Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, January 23, 1994 TAG: 9401230077
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Los Angeles Times
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES LENGTH: Medium
Officials preparing for this week's expected commuter crush also said they are considering temporary bridges over gaps in two freeways heavily damaged in last Monday's quake - Interstate 10 and state Highway 118.
Five days after the Los Angeles area was rocked by a 6.6-magnitude quake, Saturday's developments reflected improved delivery of relief services and recognition that the efforts, though sizable, have not been enough to cope with what looms as one of the costliest natural disasters in U.S. history.
"I don't think any of us realized the magnitude of it all," said James Lee Witt, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
In other developments:
Estimates of those still sleeping outside in parks and vacant lots dropped to 9,000, compared with 14,500 on Friday. There was a 60 percent chance of some rain by tonight, when temperatures could fall to the low 40s.
The number of structures declared uninhabitable in the city climbed to more than 1,600, encompassing 7,421 housing units. Damage to those buildings reached $460 million - a figure that will grow considerably since building inspectors expect to be assessing damage at least for another week.
The Los Angeles Unified School District planned to reopen most schools Tuesday. Of 30,000 classrooms, 300 remained unsafe.
Officials at the California Institute of Technology said the frequency of aftershocks was decreasing. After four aftershocks of magnitude 4.0 to 4.6 hit in rapid succession Friday, only four tremors - all magnitude 3.0 or less - were recorded Saturday.
In Los Angeles, officials announced new plans to open seven more emergency assistance shelters by Monday.
Stung by increasing criticism of red tape, federal officials defended their relief efforts, proclaiming they are setting up the largest assistance program in U.S. history to deal with the most damaging earthquake to be centered in a modern American urban center.
The state has estimated damages could exceed $30 billion.
"We are now dealing with the largest mass assistance of people in an urban area in the history of the United States," said Henry Cisneros, secretary of federal Housing and Urban Development, in Los Angeles on Saturday.
In Washington, the White House announced the release of $283 million more in relief funds. White House press secretary Dee Dee Myers said $140 million will be for Small Business Administration loans and the other $143 million for a range of activities such as grants for emergency housing and family support and to help localities pay for debris removal, emergency services and repair of damaged public facilities.
by CNB