Earthquake: The Long Road Back : Clinton Lists County as Disaster Area : Emergency: The region is eligible for federal aid. Losses rise to $1 billion, mainly because of newly discovered damage in Simi Valley.

President Clinton declared Ventura County a federal disaster area Wednesday after countywide estimates of earthquake losses rose to $1 billion, mostly because of newly discovered damage in Simi Valley.

“We told him we also have devastation in Ventura County,” said Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Simi Valley), who led a delegation that questioned Clinton at a Burbank Airport meeting.

“In the east end of Simi Valley, we literally have thousands of pieces of property with major structural damage,” Gallegly said. “That area is less than seven miles from the epicenter.”

The congressman joined Ventura County Supervisor Vicky Howard--another Simi Valley resident--in raising damage estimates to at least $1 billion, including $250 million in Fillmore, several hundred million in Simi Valley and smaller losses in Thousand Oaks.

“It’s going up by the minute,” Howard said. “At first blush we looked around and said, ‘We came through this pretty well.’ But as the hours and days passed, we discovered that there is much more damage than we first thought.”

In other developments:

* Caltech scientists said aftershocks from the quake are migrating toward Ventura County. The epicenters of two strong aftershocks Wednesday afternoon were six miles northeast of Simi Valley.

* Estimates of damaged houses rose to 5,000 in Simi Valley, including 250 to 500 that are uninhabitable. In Fillmore, more than 300 houses and mobile homes were declared uninhabitable.

* Schools remained closed until next week in Simi Valley, while Fillmore schools reopen today.

* About 800 people were staying at shelters in Simi Valley and Fillmore, and another shelter opened in Piru.

* Water service was restored to about 8,000 eastern Simi Valley residents, but a new break in a main line threatened that service late Wednesday. A strong aftershock broke a second line, leaving residents in the Moorpark College area without water.

Caltech seismologist Egill Hauksson said the aftershock sequence, with the two magnitude 5 quakes of Wednesday afternoon, has become “very energetic” and “slightly above the normal.”

An analysis of the more than 1,000 aftershocks indicated that they have migrated about five miles northwest from the Northridge epicenter of Monday’s main shock, toward Ventura County.

But Hauksson cautioned that it is too early in the aftershock sequence to reach conclusions about its future course.

The Ventura County disaster declaration came two days after the deadly magnitude 6.6 Northridge temblor struck the San Fernando Valley. Clinton declared Los Angeles County a disaster area within hours of the quake.

As a federal disaster area, Ventura County agencies are eligible for a variety of federal aid. Residents qualify for rental assistance and low-interest reconstruction loans. Businesses can apply for low-interest loans or grants.

Clinton promised that $4 million would be available to local officials in Ventura County by Friday.

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Officials said they plan to open two federal emergency offices: at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Fillmore and at the Sycamore Drive Community Center in Simi Valley. They are expected to be operating by noon today. The officials who attended the Clinton meeting--Gallegly, Howard, Supervisor John K. Flynn and Sheriff Larry Carpenter--took with them the $1-billion estimate, dramatically higher than the figure of $400 million from a day earlier.

Gallegly said damage in Simi Valley is three or four times higher than the $200 million estimated Tuesday. And county emergency officials said they thought Gallegly’s figures may turn out to be low.

With just half of Fillmore surveyed by building inspectors and only a small fraction of Simi Valley inspected, official county damage estimates totaled $500 million in the two cities, or about $250 million each.

Wendy Haddock, assistant director of emergency services in the Sheriff’s Department, said partial surveys show that about 5,000 Simi Valley homes have been damaged, and up to 500 will be “red-tagged” as uninhabitable. About 200 businesses sustained moderate to extensive damage, she said.

“The city of Simi is hit so severely they haven’t even had time to assess their damage,” Haddock said. “Five thousand homes--my God, it’s frightening. They are still trying to get the critical services up and running again.”

Simi Valley’s attention was focused primarily on the hard-hit east end, where 8,000 residents were without water until Wednesday afternoon and electrical power and natural gas service was spotty.

Residents of Simi Valley, along with water users in two-thirds of the county, were advised to conserve because their supplies depend on giant pipelines that were damaged in the quake. The water system, serving communities as far west as Oxnard, is operating at less than half of normal pressure and is not expected to have full pressure and supplies for a week.

Simi residents also were asked to continue to boil drinking water--and restaurants were required to do so--because of impurities.

After a magnitude 5.1 aftershock rained down plaster at some of its facilities Wednesday afternoon, the Simi school district closed its 27 schools until next week. Three east-end schools are severely damaged: Simi High School, Valley View Junior High and Township Elementary.

Among Simi Valley’s other public buildings with major damage was the East County Courthouse. Cases were transferred to Ventura on Wednesday. Although the courthouse can be repaired, Howard was not sure the same is true for the county library in Simi Valley, where an internal wall collapsed.

The second floor of the Simi Valley Police Station is also uninhabitable, as is a six-story Farmers Insurance office building.

In Fillmore, 600 to 1,000 homes have been damaged and 163 have been “red-tagged” as too dangerous to enter until repaired. Of those, 128 are mobile homes. Another 156 houses have been declared uninhabitable but limited access is allowed.

Of an estimated 60 damaged Fillmore businesses, 25 have been found to have sustained major damage and another 15 moderate to minor damage, Haddock said.

The Fillmore City Council today will consider a new ordinance to require strengthening of old buildings so they would not be a threat to life during earthquakes.

All utilities have been restored in Fillmore, but repairs on two main water lines were continuing. Inspectors were also checking to see if the city’s million-gallon water tank can be repaired.

In nearby Piru, 100 to 200 houses and 14 of the community’s 15 stores were damaged, Haddock said. Thousand Oaks also suffered substantial damage, including a fallen roof at the main library, but the city had no damage estimates, Haddock said.

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The Thousand Oaks City Council, at a meeting Tuesday evening, expressed dismay that the architect and contractor of the library allowed sheet metal to be used as the library ceiling.

“We’re already in a lawsuit with the roofing contractor” for a leaking roof, Councilwoman Judy Lazar said. “I don’t think I ever would have set foot in that building if I knew a piece of sheet metal could have fallen down off the ceiling and sheared off my head.”

The council asked residents not to bring 100,000 checked-out books back to the library until further notice, promising that no overdue fees would be charged.

Hours at the city’s Newbury Park branch library have been extended.

Meanwhile, about 800 people spent Tuesday night at three American Red Cross shelters, two in Fillmore and one in Simi Valley. Another shelter opened Wednesday in Piru.

“We expect our shelter population is going to be increasing,” said Brian Bolton, director of the Red Cross’s Ventura County chapter. He said some displaced residents, traumatized by the quake, have been sleeping in yards and cars rather than risk spending the night indoors.

“They’re forecasting rain this weekend, which may encourage people to go to the shelters,” Bolton said.

He said the Red Cross expects shelters to remain open another seven to 10 days. In addition to a place to sleep, the shelters provide food, water, toilets, showers and counseling.

Caltrans officials said the county’s bridges and freeway overpasses fared well during the quake. But the temblor did cause settling at two overcrossings on California 118.

Road crews were scheduled to patch about 10 spots along California 126 between Fillmore and Interstate 5 where the earthquake caused settling and bumpy spots. And utility crews are still working to repair a gaping 20-by-20-foot hole in California 126 where a gas main ruptured under the road.

Metrolink announced Wednesday that it will resume commuter train service today from Moorpark and Simi Valley to downtown Los Angeles. One or two cars will be added to each of the 10 daily trains to handle an expected increase in passengers.

Times staff writers Sara Catania and Stephanie Simon and correspondents Brenda Day, Julie Fields, Scott Hadly and J. E. Mitchell contributed to this story.

Obtaining Disaster Aid

President Clinton declared Ventura County a federal disaster area on Wednesday. As a result, earthquake-affected residents may qualify for the following:

* Rent payments for temporary housing for up to 18 months if their homes are unlivable.

* Grants to make minimal repairs to homes.

* Grants of up to $12,200 to meet serious disaster-related needs not covered by other federal aid programs.

* Unemployment payments of up to 26 weeks for workers left jobless by the disaster who do not qualify for state benefits, such as the self-employed.

* Low-interest loans from 3.625% to 7.25% to cover uninsured private property losses and from 4% to 8% for business property losses. Loans are available up to $100,000 for primary residences; $20,000 for personal property, including renter losses, and $1.5 million for businesses.

* Loans of up to $1.5 million for small businesses with disaster-related cash-flow problems.

* Loans of up to $500,000 for farmers to cover production and property losses.

* Other relief programs, such as crisis counseling, income tax assistance with casualty losses, and advice on legal, Social Security and veterans benefits.

To apply for aid, contact the Federal Emergency Management Agency at 1-800-462-9029 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily.

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