U.S. Has Already Spent $900 Million in Earthquake Aid

Even before President Clinton’s approval of the $8.6-billion earthquake relief package, the federal government has spent more than $900 million in emergency aid since the Jan. 17 earthquake, much of it to help victims repair homes or find new shelter and to reconstruct shattered roadways.

The money has been flowing from just about every federal agency for a wide range of other uses as well, from digging out a Ventura County persimmon orchard to having experts on hand ready to decipher some unknown disease that might break out.

The 6.8 quake killed at least 57 people, toppled freeways and damaged or destroyed more than 15,500 homes. State officials have estimated the total cost of the damage at $13 billion to $20 billion, and warned that the figure could grow.

To help with the recovery, Clinton on Saturday approved $8.6 billion in earthquake relief--the largest disaster aid package in the nation’s history.

Even apart from those funds, emergency money has been streaming into the region at a dizzying clip. Paradoxically, the relief effort this time around has benefited from the government’s involvement in previous Southern California disasters.

“We already have a certain familiarity with the state apparatus and with local governments so that Los Angeles has an advantage over some other disaster sites,” said Larry Parks, a spokesman for Commerce Secretary Ron Brown, who is coordinating federal spending on the disaster.

During this emergency, the big spenders include the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which has set aside nearly $280 million for quake-related housing needs. Much of the money had been in the pipeline for Los Angeles before the quake and was expedited.

But emergency aid is also being provided by such agencies as the Department of Agriculture’s Soil Conservation Service, which has kicked in $50,000 to repair half a mile of fence destroyed on a Ventura County ranch and to unearth several acres of persimmons and irrigation lines that were buried under tons of earth.

The Department of Health and Human Services is providing $27.5 million to cover the costs of such things as outreach to senior citizens who are quake victims and damage to National Institutes of Health research facilities.

The agency has also set aside money to provide expert assistance from the Centers for Disease Control to help local health officials identify any baffling illness or disease patterns wrought by the quake. Los Angeles residents will be glad to learn that the services have not been needed, said Tony Itteilag, deputy assistant secretary for health management.

A breakdown of federal emergency funding to date includes:

* FEMA has distributed about $116 million to 37,800 families for temporary housing assistance. FEMA has also given the state $200 million to cover costs it has spent on earthquake recovery.

* HUD has provided nearly $175 million in community development block grant and home funds to the cities of Los Angeles, Glendale, Pasadena, Santa Monica, Burbank and Santa Clarita and to Ventura and Los Angeles counties to repair housing. The agency also is distributing about $100 million for low-income housing subsidies.

* The Department of Agriculture has provided more than $57.4 million in food stamps to about 202,000 families. The agency has also provided nearly 3 million pounds of food worth $1.8 million to soup kitchens shelters and community agencies.

* The Small Business Administration has distributed more than $33.6 million in low-interest loans to repair homes and businesses.

* The Department of Transportation has awarded the state $95 million in emergency funds to repair and reconstruct highways and road systems.

* The Department of Education has sent about $7 million to the Los Angeles Unified School District for food, counseling, transportation and to extend school hours.