President Declares Disaster Area in Wake of Flooding

President Bush on Tuesday declared a disaster area in five Southern California counties devastated by this month’s heavy flooding, making them eligible for about $77.5 million in federal recovery aid.

Bush signed the declaration on board Air Force One as he flew from Washington to San Francisco, where he told a fund-raiser audience that he had been moved by the scale of the recent floods and the plight of the victims.

“They’re hurting, and the federal government ought to do its part,” Bush said.

The rains left eight people dead and did an estimated $125 million in damage to public and private property and crops.

The President’s action would make federal aid available to local governments in Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino and Kern counties, said White House Press Secretary Marlin Fitzwater.

Speaking to reporters on board the plane, Fitzwater said the Federal Emergency Management Agency would make $77.5 million available and that the state of California would match one-quarter of that amount.

FEMA spokesman Carl Suchocki in Washington said that the agency will distribute the money to local governments to pay for repairs to roads, bridges, flood-control facilities and other public property damaged by four rainstorms that hammered the region between Feb. 9 and 16.

FEMA has not determined whether there is sufficient need for it to help rebuild uninsured flood-damaged homes and businesses, Suchocki said.

Gov. Pete Wilson’s staff applauded Bush’s swiftness in signing the declaration, which the governor requested Saturday.

“It’s a clear recognition of the severity of the flooding and the loss by businesses and residences,” said James Lee, the governor’s press secretary.

FEMA and the California Office of Emergency Services will set up a field office in the five-county region in the next few days to handle claims by local governments.

The agency will decide whether any of its money can be made available to rebuild uninsured private property, said Alex Newton, a spokesman for FEMA’s regional office in San Francisco.

Meanwhile, the governor on Monday asked the federal Small Business Administration to activate its low-interest loan program for repairing uninsured businesses and homes.

That agency could contribute $8.5 million in low-interest loans to repair damage to private property, the governor’s office has said.

If FEMA and the SBA cannot provide enough aid, the Office of Emergency Services could activate the California Natural Disaster Assistance Program, which was set up by the state Legislature after the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989.

That program, administered through the state Department of Housing, provides loans at 3% interest to pay for repairs or reconstruction, said Paul Kranhold, the department’s assistant director.

However, Kranhold said the money can only apply to businesses, homes and mobile homes, not RVs, campers or trailers.

Times staff writer Douglas Jehl contributed to this story.