El Nino Repair Funds Forecast for County

Orange County homeowners will benefit from a Clinton administration plan announced Friday to distribute $9.13 million in grants to rebuild El Nino flood-damaged homes in 41 California counties, officials said.

But it is unclear how much of the money will be routed to Orange County, which sustained more than $58 million in damage from the storms and flooding that took place between Feb. 2 and April 30.

The money will be distributed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency according to a formula that has not been made public, said Ron Willis of the Orange County Housing Authority.

“This is good news for the county, but I’m not sure how it’s all going to be allocated down,” Willis said.

Orange County was especially hard hit.

More than 600 homes and 400 businesses were damaged by the storms. In Laguna Niguel and Laguna Beach, heavy rainfall aggravated an ancient landslide and toppled several expensive homes.

On the coast, high tides and surf pummeled cities and houses. Aliso Pier has been closed since March, when El Nino storms cracked its concrete pilings and left it unstable. Demolition is slated to begin early next week.

Across the state, thousands of homes and businesses were damaged and at least 17 people died during the onslaught. State authorities estimated the storms did $550 million in damage.

The California grants were part of $49.4 million in aid given out by the Department of Housing and Urban Development to repair and rebuild communities hit by natural disasters in 12 states between October 1997 and June, HUD Secretary Andrew M. Cuomo said.

“In one awful moment, a natural disaster can destroy the work of generations, wiping out homes, businesses, roads and schools and bringing terrible suffering to the people of a community,” Cuomo said.

“We can’t turn back the clock on the destruction, but the grants we’re announcing today will help people, towns and cities recover and rebuild.”

The HUD funds can be used for a number of purposes, including relocation payments for displaced people, repair and rebuilding of homes and businesses, and assistance for people in buying new homes.