No Red Tag? Trust Instincts on Going Home

If a house was flooded, when is it safe for residents to return?

If a home hasn’t been red-tagged by building inspectors, residents can reenter when the storms are over or after safety officials or fire department personnel have ended the evacuation.

Peter Moraga, a spokesman for the Insurance Information Network of California, said common sense should be the guide: Don’t reoccupy a home on an unstable hillside or one that might flood again, and don’t enter a home with water more than a few inches deep.

When inspecting the damage, wear boots or shoes with thick soles to protect against broken glass. Inside, check for broken gas lines, whether the electricity is working and whether the faucets and plumbing appear to be working.

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If a home is damaged by floods or mudslides, is the owner eligible for disaster relief?

The Federal Emergency Management Agency opened offices in Los Angeles and Ventura counties earlier this month to help residents and business owners affected by the storms that moved through from Dec. 27 to Jan. 11. By Wednesday, more than 3,900 people had registered for aid and been approved for nearly $3.7 million in housing and other assistance.

Those who experienced property damage during the last week will not be ineligible for federal grants and loans unless the new damage leads to a disaster declaration by President Bush. Officials in Los Angeles and Ventura counties have contacted the state Office of Emergency Services requesting that Gov. Schwarzenegger petition for additional federal assistance.

The FEMA money “is meant to be a helping hand to provide for basic necessities,” said David Fukutomi, the official overseeing the January storm damage. The Red Cross has programs to assist people who need immediate help with food or shelter as a result of this week’s rains.

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Why do some intersections flood more than others?

“There is no one answer,” said True Pawluk, spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works. “It could be related to a water or sewage pipe breaking, plugged storm drains or just too much water coming down.”

Although there are basins designed to catch trash and fallen tree limbs before they enter the drainage system, rocks and mud can plug the system, she said.

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What is a sinkhole?

Think of a sinkhole as a giant pothole that occurs when the earth beneath the road is washed away. It can be caused either by natural erosion from running groundwater or from a leak or rupture in a buried pipe, such as a sewer line.

The massive sinkhole in Sun Valley, which claimed the life of a city engineer Sunday, is expected to take up to two months to repair. Cora Jackson-Fossett, a spokeswoman with the Los Angeles Department of Public Works, said workers got their first chance Wednesday to make a thorough inspection of the hole, which more than doubled in size to 150 feet during Tuesday’s rains, and they expected to present several options for repairing the damage.

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Does standing water left from the rain pose a more serious threat of West Nile virus?

In the short term, probably not, because temperatures are still cool. But health experts warn that as the weather gets warmer, mosquitoes will breed more quickly.

Robert Saviskas, executive director of the Los Angeles County West Vector Control District, said several days of heavy rains in mid-March or later could lead to an explosion in the mosquito population.

To combat the problem, experts recommend removing all standing water, such as in unused swimming pools, ponds, buckets or flowerpots.

An elderly man in eastern Los Angeles County had the county’s first reported case of West Nile virus this year. Last year, 13 of the 27 deaths from the virus statewide occurred in L.A. County.