Gore Announces $40-Million FEMA Grant for Power Stations

Vice President Al Gore called city officials Thursday to announce that they are scheduled to receive more than $40 million in federal aid to the city’s Department of Water and Power to strengthen power stations in the event of earthquakes.

The money will be divided up among 27 power stations throughout Los Angeles County, and will help clean up lingering damage from the 1994 Northridge earthquake as well as prepare the stations for future temblors.

Gore called Mayor Richard Riordan and Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke on Thursday to tell them the news.

“I just got through giving Mayor Riordan and Supervisor Burke the good news that FEMA will be approving more than $40.5 million from its Hazard Mitigation Grant Program for the city of Los Angeles,” Gore, who was attending a graduation in New York, said in a prepared statement. “With these grants, we can help protect California families from the devastation of future earthquakes.”

Riordan was pulled away from a lunch downtown by the vice president’s call. Afterward, he said the money would help Los Angeles complete its recovery from the 1994 earthquake and “help minimize the impact of future earthquakes in the region.”