Van Nuys, CSUN Get Quake Aid Offices

An Earthquake Service Center is scheduled to open today in Van Nuys to replace Disaster Assistance Centers in Sun Valley and Van Nuys that were closed Tuesday night.

A small service center is also opening today at Cal State Northridge for those who work or study on the campus. Service centers will eventually replace assistance centers, which were set up in the immediate aftermath of the quake to accept applications for aid and now number only three citywide.

The service centers, operated jointly by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, will concentrate on follow-up services and long-term assistance. They will also accept applications for disaster assistance.

The deadline for filing applications is March 18, but assistance from federal, state and local agencies will continue as long as it is needed, the state officials said.

The Earthquake Service Center will open at 1 p.m. at 6939 Van Nuys Boulevard. Thereafter, it will be open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. The center at CSUN will be located on the northern end of the campus near Devonshire Street and Zelzah Avenue.

The two assistance centers in the San Fernando Valley that closed Tuesday were at Stonehurst Recreation Center, 9901 Dronfield Ave., Sun Valley, and at 14301 Vanowen Ave. in Van Nuys.

A third service center will open today at 3420 W. Jefferson Blvd. in Los Angeles to replace centers in Los Angeles and the Pico Union area.

The new service centers bring the total to nine of an eventual 11.