The Nation - News from Jan. 1, 1987

Federal spending for disaster assistance was down in 1986, with the government committing $541 million, roughly one-third the 1985 price tag, to help disaster victims, the Federal Emergency Management Agency said. The agency’s year-end report said President Reagan ordered federal aid for victims of 28 major natural disasters in 20 states, Puerto Rico, Micronesia and the Northern Mariana Islands. Most of the aid came in the wake of major floods, and 17 areas got claims payments of more than $52 million from FEMA’s flood insurance program.