roads.
$235 million. They spend over $100 billion a year in Sacramento, yet this is "beyond the current capabilities of the state"??? God help us if there is ever a real disaster!
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