HURRICANE AFTERMATH : Federal Aid to Los Angeles Is Suspended

The Federal Emergency Management Agency, sorely needing fresh cash from Congress, has had to temporarily hold back $80 million in public assistance payments to riot-torn Los Angeles and 20 other disaster areas so that checks can be rushed to individuals hit by Hurricane Andrew.

Grant Peterson, associate FEMA director, said Monday that payments had been suspended for the past week to various communities nationwide that are being reimbursed for such things as removing debris, repairing nonprofit facilities, rebuilding utilities and replenishing fire and police budgets.

“I’m down to $54 million in my bank account and I have $510 million worth of legitimate requests on my desk to put out the door” for Florida and Louisiana, which were devastated by Hurricane Andrew last month, Peterson said.

Congress is expected to act this week or next on President Bush’s request to provide $2 billion to FEMA and $5.6 billion for other costs prompted by Hurriance Andrew. The lawmakers also will probably add funds for victims of Hurricane Iniki.

In Los Angeles, city officials said that a delay in federal disaster relief, if lengthy, would add to the financial problems of the city, which is already struggling to cope with state budget cuts and a lingering recession.

Los Angeles is looking to FEMA to pick up most of an estimated $18-million bill to demolish and remove about 250 burned-out buildings and other debris left in the riot zone. FEMA has approved payment of $8.9 million, according to city officials.

City Administrative Officer Keith Comrie said that a 30- to 60-day delay in federal aid would create cash flow problems for the city, which would have to fund work out of its own reserves.

Cindy Shamrock, chief deputy director of California Office of Emergency Services, said that the office received word of the suspension in aid on Friday.

“If Congress passes a bill and gets money over to FEMA during this next week or so, I think that most people are going to be OK,” she said. “Where we could run into some problems are with some small organizations, private nonprofits that don’t have any cash reserves.

Peterson said the agency is strapped for cash following a record 46 disasters that the President has designated for federal relief this year.

“The problem is we’ve had six disasters come to our plate since Andrew, including the hurricane in Hawaii, a typhoon in Guam, tornadoes in Wisconsin and wildfires that destroyed 450 homes in California,” Peterson added.

In 1987, the 10-year average budget for federal disaster aid was $270 million for about 24 disasters a year. “In recent years, we’ve averaged about 40 disasters a year with budgets running $1 billion to $1.5 billion,” Peterson said. “We were at $1.5 billion this year before we got Andrew.”

Times staff writer Richard Simon, in Los Angeles, contributed to this story.