COUNTIES AWAIT DISASTER RULING.Byline: Eric Leach Staff Writer VENTURA - With 13 people dead and $170 million in damage caused by recent storms, Ventura County supervisors extended their disaster declaration on Tuesday and called on state and federal officials to expedite relief money. ``The governor and the president need to move as quickly as possible,'' said Supervisor Steve Bennett The name Steve Bennett refers to more than one person:
Laura Hernandez, assistant director of the Ventura County Sheriff's Department's office of emergency services emergency services Emergency care '…services …necessary to prevent death or serious impairment of health and, because of the danger to life or health, require the use of the most accessible hospital available and equipped to furnish those services' , said the sheriff proclaimed the county a disaster area Jan. 8, and the supervisors ratified the proclamation Jan. 11 following the storm that triggered a massive mudslide in the La Conchita community along Pacific Coast Highway Pacific Coast Highway may refer to:
The storm did more than $50 million in damage to the county's agriculture industry, more than $48 million in damage to the flood control system and more than $25 million in road damage. Officials on Tuesday said those figures are likely to rise. Hernandez and other officials said the federal proclamation is necessary to get grants and loans needed to start repairing the damage. In response to the storms, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (German pronunciation (IPA): [ˈaɐ̯nɔlt ˈaloɪ̯s ˈʃvaɐ̯ʦənˌʔɛɡɐ] declared a state of emergency for Kern, Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. , Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino San Bernardino, city, United States San Bernardino (săn bûr'nədē`nō), city (1990 pop. 164,164), seat of San Bernardino co., S Calif., at the foot of the San Bernardino Mts.; inc. 1854. , San Diego San Diego (săn dēā`gō), city (1990 pop. 1,110,549), seat of San Diego co., S Calif., on San Diego Bay; inc. 1850. San Diego includes the unincorporated communities of La Jolla and Spring Valley. Coronado is across the bay. , Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. The state said it is waiting for all counties to submit damage assessments so it can request federal assistance. ``This has taken longer than usual to get this federal declaration,'' Hernandez said. ``Ventura County has a tremendous loss. We were the first county to get our reports in to (the state Office of Emergency Services and the Federal Emergency Management Agency The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is the federal agency responsible for coordinating emergency planning, preparedness, risk reduction, response, and recovery. The agency works closely with state and local governments by funding emergency programs and providing technical ). Bill Butler, assistant administrator of the Los Angeles County Office of Emergency Management, said damage estimates will be finalized by the end of the week. He predicted they'll top $100 million. Rep. Elton Gallegly, R-Thousand Oaks, who represents most of Ventura County, said federal officials are waiting for the governor to make a formal request for a disaster declaration as required by law. ``I've told the governor I'm going to Washington as soon as the governor makes the formal request, and we've been monitoring this every day. I'm confident the president is going to respond positively.'' But Gallegly said the process for requesting the federal declaration is complex and the governor needs to make sure he has an accurate assessment of the damage before he goes to the president. Eric Leach, (805) 583-7602 eric.leach(at)dailynews.com |
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